Bad blogger....

Yeah, it’s been a while…again…


But I’ve been busy…kind of. Busy stalking my baby registry. Busy reading baby name books. Busy laying on the couch watching my belly jump around. That kind of busy…

 

In all honesty, I think about posting quite a bit but then think I should probably post with a picture since it’s been about 10 weeks since I’ve done that. Then I think that the effort it would take to get my camera, make myself look presentable, take picture, download picture, post picture, write, etc. is just too much. So I don’t. And instead I read my baby bible (What to Expect When You’re Expecting) and peruse my birth month board on my new favorite website.

 

Yes, I have baby on the brain. How could I not? I can’t even see my toes anymore and don’t go more than 10 minutes without a jab in the ribs/pubic bone. So how about an update on that and what I think is fun/crazy about this whole experience thus far. No? Oh well…deal…maybe I’ll snap out of this being a mommy blog sometime in the near future (though that’s doubtful, so if you’re bored and you don’t want to read anymore I understand).

 

1. I have officially entered the third trimester! What a crazy thought that I’m 66.6666667% done with my pregnancy and that much closer to meeting my little man. I can pass hours daydreaming about what he’ll look like and what songs I could sing to him and what his little personality will be like. I’m not sure that the reality that in about 10 weeks (hopefully) I’ll have a newborn baby in the house that will be in said house with hubby and I for many many years to come has totally set in, but I am more than ready to start that journey
2. I never thought it was possible for a fetus to have a personality, but I swear he does!! He gets all kicky when I sing you are my sunshine to him and will kick up a storm when I dance around the kitchen to country music, but goes absolutely still if I’m boggy-ing to pop music.
3. I love having a belly. First, I don’t have to hold my stomach in ever…which is lovely. Plus, its just so touchable…and I don’t mind who touches it. Normally I am a pretty closed person when it comes to physical contact. I don’t mind it, but I’m not the type of person who touches other people routinely. Know what I mean? I really thought that when I was pregnant I’d HATE people touching my belly. But I don’t. At all. Actually, I kind of like it.
4. I am becoming increasingly less graceful and nimble. The other day I went to jump up on the counter and couldn’t bend my body enough to get my butt up there. Weird! But I can still do handstands. And yes I do try fairly regularly….
5.  probably only have about 9 weeks of working before I’ll have 12 weeks of leave! Which is good because work is crazy and stressful lately.
6. I went to a pet psychic….which is a story for another day…but was a totally cool experience.
7. Hubby got a new job recently and LOVES it. He was miserable at his other job and now that he has a new job I feel like I’ve gotten my husband back. Love it!

I think that’s it for now. That post on the pet psychic will be along soon (maybe along with a pic of me…but no promises on that one).

 

A day late....

So the people over at SITS are having a Back2Blogging event.  I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but I missed the boat on that one.  I figure better late than never...

The prompt was to revisit the first post that you ever wrote in an attempt to get back into the swing of blogging and to remind yourself why you started blogging in the first place.  The link to my first post can be found here.

I was struck by a few things as I read this.  First, how much I love my husband.  It's so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day monotony of life and re-reading my proposal story gave me goosebumps all over again.  Second, holy crap has my life changed.  Since I started this blog I have been in 2 different homes, 2 different jobs, had 2 different pets, got married, bought a house, and am having a baby.  Phew!  There are so many little moments that I have blogged about over the course of this blog that I would have probably forgotten about.  It's fun to take a trip down memory lane from time to time and see where life has taken you.  I guess that's why I blog....

I Was Mortified

In response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

3.) Why were you mortified? Write about a true embarrassing moment as though it was happening in slow motion.


It all started on a beautiful early August morning. It was the August before my freshman year of high school and I had decided to join the swim team. As anyone who has participated in high school athletics knows, this involved a lovely little something called “captain’s practice”. No biggie really…just a chance for your captains to get you up early before school actually started and torture you get you into shape. Like I said, no biggie. What a great chance for an incoming freshman to get to meet some people at her new school.

It was about the second week of captain’s practices and I was feeling good. I was in shape and holding my own with some of the older girls. This one particular morning we had ventured out to the track to do an ab workout on these old wooden bleachers (nothing like the sleek new metal ones…these ones even came complete with rusty bolts). The exercise involved laying on your stomach with your hip bones at the edge of a bleacher so that you could hang your upper body over the edge and get an ab workout by lifting it up (hopefully that made sense). Clearly, this requires a partner to sit on your legs so that you don’t go toppling over the edge of the bleachers (see where this is going).

