Ok, ok, so I'm a blogger-slacker!

Okay, so I’m a terrible blogger… I started a blog right after Nate and I got married to keep everyone up-to-date with what was going on in our lives, and I have yet to finish a single post.  Maybe it’s because I’m technologically inept, so uploading pictures with captions is totally beyond me.  Maybe it’s because I sit in front of a computer all day at work and have no desire to do so once I get home.  Maybe it’s because I’m a slacker and recapping is so complicated because you miss out on the actual emotion experienced during the time of the occurrence.  Regardless of the reasoning behind my un-blogging-ness, I am working on writing a story—mostly fiction based in the reality of the craziness of my life, and I figured the best place to start would be a blog—so I can keep these interesting moments in my mind to draw from. 

So let’s start with a little background…

At this day in age, I am 23 years old.  I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.  My mother is remarried to an absolutely incredible man, who, in a moment of absolute insanity, decided that he wanted my mom to move from Kinston—barely a speck on the side of the highway at the time—to Raleigh with him so he could return to school and help her raise her 3 year old daughter, me, whom he was crazy about.  We lived in a small apartment inside the beltline; my mom worked days and my dad worked nights, and somehow we managed to make it work.  They got married when I was 8, conceived my brother on their honeymoon—not really, but that’s the running joke as he was born 10 months after the wedding.  By that point, we’d moved a little further out of Raleigh into a nice house, planting my parents’ wedding-gift-Bradford-Pear-tree in the backyard.  Twenty-three months after Blake was born, Megan came along.  Her birth was a little more dramatic—who knew that would be a precursor for her personality later in life?—and I got to help deliver her while the doctor ran in the rooms, pulling on his scrubs, calling out “Catch; I’ll be there in a minute!”  I went to a high school in the middle of the downtown ghetto, giving me a distorted image of reality, where I was a band geek/cheerleader.  Graduation sent me to Greensboro for college, and I ended up hanging around when my part time position at McAlister’s Deli turned into an Assistant Manager position.

Nate is now 32 and grew up—for the most part—in Fayetteville, North Carolina where he got into as much trouble as he could being the only male in a super-estrogen-rich family headed by his mother and rounded out by his sisters… all three of them!  As soon as he turned 18, he started the corporate climb, which he has now mastered due to the practice he got in earlier years of having a wife, 2 small daughters, and a massive amount of hours logged in the commute department.  His wife left in December when the girls were in early elementary school and Nate decided that the best thing for all of them would be to get a fresh start.  So he bought a house and they moved to Greensboro and Nate settled into management position after management position while he continued to climb.

Now, since you know we’re married, the question becomes, “Where did these two lives intersect?”… Well, let me tell you what an interesting situation that was!  During a crazy day at McAlister’s, we had a ridiculous lunch rush resulting in 20+ minute ticket times.  I was running from table to table trying to keep our customers happy, and came across one where a man asked me a couple questions about how I liked my job, and asked if he could get my contact info for a position he had that had recently opened up.  Three grueling weeks later, I got a call from him, David Hardy our District Manager for HoneyBaked and phone-interviewed for over an hour in the parking lot of OutBack (a great excuse to truncate the HORRIBLE blind-date I was on).  Then, about a week later, October 26, 2009, I started my first day of my new job.  I was training for a position as a Store Manager and Nate was my training manager at the location in Winston Salem.  Needless to say, my chatterbox nature led to many get-to-know-you heart-to-hearts during the workdays and note cards passed with quotes that made me think of him.  He and I were both in slow-to-no-progress relationships at the time, which we both realized were not what we wanted after a few of our meaningful conversations.

I texted him right around Halloween about having fun carving pumpkins with his girls, which opened the flood gate of our communication—initiated with a very timid “Would it be alright if I called you?” from him.  We went on our first date on Friday, November 13^th to the Olive Garden in Greensboro, enjoying an early-release day from work, delicious food, and our first kiss under the huge tree in the parking lot!  We finished up the amazing day with Starbucks at Four Seasons Mall and a very long goodbye.  I went home to visit my family in Raleigh the next morning, and spent the majority of the visit on the phone with Nate.  We made plans that on my way back to Greensboro on Sunday evening (which morphed into early afternoon due to anticipation), I would stop at his house for dinner and a movie to meet his two daughters, Natalie (10) and Alyssa (11).

