Thursday, January 31, 2008

Eye Exam Update

Well, its offical I have to use "readers" to help with my computer work and close range reading. I have an Astigmatism. The doctor asked if I knew what that means (I didn't want to tell him that I heard the word mentioned on a contact commercial, but still didn't know what it meant), but before I could answer he told me (he must have seen the confussed look on my face).

So, this morning I resarched the term on Web MD. This is what they say is Astigmatism is-A person's eye is naturally spherical in shape. Under normal circumstances, when light enters the eye, it refracts evenly, creating a clear view of the object. However, the eye of a person with astigmatism is shaped more like a football or the back of a spoon. For this person, when light enters the eye it is refracted more in one direction than the other, allowing only part of the object to be in focus at one time. Objects at any distance can appear blurry and wavy. Astigmatism can be hereditary and is often present at birth. It can also result from pressure from the eyelids on the cornea, incorrect posture or an increased use of the eyes for close work.

My new glasses should be in next week. I picked out a pair with rectangle lenses with a caramel color frame. The frame is a little thick too, but it will be nice so I can be a little rough with them. I will show them off when they come in. Thanks for the support Dorothy!

PS-my spell check is not working, so sorry in advance for any misspelled words!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Eye Exam

Today my husband and I have our eye appointments after work. I guess we are due since its been over two years since the last exam. I don't mind going, but I dread the information that my eyes might need help. I have a feeling I will be in some type of reading glasses shortly.

My eyes have a hard time adjusting from when I am reading a book and look up at something across the room. Everything is blurry and I have to blink and help my eyes adjust. Shortly after I am able to see fine. So, I have a feeling I will need some help for my eyes so they don't strain so much.

Also, we will have to miss volleyball for appointments. I guess its OK since we will be going out for supper afterwards, yummy!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Spelling

I can't spell. I'm OK with it, but I have to put that out there in the event I write a comment on someones blog feedback and I misspell a word, sorry! Spell check is my best friend and when its not around, I'm lost without it. So, the cat is out of the bag and I apologize ahead of time it something is spelled wrong.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Peer Pressure at 28

Its funny how peer pressure never ends. Its start is middle school and never really stops. I never crumbled under the drug, sex and party pressures of high school, so why would I start at age 28?

Here is the situation. My husband, my father-in-law and myself were at a local moose club for a fundrasier sock-hop that a co-worker of mine was performing in on Saturday. Also, other close co-workers went with thier loved ones/friends in support of this fun event. While my group was there first to secure the seats we ordered our first round of beverages. Myself and my father-in-law got a soda and my husband got a beer. The second round I tried a Madori Sour, my husband got a beer and my father-in-law got another soda. I didn't really like how the bartender made my fancy drink so my mind was made up to have a soda in the next round.

On of the extra friends that tagged along is known to be outragious and likes to knock back a few drinks which causes her to get obnoxious, I mean friendly. She was buying her group drinks and having a great time.

As she walked by me on her way to the bar she asked if I wanted anything to drink. I said sure, how about a Sprite. She said no, what do you want. I then repeated, a Sprite. Then she tried to pull my hand so I stand up to walk with her to the bar and I said no, I just want a Sprite and if its going to be like this, I don't want anything (as I remained seated). Then she turns around and comes within inches if my face and asked me if I was the designated driver. I said no, I just want a soda. I repeated this again. She gave me the look of death.

All this because I just wantd a soda. She did get me the soda, and I said Thank You in my nicest tone, but I thought the peer pressure nonsence was over when I graduated from high school.

Oh, by the way, the sock-hop was fun. It was great to listen to the oldies and actually know some of the songs.

Friday, January 25, 2008

History in the Making

Who would have known that I would meet my husband my freshman year of high school in 1993, but not know he really liked me until 2002. In high school we were in the same algebra class, sitting next to each other. We had such a great time during that class. We would pass notes, play paper football and occasionally he would let me cheat off of his tests answers. Our freshman year we did go to the movies once, but nothing more then friendship came about from that year on through our high school career.

Over the years, I would received updates about him and his family from his father. It ended up that his father and I worked at the same company. At one point, his father came to my office and asked me if I was dating someone (he was checking for his son). I was dating someone at the time, but I never forgot about the question.

About a year later, his father was out for a hernia surgery. I mailed him a get well card with a note inside asking if his son was dating anyone. When he did return to work, his father hand delivered his sons cell phone number. About a week later, after getting the correct cell phone number since the original one was wrong, his son and I went on a date. That was in June 2002.

