Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wednesday, Oui? Life

Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans -John Lennon.

I'm going to try to translate something that kept running through my mind yesterday as I was walking through our house, our new house. It might be difficult to understand because I have such confused feelings right now, (and I'm exhausted) but I'll try my best.

Life is funny; it's kind of like a shoelace. You know? Sometimes you walk around with it untied because it's not convenient to stop and tie it up. You're too busy or tell yourself when you sit down you'll tie it; all the while you're preoccupied with the lace, trying not to trip, or get it in a puddle. You may even put a little extra effort into walking to accommodate the lace dragging behind you. Life is like that.

We have a house.
Not just any house.
A house we found purely by accident; by taking a detour to by-pass construction.
I called about that house 25 days ago on the off chance it was available.
Yesterday we were given keys.
Aaron and I had a discussion, just after Christmas, concluding that we'd wait another year before we even thought about buying.

Aaron and I are two very busy people with two careers, one hobby and lots and lots of people we enjoy the company of. We are always go, go, go. Yet, when the stars align for us and we say "hey, we want this" and we have the ability to make it happen, it affords me an understanding of just how lucky I am. It makes the 50 hour weeks with out seeing each other worth it.

Life is funny like that. It's almost like we stopped to tie the lace.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Friends & Family Month

I really love the month of May. Spring weather is usually in full bloom, the trees are showing signs of hope after a hard New England winter, and the air smells clean; screaming of life.

I don't know how long (consecutively) I'll be able to keep this going, but I am going to have the month of May be Friends and Family Month.

So, for the entire month of May, I am going to supplement my regular postings with "Friends and Family" posts. I have a little less than 100 blog readers and very few are strangers; many of the people who know and love me read often.

To showcase those who mean so much to me, I am going to blog about each person I am able to. I am NOT, by any means, blogging about each and every friend I have!! sheesh-- I wouldn't be able to leave home. I am going to be blogging about the ones that, at any given time, you would probably catch me texting, emailing, talking to or so forth.

So, starting around the 1st of May keep your eyes peeled for my besties :)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Pack it in

My life, as I know it, has come to a screeching halt. This has nothing to do with the closing being delayed until Tuesday, it's.... almost.... worse.

I am a woman who likes routine. Living in the chaos I have been for the last few weeks has really taken its toll on me.

The events I endured this morning convince me that Armageddon is near.

Again, back to the routine.

Every single morning, when I get up, I do the exact same things over and over and over again; without deviation-- without fail. I walk down stairs, groggy, hit 1 minute on the microwave to heat up the coffee Aaron made for me before he left for work (he puts it in the microwave), and I then walk over to the pantry to get Manny and Bing a scoop of food. By then, I have about 10 or so seconds left on the microwave and I usually just open it up (leaving the time all messed up for Aaron's benefit), grab my coffee, and walk over to the table to have my coffee and go online before work.

This morning, all the same happened... except the coffee part. I flung open the door to find the microwave empty. It wasn't until then that I remembered, Aaron specifically prepped me for this last night. He reminded me on two occasions, "we are out of coffee, so you'll have to get some on the way to work."

How does this happen? We never run out of coffee. Then again, we always keep the fridge and pantry stocked, something we've been neglecting.

This is truly the straw that broke the camels back. Now I'm going to have to stop somewhere, probably Starbucks, and get some expensive imitation stuff. Aaron makes the BEST cup of coffee. Man, I'm screwed. My day is a loss. I might as well go back to bed.

Armageddon is near; run for cover.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day

It's Earth Day, people. For my post celebrating last year's Earth Day, please click here. I encourage you to celebrate today by keeping your lights off as long as possible, minimizing the use of water, and recycling (everyday would be awesome, but please, at least today.) This year Aaron and I have converted to reusable shopping bags and are buying as much organic food as our budget will allow (among our other efforts.) What are you doing?

Conversations on a Wednesday, Oui?





I've realized, as of late, how psychotic I (we) am (are) about my (our) animals. I'm comparable to Dr. Freaking-Do-Little. In the last few days I've made a mental note of some of the things I've said to the animals or about the animals.

Exhibit A:
J:Bing, Bing darling, would you tell me if you had a tick on you? Would you tell Mama?
Okay, as if he could: 1. answer the question at hand, 2. ever have a tick on him considering I douse him with FrontLine once per month like clock-work and 3. I comb through his hair once per night looking for anything unusual, I would surely catch a tick.