Fast forward to the final rep of the exercise. The sun is beating down on my back and I’ve worked up a good sweat…not enough to look yucky, just enough to look like a toughie. I’m grimacing my way up and glance out of the corner of my eye to see one of our male sports teams practicing near by. I think “hmm….boys….must…look….cool”. Just as this though crosses my mind I feel my partner’s weight lift from my legs as my upper body starts to lower. Unprepared for this sudden loss of weight on my lower body and unable to correct myself, I feel myself begin to fall off of the bleachers (a good 6 ft drop at least) and the only thing I can think is…don’t look now boys PLEASE don’t look now. As this thought is running through my head I hear a horrific noise.

RRRIIIPPPPPP

I land in a heap on the ground and look down to realize that my shorts had caught on a nail on the way down and ripped cleanly in two. As I sat on the ground, practically in my underwear, with dirt sticking to my sweaty body I could only think….what a way to start high school….

Side note: I was completely unharmed (physically at least) by this incident and as it turns out my high school social life didn’t really suffer so no harm no foul.

Dear Mom

Once again, it's Thursday which means that it's time for MamaKat's Writer's Workshop (which is about the only day of the week lately that I can put together something that is slightly creative...I blame the baby).  The prompt is...
1.) Dear Mommy and/or Daddy…(write a letter to yourself from one of your children)

Oh Mother Dearest~

Just a few thoughts that I had in utero that I think you could do to help make me a more relaxed child.  Because quite frankly a few things that you do stress me out...a lot.  Please refer to the list below and refrain from these actions.  Thanks in advance.

1.  Your singing is really really bad.  Please refrain from belting out songs in the car as loud as you can.  You're not alone anymore and my hearing is being permenantly damaged.  If this is too difficult, at least refrain from singing "I want to be a millionaire".  That song is just bad and I already don't like Oprah.

2.  I don't like caffeine so please stop drinking it.  I realize that it's fun to feel me move around a lot after you have a soda, but it makes me feel like a nutso.  Time to start putting me first.

3.  I realize that you were a gymnast not too long ago, but doing handstands against the couch just so you can see if your center of balance really is changing is making me nauseous.

4.  Please stop poking me.  Everytime I'm near the front of your belly you begin poking me either in the butt or in my head.  This must be enjoyable to you, but really, it's just annoying to me.

5.  Chose my name already and get over it!  Or at the very least, if you have a name in mind don't "try it out" by yelling the first and middle name as if I was in trouble.  You're setting me up for failure.

Again, please refrain from the above actions or you just may end up with a neurotic first born.  Thanks Mom!

Love,
Baby Radz

Boring Friday

It's Friday at 4:00 and I have officially hit the wall here at work.  To the point that I'm going to blog about something just so I'm not staring at this screen anymore.  Things have been just trucking along in the Radz household lately...bit ho hum.  We got work, we eat dinner, we squeeze whatever projects need to be squeezed into the remaining time and then we crash into bed.  How we're going to find time for all of this plus a baby I haven't quite figured out yet....but I'm sure we will.

We have a full weekend coming up too.  I scheduled a pregnancy massage for myself tomorrow morning and can't wait!  I'm not too sure how it works, but I'm sure it'll be heavenly.  I'm following that up with a trip to Babies R Us to start my registry and then headed down to the campground for Trivia night.  I'm kind of a trivia junkie.  I love it!  And (if I do say so myself) hubby and I are pretty good at it.  His bank of useless knowledge covers just about everything that mine doesn't so we make a good team.  After that busy Saturday, I'm headed up to Mass to spend time with some old co-workers who I haven't seen in entirely too long.

I realize that I'm kind of going off on a tangent here, but that's what boring blog posts are for, right?  I was just thinking that trivia is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Among many others.  Here's a few I can think of off the top of my head.
1.  Pringles....I love them and they're horrible for you.  I know this, but oh well.
2.  Cheesy teenager TV shows (like MTV's Teen Mom).  I could watch them for hours.
3.  Standing in the shower under the scalding water for 5 extra minutes even though I know this is not environmentally sound.
4.  Eating breakfast for dinner.
5.  Being home alone with nothing to do but curl up with a good book (that's not really a guilty one except that I often prefer that to spending time with people....hello introvert?)
6.  Cutting coupons...that I'll never use.  Must be something about the cutting that is therapeutic.
7.  Lately, allowing people to pick things up for me just because I have a big belly :)

What about you?  Any good guilty pleasures....

Electric Lint Removers

I'm actually on time this week and figured I'd post a response to MamaKat's Writer's Workshop.  If you have some time, check it out.  It's fun.  Anyways, here's the prompt....

