willandadri.com

To learn more about Will’s condition visit the following site:
www.asap.org

recently we’ve been swamped with prep work for will’s upcoming surgery.  we’ve consumed every waking minute with thinking about things that need to get done prior to the surgery, worrying about the surgery and its aftermath, or trying to occupy ourselves with things so we will not think about it at all.

if you are scratching your head asking “what surgery”?  then let me throw this car in reverse.  (beep, beep, beep, beep – that is my back up noise.)

will’s been experiencing back pain for about a year now.  at first we blamed it on our 13 year old bed, then we would blame it on how he sat in bed till 3am working hunched over a lap top, then we blamed it on too much yard work, and then finally in january he got to the point where he was having trouble getting out of bed and we figured he better go get things checked out.  he went and saw our primary care dr. who had him get an mri.  he had the mri done and then waited for a few weeks for the results.  when he got the results from our primary doctor she told him he had bulging discs and then scared us with some crazy terms like “chiari malformation”, but quickly went on to tell us that lots of people have that, and there was “nothing to worry about”.  she said what concerned her more was a pocket of fluid on the spine.  she referred us to a neurosurgeon.

i am not sure why the referral did not scare me, or why i did not really think too much about it when she said the word “neu-ro-sur-geon”.  well, we went on about our lives, will in pain and me in a fog and waited for the doctor to call us back with an appointment.  after a month of no action will called back and lit a fire and got an appointment.  we went into the appointment armed with a notepad full of questions.  we were ready with all of these:

• can he get acupuncture?
• can he go to the chiropractor?
• what about a doctor of osteopath?
• will massage help him?
• is there any homeopathic medicine he can take?

our appointment took forever and we were delayed about 3 hours before we actually got to see the neurosurgeon.  when we did see him he had not received will’s mri and could not confirm or really tell us much of anything.  however, in the brief 5 minute period he did spend with us he informed us that he could simply cut into the back of will’s skull to make a larger opening for the cerebellar tonsils and then the fluid would flow more freely and we’d be all set.  well, then, if it was that simple let’s just get right to it!  omg!  the freak out began.  we just closed up our little notebook of questions, and went home.

we got in the car and looked at each other like all of the wind was let out of our sails.  i kept trying to convince will that the doctor had not seen his mri and he really did not know if that was what will needed or not.  all the while this was helping me to not lose it.  we called family and friends and i went into full on investigation mode.  you would have totally called me “baby” from criminal minds.  my google fingers were fast and furious.  we learned what chiari malformation was, and also figured out the big word the neurosurgeon used that we’d never heard before – syringomyelia.  we dug and unfortunately found out that the doctor was 100% spot on.  this was exactly what will needed – a posterior fossa decompression surgery.

since that appointment we’ve schooled ourselves on this, will’s had further mri testing, been to another neurosurgeon, and met again with our first neurosurgeon and decided to have this surgery on the 27th of april at duke university hospital.  the surgery is called a lower skull base surgery and basically enlarges the opening at the base of the skull to allow the cerebellar tonsils to hang as they may, while still allowing the spinal fluid to more freely circulate, thus eventually alleviating the syringomyelia and relieving the back pain.  the surgery will have will in the icu for 24 hours and then in the hospital for the remainder of the week.  when he comes home he will be on bed rest and on heavy pain medication.  we’ve got lori flying in to be our chiari support staff.

however, hopefully in about a month’s time will can start to notice a decrease in his back pain and will hopefully be fully healed from his surgery.  doctors advise that he keep things low for 60 days post op, and our only major upcoming plans after his surgery are a trip to corolla in september. 

so right now is a time of being busy bees – to distract, while at the same time totally focusing on what is happening.  it’s the strangest predicament.  last friday we went to art after hours and listened to live music on a 1950’s swinging glider rocker outside of the sunflower studios.  we just rested our heads on each other’s shoulders and sipped our coffees while we listened to the words of the songs and watched the stars in the sky.  both of us are nervous and scared, but we know we are doing what’s best, what’s preventative, and what’s got to be done before his condition gets any worse.

we were on the go like wild fire this past weekend.  friday night we headed out to do some mattress shopping.  with will’s upcoming surgery we thought it really made sense for us to go ahead and purchase the king sized bed we’ve been dreaming of.  we went to haverty’s and tested out about 30 different styles and brands.  we felt a little like goldilocks, but felt we really narrowed down exactly what we were looking for by being thorough.  after looking at haverty’s for about an hour we decided it was time for some dinner so we headed to waraji.  we always love waraji’s sushi and were not disappointed by this visit.

