a day of fun

Saturday, Brian and I went to Epcot for free! Yay! ESPN paid for everyone on his team at work to go, including their families. (He's working on a game for ESPN.) Anyway, we got there at around 1:00 or so and had a great day. The weather was awesome - a little overcast, but warm. We went straight to Mission: SPACE and rode that first. There was no wait at all! It was an amazing ride. There were so many G's that at one point I could feel my face being pressed back! Awesome!

Then we went and got a fastpass for Soarin' and headed off to the countries. (Test Track was closed!) We had lunch in France and it was delicious. Then we watched a film of the French countryside and it made us want to go there! We wandered around the countries for awhile, watching another film of China and riding a boat in Mexico. It was very enjoyable.

Finally, we headed back to Soarin' and it was fabulous! We got to see the coolest things, and when we flew over the pine trees we could smell the pine, and when we saw the orange groves we could smell the oranges! It was so cool! (I'm so glad we had gotten a fastpass, because there was an 80 minute wait!!)

We ate a quick dinner and set off to watch the fireworks and have dessert with the EA and ESPN people. They had a section of the park roped off and there were tables with drinks (coffee, hot chocolate & tea, and lemonade) and tons of fancy tables with amazing desserts! It was so cool! We had a front row seat for the fireworks and they were spectacular!

BUT - my very favorite part of the day was meeting up with two friends from my old work at Brentwood-Benson Music. Julie and Rob were in town for Children's Pastors' Conference and we met them at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney after the parks closed. We had appetizers and talked until nearly 1:00 am. It was SO WONDERFUL to see them again! I hadn't seen Rob since I quit in January of 2000, and I hadn't seen Julie since my wedding in October of 2000! What a wonderful day it turned out to be.

Yesterday, Brian and I watched the rest of Season 1 of 24. It was SO! GOOD! We love it. We also went to Home Depot last night and got a cabinet for my scrap room. I love it! It's looking good in here!

Today, I went to a new doctor because I needed a Primary Care Physician. (Remember I couldn't find anyone to see me when I was sick?! I don't want that to happen again!) I LOVED him - he was so nice and had a great manner. We talked a bit and he wants me to come back in a month for a physical (oh, joy) and bloodwork (wonderful.) I hate having those done but I want to keep healthy!

I'll post pictures of Epcot and Rob & Julie later.

trapped in the closet

So, on Thursday morning I was getting ready to go visit my grandparents in Ft. Myers (a 3-hour drive). I was in my bathroom putting toiletries in my case when I noticed something on the floor of my closet. It was a lizard!!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I like lizards. They're cute. But I don't want them living inside my house!!!!

To make a long story short, I thought it was dead, called Brian and told him about it, then came back in and noticed it was alive (!), gave a little scream, called Brian back and told him it was indeed alive, and then, per his suggestion, I put a big glass bowl over it. Max was climbing all over the bowl. I shut the closet door and headed for Ft. Myers.

On the way, I saw this sign:
BRIDGE WORK AHEAD
USE EXTREAM CAUTION

I also saw the Braden River. :-D

When Brian got home from work, he got the lizard and took it outside. Max was desperately trying to get it, so he had to be locked up while Brian took the lizard out and gave it some water (he thought it looked dry!) Brian is so funny. He told me the lizard let him pet it. It was gone this morning, so we're hoping it survived and was reunited with its family!

I got home from Ft. Myers around 10:15 tonight. I had a great time with Nan & Pops. They are hilarious! Nan got her hair done today so I went with and got a pedicure. Love it. I now have pinkish-purplish sparkly toes.

Brian and I are off to Epcot tomorrow! I'm hoping we can upgrade our tickets to park hoppers for a small fee, because I really want to go to MGM!!!!

i'm energized

Yesterday was quite a bad day. I woke up with a migraine and couldn't shake it, and I was so mad because it was my book club night! I finally felt better enough to go to the book club and had a GREAT time. But when I came home, I was feeling wide awake, so I did a little scrapping and surfing online. Brian didn't come home until a little after 3:00 am, and we went to bed, but I couldn't sleep.

I watched the clock and tossed and turned until 5, then I finally decided to just get up. That woke Brian up, and we started talking, and we talked until around 6:30. We were both exhausted, so we finally got to sleep - the last time I looked at the clock it was 6:45. Brian got up at 8:30 for work, and that woke me up, and then I was up till 10, and then I took another little nap until 11:00. Good grief! We both feel like we've been hit by Mac trucks today.