4.) The craziest reason I ever got in trouble as a child.

Now I don't know that I ever actually got into trouble for this, or that my little sister even remembers this happening, but it's worth sharing.  I am the oldest of three children.  My sister is 4 years younger than me and my brother is a year younger than her.  Growing up, that usually meant I always had someone who went along with whatever I did thinking it was cool.  Now, I wasn't a mean child by any means but I was a curious little kid.  I asked a lot of questions and tried out a lot of things (maybe why I went into science).  Anyways...

It was just after dinner one night and mom was cleaning up the kitchen and dad was helping out and me and the sibs were just lounging around.  I happened to pick up one of those electric lint removers.  You know, they look something like this...

I was curious if it would take off your tastebuds if you held it against your tongue.  It took lint off of clothes after all, and lint looks kind of like tastebuds, right?  I figured that might be a bit painful so I convinced my little sister (who was probably about 3) that she should try it out.  And she did.  And it worked.  Well.

Sorry Kierst.....

Anniversary, pool, and baby's gender!

I've had quite an eventful few weeks and since I haven't posted in a while this might be a bit long.  Have no fear...I'll toss in some photos to make it more amusing.

First, hubby and I celebrated our 1st anniversary on July 11th.  We didn't do anything super crazy, just a nice quiet dinner out just the two of us at a new restaurant.  We went to a place called The Russell in Hartford that is a caribbean-ish themed place. The food was delicious and they even had fried yucca...possibly my favorite thing in the world.  Plus, hubby got me a video camera :) so that means there will prob be some video posts in the near future.  Here's our anniversary in one photo...including the cake (which by the way...TERRIBLE idea to eat it a year later.)

We also finally got our pool up and running.  It needed a new liner and since we're cheap we didn't want to pay to have someone do it.  We got my family and some family friends together to lend a hand and we now have a lovely pool to enjoy.  Better late than never.  Here's the boys hard at work....(I was supervising, I swear).

And last (but certainly not least) we have officially found out what whether we're having a boy or a girl this December.  We had a bit of a rough go of things the past few weeks (I'll post about it one of these days), but thankfully everything is going well and the baby's doing great.  Here's a picture of me at 19 weeks pregnant and I'm finally starting to really look pregnant.

Annnndd......we're having a little.......

BOY!  So excited.  And I'm sure he loves that I just posted his boy parts for all of you to see.  Here's a face shot just for good measure.  Isn't he cute?

Think that's it.  Look forward to another interesting blog entry later this week as a late response to MamaKat's Writers Workshop.

My first date....in a car....

So I'm a day late one this one, but Mama Kat had a prompt that was just too good to pass up.  Despite the fact it was supposed to be posted YESTERDAY, I figured better later than never.  Plus, this is a pretty good story.  Just try to picture it was you read....guaranteed you'll at least giggle.

The prompt was to write about your first date with a boy in a car.  I figured this meant that first date where our parents didn't have to drive us around and though I'm not sure this was really my first it was my most memorable.  Plus it was my first real date...every other time had been with a "boyfriend" not with a guy that was just interested in becoming that...oh high school.

So it was a Thursday after 6th period English and John (name changed to protect the innocent) chose to walk me to my next class, Spanish.  Along the way he asked me if I wanted to go to the movies with him the next night, Friday.  I'm sure I awkwardly accepted as I certainly wasn't as smooth as I am today and went home to share the happy news with my mom.  The next day at school was spent thinking about outfits and what I would talk about and all that other fun pre-date jittery stuff.  My mother and I spent hours after school finding the perfect outfit to highlight the washboard abs I had then (again...oh high school).  And then he pulled in the driveway and even came to get me at the door.  He walked me to the car, opened my door for me, and walked around to his.  I was in heaven!

Now I've left out one detail to this point because it really wasn't important at the time, but John was deaf.  He had cochlear implants that helped him to hear, but if there was background noise he had difficulty hearing and would read lips instead.  Well....cars are apparently lots of background noise.  We started driving to the movies and the conversation started to flow.  Until he asked me a questions.  And I answered.  And instead of watching the road, he was watching my lips.  Yikes!  I saw my life flash before my eyes and it was everything I could do not to grab the steering wheel.  So I did what any sensible person would do and stopped talking so he'd watch the road.  But apparently on a date, not talking is not good.  Needless to say, the date went downhill from there and that was it for me and John...too bad...he was cute...

Pictures...as Promised

I promised some pictures last time around so here goes nothing.  This is the first ultrasound picture we got when I was about 7 weeks along...Looks like a little worm to me.

