Life On The Other Side

I’ve been a bit quiet lately mainly because there are a lot of things going on in our household that I can’t really talk about right now. But what I can talk about is the hubby’s birthday. My old man (j/k hubs…) will be 38 years old come next Wednesday. Fortunately for him, he comes from good family genes and doesn’t look a day over 27, I think. Really, the boy looks at least 10 years younger than he really is. We’ll be heading off to Georgia this weekend to celebrate a little bit of his birthday with the people who really deserve the kudos for giving birth and raising such a good fellow. And lucky for me, I got to marry him! It’ll be a short and quick trip for us but I’m hoping that I’ll get to see some autumn colors on the way down. Last year about this time, I was also going to Georgia (the first time in my entire life) to meet my future in-laws. Can you imagine what pressure I felt meeting his parents for the first time especially when we were already engaged? Yep, it was a little nerve-wracking but everything went swell. Since then, I’ve been down to Georgia more times than I’ve gone home in the last five years. I especially enjoy being in the same house that the hubby grew up in most of his young life. Unfortunately being that it’s been almost 20 years since he graduated high school, his room no longer looks like the room he had. I think I might find it a bit disturbing if it still did. I know it took my parents a few years after I left home to change my room around. Despite the physical differences, the memories are still vibrant in those spaces. I’m sure the hubby feels the same way when he goes home.

Daylight savings time will be ending this weekend so that will give us an extra hour as we “fall back” with our clocks one hour. Falling back an hour is always a little easier than “springing forward” an hour. I’m not sure why but it feels like you are losing an hour of your life when you spring forward. Imagine what you could do or could not do in an hour.

There is a lot going on in our household that will have to be kept just to us for now. I think I’ve exceeded the stress maximum amount of stress level for the year and it’s only October! I am loving the cool weather right now which is just cool enough not to sweat and warm enough that I can still put on some shorts during the day. But all of that is ending soon and in about another week I think the highs during the day will only get up to somewhere in the 60s on some days and in the very low 70s other days. This also means that it’ll be high season for the leaves changing color from greens to oranges to reds to browns. I hope to get a few pictures of the changing season.

I’ve been thinking more and more about writing letters lately after Gia-Gina in Italy posted this entry in her blog about letter writing. You can check it out by clicking on her website under my links area to the right. I can’t seem to get this blog program to appropriately do a link even with the right coding. I have received a few cards from friends in the last few months but not really a letter. Of course I am to blame as well since I haven’t written any letters myself. It is indeed a dying practice and I know a lot of it has come about because of computers and email. I know while my husband and I were still doing the long distance relationship thing, I sat down and wrote a love letter to him. I think he was surprised and delighted to receive it. So I think I will sit down and write a few letters to old friends, to new friends and maybe even to my husband.

The hubby and I had a wonderful weekend all around. Friday night we decided to take a look at the Pineville Fall Festival which consisted of mostly kiddie rides and food booths. The festival itself wasn’t overly crowded and the night was beautiful with an almost full moon shining overhead. We were thinking about staying for the fireworks after the entertainment but it was getting a little cold. Saturday we ventured out to Waxhaw for their Autumn Treasures Festival. This was more of a street festival with booths selling arts and crafts products, and some food items. I think the best thing the hubby had were the mini donuts which were $3 for 14 of them. He even had a couple left over for me and they were delicious! We also walked around the historic downtown Waxhaw going into several antique shops but unfortunately didn’t see anything we really wanted to purchase. The day was beautiful and, again, it wasn’t crowded. Sunday we didn’t do much except run errands. The weather has just been gorgeous lately and we are beginning to see more and more of the changing of the leaves. I think in another couple of weeks, we will be in full blown autumn.

I certainly can’t believe it’s the middle of October already. Today the hubby and I have been married for four months. I am amazed everytime I look over and see him sitting next to me. Just when I thought I was destined to be a spinster, here he came. I love the relationship we have and all that it brings and will bring. Happy four month anniversary, hubs! I love you more today than any other day before this one. I promise after the first year I’ll only count the yearly ones.

Can’t believe another weekend is here already. Yesterday was the first day of sun after several days of rain and just gray skies. After dinner last night the hubby and I went to the park to take a leisure stroll around the lake. We sat for awhile in one of the swinging benches to take in the activity around the lake. Tonight there will be a fall festival at this park so there were carnival rides being set up last night. Even though we live in the ‘burbs of a large city, we both enjoy the small towns around us. I, in particular, love the warmth and friendliness of the quaint towns around here. I guess fall is the time when many of these towns hold fairs or festivals. There are two this weekend in two small towns near here. Hopefully we’ll be able to go to at least one if not both.

So the hubby’s birthday is coming up soon and I haven’t the faintest idea what to buy him for a gift. I have a few ideas twirling around in my head. Last year I bought him a bunch of small gifts and took him out to dinner. I’m sure he has a list of things he’d like to have so I’m not sure if I’ll ask him for a list. Actually I’m not much of a list kind of girl because I try to keep in the back of my head ideas of what a person might like. I’m sure something will come to mind that will be perfect for him.