saturday morning we woke up early and headed to the farmers market.  we picked up some heirloom tomato plants (3 different kinds, one purple, one green, and one pink), some thai basil, some organic honey, some red pepper sauce, and some lime cookies.  we then got our traditional wake forest coffees and hit the road to furniture land south in high point.  back when mom and dad were looking for furniture for their new house, i went with them to this massive location where you can find furniture for up to 70% off retail.  i figured this would be a good spot for us to go look for beds.  we arrived at about noon and headed to the clearance center.  we tested out all of their mattresses and found one we really liked for $200 less than haverty’s price.  after we selected that we headed to the regular store to look at their bed selections.  with 4 floors of furniture spread over two buildings they have just about everything you could imagine.  we worked with an associate who informed me that they were able to order the bed of my dreams, but it was not on the sales floor.

you see, i have wanted a particular bed frame since 2007.  i found the picture online and book marked it to occasionally look at it and drool over it (knowing i could never get it because it was too costly.)  however, i figured we would just give it a shot and see how much it costs, after all everything is discounted!  the sales associate drew us out some maps and told us she would call will’s cell when she got the pricing on that bed.  we wandered around for hours, not really finding exactly what we wanted – and did see a similar bed that we liked, but it was nine thousand dollars!  gulp!  it was shortly after this that we ran back into the sales associate who said she tried to call us, but left a vm. (when we got home we heard her message on our home machine.)  she informed us that the bed i wanted was 60% off the retail price!  we were so shocked we told her we would continue to look around, but i confirmed with will that he loved it as much as i did and we thought it was a go.  we were so dumbfounded we thought for sure she made a mistake, so we reconfirmed that it was king size and it was for the entire bed, not just the head board etc.  she chuckled and confirmed it was for the entire king size bed. 

so, after going to the show room and looking at the quality construction of their other pieces, getting warranty information, and hearing how each piece is hand carved and constructed, we decided to place our order.  i was still in shock, and think i still will be until the bed actually gets here!  now we just have to decide how we want the furniture laid out so we know where this goes when it gets delivered.

we made it home around 9pm on saturday night and headed out to walk the doggies and do some relaxing before we needed to get up at 5:40 the next morning to get ready for sunrise service at church.  it was the first easter that i did not dye eggs, and i started regretting not doing this around that time.  however, with no dye and no energy no eggs were easterized this year.

wake up time came early on sunday morning and i popped out of bed like a bunny ready to get gussied up for sunday service.  we were only 1 minute late for the 7am service, which we were both proud of, since we are famous for being late to everything.  the service was small and intimate as we gathered around the 6′ wooden cross on the side of the church.  pastor matthew called for us to take stones (we’d previously been asked to gather) and lay them at the base of the cross as a symbol of something that we needed to push/roll aside in our journey with Christ.  will and i both found the service very moving and were super happy we’d woken up so early.  after the service dave prepared a delicious pancake breakfast and we chatted with everyone before heading out to greensboro.

when we made it to greensboro we checked out some plants at lowes and tried to make a plan to re-organize our front flower beds.  we’d had dwarf nandina bushes in our front beds since we moved in, and they were never our favorite.  not finding anything we liked at their lowes we decided we’d head to our own store after we got back to wf.  later on we headed to print works bistro at the proximity hotel for an amazing easter lunch.  we tried escargot for the first time, and i finally found something that will does not like!  he made the most terrible face and threatened me with vomit if i made him eat one more bite.  we decided he could never be on “no reservations” or “the amazing race” since he had such an aversion.  however, i found them to be a lot like clams and mussels and i consumed the entire app myself.  after lunch we headed outside to rest on their patio and admire all of their beautiful plantings.   once we’d hung out in the sun long enough we decided to make our way back to wf.

we got home, changed clothes, and headed to our lowes to look for nandina replacements.  we found 27 plants we thought we needed to take home and promptly filled up the jetta and headed home.  i began digging up bushes and before we both knew it we had an entirely new looking front plant bed.  bye bye nandina!  we both really love the look of the new plant bed, and now we just need to get it mulched and we will be good to go!

