2005 Blog

Lively Days Blog Posts from 2005 www.livelydays.blogspot.com Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2005 Introduction About Me... Name: Amy Lively Birthdate: May 17, 1977 (that makes me 28!) Hometown: Coshocton, Ohio (small town 1-1/2 hours east of Columbus) Current Home: Powell, Ohio (suburb of Columbus) Family: My dad, mom & younger sister Julie still live in Coshocton...my husband Leon & I live in Powell...my 11-year-old stepson Andrew & 10-year-old stepdaughter Beth are with us part of the time...we also have a furbaby Goldie (a 5-year-old golden retriever!) Anniversary: October 5, 2002 (married 3 years, but Leon & I have been together for 5 years) Education: Graduated from River View High School in 1995 and from The Ohio State University in 1999, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology Work: Communications Director for a homebuilders association Favorite Colors: Green & Pink Favorite Movies: Forrest Gump, Band of Brothers, anything horror & all chick flicks! Favorite TV Shows: ER, Law & Order SVU, Joey, The Apprentice, Family Guy (past faves that are no longer on include Seinfeld, Friends and Oz) Favorite Actors: All of the Band of Brothers and Oz actors (*smiles*), Colin Farrell, Christopher Meloni Favorite Actresses: Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet, Mariska Hargitay Favorite Music: Hit List-type music...whatever's popular at the moment! Favorite Season: Summer (I HATE cold, wet, rainy, snowy, icy Ohio winters!!) Favorite Holiday: Christmas Favorite Food: Italian (Olive Garden!), Mexican, Chinese Things Not Many People Know About Me... * * * * * I I I I I am a natural brunette with very curly hair...but I straighten my hair and dye it blonde! have a small rose tattoo on my lower back. have been addicted to Blistex for 15 years!! collect anything with angels or golden retrievers on it. believe golden retrievers are angels sent from above to bring joy to their people's lives!!! The Loves of My Life... * My family, my friends, my golden retriever, my health, my home, my job...and all of the blessings in my life that I unintentionally take for granted every day but am ever grateful for anyway!! POSTED BY AMY AT 11:01 AM 1 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2005 My Family Even though it was taken over 2 years ago, this is one of my favorite pictures of Andrew, Beth and Goldie. Here is a recent picture of Leon and me at a friend's wedding. POSTED BY AMY AT 12:04 PM MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2005 Destination: Las Vegas Last Wednesday, October 5th, was Leon's and my 3rd anniversary. It doesn't seem like it has been 3 years already!! My gift to Leon was a surprise trip to Las Vegas!!!! I have been planning this trip since August, and it has been really hard for me to keep it a secret! Leon was very surprised. He didn't even suspect that I had planned such a trip. We will be in Vegas from January 22-28, 2006. We'll be staying at Circus Circus, which I know isn't the nicest hotel, but at least it's on The Strip (and the rooms are really inexpensive!). Leon has never been to Vegas, and I was there once back in 2000 with my best friend Darlene. I am not a big gambler or anything like that, but just seeing Las Vegas is the coolest thing ever! The lights, the sights, the desert, the mountains...gorgeous!!!! I can't 2 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog wait! 2005 I planned a few other things for us while we're there, including a helicopter tour of The Strip at night, a "Haunted Las Vegas" tour, and a lunch-time horseback ride in the desert. We are both looking forward to the time away! I love traveling and I wish we had the time and money to do it more often. There are so many places I'd love to see. Some of the places I've been in my lifetime aside from Las Vegas include... * Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (My parents took my sister and me there almost every summer growing up) * Niagara Falls, Canada (This is the only time I have ever been out of the country!) * Orlando, Florida (I have been to Disney World twice) * Chicago, Illinois (I have been there twice also) * Washington, D.C. (Leon's brother lives in Maryland so we visited D.C. while we were there) * Los Angeles, California (Leon and I went to Hollywood on our honeymoon) * Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (I went there on a retreat) * Key West, Florida (I got to go there for a work conference and Leon was able to tag along) * And like all Ohioans, I have driven through parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan and Illinois I hope to visit New York, the East Coast, Texas and Hawaii someday...as well as Europe -- England, France, Germany, Italy, etc. Maybe we'll strike it rich in Vegas so we can do some more traveling in the near future! ;) POSTED BY AMY AT 1:23 PM MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2005 My Best Friend Darlene Neff is my best friend. She's like a sister to me. We met in the 7th grade when we were 12 years old and we have been friends ever since. We both played the clarinet in the high school band, we graduated together, we went to the same college and we were roommates up until I moved in with Leon. We have been best friends for over 16 years! We have been through good times and bad times together. Most recently, we have been through some very bad times. In early 2004, Darlene was diagnosed with a type of cancer known as soft tissue sarcoma after a tumor on her leg was found to be malignant. She had the tumor removed, but by that summer the cancer had spread. She had a tumor behind her eye as well as lesions on her lungs and liver. That was such a frightening time. Darlene underwent intense chemotherapy for 8 months, where she had to stay in the hospital for a week at a time, hooked up to an IV with a constant chemo drip. She went through surgery and radiation. She lost all of her hair, but she never lost hope. Darlene remained so positive and determined. The doctors didn't give her a very good prognosis in 2004, but a year later she 3 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog was in remission. 2005 Fast forward to fall 2005. Darlene's latest scans show no cancer. It's truly a miracle. She is back at work full-time and her hair is growing back. She is a survivor. She is stronger than I imagine I could ever be. Here is one of my favorite pictures of Darlene and me, from my wedding on October 5, 2002... POSTED BY AMY AT 1:45 PM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2005 My Job I have been sooooooo busy at work lately! (Of course, I should be working right now, but I am taking time out of my busy schedule to post this! hehe) For the most part, I really enjoy my job. I've been here over 3 years already (doesn't seem like it's been that long!). I am the communications director for our local homebuilders association here in central Ohio. My "official" responsibilities include making flyers for all of our events; preparing the content for our magazine, newsletter and website; handling a couple different councils and all of their activities; and helping plan our home shows, events, seminars, etc. We have approximately 1,100 members, made up of builders, remodelers, developers, subcontractors, suppliers, and any other companies that do any type of work within the home building industry (such as Realtors, banks, lawyers, marketing/PR firms, etc.). We only have 8 people on our staff though, so all of us do a little bit of everything! Work can be very stressful at times, with all of the deadlines we're under, and the whole month of June (when our Parade of Homes is going on, a show that attracts 40,000 people!) is crazy every year! But I guess it's better to be busy than not...job security, right?? I recently was chosen to lay out our monthly magazine. I am so excited about this because I LOVE layout and graphics! That kind of thing is so much fun!! Of course, this is a huge responsibility and means quite a few extra hours (and since I'm on salary, there's no such thing as overtime!). But I don't mind working a 4 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog lot doing something I enjoy. 