Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired

I have been terribly sick, on and off, since Washington. I started to get a sore throat in D.C, and haven't really stopped to rest since I got home. Thus, I am behind in my blogging and was forced to leave work early today.

I tried to go in to take care of a few things, but after 5 hours my boss insisted I leave. I don't think she could stand the sound of my scratchy voice for a minute more, as I was trying to carry on "business as usual" through coughing fits, nose blowing, and a whispery scratch of a voice. So, here I am, pondering some updates (although, I did bring home some work- shhhh! hehehe) and I realize I also need to get you all caught up to speed, as I have neglected our blog in my lapse of health.

I will be writing several updates today, but I'm not sure if I will post them all at once. Perhaps I will do it a day at a time (just to keep you in suspense.)

One of my best friends, Alli, called me yesterday and she said, "Are you sick again?" I said, "Yep." and she said, "Haven't you been sick since, like, 1904?" and I replied, "pretty much."

I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why I have been getting so sick this year. I got my flu shot, and I am pretty healthy; eat healthy, work out, try to get sleep...then it occurred to me... somewhere, in the United States, a 20-year-old girl is using my immune system to fight cancer.

Well worth having a porcupine in my throat, wouldn't ya say?

Taken in Washington DC, Tuesday night.

I have mentioned, several times before, that I am fiercely independent. I work, no matter how yucky I feel, but when I am at home sick, you might as well get me a little bell because it is the only time I allow anyone to fawn over me and I eat it up by the spoonful. I watch "sick movies" (movies I watch when sick: Overboard, Dirty Dancing, Long Kiss Goodnight, and Beetlejuice) and I eat hundreds of orange Popsicles. Not red, or blue or purple, they have to be orange, and for some odd reason I like it when people talk baby talk to me when I'm ill.

Weird and diagnostic. Hmm, perhaps there is something there? Now I am going to psychoanalyze myself. ;)

Aaron, just called to check on me (he is doing yardwork at this Grandmother's house in Manchester.)

J: Hello? (Barely a whisper.)

A: Baby? Oh my God! How are you, Baby?

J: Okay (meekly, feebly, and milking it for every penny, as I write a progress note on a client I just saw)

A: Well, I will be home soon to take care of you. Did you put in a "sick movie?"

J: Not yet, but I'm going to.

A: Okay, Princess, I love you and I will be home very, very soon. Do you need anything? Orange Popsicles, soup, anything?

J: No, I'm okay. (just a spoiled brat.)

Happy Birthday Dan!

We hope you have a great day.

I am so lucky to have you in my life.
Thank you for being so good to me, my sister, my nephew, my grandfather, and my mother. You are truly the best and we love you!!!!

Happy Birthday Hilary!

Happy Birthday to a great friend and co-worker. I love you to pieces!!!

XOXO

Jessi & Aaron

In the Wild Juno's Vagina Wrecked Marley

Nickie, Jessi, and Lucia outside of The Vagina Monologues

Aaron and I are not, by any means, people who enjoy watching TV. Occasionally we will get into a funk where we stare mindlessly at it, but we don't have a prime-time list of shows we watch regularly. Well, not really. We do watch Survivor, House, and American Idol on a regular basis, but that's about 4 hours per week. Aaron and I much prefer to play games, read, or fawn over the animals. I feel guilty when I see several hours pass me by and I have failed to move from the couch.

We are, however, suckers for the theater. Be it live plays or movie theaters, we love them. We have seen 4 really great shows in the past few months that I will share here in hopes you may have the opportunity to see them.

Into the Wild: Has anyone read this book? It was amazing, heart breaking, awe inspiring, devastating, and hysterical. Alli, a friend of ours, wanted us to go to the movies with her as a new independent theater just moved into town (all of the proceeds stay local, they only show independent and foreign films, the theater is brand new and beautiful with comfortable seating, fairly priced tickets and concessions, AND they serve wine! I'm sold!) She suggested we see this. I was, at first, reluctant because I consider myself to be a book snob and I read the book first. Usually movies disappoint me. Not this one. It totally did the book justice. It's about a boy, self named "Supertramp" who makes nature his home and walks the earth. I don't want to give away too many details, but it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Click on the name to view the trailer. The soundtrack, done entirely by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, is also a must have. We bought it just days after seeing the movie.

