What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Sometimes, I wish I could turn back the clock and be a kid again during the holidays. Christmas meant Santa, which always equaled presents. I remember waiting in anticipation of the Toys R Us book or the big Sears catalog to come home and mark off all the presents we hoped to open on Christmas morning. You'd write a letter to Santa, with all the gifts you wanted, explaining you were a good boy or girl and why you deserved such big gifts. You'd wait in anticipation for weeks for a letter back. The night before Christmas, you'd set out your cookies and milk for Santa to eat; we always put carrots out for the reindeer too. Sometimes, you'd sleep and stare at the ceiling, waiting to hear the hooves of reindeer on the roof or a HoHoHo from Santa. But the best part of all was Christmas morning; the smell of my mom putting cinnamon buns in the oven and making hot chocolate; my dad getting the video camera ready and Sarah and I waiting to run down the stairs...I remember lots of bags filled with wrapping paper, mom and dad fighting as to who should open their presents first and oh how good those cinnamon buns were and how sticky my fingers would be after eating 2 or 3.
When you are a kid at Christmas, you don't worry about who to buy for, how much to spend or who's house to go first so you don't insult the other side of the family. The innocence of the holiday is lost as you grow up...
Today, the holidays for me isn't about presents; it's about being with family and friends. Over the past few holidays, I've looked back and sometimes thought of how childish it seemed that all you wanted was the best of the best on Christmas day to go brag about at school. And a Christmas list...I really can't even tell you the last time I sat down to write a Christmas list. My mom asked me this past weekend what I wanted and I really can't think of one thing I really want; it's sad but true.
The things I want you can't buy; they are the things that I believe, we as human beings need in our everyday lives; friendship, love, health, a sense of family....it's a time to reflect on all the good things you have and realize how life precious is. This year has been an absolute blessing and I wouldn't change on bit of it. ...
The holidays are a reminder that life is short and you should cherish every moment you have in the one that you've got; no matter how bad it seems. It's not about presents but being around the people that mean the most to you; that you hold dear to your heart....
The holidays are about traditions...every Christmas, my mom has gotten Sarah and I ornaments that are significant to something that happened within the past year. I now have 25 of them to now hang on my Christmas tree. It's a present I always cherise opening on Christmas morning; I hope to continue the tradition with my own family. This year is really the first year I will not be at my parents house on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but most importantly Christmas morning. I know I could kick and scream and Matt would go to NY, but it's time for me to be a grown up and wake up to my husband on Christmas morning in our first home. But I can promise you, I will be making cinnamon buns and hot chocolate!

So before you let the holidays get to you, I hope you can remember the innocence of the holiday season that used to be and reflect on what you are truly grateful for! Ok now I'm tearing up....

Toys for Tots...

Just realized I didn't post this. Thanksgiving weekend, Matt and I assisted in hosting a Christmas party to benefit Toys for Tots with our best friends, Kristin and Patrick. The party was a complete success with two boxes stuffed with toys. It was a great night with lots of drinks and food, which is always positive in our books. I've included some pictures from the night: Kristin and I making a build a box gingerbread house as well as Matt and Patrick at the beginning of the night : )

Summer in December

In a weekend, I officially changed my name on my license/passport, bought a dining room table and a grill!

Yes, it has taken me almost 6 months to change the name on my license and passport, but I am under a time crunch to get it done since Matt and I leave for St. Lucia on New Years Day. I take after my mom...I am a procrastinator. So I am officially a Le******. It's not an easy adjustment; I was never the girl who signed her name everyday looking at how my new name would look. And I don't have my PT license changed yet, so I cannot legally sign my notes @ work. So I still have a little bit of my pre-marriage name attended to me! I hated my last name when I was in school for all the obnixous knocks on it but for some reason, it's hard to move onto another name. You feel like you are losing part of your identity. Most of all, you realize that you are now an adult and more adult things are on the way. For example....

Since we've moved into the house, we've been looking for a dining room table so it has been approximately 6 weeks. Our kitchen is not an eat in kitchen, so we needed a table we could use everyday that would distress well. We have been to almost every furniture store you can name and finally settled on 2 tables @ Crate and Barrel. Both of them are mango wood, so they are ego friendly, which was huge for me. One table, the Cabria, had the planks horizontal with removable leaf to expand the table to 82 inches long from 60 inches long. The second table, Basque, an antique farmhouse style, has vertical planks with a honeybrown finish but does not have a leaf and sits @ 82 inches long. For the past 3 weeks,Matt and I have been back and forth 4-5 x looking @ both tables. We have taped in out on the floor and surrounded it with folding chairs. And we've had multiple opinions...