Now normally I would never show you a bare picture of my stomach (which has ALWAYS been my problem area when it comes to wait) but considering that its like a million times smaller than its is now, here's me at 11 weeks pregnant with no real bump...though if you ask me there's one there :)

Here's another ultrasound...this one was from 12 weeks along.  They couldn't find a hearbeat (everything was fine) so I got to get an extra peek at my little one.  I'll take it....

Looks a little more like a baby here :)  And finally....the most recent picture I took of myself at 15 weeks.  Finally starting to show a little bit and loving every minute of it.  What a relief it is to not have to hold in my stomach anymore!  Not that I could if I wanted to....

Looking at that less than a week later Im' thinking I should take another one....I've grown again....

My hiatus....

Soooo.....

To my 8 followers who are still hanging around (or who were just too lazy to delete me) thanks...and sorry for the hiatus.  I tend to slack off from the bloggy world when my life gets ho-hum.  Which it has been.  Since February when I last posted I've done...not much.  I did take a wonderful second honeymoon to Cancun with the hubby.  The weather was gorgeous and we got in some fantastic snorkeling and some relaxing beach days.  Otherwise, I've been trudging along with work much like the rest of us and trying to keep up with my social life (fairly successful at that).

As my usual blogging history shows, I can only be blogging again for one reason.  Something exciting is happening in my life.  Yeah!  So what could it be?  I already did the marriage thing.  Buying a house?  Been there done that (but do you see the progression).  So the next exciting venture in my life would be....a baby.  Yep, hubby and I found out a few months ago that we're expecting!  I have been waiting to post on here just in case important people hadn't heard yet, but I think most have.

We found out a few weeks before mother's day.  I'm still not sure what made me take the test.  We weren't really actively trying (long story...for another day maybe) and I wasn't more than a few days late, but I just had a feeling.  When I saw that second little pink line my first reaction was complete excitement.  Tears sprung to my eyes and my hands just started to shake as I started down at that stick.  I briefly thought about how I could surprise hubby, but I can't hold that kind of info in so there's no exciting story there.  Over the next few weeks I went from "holy shit...can I do this" scared to "can i meet this little bugger today" excitement.  Needless to say, as we're getting used to the idea of being parents and we just seem to get more and more excited.

We're due on Dec. 29 which could make things interesting.  Can't wait to see if I end up with a Xmas or  a New Years baby!  I'm currently 15 weeks (well 14 weeks and 6 days, but who's counting?) which puts me through the scary first trimester and into a much more exciting trimester.  I've started to pop out a bit (I'll put some pictures up here soon, promise), enough that people are starting to notice.  And Im' fairly positive that I felt the baby move for the first time today!  It's a bit early for that according to the books, but I can't figure out what that sensation was if it wasn't my little guy moving.

Can't wait to keep updating this as we find out more info!  Wooh!

My first crush

Part of the reason that I have been so slow to blog lately is that I am severely lacking in the creativity department. This is normal for me. I go through spurts where I put Martha Stewart to shame (alright, so that may be a liiiitle exaggerated) and then I hit spots when I couldn’t think a creative thought to save my life. This is one of those times…..


So what to do when I lack motivation, but have promised to blog more? Ah, google. I googled blog prompts and stumbled across this super cool site that gives you blog topics. The first question asked if I was depress….and I’m not….so that’s a boring post. Here was the second prompt:

Describe your first 'crush'. What was the person like?



Much better.



My first crush was really in elementary school. I was in 6th grade and ruled the school (this was before 6th grade was in middle school). I had a crush on this boy in my class who shall be called John. He had this beautiful olive skin, huge brown eyes, and he was the best kickball player in class. I had it bad.
Being the cool kid that I was I played it cool. No chasing him around the recess yard for this girl. Instead I captivated him with my ability to beat him at basketball. Nice.


I first realized that he had a crush on me to (yeah!) around Christmas that year. It was just after dinner (I remember this vividly) and I was sitting at the kitchen table working on homework when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and no one was there, but on the doormat was a box with a card. All the card said was Merry Christmas and in the box was a gold pin that said “Sweetheart” with some “emeralds” in it. No name, no nothing. My mother was convinced it was for her (Hmmmm). I don’t remember how I figured out it was from “John” but I kept that pin for a good long time. In fact, I think I may still have it saved in some memory box. We became boyfriend and girlfriend, which basically meant that he only cheered for me while the girls ran the mile run…which I won. Oh young love….