2005 Yesterday my boss told me that I can go to the International Builders Show in January, which is being held in Orlando, Florida. How cool is that?! :) I have never been to this show before. Three of my coworkers will also be going. I wish I could bring Leon with me, but we don't get to bring our spouses. It looks like I won't be doing too much work in January! Two weeks after the builders show, I'll be going on vacation to Las Vegas with Leon!! Since January in Ohio is usually cold and dreary, it will be great to be in warmer climates during that time. I went to college to become a psychologist (I have a BA in psychology), but I've been working in communications since I graduated. After college, I found out pretty quickly that I had to have a masters degree or a PhD or at least be a licensed social worker in order to get the type of work I was looking for. I didn't feel like going back to school (and incurring even more debt from student loans!), so I took a job as the communications director for a commercial construction association. I stayed there for almost 3 years (3 years too long! I really hated that job!) and got enough experience to move on to a better communications position (the job I have now). So that's how a psych major ended up working for a bunch of home builders!! ;) My Office My Cubicle POSTED BY AMY AT 12:39 PM 5 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2005 My Golden Our golden retriever is so funny. So sweet. I never dreamed that an animal could bring so much joy to a person's life, but she has! If you don't have pets and if you are not an animal lover, then I doubt you will understand what I'm saying. You'll probably think I'm crazy (God knows my parents and my sister do!!). I am 100% serious when I say that I believe golden retrievers are angels sent from above to bring joy into their people's lives. Growing up, we were never allowed to have animals in the house because my dad didn't (and still doesn't) like shedding and he felt (feels) that animals are dirty. It's ironic he feels that way considering he grew up on a farm! But anyway, we always had outside pets. My parents live in the country, so we always had a bunch of cats around. They multiplied pretty quickly...at one time, we had over 20 cats hanging around our house! It was pretty funny actually. When I was 15, I got a dog. His name is Harvey and he is still around 13 years later. He is an outside dog, and he stayed at my parents' house when I went away to college and has been there ever since. When I met Leon, he had a 5-month-old golden retriever named Goldie. His sister, Becky, bought Goldie for him at a pet store in Cleveland as a gift for the kids. Goldie was an EXTREMELY hyper puppy! I mean, she was crazy and out of control!!!! She shredded everything and made huge messes and jumped all over you and was just downright ornery! In fact, I didn't like Goldie at all when first I met her. I wasn't used to having a dog in the house and especially not a puppy who loved to chew everything. (Leon has never let me live it down that I was not a Goldie fan at first!) But it didn't take long for Goldie to win me over. Before long, she had me wrapped around her little paw! ;) I became her mommy and she became my furdaughter. She is absolutely a part of our family! Why do I love her so much? As a golden owner I know I'm biased, but I think golden retrievers are the BEST breed of dogs there are. Goldie is so sweet and kind and gentle. Goldens are wonderful family dogs because they are so easy-going and tolerant of children. Goldie has never once growled at us or tried to bite us out of anger (play-biting is a different story!). She has shown us nothing but love. She tries to climb up into my lap (all 95 pounds of her!) every time I cry and kiss my tears away. She rolls onto her back and puts her paws over her nose and plays "peek-a-boo" to make us laugh. She carries socks and dish towels and oven mitts and shoes around in her mouth to get attention. She knows I am terrified of bugs (I usually scream every time I see a spider or the dreaded silverfish!), and she runs to my side to step on the bug for me! She barks like crazy at the garbage truck (aka the "trash monster") every week! I have sooooooo many golden stories to share (and if you are not a golden/animal lover to start with, I am already boring you to death!), so here are just a few "golden" tales: * Goldie got in the cupboard at our old apartment one day while we were at work (and before we wised up and put child-proof locks on the cupboards) and shredded a whole bag of potatoes! Even though she's no longer a puppy, she still occasionally shreds things if she can get her paws on them. 6 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 * When we were still living in our apartment, Goldie woke us up in the middle of the night. She barked and pawed us until we got up. We turned on the TV and it turned out a tornado had been spotted nearby. I guess Goldie sensed the weather change and wanted us to know something wasn't quite right. We called her "Safety Pup" after that. * The day before our wedding, Leon dropped Goldie off at my parents' house for the weekend (even though my dad doesn't like animals in the house, he lets us keep Goldie in my old bedroom as long as she's baby-gated in). Traveling makes Goldie nervous. As soon as Leon pulled into my parents' driveway, Goldie climbed into the front seat of Leon's Explorer and puked in the cup holder!! * When Leon and I were loading up the trunk of my car, getting ready to go to the airport before our trip to Key West, Goldie ran out in the garage and jumped in my trunk!!!! It was the funniest thing ever! She was determined to go with us to Florida (she had to stay home with her Aunt Julie, who reluctantly agreed to stay with her even though she hates dogs). * Since Goldie is so big, she can stand on her back paws and reach whatever happens to be on the kitchen counter. We learned our lesson the hard way to put food out of her reach. She has eaten whole pies, plates of cookies and whole loaves of bread when we weren't looking!! Ok, I'll stop rambling about my golden now. I'm sure you get the picture. She's a wonderful pet and she has truly left paw prints on my heart. :) Here is my favorite picture of Goldie: POSTED BY AMY AT 1:44 PM 7 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005 2005 More Pictures of My Family Here is my Dad, Joe, and my Mom, Cathy. This is my younger sister, Julie. Here is my Grandma, Laura (my mom's mom). My other grandma died when I was only 4 and both of my grandpas died before I was born, so she has been the only grandparent I've ever known. 