Honeymooners

Oh, did you know Joey and I are going on our honeymoon this weekend? I can't remember if I've mentioned that or not.

Anywho, this weekend I found myself at an REI, (whatever that stands for,) in the midst of outdoor gear in preparation for our big adventure. Apparently I need some kind of crazy amphibious shoe for some kind of crazy jungle cave thing. No problem! Until I saw these:

I tried on the least expensive of these kind of shoes since I figured I be wearing them like, one afternoon, and perhaps never again. Then Joey told me I might be wearing them the whole trip, especially if Tropical Storm Alex has any tropical storm friends following him along in the Gulf.

So naturally, my response was to start uncontrollably laughing in the "shoe" department of REI. Joey laughed at first too, because I was laughing, but he didn't know why. Then he got a little sad at my lack of outdoorsy-ness enthusiasm.

I guess I thought I'd be wearing ballet flats most of the time. But that's OK, because we're going to go into a cave and I'm going to see ancient Mayan things. In the cave you have to jump and swim in water to get around and explore.

So we didn't get the aforementioned shoes, because I just can't be wearing those on these feet during my honeymoon.

So hold the phone, and check out what I got off the internet:

And this:

Cute together, right?

So bring it Tropical Storm Alex and Co, I'm ready.

Second is the best

Today marks the second anniversary of the marriage of two young dentists: my best husband Joseph, and me.

I'm so lucky to have him, and I think about that everyday. Who else would comparison shop rain jackets for me on various technical gear websites, or still love me despite my continued struggles with selfishness and materialism? I can't wait to go on our honeymoon this weekend - (just five short days remain between us and our tropical adventure,) especially now since I have a new LL Bean rain jacket and awesome water shoes!

Oh just wait everyone until they come in and we can have a full-on Old Navy/LL Bean fashion show. But, more on that later. For now lets take a moment to reflect on June 28, 2008.

We said vows:

Then we were married!

So we danced:

And we were happy.

And I literally love you more everyday. Happy Anniversary Joey!

COTM - Dad Life

I just want to throw this out there as an addendum to my dear Dad for Father's Day post. Is that link really necessary since its a link to two posts down? Probably not, but I'm just trying to help.

Love you Dad!

Thursday

This sums up my day. How was yours?

This Dad of Mine

Is the best! Go Dad! (see, I'm still peppy.)

Dad - thanks for being so wonderful. You taught me how to ride my two-wheeler in St. Collette's parking lot, took me on frog hunts in the summers when I was just a tot, (don't worry everyone, it was a hunt for a temporary pet, we didn't hunt them down.) You gave me a big hug immediately after I totalled the Chevy Celebrity when I was 16, and years later when you were walking me down the aisle you told me to slow down and savor the moment. These are just a few of the flashbulb memories I have of you - and some of the biggest moments of my life.

You're the kind of person who would rather read Neruda than watch TV. (Am I really your daughter?) And you know something about everything, but you manage to have this vast knowledge and be completely unpretentious. In fact, you are so self-effacing and humble. Everyone loves you because you are so geniune and kind. You worked so hard for Laner and me to have everything that we had growing up, and to send us off to good colleges, and you are the kind of person that makes sure turtles get across the road and will be the savior to any lost dog or cat. You give everyone the benefit of the doubt, no matter what. For this I truly admire you. I am so inpatient and I get irritated easily with other people. I'm always hurrying and stressing, when it really doesn't matter. Its a long road but I try to embody these qualities that you've tried to pass on to me. I love you with all of my heart. Happy Father's Day, Dad!

When I'm With You

I know I'm late on my birthday post to my bestie Haifa, and my Father's Day post to my best dad... but I just have to throw this one out there to my best husband, Joey - because when I'm with you...



Best Coast, When I'm With You

What can I say?

I haven't posted in a long time because I haven't had anything to say that would improve the silence... not to say that has ever stopped me before.
I'll go ahead and blame work for draining me of my sardonic wit and humor. One of my offices got a one-way ticket to Crazytown last week and we've been trying to hitchhike back ever since.
So okay - how about some random updates?
This weekend its Special Olympics Boston, so I'm excited about that. I used to volunteer at it with cheerleading in high school, and its really fun. I'll let you know how it goes.
Its just a little over a week until our second anniversary and 2 weeks until our belated honeymoon. I can't wait to get away and relax with my Joe Joe.
Yesterday was my friend Haifa's 30th birthday. Everyone should have a friend like Haifa - words don't do justice to what her friendship means to me. I love her like my sister and I miss her so much. I'll save the rest for a special post reserved just for her. Happy Birthday Haifa - I love you!
Alright then - guess that'll do 'er. Hope you're all having a good Friday. Better luck next year Celtics / Go World Cup! (Or whatever appropriate soccer thing you're supposed to say.)