march is full of birthdays.  we’ve got the following on the books:

beth

mom

lori

mike

maris

as a family we all try to get together some time in march to celebrate all of these b-days in regular over the top party fashion.  last year we held this event at barnhill lane, and this year we were off to alabama court.  maris turned 50 this year, so we had lots of celebrating to do!  we had a surprise party for her at the chinese restaurant in roanoke and then had a sunday celebration after granny’s church that allowed for celebration all the way through will’s bday in april!

mom and dad are really settling into their new place and have installed a new driveway, entirely remodeled the basement with an office for dad and a walk in cedar closet for mom, and repainted just about everything in the house!  the place is really coming together!  their latest project entails a complete redo of the front yard to level it out and allow for some rock retaining walls and plant beds to be installed.  can’t wait to see it fully finished!

we spent some good times in “club alabama” formerly known as “the man cave” on the lower level of 71 alabama court.  will worked to get dad’s surround sound working and we all sung our hearts out and lori graced us all with her dancing prowess.  we were in awe at her rendition of “ima be” by the black eyed peas.  if you see her soon, get her to show you what she can do.

lori arrived last thursday and greeted us just in time for a yelp elite event at the busy bee in downtown raleigh.  we had a great time and met some new friends and shared dinner with them.  after dinner i scurried those little party hounds out to the car and they both cried out that they had to have krispy kreme donuts for dessert!  so, off to kk we went!  featured donut of the month was banana, and somehow i let lori talk me into this.  i decided it was just not my thang.  banana and donut = icky.

we were all excited to spend time with ellie on sunday.  most of us had never met her before, so it was a great deal of fun to torture her with flashing cameras and baby talk babble.  i am sure she is permanently scarred for life now.  this family just loves a baby, and it’s been ten years since james was born, so we are all long overdue for some “oochie coochie cooing”.

this posting also contains my newest obsession of photos.  i’ve recently decided that cherry blossoms could be one of the most beautiful things around.  enjoy.

we had quite an adventurous ride home on sunday night since there was a line of severe thunderstorms stretching from charlotte to va, right on the path we were driving.  i offered to drive, and had no idea what i was in for.  i fought to keep the car on the road and ended up taking us on a 1 hour detour of the covered bank drive through off the I-40 ramp in high point to avoid certain disaster.  with constant interruption to the radio to alert us to storms in guilford county, we knew we’d better stay put.  however after our delay, we made it home safe and sound and ready to see another day.

saturday was a perfect day.  stars aligned – waters parted – birds singing kinda day.

we headed out (after an early morning carpet cleaning appointment) to the farmer’s market in down town wake forest and will’s twice monthly haircut.  the farmer’s market was brimming with farm fresh eggs, various jellies and jams, freshly baked breads, assorted types of goat cheeses, and some crafts.  we trotted around the market and zoned in on a basil plant to add to our garden on the back deck and picked up a sampling of three types of goat cheese for our breakfast.

we mosied on down to the coffee shop with our goat cheese in hand to score some bagels and coffee.  we cozied up at the coffee shop and enjoyed the various flavors of curry, paprika garlic, and honey lavender goat cheese on our bagels.  the walls of the coffee shop are lined this week with photographs from Kelly Newton.  She has a very captivating series of portraits that really inspired me to print out my india photos and get that gallery hung up soon.  one day i need to check into seeing what i need to do to get some prints of my own shown in the coffee shop.

after breakfast we headed down to various stores and shopped around to see what was new.  we purchased some candles on sale and then headed up to twisted vine for some wine tasting.  we found a white wine we liked and got three more reds by the time we headed back down the stairs.  after wine we headed to harvest moon, which is an eclectic store in an old house in wake forest.  the exterior is coated with plants and we fell in love with the jasmine on the front porch.  after shopping we headed to blue fins bistro to try out a bite for lunch.  i was craving caprese salad but was too lazy to make my own, so i lucked out with a blt (which is the closest thing you can find to caprese salad in wf).  on our way back out of heritage we stopped at wine 101 for yet another wine tasting of the day.  we lucked out and learned a great deal about sustainable wine making and enjoyed the fruits of other people’s labor!

