PLEASE PRAY

I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. I have a lot to add about what we’ve been up to lately, but right now I am in desperate need of your prayers for my little Caddy. She is our one and a half year old cat who is extremely ill. My heart is broken right now and we really need a miracle.

On Saturday evening she started vomiting a lot. We called the emergency vet and they instructed us to reintroduce water in four hours to see how she did with that. At 1:00 am she drank two sips of water and promptly threw up several more times. Patrick and I rushed her to the emergency vet where we spent the next four hours. They took x-rays but did not find anything abnormal. They gave her two medicinal injections and a fluid injection to keep her hydrated. We also left with a prescription we had to squirt in her mouth with a syringe every 8 hours. We left the emergency vet at 5:30 am, with just enough time for Patrick to come home and shower and head straight to work (with absolutely no sleep.) She continued to vomit throughout Sunday so we brought her to our vet first thing Monday morning.

Our vet did some blood work and thankfully the results came back within the normal ranges. They gave her another injection of fluids and her vomiting ceased early Monday morning. We thought we were on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, she continued to show no interest in eating and was extremely lethargic. I called our vet on Tuesday morning who instructed me to bring her in immediately to meet with their ultrasound specialist as she detected a distended colon in her x-rays from the ER vet. I drove her to the vet in a blind panic and we waited while the ultrasound specialist looked very thoroughly over every organ in her little body. I broke down and even Patrick had tears welled up in his eyes. The picture on the screen was so similar to when a pregnant woman has her ultrasound (except there was no baby and cries of joy when you saw the pictures on the screen appear.) Each time she reached a different organ I felt like my legs were going to give out and I just wanted to curl up on the floor.
We found out that she has pancreatitis and striping on her liver. After another injection of fluids and another medicinal injection we were able to take her home, but she may still need to be hospitalized to have a feeding tube inserted if she does not start eating over the next 24 hours. We left the vet’s office with three prescriptions and a fourth that was called into our local Rite Aid store. Patrick had to pick it up and verify that he was Caddy’s “parent or guardian.” We also have a bag of fluids with a pack of needles that we have to inject into her subcutaneously every day. So that is three medicines injected into her mouth via syringe (some multiple times per day), one she is supposed to eat, and 100 ml of fluids we have to stick into her each day. Needless to say in the midst of all of this she still feels terrible so this is an extremely difficult process.

Please pray for her to gain an interest in eating again so that she does not have to be hospitalized. Please pray for her pancreas to heal and for her to begin to feel better. Please pray that she will continue to allow us to administer all of her medications that will help her to fight this. And please pray for Patrick and I to have the strength to be the parents that our little girl needs right now. She is hurting and sick and this could be life threatening so please pray that God will grant us a miracle. Caddy already is a little miracle (see my post about the Not So Brave Little Kitten for her story) and now she needs one more. Please pray for God to heal my girl.

11-3

Today the Panthers won their last home game and are now 11-3 for the season! They officially won every game at home this year (since the last two games are on the road) and are going to face the New York Giants next Sunday. It is going to be a huge game and it got moved to prime time - this is so exciting!

I went to visit my friend Meredith this past weekend and we spent lots of time catching up. Of course we watched a bunch of chick flicks as well, but we talked right through one of them and neither of us could figure out what was going on! Since I was gone this past weekend I am going to try to frantically clean my house after work this week in preparation for the arrival of my friend Jennifer and her family from WV. I absolutely cannot wait to see them!

Thursday will be my last official day in the office. We are all going to be working from home full time, and Thursday will be the last day we'll all be in the office together. My home office is a disaster area right now. Patrick and I are converting the third bedroom (that has never been used for anything except to store junk) into my office and the transition is not going as smoothly as I would like. For starters, it's a pretty small room so I've really had to look hard to find the right furniture to fit the space. We are still in search of a chair and ottoman for the corner, but otherwise I think we've found all the furniture. We gotten all the old junk cleared out of the room, but now that I'm bringing home everything from my office it's pretty full and unorganized again! The wall shelves are still sitting on the floor and need to be hung and I cannot seem to find the right cables to set up my printer. I took home all the desktop components for my computer last week and I still don't quite have all of those cords figured out either. I'll be so glad when this project is over and I'm settled again! It is amazing how much junk I have managed to accumulate in my office over the past couple of years though, and so I'm doing some major organizing so this room will have a fresh start.

Cross your fingers for the Panthers to beat the Giants this week! I'm hoping for a Super Bowl win, but taking it one week at a time....

Bobcats Game

Today Patrick called me from work and mentioned that somebody offered us tickets to tonight's Bobcats game. I'm not a huge NBA fan, but seeing a game in person is always a good time, so I thought it would be fun. I'm so glad we went - we were sitting courtside in fourth row seats. It was incredible! (Now I have to mention that a few weekends ago when I was in Asheville Patrick scored floor seats, directly under the goal so these weren't quite the same, but these were still awesome seats!)

The Bobcats were playing Cleveland so we got to see a lot of Lebron James up close and personal which was pretty cool. I know that the NBA is full of outstanding athletes, but he was in a class by himself. But the best part of the game came from who we were sitting with....Richard Marshall (of the Carolina Panthers) was sitting in the seat directly in front of me. Julius Peppers (if you you don't know who he is, you are in desperate need of an NFL wakeup call!) walked right by us to get to his floor seats and we saw Thomas Davis (again of the Carolina Panthers) walk by us to get to his seat too. But the absolute best part of the game came about midway through when.....Ken Lucas walked in and sat directly in front of Richard Marshall. Ken Lucas is my absolute favorite player and I have his jersey. He was sitting two rows from me, directly in front of me. Wow!!

