Ups and Downs

Things have been getting slowly better.  Items are starting to get crossed off my to do list, I have been able to keep the house within acceptable levels of cleanliness and I have just felt better equipped to deal with everything. Hannah is still not sleeping "through the night" but she is sleeping longer stretches than a few weeks ago and so that has helped a little bit of the postpartum fog lift.  I also had my follow up appointment with the ob last week and we started some pills that have already helped me get my hormones and emotions a bit more on track.

We have all been varying degrees of sick around here.  Hannah and I were spared the worst of it, but poor Ryan has been quite miserable for a few days now.   I did force him to eat a few bites of the top layer of our wedding cake.  

Sunday was our one year wedding anniversary.  It has not always been the easiest year, but it has been a good one. Ryan is a good husband, stepdad and father and I am lucky to have him in my life.  

I officially moved my "return to work" date up two weeks.  HR looked at me like

I was crazy when I met with them. I think I am probably the only person to ever request to end an approved leave early.  I had to meet with the head of HR and get special permission to return to my own job which was a bit weird.  I am really sad to have to leave Hannah earlier than planned but it will be good for us to get back to two full salaries.  I went to take Hannah to visit the kids the other day and it actually helped me feel a bit more excited about my return.  I do enjoy many things about my job and it was good to be reminded of those things.

Today was supposed to be our big Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet.  As a Den leader I was heading over early to set up.  Ryan, as the Cub Master, was going to go straight there from work.  I woke the baby up from her nap, and managed to convince Isaac to put on jeans only to find that my van had a puddle of mysterious liquid under it and no power steering.  So we never managed to leave the house today.  I had the van towed to my brother's garage am skeeping my fingers crossed that the repairs won't be too expensive.  

Happy Wednesday!

Monday Funday

Hey look!  I got dressed in real clothes!  Isaac spent part of the weekend with his dad, and I was tempted to roll out in pajamas, but I changed at the last minute.  I was glad I did.  I had some wind shield wiper issues and had to stop

at a gas station and to deal with it.  It would have been pretty embarrassing if I had opted for the hot pink slippers.

Winter in PA rages on as you can see from the snowy pictures.  I can't even talk about it anymore.  Thank goodness Ryan was already off of work when the worst of the snow hit.  He and Isaac did a great job staying on top of all of the snow.

Hannah and I had no part of the shoveling.  We cuddled on the couch and even did a little tummy time (which she hates).

And of course, even a foot of snow on the ground couldn't thwart viola practice (this time to a captive audience).  

Ryan surprised me with these lovely flowers.  

The other big news is Hannah finally had a better nights rest.  I am not naive enough to suggest that this could be anything more than a fluke.  The girl who gets up at 9, 11, 1, 3 and 5 like clockwork had an 8 o'clock bottle, a bottle at 1:30 and then at 5.  All because Ryan put her down on her stomach to sleep.  I know sleeping on her back is "better" but it was sure nice to get some longer stretches of rest for the first time in 7 weeks. 

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Molly

Stir Crazy, Party of 3

We just got a call that school is cancelled again tomorrow because of lack of power in the schools.  Isaac has had only a half a day of school so far this week.  We are going CRAZY here at the house especially with several stints with no power.   The baby cocoon from Mom Mom Horne came in handy to keep Miss Hannah cozy with the heat off.

This is the first real dilemma I have had with the age gap between Isaac and Hannah.  My go to "get out of the house" activities of the movies or bowling simply won't work with a newborn.  My mom has plans tomorrow so we can't visit her. So I'm officially out of ideas.  We've baked cookies.

We've played board games.  We have read books. 

We've done the rainbow loom. We've all done a little bit of this:

We have watched more hours of TV than I care to admit.  My hat goes off to my home schooling friends because we are having  a bit of a rough time.

Conflicting feelings

I had some really weird and disturbing dreams the other night that I think highlight my ambivalence about returning to work.  On the one hand, I am so bored and lonely being home all day.  I think of the snow and extremely cold temperatures have made those feelings even worse.  It's hard not to feel resentful that Ryan gets to leave each day and carry on with everyday life while I am isolated at home trying to remember if I brushed my teeth that day or not.  My substitute called last week to ask me some questions and I couldn't believe how eager I was to jump into work mode for a few minutes.  Maybe it was just the chance to interact with a non-family member adult.  I'm surprised how much I miss my job.  