Exhibit B:
J: Aaron, Manny threw up this morning. Do you think he's upset because of the stress of the move or do you think he may have eaten something bad?
Okay, 1. Stress? Maybe, but doubtful. 2. He's a pig and probably ate too much. 3. I know he couldn't have possibly have eaten something "bad" because I inspect his vomit to check for things like, oh, batteries, non-food items, discoloration and the like. Hey, come on now, one of my first sentences was acknowledging my psychosis- don't be a hater.

Exhibit C:
I threw a pillow off the bed and it landed near Shredda.
J: Oh my God!!! Meow-meow, are you okay? Did I hurt you, Meow-meow? Shredds? Are you okay?
Am I seriously waiting for an answer?

Exhibit D:
We are at Bernie & Phils (quality, comfort, and price- that's nice) looking at, of all things, a bedroom set.
A: Well, if we get the "low profile" box-spring, the boys will be able to access the bed more easily.
J: Yeah, what do you think? I like the looks of the high profile, but it's going to be hard for the babies to climb up there.
A: Yeah. So low?
J: Yeah.
A to Salesman: Yeah, we're going to go with the low profile box-spring. It will just be easier for the boys.

Exhibit E:
We are at Target, looking for pet stuff.
A: Don't you think we should get some new food and water dishes for the animals?
J: Why?
A: Well, we are getting new stuff, so they should too.
J: That's true, they are probably tired of looking at the same old dish anyway. Oh, and we need to get one of those bone shaped braided rugs for under their dishes. I'm tired of that old plastic placemat.
A: Yeah, it breeds germs. Where can we find one of the braided rugs?
J: Oh, well, they sell them at the Amish store, they're only like $25 bucks.
A: Oh really? That's not bad. Yeah, we'll pick one up.
Like the dogs even care what they eat off of.

So there you have it folks. Here is a small sampling of what goes on with the A&J animal farm. Oui are constantly having conversations either about the animals or with the animals. Pure craziness, I tell you.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Go Big or Go "Home"

Okay, people. I am losing my mind. Seriously. Losing. My. Mind.

Where have I lost it, you ask? Well, probably somewhere in this rat-hole of an apartment I'll be living in for the next four days. Since our closing date was set, and a few days prior to that, we just stopped caring for the apartment. It's driving me nut but I just don't have the time right now to do anything about it.

Seriously.... Anyone who has ever been to my house, or in my office for that matter, knows I suffer from O.C.D and thus, everything neat as a pin; not an item out of place. It's not something I'm proud of. It does impact my life, it probaly is diagnosable. Booo!

Right now our apartment is in complete and utter shambles as we prepare for our big move (moving from renting to owning, moving to a different, bigger city, and moving the entire life we've created here, together.) Yikes!

We have dishes in the sink, (never!) the bed has been left unmade for days, (gasp) I'm to the point that I don't even care about my attire; digging stuff out of the "mostly clean" pile of laundry, (the horror!) the living room is crammed with new furniture that isn't even unwrapped, (eek!) and I have chipped nail polish on my toenails (things like that bother me... a lot) But you know what? This is reality for us right now and I'm trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to be okay with it. I just struggle because I need peaceful, serene surrounds available to me when I come home from work and need to decompress.

Strangely, in the last few months (especially since I've been promoted) I've had people asking me how I get it all done. I don't even remember the last time I waxed my eyebrows. I'm not handling it all perfectly right now, but my job comes first (after my personal life, I must remind myself ;) then the move, then the wedding. So, I'm going to show you what I mean. This is the chaos I'm dealing with and I'm doing my best. It's not easy, and I'm barely pulling it off. But, in the end, I know it will be worth it when I have my "neat as a pin" white house with black shutters ;) Until then, it's like I'm living in a bad infomercial; just when I think I'm ahead of the game there is that voice yelling "BUT wait... there's more!"








My house never looks like this, and I hope it is many moons before it ever gets to this point again. I truly don't know how I'm going to make it until we move to the new place.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Say What?

Aaron and I have strange things that we work into conversations, things that would make absolutely no sense to other people, but things we laugh and laugh and laugh about.

One thing we say, every time we come through the door, is "I like your house..." But in a really creepy voice.

The reason behind this is because as many of you (who know me well) know my favorite movie producer/director/writer is M. Night Shyamalan. I am absolutely, positively obsessed with him and I have seen every one of his movies.

