Josh and Janet

Chiari Institute, watch out, were coming!

2009-03-20T11:26:00.002-04:00

Karen from TCI called me this morning.

The appointment is set for April 27th at 9am. I will be doing all of my testing up here in the Albany area before-hand. 4 MRI's and 3 XRays!

I can't wait! I just want to cry I'm so excited!

Only about 5 hours now!!

2009-03-08T17:10:00.002-04:00

Until I pick Josh up from the airport, and I can NOT wait!

The past couple of days...(read as 5 days) have completely sucked. However, Josh being sick, and not being here, was fine with me, because, I don't need to get sick again! Also, nobody hogging all of my blankets at night, was quite amazing, also!

So, one may ask, if your not sick, and you kept warm every night he was gone, how could this possibly suck?

Perhaps, the fall, up the basement stairs while carrying a full dehumidifier bucket could of made it suck! That does include the painful, large bruise on my leg.

Or was it the lovely neck spasms all night Friday night, into Saturday morning that led to a day of feeling like I got my ass kicked while vomiting, most of the day?

However, I think the most suckalicious part of the weekend was sweet Lola's front door escape trick that sent her down the street to play in a ton of mud, while pouring rain outside!

It also led to an improptu bath in the front yard, while still in the pouring rain.

Josh, you better come home tonight. You are REALLY needed home! I love you and miss you!

And later today, he's leaving me....

2009-03-03T09:32:00.002-05:00

For Josh's job, he travels sometimes. Most trips are only day trips, with the occasional overnighter. Although, I hate when he's away, I know all of this is a requirement for his job, and I don't fight it too often...(unless the weather is bad!)

However, this evening, Josh will be going to Chicago, until late Sunday night. Although I know the reason this trip is so lengthy is due to him visiting family while in Chicago.

Due to my neurological issues, I've been tending to remember less and less. I even managed to loose my glasses the other day, after placing them in that spot only 10 minutes earlier. I also tend to go ask Josh a question, only to get the question half way out of my mouth, and completely forget what I was going to ask. Needless to say, my once remarkable memory is now garbage.

Josh told me he was going to write me a note, and tape it to the front door reminding me to empty the dehumidifier in our basement. No big deal...I've never done it before, he always does it, so yes, I would probably forget to empty it...no biggie.

When I saw the note taped on our door this morning, I walked over to check it out. Not only did he remind me to empty the dehumidifier, he also included a reminder for me to WALK THE DOG.

Really, Josh!? I was just going to let her pee and poop in your closet until Sunday night! No worries!

Trust me, I shall take a picture of this friendly reminder when I get home!

Have a safe trip my Joshua! I love you!

To the most wonderful man in the world!

2009-02-13T12:59:00.004-05:00

I know this post is a day early, but while I had the time, I figured I'd type it all up!

This is something I've been putting a ton of thought into, and now, I feel as if, I may possibly be able to put all my words down, for you to see!

On April 18, 2008, I had no expectations what so ever of being in a relationship at that time. What I was looking for, was a friend to hang out with, and drink a few beers while eating some delicious pizza! (Classy chick, I am! I know!) I saw your U-Haul parked right in front of 175 Jay Street and pulled up in front of you. I looked behind me, to see you sitting there, looking beyond exhausted! You were wearing jeans, your long sleeved, green button up shirt, and your Bob Marleys! I had NO idea at that time how to parallel park, leading to the scream of "Oh my god Josh! Come help me park this car!" You of course, ran over and parked my car for me, even grabbing the beer and carrying it upstairs!

As we walked into your apartment, which would be ours, only a few short weeks later, I walked into a studio, probably the size of my parents current closet, in shock, that someone could live in a place so small! At that time, I got to meet Josh's mother, Marci. She is a very kind lady, who spent the evening telling me stories about Josh and his family. I truly enjoyed that!

Josh then hopped in the shower, and when he got out, we went and returned the U-haul, and to pick up pizza for dinner. The first bit of the ride I was quiet, but I quickly opened up and felt very comfortable around him. We then headed over to Paesans and got a pizza. (Honey, I should of told you this months ago, but there is a Paesans on Central, right by that gas station we stopped at that day!) While waiting for our pizza, we sat out front talking, enjoying the beautiful day outside! That is also the first time we saw "Got Toa5t!" Actually, it was probably the last time also, but we still bring it up!