For Thanksgiving, my family went out of town, so I spent the holiday with Nate, his girls, and his youngest sister, Amy, who is actually just a couple months older than me!  It was a wonderful experience trying to cook (except when I put a metal pan in the microwave—it was fine with my metal bowl—and ruined the stuffing).

 

Christmas started early, allowing me to actually put up the decorations I’d inherited from my Mom and Grammy, and our living room soon sported a beautiful tree and tons of decorations.  We spent Christmas day at my family’s house, where Nate gave me the most beautiful diamond/pearl earrings and got all teary when he opened the guitar I bought for him.  Unfortunately, our “vacation” was cut short when we had to be back at work the day after Christmas.

New Years saw me meeting another of Nate’s sister—the middle one—Angie, and her 3 kiddos: Salissa, Maddy, and Seiji.  We enjoyed making cupcakes and decorating with squirt-tube icing, resulting in massive sugar highs.  The kids had a nice sleepover pow-wow in the living room and Nate spent the evening playing catch-up with Angie.

For Natalie’s 11^th birthday, we had planned to have a few girls over and do a dinner/movie/popcorn machine “party”, but Mother Nature had other plans.  My mom and sister came to visit, and unfortunately, got stuck in Greensboro overnight when it started to snow during dinner.  Mom made Natalie’s cake and it was gorgeous (not to mention delicious)!  We only got about 2-3 inches at first, much more to follow (and more dangerously, some ice) but Natalie’s friend was unable to spend the night.

Shortly thereafter, Natalie had to have surgery to remove a benign bone growth on the side of her knee.  She spent the night in the hospital, but has recovered beautifully and has a really neat scar to show off!  Shortly before this, Nate’s two shih-tzus, Beef and Roni, had 3 puppies.  Both parents ran off during a hellacious wind storm that opened the gate (blew it right off the hinges) and we were trying to bottle feed them from 3 days old.  Sadly, the puppies did not make it.  With all of the snow/ice we were getting, the hospital parking lot was moderately paved, with huge mounds (termed icebergs to me) against islands and at the front of parking spaces.  One of the times that I left the hospital on an errand, I had caught the underside of the front bumper on one of these icebergs and managed to rip the plastic loose.

For Valentine’s Day, I was pleasantly surprised when Nate sent me roses at work (which were difficult to transport home from Pineville) with a sweet card (I love Taylor Swift and whenever “Love Story” comes on, Nate says he thinks of me).  I bought Nate a grill and we have been making good use of it since. 

Springtime was amazing: April found Nate and I both enjoying a glorious moth off work as we were both between jobs.  Neither of us was enjoying the HoneyBaked life (especially not me as I was in Pineville, driving 2 ½ hours each way and I sliced my finger horribly during a training exercise), and we spent tons of time bonding as we were job hunting.  I found a job as an office manager with a Real Estate company in High Point, and Nate was hired into a management position with DriveTime.  Both of us are much happier with our new companies!  For Easter we had fun decorating eggs and enjoying dinner with Amy.  Alyssa made All-State Chorus—one of 3 sixth graders at her school—and we got to watch her perform at the Greensboro Coliseum… and those kids were amazing!

For Mother’s Day, we went to Raleigh to have brunch with my Mom and Grammy.  We enjoyed a delicious time at Chili’s where the waiter and Nate kept picking on Alyssa and her imaginary crack baby—who knows how that came about?!?  It was a day full of laughs.  When we got back, I was instructed to relax with Nate and the girls went shopping.  What seemed like a lifetime later (about 2 hours), they came home and banished me from the kitchen (not fun since I’m a control freak and LOVE to cook).  I was presented with salad, ribs, and a beautiful turtle cheesecake for dinner, a set of knives, a photo album/card, a HUGE food processor, and the movie “The Time Traveler’s Wife”—which we watched with dinner.  It was a wonderful first Mother’s Day for me!

