One Year Ago Today...

~~ Friday, April 29, 2011 ~~

A historic day indeed!
The world watched as an adorable Royal couple united in marriage, a royal rump-in-law became famous, and ridiculous head wear became royally mocked.

While the world had their eyes fixated on jolly old England, I had my eyes fixated on my jolly old cell phone.  There was another potential event, even BIGGER than the Royal Wedding...

My nephew Ryan's due date!!

I had been waiting for this day since August 21, 2010 (the morning Melissa had a positive pregnancy test).  Actually I had been waiting for this since the 80's (sorry Waity Katie, I trump you on this one).  Ever since Melissa and I got our first Cabbage Patch dolls, we had been preparing to someday welcome babies (after we finished first grade, met our own Prince Charmings, and married them, of course).  We practiced with Cabbage Patch kids, stuffed dogs, Popples and anything else that we could pretend to feed and dress.  When the JC Penney's catalog came out every year, we would browe through the baby section and pick out cribs and baby gear.  Well, let's be honest; Melissa and her best friend Missy would pick stuff out, and I would try to tag along when they shared the catalog with me. 

Needless to say, I was one excited Auntie-to-be!  But, my adorable nephew didn't feel like sharing his big day, or his big month with the bride & groom across the pond.  Sooooo April 29, 2011 came... and it went... and Ryan didn't make an appearance.  At least I had some royally-entertaining TV to keep me busy while I waited.