8 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 This picture is another favorite of mine, Leon with Goldie when she was just a puppy. When I first met the kids, they were this age! Andrew was only 6 and Beth was just 5. And how they've grown! This is what Andrew and Beth look like now. This is Leon's whole family... (Back row, left to right) Leon's younger brother John - John's wife Karen - our sister-in-law Marjorie Marjorie's husband Rob, Leon's older brother - Leon's younger sister Becky - Leon's older sister Tammie (Front row, left to right) Leon - Me - Leon's mom Roberta - Leon's dad Donald - Andrew - our niece Jessica, Tammie's daughter - Beth POSTED BY AMY AT 1:46 PM 9 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2005 2005 In Sickness and In Health A week ago last Thursday, my great uncle Drexel passed away. He was in his late-80's and had been suffering from Alzheimer's for several years now. His wife, my great aunt Arline (my grandma's sister), had been married to Drexel for 11 years. When his Alzheimer's started to get really bad, she could no longer care for him at home so he spent his last years in a care center. Arline visited Drexel every single day though. She was very devoted to him. Even though his death was a blessing in the sense that he is not suffering anymore (he no longer knew Arline or any of his children), there is a definite void in Arline's life now. I went to Coshocton last Monday to go to his funeral. It was a very touching service. Drexel was in WWII so he had a military funeral. I hope that my aunt can find some comfort in the fact that Drexel is in a better place now. ******************** Speaking of sickness, my sister-in-law Becky (Leon's younger sister) was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This is such a shock and very difficult for Becky and the whole family. The doctor told her that she will most likely be in a wheelchair within 5-10 years. It's so difficult to comprehend this because Becky is so vibrant and active and full of life. I can't imagine her confined to a chair. It is so sad. Leon and Becky's older bother Rob is a doctor in the military, so he is going to take a look at her X-rays and give her his opinion too. She is also seeking medical advice from a specialist in MS. For the time being, there is no cure for this disease. Becky has a golden retriever named Bailey. Goldens are frequently used as service dogs for people in wheelchairs. I hope that Bailey can take care of Becky and bring her comfort when she needs it the most. ******************** Illnesses don't discriminate when it comes to age. My best friend Darlene was just 27 when she was diagnosed with cancer. Becky will be 33 in a couple of weeks. Drexel was in his 80's when he developed Alzheimer's. It's so easy to take your health for granted. I don't pretend to know what it's like to suffer from an illness like any of these. But I imagine that your health is like many other things in life – you don't realize how much it means to you until it's gone. POSTED BY AMY AT 7:01 PM 10 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005 Go Bucks!! I've lived in Ohio my whole life. I always knew I wanted to go to Ohio State after I graduated from high school. I never even applied to any other schools. I am and always will be a Buckeye at heart! Darlene and I went to the Newark campus of Ohio State after high school. We were there for two years, and then our junior year we transferred to the main campus in Columbus. I'm glad I started out small, but I loved the main campus!! Even though it is huge and there are so many students, I really enjoyed my time there. I know I'm biased, but I think Ohio State is a great school. I have never been much of a sports fan, but I still root for the Buckeyes. I have to admit, Columbus is a die-hard football town. It seems like the whole city shuts down when the Buckeyes play, especially if it's a home game. Even though the Buckeyes disappoint us sometimes, we all root for them anyway. Go Bucks! Leon bought us a giant inflatable Brutus to go in our front yard on game days! :) POSTED BY AMY AT 11:03 AM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005 Thanks for Reading My "Blawg" (and Other Thoughts on Accents) I was born and raised in a relatively small Ohio town, Coshocton. We lived out in the country, so I guess you can say I'm a country girl. I never thought I had an accent. But my husband, who was raised in the Cleveland area (Medina), has drawn attention to the fact that he thinks I pronounce certain words...well, differently. It seems that we Coshoctonians say words with a short "o" sound kind of strange. We don't say DOG. We say DAWG. Anything you can think of that rhymes with "dog," we pronounce funny – hawg, lawg, frawg, blawg. Apparently, we even say AWGUST (as opposed to August). 11 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 Even people from different parts of Ohio seem to talk differently though. My husband and other Clevelanders say their short "a" sounds funny! They don't say CAT. They say CAAAT (think of an "AAACK" sound). Therefore, any words that rhyme with "cat" are pronounced with a drawn-out "a" sound! :) So I guess I'm curious...do people from other parts of the U.S. and other countries think that people from Ohio have accents? Another thing I wonder...you know how when you hear someone who speaks a different language say things in English, they have a noticeable accent in the English language? I don't speak any other languages fluently (hablo un poquito español), so I couldn't judge this for myself. But when other Americans speak in Spanish, for example, do Mexicans (or other native Spanish speakers) think we have an accent speaking their language? Language is an amazing thing. The ability to communicate is really quite incredible. I know how difficult it is to master a second language. So for people who don't speak English fluently, they must be amazed at the speed with which we speak. Just like I'm amazed at how they rattle off a thousand miles a minute in their language! Meanwhile, my husband and kids laugh at ME for having an accent!! Go figure... POSTED BY AMY AT 11:21 AM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005 Happy Halloween! Last night, our association had a Halloween party for our members. We held it at an old sanctuary that has since been converted to a community center and is rumored to be haunted! I didn't see any ghosts though, aside from people dressed up as ghosts! There were about 100 people there. We had food and drinks and dancing and prizes. I haven't dressed up in years so it was fun to do that! I was a vampire. Here is a picture of me, black wig, red blood and even red eyes (that part wasn't intentional though!). Happy Halloween!! :) POSTED BY AMY AT 1:11 PM 12 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005 Where To Go From Here? This is very personal and I can't believe I am writing this here! But in my day-to-day life, I am very open with people about this, so why not on here too? I would love to have