Last weekend, the hubs and I did some shopping and I picked up a couple of Halloween items. One is a table decoration of a black cat on a pumpkin and the other is a candy bowl. We’re not sure if we’ll have any trick-o-treaters this year since we weren’t around last year. But in the event that we do, we’ll be prepared with some kind of treat to pass along (even if it is to that bratty kid upstairs). It’s fun being able to do these kinds of things together. I’m sure it’ll all wear off but for now I am simply amazed at how fun it is to share times like these with a partner.

The hubs and I are coming up on our four month wedding anniversary. Soon we will be able to say that we were married longer than Renee and Kenny. Okay, I know that wasn’t funny but it’s so true. Actually I think we’ve got Renee and Kenny beat anyways because we knew each other longer than they did. More importantly, this month and next brings a couple of notable dates for the hubs and I. The wonderful boy asked me to marry him on Oct. 27th of last year and we officially began communicating on eHarmony on Nov. 2nd, two years ago. It just happens that the hubs birthday is Nov. 2nd as well and I’d like to think that I was a special present he didn’t expect to receive (wink, wink). I have a friend who also met her boy (well he’s not quite her boy yet) on eHarmony and hopefully will get to meet him in person for the first time soon. It’s taken them almost two years to get to this point but their story is a little different than the hubs and I. I hope their first meeting is just as wonderful as ours were especially since it’ll take place in almost the same place the hubby and I first laid eyes on each other.

Nothing much or rather nothing of interest going on here; still trying to get over this cold or flu or whatever. There’s still a “frog” in my throat that seems to creep back up in the mornings and doesn’t want to go away. The weather has been rainy the last few days. It’s been nice to have this rain which isn’t heavy or stormy. We’ve put up a bird feeder on our patio to attract the many birds that are still around this time of the year. We had been looking for a hummingbird feeder but stumbled upon a wildbird feeded at Target at a very good price. For less than $10, we got a nice feeder and a big bag of bird feed. The cat seems to enjoy the birds more than she enjoys the stray cats that come for food we leave on the patio. Luckily the bird feeder is up and away from the stray kitties. There are other things on my mind but it’s not for here or there.

So my new obsession is Lindy’s Italian Ice since it’s the only thing that makes my sore throat feel much better. It’s not ice cream but rather flavored iced so there’s no milk in it. So far I’ve tried both the watermelon and the strawberry flavors. I thought it was made in New York but imagine my surprise to find out it is made right here in Charlotte, NC. Looking at their website, you can only get it in the frozen section of the supermarkets around here or at some of the professional sports arenas in town. Now I regret not trying the Italian ice that street vendors in Charleston, SC were selling. They sure are yummy!

I got up this morning and couldn’t stand how sore my throat was anymore. I thought it would go away in a couple of days but it’s been more than a couple of days now. Despite the fact that we haven’t gotten our new insurance cards because the hubby’s company changed insurance companies and wouldn’t send them out until next week, I called the hubby at work about what to do. Since he was able to access his account with the new company, he told me to go to the urgent care and see if they could call our insurance company to verify coverage. Even though I was skeptical they would do that, I just needed to get something for my ailing throat. I went back to the same urgent care that the hubby went to a couple of weeks ago. Again there was only one other person in the waiting room. I went up to the receptionist and explained my situation about having no insurance cards yet. I fully expected that I might have to pay for services today in full if they didn’t want to contact the insurance company. But instead the woman was able to locate both mine and my husband’s information and said everything was in order. I was in to see the doctor who promptly wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics (yay for antibiotics!). My next stop was the pharmacy, which again, I was fully prepared to pay for the prescription to get reimbursed later. But, again, the woman there was nice enough to locate my information and I only had to pay our portion. I cannot say enough about the health care system here. We have only received high quality care and the people here really want to help you. That’s a nice surprise especially since I came from a place that wasn’t half as great.

I had a great weekend with my friend visiting but somehow got sick over the weekend. Actually I think I caught what the hubs had about a week and a half ago although mine is much milder than what he experienced. Or is it that women are just better at being sick than men? The weekend with my friend was great as we traded more stories about our weddings, our married lives, husbands, in-laws, and so on. She said she had a fun time and this is probably the first time in a long time we’ve spent time together. Plus she hadn’t really met the hubs or talked to him except briefly at my wedding and briefly at her encore wedding. I’m sure she was a bit curious about the fact that I met someone and married them in less than two years while she was together with her hubby for five years before tying the knot. But that happens and even I can’t explain it.

As far as being sick, I haven’t been sick like this in a while. It’s mostly a sore throat, feeling achy and feeling tired. I don’t have a runny or stuffy nose or congestion, thank goodness. I’m sure this will pass in a few days but it’s never fun being sick. I usually get sick when the seasons change and the season is changing big time here right now. In some places the leaves are falling a lot faster than others and I can’t wait until it’s cold all the time. I think the fall can be just as romantic as the spring. It’s great weather for snuggling with the one you love.

Nothing much going on for us this month as far as traveling or visitors. It’ll be nice to rest for awhile and get other things done.