after lunch we headed to the mall to pick up my new glasses.  they are just a newer version of what sits on my face every day, but they have blue insets in them as opposed to the current version’s green.  we got side tracked at c&b and ended up with new glasses and plates since so much stemware has been swept into the trashcan in the past few weeks.  those glasses were too fragile!  after fighting the mall traffic we headed back home so i could land some photos of the cherry trees at our front entrance to the neighborhood.  they are the complete embodiment of spring.  the bright pink flowers against the bluest blue sky really summed up the entire day.  the weather was perfect and my allergies were not suffering too terribly just yet.  we were foot loose and fancy free.  when we got back home we created a cheers beverage to officially welcome in spring.  we mixed up a made from scratch margarita with freshly squeezed lime and orange juice with some patron and cointreau.  (skinny girl is on to something here.)

after we watched the sunset we just lazily relaxed in our lounge chairs on the back deck while will attempted to read his new book and i browsed several magazines and catalogues.  i found it quite funny that i would not shut up and kept pestering him about every half a page to tell him some story or show him something in the magazines/catalogues.  he played along like a good sport and humored me each time i broke his concentration.  he is too perfectly adorable for putting up with me. 

at about 9pm we decided we were hungry and wanted to venture down town for some ribs at the pit.  we drove all the way down there and found a 1.5 hour wait!  their ribs are great, but we were starving!  we decided to keep on driving and find something else.  racking our brains we ended up at spize cafe.  we’d wanted to try it for sometime and floated in right before they closed at 9:30.  we were in love with this version of asian fondue, it was like two of our favorite things rolled into one!  we really enjoyed all of the food, the service, and i fell in love with the utensil arsenal they give you to fight for your fondue!  too fun!

can’t wait to see what else this spring has in store!  if it is at all like saturday was, bring it on!

it is always great to have life growing before you.  we love spring and the blooms and baby birds that come with it.  it has to be the  most amazing time of year.

we purchased a seed tray two weeks ago to see if we could get back to the good ole days when we used to have a deck covered in plants like we did when we lived in harrisonburg.  seed packets were picked up at lowes and we filled the little seed pods right up to the brim and watered them and put the lid on.  we checked on them the first day and saw no movement, so we went on about our lives.  sun rose and set, and again no action.  husband thought they could use some water, so he watered them last tuesday night.  then, just when you thought nothing was gonna happen, i checked on them thursday evening.  we were amazed to see little seedlings popping out by the dozens!  we quickly covered them back up so as to not disturb this growing process.

the weekend came and we decided it would be a good time to get these little seedlings planted.  to plant we needed pots, so we headed out to home goods.  i found a ton of planters at home goods and carried them all home and lined the deck.  will was able to sit on the deck and help me scoop (cup by cup) the dirt into the planters so that we could get the baby plants into their new homes.  in may we should have a pretty amazing feast of mesclun greens, radishes, red and golden beets, and carrots. 

while we were out we scored another tray for tomatoes.  now we are on a mission to find some decent heirloom seeds so we can grow some fancy little tomatoes and basil and make a summer’s worth of caprese anytime we want!

some wonderful people treated us to dinner at the melting pot on saturday night so that we could try to take our minds of the medical drama going on in our house right now.  below is a photo of us before we headed to dinner.  thanks people – you know who you are, and we really appreciate all you do for us – love you.

this week has been about craving vegetables.  first it was the obsession with the beets, and then it was the longing for raw collards.  not sure where this stuff comes from, but it wells up inside of me and won’t relent until i cave.  husband wasn’t hungry for dinner, so i knew tonight was the perfect night for the thai collard wraps.

we used to go to taste of thai in raleigh anytime i craved thai food.  they had the best tasting thai food i’d ever had.  we’d stop in at least once a week to sit down to a peaceful, quiet, spicy, and delicious dinner.  unfortunately they closed their doors last year and with the closure they took my favorite item on the menu.  its an item i have never seen any place else.  i attempted to replicate it a couple of times, but i think i finally have it down.

thai collard wraps

• 1 bunch collard greens
• 2 whole limes
• 1/2 cup boiled peanuts
• 1/2 cup freshly toasted coconut
• 2 tbs. thai chili sauce
• 2 tbs. ponzu sauce
• 1/8th tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8th tsp. cilantro
• 1/4 tsp. peanut butter

carefully wash and dry collard greens.  cut center stems to remove any tough pieces from the leaves and set prepared wraps aside.  toast coconut over low heat in a dry skillet until lightly golden brown.  wash and dry limes.  chop limes into tiny pieces (skins included).  mix thai chili sauce, ponzu sauce, ginger, cilantro, and peanut butter to combine.  these ingredients form your sauce. 