BUT - I turned it around. I chatted online with Denise and we did a few 20-minute cleaning challenges, so I got some things done around here, and then I went to the gym! I hadn't been in a really long time, and it felt so good to get some exercise. Then I got smoothies for Brian and I and took his over to him at work.

When I got home I did another few 20-minute clean-ups with Denise, got a roast in the oven, and now I'm sitting down to blog. Denise tagged me with this craziness, so I guess I'll play!


Most recent....

Music downloads: The last music I downloaded was some Christmas music, Pretty Vegas by INXS, and Trees by Marty Casey.

Audiobooks: Too many to list! I just finished "Moment of Truth" by Lisa Scottoline. I'm currently listening to "Light from Heaven" by Jan Karon and "Undomestic Goddess" by Sophie Kinsella. Waiting in my queue are "Mary, Mary" by James Patterson and "Murder Boogies with Elvis" by Anne George.

Videogames: I'm addicted to Solitaire, especially Spider and Free Cell. My most recent VIDEO games are Katamari, We Love Katamari, and Guitar Hero.

Books: I mostly listen to books, but the most recent books I've read are "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller and "Girls' Night In" by Jennifer Weiner and other various authors.

Movies: Let's see, right after Christmas Brian & I watched "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Bewitched," and I just saw "Must Love Dogs" at Denise's.

Television: Brian and I are catching up on 24 since we've never watched it. We're total addicts. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm also a reality tv addict! I love American Idol most of all, but also watch The Gauntlet (Real World/Road Rules Challenge) and The Biggest Loser. I'm also into reruns of A Different World, which used to be one of my favorite shows. We also love Lost, The Office (hilarious), and My Name is Earl.

I'll tag Sera, Jason, and Brad!!!!

scrapping with denise

Today I spent the day scrapbooking at Denise's. It was just me, her, and her 2 kids. (Her hubby is camping.) We had a great time! I got two 2-page layouts and two 1-page layouts done! That's pretty amazing for me! And it's always fun to spend time with Denise and her adorable and sweet kids. And her two wild and crazy dogs!

Emily, Denise's 6-year-old daughter, decided it was time to test out their brand new pool. It was just finished like last week, and the water is in and it looks great, but it's pretty cold! Emily stuck her feet in, then stood on the top step, then the next step down, until she was completely immersed! Then she started jumping off the side and swimming all around! Mind you, it's January, and she was fully clothed! (Of course, it was in the 80's today!) It was a sight to see. Denise even broke out her camera!

So here are a few of the pages I did today. Click to see them larger.

a day of tv - and brad, you were right!

Brian is home sick today, which is great for me and not so good for him! I made a huge pot of homemade chicken soup this morning and we had it for lunch AND dinner. I think B is feeling somewhat better. He'll probably go back to work tomorrow and I'll miss him! But I guess someone has to work around here - ha!

We have been watching tv all the livelong day! (Well, I've done some cooking and cleaning too.) We started out with Biggest Loser Special Edition and then moved on to Lost, both on TiVo from last night. They were both great. Eventually, we began watching 24, which we've never seen before. I rented it on DVD from Blockbuster last night. I thought I got Season One, but it's really Season Four. (I have no idea how I made that mistake! I blame it on fatigue!) Anyway, it's the best show ever, just like my brother said. We're on our fifth episode and we're hooked.

My mom had her third epidural steriod shot today. Her leg and foot are still hurting pretty badly. Pray for healing for her. And please pray that the doctors will know what to do. They are going to talk to her next week about deadening the nerve in her leg (I think). Hopefully this shot today will make a big difference.

PS - AMERICAN IDOL IS BACK ON AND BETTER THAN EVER! YAY! I have watched every show since season one and I'm a huge fan! Love it!!

day to day stuff

Not much is happening over here, with the exception of Brian officially catching whatever bug I had. He's pretty sick, but he went to work anyway. He's staying home tomorrow and I'm going to try to find a good recipe for homemade chicken soup. Poor thing, I know exactly how he feels and it's not fun!

I did manage to scrapbook a page on Monday night. It's also for the homework for my book club coming up this Monday.

I spent part of yesterday doing 20 minute challenges with Denise. That means setting the timer for 20 minutes and getting housework done. I did like 5 or 6 of them and got a lot done! Yay! Then I went to the Scrapbook Shak at the Altamonte Mall and took a class, which was fun. And then I went to Barnes and Noble and bought "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. I've read about half of it and it was so good I knew I needed to own it. Donald Miller is coming to Orlando in February and I hope to go see him! If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it.

We found out that ESPN is paying for Brian's team at work to spend a day at Epcot on the 28th. Exciting! I hope Brian is feeling better by then!