On the other hand, I look at Hannah and I can't imagine leaving her all day just yet.  I'm resentful that Ryan can go to work, but I am not really ready to return there.  She is just too little.  That was what happened in my dream.  I went to visit at school and all of a sudden I had all of this work to do and I was trying to explain to people that I was still on leave but no one was listening-- they just kept giving me more assignments.  It sounds silly to write it out but it was really upsetting.  I am also already starting to freak out about how I will do it all when I start back.  I am hardly staying on top of the bare minimum of what is required to keep this household running when I am home all day.  I am afraid to see what this house will look like once I throw 40 hours of work in the weekly mix.

 I wish there was some way to go back part time, to sort of have the best of both worlds-- something to alleviate the monotony and boredom of being at home without pulling me away for too long.  I did hear of a special Ed teacher in the district who was part time but from what I heard it ended up that she had a full caseload's worth of work and half the time to do it in.  No thanks. Oh well.  I am about halfway through my leave, so I am just going to try to make the most of it.  At least Miss Hannah will be in good hands with grandma when I have to return to work.  

Isaac had another snow day yesterday and it looks like another one tomorrow and maybe this weekend as well.  At this rate I will be in school until July.  I would much rather have my days off in the summer.  He did make it to soccer tonight which was good.  He is passing the time inside the house by putting in lots of practice time on the viola and by watching a ton of football.  He was just watching the 1982 Super Bowl.  It is so boring but there is nothing else to do.

Hannah is congested which has made her a little cranky and clingy.  I can feel a cold coming on too-- that icky feeling in my head and throat.  I don't know how I could have gotten sick since we rarely leave the house but it seems we have.  Probably from a binky that dropped somewhere disgusting and then was hastily shoved back in her mouth.  

 

That's about it for now folks.  

Every Rose Has It's Thorn

So yesterday it finally warned up to a balmy 29 degrees and I actually ventured out of the house and got some things done.  I even got dressed in a somewhat cute outfit and threw on a little make-up (didn't get the hair washed though-- baby steps) although I didn't take a picture.  In response to the house being overtaken with baby gear, I have been working on clearing out quite a few things to give away.  I sold a baby carrier I no longer need on a local yardsale website.  I gave away all of my maternity clothes (from both pregnancies!).  I culled through my books and made a pile of unread ones to keep on my nightstand to actually read and pulled some that I am done with to give to charity and friends.  I left a huge pile of stuff at Goodwill.  In the grand scheme of clutter in my house it is a baby step forward but it feels good to do something productive nonetheless.  

Hannah Banana is still not letting me get much rest.  Last few nights she did sleep the whole night in her bouncy seat which is a major improvement from me holding her all night.  At her well check, the doctor asked me if she was down to only one night feeding yet.  I must have had a death look on my face because she quickly backpedaled that there is a lot of variability among babies.  I guess some five week olds are only waking once but this five week old wakes at 11, 1, 3 and 5-- just as often as when I was breastfeeding.  To make matters worse, I am beyond exhausted but often find myself wide awake when she is sleeping each night.

Ryan and I went to finally install the immobilizer on her crib so that it would be safe for her to sleep in.  I figured I could try to at least have her nap there during the days.  We discovered we were still missing a part and when we called Simmons informed us that the crib was too old and they no longer carried the part.  So looks like this is the second free crib to end up on the curb in the trash pile due to missing parts. We will be heading out to get her a brand new one and hopefully three is a charm.  

Miss Hannah had her one month well check. She now weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces and is doing well according to the doctor.  She had a shot which left her terribly cranky all evening.  She really is not a fussy baby at all, so after two hours of inconsolable screaming I was ready to cry myself.  I loaded her into the car to meet Ryan for our Friday date night at Wegman's. She screamed and screamed until Every Rose Has It's Thorn by Poisen came on the radio.  Inexplicably, Hannah immediately stopped crying and fell asleep.  Apparently she likes the corny 80's power ballads like mom does.  I have to admit this morning when Hannah was fussing again, I found myself rocking her and singing "Eeeeeevery cowboy sings a sad, saaaaad sooooong."  You can't make this stuff up.