to prepare a wrap simply take one collard green and fill it with some of each of the peanuts, lime pieces, toasted coconut, and top with the spicy sauce.  wrap collard around ingredients and enjoy!

if you would have told me 5 years ago that i would be craving beets for dinner i would have told you that you were clinically insane.  its not that i don’t like veggies or anything like that, because i most certainly do – except cauliflower – but beets were never my favorite.  i have come to learn that the true problem was that i just did not care for pickled beets as much as an unpickled beet.  we had a salad at church this past weekend and karen used boiled beets, which i really liked.  this peaked my intrigue to try cooking beets at home.  will and i got two huge bunches of organic beets this past weekend at the teeter.  i got them home and was not quite sure what i was going to come up with, but i knew it would be colorful!  i got done work at a regular time tonight and decided it was beet tackle night.  i rolled into the kitchen and pulled those pretty little critters out of their bags.  they were so gorgeous i had to start snapping photos.  the more i did to them, washed them, cleaned them up, peeled them, sliced them, the prettier they became.  i decided i would roast them.  all vegetables are amazing roasted – right?  maybe even cauliflower (maybe i will try it…).  into the oven they went for about 40 minutes on 400 degrees.  they came out earthy, but as sweet as candy!  super delish!  i plated them up on some bib lettuce, orange slices, goat cheese, and a fresh little champagne vinaigrette.  all i can say is yummo!   if you have never tried this before, you better go get your self some beets right now and try this out!

valentine’s day brought a dozen red roses.  this week was spent watching them bloom on my desk.  i was fascinated after actually looking at the white baby’s breath that came in the bouquet at how adorable those tiny little flowers really are.  you usually take that fluffy stuff for granted, but it is actually very sweet.

amelia got the sillies this week.  she flip flopped all around in her doggy bed on the floor beside my desk, which she usually does about once a week.  however this week she took it to an all new level.  this week she flopped out right on the floor and wiggle wormed all over the room.  just a flippin’ and a floppin’!

i attempted to make a low carb cheesecake.  however, i severely underestimated the amount of truvia that would be the equivalent to one cup of sugar.  i put in 5 packets, tasted it, and thought it was good.  however, when i baked it and husband served us up a slice i was informed it was not very good.  i had to agree.  next time – much – more – truvia!

we’ve had rough weeks and nights lately.  husband has been working until about 3-4 am each night and then getting up to go to work on regular schedule.  this week i attempted to stay up with him each night, but ended up falling to my sleep on the sofa beside him.  he’d wake me up in the early morning telling me it was time for us to go to sleep.  i think he thought i was a trooper because wednesday afternoon he surprised me with a delicious little cupcake from the wake forest coffee shop – yum – yum – yum.

this week i got big news!  we found out i was selected to be yelp elite!  drumroll please!  there were about 20 other local yelpisans who got this coveted award this week so we all went to the first ever yelp event at city beverage in durham on thursday evening.  it was great to meet all of my fellow yelpers and get to know them.  we had good food and great company and look forward to another yelp event soon!

i posted the v-day blog from the lap top so i could not add in my photos.  what’s a blog without photos?  just words.  boring words.  here they are now:

we had an amazing weekend full of loving. 

our weekend started out with snow on friday night.  they forecasted it, but i still did not think it was going to happen.  i waltzed out of target and it was like a blizzard!  we woke up saturday morning to about 4″ of snow on the ground.

as most of you know, we love food – so our weekend’s focus was the indulgence of nc!  luckily the snow was not on the roads, so we were able to get out and get ourselves some amazing coffee and donuts in downtown wf.  (loving this kind of snow!  it’s gorgeous, but it does not put a damper in your plans!)

we had some errands to do on saturday after our morning breakfast fun, but got those things taken care of so we’d be ready for our amazing dinner at frazier’s in downtown raleigh. 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/fraziers-raleigh#hrid:whRKk3NzFO_JywFjmpeMJg/src:self

rudy and keek got will a gift certificate to the urban food group for helping them eradicate a virus from their laptop this winter.  we were stoked since we’d already said we were not spending big $ on this year’s valentine’s dinner, and would save our $ for the baby fund.  luckily we got to go big at frazier’s without spending much money outside of our gift card.  thanks rudy and keek!