a baby. I'd love to be a mom more than anything in the world. But so far, that hasn't happened. I have something called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which basically means I don't ovulate. Last year, I took a fertility drug called Clomid three different times and I didn't ovulate. I was also on a diabetic drug called Metformin for a year too and I didn't ovulate (I am not diabetic, but Met has been shown to help women with PCOS ovulate). So according to my doctor, my next step would be injectible fertility drugs. I decided at this point in time, I am not ready to take this step yet. The biggest factor is the cost. My insurance doesn't cover anything relating to fertility treatments. We had to pay a little over $1,000 out of our own pockets for the Clomid last year. One round of injectibles costs over $2,000. Unbelievable, huh? One round. So if you don't get pregnant on that round, you have to pay another $2,000 for round #2. And so on. Invitro fertilization costs nearly $10,000. Adoption can cost up to $25,000. Unfortunately, this is out of our price range for the time being. The other reason I'm not ready to move forward with injectibles is simple: I just don't want to. I believe that people know in their hearts what is right for them, in their lives. At this point in time, treatment is not right for me. It is an emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting process. For those people who have never experienced infertility, there is no way for them to ever grasp the ache in your heart when you can't have a baby. Many people who have never experienced infertility always seem to be full of such "helpful" advice for people who can't have a baby too. ;) I know those people who like to give advice feel like they are helping, but they aren't. I've heard it all..."Relax and it will happen"..."Adopt and it will happen"..."Have you tried getting drunk? People seem to conceive when they're drunk"..."Go on vacation! People get pregnant on vacation all the time!" I try not to let these comments bother me. These "well-wishers" never seem to understand that doing any of the above still doesn't guarantee that my ovaries will work like they're supposed to. Infertility is unbelievably painful. But I'm not here to talk about how painful it is. I'm using this blog to talk about my life and infertility has unfortunately been a huge part of my life for over 2 years now. Two years doesn't seem that long. But I can tell you that 730+ days of infertility can seem like a very long time for someone who wants to be a parent and can't. (I know I'm a stepmom and I love my stepkids dearly. But being a stepmom isn't the same thing as being a mom. I am and always will be just Amy to them.) So the big question is, where to go from here? And the answer is, I don't know. But maybe it's ok not to know. Maybe when the time is right, I WILL know. I do know one thing though...if I am ever blessed enough to get the chance to be a mom, I will NEVER take that role for granted. So many women get pregnant with no problems at all, and I wonder if they know just how lucky they are? No one is guaranteed the role of Mom. It's so easy to forget that until you're faced with it. POSTED BY AMY AT 4:38 PM 13 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2005 Work, Home and Family Update I haven’t posted in over a week so here’s a quick update… Work: Since I’m laying out our magazine now, I recently got a new Dell computer and a flat-screen monitor. My computer has more memory which is great when I’m working with large files and graphics, and my monitor is much bigger which is ideal for viewing the magazine on my screen. I’m supposed to start laying the magazine out with Adobe InDesign, but I haven’t received this new program yet (I’m still temporarily using Publisher for lay-out). Hopefully, the program gets here this week! I’m also getting the full Adobe Acrobat program, along with Adobe Photoshop. Yay! :) Home: Leon and I are slowly but surely doing some remodeling/updates on our home. Our house was built in the early 80’s, so it’s a little over 20 years old. It had two owners before us, but fortunately it’s been taken very good care of for the most part. The main things we want to accomplish over time are painting all of the rooms, replacing most of the carpet and finishing our basement. We painted Beth’s room a pretty lavender color a while back (her favorite color is purple!), and we finally got around to painting Andrew’s room too (a nice grayish-blue color called “smoke blue”). This past weekend, we painted the baseboards in the kids’ rooms white. We want to replace most of the doors in our house with white doors (right now, we have dark wood doors which Leon thinks looks very 1980-ish!). I'll have to post some pictures of the house soon... Family: Leon and I are probably having Thanksgiving at our house this year. This might change at the last minute, but for the time being that’s the plan. We have the kids for Thanksgiving this year, so I assume most of my family and Leon’s family will come to our place. We had Thanksgiving at our house a couple years ago, and it worked out pretty well. I appreciate when people help out with the cooking though because unfortunately I am not known for my culinary skills! ;) I can’t believe the holidays are almost here!! I haven’t even started to think about Christmas and what to get everyone. I’m sure I’ll wait until the last minute to start my shopping, just like I always do! That’s all for now. Until I post again… :) POSTED BY AMY AT 11:06 AM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 08, 2005 Perpetually Late! I am always running behind schedule! I don’t even know why. When I was younger, I made sure I was on time (or even early!) to everything. I hated being late and I hated when people made me wait for them. And now the tables have turned and I am the one always running late, making people wait for me! 14 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 I’ve never been much of a morning person, but it seems to be getting worse the older I get. I have a terrible time getting out of bed in the morning. I hit snooze one too many times. So I always start off the morning running behind anyway. I have the best intentions every day to leave my house by at least 7:30 a.m. in order to get to work by 8:00 a.m. In reality, my workplace is only about 15-20 minutes from where I live. But with all of the traffic in the morning (we live right by a high school, a middle school and several elementary schools), it actually takes me more like 40 minutes to get to work. Traffic truly is a nightmare in the morning. So as a result, I sneak into work about 10 minutes late almost every day. I am usually pretty good at getting away with it. Some of my co-workers also seem to run behind in the mornings, and our boss has sent us a couple e-mails encouraging timeliness. I guess my New Year’s resolution should be to change my tardy ways! Just another one of those things that is easier said than done though. So if you happen to be reading my blog and wonder why I haven’t posted in a while, it’s probably because I am running behind schedule again! ;) POSTED BY AMY AT 2:47 PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2005 Confessions of a Lip Balm and Caffeine Addict + =ADDICTION Hi, my name is Amy and I am addicted to Blistex and coffee. It's true. Let's start with my Blistex addiction, which has been on-going for 15 years now. When I was 13 years old, I got a bad case of chapped lips. I went to the Coshocton County Fair with some of my friends, and it was cold and windy that day. I must have licked my lips a lot or something because they ended up really chapped. My mom bought me a tube of Blistex. And it was all downhill from there! ;) Seriously though, from that time on I have NEVER been without my Blistex. I carry it in my pocket everywhere I go. And if I don't have a pocket, I carry it in my hand. I literally start to panic if I can't find it. And I get somewhat moody if it's missing! ;) I have blamed many people for taking my Blistex over the years, when 99% of the time they hadn't even touched it. I re-apply it every 15-20 minutes. I probably go through at least one tube a week. My lips start to feel terribly dry and uncomfortable if they are not slathered up with a fresh coat of Blistex. I have tried 15 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 quitting Blistex, but I couldn't get past the withdrawal symptoms of dry lips and moodiness. ;) I have read that lip balm is not addictive, but I don't believe that. After 15 years, I think it's safe to say that I am addicted. Now for the caffeine addiction. I have always liked pop. But I didn't feel the need to ingest caffeine until I started drinking coffee. I used to hate coffee, but when I was in college I worked in the coffee shop at Kroger and I started drinking it then. I have found that if I don't have my morning coffee, I end up with a terrible headache that nothing will cure and then I'm basically useless for the rest of the day. I love coffee now. I can't drink it black though, I need cream and sugar in it. But it really gets me going in the morning and I continue to drink it so I don't end up with that awful caffeine deprivation headache. That's my story. They don't have any BA (Blistex Anonymous) or CA (Coffee Anonymous) groups that I'm aware of though. So my addictions will continue. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pour myself another cup of coffee and re-apply my Blistex. POSTED BY AMY AT 1:01 PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2005 The Starfish I came across this story a while back, and it brought tears to my eyes when I read it. It's touching because sometimes we think that we don't personally make a difference in this world. But if our life touches even one other person's life in a positive way, that is something. ******************************* While walking along a beach, a man saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean. He came closer and saw thousands of starfish the tide had thrown onto the beach. Unable to return to the ocean during low tide, the starfish were dying. He observed a young woman picking up the starfish one by one and throwing them back into the water. After watching the seemingly futile effort, the observer said, "There must be thousands of starfish on this beach. It would be impossible for you to get to all of them. There are simply too many. You can't possibly save enough to make a difference." The young woman smiled as she continued to pick up another starfish and toss it back into the ocean. "It made a difference to that one," she replied. POSTED BY AMY AT 2:59 PM 16 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 Winter in Ohio (is it really that time of year again?!) I’ve lived in Ohio my whole life, so I don’t know anything else. But in my 28 years here, I have never learned to like Ohio weather. It’s too unpredictable. We had a really hot, dry summer, but the summer before that was chilly and rainy. Just a few days ago, it was pleasantly warm for November. Sunshine and nearly 70°. Today, it is COLD outside! In the 20’s and snow flurries. I don’t like snow. I have never been skiing so maybe I don’t even know how to appreciate the snow. It was fun to play in when I was little and it can be pretty around Christmas-time. But the rest of the year, I don’t want anything to do with it. I’m just glad I don’t live in northern Ohio! My husband’s family lives in the Cleveland area where they have snow on the ground alllll winter long. At least in Columbus it melts, even if it comes back again the next week. The worst thing is that winter chill. I HATE being cold! I would much rather be too hot than too cold. We have the kind of icy winter wind that chills you to the bone and leaves you shivering for hours afterward. Yuck. :( So I guess what it all comes down to is, I like Ohio itself but I don’t like our climate. Maybe global warming will result in Ohio being tropical someday. ;) Now THAT is something to look forward to! POSTED BY AMY AT 10:23 AM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 I ♥ Scary Movies! I love movies! My husband and I only go to the movies about once a month, but we rent a TON of DVD’s each week! Leon has a Blockbuster movie pass so he can rent 2 movies every day if he wants. I’m a member of Blockbuster Online, which is very cool! You can find all kinds of movies online that aren’t always available in the store. My favorite kind of movies? That’s easy – horror!!!! I have loved scary movies since I was a little girl! I remember being 7 years old and claiming that “Children of the Corn” was my favorite movie. :) Although I’ll watch any cheesy horror flick that comes along, I prefer those movies that are actually scary. Some of the so-called “thrillers” unintentionally wind up being comedies. Just this week, my husband and I watched “Texas Chainsaw Massacre III” and I laughed the whole time. Nothing about that particular film was scary, other than the acting. ;) My favorite horror flick at the moment is “The Grudge.” In my opinion, this movie was really (and I mean REALLY!) scary. That little boy was terrifying! And I nearly had a heart attack toward the end when that 17 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 woman came crawling down the stairs!! I know a scary movie is GOOD when I am totally freaked out afterward. :) There is a great series on Showtime right now called “Masters of Horror,” which I highly recommend! You should also check out Upcoming Horror Movies to find out anything and everything you want to know about scary movies. The funny thing is, I hate being scared in real life. I don’t like feeling afraid of things that might happen or are actually happening in my life. But being scared of something that I know isn’t real is such a rush!! POSTED BY AMY AT 1:12 PM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 More On My Blistex Addiction I recently posted about my Blistex (and coffee) addiction. I was searching the Internet for places where you can buy Blistex in bulk (I told Leon last night that a box full of 100+ Blistex’s would make a wonderful Christmas gift...and I was being completely serious when I told him this). But anyway, I came across this website: Lip Balm Anonymous I really can't tell if this site is for real or just a tongue-in-cheek look at lip balm addiction. I like to make a joke out of my own Blistex obsession, but I still believe that I'm addicted to it. I really do become extremely uncomfortable when I can't re-apply it. And I do have