A catch-up

I have once again completely fallen off the blogging wagon, so I'll attempt to jump back on again.  Here's a few things that you missed while I was gone.

Work
The Annoyance has announced that she has taken another job.  Wooh!  Her last day is due to be this Friday, but last week she decided to completely flip out (kind of on me) after a workshop we had done.  First, let me paint the picture....There were 20 inner city high school students in an after-school program with us.  They've sat through 6 hours of school already and are looking to us to be doing something mildly entertaining.  We were attempting to teach them to use CAD/CAM type drafting software (anyone else just yawn?).  Right.  Anyhoo, she decided that it was my fault that they didn't like her and ripped into me about how I was bad teacher.  Thanks.  For the record, I'm not.  Regardless, I basically had her taken off of the project she was working on with me this week and now she has no hours for this week, so I guess she's done.  Moral: Don't piss people off....

Social
Hubby and I just got back from a quick ski trip up North.  We drove up after work on Friday and skiied from 10pm-3am.  Let's just say I'm beat!  But I am proud of myself.  This is usually the type of thing that I'd pass on.  I'd decide that I was just too tired, let hubby go, plunk my butt on the couch, and laze the weekend away.  I miss out on a lot because of that.  So as much as I really wanted to say "You go ahead without me!" I didn't and I went and I had a blast....and got a good workout to boot.  In other news, we officially booked a trip back to Cancun in April!  More on that later.

Gym
Uh....can we just say....non-existent?  I was doing so well!  I had myself consistently running 4 miles (fairly easily, too) and then I just stopped going.  I have a friend's wedding to go to in 2 weeks and I don't even know if I can still squeeze myself into the dress.  Guess I need to get back on that....

Think that's it....did you follow all that?

Complete and Utter Nonsense

You know how every once in a while you get a case of the sillies at work? I think that’s happening around here. We started off the morning in one of the most mind-numbing 90+ minute meeting that I’ve ever had to sit through. Couple that with the fact that I’ve actually been busy this week (although busy doing research….not so much fun) and I think I have a case of the giggles. Luckily I’m not alone. Within minutes of being back from the meeting I got this im from KP (one of the few sane people that also work in my office).


KP: I went to the vending machine to get a Dr. Pepper – I’ve got a craving. Now I just wanted a sip, but they were sold out (frowny face). So I got my dollar back in quarters. Now I want a chocolate milk, but instead I bought twizzlerand I used one as a straw to drink my water. Today is going to be a long day (another frowny face)


The rest of the conversation was the most random series of oddball messages ever that contained a discussion of whether of not busy-ness and business are similar words for a reason.  And I just got an email from her while the gopher was talking that said this…
KP: You ever play those games where the little animal keeps popping its head up, and you have to slam it with the thing to get a point?


That’s what I want to do to you know who. :P

Welcome to my world…..

In other news I read a quote today in one of my e-mails that said “Don’t be yourself – be someone a little nicer.” –Mignon McLaughlin
Ponder that until next time when I promise I will attempt to post something a bit more rational, deep, and well thought out.

Pet Names

I was sitting in my cubicle minding my own business yesterday and I overheard a co-worker on the phone with his sweetie and heard him call her babe...just kind of slipped it in there all non-chalant-like...and it was so cute!  I love pet names unfortunately I can't pull them off.  I have never been able to successfully call anyone in my life a pet name and feel normal about it.  On occasion, I'll call hubby "honey" but then I always feel like my mother and (as much as I love her) I don't like that.  Sweetie is just too sugary sweet for my taste, and babe is too hip.  I'm not sugary sweet, hip, or my mother...so I'm stuck.  On the rare occasions that I have tried saying them I usually end up laughing at myself and that just wrecks the mood completely.  Actually, I usually do the same when people say them to me.  I had someone call me "love" once (totally in a grandfather kind of way) and I began blushing furiously and giggling like a 2 year old.  Just doesn't work...

The things is I wish I could use pet names.  I envy those bubbly people who can call people sweetie and hun with a little arm touch and make everyone feel so happy and welcome.  And I wish people would use them on me without me turning into a hot mess.  But it just doesn't happen.  Or maybe I haven't found my pet name yet.....

Do you have any pet names that you use or are called?  Or are you like me and can't seem to get the hang of them?