And the decision was......the antique farmhouse style table! Though we were concerned about the size of the table, it is truly a spectacular piece of furniture. It is all wood with a lacquer finish; the beauty of this table will be enhanced by the beating it takes over the years. Delivery is scheduled for Saturday. I promise to take pictures when it gets here!

As our Saturday went on, we took our weekly trip to Lowes to get some Christmas decorations! Well, instead of walking out with Christmas decorations, we bought a grill. To be more precise, it is a Char Briol Quantum commercial grade infraded grill! It is the mother of all grills I've ever seen and it's hard to resist when all Matt has ever wanted was a big grill. It retails for $1,000 and we bought it for $350, thanks to my clipping of coupons! Matt is a kid in a candy store right as I've watched him put it together. As it grew in size, his eyes grew wider and this silly smile came across his face. It really was the one thing he said he wanted when we got a house, so his dream has officially been fulfilled. He's also said on multiple occasions that he would like an LCD TV, but I put the squash on that...it was the grill or the TV : ) Technology is a guy thing, something I may never understand, but to me, we have a good size TV and as my father would say, "If its not broke, don't fix it!" Then this morning, we woke up to approximately an inch of snow on the ground. To my dismay, it is officially winter : ( Matt had a flag football game @ 9 AM so we both bundled up and braved the weather. I don't like missing his games; for one, he traveled the entire east coast when I played soccer in college. In all the road games, I believe he only missed one over a 4 year period. My other reason for always going is my own personal list of injuries. For those of you who don't know, I've broken my left arm 3 times. The last time was the worst; I was playing in a summer league soccer game, a game that none of my parents were suppose to be at. Luckily, for me, my mom was able to get out of work early and take me. Not even 20 minutes into the game, I went down with the 3rd broken arm. In the back of my mind, I always remember that I was suppose to be there by myself so I always make sure I'm at Matt's game, god for bid something did happen. Plus, on multiple occasions, I have served as the athletic trainer to tape guys up or assess an injury. Anyway, Matt's team won the game and it was cold; my toes started to burn with pain they were so cold! So another busy weekend in the books!

Weekend Warrior into Weekday Warrior

So yesterday, we went out to shop some extra furniture for the room....total failure! Love Matt to death, but I don't really think he knows exactly what he needs so that's difficult. #2...we really haven't come up with a layout that we like; I'm more concerned about Matt liking it because he does work from home. So we went to Ikea and Target with not so much luck. So we came home, I retouched the paint and put the second coat on the wall and for some reason, we decided to rip up the carpet! Personally, I think the both of us were frustrated and since we really don't have walls to demo, the carpet got beat up!

The hardwoods in the room definitely need some work; an area of the floor will have to be replaced. Matt believes it's old water damage. So it looks like we will be taking a class on replacing/finishing a hardwood floor. My father thinks we are crazy for not hiring someone but it is a tiny room so I think it's a good place to experiment. And if it fails, I'll just get a big area rug to put down to cover the mistakes : )

As this weekend comes to a close, the horror of this week is starring me in the face. It is a very short work week; 3 days; which means crazy schedule to make sure all patients get in before Thurs and Fri. That means 14 hours days on Mon and Tuesday; somewhere find time to pack and Wednesday, take the ferry to LI to start the festivities with old traditional Thanksgiving Eve celebration. I cannot wait to have a drink on Wednesday night : ) More on Thanksgiving Eve after the holiday because I know it will be entertaining as always!

Million Dollar Taste...5 cent Budget

I guess you could say we have taken the advice of my grandmother...we are trying to build Rome : ) We did get one thing accomplished. Last week, we transformed the Pepto room to a warm granite color with bright white trim. It's the perfect backdrop for all of his UnderArmour nicknacks that he has collected over the last 3 years. I have the perfect black and white pictures to hang on the wall of NYC. The layout of the room is somewhat awkward due to the spiral staircase in the corner that neither one of us whats to take down, unless the right offer comes along on Ebay or Craig's List. The room most also function as an extra bedroom when guests come. We don't have a bed yet; we do have our very comfortable Airobed for people to sleep on. Personally, I don't think we are going to get a bed in the room too. So I've been trying to figure out if we should get one of those bed in the wall units to keep it stored away until we need it. But I think I'll work on getting a bed first!