fleeting moments of panic when I can't find my current supply. I have tried to stop using it, but my lips become so dry and cracked that I am just miserable. I figure my Blistex addiction isn't hurting anyone. So I don't have plans to quit anytime soon. I did find it reassuring that other people also believe they are addicted to lip balm. At least I can present this as evidence when my family and friends tell me that my Blistex addiction is all in my head. POSTED BY AMY AT 4:46 PM 18 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2005 Everybody’s Working For The Weekend… Is it 5:00 p.m. yet?!?! I am SO ready for this week to be over! The past 2 weeks have been very challenging at work. Like I mentioned before, I’m laying out our monthly magazine now. This current issue has caused me all kinds of problems, just one road block after another. I thought I was finally finished with this issue. Our printer came in this morning and looked at it and basically told me that I have to redo the entire thing!! Apparently, the photos, ads and graphics are too large and therefore the whole file is too huge to send to the printer. I’m new to this whole lay-out thing. I was sort of just thrown into it and I think I’m going to enjoy it, but it has been quite a learning curve! I didn’t realize I had to re-size photos, etc. BEFORE I inserted them into my publication. When the printer told me this, I thought I was going to cry! I told my boss that I am so burnt out on this issue and she understands…thankfully, she told me I don’t have to make the corrections until next week. I needed a break from the magazine today so I’m grateful that my boss is sympathetic to the whole situation! I won’t even be in the office on Monday because we have a staff retreat that day. We’ve never done this before. Should be interesting! It’s basically a planning session for 2006. And then we have next Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving. So at least it will be a short week! But even with the time off, I still don’t see myself slowing down. I have a busy weekend. I’m part of a volunteer group called TWIG’s (stands for Together With Important Goals), and we do things to raise money for Children’s Hospital. After work tonight, we’re having a meeting at a TWIG lady’s house to plan for our annual holiday bazaar which is this Sunday. So I won’t get home until late tonight. We have the kids this weekend too and that always keeps us busy. And I’ll have to be at the bazaar from 7:00 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. on Sunday! And then there’s next week. Leon’s family and my family are coming to our house for Thanksgiving. I’m not a world-class cook so the idea of being in the kitchen all day stresses me out anyway! We have the kids over the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend, and they always have so much going on with school and their extracurricular activities. I’m stressed out just thinking about all of this!! There’s no rest for the weary. Well, I better get back to work now! ;) Counting down to the weekend… Can you tell how exhausted I am?!?! POSTED BY AMY AT 3:33 PM 19 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2005 Happy Thanksgiving! It's hard to believe that the holidays are here again! We'll have a pretty full house on Thanksgiving: the kids, my parents, my sister and her boyfriend, my grandma, my brother-in-law John and my sister-in-law Karen (and of course Goldie!). Unfortunately, the rest of Leon's family won't be there because they have to work. My mom is making some of the food, which will be a BIG help! But I still have quite a bit to make. I am not much of a cook (I find cooking stressful as opposed to enjoyable), so I'll probably be a basket-case by the time we're actually ready to eat! ;) We get to leave work at noon tomorrow and then we have Thursday and Friday off, so that will be really nice. Speaking of work, I better get back to it! ;) HAPPY THANKSGIVING! POSTED BY AMY AT 10:11 AM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2005 I Fought The Turkey and The Turkey Won Just kidding! ;) I just wanted a catchy title for this post! Thanksgiving actually went pretty well. Leon made the turkey so he gets full credit for that. My mom helped with the cooking too, which was great. Leon’s brother John and his wife Karen weren’t able to come after all, so it was just my family. I think everyone enjoyed themselves though, and we had A LOT 20 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog of food!! 2005 After we ate, I watched “War of The Worlds” with my parents and my grandma. I had seen it at the theatre over summer, but they never had. They seemed bored by it though (they aren’t big movie buffs like I am). Andrew watched “Billy Madison” with my sister Julie and her boyfriend, and Leon and Beth played on the computer. Exciting, right? ;) I’m back at work today. It’s going to be another busy week! I feel like I am getting sick too, probably because I stress myself out so much. My throat is sore, I have a headache, and I’m stuffed up. This is not a good time of year to be sick, I have too much to do! :( The kids gave us their school photos over Thanksgiving break. Andrew is a 6th grader this year, and Beth is in 4th grade. They are really growing up! Andrew is growing his hair longer. I can’t say that I like it too well, but he claims that ALL the boys are doing it. ;) Beth has braces now. They seem to put braces on so young anymore! I didn’t get braces until I was in the 7th grade (I was 12) and then I wore them for two years. Ok, back to the grind. Until I post again… POSTED BY AMY AT 11:09 AM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2005 Out With The Old (Xbox), In With The New (Xbox 360) My husband got an Xbox 360 yesterday. He is so excited! :) He tried to get one for over a week with no luck (they seem to be sold out everywhere), but one of his friends was nice enough to sell his to Leon. 21 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 I’m not really into Xboxes, etc., but Leon and the kids (Andrew more so than Beth) love playing video games. In the early 80’s when I was about 6, my parents got me one of those Atari 2600 systems. In junior high, I got a Nintendo and after that a SUPER Nintendo. I loved playing video games back then. Super Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong Country were so much fun! My sister and I used to fight over whose turn it was to play, and I remember getting so upset when I lost. :) I must be getting too old because I can’t seem to grasp these new video games. They’re all in 3D, and I think it’s very hard to control the characters. I liked it better when Mario or Donkey Kong walked in a straight line, flat against the screen, with none of this 3D stuff! ;) So while Leon and the kids are playing their crazy, newfangled, futuristic games, you’ll find me in front of my computer playing old-fashioned games on MSN. I may not be good at 3D, but I kick butt at Scrabble! ;) POSTED BY AMY AT 4:25 PM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2005 Is This What 15 Minutes of Fame Looks Like?? Last night, I was surfing the Net and happened to stumble upon the Numa Numa Video. Apparently this video was a big hit earlier in the year, but I never saw it until now. Some teenager from New Jersey, Gary Brolsma, is the star of this video. The song is called "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-Zone, and I believe they are speaking (singing) in Romanian. This reminds me of the Star Wars Kid craze, which was also hilarious. 