Life and Times

Introducing Gavin Cooper!

2009-03-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

So not much has changed since I last updated my blog.... well, other than the fact that SPARKLE ARRIVED!!!! And "sparkle" probably should have been referred to as "Spark" because we had a BOY!! I don't know why I'm writing like this is news to all of you! Most, if not everyone, who reads this already knows that and probably has already met our little guy. But if you haven't heard then first, find a new gossip in your town because you aren't being kept up to date very well and second, let me introduce you. Gavin Cooper was born February 17th at 9:59am via emergency C-section. He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches long. Here's a quick over view of why we ended up having to have a C-section. I had worked that night prior to delivering him and had been contracting all night. Around 6:15 am as my night was getting ready to end, I put myself on the monitor just to see how close the contractions were and if I was feeling all of them or whether I was really having more. Once I was on the monitor I saw that I was having contractions, but that Gavin's heart rate wasn't reactive. When a heart rate is reactive it means there's a bunch of fluctuations in the HR and that's a good sign telling us the baby is adequately oxygenated. Sometimes when the baby sleeps it looks non-reactive, which is what we thought was going on. So I drank lots of sugary drinks and chewed ice cubes to try and wake the baby up to get a reactive strip. By 7 am he still wasn't reactive and so I was admitted in the labor room for a non reactive strip. I called Jason then and told him he should come in and just hang out with me for awhile until the baby woke up. The doctor and midwife came in around 8:15am and still his heart rate wasn't looking good and was starting to have subtle decelerations which were a sign that he wasn't getting enough oxygen and was getting stressed. The doctor said she didn't like how the baby looked and didn't want to wait and try and induce me naturally, that a c-section would be the best route. So TA-DA! Into the operating room we went. Talk about a weird feeling! You go to work never thinking in a million years that you'd clock out at 7am and be in the OR having your baby 2 hours later! The funny thing was that I'd been taking care of a laboring patient all night and I ended up delivering before her! Thankfully Gavin did great immediately after delivery and came out screaming. Still not really sure what caused the strip to look like that. Maybe because I'd been fighting a cold and then having worked all night it stressed him. But it's a happy ending! He's doing amazing and has totally changed our lives 100% for the better. He had his one month check up last week and already weighs 9 lbs 8 oz. Enjoy the pics!! I'll try and keep updating, but find my free time has decreased dramatically (and I wouldn't change it for anything!!)

My blog is in need of CPR...

2009-01-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I've written that I'm pretty sure my blog has started to collect dust. A quick update since I've last blogged. I had the baby...it's now 4 years old and going to pre-school everyday. I lost LOTS of weight after the baby was born and after getting super buff, I now make a living as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Jason is a professional hockey player for the Hurricaines and we all lived happily ever after!

Alright maybe it hasn't been quite THAT long since updating. Honestly, I'm updating because Jason told me I probably should. I don't know what he thinks I do all day. Doesn't he know I'm working hard? First, I wake up and after kicking my way through the mounds of dirty laundry that has overtaken our bedroom, I get on-line and finish a quick 2-3 hour review of blogspot and facebook to make sure I haven't missed anything that's happened in anyone's life over night. Obviously he doesn't understand what a job that is! Then I eat roughly 4 bowls of cereal and move the 40 dirty dishes out of the sink so I can run water down the kitchen sink drain to try and get rid of the smell of curdled milk/ spoiled meat that develops after neglecting the dishes for 4 weeks. Does Jason know realize how much work it is to move all those dirty dishes out of the sink to just move them back in again? Then, I run upstairs to the computer where I spend another 3 hours on facebook reupdating myself on what may have happened while I was eating breakfast. Next, I take a 5 hour nap to rebuild my strength and then wake up in time to call Jason on his way home and tell him I've been too busy to make supper and that he should probably grab something for us on his way home.....so as you can see I have hardly had time to update my blog since I've been working around the house so much!

Okay so since I'm here I might as well give you a REAL update. I have NOT had the baby, so you'd better go call back those people you quickly dialed to ask why you hadn't heard the news or received invites to any of the baby's 4 birthday parties! I'm currently 34 weeks pregnant and feeling like roughly the size of a Greyhound bus. (I'm also being reminded by friends, coworkers, and family members, that this is, in fact, true...) I had an ultrasound at 30 weeks and at that time they said the baby was already 4lbs. Translation= BIG BABY! Usually babies are closer to 2 lbs at that time. The doctor wants me to have another ultrasound within the next couple of weeks to see how big the baby is now and to decide if I may need to deliver earlier so I don't have a 13 pound toddler!

Here's a self pic of me. My mom had requested one, and since the professional photographer that usually follows me around was in the bathroom, I took one of myself. I find the best way to take pictures is so you're looking down to really accent your double chin. (notice I'm on the phone...probably telling Jason how busy I've been working or placing my take out order!)

Mom, Dad, Jeff and Britta came up for Christmas/ New Years and helped us SO much in getting the baby's room finished. We had so much fun and I think it turned out super cute. Jason just finished staining the dresser and armiore this past weekend and we finally have the room put together!

So, even though I missed blogging a lot of important things these past few months (like my baby shower, pictures of my family up visiting..etc) I have been pretty busy. I'm still feeling great (other than back pain) and I've just been trying to take it easy and enjoy the last bit of my pregnancy. I really DO work (sometimes!)...I'm still working 12 hour nights and in the mean time trying to get everything ready for Sparkle's arrival! I'll try and be more diligent in updating....so please be patient with me!!

Fat and Happy

2008-11-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

So I've had a request to "show everyone how fat you've gotten". Although my first thought was to knock this person flat onto the ground and give them a severe beating, I quickly came to my senses and thought "Calm down Christina....he is your husband and the father of your future child and who will change light bulbs if he's in the hospital?....breath.....breath". Haha! If anyone it wasn't Jason, he's learned to walk very delicately around the topic of weight lately. So for those of you who haven't seen me lately, or those of you who are stalking me on-line and need to put a face to a name so that when you kidnap me in Target parking lot, you'll be sure to get the right person....here ya go!

Somewhere around 18 or 20 weeks

Doing the typical pregnant stance at 25 weeks. Not sure why all us

pregnant people feel this is the way to pose in pictures, as if my hands really need to outline where the baby is...just incase you weren't sure!

