Better Late Than Never

So I know that I promised you photos of our trip down the Shenandoah River and alas ~ they are here! Because I didn't want to ruin our Canon Digital Elf, I bought one of those disposable underwater cameras to document our day on the river. And I'm so glad that I did! Looking at the photos transported me right back to that tube on that beautiful sunny day.

If you remember, Day 2 of Ed's Surprise Birthday Weekend was his actual birthday so I wanted to make sure that we did something fun and memorable. We started the day opening gifts and breakfast at Uncle Buck's. We then headed to the Downriver Canoe Company to grab our tubes and floating cooler.


After some quick prepping of the cooler and our stuff (lots of ziplock bags, snacks and sunblock), the good people at Downriver dropped us off at our launch spot so that we could get started on our 3 hour journey down the river.


The bus driver gave us the very important tip of using our life jackets to connect our tubes together so that we don't float away from each other. Smart man that bus driver. So for the next 3 hours, we relaxed and soaked in all the sun and sights that we could.


The sights were something to be seen...


...and so was this crazy guy.


Can you tell who was taking all the photos? :) The birthday boy was very happy with our day and I have a feeling it will be something we do again in the future. Who wants to come?

I've Never Seen That Before

These are not words you want to hear from your Doctor.

Or Vet.

Ever.

But there we were in the little room with our Lucy girl hearing those exact words.

Let me explain.

A few weeks back we brought Lucy to the vet for a check on her allergies. She had been chewing on her paws and sneezing a lot so we thought, might as well get her checked out. Our lovely vet confirmed allergies, told us to give her some Benadryl and we were on a our way.

A few days later, while searching for ticks (yuk!), Ed came across a very hard lump on her front left leg - right at her knee bone. Since we had just been to the vet, I thought, let's watch it and see if it gets any larger. Well...it didn't get larger, but it didn't get any smaller. And after showing it to Ed and Sean during the Great American Backyard Camp Out, we started to get a little freaked out. So off to the vet we went. Again.


We wanted to make sure that it wasn't a tumor and thankfully it wasn't. Instead, it was a cyst that had developed in the pocket of her ligaments. The vet said that she had seen it in dogs on their back and necks, but never in this location. And then she smiled with excitement like a little kid on Christmas morning. She was so happy to finally see this thing that she had never seen before!


With the help of a strong Vet Tech and a very good Lucy girl, the Vet was able to aspirate the cyst and clean out the disgusting, gel-like substance that had formed. The substance was so gross, but I was much happier seeing it on the Q-Tip than in Lucy's leg.

We were so happy that this hard lump was nothing more than some gross goo. And now, our always happy Lucy girl is happier than ever - especially with her fun new green bandage. :)

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

God love the Brownies. It's amazing how lessons learned when you are 5 years old, sitting in a brown uniform wearing a beanie hat, apply throughout your life. Sure, the uniform and badges are long gone, but I can still appreciate that it's important to hold onto your friends of the past and make new ones as you move forward in this crazy thing called life. But I have to say, I'm not so sure about the "one is silver and the other is gold" part. To me, all my friends are Gold!! :)

This weekend, I was lucky enough to spend some quality time one of my very best friends from college AND some new friends from the neighborhood. Ed had to work on Saturday so rather than sit at home and do nothing, I was lucky enough to find myself in Arlington with my dear friend Beth ~ aka Poochie Girl.


Beth and I met Freshman year at JMU in the McGraw-Long dorm. She lived in the room next to mine and after meeting, we became instant friends. From meals to classes to parties to petty larceny (pulled a tulip out of the ground in front of our building ~ a big no no at JMU!), we did everything together. We had an obsession with taking pics of our butts - but I have to say, back then they looked pretty good!


Beth transferred to George Mason University in the middle of our sophomore year which saddened me greatly (we were roommates at that point), but we managed to stay in touch and stay friends. After graduation, we did lose touch, but with one phone call to my parent's house we reconnected, and now I can say that she is one of my best friends in the world. To know Beth is to know what it's like to be with the happiest, most loving, caring, wonderful person in the world. Her laugh is infectious as is her sunny disposition. I always know that when I am with Beth, I will have a great time and our lunch at Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill did not disappoint. We don't get to see each other as often as I'd like, but when we are together, we know how to have a good time. I treasure her friendship and know she will be someone who will always be in my life. I love you Poochie Girl!!!!