We ate pizza and chatted until about 10:30p.m. and left Marci to sleep, while we went out and explored Lark Street. We ended up at a bar called Justin's. We tossed back some beers, and some Cherry Vodka Shots. We also shared our first kiss in this bar.

Saturday, Josh spent the day in Connecticut with his mother at Ikea. That day was odd for me. For some reason, I missed Josh. I missed seeing his beautiful eyes and hearing his addictive laugh. I couldn't get him out of my mind.

Sunday, after Marci left, I met him at the apartment, and we spent the entire day together, it was wonderful!

On Monday, May 5th, I had an appointment with my neurologist. That day, he ordered for me to have a sleep deprived EEG the following morning, meaning, I had to to stay awake for about 26 hours straight, before the test was performed.

Josh met me at my moms house, where I was currently living, with a dozen pink roses in hand. I was so taken back by this gesture! Josh, knowing that I was going to have a very rough night, brought the roses, to tell me that everything would be okay!

Around 2a.m., on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008, my sleep deprivation was really catching up with me, to the point where I felt VERY sick. Josh was kind enough to wake up, get dressed, and take me on a walk around my moms neighborhood, to help me feel better, and keep me awake. He held my hand, rubbed my back, and walked slowly with me, on our half hour long walk. As we turned onto Greylock Drive, something in me felt completely different. By the time we turned back on Challedon, I had it figured out. During that walk, where Josh was being so kind, and gentle with me, I had fallen in love with him.

And here we are today, living in our home, as happy as ever, with our dog, Lola! Were getting ready to embark on a new journey together within the next couple of months, and I'm very anxious, but at the same time, I feel safe, knowing that you'll be with me every second of the ride!

So here's to you, sweetheart! Over the past 301 days, you've made my life beyond amazing! I can't wait to see what comes next over the next days, weeks, months, and years! You are the apple, or carrot of my eye, and I love you more than any imaginable amount possible. You are the love of my love!

Here's to you babe! Happy Valentines Day!

Keep up the smiling, it lights up my world!

Tis the season for...leaks to the second power...

2008-12-22T13:03:00.006-05:00

We have moved in to our new home, and stayed our first night there last Tuesday night, and it was great sleeping in our nice, queen sized bed!

While in the shower late Wednesday night, Josh happened to be down in the basement looking at our cable lines, and noticed a leak from the shower, on the second floor, dripping down into the basement! We called our handy guy, Matt aka our new best friend! over to look at the pipe on Thursday night. After cutting up some of the ceramic tile work Josh did, cutting a hole in the closet wall, and cutting an approximate 5ft by 2ft whole in our downstairs bathrrom wall, we found the cast iron pipe had a major slash in it. After the TEN FOOT LONG cast iron pipe was removed from our wall, and replaced with 10 feet of PVC piping, our leak is no longer an issue....from that leak.

Friday night was great! with the exception of a torn ligamint in my finger from Lola pulling me onto some concrete, and a two and a half freaking hour commute home! My dad came over and he and Josh installed the laminate flooring in our dining room! It looks AWESOME!

Saturday, Josh, my dad, and I all had a nice french toast breakfast cooked by my dad. After he left, Josh and I fentured out into Rensslear and went to the Home Depot (where I finally got my poinsetta, and over to Walmart to do some grocery shopping, before our friends Faith and Jesse, (and later Puzio)came over for what was supposed to be a fun night of present wrapping and Nintendo! Anyways, we got upstairs into our office, and Josh noticed a slight discoloration in a part of the celing. While examining the celing, he felt some water dripping down on him.

After we spoke with our neighbor, and attempted to get a hold of handy man, Matt, to no avail, we posted an ad on Craiglist, (after frantically setting up the computer, and ripping apart boxes to find a mouse!) and found a man to come over and fix the leak. Needless to say, a couple of hours and $150 later, he left, stating that the area would still be leaking for a couple more hours, as the water needed to drain out that was in the celing.

We got up yesterday morning, to find the leak, still leaking, and leaking even more than the previous night before. We finally got Matt over to look at it, and he fixed the issue in about 3 hours, and assured us that no more issues with the roof should arise, and if they do, to call him, and he will fix them right away, for free.

Christmas with my dad was a huge sucess, and we had a great time. My cooking, from what I was told, was WONDERFUL! Dad enjoyed his gifts, a golf game, a Best Buy gift card, and a Beetles book.