Juno: Loved it, loved it, loved it! I won't give away the plot, but it is a must see. It is about a young pregnant caustically sarcastic high-schooler. So funny and sweet. About half way into it Aaron looks at me and says, "we are so buying this when it comes out on DVD." The soundtrack is to die for. You don't even have to have seen the movie to love the soundtrack. We loved it so much that we practically drove from the theater to Borders to get the soundtrack.

Wrecked: This was a play that I brought all of my group kids too. The plot centered around substance use and adolescents/addicted families. We (our program) doesn't have a lot of money for community events, but when this opportunity came up, I made the decision to take all of my kids (about 13 of them at the time.) Luckily, because we are a private nonprofit agency, we usually get donations and the tickets were donated. All of the kids were able arrange transportation to Concord (our program is in Manchester [about 22 miles south of Concord.]) I truly believe integrating community events into recovery makes a huge difference in sobriety. It's all about positive pro-social activities. Watching my kids watch this play, and be in the community, as they said, "like normal people" brought tears to my eyes. Seeing them watch this, laughing, and forgetting for a moment their troubles was an honor.

The Vagina Monologues: I have always wanted to see this, and the opportunity came up where tickets were reasonably priced (with all proceeds going to rape and domestic violence resources in NH) This play was amazing. A couple of my girlfriends from work went and we had a fantastic time... experiencing every emotion. Some of the play was very crude (right up my alley, no pun intended) and some of it was shocking (discussions on mutilation and rape) but most of it was hilarious! We loved it.

Lastly, for this weekend, Aaron and I just bought tickets to see...DRUM ROLL.... Comedian Bob Marley!!! (Charlie, Nicki, Alyssa and Wally eat your heart out.) If you don't know who he is, Google him or click here for a sample. I can not wait. We have balcony seats at The Palace Theater, Saturday at 7:00...

Wednesday, Oui?

I've always said there are a lot of things I'll blog about, but hundreds of things I keep stored away for me to relish in privately, secretly and lovingly.

This is a post I have long been considering for my "Oui" but not sure whether I wanted it to be "public." This morning I decided I was going to go for it.

Aaron has great style. He is fashionably sensitive and casually cool. He can look good in anything. Aaron can roll out of bed put on ripped jeans and a wrinkled white tee and still be a tasty morsel. Being an athlete, he has a nice body to dress.

When I first met him he was a caseworker at a Day Treatment program. I was the clinical intern. He was able to do a lot of the fun, therapeutic/recreational stuff with the kids. I, on the other hand, was assessing them and doing therapy with them; fun in my terms but required me to play a different roll. My dress code: professional, his: casual. He would wear flip-flops, a hoodie, and jeans just about every day. I immediately loved that about him . There were, however, a few things that turned me off.

1. He shaved his legs. Yikes! What dude shaves his legs? Being an athlete, he needed to, but I just couldn't understand that.
2. He wore pink crocs. (I was horrified to discover that we owned the SAME pair!)
3. He had a messenger bag.
4. He was always applying his chapstick (reminiscent of Buffalo Bill on Silence of the Lambs, "Hello Clarise.")
5. I will never forget the first time I saw him in his skin suit... I was horrified. I knew nothing about cycling other than that Lance Armstrong did it. I thought "Good God that is a really tight suit, need it be that tight?"
   

My first thoughts were, "this boy is so metro-sexual."

My my how things have changed. Or shall I say, love has changed everything!

These are now some things I love about Aaron:

1. For Christmas I had my mother buy him a new, MONOGRAMMED, messenger bag. He just looks so darn cute carrying one.
2. "Santa" filled his stocking with chapstick and carmex this year.
3. I was thinking at his bike race last weekend (which I will post about later this week) how nice the colors of his new uniform compliment him and his teammates, and how the material fits his body nicely.
4. While we were in the shower a few days ago (TMI, I know) we were BOTH shaving our legs passing the can of shaving cream between us, and I thought nothing of it, and even reminded him a few weeks ago that he was getting a "little stubbly."
5. This morning, before walking the dogs, I yelled out "Are these your crocs or mine?"

Hi, my name is Jessi and I love my chapstick addicted, pink croc wearing, messenger bag carrying, bald legged cyclist man.

Oui, my heart is hopelessly devoted. Who woulda thunk?