The thing that makes me laugh is you really do think you are moving into a house and you don't need to change much stuff...then you get in and the list grows...very rapidly! And on top of it, you have million dollar taste on a 5 cent budget! I have about 12 projects I want to do; one of them gutting our little bathroom but Matt wants nothing to do what that right now (project 12 I guess) and all of it costs money. So I'm currently trying my best to bargin shop my way around to find storage solutions, etc for this room. I also need to find another color besides gray, white and black because that does not fit into my beach theme of living...

That's my other problem. My aunt keeps asking me, how do I define my style? Well, let's see...I absolutely LOVE Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware (million dollar budget) and I love a more upscale beach theme; beach theme because of the cool neutral colors and the easy living of the water...Blues, offwhites, greens mixed with wood tones and texture.... I don't like stuffy furniture that you sit in and can't be comfortable and I don't want people walking into my house feeling like if they break something, I'll cry. I don't want something overly formal yet I want it to look inviting, comforting and adultish.... Formal is not a word that fits into my style vocabulary! I remember when my parents came up to look @ houses and my father looked at me and said..."This could be a formal dining room and living room." I laughed out loud! When I grew up back in Bport, my parents had a formal dining room and living room upstairs. It was the biggest waist of square footage! The living room is used by Nike, our little dog, because he sits by the window and barks at everyone who walks by and the dining room only got used if we had more than 4 people for dinner. Only in the last 4 years has the living room upstairs turned into a place we are "allowed" to sit; the dining room is now the everyday room since the wall FINALLY came down between the kitchen and dining room. I want my entire house to be livable, functional and flowing space, especially when you only have about 1200 square feet of living space. Every inch needs to count. My parents are also in the midset that every room can be different and I HATE that, especially when all the rooms open up onto each other...you need flow! So calling my parents for decorating advice is just not an option!

So today, my million dollar taste will be out bargain shopping since it is the season to shop!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

This past weekend, I had the privlegdge/honor to host my elementary school friends at my house. I have 4 girlfriends I've known since elementary school...Kristin, Andria, Tara and Meghan. Meg cleverly nicknamed us the "Forever Five" a few years ago, and the name seems to have stuck. We all went to elementary and middle school together, somewhat divided in HS when Tara and Andria went to catholic school and each went our own direction during college. Even though distance separated us and we didn't pick up the phone or email often, we always knew that we had each other, no matter what! Luckily, we are now within 3-4 hours of each other and this weekend, we were all together for a sleepover party at my house! The rules involved good food, lots of drinks, and sweatpants; old pictures got taken out which made us laugh...bringing up old memories of past relationships and past friends. We talked about the future...kids, holidays, etc...and why we love the men in our lives. Like we did when we were 8 years old, we stayed up until 2 am, chatting and finally went to bed. We had breakfast, continued conversation and eventually, everyone had to pack up and leave. But now goodbyes don't mean I'll see you in a year. We officially decided that we each host a weekend per few months and help out with projects at each others homes; Tara's place is next! Though I don't see each other often or talk often and I know I don't say it to them, these girls really do mean alot to me. And having that one night on Saturday really made me realize what a special bond we have!

My Husband, The Football Coach

For those of you who don't know, Matt has been coaching a 7th and 8th grade football team since July. Though I hated that 4 nights a week, he wasn't home until 8:30, I enjoyed every minute of our Sunday drives with Double D teas and bagels, listening to ACDC to get pumped up....

Matt and his friend Malik coached the team; they were asked to come on because of issues between parents coaching this team last year. Malik was the head coach/offensive coordinator and Matt was the defensive coordinator. About half way into the season, some parents were not happy about plays being called and demanded that the defense start a new defensive package. At first, Matt fought it because he didn't agree that the kids could run it nor make adjustments to a whole new defensive package in 3 practice and he wasn't confident in himself in calling it. He refused to let these parents get to him and he continued his hour treck up and down the coastline of CT.

This past weekend, they took the kids into the second round of playoffs, which for this team, was AWESOME. So the past 2 months, I've sat in the stands on the opposite side of the field so I really couldn't hear or clearly see what was going on. This Sunday, I got an up close look @ my husband in action. I've never been very good at recapping stories but it was awesome to watch these kids soak up every word he said; never going crazy like my father used to do! He was everything you want in a coach...patient, caring, direct and understanding. He was very focused on the kids; he felt very play and very emotion those kids felt; you could see it in the expression on his face. And me, walking up and down the sidelines, cheering, like I had a kid playing. They ulimately lost the game, but I watched from the sideline as the kids came up to him, one by one, thanking him for everything he had done and telling them they'd miss practice. Even some of the parents came up, shook his hand or gave him a hug, to thank him.