All in all I've been feeling really good. I had a doctor's visit 2 weeks ago that was interesting. Let me paint you a picture. (Warning: being a nurse I've forgotten what tends to be acceptable topics of conversation and what takes things too far, so read at your own risk) So I go to my monthly check up and first thing they do is give you a cup for a urine sample. Now I'm not sure about anyone else, but for me that usually entails having to strip to just my socks as I haven't quite mastered the art of urine sample collection. Let's just say I've learned to keep a spare change of clothes in my purse! (what? Too much info??) So after struggling to get RE-combobulated (that's the opposite of discombobulated) in a 4x4 bathroom in a short amount of time so as not to draw attention to the fact that I'm inept at urine collection, I exit the bathroom breathing heavy and sweating profusely. Next it's on to my favorite part of the exam, the scale! Once again I try and strip to my socks, but they strongly discourage it since the scale is out in the open. So I stick with tossing my shoes and coat to the side. About 4 people came running full speed at the blood curdling scream I released as I saw what my current weight was. Then, since I was nice and calm having realized I weighed roughly the size of a trailer, they took my blood pressure. Genius! Great timing! I'm sure the reading will be normal! Surprise Surprise.... my blood pressure is high!! So I met with the doctor who said with my weight gain, increased blood pressure, and protein that was in my urine I have the pleasure of going back again in 2 weeks so they can monitor me and see if the protein goes away and if my blood pressure goes down. Here's an idea, maybe you should take my blood pressure first before putting me through the emotional roller coaster of peeing in a cup and weighing myself! I go again the day before Thanksgiving and hopefully things have settled down.

So other than that, I've been feeling really great, Sparkle is kicking up a storm, and we're starting to think about nursery colors and how to decorate the room. We're looking forward to eating a huge Thanksgiving dinner at the Farm and seeing how far this maternity skirt can stretch. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Until next time!

How could they?!!?

2008-11-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

Today is a very important day for Americans all across the country. As I awoke to my alarm clock playing stars and stripes and with my American flag firmly gripped in my hand I made my way to my computer with a sense of pride in our country. That is until I saw this headline on MSNBC which caused me to lose all hope in our future: "Twinkies to shrink into 100-calorie snack packs " It goes on "Hostess Twinkies are becoming the latest product remade and repackaged into 100-calorie snack packs, a product some analysts say could do well given that more people are packing their own lunches in the slumping economy. The maker of the golden yellow, creme-filled cake is launching "Twinkie Bites" nationwide in stores on Monday. It's also introducing a snack pack featuring strawberry cupcakes as it extends the 100-calorie pack line originally aimed at women who wanted to snack more sensibly. And while Leavitt notes that the original Twinkie come in at 150 calories, people asked for a lightened version and the company got to work. They didn't want to just shrink the Twinkie, known for its elongated shape, Leavitt said, so they created three, miniature round versions. Leavitt said people enjoy having multiple bites rather than just the one product."

WHAT?!?!? I thought it was election day...not April Fool's day!! Please tell me this is some cruel joke!! I thought we lived in a democracy where all earth-shattering changes were to be voted on by the American people! I didn't vote for this!! Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, has decided that in our slumping economy American's don't want the traditional oblong 150 calorie Twinkie, but instead would rather drown our sorrows in three tiny bite sized "cakes" that total 100 calories! They say they are targeting "women who want to snack more sensibly". Who are these stupid women who are ruining the foundation of our country?? If you want to snack responsibly maybe you should be reaching for a carrot stick and not a pack of twinkies!!!!!! I am a woman who doesn't want to snack responsibly and am sickened that, not only am I being robbed of 50 cream filled calories, but now I have to exercise when I am forced to reach 3 times into a package to eat 3 Twinkie bites?! And did anyone think about how this will work when I'm driving down the road enjoying the goodness known as a Twinkie? Before I could just greedily shove one whole Twinkie into my mouth without ever breaking eye contact from the road or missing a gear as I cruised past multiple gyms on my way to get my McDonald's fix. But now?! Now, I have to attempt to balance a package of 2 more cakes on my lap as I'm "sensibly" shoving the first tiny bite sized cake into my mouth while attempting to shift gears and then having to continually look to down ensure my lap of Twinkies hasn't gotten cream filling all over my clothes or rolled onto the ground and splattered all over my Wendy's take out bag!

The article concludes by saying : "It's not some impostor like some portion control products would be," Leavitt said. "From that standpoint it eats like a Twinkie, it smells like a Twinkie, it tastes like a Twinkie. " Oh really Mr. Leavitt?!?!?! You're probably one of those people who thinks everything tastes like chicken too!! I will know the difference!! As I'm crying and attempting to drown my sorrows in calories...I'LL KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE I CAN COUNT!!! THREE IS NOT ONE!!!

What's next?? Ho Hos will become bite sized and just called Hos? Or maybe we should just rename them all together since the name HoHos is quite provocative!!

Goodbye old friend. I need to drown my sorrows....in a carrot stick.

Congratulations Ben and Molly!!

2008-11-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well it was off to Ohio for the 2nd Watkins' wedding in a month and what a beautiful wedding! Jason, Nancy and I broke the trip up a bit and left Thursday night and drove to Buffalo where we spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn. After late night (or was it early morning by that time??) McDonald's sundaes and raiding the bathroom of all the little sample size shampoos and lotions it was back on the road and heading toward Strasburg, OH. Once arriving at Strasburg we checked into our hotel and then headed down to help Molly and Ben set up the reception site. That night a bunch of us went and ate at the Amish Door the food was SO good and SO not good for you! "Yes I'll take the fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, ham, and a coronary blockage please!!" Strasburg has a LARGE amish population and it was so cool to see about 10 horse and buggies tied up outside of the restaurant. At one point I must have become Amish struck and I'd decided I wanted to sell my car and start riding around Albany exclusively in a horse and buggy. Who needs more than one horse power? heated leather seats? air conditioner/heater? a radio? seat belts? air bags? Not me!! At this point Jason decided I must be delusional from low blood sugar and he quickly forced me to drink a large glass of OJ. After reminding me that I forget to water my one plant on a regular basis...how would I remember to feed my "automobile" it's grains every day I recovered from my quick bout of insanity it was back to the wedding!! So for this wedding I took the pictures while telling Jason that I would blow his pictures from last wedding out of the water... hence the ENORMOUS amount of pictures! I decided to save you from scrolling through 28 pages of pictures and put them into a slideshow. Enjoy!!