I'm hoping this is a good sign for the game on Monday night. We're going to the Panthers game, and it is going to be a big deal game. First of all, it's Monday night football. Second, we're playing a division game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Third, we are tied with them at 9-3 for control over our division. Fourth, if we win this game we will be in the lead for our division and looking pretty good to secure a spot in the playoffs. (Right now they have the tiebreaker and therefore lead the NFC South, but only the Giants have a better record than us in the NFC so we're looking pretty good for one of the two wildcard spots.) However, if we win on Monday it will be huge. Or should I say, when we win on Monday?!?!

So I know that was a lot about the Panthers in a post that's supposed to be about the Bobcats, but seeing so many Panthers absolutely made my night! (Oh, and the size of the diamond earrings all the players had, and the diamond watch that Peppers had on were all truly a sight to behold. These guys have some serious taste in jewelry!)

It was an awesome night and now I'm even more excited about Monday night!

The Duke Dream Comes True

I have been a fan of the Duke Blue Devils since the day my family moved to North Carolina. It has always been a dream of mine to see them play a home game in the legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium. I have been fortunate enough to see them play a few times in Charlotte, but I have always dreamed of seeing them play at home. In middle school I discovered the greatest college basketball player of all time - Bobby Hurley. The day after Thanksgiving Patrick and I got to go see Duke play at home (along with our friends Alli and Steve) and I was able to fulfill my other lifelong dream. (If you want to read about the first, see my posts about my devotion to New Kids on the Block!)

The experience was incredible, and I think pictures will tell the story far better than I ever could with words. Now that I have managed to accomplish my two greatest dreams (you can laugh, it's okay!) I'm going to have to come up with some new dreams. Here's hoping it won't take 20 years for these to come true though!

Duke campus

Patrick & I at the infamous Krzyzewskiville


Alli and I can't believe we're here!!


The man, the myth, the legend - Coach K


3 national championships...and counting


The Cameron Crazies in full effect


My favorite player ever


Yes, we stayed until well after the game was done


Here begins my Bobby Hurley quest...


His jersey and the ball from his record setting 1,039th assist

Need I say more?!

The best game of all time

The trophies...there's definitely room for more!

Cameron Indoor Stadium

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all of you had a wonderful day and got to spend time with family and friends. Patrick and I drove to see his family and then later in the day my mom and sister, Bethany, joined us there for dinner. My mother-in-law, Chris, put together a beautiful dinner with a million different selections for side items. There were so many choices that I was stuffed well before it was time for dessert (my favorite part!) We had a big group this year which was really nice – my family is so small that we never really had big family holidays so I love having a full house. It’s also nice that since our families are so close, Patrick and I usually get to celebrate with both of our families.

Here’s a funny Thanksgiving story for you – so everybody is having a glass of wine before dinner and they offer my mom a glass which she accepts. (I should probably tell you now that my mother rarely, if ever, drinks.) She drinks most of her first glass and everybody is refilling for their second when she proceeds to (LOUDLY) exclaim that she is drunk (and has maybe had most of one glass of wine) and from her seated position at the kitchen table announces that she needs to go sit down and promptly stands up. I was so embarrassed. Fortunately my in-laws are pretty fun and nobody made a big deal about it but my sister and I were laughing (while dying inside at the same time!)

We got to visit with a lot of Patrick’s side of the family and I’m really glad that my sister-in-law Brooke was there. She is so nice and we haven’t gotten to see each in person in a long time (maybe since her wedding????) so I’m really glad that we had a chance to catch up. I hope I can convince Patrick that we need to drive down to Atlanta to visit them sometime soon! The boys were running around and trying to stay out of trouble (they are absolutely precious!) and it was a lot of fun to have them around. There’s just something about a holiday with children that makes it seem even better. All in all it was a great day spent with family and I am very thankful to have each of them in my life.

Weekend in Asheville

This past weekend my friend Lindsay and I went up to Asheville to see the Biltmore Estate and we had a great time! We met up around lunch time on Saturday and headed over to the grounds so that we could grab something to eat in time for our daytime visit of the house. We didn't have lots of time so we got some soup from the bakery on the grounds and promptly decided that we would revisit the bakery after our tour for some of the delicious looking goodies!

After our tour we left the grounds to go eat dinner in downtown Asheville which proved to be an adventure. We kept driving up and down the main street in search of two restaurants recommended to us, and after realizing that we could not find either one we decided to just park and walk around to see what we could find. What was directly in front of us as soon as we parked the car? The restaurant that we had been looking for - it was right in front of us the whole time! I should have known that would be a sign of things to come later in the evening....

After dinner we headed back to the Biltmore grounds for our candlelight tour of the house. I love how every room is completely decorated for Christmas - it is beautiful! No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the house, so we got there early so we could take a bunch of pictures outside first. The front lawn had a huge Christmas tree with a circle of smaller Christmas trees around it with speakers and Christmas music playing only loud enough to hear once you made it over to that part of the lawn. Since I am completely unfamiliar with how to use my camera (I only recently entered the digital age!) Lindsay was showing me what all the different settings on my camera could do. I ended up with some really funny looking pictures but I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of when I need to use what setting to get a better looking picture. I definitely have a lot to learn!

After we were done taking pictures outside, it was time for us to enter the house for our tour. Pretty simple, right? So this is where I have my dumb moment for the day. (Yes, dumber than not seeing a restaurant right in front of my face!) I put our tickets in the inner pocket of my jacket (since I had gloves and a hat in my regular pockets) and made a big production about how our tickets would be safe there. When we were walking back up the drive towards the house, I noticed some folded paper on the ground (our tickets are printed out on an 8x10 piece of paper by the way, which I had folded to fit into my "secret" pocket) but didn't think much about it and kept on walking. While we were waiting by our Nutcracker friend to enter the house, I reached in my pocket for the tickets to find that it was empty. No tickets!