The last car ride down was somewhat bittersweet; I was even sad they had lost! But watching Matt coach made me see him as more than just a husband, but a parent. And already, I can tell, he'll be the one the kids love more because I'll be the mean parent and Matt will be the level headed one. I think he was meant to be a coach; to follow in the footsteps of his father. From stories I've heard, his dad was one of the best coaches around. I think his dad is watching down, smiling with pride, because of what he did with these kids. I also realized how much I actually miss playing on Sundays, spending the day on the field. And though I'm scared to death to be a parent, I can't wait to be that mom on the sidelines, with her son's jersey on, yelling @ the ref or pacing up and down the sidelines!

Should I really be doing this?

I've always been a type "A" personality; yes shocker, I totally admit it. I may not be obsessive compulsive about things but I am so type A and this week, with work, I was soooo done! For those of you who don't know, I'm a physical therapist; I work in a private outpatient/sports medicine clinic. Since graduating HS, I knew this is what I wanted to do..I wanted to help people get better and back to their lifestyles. Over the past few months, I have grown increasingly bitter toward my job; never my patients ( I love all my patients, except a few weirdos) but toward the insurance companies and my boss.
Healthcare is a tough business to work in since we are basically regulated by a bunch of money hunger insurance companies who decrease our reimbursement, make us justify to their employees, many of them with no medical background, why my patients need my continued care; I mean we really need to make things simple stupid or we get phone calls asking what we are trying to say. On top of that, many patients copays are high, approximately $30-$40 per visit; now imagine a post op patient who's dr recommends 3x per week for 4 weeks...you do the math. So because copays are high, patients come in less frequently; the economy doesn't allow patients to be spending $120 per week to get better; so when less patients come through the door, we bill out less...and because the insurance companies reduces reimbursement, we make less money...when we make less money and there is a bottom line to achieve, your boss expects you to see more patients in an 8 hour day. So instead of seeing 2 patients an hour, you are up to 3, possibly 4 an hour. So then as a result, you have less time per patient, which really doesn't equal quality of care, it's more about quantity. Believe me, it's not that I don't like to work; I just find the whole system a little odd. And I'm not trying to say that I'm underpaid or that I want a six figure salary for what I do; I just want patients to get what they deserve and what I feel is right for me.
Then their is my boss...I go beyond my 7-2 or 10-7 schedule; I've been opening up a few days a week to get kids in after school since I'm the only therapist on after 3 pm 3 x per week. She is sometimes unwilling to do this and often tried to squeeze them in on my schedule. Most nights, I'm there until 8:30 just completing paperwork from the day. I can go into more but it's not really worth it...
So I've reached a crossroad...the limitation in patient interaction on the outpatient level has really made me start to question if this is the field for me. I personally do not think I'm a great clinician; I'm average and for some strange reason, my patients love me. Maybe I'd do better on an orthopedic floor in the hospital but then I have to deal with puke, poop and peep and I really don't want to do that until I have a baby. Maybe homecare, who knows; but I think it's time for a change; I don't think I'm ready for a complete career change; I would totally hate that! I already look @ my student loan payment and can't imagine it going up. But I think it's time to dust off the resume and see what else I can do...

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day...

These words of wisdom were preached to me by my Grandma on Saturday afternoon. And for me, who is not a great decorator or has an eye for picking out anything that looks nice, these words calmed me down. During work this entire week, I thought about paint color, trying to fix my very small 5X8 bathroom, and debating on if we should a dining room table or not....
Matt and I are currently still spending our nights eating dinner on the couches with plates on our lap or sitting on the floor @ the coffee table. A few weeks ago, we saw exactly what we were looking for @ Raymond and Flanigan; Mountainview table and chairs. Saturday we went back but the table looked more red than a brown color; Matt and I were looking for a more maghoney/espresso finish and decided that spending over $900 on something we really didn't love wasn't worth it; needless to say, we spent the next 4 hours going to other furniture stores, which basically all carried the same thing; so am I being picky or just a smart shopper...
Then I wasn't sure if I should go with a round table vs a retangular table; basically we wanted a rectangle because they came with a leaf so the table could expand if we had guests. Then the inner desigern in me (NOT!) thought round would be better. So I mapped it out on the dining room floor with Matt; discussed for about 1 hour and realized I was being stupid and that we really need a table that would expand for guests...
So now we know we want a mahoney/espresso retangular table with X back chairs, preferally 6...now to find it!