Isaac turns nine in a few weeks and has asked to have a birthday party.  He hasn't had one in a few years so I agreed.  He wants to have (what else?) a football party, so I am trying to make arrangements for that at the local sportsplex.  Honestly, hosting a birthday party for a bunch of boys is about the absolute LAST thing I feel like doing but Isaac has been such a trooper lately I am going to suck it up.  He was invited to a sleepover which got him out of grocery shopping with mom so he was happy about that.

That's about it for the Stephenson-Horne household.  It's been a good day.

Life Lately

 

So we had three snow storms in the past week so I guess winter is officially here.  I ended up with a two hour delay AND a snow day, so that was an exciting bonus.  It bought me a lot of much needed time to finally get the tree in order, some Christmas shopping done, the house cleaned up a bit, and of course, it finally afforded Ryan the time to assemble a million things for the baby which have taken over the house.  The pack and play is assembled.  The car seat is installed.  The fancy vibrating baby swing that a coworker gave us is set up even though we had to relocate the armchair in the living room to the garage.  We are just out of room with the Christmas tree and the swing and the bouncy chairs, etc. etc. etc!  It is a bit overwhelming.  Every time I think this townhouse can't feel smaller, we manage to squeeze more things into it. 

 

I debated even doing Christmas on any kind of large scale this year.  Getting the decorations out and up was exhausting. We didn't end up doing outdoor lights.  I was even willing to skip the tree but Ryan wasn't.  Isaac wasn't that interested in getting the tree this year, so Ryan and I ended up going during the day on the Monday after Thanksgiving.  We both had off from work but Isaac had school.  It doesn't look like Christmas cards are happening (perhaps a holiday themed birth announcement?).  Sadly, I am even debating taking the tree and everything down on Christmas evening since we leave for the hospital early in the morning the 26th.  I feel like if I don't take it all down that night that it will stay up till February.

 

The other night Ryan got to finish with work early (a rarity for a December Friday night when you work retail) and we were able to meet him at Red Robin and then we did a little grocery shopping.  (Sidenote: I remember when my siblings and I would tease my parents that their date night was always Panera and the grocery store, and now I have BECOME THEM). This was probably our last restaurant meal before baby.  It feels like everything is a milestone like that anymore.  The last date night before the baby comes.   The last day trip before the baby comes, and on and on.

 

We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Christmas Panto, trying to keep the tradition alive.  The girls were so excited (Isaac, not so much, since he felt the show was "princess themed").  Gabby had told Ryan she had bought a new dress for the occasion.  She is ever the fashionista so we were tickled but not surprised when she showed up in this fully sequined animal print dress complimented with holographic bow.    A week out from her seventh birthday she looks so grown up all of a sudden.

The weather was not cooperative and it was looking sketchy if we would be able to make the show.  

We were able to exchange our tickets for the seven o'clock show for tickets to the two o'clock show and we had great seats in the center of the third row.  It made for a treacherous ride home but at least we still got to go. Gabby even got to go up on stage and be a part of the show, although she became a little shy once she got up on the stage.  It was a lot of fun.

So that's what's new around here...  

 

here we go...

I have been so busy spending time with family (Drew and Jenny are here-- hurray!), preparing for the holidays, trying to keep on top of a mountain of IEPs and other work stuff, and just feeling sad and depressed after the Sandy Hook thing. 

Sorry to neglect you little blog. I have posted like two times in December. 

Ryan, Isaac and I went to Washington D.C. with my parents and Jenny and Drew.  We went to the Smithsonian for a little bit (the Museum of American History).  We only saw a little bit of what there is to see there but we really enjoyed it. 

A highlight for Ryan was seeing Julia Child's kitchen which is everything from her home reassembled in the Smithsonian.  He was a little starstruck.

A highlight of the trip for me was when Isaac recognized the Washington Monument and then said to me "Mom, are we near the place where Martin Luther King gave his speech?" I welled up a little with mom pride.  There is so much to see and of course we only had time to do a little, so Ryan and I are already trying to schedule a return trip.  After dinner we went to the Washington D.C. Temple to see the Nativity Display and check out the lights.  As usual, the temple looked magical.