At this point we had covered a lot of ground taking lots of pictures and so it would seem hopeless. However, I remembered the folded paper that I had seen on the drive about 30 minutes prior - it had to be our tickets! Now why I didn't look at the paper the first time I saw it on the ground or why I remembered that I had glanced down and seen it at that moment is beyond me, but I took off in a sprint down the long drive to see if by some miracle the paper was still there. It was still there and it was our tickets. I don't know if Lindsay was more surprised that I managed to lose or tickets or subsequently find them, but since this story had a happy ending it was pretty funny! (We were also planning to come back to the estate on Sunday to tour the winery and farm, and had our tickets actually been lost, we would not have been able to re-enter the property so our Sunday plans would have been ruined as well.) We made it to the doors of the house right on time for our entry (there is timed entry during the peak season) and got to see the ballerinas perform in the winter garden before touring the rest of the house.

The following morning we ate breakfast and then were off to the Biltmore grounds again. The whole weekend I kept misplacing things (my keys, my hat, my gloves, my sunglasses...pretty much everything which isn't really like me) so when the kid working the register gave me back my change and I knew it was wrong I doubted myself for awhile before politely asking if I could have my correct change. He kept telling me I was wrong and I was almost ready to break out a calculator for him until he finally realized that he was counting it wrong and corrected the problem. He almost had me convinced that I was wrong until logic kicked it and I realized that if my total ended in .19 and I gave him .25 there was no way I should end up with 90 cents in change in my pocket!

We started the day off with a tour of the River Bend Farm and then did a tour and wine tasting at the winery. I had never been down to the farm area of the estate and it was beautiful. We also got to see some baby animals (and a one month old cow which for some reason I thought was a goat - go figure!)

I'm so glad that Lindsay and I got to not only see this absolutely gorgeous place, but got to spend some time together as well. We're going through a very similar situation right now (very different causes, but both with the same outcome) so it was especially good timing to get to hang out in person. We only live 3 hours apart, but we definitely don't get to see each other as often as I would like so I'm really glad that we got to have such a fun weekend together!

Catching Up...

I'm starting to realize that I'm not very good about keeping this blog up to date. I have things I mean to write in here, and then I forget or get busy with something else and before I know it a week or two have gone by! Last Friday was a really great day. It was the last day our headquarters in Raleigh was open and it was such a great, positive send off for everybody there.

The day started off with a great breakfast (you really can't beat the chicken minis from Chick-fil-A and doughnuts!) and then we broke into teams for a scavenger hunt. The two girls that put the scavenger hunt together did an awesome job. Our office was in a mixed use shopping center so most of the items we needed to collect were from the various stores and restaurants there. It was so detailed - we needed to get things like an item a store was going to throw away (a restaurant gave us a bathroom stall latch that was broken!), find out who was on the cover of some obscure video game, print a wedding registry, find out what the sandwich special was at Harris Teeter, count the number of parking spaces beside JC Penney, take a picture of the entire team on one treadmill at the gym, find the brand of shampoo that was $67.49 (available at a hair salon and yes, this does exist!), and the list just keeps going. We had a blast and my team ended up winning!

All throughout the day there was a silent auction going on for a lot of the fixed assets in the office and I was involved in several written bidding wars. I ended up with three paintings from the office (for a very reasonable price!) and so I'm excited that there will be a piece of our old office at home with me in my new office when I make the switch to working from home full time in January. There were also trivia games to see how much we knew about each other and our company history and fun facts. (One question was what do Melanie and Alli have hanging on their office wall. A huge Carolina Panthers flag of course!) We also got to guess who the employee was in the baby pictures that were brought in and play a few other games before it was time to leave.

I'm really glad that the last day in the office was such a fun one. It was a fitting way for a company that was based on "working to live, not living to work" to close its doors. I will certainly miss all of these incredible people, but I know that the future is bright for each of these talented individuals.

On Sunday Patrick and I went to the Carolina Panthers game. We played the Detroit Lions (who are terrible!) but they gave us a scare early on when they took an early lead. Of course the Panthers came back and defeated them and now the team is 8-2. The hard part of the schedule is coming up and we face our division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, on Sunday so now is the time to really show everybody what Panthers football is all about. For having such a good record so far, nobody really ever pays attention to the Panthers which makes it a fun team to cheer for - you really want to see the underdog succeed!

Earlier tonight Patrick and I went to the hospital to visit a friend of mine who just had a baby. This was an experience unlike any other - I got to hold a tiny, precious, perfect 2 day old infant. I could have watched her sleep all night! I'm really glad that Patrick got to come too, but he was too scared to hold the baby. He said his rule is that if it can't support its own head, he refuses to touch it. He looked genuinely frightened at the idea of holding the baby. She was such a beautiful baby (and I usually don't think babies are all that cute.) Maybe one day he'll change his mind about babies....but until that time I will continue to spoil my pets which they don't seem to mind one bit!

Tomorrow I'm heading to Asheville to spend the weekend with my dear friend Lindsay. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm going to remember my camera (I hope!) so I should have some pictures to post when I get back. Lindsay and I have known each other for years, and became especially close when we were in graduate school, bonding over ex-boyfriend woes and studying all hours of the day and night for the CPA exam. We seem to always go through major life events at the same time (engagements, job changes, death of a pet, the list goes on!) so it's really nice to be able to share these things together. I can't wait to see her tomorrow and for all the fun things we have planned!

So You Think You Can Dance

Last night was a lot of fun! I'm hooked on the show "So You Think You Can Dance" (I guess I wish that I had been that talented back in my dancing days) so when we heard that the tour was making a stop in Charlotte a group of us decided to make it a girl's night out to see them live. They are even better in person than on the show! There were 6 of us total that went (my sisters and myself, and my friends Alli, Tracey, and Rebecca.) They performed most of my favorite dances from the show, and I really enjoyed the hip hop routines best. Why wasn't I blessed with such an amzing gift?!

We went to dinner first and then headed over to Bobcats Arena for the show. Here are a couple pictures from the show:

All in all it was a very fun night. I'm so glad my sisters were able to make the drive to Charlotte because I really miss having them around all the time! It was also good to be able to have a stress free evening because Friday is going to be a pretty hard day. It's the last day our Raleigh headquarters is going to be open to we're all heading to Raleigh for a farewell celebration day. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody but not looking forward to it really being over....