Alyssa’s birthday was rather uneventful too (poor girls) as we’d planned to do a girls night out with her best friend, but we couldn’t get in touch with the friend.  So, instead, we went out for sushi and played with silly bands.  Alyssa got a Volcano Roll (something crabby and HOT) and I got a Fuji Roll (think fried California Roll with cream cheese in it)… and Natalie had Subway J  I made her a chocolate chip cookie cake, and after dropping the first one on the floor, iced it with homemade cream cheese icing.  Needless to say, we were buzzed on sugar for the better part of a week!

In June, we went to Maryland for my distant cousin’s wedding and to introduce my new family to the extended Mattis/Davis/McCormack, etc clan.  The ceremony was beautiful and the food at the reception was breathtaking!  I caught the bouquet and quickly passed it off to Alyssa, which made Nate mad since he was hoping I’d catch it, and we had a tiny spat, that we quickly resolved and enjoyed a few dances (Nate dancing? No way!).

The summer was a bit of a blur: The girls spent from Father’s Day (Nate got to enjoy a couple new games, one with an expansion pack) to the beginning of August in Sanford with their grandparents and Florida with their mom.  This meant that Nate and I celebrated my birthday early (he got me an iHome so I would stop dragging the laptop onto the bathtub ledge when I was taking a bath) and I spent my actual birthday in Raleigh with my family.  Mommy and I got pedicures as my present and it was a gloriously relaxing time.  For the 4^th of July, Nate and I both had a long weekend, so we trekked out to Kentucky so I could meet his mom, Laurie.  She and her husband, Joe, have a beautiful place on the side of a mountain, where we enjoyed 4 wheeling with his mom and Salissa (except when their 4 wheeler flipped over on them coming up a steep grade).  On the 4^th we went to Cumberland Falls for quite a workout up and down the stairs in the blistering heat.  It was beautiful, though, and we took a ton of cute kissy-face/cuddly pictures to document the trip.  Fireworks that evening were beautiful and we enjoyed sitting out in the mountain air—so different from what we’re used to!  Somehow, we ended up bringing Laurie’s rescue kitten home with us (despite my terrible allergies) since I knew the girls would love her and we named her Luci (short for Lucifer since she was such a rambunctious hellion)!

Nate’s birthday was celebrated a little early too, as he was anxious to get his new games—another of which had an expansion pack, meaning more new challenges and adventures.  We enjoyed an angel food cake with strawberry puree, made into French Toast for breakfast.  The weekend between his and my Dad’s birthday was spent at Sunset Beach.  We had a 2 bedroom apartment a block back from the beach, on the actual island.  The hotel had a pool where we enjoyed diving for coins and generally splashing around.  When we made it down to the ocean—chairs, coolers, umbrellas, toys, etc. in tow—we took a couple boogey boards out and just bobbed in the waves.  Unfortunately for Nate and I, one reapplication of sunscreen was not enough to keep us from getting FRIED, and we peeled for weeks afterwards (Nate’s was in a striking plaid pattern due to the spray on sunscreen!).  We had a less-than-memorable seafood dinner in a neighboring town and watched a storm brewing overhead from beneath the pier.  The convenience store across the street boasted movie rentals so we spent the rainy evening watching some B movies no one had ever heard of.  All in all, I wish we’d had the opportunity to stay longer, as it was a welcome change from Greensboro.

September, on the other hand, has been quite a whirlwind!  Nate proposed September 2nd and we started thinking about eloping (*gasp*).  Blasphemy in my huge family—think church scene from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and add a few dozen more—where little girls have their weddings planned out from the time they can walk down the make-believe isle.  I was overwhelmed with the options for venues, dresses, catering options, seating arrangements, registry items, etc. and my dad had forbidden my mom from making my cake! L  Of course, I knew my mother would KILL me if she didn't at least know about it, so I went home that weekend to tell them what we were planning.  Nate has a friend who is a minister and we had planned to have a small wedding with him marrying us.  The wedding itself was pushed back to September 12th to accommodate for shopping and schedule conflicts, but the day was perfect!

