Domo!

If you've spent time on the internet in the past few years, you've probably seen the following meme of a kitten being chased by two creatures:

So when I came across an identical stuffed creature called Domo at the local video arcade, I immediately traded in my tickets to make it my very own. After my cat Josie attacked me this week for refusing to cuddle with her, I was looking for a way to pay her back. And clearly since God uses these creatures to kill kittens, I knew that Domo would strike fear into her little feline heart! Here he is in my living room, just waiting to strike.

And here he is, sneaking up on Josie for the first time in my bedroom. She doesn't even see him coming. Bwahahahaha!

He got even closer to her in the living room. Is it just me or can you see fear in those wide yellow eyes? Maybe she has learned her lesson!

But then, one morning, I came downstairs to find this:

"Domo, why you so angry?"

Now, she sleeps curled up in a ball next to him. She made a friend. My plan failed. My bite/scratch marks go unavenged. Maybe someday I'll forgive her. Sigh.

Friday Quick Takes -- 08/24/2012

--- 1 ---

I didn't post any Quick Takes last Friday because I was too busy trying to decide whether to cancel our trip to Italy. Unfortunately, I had to have an emergency root canal in the days immediately preceding our departure date. In addition, one of my fillings on the opposite side of my mouth broke and a piece was jutting into my gum. I had it refilled, but the temporary filling came out and I had to have it refilled a second time. When all was said and done, I'd had about 10 shots of Novocaine in a span of two days. My mouth was swollen, my jaw was sore, and I couldn't eat anything other than pudding and applesauce. Needless to say, we cancelled the trip. Luckily we had trip insurance so, with a note from my endodontist, we should get our money back. We're both disappointed, but we realize that we'll have a better time if we go when I'm feeling 100%. I think we made the right decision, because my mouth hurt for an additional four days after the day we were supposed to leave. It finally started feeling better this past Tuesday, thank God.

--- 2 ---

On Saturday, Ryan Star happened to be playing in a park near my house. My friend Dave found out about it online and thought it would be the perfect thing to cheer me up. I dragged Sarge with me and we met Dave, his brother Brendan, and Brendan's fiancee Becky at the park. We set up our lawn chairs and settled in to watch Ryan perform. Although his full band wasn't present, he did not disappoint. He performed quite a few of my favorites. It was a great distraction. After Ryan finished performing, we walked over to say hello. I've met him quite a few times (ironically, he knows me as Doctor Dani) and he's always such a pleasure to talk to. We managed to snap a quick picture together before he went back to signing CDs.

--- 3 ---

If you've never heard of Ryan, you should definitely check him out. Here's the link to the YouTube video for his new song Stay Awhile. He recently performed it on Leno. I am partial to a lot of his older songs including We Might Fall, Losing Your Memory, Last Train Home, and Breathe. Check them out!

--- 4 ---

Ironically, there was a booth at the concert where they were giving away bags of free pasta. They gave me seven bags of it. Sarge joked that we could eat pasta every night during the time we should have been in Italy. I may have been tempted to throw a bag at him.

--- 5 ---

Speaking of Sarge, he's been using his free time this week to work on our sun porch. Here is the progress, along with a blog-approved photo of him working hard:

That is probably the only picture he will ever let me post of him. Isn't he handsome? Haha!

--- 6 ---

We are going to do all white furniture in our pretty blue room and try to incorporate an ocean theme. Here is the sofa I picked out:

It is part of the Brynn collection and you can find it at Raymour and Flanigan, if you're interested.