Haiti

I just read a very interesting post on a blog I frequent  (go check it out...its fun....Scientific Housewife).  The post was about the debate about helping Haiti vs. helping ourselves.  Seems as though there's a lot of people that feel as though we shouldn't be sending the massive amounts of money that we have been sending to Haiti when we have people here in our own country who desperatly need our help.  I'm quite conflicted on this.  The humanitarian in me has my heart ripped from my chest everytime I see footage of those poor people in Haiti being pulled from rubble and struggling to find food and water for their families.  That same heart also bleeds whenever I hear stories about the families that have lost their home and have to live on the streets...or the child who has every card stacked against them but manages to make something of themselves.  The realist in me listens to our State of the Union address and the countless stories of unemployment, foreclosures, etc. and thinks, heck...why are we helping them out.  We're in need too!  I know that I personally donate time and money to both domestic charities and international ones, so I think I cover my bases.  And I know that I usually just go with my gut about donations....usually whoever appeals to me at the time.  What do you think about Haiti?  Did you donate?  Do you donate to domestic charities?

My hair is posessed.

The dullness of the day has been voided out by the fact that my hair is amusing me.  Story.

I didn't shower this morning.  No, I'm not dirty, I showever yesterday evening and was entirely too lazy to shower this morning decided to be kind to the enviroinment so skipped my shower this morning.  Usually on these mornings, I use a 2" curling iron to straighten my hair, but let it keep a little bit of poof.  This helps me to overcome the oily flatness that my head could be and have a cute hairdo....normally it does not curl my hair.

This morning when I left my house my hair was straight.  At lunch time I noticed that the very tips were starting to curl in a bit.  By 2 entire chunks of the bottom of my hair were starting to spiral curl.  It hasn't ventured past that, but I am left with these mini curls at the bottom of my head.  Not bad, just strange.  Is it possible for a curling iron to delay your hair's curliness....or is my hair posessed?

P.S. - I believe there may be a slightly amusing co-worker post tomorrow (about a new person...not one of the previously discussed)...we'll see.

The dullness...

I apologize for the lack of posting, but life has been a bit dull. The most exciting thing to happen lately is that I dragged a safety cone under my car the whole way home last night and part of the way into work this morning....wondering the whole time what that awful noise was and debating how I was going to break the news to hubby that my car was broken, again. And contrary to what you may be thinking after reading that, I'm a good driver (usually).
I think I'm somewhat relieved that my life is dull. We've been on super speed since I got laid off last year and I think we're just starting to slow down. I've actually made dinner every night so far this week (ok....its only been two nights....but tonight's dinner is cooking so that makes 3, which is pretty good by my standards). Unfortunately, my dullness has led to a serious blogging drought. So I went seeking inspiration via google and found a photo a day to spark a prompt. Here was today's...

Besides being absolutely precious, it made me think about those unlikely people who give you a boost when you need a hand. They may not even be friends, but they're willing to step forward and lend a hand. Just look to Haiti as an example....a bunch of people just helping....out of the goodness of their hearts. In my own personal little world, I've had this experience a few times, but one sticks out in my head. I tore my ACL my senior year in hs and needed surgery. We wanted to find a good doctor because I planned on continuing with my athletics and I wanted a new knee that was going to stand the test of time. Unfortunately all of the good knee docs had waiting lists that were like 6 months long....and I didn't have that kind of time. The photographer for our school paper happened to be at the meet where I hurt myself and apparently had a few connections with THE best knee doc in CT. And he got me in. I was so touched! I mean, I wasn't even nice to this boy. He was in a totally different social circle, kind of awkward, not very good looking, and seriously annoying. But he took the time to help me....for no other reason than to be nice. And I remember it clear as day almost 10 years later.  Who have you helped out?

My homes....

Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop today asked you to describe everywhere you have called “home”. I’m actually a bit excited to write this as I have had several homes through the years, some good, some bad, and some just plain old ugly. Enjoy.
1. The family homestead. I grew up in the same house for all 18 years of my life before college came around. Actually, I may have lived somewhere before that, but I don’t remember it, so for all intents and purposes this is it. It was an adorable little split level on a nice half acre complete with pool and giant backyard in a neighborhood that was teeming with kids in a nice, quiet residential town. It was the perfect place to grow up and neighborhood games of Capture the flag and movie watching/fort building were frequent. Loved this place…couldn’t have asked for a better place to grow up.

2. Springfield College. I consider this place a home, despite the fact that it was a school. I met some fantastic, lifelong friends at SC and learned a lot about who I was as a person. Plus, college was a lot of fun…

3. The little white Cape. I lived here for the summer after college. My family was in the process of building a new house and had already sold the old homestead so this was an interim rental. It was very tiny and having to house a grownup family of 5 was challenge. I went back to sharing a room with my sister and sharing one bathroom with my whole family (yikes!). As trying as this was sometimes, it made me realize that it doesn’t really matter what your living situation is, all that matters is that your family is there…home is where the heart is.

