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!