Water, and Weddings, and Birthdays...OH MY!

2008-10-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

WARNING: There are A LOT of pictures in this post. So you can either tough it out, or go surf Wikipedia for more useless knowledge. Just don't say you weren't warned!

I think I start most blogs by saying this but "we have been SO busy lately!". We just got back last Sunday from a whirlwind trip to Ohio for Darren and Rebecca's wedding. Knowing that it would take us 10 hours to drive out there, Jason and I decided to break the trip up a bit and make some stops along the way. Since I'd never seen Niagara Falls before, we decided to leave Thursday night and drive the 5 hours north to the Falls. We arrived around midnight and got a hotel room for the night, and then spent most of Friday walking around the Falls. We went on both the American side and the Canadian side to view the Falls. The fun part (sarcasm) was crossing the border patrol. Since I don't have a current passport I had to bring roughly 400 forms of ID to prove how exactly I've become the person I am today. Starting with birth certificate, moving on to marriage license, going to current driver's license, ending with ultrasound within the past 4 weeks proving that in fact I am pregnant and not trying to smuggle large quantities of heroin in my belly across the border. I think it was harder to get back IN to the US than it was to get out. The questions they ask are a bit ridiculous. "Why were you in Canada? How long were you there for? Where are you going now?" I'm glad Jason was answering because my answers wouldn't have been so friendly. I wanted to say to the macho border patrol guy "really?? Have you looked at our economy lately? Have you paid any attention to how much NY taxes are?? Have you heard illegal immigrants are actually leaving the country because things are so down? Why would we be trying to sneak IN!??!" At this point Jason had to put a pillow over my face and explain to the man that I was pregnant, hungry and had to pee (again!) and should therefore be considered mentally unstable and to disregard all I'd said. Luckily we were allowed back into the country and we continued on our way. Here are some pics of the Falls:

(Kids, don't try this at home. Leave it to the 26 year olds who should know better!!)

Rockin' the sweet yellow panchos! P.S. No, I haven't turned into the hunchback, that's the camera bag that's on my back.

So after our time in Niagara, we headed an hour back down to Freedom where we picked up George and then started the 5-6 hour drive to Ohio. Jason and George started rationing what I was allowed to drink because they quickly got tired of hearing "ummm...guys...I kinda have to pee" every hour on the hour! After seeing some of the finest bathrooms along the route, we made it to Ohio at 11:45pm and crashed after a very long day.

The Wedding Day:

Before leaving for the wedding, Jason, George and the kids went for a quick swim at the hotel. And by "swim" I mean J & G swam around and had to practically drag the kids into the water as they were not as excited about the idea as the older "kids" were.

Tears, tears, and more tears

Now it's off to the wedding!

Whew! What we didn't get was a picture of how red Jason's face got as Dana led people in singing happy birthday to him since it was his birthday!! Anyways, it was a beautiful wedding and a fun weekend full of driving. And now I'm off to meet my OLD husband (26!!!) for a lunch of pureed carrots and Ensure! Until next time!!

Just Beachy!

2008-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy at work lately I haven't had time to update this ol' thing. Of the past 8 days I've worked 6 of them. I know... for those of you who work 5 days a week every week you think "big lousy deal" but it's slightly different working six 12-hour nights than working 5 days from 9-5 since you're sleeping halfway through your days off. Anyways, thankfully I've survived and now I have Friday and Saturday off to try and catch up on the mounds of house work and to be with Jason! And get this... my manager actually had the nerve to call and ask if I'd work again tonight. I think she realized from the sounds of my hysterical laughing/uncontrollable sobbing into the phone that I wasn't going to be coming in!!

During the first week of this month Jason and I went on vacation!!! We went down to Ocean City, MD. We had so much fun! We met up with my parents and Jeff and Britta. We rented a big house and all just hung out doing NOTHING! It was awesome! I love going to the beach, and almost more than that, I love not having to wear a watch and not caring what time it is because you really don't have anything you need to get done. You can just sit around and be a bum! It was a perfect vacation!

Britta and Jeff have a few more pictures that I want to add, so I'll put them up as soon as they send them. Anyways, better go start cleaning the house! Have a great weekend!

Blogger Tag

2008-08-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

So it seems like I've been "tagged"...twice. (thanks Julie and Shelly) Now it's not what you may think. I have not been tracked down by a farmer, held on the ground as I kick and scream, and had a giant yellow tag with a number on it punched through my ear....

I've been blogger tagged...twice. That means I have to write 7 things about myself. I suppose since I was tagged twice I should do fourteen. Now I'll admit to you (and maybe we should just count this as factoid numero uno)...when I read in my comments "you've been tagged". I immediately started to hyperventilate. Spots appeared before my eyes, and as I lay crouched in the fetal position...I began to have flashbacks. Imagine a, while slightly "big boned", young impressionable, 197 lb 12 year old girl standing in her parents back yard minding her own buisness while stealthily polishing off 3 twinkies, a box of ho-hos, and a side of beef, when all of a sudden out of the back door flies her, slightly annoying and completely dorky, younger, waif like brother, (let's call him Jeff). Just as our heroine is struggling to get that stupid yellow bendy straw into the tiny aluminium foil covered hole in the top of a Capri Sun juicebox, she's abruptly slapped on the back. She goes flying face first into the ground, twinkie filling squirting everywhere as she lands on the box and through her astonishment she hears "TAG!!!! YOU'RE IT!!!!!" All through my...I mean...HER torturous elementary and middle school years those words would haunt her. Being able to catch any of the people who tagged her was similar to a rhino playing tag with a cheetah. So I developed a defense. Whenever I got tagged...I'd just pretend I never heard them and go on my merry little way. (Somewhat like I did with being blogger tagged). So short story made REALLY long, I suppose it's time to face my fears and be "it" in blogger tag!!

Factoid numero uno: See tragic coming of age story above

Factoid numero two: I'm really horrible at math. I still have to count on my fingers for simple addition problems. Seeing this usually instills great confidence into my patients as I figure out on my fingers if the baby has to eat in 3 hours and it's now 9pm what time will baby need to eat?!