After my wonderful time with Beth, I headed home to find some of the neighbors setting up tents in the common area near the house. It was the night of the Great American Backyard Camp Out and they were ready to get started. Now, if you know me, you know that I'm not a camping type girl ~ even when it is in my own backyard! But they managed to lure us over with their enticing margaritas and of course, their wonderful company.


We had a blast eating burgers and sausages, drinking batch after batch of margaritas, looking at old yearbook pictures (turns out I went to the same high school as neighbor Chris Newland - love the mullet), roasting marshmallows for s'mores and playing with the kids. Even Lucy got in on the action. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are SO lucky to have the GREATEST neighbors who I can now call friends. Thank you guys for such a wonderful time and next year, we promise to get into the whole tent/sleeping outside thing!


As I said before, God love the Brownies. They really know what they are talking about.

They Say It's Your Birthday

Today is a very special day in the Quartuccio family ~ Dad's Birthday!!! Woo Hoo!! We just wanted to to say Happy Birthday Dad - We love you!!

AND we should also mention that it is Uncle Billy's birthday too. Makes sense since they are twins...:) Happy Birthday Uncle Billy ~ We love you too!!


I think they might kill us for posting this picture, but I couldn't resist. Can you tell who is who? Here's a hint...my Dad is the one with facial hair. :) Gotta love the Miller High Life can on the table! Happy Birthday and many, many more!!!

Lucy's Birthday Loot

Hi - it's me, Lucy. Mommy let me write on the blog today to tell you all about my BIG 2nd birthday. I got lots of toys and treats which made me very happy. I love toys ~ especially the ones that make that squeaky noise. I also really love treats. My favorite are the chicken sticks, but I will eat pretty much anything you give me.

My day was pretty normal - except for Mommy was not home. She was in New York for work, but she called when I woke up and sang the Happy Birthday song to me. When Daddy came home from work we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. Grandma made steak in that big black box on the deck and Daddy slipped me some since it was my birthday. I got yummy treats in a cute doggy bag. THANK YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA.

After we picked Mommy up from the train place, we went home and had the REAL party. I got all kinds of great stuff including my own birthday cake which was very yummy. I hope that there is more so I can have some today!


Then Daddy gave me my very own Sniffany Blue Box! And Mommy gave me a doggy balloon animal and fun new tug toy.


It was so much fun to run and play. I love my birthday. I wish my birthday was every day! Happy Birthday to me!!!

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Yes...our little puppy girl turns 2 today! It is so hard to believe how big she is getting ~ I can remember the day we brought her home. We went out to get cat food and instead, got Lucy! She was about 8 weeks old and was trouble the moment she got into the house. :)


For the first month, I hated her. Seriously. All she did was bark non-stop (hated her crate), pee all over the house (until we discovered the joy of wee wee pads) and chase the cats (literally had to set up a cat sanctuary in the 2nd bedroom and block her out of it). Joey didn't trust her from the start and E wanted nothing to do with her. But after time, we all came around and grew to love the little knucklehead!

So in honor of her 2nd birthday, I put a little video together of some of our favorite Lucy pics. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

We Like to (PS3) Move It, Move It

As you may recall, my Edward had a heck of a birthday. From a weekend away in the mountains to a bounty of gifts, he was one happy camper. In addition to the trip, I gifted him with the new PlayStation Move system which is just like a Nintendo Wii or the XBOX Kinect , except for PlayStation 3.


We were introduced to it a while back by a very eager sales guy at the Sony store in Rehobeth. Ed had the chance to demo it and had a blast so it was one of those no-brainer gifts. I bought the starter bundle which included the optical eye camera, a controller and a sports game. Adriana and John rounded out the gift with another game called The Fight: Lights Out.

