GMA 

Thirty years ago today...

I was born! I can not believe it, but I am 30 - YIKES! Age has never really mattered to me before, but I will admit, 30 matters. I do not necessarily mean in a bad way, but I do feel something.

For those of you that do not know, I was born on my Father's 27th birthday. We always celebrate together, so back in December I wrote an email to Good Morning America requesting show tickets for today. Just this past June, I received an email back granting my request. My Dad made reservations at the Doubletree Suites Hotel in Times Square for last night - great idea - because we needed to be at the studio by 6:15 am this morning. So after work yesterday, Steve and I took the train into NY and met up with my Mom, Dad and David. First we went to the World of Disney store. This place is awesome. It is 3 floors and on the 3rd floor is a meet and greet area with the Characters. Goofy and Max were there so David got his picture with them. Then we headed to dinner at Mickey Mantle's overlooking Central Park. The food was fantastic and David loved all the Yankee stuff (so did I). When we got back to our room, my Dad went out and got Dunkin Donuts for dessert - YUMMY! This morning we left our hotel at 6:05 am for the short trek to ABC studios. We were inside the studio for the taping of a few segments and it was really cool to see the faces I watch every morning in person. After the show we were hungry so we ate breakfast at a 50's diner. We went back to the hotel to pack and wait for Toys R Us to open. Once we got to Toys R Us, David played with the Bob the Builder toys and went on the Ferris Wheel with Steve. They had a GREAT time. While my Dad was checking us out of the Hotel, the rest of us walked to Tiffany's for my birthday gifts. Steve bought me a beautiful bracelet and ring. I LOVE them. We came back home and my Mom and I did some shopping. After dinner we had orange cake (Dad's favorite) and sang Happy Birthday. Today was a really special and fabulous day. On Saturday, my parents are giving me a big 30th B'day party - I am really looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.

What a life! 

Didn't have to spend a penny

I have needed new blush and eye shadow for a while now. I use MAC make-up and it is not sold in every store. I had earned a $50 Bloomingdale's gift card and planned to use that to buy my make up. I just could never find the time to get to the Bridgewater Mall. Today I found the time. Laura-Ann, David and I headed to Bridgewater. We stopped off to drop Steve's lunch off to him at work (he was putting in some OT). He surprised me by offering to keep David company while Laura-Ann and I ran to Bloomies. I spent $30+ at the MAC counter and $17+ at the Lancome counter so my gift card covered it. I didn't have to spend a penny! We walked through the mall to Janie & Jack so Laura-Ann could purchase a baby shower gift and then stopped off at Auntie Anne's pretzels for a drink and pretzel. We picked David up from Steve and headed home. David had a great time with Steve at work. They played basketball and kickball in the gym and then went to Steve's office. Laura-Ann went home, she was going to a party and David and I picked up Burger King. After lunch it was nap time for both of us. Steve came home and napped too. Our neighbors came over to check out our addition - they're real nice people. Then, Steve, David and I ate dinner. We were looking forward to tonight's Giants vs Brown pre-season game, but as of now it is delayed due to the weather. I am sure we'll find something else to do.

All Better

I can finally say that I am feeling better. The decongestant has worked wonders! I am still taking my meds - the doctor says to finish the bottle. I am more than happy to oblige so I do not get sick again.

In July I did a Creative Memories class for a woman who find me online. She lives here in EB and I found out at her party that she used to be a CM consultant. She had asked me about signing up again and sure enough she faxed in her agreement on Monday. I am so very excited about building my business with Diane. I can not wait to help her get started. I am doing another class tomorrow night for Diane's niece in Edison. I'll let you know how I do.

David has been napping since I got home. I do not think this is a good thing. I was up all night with him last night and I have a feeling I am going to be in the same situation tonight. Does anyone have any advice on getting a 2 year old to go to bed at a decent time and stay there? We were very lucky with him as an infant - he slept through the night starting at 3 weeks old. I guess we are paying our dues now.

Can you hear me now?

NO! Can you believe that my ear is STILL clogged? Luckily my Mom went to see our doctor and picked me up a prescription for a decongestant. I'll let you know if it works.

We had a pretty boring weekend due to my sickness. The only day we had plans for was Saturday. Steve's friend Jaime from work invited us to his daughter's 3rd birthday party. They live in Somerset and have a nice house with a built in pool. There was no way I was swimming but when we arrived Jaime's 12 year old nephew offered to take David in the pool and he loved it. It was very hot and I felt really crappy. We did not stay too long, but we did stay long enough to see Dora! Jaime's sister dressed up as Dora - the poor girl was sweating her butt off. David was SO happy. He really likes Dora. Jaime's family is really nice - he had a great wife and an adorable daughter. I am glad I got to meet them. When we got home, David and I took a nap and Steve headed to the Fair to help Walter out again. I slept for about 2 hours and woke up feeling better than I had in days. David slept about an hour more and when he woke up, we headed to the Fair. We spent the evening with Laurie, Walter and Steve. It was a great time. I really love Walter and Laurie - they are a lot like us. Sunday I was back to feeling miserable. Steve put up the rest of our fence and I cleaned a little. Overall - it was a boring day. Today it was back to work. The day went by fast cause I had a lot to do. My parents had brought dinner over (left overs from the weekend). It was so nice to have a good meal that I did not have to cook or prepare. The rest of the evening we played with David - he is full of energy. He is still up as I write this! So that is what is going on. I am going to try and persuade David to go to sleep. I know I can not wait to hit the hay!