 The visitor's center was more crowded than I have ever seen it.  Hundreds and hundreds of people crammed in there.  We did manage to get tickets to hear a free Christmas concert that we all enjoyed.  This is the second year we have done a Christmas time trip to D.C.  It is becoming a nice little tradition. 

We made it through the end of the school year and now we can breathe a sigh of relief that we are on vacation.  Isaac has been rocking a lot of sports gear (including batting gloves to school, see evidence below).  His class had a secret santa gift exchange and he made out pretty well.  His new thing is that I "keep treating him like he is four".  I am trying to remember that he is growing up, but it's hard.  He will always be my baby.

I enjoyed my first Christmas at my new school.  This is what our principal gave us for Christmas:

 

So that was pretty cool.

Another Christmas tradition my family has is we all go to People's Light and Theater Company and see the Christmas Panto.  It is always hilarious with cross dressing, singing, candy, audience participation and local references.  My brother Joe wasn't able to make it, so my mom invited Ryan's daughter Gabby to come with us, since it happened to be her sixth birthday.  She did a great job and she really loved it (even declaring she wanted to it again for her birthday next year).  Check out her sequined Kelly Kitty shoes.  Pretty stylish.

Oh yeah, and my sister got me this super cute purse for my birthday.

 

I think that's the update.  Happy Christmas!

 

Walking the Ben Franklin

Sometimes I dread Sundays because after church is over there is nothing really to fill up the rest of the day except sit around and wait for it to be Monday. The Sundays that Isaac is with his dad, we've starting swinging into the city to visit Joe. A couple of weeks ago Joe had the idea to go for a walk along the Ben Franklin Bridge. I have driven over that bridge a thousand times going back and forth from Philly to Jersey but I had no idea there was a pedestrian walkway along it. It was actually really beautiful. We had a great view of Center City and it was kind of dizzying and fun to be walking along so high above the traffic. Every once in a while a train would rattle along underneath us. We walked about halfway across and then walked back. I was surprised even in January how many joggers, bikers and photographers were up there. I would love to go back in the spring and summer when it is a little warmer.

Sometimes I think Joe is more like Isaac's big brother.

Those signs are attached to little walkways. They were closed off to the public obviously, but it was pretty amazing to think of walking so high above all of the traffic on a bridge which is already so high above the Delaware River.

Joe with the city behind him.

lazy sunday morning

Yesterday I got my car inspected. It needed some work but Tom was able to get me a really great deal on parts (like, I think I paid 25% of what they would have charged a regular customer who came in the front door), and of course he doesn't charge me labor. He's pretty much the best brother ever. I'm so proud of him and how successful he is. He's such a hard worker and such a caring person. He also really has no shame which used to embarass me a little bit when we were kids, but cracks me up no as he dances around the shop singing Neil Diamond at that top of his lungs with no qualms at all.

I am so glad to have that taken care of. For the first time in recent memory, it doesn't need brakes (it's a Christmas miracle! I am notoriously hard on brakes...) I got two new tire ties, he fixed my sunken four way button on my dash, put in a new turn signal switch (so my car no longer continuously ticks like a bomb when I'm driving around... felt kind of omnious...) and changed my oil. I'm going to need two new tires within the next few months and there is something with the transmission we are keeping an eye on, but for now, the Alero lives on at 167, 542 miles.

While I was hanging around the shop one of the salesman found me and tried to get me to consider a new car. As long as the Alero is running, I'm going to drive it. I don't know how I will afford a car payment again. The guy in the bay across from Tom was working on a Chevy Cruze. I might consider one of those, after some time has passed, if I can find one that is a year old or so. I'll let someone else take the depreciation hit, I think.

While he was working on my car I finished off "Fly Away Home" by Jennifer Weiner. I found a copy in a thrift store near my mom for only 2 bucks. It's the only book of hers left I haven't read, and this one didn't disappoint either. I'm also so exicted that my friend Selena is reading The Hunger Games. I loved the books and I am so excited for the movies, but NONE of my friends have read them. And she loves them.