Factoid numero three: I once found a solution for world peace, but then thought of how many people I'd be putting out of a job (media, reporters, suicide bombers) and scrapped the whole thing.

Factoid numero four: I'm strongly pulling to name our baby Sparkle. Regardless of whether it's a boy or girl. Jason is deathly afraid I'm serious.

Factoid numero seven: Again, I'm really bad at counting!

Now you might be wondering who I tagged: no one. For all the fat kids in the world, this is for you. I refuse to subject anyone else to the humiliation of being "IT". I'm just getting to where I don't shake anymore when I see a Tag Heuer watch, or see Tag body spray, or see a sign for a red tag sale. Now please excuse me, I need to go drown my sorrows in a twinkie!

Coming soon....

2008-08-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend!! I say this every year, but I can't believe convention has already come and gone. Altamont was this weekend and it was such a needed convention for me. It was so great to see those who we seem to only see once a year and be renewed and encouraged once again. I'm sad that it's already over and now it's back to the daily grind. Quite a few people told me I need to be more diligent in updating my blog. So hang on to your hats, this one is a doosey!!

Although I'm pretty sure most of the northeast knows by now, Jason and I have some very exciting news! The reason I seem to be sprouting a spare tire around my stomach isn't because I have been eating too much pizza lately (well maybe it is partly because of my love of pepperoni and cheese, and steak, and buffalo wings, and Pringles, and twinkies....) but mainly because....We're going to be parents! We are so excited and a little nervous at the same time. I mean, the SPCA makes you fill out a 20 page in depth application along with a home study and background check before you adopt a stray dog, but for some reason, bringing a child into this world comes with no paperwork! I'm due March 2nd and am officially 12 weeks today. Also, without sounding like I'm already bragging, I have to say we may have the most photogenic child in the world. I think this may be the best ultrasound picture I've ever seen. (it was taken at 8 weeks)

(Notice how the ultrasound tech wrote "baby" on the picture. I'm not sure if I should be offended that she thinks we'd be looking at the picture going "What in the world is that thing?!?" or maybe she thought without her standing there pointing out to us the baby we'd become lost when looking at the picture and hand it to people going "I don't know where it is, but she said somewhere on here is a picture of a baby!" )

Anyways, he's facing away from the camera, so you can see his ears, back and little tiny hands and feet. Now before everyone runs out and starts buying blue, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl! I just tend to call every baby a boy. We've decided that we don't want to find out. We want it to be a surprise. (You're welcome Claude!)

Now being the thrifty people that we are we've also sent out notifications to all of the popular gossip magazines such as People and US Weekly. We figure if they'll pay 14 million for pictures of Brad and Angelina's babies, they'll probably be willing to pay at least a dollar fifty for a picture of ours! Let the bidding begin!!

Now against my better judgement, I'm going to put one of those little baby ticker things at the top of my blog. I'm always afraid that some wacko is reading my blog and will be watching the ticker and then right before I'm due they'll grab me and hold me for ransom. So to all you wackos out there (other than the one's I know read this blog and constantly tell me to update... :0) ) Don't try and pull anything because first off, I'm well armed! At all times I have with me a mag light (to beat you with), a pocket knife, an assortment of ninja stars, and numchucks. Secondly, you probably would be lucky if you even got 20 dollars out of Jason! I've had such wicked mood swings lately he'd probably be thankful for the quiet!! In fact, they've been so bad you might even pay Jason to take me back! So don't get any bright ideas.

Until next time!!!

Mr and Mrs Jeffrey Pillis

2008-07-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

It's official!!! On Saturday, July 12th, Jeff and Britta were married!! Can't believe the big day has already come and gone, but I'm so happy that Britta is a part of our family now! Jason and I flew to Baltimore Thursday morning where mom and dad picked us up. Then the 4 of us drove down to North Carolina. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and we had a great weekend of pre-wedding fun. Hold on, because I plan on posting TONS of pictures! (thanks to mom and dad and Betty for some of their pictures)

Britta and Charlie getting ready to rehearse

Rehearsal Dinner at Mama Dips

Cooking brunch in the barn on Saturday morning

The Bridal Party

Sisters (Jessamy, Britta, and Rebecca)

Whew!! That should just about cover every angle!!! I'd add more but I have to go to work tonight so this will have to be all! The wedding was so gorgeous and we're so excited for Jeff and Britta!! Congratulations you two!!! We love ya!

Jason and Christine's Wedding

2008-07-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Jason and I went to Jason and Christine's wedding. Below are some of the pics my photographer extraordinaire husband took (notice he didn't take any pictures of the 2 of us....) :0) How will we ever prove that it was actually us there taking the pictures? Enjoy!

Mr and Mrs Jason Perkins!

Congratulations!

It's Shower Time

2008-06-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

The other day at work we threw a surprise shower for my twin, Christine. If you don't know about the Christine/Christina story here goes. There are so many similarities between us that we've decided we must be long lost twins. I don't know why my mother would hide something so important from me, but I've decided it was probably because she knew I was the more awesome twin so she'd keep me and give away Christine. (Ask Christine and she probably thinks the opposite...sad) Anyways, apart from the obvious name similarity (which people at work haven't picked up on because they all think my name is Christine and I've stopped trying to correct them), the men in our lives also have the same name. She's getting married to Jason next weekend. This makes it akward when we get a phone call at work and they go "It's Jason" and I pick up the phone while saying something totally inappropriate and THEN realize it's the OTHER Jason. Akward..... Here's another similarity. My Jason's birthday is October 11th. Other Jason's birthday is October 10th. During one delivery Christine and I were in the same room and the midwife goes "wait..there's two of you??? I always thought I was talking to the same person!!" At least we have have someone to blame when something goes wrong.

So anyways... we threw a surprise shower for her last night at work. She totally didn't suspect a thing. It was a lot of fun and there were so many good things to eat!

This may be the biggest cheesecake I've ever seen in my life! Probably took 45 blocks of cream cheese to make!!

All for now! I'm oncall tonight for 12 hours, so here's to hoping I don't get that dreaded 2am phone call "We need you to come in". Wonder what they'd say if I just said "No thanks". Probably shouldn't try it unless I want a new job or unless I finally want to follow my dream of becoming a professional rodeo clown...

