Blue

We had to say goodbye to our beautiful boy yesterday. The vet said his breathing trouble was a sign of the end, and we didn't want it to get any worse. We are so thankful that we were given almost four more months after his horrible seizure in June, and relieved that he did not suffer.

Blue was found by my sister over 4th of July weekend 1997 in the engine of a car in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He came with me back to Buffalo, then on to Philadelphia and eventually to New Zealand. He's been with me through 10 apartments and houses, 3 cities, 2 countries, 4 cats, and 7 jobs. In NZ he was finally allowed to be an outside cat and spent his last last three years chasing other cats, climbing trees, and lying in the sun. He had a pretty adventurous life for a kitty.

Tama really misses his big brother, and hasn't left us alone. Last night, we toasted Blue with a bottle of champagne and both had a little cry (ok, I had a big cry). Next weekend I think we'll make a visit to the SPCA to see if we can't find a new sibling for Tama, but we'll miss our "engine kitty".

USA! USA! USA!

Thanks to Facebook most of you know that I was in the US for two weeks, getting my annual Target fix, plus enjoying other "must dos" like rare hamburgers, Greek food, Oprah magazines, having a decent cocktail, and indulging in lots of my mom's cooking.

There were a few downers. I left 2 bracelets at the LAX security checkpoint and didn't notice they were missing until I was in Charlotte. It took my mom and I about 34 threatening phone calls and 5 days to get them back. We were on the phone at least 15 minutes every day, leaving voicemails, getting transferred to different departments, hearing a different story every time. There's a number to call for Lost and Found, but it's voicemail and they never ever ever ever ever call you back. I called so much I was like, "Hey, yeah, it's me again."

The whole ordeal culminated in my mom going right to the head of HR to demand to speak to the head of security. This was on day 5. I received a humble callback from some chick named Patricia. What's interesting is that I'd already left Patricia 3 messages, each time growing more and more frantic ("PLEASE call me back!!"). Danielle said that I sounded like Liz Lemon. I guess when Patricia's boss got involved, she rang me back immediately and was all, "How can I help you?" Horrible. But the bracelets are back and I've learned a very valuable lesson: take off all of your jewelry before flying.

The rest of the trip was pretty fabulous. A lot of relaxing, a lot of visiting, a lot of eating. While I was sipping Veuve on my parents' lovely patio, poor Iain was back home dealing with a fender bender and a flea infestation. Poor guy. This year we've got some fun New Zealand travel lined up for the both of us.

Here are two cool pictures of my fam - the rest are all on Facebook.

OH: I learned another valuable travel lesson. When you can, purchase the day passes to the airport lounges. For $40US, I booked a day pass to the USAIrways Club lounges. I had 24 hour access in any airport, so I was good to go for Buffalo, Charlotte, and finally LA. It was a godsend. Free wifi, comfy chairs, a clean bathroom, it's QUIET, and you get a free glass of wine and/or free water, coffee, tea, etc.

Declan Michael Occhino!

I don't have any pictures but I wanted to congratulate Och + Kerry on their latest, born June 9th. Simone now has a brother and Pippa has another excuse to bark 24/7. Way to go guys!

We're Back!

Okay, after a few month's hiatus I've decided to start up again. This is mainly due to the (sad?) fact that I really missed blogging, and while Facebook is great, I don't always want to post everything on it.

I promise not to keep rattling on about the bloody house - we're in it, it's great. I'll post some pictures.

Here's a quick run-down of what we've been up since I last posted:

1. I had minor foot surgery. This thrilling undertaking was 500x better than the same surgery I had on my other foot back in 2003. Incredible -- either they've made huge medical breakthroughs in bunion surgery (doubtful) or the first guy I had in Philly was crap (likely). I got to work from home for a week which was great!



2. Iain got promoted! (I can't remember if that was mentioned before). I'm still working for the same folks and am enjoying it a hell of lot more than I used to. Karma can be a good thing.

3. Iain's parents visited for 9 days in May. They were our first official houseguests! We spent the week eating way too much. It was a really good time and (hopefully) nice and relaxing for them. I think Blue had the best deal: he received twice the number of belly rubs and pats. Tama was still skittish but not totally freaking out, so that's progress.







More posts to come!

The Floor's So Clean I Can See My Head Right Through It!

The title of this post is courtesy of an oft-quoted guy named Fred who 3 people who read this blog will remember from Plum Dandy.

Last week, all work on the house came to a standstill as the floor guys went in and did their thing. We are so happy that we didn't choose to stain the floors a different color to cover up the imperfections - it looks great, the imperfections add charm, and the parts that are a bit conspicuous (foyer and hallway leading to bathroom) will fade with age.

We're down to the end here, thank GOD. In the next three weeks, we've got radiators, screens, double-glazing, plumbing, carpet, kitchen backsplash, VANITY AND SHOWER INSTALLATION, kitchen appliance and rangehood install, door-rehanging, blinds, and of course landscaping. Anything else? I cant remember.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Auckland. After a Skype call with the 'rents, we quickly ran errands and got home in time to enjoy a few hours in the backyard with our books. The older couple next door had what sounded like Sinatra playing loudly from their home throughout most of the afternoon -- at first we were like, "What the hell is that music?!?!" but as soon as we realized it was them, we relaxed.



Mom and Dad, this is what I was talking about with the screens!

The landscaper starts next Thursday - thank GOD!

Congratulations Dad!

Well, my Dad has retired! Go Dad! Bring on long days outside, unread books, experiments with cooking and laundry, and lots of exploring, even if it's just through Google Earth!

Worlds Collide!

The in-laws have met the in-laws!