Anyways, from there I met perfect on paper guy for lunch. Even though I am not interested in him romantically, I do like him and do want to be friends with him, even if there are certain things about him that are quite irritating. We had a nice lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (I had huevos rancheros-- so yummy!!!). He brought me a calendar he had made for me with photographs he had taken. We wandered around the mall for a bit after that.

Then I met my girlfriends for dinner at the vegan chinese buffet in Malvern, which was also delicious. I love that I have such interesting friends. My friend Jami has gotten really into gymnastics and has joined a team and is competing in meets. My friend Selena is becoming a certified tobacco prevention specialist. She helps workplaces go smoke-free and also helps people to quit. Her area of focus is smokers with mental health diagnosis such as schizophrenia. And I was home and in bed by 11:30, because I'm old.

I have a ton more stuff to blog about, but I'll have to get to it later. Have a great day everyone!

11 in 11

11. Favorite movie you watched: I've seen some good ones. Recently I've enjoyed The Station Agent. Exit Through the Gift Shop. I like Bridesmaids too. And Black Swan. Did that one come out this year? I think so.

10. Favorite TV series: I've been watching The Biggest Loser (via Netflix) non-stop lately. It's so inspirational! Isaac and I love The Big Bang Theory too.

9. Favorite restaurant: I recently tried the Sunflower Cafe in Pottsgroveish area. Loved that. And I continue to love Tria and anything Stephen Starr.

8. Favorite new thing you tried: Twitter. I like it! Also Spotify which is also two thumbs up.

7. Favorite gift you got: I had a fabulous 30th birthday party with friends in the city. That was the perfect night.

6. Favorite thing you pinned: I don't pin. I know, I can't be a TBM.

5. Favorite blog post: I like Advice for New Teachers.

4. Best accomplishment: Finally getting on track to get my second certification.

3. Favorite picture: Oh I don't know. All of my got deleted in the Great Google Plus picture fiasco of 2011. This one makes me smile:

2. Favorite memory: 2011 had a lot of great memories. Running around the city with my sister was a great memory. You can read about that here.

1. Goal for 2012: Not go crazy. Seriously.

awww

I was so surprised to see a card in my mailbox today with my dad's handwriting on it. My mom will often send Isaac and I little cards for holidays. I was pretty tickled to see my *dad* sent me a Valentine's card. And the card is so "me". Pink, leopard print and glittery. Love it!!!

=)

50 random thoughts on a Saturday Morning

1. I'm laying in bed eating a bowl of peanut butter cup ice cream for breakfast.
2. I can practically feel it settling around my thighs.
3. This breakfast totally cancels out my run last night.
4. I made it to 2 miles!
5. With some hills!
6. My friend Jami (who runs marathons) is trying to get me to sign up for the Broad Street run.
7. Let's not go crazy.
8. I'm obsessed with Lisa Leonard jewelry. It would love to own one of her pieces someday...
9. The weather has been extremely icy here lately.
10. When I said "No more snow!" this isn't what I meant.
11. Ice is so much more dangerous.
12. Will we ever see sun/spring again???
13. We have book group this week. I'm pretty excited.
14. Although I really should join one that has people I don't know.
15. This one is with my coworkers.
16. Who are all fabulous people.
17. But I feel like I need to make some new connections.
18. And push out of my comfort zone a little more.
19. I didn't mean to offend anyone in one of my prior blog posts.
20. I don't think 30 is over the hill by any means!
21. Or even "old".
22. But it is a milestone birthday, that (in my opinion) marks a new chapter of adulthood.
23. I have been wearing my blue infinity scarf like crazy.
24. I had to order a new bra and so I got the scarf for FREE.
25. Who doesn't love FREE?
26. Isaac's school is starting a kid's Zumba club after school.
27. He is ridiculously excited to join.
28. He knows I love Zumba, but I'm not sure he knows it is essentially dancing.
29. We had an in service day yesterday at work. The presenter asked our (totally non-responsive) group if anyone enjoyed writing or did it for fun. I raised my hand and she totally called on me.
30. I was like "Uh... I have a blog I write in...".
31. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy.
32. And one person was like "What's a blog?"
33. I managed to pull out of the recesses of my brain that "blog" was short for "weblog".
34. Which didn't seem to clarify anything for them.
35. All righty then...
36. If the roads aren't insane I'm venturing out this afternoon to get my hair touched up.
37. Although my current color is much closer to my natural hair color than the blond I was rockin all summer, I have visible 2 inch long roots.
38. My friend in Pittsburgh told me that the schools there are having a 2 hour delay Monday morning, in anticipation of people being hungover from the Superbowl.
39. Kind of ridiculous.
40. I was going to go to New York this weekend.
41. To visit my friend, the fabulous Nicole Newcomer.
42. But I decided to cancel my trip and go some other time when the weather is nicer.
43. For those keeping track, this is Isaac's weekend with his dad.
44. We still had the usual drama before the drop off.
45. We will see if pick up goes any better.
46. Well I should probably get out of bed and actually do something today.
47. I have a huge pile of mail to sort through.
48. Laundry to be done.
49. The car needs cleaned out.
50. Have a great weekend everyone!

