Sunday, October 31, 2010

I don't think I'm even part Austrian.

For some reason I woke up this morning singing Edelweiss. I realize that's not very Halloween-y (Happy Halloween, by the way), but I figured I'd throw it on the ol' blog since I can't stop singing it. You know....why not?

Movie Videos & Movie Scenes at MOVIECLIPS.com

Saturday, October 30, 2010

The things left behind...

I've been trying to write this blog for almost a week now....I just haven't been able to find the words.

For the last few months, I've gotten used to coming home and either having dinner ready or having the ability to vent about my day...or (on really special nights) both. I've gotten used to waking up before my alarm goes off to the sound of someone showering (I'm actually thinking about paying someone to come to my house and turn on the shower 30 minutes before I wake up...it's a lot more soothing than waking up to a screeching alarm). I've gotten used to someone being around. I've gotten used to a much bigger TV. I've gotten used to a fridge filled with actual food (instead of just string cheese, expired yogurt, and Diet Coke). Not only did I get used to those things...I actually loved them.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I may have some abandonment issues, but I find it pretty crazy that my life seemed to turn upside down the very same week that one of my very best friends...the friend that I have thrown everything at for the last three years...moved away. It really is crazy how much your life can change in one week. You can be headed in one direction and then suddenly you are faced with decisions you never thought you would have to make. I don't even like deciding what to eat for dinner, now I have to decide what I want for my life...without the person around that has the most insanely awesome listening skills on the planet.

Don't get me wrong. I want Chris to be happy and if moving to Kansas is what makes him happy, then so be it. Make no mistake, though...there are so many things that he left behind (which includes, but is certainly not limited to, the Notre Dame jersey hanging up by the washer and dryer).

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The sound that goodbyes make...

I'm not going to sugarcoat this.

I have just experienced one of the top 3 hardest weeks of my life.

Best friend moving away: check
Organizing everything to be moved out of the house: check
Losing my job: check

I was really waiting for a stranger to walk up and punch me in the face.

The thing that has just absolutely floored me is the unbelievable support that I've received from my co-workers, friends, and family. I start to cry every time I think about the phone calls, texts, and emails I've gotten in the last few days.

I have some big decisions to make about where to go next, but yesterday it became quite apparent that wherever I go, Gary can't go with me. I first asked Chris if he'd take him (it's been well documented on this very blog that Gary has a crush on Chris), but with Chris kind of dealing with his own transient issues...it wasn't really feasible.
The next person that I thought of was my nephew Logan. He constantly talks about Gary and firmly believes that Gary is his cat. There is a slight problem with Logan taking him since my mom is allergic to cats (and likes to babysit her grandchildren), but I figured I'd ask my sister-in-law anyway. Thankfully, she agreed and last night I was able to call my nephew to see if he'd be okay with living with the fuzzy boy.
The conversation started like every other conversation that I have with Logie. He was telling me what he's been up to (he seems to be involved in some pretty intense 6 year old type stuff, I assure you) and then I asked him...
Me: Hey...I think Gary needs a home. Do you think that he can come and live with you?
Logan: (I swear, you could hear the smile in his voice) Yeah...
Me: Do you think you will be able to love him and hug him and be nice to him?
Logan: Yeah...
Me: Do you think Sadie will like it?
Logan: Sadie loves kitties!
Me: Do you think you'll let him sleep with you?
Logan: Yes! I leave my door open because I'm scared of the dark. He can sleep with me!
Me: Alright, I'll probably be there in a few weeks to drop him off.
Logan: Alright, I think we can do that. Here...talk to mom...

After typing all of that out, I can now see how I wasn't really able to capture how adorable my nephew was in all of his excitement.
So even though I'm sad that Gary is finding a new home...I'm so, so happy that he is going to be loved (insert me starting to cry once again here).


(And just so you know, "the sound that goodbyes make" sounds an awful lot like waking up to the sound of packing tape.)

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Penelope Went Home

So the little squirt has been discharged from the hospital and I had to post this picture...

AAAAAAAAAA-dorable.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Baby Pie

Penelope Mae was born today! (I didn't mean for that to rhyme)

She's 5 lbs 5 oz, 19 inches long and apparently looks exactly like me (although, I'm pretty sure my mom and brother were just saying that to make me feel special).

At this point, we're not sure how long she'll be in the NICU, but she seems to be doing pretty well. She only needed a little oxygen, had a little fluid in her lungs, and didn't need a blood transfusion (I was told earlier in the day that she would probably need one).

Oh...and the title of this blog is called "Baby Pie" because my nephew Logan was deciding on nicknames for his new cousin and that's what he came up with.
Which brings me to the sidenote of the evening:
Logan sent me his first texts of his life tonight. My 6 year old nephew texts! I honestly couldn't be prouder...