I'll Be Loving Them Forever

So I’m sure that many of you may want to disown me after reading this, but I can live with that because last night was one of the best nights of my life! My sister, Carolyn, came to town so that the two of us could attend the New Kids on the Block concert together. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to put into words how much fun we had or how much this meant to us. We are lifelong (well, from the age of 8) New Kids fans and loved them well beyond their heyday, after they were no longer cool, and followed each of their individual projects in and out of the spotlight for the many years before this reunion. I even went so far as to attend the “Dancing with the Stars” tour two years ago for the sole purpose of meeting Joey McIntyre (which I did!) Five years ago I had “The Right Stuff” as my cell phone ringtone and only changed it after I switched phones and no longer had the option to download that song. So I tell you all of this embarrassing information so that you will have some idea of how much of a dream come true last night was for us.

Carolyn brought our old NKOTB nightshirts with her that my mom had safely packed away for us 20 (yes, 20!) years ago. How she still had them is kind of a mystery, but fortunately we grew enough over the past 20 years that we could now wear them as shirts. At first I was slightly embarrassed, but when we went out to dinner and at the concert itself we got so many comments about our great shirts and one girl begged me to put it on Ebay for her so she could buy it. We saw some other old school shirts there, but most people were wearing the new stuff so we were pretty proud that we were so obviously original fans.

We had a great dinner downtown and then it was off to the show. We totally should have brought our cameras into the show, but our tickets had “NO CAMERAS ALLOWED” printed in bold letters on the face of the ticket so we followed the rules. We evidently could have ignored that rule because EVERYBODY had their camera. I took a few shots with my cell phone but it is not the same. But living in this technology age has its perks…there are clips on You Tube already from the concert in Charlotte I can go and watch the exact performances that I saw over and over again.

Here’s a link to a clip of Hangin’ Tough which they did as their encore (and it is totally worth checking out because they did some really cool stuff during the song): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOoXCYcHgA

I have never been to a show with this much energy before. It really felt like they put something together to be a true treat for their fans. Everybody was on their feet for the entire show (I am not kidding!) and at one point all arms were in the air. It was the coolest feeling to look around the packed Bobcats arena and see everybody totally in the moment and singing together at the top of their lungs.

The show very obviously catered to their female fan base (which they joked are now very legal 25-35 years old since we were so young the first time around!) On the first floor of the arena every bathroom except one was a female bathroom (signs hung over the male restroom signs to turn them all into female bathrooms) due to the ratio of men to women at the show. It really was a girl’s night out! They also joked about how we all left our husbands at home for the night. It was pretty funny! You kind of had to feel bad for the husbands who somehow got dragged there.

I want to share everything that I can remember about the show right now before it fades into memory but today is Halloween and I need to get ready for all the trick or treaters. We get a bunch of kids in our neighborhood which makes it really fun. I’ll try to add more very soon because as silly as it may sound this was truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. My sister and I screamed, danced, and sang along at the top of our lungs, fulfilling our dream to FINALLY see NKOTB live and in concert. As great as this show was, it was totally worth a 20 year wait!

The Right Stuff

So I know I need to update you about the wedding this past weekend, but I have such big plans tonight that any updating is going to have to wait. My sister is on her way to Charlotte as we speak and….wait for it…..we are going to the New Kids on the Block concert together tonight!!!!!!! While this may seem ridiculous to many of you (go ahead and laugh, I can take it!) I was one of their biggest fans 20 years ago and was forbidden from attending their concerts. Why you might ask? I was 9 and 10 years old during all the NKOTB mayhem and evidently my mother thought that there would be teenagers at the concerts smoking cigarettes. Gasp! What my mother may never realize is that I have never even tried a cigarette, not once, in all of my 29 years. I was heartbroken then and vowed to one day meet the man of my dreams, Joey McIntyre. That dream came true two years ago when I actually did meet him and now the fact that they have reunited and added a concert date at the last minute in my hometown is just icing on the cake.

Carolyn is bringing our old nightshirts that my mom still had so that we can wear them tonight. They are evidently small enough to wear as a regular shirt now. We’re going out to eat together downtown before the concert though, so I might have to wear a big jacket so that I don’t completely embarrass myself. I do still have to live here and show my face in public after tonight! (So, no, I will not be crimping my hair, tight rolling my jeans, or digging out the oh so fabulous scrunchies.) We’ll try to take some pictures ahead of time! No cameras are allowed inside of Bobcats arena so we probably won’t have any pics of ourselves at the actual event, but I can’t believe that my birthday wish when I turned 10 is actually coming true. (And for those of you that haven’t heard this before, my cake that year read, “Happy Birthday to a New 10 Year Old Kid on the Block.” I do not lie, my mom has the pictures to prove it!!)

I’ll update you about the actual event soon, but until then you’ll just have to “hang tough!” I can’t wait!

Tag, I’m It!

I have been tagged by my wonderful friend Jennifer to share 6 totally random things about myself so perhaps this will help liven up the blog funk that I have been in.

1. I am an absolute ice cream junkie. I eat ice cream almost every single day. I like most every flavor (although peppermint is my absolute favorite and is only available for a limited time around the holidays!) I love milkshakes, sundaes, floats, malts…pretty much everything. Peanut butter ice cream from Coldstone is the best! I’m also a huge fan of Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. I am slightly worried that one morning I will wake up and this most unhealthy addiction will have manifested itself in uncontrollable weight gain overnight, but until that happens I will continue on with this addiction!