Weekend In MD

2008-06-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy at work lately I've seriously neglected updating. Although, nothing too exciting has been happening around here, so there hasn't been too much to write about. I worked everyday last week, 12 hour shifts, so needless to say I'm exhausted. It might not have been so bad had there been normal patients on the floor, but it seemed like we were having a blue light special on crazy this week!!! It wasn't even a full moon, but boy were they out!

So I'll add a few pictures of our weekend trip to MD. Jason and I went down the last weekend in May to be with mom during her birthday. Jeff and Britta were in as well so we had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. One of the friends down there threw a "groom's shower" or as we dubbed it "the Man shower" for Jeff on Saturday. After the shower, the 4 of us (J&B and J&C) went hiking to Annapolis Rock. It was a really pretty day and we had so much fun. On Sunday we got an ice cream cake for mom, but we made the mistake in having the guys go pick out the cake. When it came back we saw they had a cake with a guitar that said " Happy Birthday Michael Vicki" (What says Happy Birthday more than lumping someone's name in with a convicted dog fighter on her birthday cake!)

So that's about it for now. Better go since it's starting to storm outside and I'd better close some windows!

VT Graduation

2008-05-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time the ol' blog got a face lift!

So I'm a little behind in posting this, but a few weekends ago (May 9-10) Jason and I flew to MD where we met up with mom and dad and then we all drove down to Blacksburg for Jeff's graduation from Virginia Tech!! We had so much fun!

I had worked the night before and left directly from work to go to the airport. As we're walking through the airport I notice there's a lot of REALLY big guys standing around in groups. Come to find out it was the Albany Conquest football team and they were flying to Florida for a game. You could tell who the star of the team was because he was going through the metal detectors with his sunglasses still on! Are you serious? They make me take off my shoes, watch, belt, underwear, and hair pins and HE goes through with his "bling" and sunglasses?? Just because I have two left feet and can't make a touchdown doesn't mean he's better than me!!! So, as I'm hurridly trying to redress myself, I decided to make myself feel better and I whispered to the security person that I heard Mr. Superstar say something like " I hope they don't find the drugs hidden on my body". Cavity check on aisle 4!!!! Karma got me back though the team ended up being on our flight and I had to sit by the linebacker. And when I say I sat by him...I really mean I was sat on by him because he was taking up ALL the room!

Anyways, we had so much fun at the graduation. Britta was so nice to let us all stay at her place and we had a blast! Here are some highlight pics from the trip!

Until next time!

Happy Earth Day!!!

2008-04-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello again!!!!!! Back for my monthly blog :0) Lately, I've had a hard time finding anything to write about since I haven't been up to too much. But good news!!! What better topic to write about than Earth Day?! With so many politicians and environmentalists bringing up important concerns and issues regarding the state of our Earth (global warming, melting polar ice caps, the possible reunion of the New Kids on the Block) I've decided that today I'm going to write a blog regarding all of the things I've been doing to help make our Earth a better place in the hopes that it might inspire some of you.

Like many of you, I wasn't even aware that it was Earth day until I was driving my super charged Hummer around town and saw lots of people in neon vests along side the road picking up trash. Immediately I felt the spirit of Earth Day over take me and I quickly reached down on the floor of my car and grabbed all of the styrofoam cups I had and chucked them out the window of my car at the neon vests as I screamed "HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!". I know they appreciated my gesture as they all were waving their arms and yelling at me "HAPPY EARTH DAY TO YOU TOO" (at least I'm guessing that's what they were yelling, I couldn't hear because I've taken the muffler off my car to make it louder and with the plumes of smoke coming from my exhaust I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying).

Next I decided to address the issue of the hole in the ozone layer. I've never understood what the big deal is when I've come up with a VERY simple solution to the problem. I marched right into CVS and bought all of the aerosol super hold hairspray I could find. Next I went outside, uncapped the cans and sprayed that hairspray right up into the sky. If only 5 squirts can hold my flyaways down during a windstorm, imagine how well 21 cans of spray can hold together our ozone layer!! You're welcome world!

Then, I went home and as I was reading through the paper I read a big article on the environmentally-UNfriendlyness of plastic bottles and how they take THOUSANDS of years to decompose and I realized I didn't want to be killing my earth just because I refuse to drink water from a glass and instead would rather drink from a water bottle, not because I prefer the taste of bottled water, but because I think carrying around a water bottle makes me look more important and way cooler. So I gathered up every plastic bottle I could find around the house, threw them in a big heap in the back yard and burnt them!!! I laughed as I watched the giant blackish-blue billow of smoke rise to the sky and thought "Not today Mr Waste Management!!! None of my bottles are going to be sitting around slowing decomposing! I'm saving the Earth!"

Finally, in my last attempt to help the earth, I decided to rid our garage of all the old cans of oil we have lying around and properly dispose of them. So I loaded them in my Hummer, drove down to the resevior, and dumped all the old oil into the water. Ahhh....it feels good to be environmental!

2008-02-23T13:02:00.001-08:00

Hello!!!!! Remember me?? I am officially the worst blogger in the world! My work schedule has been so crazy this past month. I'll work 2 nights and then only have one night off before I'm back again, so I've been doing A LOT of sleeping and NO blogging. So like Arnold... I'm BAAAACK!!

Unfortunately, I'm back without a lot of pictures. We went to Mom and Dad's several weekends ago and we were so busy having fun and enjoying the warm weather that we didn't take any pictures. I do have a few pictures though. So after working all of Thursday night, I hurried home and packed WAY too many clothes and we left for MD on Friday morning. Here's me being a great travel buddy!