4. Our first apartment. After the little white cape, I picked up all my belonging and moved to another state…followed a boy. It’s okay though because the boy became hubby. Our first apartment was just under 800 sq.ft. in an apartment complex with no private outdoor area. Let me tell you…if you want to know if you can live with someone and apartment that size will tell you! We learned a lot about each other that year, including the fact that we have very different taste in TV shows. After a lovely little debacle there with the complex staff accusing us of littering their parking lot with cigarette butts (we don’t smoke) and then starting to clean out our apartment before we had moved out we went to the winner of all of our homes….

5. Granite St. ugh. This was an old multifamily home with tons of character. Decorative wood trim, SUPER high ceilings and 3 bedrooms. It was about twice the size of our old apartment and we were in heaven. Or so we thought. It was in the ghetto and we didn’t really realize it. We had a housemate who didn’t work and I think sold drugs and/or her body (which is a disturbing though), frequent fights in the street, lots of police activity, etc. We lasted about a year and fled….we learned that a cool apartment wasn’t worth our sanity.

6. Apartment #3….nice two family home with our landlords, a young couple about our age, living upstairs. We loved this place! We actually still talk to our landlords to this day. This place made us realize that the people make all the difference in the world about your residence choices.

7. Apartment #4….the big move back to CT. I’m getting tired of describing our apartments.

8. Finally….the house! We bought our first house back in October and things have really come full circle. We’re back in the town that we both grew up in, in a cute little neighborhood with some friendly people. It is so nice to finally have a place to call our own and we have spent lots of time getting it setup to our liking. I can’t wait until spring rolls around and we can spruce up the exterior.


I realize that that’s a laundry list of homes and the majority of them took place over a span of 5 years. We moved a lot. The important part was that hubby was with me and made each place really feel like home. In addition, we met so many wonderful people along the way that all of those places still feel like home. Guess home really is where the heart is….and sometimes that is more than one place.

What's in a name?

Here’s my response to MamaKat’s Writer’s Workshop. This week didn’t require too much creative though so I figured I’d participated. The prompt was to explain the meaning behind your name. I get asked this a TON (the curse of having a unique name) so this is a piece of cake….


My name is Keagan….not Kegan or Keegan or any other derivative, but Keagan with an A. I can honestly say I’ve never met another me with and a, and usually the Keagan’s that I meet are boys. So I’m unique.
Depending on where you look my name means different things, but the most common meaning I can find is that it’s a Gaelic name meaning “little, fiery one”. I guess this kind of suits me. I don’t have a fiery temper or anything, but I like to think that I can be a bit fiery. I have a passionate streak that comes out from time to time and can be pretty intense. Not to mention, that I must not be too mild if I can command the attention of 25 high school students 2 minutes before the bell rings  As for little, welll….I used to be

As for how I got my name, that’s a less exciting story. Apparently I was almost a Stephanie, but my mom saw Keagan as a last name and thought it would make a cute girl’s name and changed her mind after I was already born. And thank goodness she did! I LOVE having a unique name. People remember it. I’m convinced that it has helped me get jobs or awards simply because it jumps out at you.
On a cute sidenote, I am one of 3 siblings and we all have K names (Keagan, Kiersten, and Kyle) and my husband is Keith and his brothers are Kevin and Kenny. I also have a cousin Kim whose kids are Kallie and Kaeden…hmmm….

How about you? Any interesting name stories?

Creating my bubble...

So I walked into work today and was instantly bombarded by negativity. I really, REALLY hate that. No good morning, no how are you doing….just blah. So considering that I have to be here until 9pm (super yucky) I figured that I mind as well make an attempt to create my own little bubble of positivity. I have my earbuds in with some kick-butt, feel good music going on and have buckled down to work, but I’m still feeling a bit negative. I figured maybe if I make a list of things that are making me happy on my blog I can refer to it throughout the day….so here goes.