Unbreakable is the movie from which the above quote was taken. Amazing movie. In one of the scenes, a creepy-killer-man knocks at a family's door and says, "Can I come in? I like your house." True to M. Night's form I got the chills during this scene. So much so that during the movie I said to Aaron, "ahh, I hate that guy's voice!"

So naturally, to tease each other, we say it when we walk through the door.



If you get creeped out easily, you might not want to watch this. For those of you know and like M. Night's work; watch it and be creeped out- (** the quote occurs at about 3:30 if you want to forward to that part.)

So, back to the story. All is well and good until Tuesday. I'm standing at my kitchen sink doing dishes when I hear someone at my door. I stop, wondering who it could be. Just then I see the door-knob twist and the door push open. I freak out, of course, knowing full well that Aaron is at school. Before I even have a moment to process what is happening, some dude is standing in my kitchen with his dog! My dogs are barking, his dog is barking, and we are just staring at each other before I scream "get out!!!!"

The man, who looks completely bewildered, backs toward the door mumbling..."I, I have an appointment to get my dog groomed."

I lose it. "What? No! The dog groomer is next door this is a PRIVATE RESIDENCE! Get OUTTTT!"

He leaves, him and his dog, with their tails between their legs.

So I called Aaron and told him "Creepy dude from Unbreakable was just here." Because, after my adrenalin had dissipated, I found the whole incident to be funny (probably because I didn't have a slit throat.)

Aaron, however, was not amused in the least. I literally had to talk him out of driving home from school to... I don't know what... but I ended up getting a long lecture about how the door "must be locked at all times (blah, blah, blah,) when we get into the new house we're getting ADT, (blah blah blah.) I could have been killed (blah, blah, blah)."

So, now, Aaron refuses to participate in the "I like your house" teasing. He doesn't find it funny anymore. Folks, write your comments in. Tell him it should be reinstated! Do it!

Monday, April 13, 2009

5 things Meme

Five Things I Was Doing Ten Years Ago:
Applying for colleges (undergraduate) and deciding on majors (I picked Clinical Psychology at Husson University)
Bombing around Rochester/Portsmouth in my Saab 900 Turbo, sans the muffler.
Working at a gas station.
Spending every penny of every paycheck.
Fighting with my parents, a lot.

Five Snacks I Enjoy:
Hommus and Triscuits
Vienna Cookies
Nuts (I'm nuts about nuts!)
Yogurt and granola
Luna Bars

Five Songs I Know All the Lyrics To:
Hook- Blues Traveler
Ice Ice Baby- Vanilla Ice
Let it Be- The Beatles
Fidelity- Regina Spektor
Come on Eileen (Put your dancing pants on!) Dexy's Midnight Runners

Five Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire:
Give my sister a check.
go to Alaska
Clone Bing and Manny
Buy 1 carat diamond stud princess cut earrings
Pay off college debt

Five Bad Habits:
Snacking all day long
Not clearing the timer on the microwave
Refusing to help with laundry (Love you A)
Not answering/responding to phone calls right away (or ever)
Staying up too late

Five Things I Like To Do:
Travel
Read
Work
Hike
Spend time with my family and friends in any context.

Five Things I Would Never Wear Again:
French pants
Short shorts
A tie
Fathered bangs and a 'scrunchi'
Plastic jewelry

Five Favorite Toys:
My Kayak
My Toy box (AKA, my armoire full of jewelry)
My Subaru Outback
My significant other ;)
My KitchenAid Mixer (Thanks Mom & Dad Molloy)

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Happy Birthday, Sess

We want to wish my sister, Nicki, a very Happy 31st Birthday.
You know I absolutely love and adore you! You are the best sister and friend I could ever ask for. We hope you have an amazing day!
XOXO,
Jessi & Aaron
Bing & Manny
Rocko & Shredda

Friday, April 10, 2009

Photographic (chaotic) Friday

The house is a mess, our bedroom floor is barely recognizable, we have so much laundry to do, and we are stressed beyond belief. But, we bought a house and we're packing to leave. We can't wait to get out of this apartment, and we have basically given up caring for it. The animals, however, seem to be adjusting just fine to us buying a new house. Proof? Check out our pictures!




We are under so much stress that we're not even thinking clearly. Yes, that's the cereal Aaron put back in the fridge. Guess where he put the milk?