I'll tell more about the day Ryan decided to arrive later this week.  Until then, Pip Pip Cheerio!

~~~

PS  On a sidenote, William & Kate, you really need to focus on improving the mail service in the UK.  I still have not recieved the invite to your wedding.  Crazy, right?  Oh well, maybe it will be in my mailbox Monday! 

The Bachelor

I'm not kidding when I say this.  Working in Hotel Sales is just Like being on The Bachelor!  Today was no exception.  Let me explain the similarities... 

It starts out a simple piece of paper, a request for proposal.  You shyly make eye contact with it, skim over its basic info... 50 rooms on peak, brown eyes, adequate F&B, cute butt.  The infatuation begins.  You eye up the other hotels in competition, and immediately rule them out knowing they will be gone by the end of the first show... too big, too expensive, too needy.  You have the availability and you feel a connection so you immediately respond Yes. 
The first rose is yours!

On the next episode you chat more with the planner/Bachelor and find out all your similarities!  Could it be true love?  You share some more information with the "Bachelor" and feel a connection.  Their conference seems too good to be true.  To improve the relationship you drop off some coffee at their office but unfortunately run into another hotel rep.  Those group dates are never fun, but at the end of the day, the planner announces that they want to come to your hotel to find out more.  
A Hometown date, and another rose!!

The site tour/hometown date arrives and another episode begins.  You wear your best outfit, put on some extra eye make-up, make reservations at a nice restaurant and nervously wait for the suitor to arrive.  They pull up in the front circle.  Awkward at first, but then you show them all the perks of the hotel, being careful to avoid mentioning that recent messy break-up with that other corporate account.  If all goes well, you have time to show off the hot tub (what episode of the Bachelor doesn't involve this scene?), and then the tour leads to meal and maybe some wine. 

While you are breaking bread with the client/Bachelor, you can help but wonder who else they have been seeing.  Did they spend yesterday with that tall blond hotel down the street?  Did they have a connection with that cute suburban hotel?  It is agonizing to imagine, so you focus only on your hopes of another rose, and perhaps a signed contract.  You know the client wants to experience all parts of the hotel, and the inevitable overnight date happen.  The next morning, you get to work and find an e-mail waiting for you.  Your heart races.  "Dear Erin, I had a great visit.  I can envision my group in your hotel.  I'd like to review your contract." 
Wow, well done!   Another rose and another round!

The final episode arrives...  You've put your best foot forward, showed off all your assets, offered up some great concessions, and now you wait.  The quarter is almost up and you haven't yet achieved your quota.  You can envision the Bachelor getting down on one knee and handing you a signed contract, but you don't want to get your heart broken.  

Chris Harrison walks in the room and the most dramatic rose ceremony is about to begin.  You know this is it.  The final rose awaits.  Will you be swept off your feet with a sparkly signed contract??  Or will you be left standing on a mountaintop, completely heartbroken while you try to make sense of it to your boss. 

The music swells, the anticipation rises and you see it.  A new e-mail with an attachment.  Could it be?  YES, it is!  Your eyes fill with happy tears and you immediately hit print.  You sweep it off the printer and hold it close to your heart.  You knew being pregnant during this episode of the bachelor would be extra dramatic, but you didn't realize how emotional you would be.  True happiness at last!  As you countersign the contract, the sunset glistens off the staple and you smile knowing that you received the final rose!

Right now you're not sure if you'll spend the rest of your life waiting for roses.  Let's be real... We can't all be Trista. 

But you are happy knowing you got the rose and you can finally relax.

Until next season...

My Vow to the Bean

Dear Bean,
Eight years ago this month, I was busy finishing my junior year at OU (we can't wait to introduce you to Athens!).  I was busy working at the Phon-a-thon and at the TCOM school, and I was busy trying my best to focus on the rest of the world while I was falling madly in love with your Dad (sorry Bean, this might get sappy). 

Your Dad and I had just met about a month and a half ago and I was giddy about him.  I knew in my heart that he was the one I would grow old with.  I'm not sure if he knew this yet, but I was busy planning Our Someday.  Our Someday when we would live in the same state... our Someday when we would share an address... Our Someday when we would say I Do... Our Someday when we would own a home... and Our Someday when we would bring a baby (or 2 or 3) back to our home and watch them grow up...

Turns out we made it there.  We are living our Someday!  Pinch me!  I'm not sure how eight years have passed but it's been a good ride and we somehow landed in Someday. 

While I was daydreaming away about our Someday, I forgot to include the bumps along the road of life and the uncertainty curveballs that often get thrown our way.  The important stuff is all in check still (the baby's health, our health and our family's health), but looming uncertainty about some other stuff has really been weighing on me.  I am a huge advocate in the Everything happening for a Reason theory, so tonight I'm officially going to begin believing it (and not just saying I believe it). 

You are my main priority, Bean, so I officially vow to do my absolute best to stop stressing about items out of my control and start focusing on stuff within my control.  I'll stop keeping you awake at night worrying about the uncertainty, and I'll start daydreaming more about meeting you and bringing you home.  I'm willing to accept that everything in the world does not have to be picture perfect in order to give you a very happy life (I'm a bit of a control freak, so this is hard for me to accept).  I'm willing to admit that Someday is not a fairy tale, it is a real life journey. 

I can't promise I'll be perfect at this, but I'll give it 200%.  In the meantime, keep on growing and we'll see you again soon. 

Much Love,
Your (somewhat crazy) Mom

PS  If you cooperate on May 2nd and show the sonogram tech if you are a Pink Bean or Blue Bean, I'll (consider) buying you a car when you turn 16. 

Let's get political