random, shmandom

Okay, not to be a negative Nancy here, but I'm pretty much over the snowy weather. I'm also over my school district's unwillingness to ever give in a give us a snow day. When it's my time to go, I would rather it not be on my way in work on the sidestreets of Pottstown's North End thankyouverymuch. I like one or two big snowstorms, enough to use a few snow days, and then that's it. No more. For a girl who never picked up a snow shovel until last year, I have become a snow shoveling expert. I'm over it. There is a crapload of snow on the ground already and it's still coming down. Both of our districts have called for a delay, so I guess there is more shoveling in the near future. Booooooo. Here is the pile of work I took home with me from our 12:00 dismissal, ever the optimist that I would sit at home and continue forging on with lesson plans, IEPs and progress notes. Yeah right. It hasn't been touched and probably won't be unless we end up with a snowday tomorrow. We're also going slightly stir crazy. I am totally content to waste away a snowy weekend laid up in bed with a cup of lemon tea and a good book*. Isaac, not so much. There is only so many hours we can log on the wii or enduring the tedium that is Scrabble Jr. Even when we are not snowbound it is a struggle to come up with fun (and cheap/free) things to do in the winter. If anyone had any ideas I would love to hear them. *Incidently, I finally started Sarah's Key for book club. It's very riveting but might be too emotionally heavy to plow in a hurry. It might have to be one that I break up, like I did with Three Cups of Tea. I can't remember if I blogged about this yet or not, but I had a lovely time in Lancaster shopping till I dropped with my mom. I returned home and tried to make plans again with friends but again no one was around. I was determined not to sit in my house alone for the second night in a row on my weekend "off". I ended up texting WJM to see if he wanted to meet up somewhere. Turns out, he was out at his parent's house (like ten mins away) and said he would come over in about an hour and a half. That was the impetus I needed to get my house whipped into shape after turning a blind eye to the clutter and dishes for several days. I ran around like a crazy person and totally cleaned my house from top to bottom, even doing crazy stuff I knew he wouldn't even see like corralling the laundry in my closet and changing Isaac's sheets. It was lovely to wake up Sunday morning to a totally clean house. It was funny too because when I opened the door he was all, "Who shovelled this walk?!". I'm like "I shovel now!!" He came over for a little bit and then we went out to the Epicurean in Phoenixville for a bit, which was one of our old haunts. The conversation again was good. Equal parts reminiscing and catching up. I know I have written this before, but it is a very weird thing to hang out with him: a stranger who knows all about your past. It was actually nice though and better than staying home watching Netflix. Anyways, enough about that. This page fell out of Isaac's Kidwriting Journal at school so he brought it at home. I love, love, love, to read his writing. I just wish I could get him using more lowercase, especially for his name. "I saw a rainbow and there was a pot of gold and a leprachaun". Lastly, a friend recommended Ellie Goulding and I have been loving everything of hers. Here is her cover of one of my favorite songs. Hope things are well for all of you. Leave a comment if it's snowing where you are!