And me? Apparently earlier this week, I got up in the middle of the night (around 2:00 am) and began rummaging through my drawers pulling clothes out onto the floor. I got up so abruptly that it awoke Aaron. When he tried to get me to come back to bed, I was so deep into sleep, that I ignored him and just kept yelling about a release of confidentiality for one of my clients.

This house buying business is pure insanity I tell you. But we are loving every minute of it.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Meme of Firsts

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
My boyfriend at the time... who shall remain nameless.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Nope.

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
Sloe gin fizz... prepared for me by... my dad. I still love those and I always have a bottle of gin in the fridge.

4. What was your FIRST job?
Paper route.

5. What was your FIRST car?
Ah, my Saab 900 Turbo. Old body style. I loved that car.

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
No one, yet.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
Manny, my dog. And yes, he's a person.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Giguere.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
Florida.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?
Shawn. No, he passed away.

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over?
Oh, um... Stephanie Grant's house.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
Aaron.

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
My parent's vow renewal.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Took Manny for a walk. He woke me up.

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
Neil Diamond.

16. FIRST tattoo?
Butterfly.

17. FIRST piercing?
Ears. I was young.

18. FIRST foreign country you've been to?
I went on a cruise when I was 7 to St. Thomas, St. Juan and St. Maarten. Does that count? If not, Oh Canada!

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing?
Annie.

20. When was your FIRST detention?
First and only. 5th grade. I got in a fight and broke a girl's wrist :( I had massive anger issues as a child. Just ask my sister. She still flinches if I make any sudden movements ;)

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
New Hampshire.

22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
An ex (not the prom date) who shall, again, remain nameless.

23. If you had one wish. What would it be?
Funny you ask that. My neck is KILLING me and I would like that fixed.

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance?
French, I'm asking for Rosetta Stone for my birthday.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Wednesday, Oui?

Yes, a total Oui if you ask me! (hahah, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it)

So drum roll please......................

Oui just bought our first house!
Yep, that's right. It's all mine. I love it. The minute I saw it I wanted it.

Now, many of you who have been following me on Facebook know this already. I had to leak the story somewhere, it was killing me.

We close on the 24th of April. Yep, just 16 days from today. It was one of my demands; a quick closing.

I won't give any specific details on the house here (location etc.) simply because this is a public blog and I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry knowing where I live. I will post pictures of it when the realtor sign comes down.

But seriously. How long have I been wanting a house? AND it's not far from a lake ;) I know, I'm crazy for buying one now, while I'm planning a wedding and all. We weren't even really looking. It was just fate and this house is perfect for us :)

Oui, yes, yes, Oui!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Say What?

J: Baby, where are all of our travel mugs?! I can't find one!
A: Ahhh, um.... I know I left a few in my car...
J: Well, a lot of good that does me now... I need one! What are they all doing in your car?
A: Traveling?

Friday, April 3, 2009

Happy Birthday, Hilary

Happy Birthday Hil. I absolutely adore you and I hope you have an amazing day!
243 cubed!

Photographic Friday

For some odd reason, I love this picture. It was taken at the farm a couple of weeks ago. Xander asked if he could use the camera to take a picture of me and, of course, I let him. I guess Aaron and Dan wanted to be in on it too. Xander was laughing while he was taking it and I had no idea why. It also shows me how grown up Xander is now. He kept the fact that they were in the background a secret. He didn't annouce it like he would have even a year ago. He knew the social cue of not giving it away.

Also this picture captures our personalities so well:

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

"Oui" are always causing trouble...

I often travel with one of my best friends, Hilary. I like to travel with her because A.) She loves to travel. B.) She's always up for traveling. I never have to ask her twice. And C.) We really have the BEST time together and seem to find mischief/trouble everywhere we go.

I've been to Montreal, Freeport, Marlborough, Washington D.C, and Boston with Hilary. Every time we go away, there are specific memories we take with us and rehash often.

I had been dreaming, *DREAMING* of seeing the Dirty Dancing play at the Boston Opera House since Christmas when ads began playing on the TV and radio.

Coincidentally, Hilary also wanted to see the play. So, being the industrious girls we are, we starting looking for cheap tickets. We found them for at least one-HUNDRED dollars less then we should have (for the seats we really wanted too!) Searching for tickets was the easy part.



We went Friday evening. We left my house at 4:00 on-the-dot. Once we pulled out the my driveway everything went to hell.