2. My dream job (you are going to love this one, Jen!) is to be a wedding planner/event coordinator. Since my background is in accounting that probably sounds a little funny, but I am extremely organized and love all the details that go into pulling an event together. My husband has actually forbidden me from throwing any wedding/baby showers for awhile since I went through a stretch where I was hosting a ton of parties. The schedule would work out well with Patrick’s schedule too since he is really busy on the weekends already. If only I knew how to actually make this come true…

3. I am terrified of flying. Terrified. I have to review my Fear of Flying materials and do simulation flights on the computer before any trip. I hate the feeling of flying. I’m not so much scared about crashing (I know all the statistics about it being safer than driving a car, etc. etc.) as I am about the actual sensation of flying. I hate all the sounds, the movements, the way I feel like I’m going to yack (and incidentally, the passengers beside me who inevitably get airsick and have to use their barf bags while sitting right beside me…eww!) There is not one thing I enjoy about getting on a plane. (Although I can hide my fear fairly well nowadays, I was silently crying when I got on a plane to Chicago about 5 years ago since that was my first flight in about 20 years. I think the guy that sat down beside me was an air marshal since he commented that he knew I was crying – before he saw me – which was odd, he was about my age, he told me he flew in the military so he talked me through the take off and landing, and he had a book bag he kept in his lap throughout the flight…There were a lot of clues that my co-worker put together after that flight. Holy crap, the airlines thought I was going to lose it mid-flight!)

4. I am an absolute bookworm. I have been my entire life. I tear into books when I get them (Patrick call me a ferocious reader!) and usually finish them very quickly. I can’t read just a couple of pages and put a book down. When I find an author I like I usually end up reading everything that I can get my hands on by that author. I love to read!

5. While I am a complete neat freak, the inside of my drawers are surprisingly unorganized and cluttered. For some reason I cannot motivate myself to organize the drawers in my kitchen or the clothes drawers in my dresser. In fact, there are drawers in my coffee table that are a wreck too. I have organized closets so I’m not sure where this one comes from, but I have never been able to keep drawers clean and organized. So anytime any of you come to visit, be forewarned before you open any drawer in the house!

6. I love shows on MTV and VH1. This is totally embarrassing! I know I am way too old to care about most of these shows, but I can get sucked into spending an afternoon catching up on The Hills, Rock of Love, America’s Next Top Model…nothing that I would proudly claim as a television show I watch.

So now you know a couple of embarrassing things about me (I watch television shows designed for a high school audience and I’m afraid to fly), a couple things I love (ice cream and good books) and some that don’t fit with the rest of my personality (like wanting to plan events and having messy drawers.) There are 6 totally random things about me…enjoy!

Boring Update

So what I’m discovering through trying to keep up this blog is that I am not really all that interesting. My days are very routine, and there’s not usually much to report. I’m not complaining because I have a very happy, contented life, but I think to the outside looking in I must be a very boring person!

This past weekend Patrick and I watched the Panthers roll over the Saints (a division game no less!) so now the Panthers are up to 5-2. I am hopeful that they can beat Arizona this week so that we’ll only be averaging 1 loss per quarter of the season. (Can you see my accounting background shining through?!)

We’re heading up to the mountains of Blowing Rock, NC on Friday for the wedding of one of Patrick’s good friends. He’s in the wedding and the weekend will start off with a day of golf for the guys on Friday. Patrick is very worried about me being left alone all day (before you start thinking it’s because he’s so thoughtful, I think it has more to do with he’s afraid I’ll be bored which usually leads to irritable and make it a long night for him!) but what I think he’s failing to realize is that I lived in Boone for 5 ½ years when I was attending Appalachian (I stayed up there for my Master’s as well, hence the 5 ½ years!) and so being up there is like being home for me. I’m going to try to walk around campus, grab lunch at my favorite spot, visit all the little stores on King Street and the main street in Blowing Rock – it will be fun!
I’m still dragging from my mystery sickness – I have a mild sore throat and I am absolutely exhausted all the time. I’ve been taking cat naps like it’s my job lately. I hope that since I got hit early that I’ll miss out on all the real fun during flu season. Here’s hoping anyway!

Sick!

So I was totally just kidding in my last post about having a little cold. Evidently I am one of the lucky chosen few who got to have a mini preview of flu season and all the fun that goes along with it (fever, aches and pains, headache, etc.) I did not move all weekend long. In fact, I did not leave the house from the moment I crawled home from work on Friday until I left for work this morning. My fever broke late yesterday afternoon and I started feeling better once that happened, but I’m not fully recovered yet. Yuck – I hope this is not a sign of things to come!

On another yucky note, evidently the Panthers lost pretty badly yesterday and are now 4-2. I only briefly saw the game in between naps (I literally slept away the weekend!) and from the looks of things I was not missing much. I hope they are back on track next week!

My mission this week (once I am feeling energized enough one evening to undertake such a task that is) is to find a dress to wear to a wedding Patrick is in that is only two weeks away. Yikes there’s nothing like waiting until the last minute! I’m fortunate that a friend loaned me a dress to wear to either the rehearsal dinner/wedding but I still have to find something for the second event. Unfortunately everything in my closet is for spring/summer weddings and this one is up in the mountains so it is going to be COLD! I was supposed to go dress hunting with my friend Rebecca this past weekend but those plans were cancelled by my random sickness. (Random simply because I do not know a single person who has been sick like this!) Cross your fingers that the stars align and I find something that will work!

The Yucks

So I think that cold season is officially in full swing for me. Yesterday I was feeling especially crabby (just ask my poor husband!) and this morning I understood...not only was I doubled over in pain from some especially awful cramps (I love being a girl!) but I have a sore throat, headache, and overall blah feeling. My husband really is the best though. I was curled up on the couch this evening and when he could tell that I was not feeling too great he made a run to the grocery store to pick up some Hall's for my throat. For those of you that know Patrick, you know that he does not like to leave the house past 8:00 at night because that interferes with his extraordinarily early bedtime (okay, I'm exaggerating a little!) but for him to go to the store without being asked was a big deal. I'm fine, just dealing with "the yucks" which aren't enough to keep me home in bed but enough to slow me down in trying to accomplish all the tasks I need to complete this weekend! When I think about all that so many of my friends are dealing with right now though, I really am lucky that this is all I'm worrying about right now.