22 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 I'm sure all of this is very old news to some of you. But for those of you, like me, who missed this the first time around - enjoy! POSTED BY AMY AT 9:09 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2005 Golden Pictures I have a few new pictures of Goldie that are too cute not to share! :) Leon took this one last weekend...Beth fell asleep on the floor next to Goldie. I took the next two pictures of Goldie and me. Look at her eyes on the first one...doesn't it look like she is thinking "I love my mommy"?? :) 23 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog She decided to kiss me just as I snapped the next picture! :) 2005 Goldie's not in the next one, but I thought it was cute anyway...Andrew and Beth playing their new Xbox 360. POSTED BY AMY AT 1:54 PM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2005 Tis The Season There sure are a lot of parties this time of year! Because most of mine are work-related, I have to at least make an appearance. It actually gets exhausting! ;) We had our annual inaugural ceremony for our board of trustees last Friday. Afterward, we had to go to a party thrown by our incoming president. Yesterday, I had a holiday networking event for one of the councils I’m in charge of. Tonight, we have a holiday party for our staff, board and committee/council chairmen at an Italian restaurant. On Friday, my boss and his wife are having a party at their house. And of course, Leon has a work holiday party coming up too. This is such a stressful time of year! I wish I could enjoy the holidays more, but it’s difficult when there is so much to do. I haven’t even started my Christmas shopping yet. I went to the store one evening after work this week and it was so crowded. I hate how filled the stores are this time of year, it makes it even more difficult to get your shopping accomplished. We haven’t even put up our tree or decorated our house yet either. I’ll try to get that taken care of this weekend. And then there are those Christmas cards that have to be signed and mailed… 24 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 Christmas was so much fun when I was a child and could actually enjoy everything that this time of year offers! It’s no fun when you grow up and realize how much work actually goes into this holiday. My sister-in-law is coming over this weekend, and she wants me to help her make Christmas cookies and candy. Hopefully, this will help me get into the Christmas spirit because I am lacking that at the moment! POSTED BY AMY AT 4:04 PM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2005 12 Steps… I love golden retrievers! If you know me (or if you even read part of this blog), then you already know this!! I like to collect golden retriever items. I have golden pictures, stickers, calendars, figurines, plates, shirts, etc. etc. In my cubicle at work, I have 17 golden items on display (I know this because I just counted them!). The other day one of our members was at my desk and he said that I needed to be in a 12-step program for my golden obsession. :) That really cracked me up. I don’t think my golden collection (aka obsession?) has gotten out of hand…yet. ;) Goldens are simply too adorable NOT to collect anything and everything golden-related. I am biased of course, but in my opinion there is not a breed more beautiful than a golden retriever. POSTED BY AMY AT 4:29 PM 25 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2005 It’s Monday Again… Mondays are always difficult. I always have the best intentions to get up and at ‘em and get to work on time, but sadly that rarely happens. I woke up late this morning and snuck into work 10 minutes late (as usual). I was sick all weekend, which sucked. I have been battling a bad cold – headache, sore throat, stuffed up nose, sneezing, coughing, watery eyes – all the fun stuff! I went to bed at about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and slept until 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. And then I took a 3-hour nap Sunday afternoon and still went to bed at 10:00 p.m. last night. My brother-in-law John and sister-in-law Karen stayed with us this weekend too, so I felt bad I wasn’t more social. I went with Karen to the grocery store on Saturday because she bought ingredients for all of the cookies and candy that she makes every Christmas. She did some baking Saturday evening while I slept. I was supposed to help, but no one wants a sick person getting their germs all over the food! ;) Andrew and Beth are taking tae kwon do. They took a test on Friday night to get their yellow belt, and they both passed! :) Leon watched their test. I didn’t get to see it though because my boss had a Christmas party at his house on Friday night and I felt like I had to make an appearance (you know how office politics are). This Friday, Leon, the kids and I are heading to Medina after work to spend the night with Leon’s mom. On Saturday morning, we are all leaving for D.C. Leon’s older brother Rob, his wife Marjorie, and their kids live in Maryland, right next to D.C. They want to get together before Christmas so we will be spending Saturday and Sunday with them and then heading back home on Monday. It’s a long car trip though…between 7-8 hours. So that part’s not too much fun! We still haven’t put up our Christmas decorations yet. The kids come over on Thursday to spend the evening with us, so I am going to attempt to get them to help me then. I can’t believe Christmas is less than 2 weeks away! And guess who still hasn’t started her Christmas shopping yet? ;) POSTED BY AMY AT 8:55 AM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2005 Tuesdays Are Rarely This Exciting I have been trying to wrap up the latest issue of our magazine so I worked from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. yesterday. After I left work and pulled in our driveway at home, I saw a Christmas tree lit up in the living room window! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Leon had put up a tree and decorated it!! 26 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 He bought a 6-foot tree with fiber optic lights on it. He even bought some new ornaments and a tree skirt. I can’t say I was looking forward to decorating this year (I have been such a scrooge!) so I am thrilled that Leon did it for me! :) Leon rented “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” last night so we watched that. It was absolutely hilarious! I haven’t seen a movie that funny in a long time. Around 11:00 p.m. while we were still watching the movie, the phone rang. We have caller ID so I saw that the call was from my parents’ house. They rarely call that late so my immediate reaction was “What’s wrong??” When I answered the phone, it was my sister and she sounded all giddy. It turns out she got engaged last night to her boyfriend Jamie. Yesterday was their 9-month anniversary and he gave her a ring. They don’t have any wedding plans worked out yet, so we’ll see what evolves. I need to finish up the magazine I mentioned above, so I’ll end this post now. Until next time… POSTED BY AMY AT 9:04 AM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2005 Traveling, Shopping, Partying (or how I spent my December) On Saturday morning, Leon, his mom Roberta, the kids and I all piled into the Explorer to head to Potomac, Maryland (which is very close to Washington, D.C.) to visit Leon’s older brother Rob and his family. Almost 7 hours later, we were there. Rob’s wife Marjorie is a wonderful cook, so we ate very well while we were there. On Sunday, Rob, Leon and Andrew went to a Washington Redskins game (they played the Dallas Cowboys – Washington won) while Marjorie, Roberta, all 4 kids and I went shopping. My niece Jacqueline is 2 years old and so adorable. She is talking up a storm and into everything! My nephew Joshua is about 10 months old and equally adorable. He was just a newborn the last time we saw him, so it was incredible how much he had grown. We headed back to Ohio on Sunday morning and finally made it back to Columbus around 8:00 p.m. that night. We all agreed that we would rather fly next time. It’s difficult to be in the car for that many hours! I missed work on Monday since we were still traveling, but I was back at work yesterday. I had my endof-the-year review yesterday, in which my boss let me know how much my raise and bonus were. I was pleasantly surprised!! My boss recognized my new responsibility of taking on the magazine. I love laying out the magazine, I am having so much fun working with InDesign, so it’s nice to know that my boss appreciates my efforts! 27 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 I did quite a bit of Christmas shopping on my lunch break yesterday and got a lot accomplished. I was a little worried since I hadn’t even started prior to yesterday so it’s good to know I am almost done now! We have Friday off work so I figure I can finish up my shopping that day. I’m taking vacation next week since the kids will be with us. We plan to head to Coshocton on Christmas Eve to spend time with my family. The kids come over at 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Day, so then we’ll head to Medina to spend time with Leon’s family. We don’t have plans for New Year’s yet, but I am almost positive we’ll stay in Columbus (we’re going to be pretty tired of traveling by then!). Leon’s boss is having a Christmas party at his house tonight. This will be the 8th holiday party that I’ve attended this month! I better get back to work now since I’m off next week! ;) Enjoy this crazy time of year. POSTED BY AMY AT 10:03 AM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2005 Merry Christmas!! Here it is, Christmas Eve again. This year has gone by so fast! My dad has always said that the older you get, the faster the years go by. I'm definitely beginning to think that's true! Leon and I are leaving in a couple of hours to go to Coshocton to visit my family. We're spending the night there and then heading back to Columbus tomorrow. Andrew and Beth will be here at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow and will be with us through New Year's. After the kids open their gifts from Santa tomorrow, we're all going to Medina again to see Leon's family. We'll be spending the night there and coming back to Columbus on Monday. And I am on vacation all next week so I can be home with the kids! :) I managed to get all of my Christmas shopping finished within two days! I waited until about 8:00 p.m. and then hit the stores. They were still busy but not nearly as crowded as they are during the day. I think everyone will be happy with the gifts I got them. ;) 28 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 Merry Christmas! Wishing you peace and happiness. POSTED BY AMY AT 10:02 AM TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2005 An Unexpected, Unpleasant Christmas Gift We enjoyed our Christmas. It was good to see all of our family, even though we are worn out from all of the traveling. On our way home from Medina last night, I had a message on my cell phone from Anthony, my best friend Darlene's roommate. I called him back and found out that Darlene is back in the hospital. She has been having pain in her legs and lower back recently and was scheduled for an MRI today. But I guess the pain got really bad on Christmas Day, so Darlene's brother took her to the ER. I don't know all of the details yet since I haven't gotten to speak to Darlene. But she ended up being sent back to the James Cancer Hospital here in Columbus and had to have emergency surgery yesterday. They removed a tumor from her lower back, which had been pressing on her nerves and causing her pain. They did not get all of the cancer though. I'm going to visit Darlene in the hospital tonight, and I can find out more then. If you read this, please say a prayer for her. The scans that she had done two months ago showed that she was in remission. The fact that the cancer has returned again so quickly is obviously not a good sign. She will be 29 years old in a couple of weeks. I know cancer doesn't discriminate, but she is so young to have to go through all of this. POSTED BY AMY AT 10:49 AM 29 Lively Days: Amy’s Blog 2005 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2005 Vacation Time Always Flies By! This week has gone by so fast! Vacation time always flies by. I'm actually looking forward to going back to work on Tuesday though. I'm ready to start working on the next issue of the magazine. It's a good thing I like my job!! ;) The kids have seemed to have fun this week. We haven't done anything too exciting, just hung out at home mostly. Andrew spent the night with a friend a couple days ago, and Beth is having a friend spend the night at our house tonight. The kids have mostly played with their new Christmas toys. Andrew has been glued to the Xbox 360 all week! He literally plays from the time he wakes up until bedtime. He is going to suffer serious withdrawals next week when he goes back to his mom's house and back to school. I have been trying to clean our house for days now, but I never seem to get very far. Our house is seriously trashed after Christmas. Gifts everywhere. And since it has been raining outside this week, Goldie leaves little muddy pawprints everywhere when she comes back inside after a potty break! My parents are coming over tomorrow to spend the night at our house and celebrate New Year's with us. We will probably just fix some food here and watch Dick Clark (or whoever his replacement is this year) on TV. Nothing too exciting! An update on Darlene...I visited her in the hospital on Tuesday evening. She was doing surprisingly well after having surgery on her back to remove the tumor. She was sitting up in a chair, and we went for a little walk while I was there. She got to go home on Wednesday. She will have to start radiation treatments again after the incision on her back heals. Darlene is keeping a positive attitude thankfully. She has been so strong throughout this entire ordeal, so much stronger than I imagine I would ever be! Well, I need to head to the store now and buy some things for our little New Year's party. Leon is home today so he can stay here with the kids and hold down the fort! ;) POSTED BY AMY AT 12:21 PM 30