•  My new bracelet is really fun and I keep catching glances of it as I type…fun!
• I have an amazing cup of French roast coffee thanks to the office Keurig that I didn’t pay for (oops…)
• My dad just finished the new Agassi book the other day and passed it along to me so I have that to read when I get home this evening.
• We just got a wedding invitation in the mail yesterday for a few good friends. Can’t wait for that! Plus, going to weddings after you’re already married is phenomenal because I don’t keep looking at everything and making mental notes )
• My kitties are perfect. I fell asleep last night with one purring away on my chest and the other snuggled up between my feet. Why do I keep the hubby around??
• Oh right, because he’s great, too! He not only finished all of our trim work in the house, but also hung the blinds and went grocery shopping with me last weekend (to 2 places none the less….good boy)
• I’m a homeowner. This really just hit me as I was walking in the other day that I own all of the wood, and nails, and appliances, and land that I was around. Pretty cool feeling!
•  The Olympics are almost here! I absolutely love the whole Olympic spirit (most likely because when I was younger I was convinced that I would be in them….not so much). I love watching the faces of all the athletes at the Opening Ceremony, especially the ones from little countries that no one’s really ever heard of. They always look so happy and proud.

Alright, I’m sure there’s more….but I feel fairly positive now, so I’m going to ride this little wave of positivity for as long as I can. Happy Hump Day Everyone

The other two co-workers...

Alright….this post has been a while coming and I’m not feeling super creative, but I owe you all this post. A forewarning that it may be a bit lengthy.


A few posts ago I began to introduce you to a few of my co-workers, in particular The Boss and The Gopher. As strange as these two are, my other two co-workers are just as bad. Let me preface this by saying that I realize that I am not the only person who works with some odd ducks, nor am I whining. I tell you this for the simple purpose of humoring you…and for the potential stories that are to come from these four intriguing persons. So here goes nothing…


We’ll start with the Loud Talker. He is the middle aged man who works in the cube that is attached to the other side of me (so I’m sandwiched between him and the Gopher…oh yeah). Anyhoo, he is ex-military, though I’m not really sure what kind of function he served there. After the military, he began teaching….and that’s where the loud talking comes in (I think anyways). Normally he’s relatively soft spoken, but if you get him talking about something related to his fields of expertise he begins talking louder, and louder and LOUDER until you feel like every other person in the office is cursing you under their breath for making him talk! He talks so loud that I find myself responding to him in increasingly quieter volumes until I’m practically whispering…not that it helps. In addition, he’s a bit smug (a classic, “Oh, you didn’t know that? Well…” kind of guy) and he drives a sky blue Volkswagen Bug Convertible. ‘Nuff said.


And last, but of course not least, is the Annoyance. That’s really the best way to describe her. She is fresh out of college and if you ask her about it she’s sure to stress that it was Ivy League (well, lah-dee-dah). She’s a mechanical engineering major with no education experience who is attempting to teach things to students….and she thinks they all should be as smart as she is and as motivated as she is, and as perfect as she is….whoops, got a bit carried away there. If that weren’t enough she is possibly the most socially awkward person I know. Remember those girls in high school that told all the boys about how they liked to kiss people? Yeah, that’s her..at 23 years old. And those awful forced laughs….again, that’s her…I’ll stop there.

To cap off this lovely posting, I’ll share with you their two stories from today.

First Loud Talker came in to work today hacking up a lung..ew. He finally went home, but only after he informed that he coughed up something green so he figured he probably should not be in the office. Really?!? Why do I want to know this.


Then the Annoyance decided to argue that the only way she would go to a very expensive dinner next week (that we were all asked to volunteer our time for) was if she was paid. Right. Because your ivy league education miraculously made your time more valuable than mine…..nice….

A Holiday Recap

Goodness gracious…I disappeared for a little bit there. Sorry bout that.
The holidays have a way of getting the best of me and I simply found myself too busy to keep up with my blog. So here’s a catch up…
I know that I still need to update you on my other two co-workers, but that’s for another day as I am not feeling very creative today.
Hubby and I had a fantastic New Years and hosted our first actual party at the new house. No, this wasn’t the elegant dinner party with a few close friends…this was the “I’m almost 30, but I can still drink like I’m in college” kind of a party…and it was fabulous. The hubby grew up at a campground during the summer and ended up with a fantastic group of guy friends that are more or less like brothers to him. They have all found equally fantastic women to shack up with and we have formed quite the close group over the years. New Years is traditionally a campground event, but as we have all settled into actual houses the idea of heat, kitchens, and working bathrooms has taken over the rustic campground charm. The campground traditions have still followed, however, which mainly consist of beer die, a drinking game brought to our little corner of CT from Maine, perfected, and distributed around the country  Needless to say our New Year’s consisted of massive amounts of drinking games and food, followed by 13 people passing out in my house, and then followed by me cooking 13 people breakfast. It was fun.
The next night turned into another night of playing hostess and the following day turned into a day of cleaning and lounging on the couch. Sunday I was mentally prepping for coming back to work…and now here I am.
Other than that, not too much exciting happened. Hopefully you all had a restful holiday season…