We had a snow day today but Isaac miraculously had school. His district cancels for anything and earlier in the week I had to take him along to work with me when they cancelled and I still had school. Anyways today, I sent him to school, went grocery shopping (a finally remembered to bring all my clipped coupons! I saved a ton), got my eyebrows waxed, etc. I squeezed in a gym trip too which I don't usually get to on Fridays. I ran nearly two miles, which is the furthest I have since I abandoned running this summer and felt incredible. Excercise is the ultimate energy booster. It was a good day. I had a dream about summer dating guy the other night. We were with a group of friends in Phoenixville trying to walk to a venue to see a concert. Except that as we were walking and hurrying we lost our group somehow. Then suddenly we were on rollerblades skating along towards the venue. Then he stopped to play guitars with a homeless person and said he would catch up with me in a minute. I went to venue and saved him a seat and he never came. I don't think you have to be Freud to read between the lines there. ANYWAYS... I don't know if you have heard about this, but here's reason number 309203844 to hate hope that lighting strikes dislike Glenn Beck. I know there is a following of people who subscribe everything he says, but let me assure you people are not being shot or stabbed regularly in Old City. It's a very safe area. It's where the Real World house was, for crying out loud. MTV would not put the Real World kids in the ghetto. Philly doesn't suck Glenn Beck. *YOU* suck. Anyways, despite a productive day, it's been an unproductive evening. I am just chilling at home on a payday Friday night. Isaac is at his dad's house and I am home and bored, laying on a freshly changed flannel sheets and listening to Aimee Mann. I got in touch with exactly five different people to see if anyone wanted to join me for a movie but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I am not opposed to going to the theater alone, but tonight I just didn't feel like it. I debated retail therapy to lift my spirts and even paid my old boyfriend TJ MAXX a visit (although I frequently cheat on him with my other lovers - Ross and Marshall). I oogled some sparkly platform shoes:

and a fushia peacoat but ultimately left empty handed.

Anyways, my house is a big cluttery mess but I am just sitting wasting time reading and screwing around on the computer. I did take the time to go through my blog reader though and pair down my subscriptions to 84 blogs. That is reducing virtual clutter at least.

Tomorrow I have plans to get lunch with my mom and do some thrift store shopping. Hopefully I will have some good loot to show off after that trip. I really miss Isaac. I look forward to my weekends "off" but it is always sad to have him gone and always good to have him back home.

Anyways, now I'm just rambling. Have a lovely weekend all!

525,600 Minutes

It's been another great year. I am truly blessed.

I'm now the mom of a smart, friendly and happy kindergartener!

I turned 29 and had several fabulous celebrations including a family dinner in at a Hibachi and a dinner with friends in the city at Tria.

Birthday Nutella Panini.... yum!!

I've made it to a couple of concerts. I started off the year seeing Vs. the Earth on New Years Eve. I mingled with some friendly lesbians to see Sarah McLachlan and Sara Barielles at the Lilith Fair. And thankfully 2010 didn't pass me by without a chance to see the best band in the whole wide world: Counting Crows!

**Swoon**

I've been to a bunch of good plays including The Merry Wives of Windsor at the PA Shakespeare Festival and Wicked. This was also the first year the Isaac was old enough to appreciate the theater and we took him to several productions including Harold and the Purple Crayon in the city, The Emperor's New Clothes, and Frosty. He was also able to come with us to seee the traditional Christmas Panto at People's Light and Theater company instead of staying home with my dad like years past. "Grandpa and I are finally old enough!" he declared this year. It's so exciting to be able to share that with him now.

I had a great tan. I logged many, many hours by various pools and on the beach. I put some miles on my bike (though not as many as I should have).

I got a new phone when my old one died. Had a good laugh when the guy went to take the sim card out and a huge pile of beach sand fell out.

I successfully jump started a car without causing an explosion or electrocuting anyone.

I've been fortuneate enough to go on some wonderful family vacations.

There was our quick get away to Florida in the spring:

Our annual week at the Jersey Shore:

My sister got married!

So did one of my good friends from college Nicole: I went through a break up. I listened to a lot of Alanis. I moved on and went on more dates. I saw my old long-time college bf WJM in the flesh and didn't die. I've made some new friendships.

And rekindled some old ones.

I figured out how to use my sewing machine and did some crafting: I have one tooth less than this time last. Tooth 31 is now gone! I stopped eating red meat in July. I rejoined a gym, started (and subsequently quit, whoops) a running regimen. I got back into yoga. I discovered Zumba.

It's been a pretty great year. I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for me.