Today I've just been hanging around, surfing the net, petting the cats, trying to get a dr. appt. for Brian. That's about it! I may go shopping a little bit later. I definitely need to get to the grocery store!

Ooh, I also found out that my beloved brother Brad is coming to visit in February! He's speaking at a retreat in Tampa and will get to spend one night with us. So fun! I can't wait!!!!

Happy 30th Birthday Jennifer!!!! (yesterday) Love ya!!!! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you!!!!

brian is getting out of work early!!!!

Yay! Brian has been working Monday - Saturday every week since well before Christmas. And he works 10am - nearly midnight every day. So I'm SO! EXCITED! that he is getting off early--I'm going to meet him and we're going out to dinner and probably to a movie! Yay!!!!

Today I went to Walmart to copy some pics on the Kodak picture maker. I was there for over an hour--it was really crowded and I had to wait in line a lot! I also picked up two cool Rubbermaid bins to store Christmas stuff in, since I will no longer use cardboard boxes due to the bugs. :-P

Then I got a smoothie at Planet Smoothie--I got a Screamsicle, which has pineapple, peach, and orange, and anti-oxidant boost, which I figured I could use. It makes it taste kinda mediciney, though. Then I went to the scrapbook store, big surprise, and got my January scrap-a-sketch kit, which I love. I had totally planned to come home and scrap--I have a great idea for a page about Max--when B called and said he's getting off early. So I gotta go and get ready for my big date!!!! Yay!!!!

baby will and scrapfest

Today I signed up for Winter Scrapfest at Lifetime Moments. It's this really fun thing where they post challenges for scrapbooking and you do them to earn points. For every certain number of points you get, your name is put in a drawing for a prize. Several prizes are given out and I've never won one, but every time I've done a Scrapfest I've gotten a TON done! And the challenges always inspire me to do pages that I would never think of myself, such as a page about my obsession with shoes. I'm so excited about Scrapfest, even though I'll be doing it alone. :-( Unless I can convince Denise to do it with me! Some of my NY girls might do it too, so I won't really be alone--we can scrap together while chatting online.

I've actually gotten some things done today! Our house is starting to look more like a home instead of a hospital!! LOL My bedroom was full of cups, Kleenex boxes, magazines, aspirin bottles, nose spray, Vicks, cough drops, etc.!! I got that all cleaned up and the laundry is going and the dishwasher is running. The bed is made and the bathroom counter is cleaned off and ready to be disinfected. The kitchen is clean and the den is nearly clean. I need to vacuum today, too, and then I can get started scrapping for Scrapfest! Yay! I'll try and post some pages here as I go.

As promised, I wanted to post a few pics of Baby Will when he was only a few days old! Here he is, and one with Uncle Brian, too. Isn't that sweet??!!

christmas with the taylors

OK, I'm finally getting around to posting some pics of Christmas with my family. This is the first year in awhile that we didn't take a family photo! What's wrong with us??!! Well, anyway....

Here's Braden with his new piano:

And Braden going for a ride in the wagon with Papa Carl & JoJo:

And Braden in his adorable train pajamas:

As you can see, most of my pictures are of Braden. I also have some of Baby Will, but I think he deserves his own post so I will do that tomorrow. :-)

back on my feet

I'm finally almost completely well! Yay! I was beginning to think I would never get better!!!! Some of you have emailed me but my email is all backed up since I wasn't even checking it while I was sick. I have a lot to catch up on, so don't count me out! I will answer you, I promise! (This means YOU, Farinaccis! Miss you!)

Tuesday I went over my friend Denise's to help her re-vamp her scrap room. I wasn't feeling the best, but we still had a good time. I went yesterday too, and was feeling even better--and now the job is nearly done! Her scrap room looks AWESOME! I LOVE it! I am jealous!! LOL I'm going back today (in a few minutes) to help her finish up. It's been so much fun looking through all her stuff and hanging out with her and her kids. And it's definitely helped me feel more like a human being again!! I was starting to feel like a big germ laying around on the couch!!

So, I'm off to pick up some lunch and then to Denise's. Ooh, did anyone watch LOST last night??!! SO good!! Have a great day, everyone!

barely among the living

Would you believe that I'm STILL sick?! Since I last wrote, I just kept getting WAAAYYYYYYYYY worse until one day at 5:00 am, Brian and I seriously contemplated going to the ER. We didn't, though, mainly because we knew that they'd probably say it was viral and they couldn't do anything. Although I was beginning to think I had pneumonia.