Aren't they pretty? 

A Sweet Surprise

I am STILL sick! What was supposed to be a 24 hour bug has now turned into a sever inner ear infection and a URI. I am on antibiotics and ear drops for pain. I do not think the drops are doing much because I am in a lot of pain. Needless to say, I am NOT a happy camper. I am lucky to have wonderful parents who have been babysitting for David even with me at home. There is NO way I could have taken care of him and myself feeling this lousy. I am also VERY lucky to have Steve. Although he has missed most of my illness he has been concerned and even came home with a Sweet Surprise. When I say he has 'missed my illness', I mean that during the day he is at work and on Tuesday and Thursday night he was helping his cousin Walter with the Middlesex County Fair. See Walter and his father (Steve's Uncle D) are electricians. Every year they are hired by the Fair to do all the electrical work and each night they have to be there. Steve was SO happy when Walter asked him to help. He really likes hanging out with Walter and they do not get to do it that much. They both work a lot and have other responsibilities. I was also very glad that they were together - family is very important to me. Last night when Steve walked in the door, I was still awake. I was too uncomfortable to sleep and missed Steve. I could not believe my eyes! Steve brought home 2 dozen roses for me! What a Sweet Surprise, I was really excited. I LOVE them. He told me that Walter did the same for Laurie - what nice guys we have. When I came downstairs this morning the smell of the roses woke me right up and reminded me that Steve was thinking about me. It made another day of feeling crappy a little brighter.

Here's the mulch and railroad ties 

BAMM!

That is how this sickness I have came on. I was at work yesterday and started to feel a scratchy throat. I got Advil and a throat losenge from a co-worker. I felt better. I took David to the Middlesex Cty Fair and was still OK. After we ate and were walking around in the unbearable heat, my legs started to feel like Jello and I was very achey and weak. By the time I got to my car, I was not sure I could make it home. Thank God I did, but when I got home I was SO SICK. I went upstairs and got into my PJs. I had to get David ready for bed and he was not helping. I finally gave up and layed on the couch. I was FREEZING - so I put a blanket on. David was not tired and did not understand how I was feeling so he was jumping all over me. I was in so much pain because of my aching - I was actually crying. The only thing I could imagine to do was to go upstairs in my bed and turn out all the lights and hope he would fall asleep. After another 20 minutes of him playing in the dark, he did fall asleep. This whole time I was so uncomfortable - I did not know what to do. I tossed and turned, put the covers on and took them off, I turned on the fan and turned it off. Steve finally got home at about midnight from helping his cousin Walter with the fair. I have never been so happy to see him. I had only been home for 4 hours but it seemed like a lifetime because I was so miserable. He put David in his crib and I took Tylenol PM and FINALLY fell asleep. I woke up this morning to my Mom bringing me tea and toast - she had this bug earlier this week. That made me feel a little better. I still feel weak, but my throat is a little better and the aching has passed. David went with my parents to LBI to visit some friends, so I am resting to get over this thing. Hopefully, I'll be back to my old self tomorrow.

CHANGES!

Sunday Steve went to the nursery and bought some black mulch. This was after he maticulously installed railroad ties as trim for the new landscaping. He worked his butt off all day. After the mulch was in place, I took some more pix. It looks awesome. I am really proud of him. I'll post the pix later. After he cleaned himself up, we took David to Pt. Pleasant and met my parents. Talk about CHANGES. When I was younger we went to Pt. Pleasant instead of Seaside to avoid the 'interesting people'. I can tell you that those 'interesting people' now call Pt. Pleasant their home. It was aweful. All the woman wore daisy duke and half shirts with all their 'junk' hanging out. And there was a LOT of junk to hang out. The guys all thought they were Andrew Dice Clay with the vugar lanuage to boot. We had a quick bite to eat at Martell's and that cost me $20 for a turkey burger, 2 sodas and shrimp - SO NOT WORTH IT! Then we took David on the rides. He really enjoyed them, but I had to fight with the other parents that do not understand what waiting in line means. It really is not that hard 'interesing people' - you have to wait your turn! We stopped for ice cream before heading back to the car. David had vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and enjoyed every bite. I had a few bites of his. On the way home, Steve and I discussed the evening and were so surprised by the CHANGES. I guess eventually I'll get used to it. But I will never become one of those 'interesting people' - I promise!