baby shower success

stefani's baby shower was very successful yesterday! she got some great (and much needed) gifts and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. rachel had such awesome ideas for the food....and yes, i took very good notes along with the recipes! caramel pecan chicken salad (so yummy) and chocolate marshmellow fruit dip (very scrumptious) were just a couple items included in our spread of food! we started a tradition for baby showers among our friends as well...all of the guests were asked to bring their favorite childhood book to build the baby's library! now we just have to wait to see if the baby will be named sophia grace or spencer leo....only a month and a half until we get to find out!

jon and i had a fun houseguest late last week. rachel came to stay with us wednesday night through the weekend, and then bowman took the train up to charleston saturday morning. even though my work schedule is so crazy right now, it was a lot of fun spending time with rachel...we definitely shared many laughs!

now for another week of tax season hell...only 16 days to go though! there's fun to be had once it's over! xoxo

clean and organized

jon and i have had an extremely productive sunday....we've made breakfast, gone to the grocery store, cleaned the house, organized the pantry, and done laundry. these tasks had been stacking up, and it was definitely time to get them done! we finally have some groceries in the house so we can eat homemade meals instead of carry out this week....and the house is clean, so i feel comfortable having guests in for stefani's baby shower next weekend.

speaking of her baby shower, i'm really excited about it! rachel has come up with some awesome ideas for it! amy and i got to see the baby's "under the sea" nursery friday night, and it is absolutely adorable! dan and stefani have done an awesome job painting and decorating....it's hard to believe the baby's arrival will be in less than 2 months!

i've got a big week ahead....many things going on, and i'm hoping that everything goes well! i decided not to go into work today as i definitely needed a break from the office....7 days a week consistently is extremely hard! i was absolutely exhausted last night and didn't think i could even enjoy a night out to dinner with jon and drinks with our friends. it was great to see emily though and have a few appletinis at the rooftop bar! i was actually able to sleep in without an alarm going off this morning and just enjoy relaxing before getting the day started.

here's to a busy (but hopefully great!) week ahead!

stressful days...

this week has been absolutely full of stressful days....and i'm hoping the weekend will put an end to the stressful days as well as this week! i have lots of cleaning to do this weekend, in between working and trying to catch up on some sleep, in preparation for stefani's baby shower next weekend! rachel and i are super excited about the first baby shower for someone in our circle of friends!

i found out yesterday that my cousin, charles, is finally going home from the rehab center on friday! he's come a very long way since his stroke over 5 weeks ago. he still has some progress to make, but at least he will finally be at home and not in a hospital or rehab center.

my mom is doing well after her hip surgery. she has a friend staying with her for a couple nights which worked out well since my brother went home on tuesday and i'm still stuck in tax season hell. i think she is getting around well, and i know she will be glad when she can get out of the house for longer periods of time! please continue to prayer for her and my cousin!

time to be productive this morning....tax returns, here i come! what fun?!

deadline #1

tax season deadline number one is tomorrow, and it's going to be a long day! i have a tax return to finish that i was given at 7 last night, so i'm going to have to be in robot mode tomorrow and give it my best effort! i spent seven hours today at work trying to get it done, but it felt like seventeen!

yesterday was quite a day...and a very long one! after going over everything regarding my mom with my brother, i headed home to charleston and went straight to work. once i left work, i went straight home and changed clothes to meet jon at a wedding reception downtown....the night ended with an after party at tommy condon's to celebrate st. patty's day! after closing down the bar at 2 this morning, we finally headed home to bed! the night was way too late, and i definitely paid for it this morning when i had to get up for work! my wonderful husband brought me lunch at my office which gave me a boost of energy to make it until 6 tonight at work...then i came home and collapsed!

the end of tax season hell can't come soon enough...one month from today! luckily we've reserved a condo on the beach in perdido key, florida for a wedding and a much needed long weekend away at the end of april! i can't wait to lay on the beach sipping a nice cold alcoholic beverage while getting some sun in about 6 weeks! for now, i'm just taking it one day at a time....

surgery went very well

surgery went very well...that's the news i got from the doctor about 45 minutes ago. so my mom is out of her hip replacement surgery and should be in recovery now. lots of good drugs will be getting her through the night and next couple of weeks. she was in a lot of pain before the surgery, and i know once she recovers from her surgery she will be extremely happy to be able to walk without pain. one never thinks about how many people are in surgery in one day, but there have probably been 5 to 6 families in the waiting room with me since i got here at 8:30 this morning. surgeons definitely have extremely busy days which, i can only imagine, must be very stressful!

today is day one of being "off" of work to take care of my mother. i use the word "off" lightly because i brought about 10 tax returns to prepare this week, so i definitely won't be off....but i won't have to use much, if any, sick or vacation time this week. that's after a hellacious week of trying to get all of the corporate returns on my desk finished before i left the office yesterday....which i succeeded at doing, although i'm exhausted and ready for some rest this week!

please continue the prayers, as my mom is going to be in a lot of pain when she wakes up from surgery. unfortunately because of her heart condition, they were not able to use the spinal anesthesia they prefer to use, so they had to use general anesthesia instead. which i guess means the pain will be worse at first. more later....

friday night relaxation

it's friday night and jon and i are enjoying a quiet night at home! we briefly thought about heading downtown to meet some friends, but hanging out at home won out tonight! we had an awesome crockpot chicken cordon bleu dinner and are relaxing on the couch until sleepy time!

jon is taking a class to get his concealed weapons permit tomorrow and i will be working, so we unfortunately won't get to enjoy the great weather! i can't believe it was in the 20's a couple mornings ago and tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 80! boat and beach weather will be here very soon hopefully! i'm ready for the cold weather to be over and summer to arrive!

mom's hip replacement surgery is on monday morning, so i've got to get packed and ready to head to columbia sunday night for next week. please keep her in your prayers. i know she will be so glad once the surgery is over and she can walk without pain (or painkillers)!

relaxation time....

a successful girls night

tonight was another successful girls night! we had spaghetti, chocolate cake, and watched nights in rodanthe! it was great getting to relax and catch up with the girls!

today was pretty crazy at work...starting off with a client who i was supposed to meet with at 3 showing up at 8:45 this morning. that was definitely not the best way to start off a day full of meetings and lots of work on my desk! unfortunately i'm starting to get a little stressed about getting all of my work done before i leave on sunday to head to columbia for mom's surgery. my boss seems to enjoy making my life difficult at times when it's really not necessary! i'm working as much as possible without completely exhausting myself and it still doesn't seem to be enough because i continue getting more work each day! oh well...it will get done before i leave or get packed for a trip to columbia next week!

girls night was a nice break from my normal weekly schedule tonight! the next few nights (at least what's left of them once i get home from work), i will spend with my awesome husband before leaving on sunday! time for sleepy....

weekend of fun...almost over!

the temperature has dropped probably 15 degrees since i left for work around noon today. it poured down rain this morning, then the wind picked up and it's getting cold! according to the meteorologists, we may be in for some snow tonight....but i will believe it when i see it! jon and i are prepared with some movies and spaghetti on the stove though!

it's been a great weekend, and i hate that tomorrow is the beginning of another crazy week! we had a great time at the citadel basketball game last night, and followed the game up with dinner and drinks at kickin' chicken and several rounds of catch phrase at kat and tee's house! unfortunately it ended up being a really late night, and i'm sure i will feel the effects of it tonight and tomorrow....but it was so much fun hanging out with our friends and relaxing!

now jon and i are going to relax and enjoy the last few hours of the weekend! here's to another busy week of tax season hell....