My head and chest are FULL of phlegm. Ick! I got some Mucinex and it's made my coughs a little more productive, though I sound like I've been a chain smoker for 40 years. Now my ears are clicking every time I swallow, but today is the first day I've felt like doing anything besides laying on the couch. Brian has had to invest in some ear plugs because of my coughing fits all night. And I'm drinking 8-10 cans of pop per day (Sprite & Ginger Ale) PLUS hot chocolate and hot tea, so I get up like 10 times in the night to go to the bathroom. My nose continually feels like I've just sniffed a bucket full of water. Ugh. I hope none of you get this! And I REALLY hope Brian doesn't get it!

Brian stopped by his office's library on Wednesday and brought me home a cool video game for the PS2--it's called Katamari, and you just roll this ball around and pick up stuff. It's really fun and no stress, so I've been playing it and it takes my mind off my misery a little. If you have a PS2, you should rent it. You'll be hooked!

Well, there's not much more to say since I've just been home all week. I feel like I've wasted an entire week of my life. And I'm STILL not up to going out. And you should see my HOUSE!! Not good. Not good at all. It will probably take me this whole week to get it cleaned up. And I feel like I need to Lysol everything. :-(

medical escapades

Yesterday, I spent the morning again calling around to find a doctor who would see me the same day. I finally found a place near my house that said I could walk in at 1:00. I stressed that I was a new patient, and she said it was fine, that there were walk-in appts starting at 1. Of course, it took four calls to finally talk to someone--they kept transferring me to a nurse and I left her a message but she never called back. She still hasn't.

So I showed up at like 5 till 1, and was told that I had to have an appt. So I explained that I had talked to someone who said I didn't. The whole time I was explaining, the lady behind the desk was shaking her head at me. WHATEVER!! She tried to send me to a place down in Orlando, but I wasn't driving out of Apopka.

Cue the tears. I got in the car and called Brian, blubbering to him about how doctors are supposed to be there for sick people, etc. etc., while my cell phone kept dying. I finally drove by a place even closerto my house and went in. They were closed for lunch, but I sat down and waited anyway, along with about 10 other people. But I was prepared: I brought my book.

I waited for about 45 minutes and was finally called back. The jovial Spanish doctor came in my room about 15 minutes later and wanted to know if I had been there before. I explained, as I had to the 2 previous nurses, that we had recently moved and I hadn't found a doctor yet. He wanted to know where I had moved from and I said Albany, and he launched into a 20 minute conversation (mostly one-sided, remember I'm sick) about the northeast, his residency in PA, his residency in Brooklyn, his visit to Albany, the snow, the weather there and here, the fact that it's colder than normal right now (what? it's 80 degrees!), the price of real estate here and there, taxes, NY taxes, his friend in NY who had problems with taxes, FL taxes, and on and on. No, I'm totally not exaggerating. All I know is that I could hardly swallow and why the heck wasn't he treating me yet!!

Eventually he looked in my ears, nose, and throat, and listened to me breathe. He pushed around on my belly and asked me about my symptoms. Then he started typing on his computer and started asking me about antibiotics. I had to ask him what I had. He didn't know what I meant, so I clarified: did I have a sinus infection, ear infection, strep throat, or what? He said it could be strep, he wasn't going to test me because strep lives in the body and it's always present (? then why does anyone ever do a throat culture?), but that I probably had a sinus infection.

He then handed me a prescription for a Z-pack and told me not to take it unless I started feeling worse, (mind you, I had to be feeling pretty bad to be at the doctor's in the first place) because he didn't want my body to get used to any antibiotics because what if I got pneumonia and really needed one? As if I pop antibiotics like vitamins.

I went straight to Walgreen's, filled the Rx, came home, and took the pills. Good grief! I was feeling pretty crappy! I still had trouble going to sleep last night because you know how it is when there's all this mucus running down your throat. (Sorry, that's gross.)

At least this morning I woke up with a croupy cough so it's starting to break up in there. My throat is still really raw, but I know that the cough is a good sign. I've spent the whole day on the couch watching tv. I am so sick of laying around!! I've GOT to feel better soon!!!! :-P

By the by, I woke up at about 7:00 this morning and felt like death warmed over, so I got up and took my antibiotic and some Advil and went back to bed. When I got back up later, I noticed that my Z-pack was missing and the bottle of Advil was on the floor. Guess who--MAX! I still can't find my Z-pack so I'm guessing he batted it under the fridge or stove. That's a job for Brian when he gets home. Crazy cat!

i have....

the mother of all sore throats. I've spent the entire morning and early afternoon trying to see a doctor. We went to 3--yes, 3--urgent care centers. One was closed, one had no appointments today (? it said walk-ins welcome, why did I need an appt.?), and one had a 3-hour wait. No, thank you. I'll just go to a normal doctor tomorrow.