The rest is history. We were engaged in July 2004 and married in February 2006. Just wait until you hear the story about our wedding date!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Oh the places I've been.......

I've been lucky in my days to have traveled so much. I had opportunities to see many different places and I enjoyed every one. The one place I can visit over and over and is Hawaii. If anyone has the chance to go, please get the heck out of here and go enjoy yourself.

Here are a few photos of the places I've seen so far-


Bahamas 2003


NYC 2003


Maryland 2004


Arizona 2004


Vegas 2004


California 2005


Cape Cod 2005


Rockport MA 2006


Hawaii 2006


Vermont 2006

Other places I've been and I currently do not have access to photos are:
Virginia
Maine
New Hampshire
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Florida

Happy Traveling!

Rec Center Volleyball

There's nothing like it (well for me at least).....playing Volleyball once a week to get some exercise, get out of the house, get your aggressions out, beat your husbands team (oh wait, did I say that one out loud?).

My husband and I play Volleyball for a Rec Center that is a few towns over from ours. We have been playing in this league for about 5 years. The teams are randomly picked (well, that's what the people in charge say anyway) and change every 10 weeks from the fall into the early spring. At the end of 10 weeks, there is a tournament and which ever team wins, the people do not have to pay for the next session. So this is a great way to help get through the dark, cold winter days.

So, last night was week 5. My husband and I are on separate teams (only twice have we been on the same team). My team went 3-2 last night. Its not the best record we have had since week one, but we'll take it since we were short 2 players (oh, each team ranges from 5-6 people and my team currently has 6 people). But the only team I really want to beat is, well my husbands. And we did! Then I get the bragging rights for a week and vise versa when his team wins.

I know this may sound awful to some, but we are so competitive against each other. Its great to finally be able to beat him at something!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Pirates of the Caribbean, Part 3

We watched Pirates of the Caribbean, part 3 and I'm not sure about. My husband hated it, but he hated part 2 too so he felt this way going into it. Let's start at the beginning.......I love part 1. I can watch it over and over again. So, when part 2 came out, I was all about it. We went to the drive-in theater and I was so excited because it was my first time at a drive-in and to see the sequel of a movie I really liked.

Well, I ended up falling asleep (since it was the second movie playing) somewhere in the middle of the movie and we left the drive-in before the end. So, when part 2 came out on DVD, I was able to catch up on the sequel. It wasn't high on my favorite movie list, but it helped explain a lot from part 1 but I enjoyed watching Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

So, last night we watched part 3 and I feel a few things were a little out there. The big fight scene was way too long and when it started I felt confused as to what was happening. Only half way through I felt confident that I knew what was going on. I guess I should have watched part 2 again right before watching part 3, but I'm not sure it wouldn't have helped. I don't want to give anything away, but the end has left it wide open for a part 4. I'm pretty sure I will watch part 4 since I'm in this far with the sequels, but I'm not sure if I will enjoy myself. Johnny Depp was still great though!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Life Expectancy Calculator

I received this little test in an email today and I wanted to share it with everyone.

http://www.peterrussell.com/Odds/RealAge.php

My Biological Age is 28
My Vitual Age is 16.6 (wow!)

The Average Life Expectancy is 74
My life expectancey is 85.4

I can expect to live approximately another 21,000 more days.

Trying to get Knocked Up

So, its been 8 1/2 months since me and my husband have been trying to get pregnant. Its weird how I spent countless years trying to avoid getting pregnant and now that we are faithfully trying, its taking what seems like a long time. I don't know if it feel like we have been trying for years because I want a child of my own and I want it now.

I know it's a little demanding, but I'm married and we want a child together. One would think that since everything in the universe is lined up, it would work. Of course not. Is it the stress in my life (oh, that will be a different story to come later), is the timing off, is it all these gadgets we are using to try and conceive, is it him, is it me? All these questions run through my mind and I just wish that some where in my cycle, between day 28 and 32, there would be a plus sign on a stick.

Its funny to hear the older generations say, oh don't think about while trying to get pregnant? How can we not? The women who are in their 70's never had the ovulation predictor kits, temperature charts or the Internet to assist while trying to get pregnant. So, we decided to try their advise and just wing it and just have fun while getting frisky.

So, keep your fingures crossed that I will get my wish later on this month.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Words to live by -

*I found this quote on another blog - I thought it was a great reminder of what we are doing here*

I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." -Marjorie Hinckley

Winter Mix

If you heard this, what would you think? In the Northeast its a common term used during the winter months. Since I've grown up with this term, I am curious what else it could be used for, so I am letting my imagination run wild.