Although, once I saw this picture I realized I can no longer sleep while Jason is driving. At first I thought "awww....sweet" but then I slowly realized that there was no one else in the car with us to snap this picture. Here's a math problem for you. Jason has 2 hands. If one of Jason's hands is above my head, and the other is holding the camera...how many hands does Jason have on the wheel?? NONE!!!! Which is why I will no longer be sleeping when he's driving. Had I been awake I'd have been able to knock him across the head and go "GET YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL!!!" but there I was, sleeping soundly never knowing my life was in danger!!!! Jason was probably thankful for the silence! Otherwise I'd annoy him every time a new song came on and I go "OH! I LOVE THIS SONG" and proceed to loudly sing everything from ACDC to Britney Spears (pre-mental breakdown) :0) It was so nice to spend some time in MD. We hadn't been there since June, so needless to say it was nice to go home and the warm weather was great!!! Everyone else thought it was cold and they were bundled in mittens and earmuffs and Jason and I are out sunbathing and having waterfights with the hose. (okay, maybe just a SLIGHT exaggeration). The weather on the way home wasn't as nice. It snowed the entire way home and the roads were HORRIBLE. Someone should suggest to Pennsylvania to invest in a snow plow!!! Even though I offered to drive some on the way home, Jason wouldn't let me. He felt my spontaneous dance breaks while driving wouldn't be a good idea with the condition of the roads as they were.

Don't you love how compassionate Jason and I are?? "OH! Nasty wreck!! WHERE'S THE CAMERA!?!?!?!" Anyways, we made it home safe and sound!

For this month my work schedule isn't quiet as bad so I'll try my best to be a better blogger!! Until next time!!

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

Wow! Somewhere along the line I missed a whole month of blogging!!! I haven't been too diligent in taking pictures, so this might end up being a boring words only blog. So what have we been up to the last month? LOTS of exciting and not so exciting things.

I'll quickly sum it up:
-we worked....seems like there was a rush of emergencies at work, so there weren't too many "normal" nights. For a while there, every night I went into work we ended up in the OR for stat C-sections.
-our computer broke, was fixed, and broke again...so we finally have a COMPLETELY new set up! Our monitor totally died and, thankfully, was still under warrenty. So we send our monitor in to be fixed and the manufactur says "the parts are on such a back order, just go pick out a new monitor!!" The catch was we had to spend the same amount of money as we had before otherwise we lose the money. Who would have guessed that the monitor we'd originally had ( a 22'') was now WAYYY cheaper than we'd paid before, so since we didn't want to lose the money, we ended up getting a 24'' screen!!! The thing is so huge we have to practically sit across the room to keep from hurting our eyes while we surf the internet!!! Here's a picture of our new monitor:

-Also in December we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary!!! I can't believe a year has already gone by! We went out to a really nice restaurant (Cornell's) and stuffed ourselves until we could hardly walk out the door! While we were there there was this group of 6 people who we kept staring at b/c they kept talking about "being on stage tomorrow night" and had the manager come over and ask for one of the ladies autographs... once we got home and googled her, we found out she used to be a famous singer. She sang 'I've got a brand new pair of roller skates..." AKA one of the most annoying songs in the WORLD!!! So that was our brush with fame.
-My family came up to spend Christmas with us and we had a really great time. Unfortunately I had to work most of the nights they were here, but hopefully they still had a good time hanging out at our house.
-I turned 24!!!! YIKES!!!! Is that a grey hair I see?!?!

And most exciting of all is how we spent the first day of the new year! Here's a hint:

We welcomed the new year with 6 fire trucks and 3 policemen at our house!!!!!!! So Tuesday morning (Jan 1) Jason left around 8:30 to go snow blow a driveway and then head to work. I had to work that night so I had just taken a shower (soaking wet hair) and went downstairs to fix the woodstove fire and do some laundry. So I cracked the door to the woodstove so the chimney would heat up and not smoke up the whole house when I fixed it. I throw some towels into the washer and go out to the woodstove. After I throw a few boards onto the fire I notice it's making a weird sound (sorta sounded like a rainstick) going up the chimney and where the damper is up the pipe I can see a little flash of orange where the hole is. So I run upstairs to make sure there's not flames coming out of the chimney and there's not. I run back downstairs and by this time the sound is getting louder and louder and the pipe is starting to turn cherry red!! FREAK OUT TIME!!!! So we had a pot of water on the stove that humidifes the air. So I try and pour it on the pipe...LOUD HISSING SOUND.... and then it starts to turn cherry red again, but this time the ENTIRE pipe is red and there is smoke EVERYWHERE! I quickly closed the door to the stove and shut down the damper and called 911!! The firetrucks showed up within 10 minutes, but how scary to be standing outside hoping you don't see your house burn down and you hear the fire house siren you know is for your house! There I stood crying in the middle of the snowstorm with a wet head, snowy glasses, my pjs on and crocs with no socks!! (The stove probably caught fire because I was looking so hot!!!) Anyways, everything turned out okay. I think the fire smothered itself out by the time the firefighters had gotten there so it didn't do any damage to our house. How scary though!!! Now we have to get everything inspected to make sure we don't have to replace the entire chimey. So needless to say it was quiet an exciting way to start 2008!!!

So here's to a much quieter year than it started out!!!!!

November Happenings

2007-11-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already the middle of November!! Everytime I get used to writing the correct month on all of my papers, it changes on me again!!!!

My mom and Harley came up last week to spend a couple days with us and we had so much fun! I had a week off of work, so it was so nice to have some time together. It was great to just lounge around with mom and be able to relax without having to get anything done. We did get quite a bit of decorating done!!! Although, towards the end of the week Jason was reaching his limit. I think if I would have given him one more picture to hang he would have hung me instead!!! :)

Here's our newly decorated basement:

Our slowly developing picture collage

Mixed feelings on the joy of decorating

After all the decorating was done and I realized how close we had come to having "irreconcilable differences" due to wall hangings...we decided to do something that didn't involve nails or pictures or doilies! So last weekend we went to Arena Cross with Dave Zal.

I was actually on-call the entire time we were there. So I sat and clutched my phone in my hand terrified that it would ring and I'd have to leave for work from downtown Albany. Little did we know how the evening REALLY would pan out. Grab some popcorn, this gets good!