I'm not the first one to jump into a heated political debate; in fact, I'm probably the last one to do so.  And although I'm a big advocate for voting, I typically keep my political opinions to myself.

However, after spending hours over the last couple days doing laundry and (attempting to) match socks, I'd like to present a new political platform.  Candidates, listen up!

On top of my dryer sits a growing pile of lonely, single socks.  Some have been in this dating pool for months, while others just joined it tonight.  The top of my Maytag looks like an episode of MTV's 90's show, Singled Out, minus Jenny McCarthy.  All types of socks, just trying to find a partner in life (or a least a partner to get them through to the tumble in the dryer). 

Therefore, my idea is simple.  Our government should implement a policy in which all sock-makers must abide by a policy for universal white socks.  No gray toe sections, no fuzzy balls on the back, no black lines across the toe seam... just pure white unisex socks.  Should citizens elect to wear seasonal of non-white socks, that option would still exist but all solid color socks must abide by strict universal regulations.

Think I'm crazy??  Just think of how easy your life would be... husbands might actually be able to participate in sock folding.  Just think of the time savings... on average I would estimate that I spend about 55 minutes per week trying to find partners and fold socks.  With the No Sock Left Behind policy, the 55-minute sock folding frenzy could easily be reduced to 15 minutes per week.  That's an extra 2,080 free minutes per year (aka 34 hours!!).  Over the course of a lifetime, the average female could save up to 2,357 hours or 98 days!! 

I sure don't want to take the focus on Capitol Hill away from finding more jobs for our stagnant economy or from investigating how the members of our Secret Service think that they are Richard Gere in Pretty Woman... but come on, when was the last time Uncle Sam gave you back 98 days of your life without raising your taxes?!?  This is an issue that I would be glad to check Yes!!

Uncle Sam wants YOU to have universal Socks!

Growing Up...

Today has definitely been a Manic Monday!  I started my day in the US, went to Canada for a meeting, came back to the US, met the hubby for a quick bite to eat, ran errands and came home to do more work before I head to Rochester tomorrow.  (Sara, I promise I'll call you back this week!)

BUT this blog post isn't about a crazy week, it is about the best 20 minutes of the day!!!  At 7:20 tonight, we headed to our 16-week check-up (yes, our OBGYN has late hours on Monday, thank goodness).  It's hard to believe but the Bean will officially be 16 weeks this week (I'm sure I'll say this again when he's 6, 16 and 26)!  It was a short and sweet appointment but hearing our baby's heartbeat is A-Mazing!!  It is still hard to believe all of this is real, but the pitter patter of 145 beats per minute helps it to sink in a bit more. 

When we finally pulled in at home, I grabbed the mail and found a Parenting magazine.  And guess what name was on it?  Our name!  Whoa, I guess this means we are growing up.  But with a Bean on the way, it's a good thing we have a subscription teaching us what to do.  I'm quite certain we are going to need a lot more than a magazine to transform into super-responsible adults ready to care for an infant but it's a start. 

~~ Have a great week everyone!! ~~


PS  Denny and I are both certain that the Bean is a boy.  We don't have any facts to support this other than our guts feeling.    Dear Bean, if you surprise us and turn out to be a girl, Mommy & Daddy are very sorry for calling you "he."

PPS  Both this morning and tonight I looked at my phone exactly at 8:03.  Whenever I see that number it makes me feel like Grandma and Grandpa are watching over us.  I bet they were there when we heard Bean's heartbeat.  :)

Favorite Day of the Week

Thursday is a GREAT day of the week!  It is my weekly version of Christmas Eve... it is the realization that Friday is about to come down the chimney and leave wonderful gifts under the tree: sleeping in, catching up on DVR, seeing friends and just being able to unwind! 

I'm always filled with motivation at both work and at home on Thursday.  Thursday is the final lap of the weekly To Do list.  I pick up the pace knowing that the 5PM Friday finish line is just around the bend.  At home, I always get motivated to do stuff whether it's cleaning for weekend visitors or packing for weekend travels.  

But it hasn't always been that way.  As a child of the 80's my favorite day of the week was Friday, thanks to to four little letters: T-G-I-F.  I'm not talking about the Thank God it's Friday acronym; I'm referring to the awesome TV line-up that kicked off every Friday night at 8:00 sharp. 

Two full hours of goodness: Joey's hilarious humor "Cut It Out", Uncle Jesse's super cool attic apartment, Steve Urkel's awesome dance, Not the Mama, and the blooming love of Corey & Topanga!    Yes, please!

Shortly after DJ Tanner went to college, Steve Urkel became Stephan (what was up with that anyway?), and Corey & Topanga fell in love, Thursday stepped up as my favorite day of the week.   It may have been the added knowledge that I was gaining as I entered the 90's or it could have been the influence of the good old boob tube.  Six Friends and the staff of County General Hospital of Chicago came into my life and I fell madly in love.  I was infatuated with Rachel's hair and I had a huge crush on Dr. John Carter. 

       

As the millenium came and went, Thursday continued to be my favorite day of the week.  During three and a half out of my four years at OU, Thursday was my Friday because I strategically planned no Friday classes.  Absolute brilliance!  Plus Thirsty Thursdays meant fishbowls at the Pub and Quad night at the Junction.  Just writing this post makes me miss the ladies of 15 NC, sigh. 

Now that I'm a bit older and perhaps wiser, Thursday is still my favorite day.  Who doesn't enjoy a weekly trip to Scranton?  

I might not be hanging out with my Friends at Central Perk or hanging out with my friends at The Pigskin anymore, but I love knowing that the weekend is getting here soon.  By tomorrow at this time, everywhere you look there will be a weekend, a heart and a hand to hold onto.  Chity Chi bob botta.

TGIF everyone, have a great weekend!

Easter -- Past, Present & Future

PAST
As kids, Melissa and I always had great holidays!  It wasn't about all the presents for us, instead, we were spoiled with all the activities leading up to the holiday.