Let's see, what else..........oh, how about a wonderful concoction of hot chocolate with some tasty alcohol to make things interesting or how about a high school dance on a Friday night in February? Or some sort of musical calibration between two popular musicians?

I don't know what else you would think about when you hear Winter Mix, but I just don't like to hear it when you live in New England and its said on the weather channel. If you don't know what it means, it's a cleaver way to let everyone know that snow, ice and rain are predicted and the weatherman has no idea of the order it will fall or even how much of each we will get.

So, needless to say, in Western Massachusetts we woke up to our version of the Winter Mix. We had snow, ice then lots of rain. I'm just glad we had the snow first so it was easier to remove the ice from my vehicle. But it did make things a little slick during the morning commute.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

You might be from New England....

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in New England.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in New England.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in New England.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in New England.

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of New York City for the weekend, you live in New England.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in New England.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in New England.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you live in New England.

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England.

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you live in New England.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in New England.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in New England.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in New England.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in New England.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in New England.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England.

If you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly', you live in New England.

If there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner, you live in New England.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

What to talk about?

I have so much running through my mind right now, how do I pick a topic? Do I talk about my husband, my partner in crime aka my father-in-law, other family members who I adore or can't stand, friends, trying to get pregnant, or day to day issues? I can't decide right now, so I'll have to figure something out for tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Addicted to......

Gossip! I can't get enough of it. I'm not talking about family or office gossip, I'm talking about celebrity news. I guess people are addicted to many different things like cars, spending/buying, porn, gambling, chocolate (OK maybe a little of this one for me too), alcohol and many other things. But is my addiction really that bad? I mean, I'm not hurting my loved ones, I'm just increasing my knowledge of useless facts.

On my way into work, I structure my ride in around the gossip fix from the local radio station. Then throughout the day I check websites like People, E online, Just Jared, Entertainment Weekly and TMZ. I even check out CNN and MSNBC to see what their entertainment section has to offer (but I also check out the news too). When I am on vacation and cannot get my fix the usual way, I start to go through withdrawals and immediately have to buy all the gossip magazines I see. Then I am OK until I get home.

Its gotten to the point where my husband and father-in-law listen to the morning gossip updates and we all compare notes around the supper table. Its the strangest thing, but I love it.

Do I need help?

Monday, January 14, 2008

New England Weather

I have been reading blogs for sometime now and some are focused on certain things (recipies, books, vacations or gossip) then there are others pretty much about the authors life, day in and day out. I think I will be the type to write about what is on my mind.

For today, it will be the weather. Sometimes people use the weather as a conversation starter or a filler during those awkward moments of nothing to say. Well, today it will be a conversation starter.

I have lived in New England for most of my life. I moved to Massachusetts when I was 6 years old, with my parents of course. I have been here for over 20 years and still have not really understood how fast the weather could change. Let me give you a good example.......most of last week it was warm and beautiful. The tempuratures were in the 50's and one day it even broke into the 60's. Being that its January, that is wonderful weather around here. Yesterday it was in the 40's, a very sunny and mild day. While I was reading the morning paper, I noticed in the weather section, there was a prediction of snow for the evening and into the this morning. I kind of chuckled to myself and said that there was no way we would have snow on such a clear and warm day. As the day went on, we heard predictions of the amount of snow and it was up to 8 inches. Usually, the weather is off with predictions, but you can never tell when they will be right.

I checked outside before settiling in for the night and no snow was falling, but we had prepared everything anyway. We arranged the cars in the driveway to allow the snow blower to get by, spraying the windshields with some sort of ice/snow melter that my father-in-law found, then proped the windshield wipers up and away from the windshield so it is eaiser to push the snow off.

When I woke up this morning, there was a few inches of snow on the ground covering the melted areas of snow from our New Years Day snow storm. This is what my backyard looks like, evidence I really cannot belive the flip flop weather effect we deal with in New England.


My thoughts on snow is this, its so beautiful and peaceful, until you have to go drudge through the snow to get to your vehicle, clear the vehicle off while getting snow all over you, finally getting into your vehicle and attempt to drive on the streets that have not been plowed since you do not live on a main road. I can't wait for hot and hazy days of summer.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

First Time

This is my first time blogging. There are people in my life who blog and have been doing if for some time, then there are the people have no interest in it at all. So, now here I am giving it a whirl. I feel its necessary to introduce myself since I'm meeting you for the first time. My name is Amanda, I'm married and live in New England. I guess that's as basic as you could get, but its a start.