So Dave meets us at our house and since we weren't sure whether I was going to get called in to work, Dave drove separately so he could bring Jason home if I had to leave early. I really wanted to park in the parking garage because I thought if I got called in and had to walk to the car by myself I didn't want to walk through Albany alone. But Jason and Dave said they would find street parking close to the arena and "you'll be fine". So we parked in two separate places and then met up at the arena. I called into work around 9 and they said they'd need me at 11 so I figured I'd just leave from the arena and drive right to work and change once I got there. Jason kindly walked me to the car and then he was going to walk down the street and meet up with Dave at his car. So at 10:15ish Jason walks me to my car and I take off towards the hospital. I'm just getting out of Albany onto the highway and Jason calls me "you need to turn around!! Dave's truck was towed and we need you to take us to the garage!!!" WHAT?!?! I have no idea where I'm going!! So Jason tells me which exit to get off of and he'll run up the street and meet me. Well of course I don't come out where I'm supposed to and so I call him and he's way up the street and has to run back down again to meet me. So while he's busy running all over Albany trying to find me, I'm trying desperately not to get lost in Downtown Albany. Finally, we all meet up again....it's like 10:35, I have to be at work by 11 and we still have to find the garage!! We finally find the garage, Dave gets his truck back and I now have 15 minutes to fly to the hospital!!! WHEW!!! Amazingly I made it at 10:53!!!! I bet you the next time I say "hey let's park in the garage" the guys won't hesitate to cough up those 6 dollars!!!!!!! What an evening!!

Now I should really go and try and get some sleep. It's back to work tonight!

Geek Squad here I come!

2007-11-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

So it's taken me forever to update and this time I really do have a valid excuse. The video card in our computer was shot, so we had to fix it before I could load any pictures. (Because who wants to see a blog without pictures?? It'd be kinda like apple pie without vanilla ice cream....BORING!) So with some gentle coaching and computer terminology dummied WAY down for me from my dad, I braved the wild world of computers. Actually, it wasn't that bad. I got the old video card out with no problems, it was the part where I had to go to Circuit City that was REALLY aggravating. So I go to man-world (aka Circuit City), looking every bit of the female that I am and I figured a girl in Circuit City would be something like raw meat in a lion's den. Either my stereotype is WAY off, or I've REALLY got to start working out some more!!! No one even looked at me!!! A store full of 15 guys and not one seems to care that I am a female and therefore don't have the computer prowess that they have hence the dumbfounded/terrified look I have on my face! Here's how bad it got. At one point, I swallowed my pride and actually walked up to one of the red shirted employees who happened to be on the computer (probably looking up "how to talk to girls.com". So I'm standing there right in front of him and he decides it's much more important for him to go answer a phone 2 aisles over than to help a living breathing clueless girl!!!!!! Never said a word to me!! Why is it when you just want to be left alone, every employee from 2 shifts comes over and asks if you need something, but then when you actually DO need help, no one cares!!?!?!?! So I summoned up my super girl strength, marched over to the video cards, did some careful reading and TA DA!!!! Picked the right card by myself and fixed my own stinkin' computer free of any Circuit City dorks!! MAYBE THAT'S WHY PEOPLE GO TO BEST BUY!!!!! So FINALLY our computer is back up and running.

So a quick run down of what we've been up to. We spent one Sunday afternoon a couple weeks ago hanging out at Thatcher Park with George, Katie, Oscar, and Madeline, we went to Bronson's b-day party, Jason went to Heidi's b-day party, I went to work, we cut TONS of wood for our wood stove on Saturday and now I'm sitting at home anxiously awaiting the arrival of my mom!! My dad is in Europe for a week, so mom decided to bring Harley up and stay with us for awhile!! So I'm really excited for that. So enjoy the pictures!!

That's all for now! Until next time!

Happy Birthday Jason!

2007-10-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

As promised, an update! Yesterday was Jason's birthday and we had so much fun. I had asked Jason before what he wanted to eat on his birthday and he said the trademarked Jason phrase "I don't care". After quickly rejecting my suggestion of tater wedgies and chicken livers, I realized he really did care and he realized he'd better give me some ideas pretty quickly. So he said he'd love to have a pot roast. I, on the other hand, tried to tell him how AMAZING the ham sandwiches are that I make...he wasn't impressed. Something about taking a giant slab of meat and turning it into something edible terrifies me. But I broke out my "how to make pot rost for dummies" manual and we were well on our way to a birthday dinner. As I started to get dinner ready, I noticed Jason eyeing my ingredients and I think that was when he realized I may have spent a little too much on his birthday presents and was now trying to recoup our losses.

"Always save". So what if we have to eat Ramen noodles for the next 25 years, they aren't too bad.

Before dinner Madeline came over and hung out with us. She is just too cute! She and "unkie" played while I made supper.

George, Katie, Oscar, Donnie, and Nancy came over for supper of coconut shrimp, green bean casserole, pot roast, gravy and red potatoes. Then we had dessert provided by Nancy! I have to say, it was a pretty good dinner.

Here's to another great 25 years!!!!!!

Teaser

2007-10-11T12:51:00.001-07:00

Guess who turned a quarter of a century today?!?!? More to come!!!

Work and Wedding and Trains OH MY!

2007-10-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Did you miss us? Things have been so busy here. I keep thinking that I need to update our blog since everyone else is, but how boring would it be to read "Went to work last night. Got home. Kissed Jason goodbye. Slept all day. Got up and went back to work". I worked almost every night this past week, so it was nice to have the weekend off and to get away. We went to Attitash Mountain, in New Hampshire this past weekend for Nathan and Megan Blakemore's wedding. Donnie and Nancy rode with us and we left EARLY Saturday morning for the 5 hour drive. The wedding was really nice. Here are a couple of our pics:

Just as they kissed it started to rain which led to a mad dash inside since no one wanted to find out what would happen when you mix rain, chiffon, and Aquanet together.

Once we were inside, we anxiously looked to see who else would be sitting at our table. I'm always afraid that whoever we sit with will not have the same sense of humor that I do and, instead of finding it absolutely hilarious, will be disgusted when I put a giant thumb print in Jason's bread when he's distracted. Luckily, we had a good table. Never the less, I decided to be on my best behavior, so no thumbprints for Jason's food.

Donnie, The Baby Whisperer

Afterward, we went back to the rental house and crashed. Although imagine my complete horror as I learned that Jason and I were going to have to literally sleep on top of each other in the same room as Donnie and Nancy!!!

You sickos! What did you think I meant?? Thankfully I got the top bunk. Otherwise it would have been a terror filled evening as I laid in bed with my eyes peeled upwards just waiting for the top bunk to give way and crush me as I slept!!