Since our weekend was very low key (and very much needed!), we decided to try it out. All I have to say is OUCH! Both of us are sore from playing the games which means A. We are both SO totally out of shape and B. These get off your butt video games actually work!

The Sports Champion game offers a variety of options including archery, bocce, table tennis, beach volleyball, frisbee golf and some crazy beat each other up game. Ed kicked my butt with that, but I held my own with the archery and the frisbee golf. Skills I tell you!

After I started getting tennis elbow from the archery game, I took a break and Ed had the chance to kick some butt in the Gladiator Duel using both controllers. It looked a little something like this:


What's cool is that the little bubble on the end of each controller lights up a different color. It's like a mini light saber! Lucy wasn't a fan of the lights ~ but I think it was more about not getting the chance to play. I have a feeling that Ed will be sneaking in many a practice round on the new PlayStation Move while I'm in NY for a few days. Take THAT gym membership!

Happy Father's Day!

We just wanted to give a shout out to all the amazing Fathers out there.

Happy Daddy's Day!!

You Should Know My Husband...

...and I will tell you why.

In a minute.

First some background. Ed is one of the most meticulous men you can meet when it comes to his stuff. While not the neatest person in the world (have you seen his closet??), he is crazy OCD when it comes to scratches on his things. Sorry honey...but you are! :)

Examples:

1. His 2006 Scion TC with 94,000 miles did not have a singe scratch on it when he sold it a few weeks back.
2. He saves the boxes of every electronic that he purchases. His reasoning is that when he sells it he can get more money, but I secretly think it is so he can transport his stuff in a safe, secure environment.
3. With the purchase of his new MacBook Pro, he bought a new case that is fully-lined with faux-fur as to not scratch the aluminum. (I'm actually on board with him on this one!)

So you can imagine how he is with all the new furnishings we have in our house. When the deliveries are made, it is Ed's job to scour over them and look for any sort of imperfection. The delivery guys don't know what hit them when he starts pointing out the flaws - and out come the furniture markers! We actually were able to get the Bassett delivery guys to give us the markers they use.

So...now to the reason why you should know my husband. Because of his nutty/brilliant need for things to be perfect, we are the recipients of not only a replacement leather couch...


...but now, a replacement bedroom dresser.


Let me explain.

We purchased our new big girl/boy furniture from companies that "stand behind their product." The couch hailed from Belfort Furniture and when it arrived it had some scratches on the hide of one of the cushions. Now, the naked eye would have a hard time seeing these so-called scratches. But the Ed eye honed in on them right away. :) After a call to the store and a visit by the leather technician, it was determined that the scratch was not fixable so they needed to replace the cushion. After a few weeks of not hearing anything, Ed called Belfort ready to whop some butt. But before he had the chance to, they informed him that because they are unable to match the color of the leather hide on the new cushion to the existing couch, they were going to just replace the entire couch.

WHAT?!! Within a few weeks, it was out with the old and in with the new. And wouldn't you know, the Ed eye saw some imperfections on the new couch!! Luckily, the 2nd technician was able to fix things this time. :)

Why am I sharing this old story with you? Well, it has happened AGAIN! Not the couch this time, but instead, the new dresser in our bedroom. This time, the furniture is from Bassett Furniture. And after realizing that the center leg was missing from the long dresser and that it looked as though it was caving in a bit, Ed gave our lovely sales gal, Susan, a call. She ordered the part and sent technician Junior to install it for us. By the time he left, this is what the underside of the dresser looked like:


Now, you might say "It is the underside of the dresser where NO ONE will see so does it really matter that it is messed up?" The answer to that seemingly innocent question is "YES IT MATTERS!!!!!!!" So, another whop-ass phone call was made followed by an email with the photo attached. And amazingly enough, the furniture Gods shined down on us again and are SENDING A REPLACEMENT DRESSER! It is totally nuts, but hey, we'll take it!

So, why should you know my husband? Other than the fact that he is a sweet, caring, sensitive funny guy, he can get you new stuff to replace your not-so-perfect new stuff! He's also really good at getting Comcast to give you 2 years of premium service at a cheaper price than what you are paying now. Skills...the man has skills!!!