New Chapter

I know, I know...it's been a while, hasn't it? Things are finally slowing down a little bit. It has been a very insane/hectic/"insert another adjective here that relates to crazy" few months. Let's see...where did I leave off? Well, we ended up choosing to live in the city and chose a house located in the Medical Center/West University area. We really did try to give the 'burbs a fair shot and as much as we love Kingwood, we just couldn't see ourselves living in 'burbs...at least for right now and especially coming from NYC. We closed on our house 11 days ago and boy oh boy were we counting down the days to that! I hate to say it, but it was so hectic and we were trying to close so fast that we barely had a second to get excited. Don't get me wrong, we were excited, but we just wanted to get in the house so bad! Living out of suitcases for almost 3 weeks is NOT fun. At all. After we gave the pen a run for its money early that morning, the excitement really kicked in. Jim's first stop? The golf course. He played in a charity tournament for work that afternoon and I headed straight to Restoration hardware and Pottery Barn. Moving day was the next day and all I cared about was making sure that if nothing else was put up, at least my bed would be per.fect. Usually I go with red for the bedroom because red is the color of sucess...what better place to be succesful than in your bedroom, right? Well, this time, I decided to change it up. I went with white (of course), a real pale mint green and chocolate brown. I'm not gonna paint the walls (really there's no need, I swear I can still smell the paint on them now), so I'll be able to change the bedding whenever the seasons change. That first night in our new house, back in our own bed, was AWESOME. It felt so amazing...I slept sooo good that night! It's also so surreal to know that we live here now. We went from such a small place to a house that's ours. Jim already owned a house before and now I understand what a great investment buying a house truly is.

Moving day came...and it went. I forgot just how exhausting moving is! It took me two days to get my closet in order...or in my case, looking like the 2nd floor at Bloomies. Looking in my closet now, I have no idea how I fit all that stuff in our itty bitty apartment. Did I mention the words "my" closet? Yup! I have my very own huge walk in closet and Jim has his very own too! Separate ones! And how much do I love our red front loader washer and dryer? No more laundromats! And don't even get me started on the space. We pretty much have everything in its place and now comes the fun part - decorating! Theresa came over a few days after we moved in and after brunch at Harry's Cafeteria - best orange juice in town by the way - we ran around picking up some things to fill up the bookshelves in the living room. It was so much fun and it felt good to talk and laugh. This past Saturday, my cousins Analiza and Donna came over and then we had a very early breakfast at the Breakfast Klub...gotta love wings and a waffle at 7:30am and then we went running around finding decorating stuff. I bought a mirror and two prints from an interior decorating store I never even knew existed. Later that night, I went to A's house for a passion party - what fun! And we laughed so much! It was so great to be with them!
Really the only thing missing was...my Sissy.

After the first weekend spent moving in, I found myself running errands...running more errands...and running even more errands every single day. This being said, guess who was very very cranky? Yup - moi. Every morning, I would wake up, pretend that I actually worked out by putting on some workout clothes and head out the door to Target, Lowes, the bank, the dry cleaners and everywhere else in between. As I was driving down the street, I realized - Oh.My.Gosh. Really? Is this what my life has succumbed to running errands all day? I was making million dollar decisions for my company on Wall Street and now I'm answering questions like: Did the UPS guy come? What's the best rate we can get on pest control? Can you call Brinks to set up an appointment? Can you go to the dry cleaners and drop this off? Did you pull the trash can back in the garage? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love doing stuff for my husband and anything to better our household, but damn. He must have asked me all these questions non-stop...and yes, I was very very irrate. I don't need to be micromanaged nor do I need to feel like my husband, my dear loving awesome husband, has suddenly become my employer. UH UH - NOPE. Here's my two week's notice because there is no way in the world that this is gonna work. I had to nip that one in the bud real quick.