Josh and I got a digital picture frame and digital picture keychain. Josh also got a shaver, as the keychain was pretty much for me! We also got some tupperware, a microwave, a toliet seat, and some tools! All in all, it was a great time, and I can't wait to upload the pictures!

Anyways, I don't know when the next time I'll update will be. Josh and I would like to wish all of our friends and family a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season!

Remember, everyone! We now have a house, so you all MUST come visit us! We miss you all!

A totally whirlwind of updates!

2008-12-10T10:38:00.003-05:00

Wow! I have no idea where time went! I haven't been on here and written a blog since the house inspection, which way way back before Thanksgiving, and boy, has life been hectic!

So, I'm going to attempt to back track, as best I can. The memory has been a little off lately, so you'll just have to bare with me!

Since the last update, we got to celebrate our good friend, Faith's birthday! We had a great time with her the Friday before her birthday at her home, and on her actual birthday at Bomber's and our apartment!

We enjoyed a lovely vacation to Chicago, IL for Thanksgiving! We got to experience some shopping, as well as Millennium Park, The Field Museum, and the highlight of the trip for me, at least, was White Castle! It was quite yummy! I also got to meet a bunch of Josh's family who are all awesome people and I had a blast getting to know them!

While on the topic, We'd like to Congratulate Josh's sister, and brother-in-law, Jamie and Ed on the birth of their daughter, Elena Aubryn this past Monday morning! She is beautiful and mother and baby are doing well!

As many of you may know, I've been fighting a disease called Chiari Malformation for the past few years of my life. I would like to take a chance here to mention our good friend Lacie at http://livelovelaugh-lace1013.blogspot.com/ who had her decompression surgery last Wednesday! Lacie is now home and doing VERY well! We both would like to wish her a speedy recovery!

Last Friday, we closed on our house and we couldn't be more excited! We have the majority of the stuff moved into the house, however, it is all now sitting in the living room and dining room, awaiting the installation of our new carpet, which should be installed by Monday at the latest!

My dad is also coming over this weekend to install Ceramic tile in the two bathrooms and in the entry way. Monday night of next week, at the latest, should be our first night at the new house, and I can't wait!

Thats it for todays update!

House update!

2008-11-04T09:39:00.001-05:00

We got the house! Today at 1:30 is the inspection! Hope it goes well!

This part of our life is called...Waiting...

2008-10-28T10:43:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, and many do not, we went out Sunday and drove all around the area looking at houses. After coming home and Josh making up a very elaborate Excel spreadsheet, we decided that a house in Rennselaer would be a wonderful match for us. I set up a showing for Monday evening, with my friend Dan to see the house. We liked what we saw, so much, that an offer was made last night. Were both trying not to get our hopes up until we find out if the offer was accepted or not. We should here back today or tomorrow, at the latest.

Now, I must admit! I REALLY hope we get this house! It does not have a garage, or even a driveway, but I don't mind walking the 10 feet from the front door to the car, rather than upto 8 blocks in distance, or maybe even more!

The best part of this house by FAR is the kitchen! It is about 10 times the size of our current kitchen, and I can see myself and Josh preparing many meals in there together! The only downfall is that there is not a dishwasher, however, we plan on buying one!

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Wow! I can't believe I forgot to mention this!

2008-09-16T16:12:00.001-04:00

Josh's little brother, Patrick got engaged on Friday night! So Congrats to Barb and Patrick!

And its been...Its been a little while...

2008-09-16T15:25:00.000-04:00

Once again, the everyday busyness of our lives has left this blog neglected.

This past weekend, Josh's father and Grandmother made the trip out from Michigan to visit us. We all had an excellent time exploring Vermont at one of our favorite wineries, the best cheese factory in the world, a cider mill, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory this past Friday. On Saturday, Josh, his father, Lee, and I all went down to Philadelphia to watch a Phillys baseball game! We had a great time with his father and grandmother and we can't wait to see them again!