Easter was no exception.  Our Grandma & Grandpa Quilty spoiled us like crazy for this holiday!  We were incredibly fortunate to grow up just about 2 miles from their house and we usually spent about 3 days a week after school with them.  To this day I'm still convinced that Grandpa was the Smartest Man Ever (he always knew the answer, whether it was a 3rd grade science question of the final round of Jeopardy).  Grandma was as sweet as Grandpa was smart.  By the time we were kids she had a lot of health issues, which kept her somewhat immobile, but she was still so fun!  She always had something new for us to do; some days she taught us how to make Barbie doll bridesmaids dresses on her sewing machine, some days we rode the "Magic Carpet" to Disney or Alaska, and other days we sat around and watched Great Country Inns.

When Easter rolled around, we always knew what we would be doing... dying Easter eggs, and lots of them!!  Grandma always ordered Grandpa to go to the local grocery store and buy dozens of eggs for Melissa and I to decorate.  We only needed a dozen or so, but Grandma insisted that Grandpa buy at least 4-5 dozen each year, and then the magic began...  We did solid color eggs, striped eggs, speckled eggs, polka-dotted eggs and every other imaginable pattern to those little white shells.  Year after year we would spend hours in the little kitchen on Sullivan Street coloring eggs to our hearts content.  Then we would assign every member of the family a specific egg.  It was grand holiday every year (despite all the egg salad lunches we had the following weeks)!

In junior high we lost Grandma after a long battle of being sick.  It was heartbreaking to have to say Good-bye but the calling hours were on Easter Sunday, which seemed was an unfair irony because it was our favorite holiday with her.  For many years after that I didn't really like Easter because it made me sad to think of not having Grandma on the holiday that she was so good at making special. 

PRESENT
Years have passed and the sadness has been replaced with new memories of Easter.  This year we had an Easter egg hunt with our two nephews, Deegan and Connor, in Pa.  It was so cute watching them run around to find all the eggs.  My in-laws dog continues to play the Easter egg hunt game and found an egg one long after the boys finished the hunt and their candy. 

I was also able to see Ryan this weekend for a few hours, and it is fun to think of all the fun he will have growing up dying eggs and searching for his basket from the Bunny. 

FUTURE
We still can't believe we will have a little one next year at this time, we are pretty excited for all the special meaning holidays will take on with our own little family!  My wish for our kids is that they love holidays as much as we did as kids!  Even if we don't spoil them with gifts, I hope to spoil them with great memories and fun experiences... and maybe if they are lucky, they will get to eat lots of egg salad following every Easter just like we did. 

Decisions, Decisions

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm a sensitive person... I sometimes act on emotion, and I sometimes make decisions in the moment.  When the moment passes, I sometimes wonder, What was I thinking? 

College was full of this:

• I once wore a pot as a hat to a bar
• I once tried to use my "real" ID as my "fake" ID.  The bartender's response, "I can't let you in.  You are only 20 years old, Erin"
• I once signed a receipt for pizza with a smiley face

All harmless decisions but...

What was I thinking?!?

(although more appropriately for this might be What was I Drinking?)

Fast forward a few years, less-than-stellar decisions included:

• Reversing my car into a large hill, filling my tailpipe with mud and shutting down the engine  (Aside from my departure, it was a great visit with Denny's parents)
• Thinking that one night would be enough time to re-paint the entire upstairs when the carpet guys were arriving in the morning
• My (first) wedding dress... oops, talk about acting on emotion!  (But the second one was much more my style and on sale anyway)

What was I thinking?!?



(This photo for effect only; this was NOT my first dress)


And now, today, I did it again.  I acted on emotion....
I needed a huge favor.  I told a client that if she can help me with this favor, I would come to her office on my next visit dressed as an Easter Bunny.  And wow, did she pull through for me.  Now I'm left searching for a fluffy tail, and once again asking myself,

"What the HECK was I thinking?"

If anyone knows of a good place to rent a fluffy bunny suit, please notify me ASAP!  I'll be busy practicing my hop. 

Love and carrots,

Erin Bunny

The Good

For those of you who don't know me well, I'm a very sensitive person.  I still recall being 4 years old and getting yelled at in K-Mart by the grumpy check-out lady (think Velda from Troop Beverly Hills) and then feeling my chin quiver uncontrollably. 

I had trouble getting rid of stuffed animals as a kid because I worried that they would be sad to leave their home.  And to this day, I cry during any commercial involving puppy dog eyes, baby faces or wedding scenes. 
Don't get me wrong, I can handle hang up after hang up when cold calling, but when it comes to people that know me I can't seem to take my heart away from the matter.

Recently my sensitive side has been on overload due to some tough (and perhaps unnecessary) feedback and it's been affecting me big time.  It may also be due to the pregnancy hormones, but it seems unfair to be down and out during such a special time in our lives... so this post is dedicated to all the good things (big & little) in our world:

• The Bean (nickname for Baby McGee)!!  Hooray for the little one joining us in October
• A closet full of baby hangers waiting to be filled with outfits
• Sunny days in March
• A cute little guy named Ryan who is about to turn 1!
• Two cute guys in Washington, PA who taught me how to be an Aunt
• Our new shoe organizer (hooray for no more out-of-control shoe piles)
• The premiere of a new season of Giuliana and Bill
• A four-day work week
• A recent call from the OU phon-a-thon
• A long chat with with a fellow Dragon and Bobcat
• Words with Friends
• Sleeping with the windows open (not tonight but it did happen about 10 days ago)
• A new recipe for mini-pepperoni rolls
• An OU reunion in a few weeks
• A snuggly cat named Lex
• Knowing that golf season is just around the corner (even if I'm only driving the cart this year)

This list doesn't even begin to touch the good things going on in our lives so it's time I say see-ya to the quivering chin!!  What good things are going on in your worlds?