--- 7 ---

There hasn't been a lot to report this week. Although my mouth feels better, my allergies have been a complete disaster the past few days. I can't seem to catch a break this week but my father gave me a much-needed reality check. Things could always be worse!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Day At The Beach

On Monday, I drove down to Sandy Hook with my parents and younger brother for a family beach day. We had decided on Sandy Hook because it was a convenient place to meet my aunt, uncle, and cousins who live in Pennsylvania. My mother comes from a large family, with four brothers and four sisters. As a result, I have 16 first cousins on my mother's side alone. Several of these cousins are married and already have children of their own, so that makes for one big extended family! On Monday we were meeting:

• My Aunt Sue and Uncle Frank
• Their son Frankie, his wife Lisa, and their two children
• Their son Michael, his girlfriend, and his son
• Their son Christopher
• Their daughter Alyssa
• My cousin Keri, her husband Louis, and their two children
• My cousin Shannon

Needless to say, we were a big group! We spread out some blankets, chairs, and umbrellas and lathered on the sunscreen. Keri brought a cooler that doubled as a stereo with speakers, so we hooked up Alyssa's iPod for some music. When it became too hot in the sun, we headed down to the water to cool off.

All of the cousins ran into the water, with my Aunt Sue close behind. My uncle and parents stayed at the blanket to watch the little ones, as the waves were too rough for them to join us. We swam out past the breakers and bobbed up and down in the waves together. My cousin Frankie commented that the experience was a flashback to twenty years ago and he was right. As little children, we grew up more like siblings than cousins. It wasn't unusual to see them multiple times a week and, with all the sleepovers, we practically lived at each others houses. Now, we're lucky if we see each other more than once every few months. I commented that, back in the old beach days, Alyssa and Shannon hadn't even been born and noted how quickly time flew by. We were all quiet for a moment before my brother and Christopher started goofing around and making us all laugh. 

After swimming, we returned to the blanket to eat some lunch. My mom over-packed as usual, so in addition to sandwiches we had potato chips in several flavors, Cheez-its, grapes, watermelon, soda, and water. We hung out on the blankets and ate, soaking in the sun. 

Alyssa, me, and Keri

We had such a good time together. Keri mentioned getting a group together to travel up to Lake George next summer and it sounds like such a great idea. I'm already planning a family barbeque for Labor Day weekend. Is there anything better than spending a day with the people who know you best?

Friday Quick Takes -- 08/10/2012

--- 1 ---

I know that I am a bit late getting this up, but I was busy from 8:30 a.m. on Friday. It started with a service call, followed by shopping at the clothing outlets, dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, attending a comedy show, and meeting some friends at the local ale house for pre-season football. I am exhausted!

--- 2 ---

After all that, Sarge was up at 7:00 this morning to work on our house with his father. The two of them are ripping down the siding in our sun porch and replacing it with a regular wall, so that I can paint it and hang pictures. Needless to say, it's been a very noisy morning.

--- 3 ---

At the moment, the sun porch looks like this:

Much to my mother-in-law's disappointment, that yellow wall color is the first thing to go. I've decided to do the room in blue and white, with a bit of a beachy nautical theme.

--- 4 ---

As of this past Wednesday, I am done working for the summer. I hadn't intended to work at all, but settled on working two days a week to keep busy and make some extra money. I am excited to have a few weeks off before things start up again in September.

--- 5 ---

Lately, I have been trying to read my Bible more consistently. I've been studying the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, particularly the descriptions of what he was experiencing emotionally at that time. He is described as "struck with terror" and "deeply depressed." It is comforting, both personally and professionally, to know that Jesus has "been there" and can identify with that kind of emotion.

--- 6 ---

I had lunch with my godfather on Thursday. He is 82 and, at times, the way he is aging upsets me. His memory is not what it used to be, he walks with a cane, and he is skinny and beginning to hunch over. He had to miss my wedding last year because he was hospitalized with pneumonia and we weren't sure he'd survive. All of this only makes me more determined to enjoy the time I have with him. He is truly one of my favorite people and his presence is a gift.

--- 7 ---

I am trying to pick some books to entertain me on the flights to and from Italy. My mom is planning to lend me the new Nicholas Sparks book and I have the new Emily Giffin book on my download list. I've also heard good things about a book called "Maine." What book would you recommend I get? It's a long flight, after all!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Busy Saturday

Saturday was a busy day for Sarge and I. We had two events to attend: Mason's first birthday party and Jen and Jon's wedding. The birthday party started at two and the wedding started at seven, so I was fairly confident in our ability to make it to both. When I received the invitation to Mason's party, I sent a text to Elisa (his mother) and let her know that we had a wedding the same day and could probably only stay an hour or two. She was perfectly fine with that and was just happy we could come at all. Unsure of the dress for a backyard birthday party, I settled on the new maxi dress I bought for my upcoming European vacation:

(Let me pause here to note that the reason I post pictures of me minus the hubby is because he hates having his picture anywhere on the internet. And, being as he is my husband, I feel like I should respect his wishes. I also try not to post pictures of my friends and family without asking their permission. Unfortunately, that means there may be a lot of pictures of me and no one else.) 