Because Rome wasn't built in a day, Matt and I did take Halloween weekend off from any type of major house decisions; Friday night we attended the Halloween Party of Eric and Sue, our new neighbors in Milford. Matt's costume somewhat failed; he tried to be my oh so favorite Tom Brady (totally lying...go BIG BLUE) He tried to attach a fake leg for his injury but it really didn't work. I reused my 80's chic costume from Tara's bacholerette party with some minor changes. I also handed out candy to all the little trick or treaters in the neighborhood though I was disappointed that there was not as many kids; they started @ 6:30 and ended around 8:30. I used to be out trick or treating @ 5 and not home until 9ish...yay Bayport! Saturday was furniture shopping and Sunday was football Sunday....Matt had a flag football game in the AM, which thank god super Colleen was there; one of our friends got a pretty nasty concussion after going head to head with one of his own players and then one guy on the other team I think partially torn his ACL; I told Matt I should be played for being there. We then drove up to Guilford where Matt coaches 7-8 graders; they won their 1st playoff game and move on and then, the Giants game; the highlight of my weekend. The fact that they spanked the Dallas Cowboys was the greatest feeling EVER!!!!!

so now the work week is finally underway and I'm ready for the weekend again!

Welcome to the Neighborhood

As we moved in on Saturday, we had the pleasure of meeting most of our neighbors. My personal favorite is Cliff; he is 86 years old and lives with his 82 year old wife diagonally across the street. He basically gave me the scoop/gossip of the neighborhood; this is where things get a little creepy....Across from Cliff is a 91 year old woman; her son lives with her (can't remember names)...Next door to Cliff, the old lady living there passed away 6 months ago; her son and daughter in law are caring for the house. At this point, I'm thinking I'm going to really keep up on my CPR in case someone needs my help. Then I'm thinking, we are surrounded by old people! Not that I have something against old people but my real estate agent said young people lived around us. As I was talking with Cliff, Gerry, the Republican, who lives down the road pulled up...He seriously introduced himself as Gerry the Republican, prouding displaying this huge McCain/Palin pin on his shirt. So now it's old people and diehard political people...this isn't working for me. As you look down the block, you can see all the signs in his front yard.
Later in the day, John, my father was walking on our side street ( our house sits on a corner lot) and met Brian and Lisa...a couple around our age...thank god! I naturally walk out of the house with a champagne in a margarita glass to introduce myself... They moved into the neighborhood about 3 years ago and love it. Lisa and Brian also own a German shorthaired pointer, which is the type of dog Matt wants, and they offered us tools, if we needed anything...fabulous!
No one has dropped off any cookies or cake yet...maybe that just happens on TV!

Home Depot and Lowes is my BFF!

To preface this post, Matt and I have made approximately 6-8 trips to Home Depot and Lowes between Friday and Monday!

Walking through the house, Matt and I didn't expect to be doing many projects...yeah right! So last night, I decided I wanted to do my first project by myself, which was replacing the tub stopper on our bath tub since it was literally falling off and Matt was creating a box of insulation to cover the stairs to the third floor. First of all, I couldn't get the link to come out far enough; then went through multiple pliers to get in the small hole while trying to hold a flashlight in my mouth ( you need mental images for this) as i'm sitting indian style in the tub. Finally I got the old piece off, but needless to say, the new piece didn't work because the backing to the tub isn't completely round, nor could we get the link to fit in....Matt had to actually stop his project to help me out, so it went from Colleen's project to Matt's project...so back to Home Depot we go to return and find a new one....well they didn't have what we needs...so down I-95 to Lowe's; Matt finds a piece that might work; I am walking up and down the plumbing isle just trying to find something to seal up the area, like a plug with some plumber's putty...Matt find this quite amuzing. So we get home...Matt takes over the project and within minutes, the hole in the tub is covered! He was also able to close off the third floor; it is just a finished attic space with a spiral staircase up from the 2nd bedroom up. Since heat raises, we closed it off to save on heating bills for the winter time...yippee!

...and now we own a house!

This year has been a very eventful year for Matt and I. We moved back to CT, where we met in college; Matt had just moved back up to CT in January to start a new job as a sales rep for UnderArmour and I was still in Maryland (I'm a phyiscal therapist). We were back together in CT in Feb 2008; continued planning our wedding.... got married on July 3rd, 2008.....

and officially became first time homeowners on October 24, 2008

It's been the best first year of our lives together! We just want to thank everyone who helped up move on Friday. It was suppose to rain all day but the weather held off until late @ night, which was fabulous. So now we are starting on the little projects, disassembling boxes and trying to figure out where to put everything....we hope you all keep in touch with the blog to keep up with our busy lives....believe me, these posts will get interesting! Love you all!!