Thanks to Skype, Iain's parents "met" my parents for a Christmas convo. It was actually really fun! And the kids opened their gifts on camera, which is the next best thing to actually being there. Good times all around, which of course made me homesick.

Christmas Day

We went to Gary and Carol's house for Christmas. I should've taken pictures of the food - it was an absolutely incredible spread. Lamb chops, sausages, shrimp kebabs, chicken kebabs, fish, pasta salad, cheese, shrimp dip. The weather was spectacular, as well.

Christmas Morning

We went for a long walk on Sandfly Bay, where we saw sea lions and penguins! The penguins were really far away, because you're not supposed to get close to them or you'll scare them off. The hike was an attempt to burn off some calories before settling into the massive Christmas BBQ at Iain's brother Gary's house. Sadly, we would've had to walk back to Auckland to make up for the food we ate!

Here are some pictures of our walk:


Penguin tracks!

Sea lions!

Dunedin!

Yesterday, after a bit of house-related drama over whether or not to stain our hardwood floors (we chose not to), we packed our bags (Blue helped) and hopped on a plane to Dunedin for Christmas.


Li'l geography if you're interested: Dunedin is on the South Island and Auckland is on the North Island. It's a distance of roughly 1430km / 888 miles (according to Google maps).


Dunedin is like Buffalo, and not just 'cause it's Iain's hometown, boasts inexpensive real estate, and gets snow. It also has awesome food. The best burger in NZ - here in Dunedin. Cheese rolls - a South Island speciality -- we're having those for lunch. We celebrated in style this morning with mince and cheese pies for breakfast.

Last night Iain's parents picked us up at the airport and we headed to their house for a bottle of red and a quick catch up, before retiring to our motel for the night. The weather is supposed to be in the mid-high 20s (~75˚F) tomorrow which is PERFECT for a Christmas BBQ at Iain's brother Gary's house.

Birthday Fun

It was my 38th birthday on Thursday so I milked it for all it was worth.  We celebrated the "Week of Birthday", a term coined by our friend Laura.  The concept of WOB is simple:  from the day of your birthday until the following week, you get to eat and drink whatever you want (within reason) and generally slack off Because It's My Birthday.  This usually involves stuff like the avoidance of washing dishes ("But it's my birthday!") and not being responsible for changing the DVD ("I know I'm closer, but....").  The key to WOB is to not be too annoying about it while still enjoying as many small privileges as possible.

WOB was launched with a fabulous decorating of the rental house by Iain  - a lovely surprise!  Saturday and Sunday was a continuation:  a great weekend of oysters, champagne, walks, fun Skype calls, and lots of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (we're on season 4 right now). Even the weather cooperated somewhat - Saturday was gross out but Sunday was really sunny and allowed us to sit us outside.

I couldn't completely absolve myself from all domestic responsibilities, so there was some laundry done, but that was it.  Oh!  And Blue finally figured out how to use the new cat door!

Here are some pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAIN!

Much to my dismay, Iain doesn't like to make a big deal out of his birthday. Out of respect, instead of a celebratory picture of Iain or the cats, I've chosen a photo of a sink we were looking at a few weeks ago. It's a beauty!

We're Back!

I returned home from the US last week. I enjoyed almost two weeks with my family and friends, attending reunions, happy hours, dinners, and BBQs. My mom cooked all of my favorites: crab legs, sausages, steak, devilled eggs, French toast.... I met old friends in NY for an afternoon of mojitos and burgers. In Buffalo, I had lamb souvlaki and fries with gravy. My high school reunion was a blast. I indulged in the best fish fry ever. I hung out with old coworkers and had wings and tequila shots. I got to meet kids who were born while I've been away. Watched reality TV and ordered pasta at 10pm (only in NYC!) On my last night, I ate huge scallops and two fantastic cocktails. I gained 7 lbs. That's okay. It was totally worth it. I'm already super psyched for 2010 (although I'll have to skip the NYC portion next year).

A few things I learned from this first trip home:

1. Pack light. Airline regulations are super strict about excess baggage, and this left me virtually unable to shop for fear of going over my weight limit.
2. I forgot how awesome shopping in the US is. Perhaps I'll arrive with an empty suitcase next year!
3. Rent a car so no one has to chauffeur me around (thank you Mom, Dad, Kate, Och, and Alex!!)
4. Buy shampoo, etc. when I get there to avoid the extra weight.
5. Leave behind extra jewelry, pairs of high heels and bathing suits -- I never wore any of it.
6. Try to schedule the trip a bit further into the summer -- I arrived during a cold spell and had only packed sun dresses and t-shirts. One pair of jeans and two long-sleeve shirts had to suffice for like 5 days.
7. If possible, fly Air New Zealand over Qantas. Qantas is cheaper and it shows. No online check-in, long lines, rude employees.

I returned home with mild jet lag. Basically, I'd feel absolutely fine all day except for one or two periods where it felt like someone had slipped an Ambien in my coffee. But I'm doing much better now, which is good since we're absolutely swamped.

House hunting, interviews, trips home!

This week, I have two job interviews, a flight home to Buffalo, and 5 houses to see. Talk about packing it all in! We spent another weekend driving all over, checking out different neighborhoods and homes. It's incredible how a house can look awesome in pictures, but you get a completely different vibe up close.

Here are some pics.






Tomorrow is our 3rd wedding anniversary, to be spent with a job interview in the morning followed by 3 or 4 homes to see in the afternoon. Then we'll crack open the bubbly and settle in for a nice romantic meal at home.

Home!

I'm getting really psyched for my trip home in a few weeks! Iain's also getting psyched to fly to Dunedin, and the cats... well, they don't get to go anywhere.

We've had a pretty uneventful week, so no posts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADISON!

Hey Mad, you can thank Hannah for the photos!