We had a lovely time at Mason's party, although we didn't get to see much of Elisa and her husband due to their hosting duties. We sat with some friends of mine from work. Melissa, her husband Tim, and her one-year-old son Brennan were there and we always enjoy spending time with them. And my friend Jaclyn joined us after a bridal shower she'd attended earlier in the day. We were able to stay for two hours before we had to head home to get ready for the wedding. 

We arrived home and showered for the second time that day (thank you, humidity) and began getting dressed for the wedding. Sarge was a wee bit annoyed that I insisted he wear a purple shirt and tie to match my purple dress, but he eventually got over it. I'm probably biased, but I think he looked very handsome! Here I am, all dressed up:

I was very excited to be attending Jon and Jen's wedding. Jon has been my brother's best friend for years and Jen and I have become friendly over the time they've been dating. I love them both and was thankful that I could be a part of their special day. Jon has such a dry, sarcastic sense of humor and is pretty low-key. Jen is a wild ball of energy with a very loud personality. As soon as she saw me, she launched herself at me, grabbed my butt, and gave me a loud smacking kiss on the lips. Sarge was amused but worried about what her family might think. I laughed and told him that it was a typical Jen move and that they were probably used to her after all these years. 

My brother was in the wedding party and looked very handsome in his tuxedo. We weren't seated at the same table, but he spent time with us between eating and dancing. Sarge is very outgoing, so we made friends at our table rather quickly. The men at the table weren't looking forward to dancing, so us girls took over the dance floor on our own. I did manage to get Sarge up for a few slow dances (including the couple's first dance, which I nearly cried through). All in all, we had a ball! It was a busy Saturday, but a lot of fun.

Friday Quick Takes - 08/03/12

--- 1 ---

I had lunch with my best friend and co-psychologist Emma yesterday. While we finished our coffee, I recounted this playground conversation with one of my favorite Aspie kiddos:

Marlon: Hey, Doctor Dani, remember that time that I was obsessed with alliteration?

Me: Marlon, aren't you still obsessed with alliteration? I don't recall it stopping.

Marlon: Why, dearest darling Doctor Dani, you're absolutely right. I'll see you tomorrow at joyful junction (what he calls my office).

And off he ran.

--- 2 ---

I realize that, unless you have some knowledge of Asperger Syndrome, that first "Quick Take" probably isn't very funny. Unfortunately, I'm too tired to care.

--- 3 ---

In describing my job to my dear friend Wibberley, he once commented that it sounded a lot like being "Alice in Wonderland." And it is. But I love it and couldn't picture myself doing anything else.

--- 4 ---

I went for my physical this week and was surprised to learn that I hadn't had one in four years. Apparently, I can only be bothered to go to the doctor if I'm sick and my cure-all (Benadryl) isn't helping. And apparently, in those four years, I've lost five pounds. Score.

--- 5 ---

I also spoke to my OBGYN earlier this week, who gave me the go ahead to try for a baby at any time. I'm still not sure when that trying will commence. There are times I feel beyond ready and other times when the whole idea scares the hell out of me. Is anyone ever TRULY ready?

--- 6 ---

My dad took me to lunch at a local diner today. I had one of my favorite comfort meals: bacon on a toasted bagel, with mayo. It is essentially a BLT without the L and the T. That lettuce and tomato just take up space that could better be occupied by bacon. I think I may have found those five pounds I lost...

--- 7 ---

Perhaps the best thing that's happened this week is Sarge getting assigned to a new position, which will give him steady days off (Friday and Saturday). No more rotating schedule or random weekdays off. Hallelujah.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!