Mommy and I decided that I would have a purple dress (how much cooler than that can you get?) and she and Grammy designed my bouquet to match.  The ceremony was held at the Arboretum Gardens in Greensboro.  We had planned a clearing with beautiful hedges and a fountain, but when we showed up, there were 30+ girls there!  So in a frantic state, we found a beautiful gazebo under which to do the ceremony.  Nate and I both cried throughout the ceremony, and were thrilled when Brian pronounced us man and wife!  We spent what seemed like forever taking pictures, though, honestly, I'm not sure we've had that many GOOD pictures taken in one setting ever!


Our “reception” was held at the Olive Garden where we had our first date, where mommy presented us with a surprise mini-wedding cake in a design similar to the one we’ve had planned out since I was, oh about 16!  We finished off the evening smooching under the parking lot tree again, just to commemorate.

Out of the blue, I found out I was pregnant, and further along than we’d anticipated.  We were growing a beautiful little girl, Kylie Jeanne, and couldn’t be happier!  Her development was beautifully on-track, while making my medical condition all out-of-whack. 

For Halloween, we went out to see a scary movie in lieu of trick-or-treating since Nate had to work late, we were having trouble finding costumes, and the girls are getting to be a little too old.  Thoroughly jacked up on candy, I think we have started a memorable tradition.

Thanksgiving was kinda crazy and we spent it in several different places.  Nate and I took a week off work and headed up to Kentucky to spend some time with Laurie, Joe and Amy (who had recently moved up there).  Nate taught the girls to drive 4-Wheelers, we played with the slew of dogs, the goats, and the new horse; we ate WAY too much food and came back right before Thanksgiving.  The girls’ maternal grandfather has Parkinson’s and has been caught in a downward spiral for the last couple years, so they went to spend some time with them.  Nate and I took this opportunity to go on a date night to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse (where we had celebrated the previous Valentine’s Day) and were the laughing stock as we showed up in our traveling clothes—T-shirts and jeans, not their normal dress code! 

We spent Christmas at my parents’ house, stuffing our faces, ripping into presents, and enjoying all our new technology—to the chagrin of my mother :-/

New Years was rather uneventful for us.  We spent the day playing video games and switched over to the ball drop right before midnight since the girls had never seen it!

Unfortunately, I took a tumble in January and we lost Kylie.  The memorial service was absolutely beautiful and we appreciated the support from many. This meant that Natalie, again, got the short end of the stick for her birthday as it was the following day.  I took the easy way out and bought her a pineapple cake and tie-dye balloon.

Lately, we’ve been struggling to get through the day-to-day while grieving and stressing.  I’ve had tons of doctor’s appointments as my blood work turned up some unusual results: Factor V Leiden (which means that I have a chromosomal imperfection that causes abnormal blood clotting), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase—MTHFR for simplicity sake (which is an enzyme deficiency inhibiting my body’s folic acid uptake, resulting in an inability to heal myself properly and/or create healthy new cells), and  another gene mutation that had something to do with an inability to uptake vitamin B, which slightly compromises my immune system.  Add to that, I am severely anemic and have an overactive thyroid and you get a nice concoction of specialist appointments.

Valentine’s Day was scaled back this year too: Nate bought us each a Wii to be able to play Monster Hunter together (I’m hoping he’ll get me Wii Fit and a balance board for my birthday so I can do yoga J).

At the end of March, we acquired a new member of the family: Ellie!  The man who does the termite inspections for my work had a litter of pit bull/bulldog puppies that he claimed were mostly bulldog.  I’m questioning his title as she doesn’t have any bulldog traits and the momma and entire litter look like boxers.  She was 3 months and 30 pounds we first brought her home, and she’s growing like a weed.  We’re struggling to train her not to potty in the house, not to chew on extension cords and not to jump (since she’s going to outweigh me by her first birthday most likely).  Ellie has the sweetest temperament and wants to do nothing but cuddle and give kisses, and while sometimes she’s a little bit of a handful, I’m thrilled to have a dog again! 

So I know I can never be one of those people who updates their blogs a couple times a week, but I'm hoping to be able to put in at least a post per month to keep everything straight... guess we'll see...