I have to admit - years ago, I would dream of not ever having to work. To just sit around and chill and have all the time in the world. I could catch up on the new games on the Price is Right. I could find out if Stefano returned from the dead (Days of Our Lives). And I could catch up on my Dr. Phil and Oprah preachings. Well, I had it right at the palm of my hand and guess what? It's just not for me. I know that some people would love it and do, but not this girl. I absolutely, 100%, with all my might, hated it. I have never been so bored in my entire life. And believe me, it's not that I can't relax...we all know I love my re-lax time and I really do think I needed it, after everything that's happened. I know it may be different when kids are in the picture, however kids aren't in the picture right now so then what? Besides, I come from the school of not consuming my life with just one thing - I have always tried to do things for myself and not let one specific thing consume me. I guess when it comes down to it, I just felt accomplished at work back in nyc. People were coming to me for decisions...important ones. I know that I will look back and remember that I was at the height of my career. And to go from that to...I dunno, checking to see if a man in a brown uniform has pulled up...well, it's a huge change. I even went on a couple of interviews and walked out so depressed. How could I go into work and half-love my job and get paid half as much? Is it even possible to find a job that I love just as much as the one I had in nyc or better yet, love even more? Never one to just sit around and wait for a decision to magically appear, I took matters into my own hands. I decided to get my real estate license! Woo hoo!! This was something I've been thinking about for a long time and what perfect timing! I could seriously not wait until the first day of class.

Class is going great and I am a sponge. And of course I read the whole first book before the first day of class. ;) I am so excited to get out there already! But first, I need to pass the state exam.
I will be taking the test very soon!

Now, if I can brag for just one second: Caleb got the 9 week VIP Cougar award for his class! The school held an assembly and I went to watch him get his award. His name was called and he was surprised and so very shy. He got his certificate and posed for pictures. So freaking cute!! They even gave him a yard sign to put up in his yard. It's times like these that really make me so very happy to be home...no matter how much I do miss new york. He's so sweet and such a smart cookie. Can you believe he's reading at 4th grade level?! His favorite book these days? Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. Hmm...wonder who he got that book from? :)

Also, I have to report that I finally met my new doctor. Dr. C is absolutely amazing!! I love-love-loved him!! I never thought I would love someone just as much as I loved my doctor in ny, but I do. I was very hesitant about this appointment because I knew I had to relive that whole nightmare all over again. You really don't realize how long of a process it is until you go through something like that. And by that, I mean losing a baby. The last time my blood was drawn, my levels were at 67. I knew that Dr. C would want to draw blood again to confirm that they are back to normal. And by normal, I mean zero. I had a feeling they were, but I knew he would still want to confirm it. I dreaded going to the appointment and fought back the tears while filling out the form. Number of pregnancies? 1. Number of live births? 0. :( How bad did it suck to have to fill that portion of the form out. As soon as Dr. C came in, he immediately said to me - okay, I know what happened, but no more tears okay? Everything is going to be just fine. We'll get you having babies soon enough! In that instant, I felt so much hope...hope that, sadly, I lost during the last several weeks. So much has been going on - one minute I found myself dealing with what happened, the next minute I found myself dealing with all the things with the move and then the next minute found myself feeling another way. I truly felt like I was schizo at this point. Dr. C actually thought we wanted to start trying again this month. I chuckled a little bit and told him that no, we wanted to wait until the end of the year or the beginning of next year, but thanks for making me feel like I can just jump right back in the saddle! lol. After going through my records (and pictures which I refused to look at), I got my blood drawn (told ya so). Then, I left the office...smiling. And another reason to smile? Dr. C told me my levels have now returned to normal!! Thank you, God!

New house, new career, new hopes...now I really feel like a new chapter is beginning...

Speaking of new beginnings...my sorority sister/friend, Ashley, has had some fertility issues in the past and blogs about it. I think I've even talked about her in one of my past blog entries - kudos to her for being so forward and honest about it by the way! After years of treatments, a beautiful daughter and sadly a miscarriage last year, Ashley is now pregnant again! She was pregnant with quintuplets, but after her most recent ultrasound, she is now pregnant with twins. I ask that you please pray for Ashley, her babies and her family. Ashley- I pray that God will carry you and the babies through a very happy and healthy 30 more weeks. You are an amazing person! If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know. You provided so much comfort to me when I felt so confused and low - I can only hope to do the same for you if you ever need it.

Alright well...I think I better sign off now. It's getting late and it's a school night.

Good catching up with ya!

xoxo,
p