Brian got up this morning, showered, and went to work, only to find he was alone in the building! It's not a work day, so he has a surprise day off. Too bad I feel icky or we would do something exciting. I don't feel horrible, just my throat hurts and I feel a bit tired. We did go to the grocery store and I got some throat spray and lozenges.

People are out in their shorts and tank tops today. The sun is bright and hot, the breeze is warm. It's just weird! You'd think it was June or something. It's warm enough that we drove around with the windows down. My car's A/C needs to be recharged.

Not much more to tell--today is just a nice day that I get to spend with my hubs. Maybe I'll even do some scrapping. I talked to Denise the other day, and she invited me to a crop on Friday night. Yay!

Oh, Brian and I listened to a few great books on our trip. We LOVE listening to audio books--they make the time pass more quickly, it seems. We have listened to all of the Harry Potter books on CD, and they are incredible. For those of you with kids, this is a great idea. The guy who reads them does all the voices and everything.

My favorite book of this trip was 4th of July by James Patterson. This is the fourth installment in Patterson's series about the Women's Murder Club. The series is excellent and this book did not disappoint. I think it's fun when there is a series about a character or group of characters, because then you feel like you know them as you read the books and you look forward to what might happen to them next. Kinda like Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" books or Jan Karon's "Mitford" books. Love it.

James Patterson has another series of books about Alex Cross, and those are also fabulous. Brian and I have listened to all of those together, too. You can find out more about James Patterson's books by going here.

a few quiet days at home

Well, we've returned from our holiday travels and I believe we've nearly recovered from them. The laundry is all done, we're mostly unpacked, we've rested, the house is fairly clean, and we've started taking down some of the Christmas decorations. I'm glad to be home!

We were gone for 8 days, and we spent 4 of those days in the car. We. Were. Exhausted. BUT--Baby Will was born while we were in KY, so when we stopped back through Greenville, we got to see him. He is ADORABLE! He's got red hair and the softest little cry. I'll post a picture tomorrow. Now we have a niece and TWO nephews!!

My dad sang Gesu Bambino for me on Sunday morning, despite partially losing his voice during the carol sing. It was marvelous.

Braden was tons of fun at Christmas. I'll post pictures of him tomorrow, too. We got him a piano (child-sized) and he loved it! He immediately went over and started banging on it. He did hands together and then right and left alternately. He's so clever. He was a joy to be around.

We got some pretty great gifts and had a blast with our families. Mom and Dad got me the Florida poster print by P. Buckley Moss. If you've been to my house, you've seen my collection of these prints. I have Kentucky, Ohio, Atlanta, and New York, and now I've added Florida. I have one of every place I've lived except Tennessee, which is out of print. Maybe I'll find one someday.

My in-laws got me the Christmas accent plates that go with my china. They are GORGEOUS! I can't wait to get my new dining room set so I can display them properly.

Brian got me a gorgeous necklace, too. I was very surprised by this--he did a great job!

Brian got lots of entertainment stuff: movies, music, and mostly games. He got Guitar Hero for PS2 and we all had a ball playing it, including both our dads! That was fun to see!

Probably my biggest surprise for Christmas this year was from my dad. He put some of our old tapes on CD for us, including Brad talking as a child (hilarious--I'm always trying to interrupt his recording and he keeps getting mad), me talking as a child (well, mostly singing, and once my dad sweetly says to a 2-year-old me, "When you listen to this someday later on you'll be sorry you acted that way." ha!), and about 24 selections of our family singing, different members at different times, etc. The first cut on that CD has me singing the first verse of a family favorite, and I must have been 8 or 10. Oh, and Gesu Bambino is on there, too. :-D

For New Year's, Brian and I just sat around watching movies in our pajamas. We got home late Friday night, so we spent Saturday mostly lounging around and doing a few odd chores. We watched "Bewitched" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," both of which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Tomorrow, it's back to the grind for B. I'm going to start looking for some students. And I have to go to the eye doctor, since I washed my contacts down the drain on Christmas morning. Brilliant, I know. And it was my very last pair.

It got to 79 degrees here today. AND it was pretty humid. What!?!! Our air conditioner is on. Drastic change from our lives last January. Sometimes we still can't believe we've moved. We'll refer to last year and then act all shocked. For example, yesterday evening I said to Brian, "Last year at this time, we were at Pat & Jenn's for New Year's!" And Brian replied, "And we had no idea. NO IDEA!!" I miss New York. :-(

Cheers to a new year. I hope we can achieve at least a few of our goals this year!