after dinner we had a great time relaxing with each other and opened our v-day gifties!  husband got me the bulgari perfume i’d been coveting for two years now.  he also had a dozen red roses and chocolates delivered saturday afternoon.  i got him a new back support pillow, a giant box of valentines (the kind you got when you were a kid in grade school), his favorite bottle of wine, and his favorite candies. 

after church on sunday we (as foodies) headed out on a search for the most amazing bakery in durham.  we had to eat outside because it was so busy, but it was totally worth it! 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/guglhupf-bakery-and-patisserie-durham#hrid:Cg4zbksAhVz4DOvv5NAptA/src:self

after brunch we indulged even more and went to the town’s best sweet spot in chapel hill – aka – sugarland.  can you say sweetness?

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sugarland-chapel-hill#hrid:dprW_6VkshTZHrk5HI_mrA/src:self

after gallivanting around town we came home and spent the rest of the day with our sweet pups.  they were super sleepy tired on this v-day and made for good cuddlers. 

just when you thought we could not eat one more bite, we ordered a papa john’s pizza this evening.  we met at jmu almost 14 years ago.  our first “meal” together was a papa john’s pizza – so we just had to take it all back to where it first began.

baby, we’ve come along way.  here’s to loving.  loving each other.  loving what each other loves.  loving our lives. loving our future together.

people call and they ask, like – what’s new with you guys?  – well, really – honestly – nothing.  we’ve both been working like dogs these days.  things were going to get better in 2010, but so far neither of us has seen the effects of this great revolutionary change people talk about when the clock strikes midnight on new years. 

this past week i never even took my camera out of the case.  shocking, i know.  when we were not working we were catching up on chores, laundry, mopping, dishes, cleaning rugs, vacuuming, dusting, you name it – we cleaned it.  aside from being like cinderella, we really have not been anywhere or done anything too terribly exciting except for dinner with the neighbors last saturday evening.  we had a great time and really loved the restaurant we went to.  most of you already know that i am a huge fan of yelp.  (www.yelp.com)  for those of you who do not know what yelp is, well – you’re missing out.  its a site you can go to to not only read reviews about any local businesses in the area, but you can also write reviews of your own.  the site is pretty amazing because they allow you to upload your own photos of the places you’ve tried and people get to vote on your reviews and your photos.  right up my alley.  having the background in customer service evaluations, and all of dad’s history with the food industry, yelp is a natural past time for me.  i normally take my camera with me everywhere we go, and just take photos of anything i find beautiful or interesting.  however, when we go out with friends we don’t know very well i try not and scare them by dragging my camera along.  (some people are terrified of cameras.  i never got that, but hey – to each their own.)

well, with a tighter budget and less going out to eat this year it makes it harder for me to “get my yelp” on.  however, when i do, i get super excited about writing the review and watching to see the comments that come from the reviews.  (people actually read them!)  yelp is pretty new in raleigh (compared to chicago) and we just got a new feature in january called the ever elusive “REVIEW OF THE DAY”, otherwise known as ROTD.  i’ve been watching the front page every morning before getting my cup of coffee to see who’s funny review lit up the front page with its brightly golden colored star.  then, this past week, with things being so busy – i did not even check.  i got to work and when i stopped for a lunch time break i checked my email to see i had a compliment from a fellow in seattle, congratulating me on ROTD!  i started freaking out because i was so excited that i got the ROTD!  i went to the page and took a screen shot so i could memorialize this event, then i was going to call rudy and share the good news.  (after all, she is the one who got me into this in the first place.)  bummer, total bummer – rudy was at school this week so i could not call her.  let me call husband, nope, not available.  who else can i call and share this good news…  i called kathy, she was like – umm- okay that’s great.  haha!   she did not get so over-the top excited like i wanted her to.  i was like  man, this is big, big news!  finally, when rudy got home from school later on that night she gave me the (smoke up the a**) kind of boost i was looking for.

however, i must give kathy credit as well – after all – if she had not been hospitalized last week i would have never been to which wich and i would have never gotten rotd, so thanks to kathy for allowing me the visit to that side of town and the starvation running through my veins that made us stop at which wich, which resulted in my rotd award!