Tennis Anyone?!

This past Saturday I volunteered at a tennis tournament with my friend Alli and her husband Steve. Our assignment was to usher in the VIP section, which primarily consisted of standing up in between sets when the gates were open to escort the VIPs to their boxes, and sitting down during the action. I got to seat a few people, but overall there wasn’t too much activity in my section. All the media that were covering the event were in my area, so it was neat watching the TV coverage on the news since they had the same vantage point I did during the tournament.

The first match we got to watch was between Thomas Enqvist and Karel Novacek. The second was a doubles exhibition between Jimmy Arias and Chandra Rubin v. Tim Wilkinson and Anna Kournikova. This was a really entertaining match with the players joking around a lot during the sets. At one point Jimmy joked that he had never lost a volley to a girl and he and Anna went back and forth before she finally won the point. He jokingly pulled his shirt over his head in defeat!

The funniest part of the day came after Tim Wilkinson had finished his match with Anna Kournikova and he wanted to come see his family for a few minutes. The Show Pro who was working the entrance by my section wouldn’t let him in without seeing a pass first. His family was right behind me and they all started sending their passes over to him and then she wanted to see his ticket too since they were all willing to give him their passes. (His family did find his credentials with his name pre-printed on them, but I’m not sure that she noticed that part!) I was laughing and he was super nice about it (and he totally could have pulled a “don’t you know who I am?” but refrained.) She didn’t figure it out until one of the tournament officials came over to check on his family and they laughed about how she wouldn’t let him into the stands. It was nice to see everybody getting a good laugh out of it.

The last match was between Todd Martin and Wayne Ferreira and it took FOREVER! They were really evenly matched so the first set went over and then the second one went into a tie-break as well. I don’t really follow tennis so a lot of this was way over my head, but all in all it was a neat experience that made for a very entertaining Saturday.

Super fun – Patrick and I had tickets to attend the Panthers game on Sunday! Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I don’t have any pictures to share but we had so much fun. Patrick had the whole day off (a rarity in his line of work!) so we were able to spend the whole day together! Right before we left for the game Caddy pounced my Panthers sweatshirt, which we took as a good omen for the outcome of the game. The Panthers went on to crush the Falcons 24-9 and did not allow them to score a single touchdown. 3-1 is not a bad way to start the season!

The Little Panther

Before I post this story, I want to assure you that no, I am not in the practice of dressing up my pets. However, I have a teddy bear that is outfitted in a full Panthers uniform and when I saw my little Holly playing with the jersey I could not resist making her wear it for this super cute photo op!

Unfortunately the Panthers lost to the Vikings this week (which may have been my punishment for humiliating Holly like this!) I think we’re going to the game this week so cross your fingers that the Panthers return to form and crush the Falcons on Sunday!

The Christmas Decoration Quiz

In response to the Christmas decorations that are ALREADY up in stores (can you believe it?!) my friend Jennifer found this quiz and posted it on her site. I love stuff like this so I thought I would try it too. Let me know if you want to put it on your site too and we can compare notes!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I generally use wrapping paper but there will usually be a few gift bags under the tree as well

2. Real tree or artificial? I prefer real trees but we have a pretty nice artificial tree that we’ve been using for the past several years and so far it’s holding up pretty well

3. When do you put up your tree? Right after Thanksgiving…I think this is response to when I was growing up my family waiting until the week or so before Christmas to put up the tree. We never really had a tree up for very long so now I want lots of time to be able to enjoy it!

4. When do you take the tree down? Around New Year’s

5. Do you like eggnog? No way!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Easy – the Barbie dream house! I remember seeing that Santa had set it out in our living room and running over to it in shock that I actually owned my very own dream house!!

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Not yet…I finally found one last year that I love (and is not tacky!) but it is a little expensive so unfortunately it is still at the store. I’m still in search of a non-tacky, non-expensive Nativity scene.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Probably my brother-in-law Brian. His interests are completely different from my husband’s and I really try to be creative and find things other than sweaters for him but he is definitely the hardest one on my list!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Myself?! Just kidding – my mom is pretty easy and Patrick actually isn’t too hard either

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm…I know there have been tons of clothes that have had to be exchanged or returned but nothing that stands out as the “worst”

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Old fashioned cards in the mail (although I haven’t been sending nearly as many in recent years as I used to)

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime in mid-October…I usually try to be done by the first week in December so that I can relax and enjoy the Christmas season

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can recall, but I know I’ve thought about it before!

15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Peppermint ice cream (why oh why is this not available year round?!) I also love homemade Christmas cookies

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells and O Holy Night (and the Little Drummer Boy will always remind me of my Baba – my mom’s mother)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel…although both of our families are within 3 hours of our home we usually spend some quality time in the car on Christmas Day to get to everybody. I would love to not have to be in the car on Christmas Day at least one year (but it’s worth it to get to see our families!)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Let’s see…Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, and Rudolph; is that everybody?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I prefer an angel but we don’t have either for our tree (I’m still looking for something non-tacky and refuse to purchase anything until I find what I’m looking for!)

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Neither - I grew up opening them on Christmas afternoon after Mass (which I know sounds really weird to most people but I love this tradition and want to keep it going when I have children!) You get to open your present from Santa in the morning, get ready for and go to church, come home and have lunch, and then open all the other presents. It’s a great way to make it last all day!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The parking lot at the mall…fortunately I frequent our local mall and so I know of a couple good parking places that are usually empty during this time of year

23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? We don’t really have any traditions I consider “corny.” (We really don’t have too many traditions now that I think about it!) My family always has a candlelit Christmas Eve dinner which I really love.

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? The blow up lawn decorations that so many people in my neighborhood seem to think look cool – they are extremely tacky and are not in any way shape or form cool. My advice is to save your money (those things aren’t cheap!) and use it for something worthwhile…like a charity!