The weekend before, Josh, Lola, and I went up to Caribou, Maine (about a 10 hour car trip, each way) to look at a movie theatre that is currently for sale. Although at this time, we are still unsure of what we are going to do, and where this will lead us in the near future, it was a nice little trip. Lola, however, is not a big fan of long car rides. She was a very happy passenger in the car until about an hour and a half into the trip. After that, she just laid in the backseat looking very depressed and she became very anti-social. She was happy to get out of the car at a rest stop in Maine, but unhappy to get back in the car. She VERY much enjoyed the hotel and going out on the hotels property the next morning. She seemed to be rather impressed by all of the scenery around her, causing her just to lay down in the middle of the parking lot so she could look around more. When it was finally time to leave, she was rather unwilling to get back in the car, prompting Josh to pick her up and toss her in the backseat. The anti-socialness started up right away for the entire ride home!

This coming weekend will be a lot of fun! We have the first annual Chiari Awareness Walk in Washington Park. Josh and I are VERY excited to be able to participate. I'm happy to announce that Faith and Jesse will be attending the walk, as well as Kristin, Casey, and Marissa are all going to try and make it up in time to walk, as well! I have also given fliers to all of my co-workers and most have them have made some generous donations! I believe a co-worker or two may even show up at the walk! Rumor has it, the Mayor of Albany is planning to attend this walk!

After the Chiari Walk, we will be attending Larkfest. Larkfest is pretty much a street festival, on Lark Street in Albany. From what I have heard, it's pretty much just a LOT of loud music, lots of food, booze and entertainment! We have pretty much agreed to attend Larkfest, for a couple of reasons. One being, if we move our cars that day, we will probably have a NICE long hike back home, since we live right off of Lark Street. Another reason being that neither of us have attended Larkfest before, and since we may be moving to Maine, this may be our first and last chance.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a visitor from Texas! Josh's good friend, Lennie, came to visit us. We had a great time showing him around Albany. hitting up happy hour, drinking Chinese wine, and hitting up some of the local hot spots! It was a great time!

Come this time next week, Josh will be back in Texas! (Lucky boy!) He has to go for two days of work, and then he will have three days to go visit friends. Boy, will Lola (ok, and me too) miss him! It's going to be so quiet at home! Atleast I know I will be able to watch the season premire of Survivor next Thursday night!

Sorry, no pictures today! Hopefully, when Josh is out of town, I will be able to update the blog, and add some pictures!

A post that is LONG overdue!

2008-08-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I haven't updated this blog of ours in almost a month! Life sure is busy and exciting in Upstate New York during the summer time! We have had a great time exploring the area and venturing out of New York and into Vermont! A few weeks ago, we took a day trip throughout Vermont to visit a couple of wineries. We also went to Ben and Jerry's, and to the Cabot Cheese headquarters! At the wineries we got to sample some local (and delicious) wines, as well as get a tour of one of them! We both found it quite interesting to learn about the wine making process! Josh now desires to learn how to brew his own beer and should be receiving a couple of books on how to do so within the next couple of days! Cabot Cheese was also another place I found very interesting! During the tour, you got to see the entire process of how the cheese was made, all the way from the milk being delivered, through the packaging phase. The best part of Cabot was the many of varieties of cheese we got to taste after the tour, as well as the $30 we spent on cheese to take home to eat! (Needless to say, it's all gone now!)

We also attended the last game of the season (and possibly ever) of the Albany Conquest, arena football. Josh and I had a great time! We also met up with my parents at the game so they could enjoy the fun with us! On a side note: Way to go catching that towel, Mom! Good job fighting those grown men for it!

Last Wednesday was my 23rd birthday and we went out to a local restaurant with a group of our friends to celebrate! On your birthday there, instead of giving you a free dessert, you get a free 60 ounce Margarita! Pictured above, is my margarita! I would like to take a moment to thank our wonderful friends for coming out to celebrate with us! We had a blast!

We have also been attending quite a few of the minor league baseball games! There are only 6 games left this season and we bought tickets to each of them! Last night, was the Minor League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. As for the home run derby, it was rather uneventful seeing the winner only hit TWO home runs! All and all though, we had a great time at the game! The National League won 4-3, which made us very excited!

Also, Josh threw another baseball at my right eye and this time bruised it! Together, we have decided that it is time for me to retire my dream of being a pitcher for the Mets! :)

Sunday night we will be taking my parents to the Valley Cats game vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Cyclones are the affiliates for the New York Mets! This is our 30th anniversary present to them, and we hope to all have a great time!

I plan on updating this blog more often that I have! It is quite difficult to recall a past month worth of activity and properly write it all out!

Crazy days in New York!