check it out for yourself:

www.adritaylorwhite.yelp.com

forecast called for 12″ of snow this weekend.  it snowed all night friday night, and began sleeting on saturday during the day.  last night’s performance wrapped up with another dusting of snow on top of the slushy ice/snow mixture.  we ended up with about 8″ inches in wake forest.  we had fun hanging out in the house doing a whole lot of “nothing”.  we got caught up on our laundry, dishes, wii games, bubble baths, and doggie nuggle time.  we had a purely relaxing weekend.  sometimes its fun to pig out and be lazy.

amelia and iliana are different when it comes to their love of the snow.  iliana found it way too cold yesterday and wanted to head back indoors everytime we took them out.  however, amelia found it fun to go dashing through the snow – leaping like a bunny hopper.  today iliana found it a much more pleasing adventure, until her feet would fall through the snow and she would go (plunging face first) into a snow drift.

the cutest thing we saw in the snow was a tiny little path of birdie feet on our front walk and doormat.  too adorable.  there was a tiny path yesterday, and even more today.  poor little chilly birdie.  we gotta get him some food!

1888 miles.

The first trip started with a routine visit to Roanoke for Christmas.  We loaded up the dogs and all of the packages into the car with no idea that this would be the first of 5 trips to VA in less than 30 days.  We headed to VA despite the record snow fall of over 18 inches in Botetourt.  Mom and dad had arranged for all of us to stay in a hotel since their housing situation was still in limbo and the packing at 51 Lois Lane had already begun.  We all made the best of the situation and everyone had a fun and relaxing time together over Christmas.  One of my most favorite memories was all of us (sans Beth, Mike, and James) piling into dad’s car and going to see the crazy Christmas house by Star City Roller Skating Rink in Roanoke.  Dad and Will sat up front, and then Chris, I, and mom rode in the back.  That would have been fine, but Lori was going to sit on Chris’ lap, until we realized there was no room for her torso, so we had her lay down and ride splayed out across all three of our laps.  It must have appeared pretty amusing to any onlookers.  Will grabbed dad’s clip on sunglasses and pressed them to his head so that he looked like he stepped out of Miami Vice.  When we got to the Christmas house we all convinced Chris that the tradition was that you (as a first time guest to the house) would hop out of the car and sing a Christmas carol.  He loudly began to sing “Jingle Bells” when he could not get over our laughter and we told him we were just kidding.

We all had our fill of Rock Band, Band Hero, and other Wii games.  Everyone sang, attempted to play guitar and drums, and rocked the nights out.  Mom decided that her favorite song “American Pie” was actually a pretty long song when you had to sing or play the drums for the entire duration of the song.  We all admired dad’s drumming skills, and likened him to Billy Bob from Show Biz Pizza.  One night we all went downstairs and played a round of pool.  We tag teamed, and no one team was better than the other. 

Beth, Mike, and James came on Christmas day (despite more winter weather) and announced the excitement that Beth and Mike were now engaged!  She showed us her gorgeous ring and James proclaimed that they wanted to get married in Los Angeles!  Beth quickly corrected him by saying it was actually Las Vegas.  (Totally reminded me of the time I ran as fast as I could through our back yard, across Willie Wines’ lawn, and over to Nancy’s to let her know that mom and dad were going to “King Kong”!  She was like – Honey, I think you mean Hong Kong?!  She could not convince me.)  We all had a champagne toast to celebrate the good news.  While he plowed through a pile of gifties, James latched on to the watch we selected and proclaimed “NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT!”, when he opened the box.  Good choice.

Later that day we went to Grandpa Taylor’s church to celebrate Christmas and spend time with all of the Taylor side family.  We had a book and beverage gift exchange after our pot-luck meal.  We all cracked up laughing when Pat received a work out magazine and protein shake (courtesy of Stephanie).  She could not get anyone to swap it out.  However, it did afford us an amazing photo of Uncle Tommy.  None of us knew that was the last time we’d see him alive.

That same weekend we celebrated with Carmen and Neil for their baby shower in honor of baby Ellie Ann.  With the baby due in a month, they were excited to get all of the necessaries so they would have the nursery ready to roll.  They did not know that little Ellie had plans to come much, much sooner.

After Christmas we came back home and worked for a few days and swapped out our luggage.  The second trip took us to Roanoke for New Years Eve.  We headed to the Hotel Roanoke for the annual Gala.  The highlight of this year’s gala was the King’s version of “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas.  They had everyone dancing on the dance floor to blow out 2009 and ring in the New Year. We experienced some excitement when we thought we were trapped in the elevator after midnight.  However, after 10 seconds, the doors opened and we headed to the suite to have our obligatory NYE sausage biscuits.  Ask yourself, “Where is the mustard?”  (Way too long of a story to have here.)  We had a great party and loved the long weekend, so we could really spend some time with Mom and Dad.  They gave us a very generous gift for our baby adoption fund.  After the party was over and all of the festivities had ended we headed back to WF, thinking we’d see them again for James’ birthday.