On Sunday we had meeting with the Blakemores and then spent the day going for walks and playing games before we had to make the long trek home.

What neighborhood doesn't have an assortment of sheep and deformed ponies to look at?

Then it was back home for us!

As you can see from Donnie's face, he's thrilled to have such a normal daughter-in-law! :0)

THE END!!!!

The Great Adventurers Return

2007-09-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

We survived!!! We went camping this weekend with Brad and Clarissa and it was so much fun! We drove to Lake George Friday afternoon and then camped at a campground up there. Check out how much stuff we packed for one night!! I was playing a game I like to call "wonder-what-we've-forgotten" and by the looks of things...we didn't forget a thing!

So we get to the camp ground and anxiously drove around looking for our lot, #139 and it was awesome! Not too far from the bathrooms (a necessity for me) and enough room for both of our tents. As we're excitedly setting up our tent with our chests puffed out because it's the coolest tent ever made, we look over and here's Brad and Clarissa:

They're basically setting up the Hilton of tents!! I KNOW that during the night I heard a splash coming from the indoor pool inside that thing! Sure took the wind of out our sails, but none the less, our tent was pretty nice. That night, Clarissa definitely raised the bar on camp food. We had steaks, diced potatoes, green beans, mushroom and onions for supper!!! No hot dogs and hamburgers for this crew!

The weather was perfect. Just a little shower around 6am that only last for a half hour and then it was back to great weather.

In the morning we were glad to see our site hadn't been raided by wild bears or crazy redneck campers, and we enjoyed a feast of pancakes and sausages.

Once we packed up our stuff it was off to explore Lake George and eventually, Saratoga Springs. We played mini golf where Jason beat us mercilessly by about 20 strokes and I had a massive heart attack as I watched a HUGE snake crawl nearly across my feet on one of the holes!!! No joke, this is a picture the grounds crew took of him:

I'm lucky to be alive. After seeing the snake I crossed Lake George off of my list forever and we all decided to go to Saratoga where Clarissa had heard of these paved bike trails in Saratoga National Historical Park. We had a lot of fun. Ended up biking 13 miles total, 12.5 of those were straight up hill! How I squeezed out a smile for the camera is beyond me!

Then we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed home exhausted!!!! Hopefully my legs will work tomorrow! Now it's off to collapse in my own bed and not have to worry what that weird crawling sensation is on my leg!!

Bring on the wilderness

2007-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

So Jason and I decided that if we're really going camping in a few weeks, we should probably buy a tent. Not that sleeping out in the wilderness with things with more legs than I have teeth and gnats suicide bombing your face doesn't sound SUPER romantic and fun, but we figured having a tent would probably be a better idea. When Jason said "hey! Let's go camping" and I said "Great! Hampton Inn or Ramada" it became pretty clear we have different ideas on what camping entails. So needless to say we went out Friday night and bought ourselves a tent. I thought something like this would be good:

Here's what we ended up with:

Hmm...not quite what I'd imagined. So how did Jason get me talked into something with no hot water shower attached and no room to stand up?

TA DAAAA!!! He distracted me with something bright and shiny until he had time to take the tent to the register! He said "look at these cute shoes!! They make you look really skinny! You should try them on and get them!" It worked. As you can see from the picture I'm still distracted by my shoes while Jason works quickly to get the tent set up and tags ripped off before I can realize that, while it says it will sleep two, one of those two should be a midget.

Boy won't it be fun to go camping?!?

On Saturday we went to the farm to help with the work project. It was SO hot but the guys got so much done. Won't be long till it's all finished!

Well I was supposed to work tonight, but got put on call. I'm glad for the night off. Although when the pay check comes I probably won't enjoy it as much! :0) Oh well!! Bye for now!

After Convention....

2007-08-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hi again!! Like everyone I can hardly believe that convention has already come and gone and now it's almost September!! Jason and I have been married 8 months already! That's REALLY hard to believe. Thankfully we're still having a blast. When one or both of us start showing up with black eyes, you'll know the "blast" has ended ;)

We had a great convention! We had Molly, Ben, Darren, Rebecca, and Tyler stay here and it was so much fun. They were the perfect house guests. Who else does there own wash and leaves the sheets laundered when they go!?!? Rebecca turned 21 on the Saturday of convention. So we celebrated with ice cream cake and IBC root beer! (we're pretty hard core partiers!)

Last night we watched Madeline and Oscar for the ENTIRE night!!! Needless to say, they have not learned the joy of sleeping in! At 6:30AM I hear little coos and kicking and look to see Oscar wide awake and ready to start his day! Here I am hardly able to even find my glasses because my eyes are still trying to cross from lack of sleep and Oscar is ready to be entertained! They are super adorable and even though I didn't get my full 14 hours of sleep in, we had a blast with them.

Today I'm the domestic diva! Washing clothes like a mad woman, cleaning, sweeping, scrubbing.... I'm like a modern day Cinderella! And in the middle of all of that, I managed to make Banana bread. (Yes...I know.... Domestic Diva Extraordinaire should be my title!!) So now that it looks like I did something around the house, I can go take a nap until RIGHT before Jason gets home :0)

Here goes!!

2007-08-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Wow! How many of these have I started on a lark and then 10 months later I haven't written a thing! Hopefully I can be more faithful in putting quick updates on here.

For those of you who don't know us and would like to start stalking us, I'm Christina and I'm married to the greatest guy in the world, Jason. We were married December 23rd and I can't believe it's almost 8 months!! I'm currently working 12 hour nights as a Labor and Delivery nurse at a local hospital and Jason is working at a local tinting business where he can be found putting tint on cars, buildings...and whatever else he can find to make darker.

We're really looking forward to convention this weekend! We're going to have a house full and are so excited about it. Those little home repairs we've been putting off for MONTHS are finally getting done. We bought a new couch for our basement and all new curtains for our rooms. Jason mulched outside and everything is starting to look so cute and put together. We should have had company a long time ago!

Basement

Guest Room

Anyways, hopefully I can be more faithful in updating this blog and posting pictures of our super thrilling and exciting life ("christina reading book.....jason mowing lawn.....christina pretending to be busy so jason doesn't have her help mow lawn....") As for me I'm off to try and get some sleep since I have to work 7pm-7:30am tonight!