25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? Themed trees are beautiful, but our tree is a “homey” tree full of ornaments that my mom bought me each year growing up and ones that Patrick and I have collected together that have special meaning to us

26. What does Christmas mean to you? First and foremost Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus! The Christmas season is a time to spend with loved ones and celebrate all of the blessings in our lives. Christmas has also come to mean some serious time spent in the car (see above!)

The (Not So) Brave Little Kitten

My Caddy had her follow up vet appointment yesterday and my heart broke as I watched her quiver in fear. She’s our youngest cat (she turned 1 at the end of April) and watching her reminded me of what a long road she has already traveled…

A little over a year ago (July 4th to be exact) my husband called me from the golf course where he works and told me about this terrified little kitten that was trapped in the cart barn. Patrick was able to go out and dispel the crowd that had surrounded the kitten and wrap the kitten in a blanket that he placed in a cardboard box. He said that the kitten was hissing and spitting the whole time, but it was so small he could not just leave it on its own. A girl he worked with was going to take the kitten to her vet’s office so that it could be adopted but she called Patrick later that night and informed him that the vet wouldn’t take the kitten and that she couldn’t keep it. This is one of the many reasons I love my husband – without thinking about how this would put a burden on us he instead focused on how that tiny kitten was so starved for love and a good home that we agreed to take it. (Even though we had already rescued two cats and were not looking for another, something told me that we were meant to embark on this journey.) That same night Patrick brought a large cardboard box into our office at home and I peeked in and saw this tiny little face staring back up at me. Before Patrick could stop me (I had no idea that we were dealing with a wild cat!) I shook a little feather toy above the kitten’s head. I was promptly greeted with a loud HISS! Startled, I jumped back and wasn’t sure what to make of our new arrival. We put food and a litter box out and began the extremely long process of rehabilitating our Caddy. (Appropriately named considering the place of her introduction into our lives!)

For months (yes, months) she hid under the desk in the office and we could only see her with the aid of a flashlight while we crawled on the floor. Sometimes her little paws would fly out at us and she would try to scratch so I was left wearing gloves to protect my hands from her claws. Patrick’s hands were full of scars during those early days. We did a lot of research on feral cats and were hopeful that she could be domesticated since she was so young when we found her (about 2 - 3 months or so.) We would put food on a spoon and slide it under the desk so that she would learn to associate her food with us. I would sit in a corner and read aloud to her at night so that she could get used to hearing the sound of our voices. The only times we saw more than her paws were when we put her dinner out at night. We would leave the light on in the room and then go stand outside in the yard so we could watch her emerge from the safety of her desk. (She would fly under that thing if she even remotely thought that we were approaching her room.) Our neighbors must have thought that we had lost our minds during those early days!

As the months went by she eventually starting staying out in the room when we would come in to feed her, but if we got too close she would again dive for cover under the desk. Then one Sunday afternoon, a breakthrough occurred. I had been praying for some sign for months that we were doing the right thing by keeping her indoors and trying to domesticate her and for strength to continue to love this most “unlovable” of God’s creatures. I read the newspaper to her, and feeling kind of tired I decided to lay down for a minute. I dozed off and awoke to the feeling of little Caddy nuzzling up to my side and taking a nap herself. I dared not move for almost 2 hours that afternoon. It was a miracle! Her progress came in leaps and bounds from that moment on. It took a long time for her to feel brave enough to leave the safety of her office and explore the rest of the house, but eventually she made herself at home. It took forever for her to let us pet her, but now her nickname is “Caddy Cuddles” because she nuzzles and hugs and follows us around all the time. We thought she was not able to purr because she had gone so long in her life without purring, and then one day it started and she has been rumbling like a freight train ever since.

The very first time we took her to the vet in those early days was such a traumatic experience for her. The vet said that she could not treat Caddy (even with her large gloves on) since she was so wild and she would have to put her under anesthesia to give her the shots she needed. We combined her shots with the necessary surgeries she required as well and brought her home where she has settled into life as a regular house cat quite nicely. Yesterday was her one year appointment and even though she’s been completely domesticated for almost a year now, we were unsure of how her appointment would go.

I left work at lunchtime to go meet Patrick at the vet’s office (it’s very close to my office!) and saw my (not so) brave little Caddy shaking like a leaf. She was terrified but this time the vet was able to give her both of the shots she needed without needing gloves or anesthesia. I was so proud but so heartbroken that she was so scared. She was hiding under the bed last night but this morning I can see signs that she’s feeling better and has forgiven us for the whole ordeal. She has really been such a blessing in our lives and even though her first few months were full of challenges and there were times were I thought it was a useless effort, we have been reward ten times over with one of the sweetest, most affectionate cats ever. She still hides when strangers come to the house and I don’t know if she will ever be a truly brave cat, but she has become part of our crazy family and I am forever grateful for her!

Friends & Football

This was a great weekend! On Friday Patrick and I had our regular date night after our workout at the gym and then on Saturday morning my friend Jennifer and I went for our long run of the week. I love this new tradition - it's great to actually be outside running and spending time with a friend. This was only our second Saturday morning run, but we went even further this week than we did last time, and I'm crossing my fingers that will continue with each coming week. I've been pretty consistent with my running over the past year and there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after a long run!

Since Patrick was busy with a golf tournament for the rest of the weekend my dear friend Meredith came to visit. I love our girly weekends because we put on pajamas and watch a bunch of movies while we catch up. While this might sound totally boring to most people (my husband included!) we love it! Meredith and I have been friends since our days in the sorority and she is one of the people that I know will always be there no matter what. I love that even though we don't live in the same city we make a point to get together regularly to catch up. Fortunately we only live about an hour and a half apart so she's not nearly as far away as some of my other friends.