2008-07-24T14:44:00.000-04:00

The past few days here in Upstate New York have been wacky, to say the least. We have had major storms for days on end now, and it seems as if the rain will never end! Today, for example, it was POURING rain, and the power went out here at my work for over an hour and a half. The rain stopped and it got beautiful and sunny out! While beautiful and sunny, the power was still out for another 40 minutes or so!

Josh and I had quite an interesting morning this morning, let me elaborate!

Josh and I live on the 5th floor of an apartment building in downtown Albany. Luckilly the 5th floor has a ledge about 5 feet wide on it.

So anyways, this morning, Josh woke me up to tell me somethng before he hopped in the shower. Due to us living on the 5th floor and not having AC, we keep the window open to let the air move around. I heard Josh get into the shower and a cuddled myself up back in bed for the half hour of sleep I had remaining before my alarm (aka Josh) went off.

Next thing I knew, I heard Lola taking a RUNNING start from the front door toward the window, which is really odd. I opened my eyes JUST in time to see her leaping out the window. I jumped out of bed and let out a deathly yell of "OH MY GOD!" Next thing I knew, Lola jumped back in the window as Josh came running out of the bathroom to see what was going on. Right away, I shut the window and kind of yelled at Lola as Josh finished up with his shower.

After Josh got out of the shower, we were discussing what would of made Lola leap out of our window, as we have never seen this sort of behavior from her before. We noticed that none of her toys were missing, so she couldn't have dropped anything out the window somehow. As of now, we just assume that she saw a bird on the ledge, got excited, and went for it.

Needless to say, the window is now closed, and Lola is locked up in her crate!

Other than that, our lives havn't been too interesting since the last post. We had a great time at the Stone Temple Pilots. (Yes! I even enjoyed myself!) We have also been going to quite a few Valley Cats games, (minor leauge baseball) and have brought our count up of games attended to 7-2 (I think!) We have attended two Conquest (Arena Football) games and they have lost both times. Tomorrow night we are going to the last Conquest game of the season with my parents! It should be a fun night out, especially since Josh promised me a t-shirt! :)

This picture was taken back in April. Please note the lovely pink roses behind me, as Josh bought them for me. Did I ever mention how great he is!?

It's going to be a lovely Tuesday evening...

2008-07-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

Our 4th of July weekend began with the both of us getting severely sunburned while up at Lake George for the day. We met up with a co-worker of Josh's and spent the afternoon hanging out with him and his friends on the beach, and on their campsite. While we do live in downtown Albany, and we could easily see the fireworks if we looked out our window and to the left, however, we chose to lay in bed, and watch the fireworks on a local television channel.

Tonight, however, we are going up to Glens Falls (about an hour north) to see the Stone Temple Pilots! Needless to say, one of us is very excited, while the other is just in love with Scott Wieland, (Thanks Patrick for the spelling help!) and just can not wait to see him! Regardless though, both of us are excited about the beer we will be consuming!

Things have been running smoothly around the apartment. Our gas leak has been fixed, and Lola is still thriving every day! Last night, she tried some hamburger meat, tomato, and cheese. She loved all three!

The picture I decided to post today, is one of the both of us, taken by Josh's mother, Marci, the night we met. I quickly learned that pizza and beer were the key into Josh's heart! Thank god all of those boxes are gone! It didn't even take a month to get him all unpacked! Marci, you'd be proud of the motivation I whipped into him! Who knew such a handsome man could be great at unpacking, doing dishes, ironing clothes, and cooking nachos!? He's for sure a keeper!

Welcome to our blog!

2008-07-02T16:37:00.000-04:00

Welcome friends and family!

We have created this blog to keep our friends and families up to date on what is going on our everyday lives. We will attempt to update the blog often and include pictures of what we've been up to. As soon as we get the internet working on the desktop computer at home, MANY more pictures will be coming! For now atleast, we'd like to introduce our dog, Lola.

Lola is a one year old, Wheaten Terrier/Chow mix. She is very outgoing and friendly. She brings a lot of laughter and joy into our tiny studio apartment! Please do notice our lovely flowered wallpaper behind Lola. This wallpaper goes ALL around the apartment! We also have matching curtains!

We look foward to creating this blog to keep everyone informed, and another update should be coming shortly!

As for now, it's time to head home and watch our first 2 movies from Netflix. The Bucket List, and The Terminal!