Once we were back into the grind, and started getting things under control Mom called from Atlanta to inform us that she had bad news.  Whenever someone calls you like this, a million things run through your head, but what she was about to say was not anything I could have imagined.  She called to say that Uncle Tommy had passed away.  We cried together and Will (who was sitting beside me, both of us still working in the office) came to offer hugs and love.  Pat and Tommy always reminded me a lot of Will and myself.  Pat was the person who always kept me on the path to pursuing art, and Tommy with his love of the dogs reminded me a lot of Will with his quiet patience and understanding.  They never had children of their own, but always accepted us as theirs, and I have always had a connection with Pat.  When mom told me the news, I just could not get the link between the two of them (Pat and Tommy) and Will and I out of my head.  They were always together with each other, so much like we are.  I just could not imagine how your husband could leave for work in the morning, and just never come home.  We packed our bags and got ready for the third trip to VA.

We booked plane tickets for Lori and Mom to meet up at RDU since Mom was in Atlanta.  We ended up getting both of their flights within minutes of each other.  We showed up at the airport with the doggies loaded and ready to go, and made our way back to VA.  While in VA we met up with all of the family and spent time reminiscing about our fond memories of Uncle Tommy.  We hope God will give Pat the strength and courage to carry on with everything she has on her plate, and maintaining all of the PBGV’s they have.  Love and prayers are with Pat.  Lori stayed in Roanoke in case mom and dad were able to close on their new home, and headed back to NC.  While in the car (on route 220), we got the call from Lori that baby Ellie had been born!

Will and I worked through Thursday and got the call that mom and dad finally did get to close on their new house.  We made plans to head back to VA the next night, for our fourth visit.  Since they had been waiting for August for this moment, we really wanted to be there for their first weekend in the new house.  Beth and James came, and Lori was still around, so we all had a giant slumber party in the new place.  Mom and dad are finally getting the dream house they’ve always deserved!  While in town we went to Aunt Jesse’s birthday and spent more time with family who all needed a reason to smile these days.  It was great to spend time with Brent, Maris, Brandon, and Melissa, and all the rest of the gang.  Mom made jokes that Will and I would be back for James’ birthday on Valentine’s weekend, but I broke the news that we would not be back before March.

Once we got back, I unpacked and repacked my bags for the final time.  For my fifth and final trip to VA, I was heading to NOVA alone.  I needed to go up for work to train a client, and then to celebrate a new year for 2010 at our annual company party for work.  I arrived at Melanie’s house at about midnight on Wednesday night and we chatted and caught up before calling it a night.  Thursday morning I worked to try and get Kathy and Lisa any email I had on my machine before I headed with Lynne to Bethesda.  After the client’s training we split up and Jen and I went to the Sea Pearl for our annual party.  Since we were early, we chatted and had a cocktail and some apps while we waited for everyone else to arrive.  The party went off without a hitch, and we all had a great time.  Friday afternoon I packed up early and headed back to NC to try and avoid some inclement weather that was moving into the NOVA area.  I got back home around 5pm and promptly crashed into the bed.

Thirty days of non-stop running and driving back and forth to VA had taken its toll and I needed a weekend to get caught up.  We finally got our Christmas decorations down, worked on some laundry, caught up with our friends at church, and went to the grocery store.  I think we’re finally looking forward to the remainder of what 2010 might have to offer.

we love to go out every year and look at Christmas lights.  dad created this urge in me years ago, when every Christmas eve we would leave granny’s house and on our way home we’d take about a 2 hour detour looking at Christmas lights.  i don’t care if your lights are “tacky” or your lights are subdued, if you have lights up – we wanna see ’em!

tonight we drove around wake forest to see what kind of lights we could find.  we bundled up in the car (since you have to continuously roll down the window to get a good shot), and headed down town to get some warm coffee for the riding tour.  we first toured the historic homes of wf, and then spread out into the neighborhoods that surround the downtown area.  we found it all – from the bright and colorful homes, to the purest message of them all.

enjoy!