On Sunday afternoon I settled in for an afternoon of football. Once again the Panthers were on the prowl, this time taking on the Chicago Bears. I love rooting for the Panthers because it's kind of like rooting for the underdog. So far this season they've played with passion and even though they were down for most of the game, in the fourth quarter they took control and won another exciting game. I can't believe they're 2-0...what an awesome start to the season!

Patrick is playing in his softball league playoffs this evening and I'm trying to get myself ready to face another week. This was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to the next one...is it Friday yet?!

Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Hooray - it's finally NFL season again! Patrick and I are both huge Carolina Panthers fans and so we have been looking forward to this day for quite some time. We were lucky to get to attend one of the pre-season games already this season, and hopefully we'll get the opportunity to attend some regular season games as well. Our beloved Panthers were slated to be a 9 point underdog in today's game and were without superstar Steve Smith so the outlook was grim initially. But...you should never underestimate the Cardiac Cats! The Panthers were in control and did not disappoint their fans. It was awesome to finally have Jake back - I love the passion and enthusiasm with which he plays the game. You never have to doubt that his heart is in it! In the last 2 minutes of the game we were down and Jake led the team down the field to an impressive last second (literally, last second!) touchdown and victory. I'm so glad it's football season again!



Oh, and for Halloween at work last year we all dressed up so I came in wearing my Ken Lucas (our best player in my opinion!) jersey so I could be a football player. I'm not too sure the guys actually wear matching hair ribbons though! Go Panthers!!

A Day At the Zoo

What an absolutely perfect day! We slept in a little bit today which was definitely needed after all of yesterday’s excitement and then we got ready to head to Pittsburgh to visit the zoo. Before we left Morgan and I were playing in the front yard where she showed me her collection of rocks. It is truly amazing to watch the mind of a two year old at work! She picked up 5 of her favorite rocks to bring with her in the car and we were off!

I should probably mention that yesterday I was entertaining Morgan with the pictures I had stored in my brand new digital camera. (Yes, I FINALLY upgraded from film!) There was a 20 second “movie” of our cats climbing around and Morgan LOVED it. She greeted me this morning with “See Kitty!” I played the little video clip for her a bunch of times and finally had to tell her that the kitties were sleeping so that the other adults could have a break from the kitty movie. The zoo began with a trip on the carousel for Jennifer and Morgan - we were all entertained just watching them!

Now for the past several days Patrick (my husband Patrick, boy it can get confusing with two Patricks) has been talking about wanting to take Morgan to see the elephants at the zoo. We had no idea what her favorite animals would be, but Patrick was convinced that she would love the elephants. When we finally made it over to the elephants we were not disappointed…there was tiny baby elephant walking around with its mama elephant. It was so cute!


The highlight from the zoo came from the leopard exhibit. We finally spotted the leopard lounging way above us in a tree. When Morgan finally caught sight of him she exclaimed, “Kitty, get down!” She proceeded to use all of her might to persuade this giant leopard to jump down which after a few minutes of coaxing from Morgan he actually did. We all laughed so hard at this tiny little girl demanding that this big “kitty” come down!

As we were leaving the zoo we took Morgan into the gift shop and before we even entered the store we showed her a stuffed elephant that she promptly tucked under her arm where he stayed until Aunt Melanie decided that we could not leave without her new friend. Patrick was right on the money about the elephants! Jennifer and I were trying to help her think of names for her new friend but she already had one picked out…Rocky! (See paragraph above about her current love of rocks!)



We spent the rest of the evening eating pizza (so good!) and relaxing. It has been an awesome weekend and I don’t want to leave tomorrow. I wish that Jennifer lived much closer because I miss her so much!

Let's Go Mountaineers!

Yesterday we made the trip up to Mount Morris, PA/Morgantown, WV to spend Labor Day weekend with my friend Jennifer, her husband Patrick, and their daughter Morgan. Jennifer is my oldest friend (we met 20 years ago in ballet class!) and I just so happen to be the godmother of her adorable little girl.

The day started very early for Patrick (Jennifer’s husband Patrick, mine was still sound asleep) and he met up with a few others from the early crowd to set up our tailgate at 7:00 am. The rest of us made it over to the tent around 10:30 which was much easier for me to handle! There were WVU flags flying from the tent and everywhere I looked I saw a sea of blue and gold Mountaineer shirts. (Patrick and I were properly attired as well!) Jennifer and Patrick tailgate regularly with 3 other families (and various other visitors like ourselves!) and they have it down to a science. Food was plentiful (with NC style barbeque to make us feel right at home), there were lots of snacks, drinks and seating, and all the kids had a great time running, playing, and painting “WVU” on their arms, legs, and faces. There was even a satellite radio so I could keep up with my App State Mountaineers (who were soundly defeated by LSU…shocking, I know!)

What Patrick and I immediately noticed was the passion with which everybody here spoke about Mountaineer football. It was impressive and once we arrived at the stadium we understood…it was amazing!

It was awesome to go to a sold out game in a huge stadium with fans on their feet throughout the game. At half time we got to switch seats and go sit with Patrick, Jennifer, and Morgan for the second half. Although my little App State Mountaineers have won the national championship 3 times and won some impressive victories (Michigan anyone?!) our home stadium is sadly very small and not equipped to handle the number of fans that want to attend the games. This was truly an experience!

After the game we headed back to the Tenney house to eat and get some rest for our trip to the zoo tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Welcome to my blog!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been kind of behind technologically speaking. (I'm not interested in MySpace or Facebook, and we haven't had a digital camera…well, scratch digital camera off that list because we broke down and bought one last week in anticipation of our trip to WV to visit friends!) So the idea of blogging is a little new to me and I’m not quite sure how to make it pretty yet. But, with my family and friends scattered all around and me reading their blogs to keep up on everything, I thought I would return the favor and see how this goes. I will warn you that I’m not sure how all this works yet but hopefully I’ll get the hang of it soon! In the mean time, welcome to my blog (appropriately named in honor of one of my favorite songs which also doubles as my cell phone ring tone!)