The following things happened to us after we left my house:

When we arrived in Boston Hilary pulled up to the curb at Davis Square around 5:15 pm. She hit the curb and nicked a large piece off the very new (read: expensive) rim of her front tire.

We were so upset and flustered with this that we walked, in a daze, around Davis Square looking for the Italian restaurant recommended to us.

As we approach the restaurant we notice it had gone out of business. We went into a few stores to ask where we could find nice Italian place, and we're pointed in several directions. We find a place called Sagra and as we're about to enter... it hits me.

"Hilary! We didn't pay the meter!"

We run all the way way back to the car, all the while asking people on the street, "Do they ticket after 5:00?"... "Do we have to pay the meter after 5:00?" Many people don't know, or won't answer us. Hilary then, in a moment of complete brilliance, decides to ask a bike messenger if we have to pay after 5:00. He looks at her as though she's insane and says, "You're really asking a cyclist that?"

As we approach her car we see the bright orange envelope under her wiper. A $20 ticket. She puts several quarters into the meter, realizing after she drops in the sixth or seventh that it will only allow us to pay for 2 hours at a time. Damn, more money wasted.

We walk all the way back (several blocks to the restaurant) and I trip and almost fall because I stupidly forgot to change my high heels and I'm walking on cobblestone. I did say almost fall, because luckily a sweaty jogger was there to catch me.

The restaurant sucks. The menu is extremely over-priced and written in an unreadable cursive. We order a Caesar salad and a plate of ravioli to share. Neither are worth the money.

We make our way back to the car. My feet are throbbing and I think, quite possibly, bleeding.

We drive to Matt's house where, luckily, things slow down and we have a nice little visit. He brings us a few blocks to drop us off at the "T" (subway) so that we don't have to drive in town or pay hundreds to park.

We enter the station and the machine to buy a pass is not working. We basically freak out because we have exactly 20 minutes to get there. Finally, we figure out how to use another machine and we make our way onto the subway.

It's exactly 6 stops from Davis Square to Park, where the Opera House is. With 5 stops to go, the subway pulls into the station and the cars fill up. Hilary and I grabbed a seat and everyone else is crowding the car. I notice, directly across from me... so close I could reach out and touch it, a man is standing right in front of me with... his entire dick hanging out of his zipper. The whole thing. All of his junk. In plain sight. Right there. I have no escape.

I look at Hilary and I whisper, "Oh. My. God! That guy's dick is out, WTF?!!"

She looks over and bursts into laughter (which doesn't help her having to pee really badly.) We laugh for the next few stops until we hit a bump and he falls in my direction. My life flashes before me as his penis comes flying at my face. Near miss, no harm. We can't seem to look away. We are hysterical. I assume people watching us suspect we're on drugs.

Finally our stop. We have about 8 minutes to go... we run to the booth and ask the clerk..."How do we get to The Boston Opera House! Where? Quick!" The gentleman tells us to get back on the bus and go one more stop. We do as we're told and passengers tell us to get off because it's not true. We run out quickly, and the clerk tells us (in a very annoyed tone) that he is correct and to get back on. We do. We are so confused. I'm pretty certain the skin has worn off the bottom of my feet and Hilary is about to pee in her purse. We have 5 minutes.

We get off at the next stop, as told, and we are met with high buildings, some construction and no Opera House in sight. We are off running- asking random people where the Opera House is. Of course the person I ask, doesn't speak. At all. No one directs us, we are running through the town screaming at people, both of us clutching our Coach bags in case we're mugged (okay, that's a little dramatic, but all night we thought someone pick-pocketed us.)

We are finally directed and get there, but we have to RUN a few blocks. The door man at the Opera House says "Hurry to your seats, you won't be let in if the curtain is up." I literally start having an asthma attack from all the stress (and the flying penis.)

We get in our seats, which are amazing. Someone has stolen my anti-bacterial hand cleanser. I tell Hilary and we are scanning our memory to determine who it was, accusing people we came into contact with... oh wait, no, it's in my pocket. Her phone is missing... not wait, it's in her jacket... where's my bus pass, oh yeah. Breathe.

We are both scarred, beyond repair, forever. The trouble oui seem to find, or that finds us, is unbelievable. BUT I wouldn't want to do it with anyone but Hilary. We are complete train-wrecks but we have the best time! And as for the play? Amazing!
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