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Thursday Thoughts.

I was thinking that the title of this post sounded stupid, so I just went with it. Why not...right?

Sadie...
As you know (well, as you should know as long as you read the previous post), Sadie fell off a chair on Sunday and broke her baby femur. They (I'm going to assume that "they" are women who have both given birth and broken their femur) say that on a scale of 1-10, childbirth is a 9 and breaking your femur is a 10. Soooo...needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), 25 years from now (give or take 5 years), Sadie will be able to birth a child like a pro.
The thing that haunts me is her little drugged voice crying, "I want dowwwwwn..."
At two years old, she can't vocalize that she's bored and wants to move. She just cries and says she wants down. Although, she may be saying that because she feels high as a kite, but still...the poor thing will be stuck for 6 weeks.

Penelope (aka "A New Niece Without a Broken Leg")...
Tomorrow, at 2:30 EST, Penelope Mae Rogers will make her way into the world. I'm convinced that she will have big eyes and red hair. The perfect combination of Jade and Zack.
Penelope is in there...
Zack's best friend Adam spent entirely too much time with his Paintbrush app.


Drinking games...
The other day in school there was a lot of chatter about nonsense (as there always seems to be). My two school chums and I decided that we'd make a drinking game out of it (or a pretend drinking game out of it...since drinking at 9am in school is discouraged).
Here are the rules:
Anytime someone mentions their child - Take a shot
Anytime someone mentions their significant other - Take a shot
Anytime someone says, "That's what I'm sayin'!" - Take a shot

Just so you know, within 30 minutes I had hypothetically ingested 42 shots. Needless to say...if we were really consuming alcohol, I would've been dead by 9:30am.


Stats...
I've never noticed this before, but when I sign in to blogger.com, it has a tab that says "Stats". When I clicked on it, it showed me everywhere where my blog has been accessed. I was impressed with myself when I saw that it had been accessed in Germany...and then I remembered that Emily was just in Germany for work. I instantly felt less international.

I love, love, love this picture of Emily (and a guy she stole a hat from)


I'm going to end it there. Not because I don't have any more thoughts, but because I'm hungry and I want to grill some chicken to deliciously top my salad.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Pitiful & Cute

My 2 year old niece Sadie fell off of a chair yesterday.

My nephew described it like this, "She was playing and then she fell off mom's chair and then she did the splits and she broke her bone."

Apparently, when he was talking to my mom about it, he said that they wouldn't leave her in the hospital overnight because she's so cute. You have to love the logic of a 6 year old. Unfortunately, the hospital doesn't follow the logic of a 6 year old and she will have to stay in there for a little bit.

It was a spiral fracture to the femur and thankfully the doctor doesn't think there will be any long term damage. Of course, getting through the next six weeks with special car seats and a baby wheelchair may prove to be a challenge...

I honestly haven't seen such a combination of pitiful and cute in my life...

Sunday, October 3, 2010

One week from yesterday.

On October 9th, my cousin Dan will marry his longtime girlfriend Jenni. Since I'll more than likely be in full on aunt mode (which pretty much just includes posting tons of pictures of tiny hands and tiny feet), I wanted to make sure I gave a proper shout out.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR UPCOMING NUPTIALS DAN AND JENNI!!!!

Since I love it so much, I have to also post a picture of some of my favorite people on the planet in some of their most heinous Christmas garb...
Man, this just makes me want to start planning an ugly Christmas sweater party.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Any minute now...

Yesterday, I posted a picture of my little brother grading papers, but I so rudely left out Jade (who has been stuck in the hospital for what seems like forever).

Penelope wasn't due to arrive until November 8th, but the plan is to bring her into the world on October 8th (unless she decides to cause even more problems).

These pictures were taken on one of the days that Zack took Jade on one of their walks around the hospital grounds. I believe this particular picture was taken at the top of the parking deck. Seriously, their options on where to travel to during these walks are limitless...

My favorite thing is that Jade said that these pictures show her pregnancy face, but really...her pregnancy face is just everyone else's regular face. I'm just she'll be back to her boney self in no time. :D

Friday, October 1, 2010

I feel old.

I know that my little brother has been in college for about four and a half years now (he's double majoring...not just slow), but my sister-in-law just posted a picture of him grading art projects that were done by his students. I think this was the first time that I had a moment of realization that my baby brother is an adult. He has students that are actually learning things from him.
You have to appreciate that this is the first time that I've thought of him as an adult since he's actually going to be a dad at any moment. Apparently, that didn't trip any adult alarms in my head when he announced that months ago.


I have zero doubt that he's going to be an amazing dad/teacher/youth pastor/bike assembler (actually, I'm not sure if he still assembles bikes...but he has put together a few pretty quirky ones that would fit right in at an art museum).