Morning musings

Its been a long week - sooo glad its Friday.
And you know what made my Friday even better? Bagel breakfast at my office. Oh, how it warms my heart.
So the bagels came from a place called Bagel World, and were amazingly delicious.
Since I'm a copier - I now want to open up my own practice and call it Dental World.
Just a thought.

The above picture is of Big Paw, a place on Lake Huron in Michigan where my family used to go every summer. Credit - Cousin Sarah.

Three star restaurant

Last night we had a little dinner party so we could hang out one last time before our friends Guillaume and Helen move away.

Guillaume is going back to France tomorrow, where he's going to open up shop in his hometown of Nantes, and as if that's not enough he is going to be appointed professor in periodontics at his dental school, which is a pretty big deal in France.

So as the good friends that we are, we hosted a dinner where he was one of the honored guests, and invited him to come over 2 hours early (after I made him go to the grocery store with me to pick out the ingredients) in order for him to make half of the dinner.

Oh come on, its not like I inconvenienced him, he'd already made the foie gras in advance.

Seriously though, I don't think we've had a dinner party where Guillaume hasn't been a major part of it. He either brings half the menu or the best conversation, usually both!

We had such a great time. Joey made this amazing rack(s) of lamb and rosemary potatoes, and Guillaume made the aforementioned foie gras and real ratatouille. I mostly played a supporting role, but I did make tarte tatin - two times, since I burned the caramel on the first attempt. I don't know what happened, I just turned my back for one second. I'm glad everyone was engrossed in talking about periodontal subjects and didn't hear me yell the F word from my kitchen at my own party. Joey the super cleaner extrordanire cleaned the pan lickety split and we had the new one going in no time. Thanks Joe Joe! Everyone was really nice about waiting for dessert, especially since Helen brought some delectable delights from Clear Flour Bakery to tide them over. I guess I'm glad that was the only real hiccup - yesterday I had kind of a dumb day. I nearly forgot my bankcard pin number while I was buying wine. That would have been unfortunate. (Lucky for the muscle memory while punching in those numbers!)

I know I've said it before but I'm so proud of you Guillaume and Helen - the best official periodontists I know!

(And Joey I'm proud of you for whipping up that delicious dinner. You're the best.)

Guillaume even put his very discerning stamp of approval on the meal, saying he felt like he was at a "three star restaurant." Thanks G!

 

We love you guys, thank you for all of the great moments, and being there for us during the rough patches.  You are part of our family for always.

I made it

Today I was driving home from Do'chestah listening to the R&B station (naturally,) and his one ditty really touched my heart. It was by Kevin Rudolf, and he sang-rapped about how he loves his life.
Now I think that's very special, because I feel the same way. You should look this tune up. He collaborated with someone named the Birdman, and maybe Lil' Wayne, who I thought was in jail, but what do I know?
So then I got home,  caught up with my stories and took the necessary pictures of my cat sleeping.
We had high hopes for making s'mores on our grills outside and on our way outside Joey told me that he thought he had it made in life. (Was he inspired by JAM'N 94.5 FM too?!)  After I elicited a lot of complements about how this relates to me, I was satisfied with his declaration. Sadly though, outdoor s'mores were not meant to be, for many, uninteresting reasons. I'm glad Joey had that revelation though before we knew that, because I don't know if he would have expressed these same sentiments on the way back up in the elevator with a sore hand from a minor grill injury. Nonetheless, that isn't the point.

As we moved to plan b with the s'mores I thought about what Joey said and about Mr. Rudolf's wise words:
"I used to dream about, the life I'm living now/I know that there's no doubt/I made it."
Even though work makes me crazy a lot of the time, I do seem to get some kind of weird satisfaction out of it, so even if I win the powerball tonight (the drawing is in only 1.5 hours!) I'll probably still go there everyday. OK not EVERYday, but I'll still work MOST days (probably.)  Joey suggested we not tell anyone if we win (except of family of course,) and put the lotto winnings into our respective offices to make it like, super fancy looking so people we're amazing dentists. Good idea Joe Joe! Picassos all around!

I do feel like I've made it, and I did used to dream about what it would be like to be a dentist. Yes, a dentist specifically, (since my teen years)  and maybe meet someone wonderful and handsome and live in a neat city and have a great life. So thanks Kevin Rudolf, Birdman, Lil' Wayne, and all of the other featured artists for todays inspiration.