Home Is Where The Heart Is.

Today we made an offer on what I hope will be our future home! Paul and me have been searching for the perfect home for over 2 years now and I know this is the one. Paul, specifically, has gotten really involved in real estate, the housing market, the recession that is happening... basically anything that has anything to do with buying a home, and it has totally paid off.

I was so proud of him today!!! Not only was he ready with the massive knowledge he has on this topic, he had even prepared a presentation - complete with cover letter - that explained why we offered the price we did, what is happening in the current market, the future predictions for the market, etc. He even had references to news articles and average selling prices for the area we want to live in.

By the end of the meeting the real estate agent offered Paul a job. She was serious too! It was so awesome! I was so proud it was insane. I was blown away at his awesomeness. I had no idea he was as prepared as he was. I am so friggin' lucky to have a husband like Paul. I just love him!!! I know we are going to get this house for a great price.

In other news, my mom sold her house!! She put it up for sale only a couple weeks ago after fixing it up better than it has ever looked. It happened so quickly I really don't know what to think. It's strange to think that the home I grew up in is no longer in our family. My mom has been in that house for over 30 years. She was one of the first to move into that neighborhood.
I am a little sad that I didn't get time to realize what was happening and have the final "goodbye" that my other siblings had, but what an awesome future my mom has!

My big brother Nate and his family recently bought a new, rather large home and they are building an apartment (It's almost done) for my mom in their basement that is beautiful. It will have a separate entrance so it will be like her own place, and it's really nice. I like the idea of my mom living near someone in the family because I hate the idea of her being alone if something ever were to happen to her. Not that she is incapable of taking care of herself - she is super woman and I admire her more than words can express.

This year my little sister Amber and her husband bought a new house, and so did my older sister Heidi! It has been a big year for our family. There have been a lot of changes. Through it all though, it's nice to know that no matter where we are, we are still a family who loves each other and will always be close. Home really is where the heart is.

Lemon Cleanse - Over

I only did the lemon cleanse for 6 days. It's not that it was hard to do because of work or anything, I just didn't want to do it right now. It's been over a year since I last did it, but it felt like it had only been a day or so. The drink, the saltwater, everything, was as easy to get down as before. I ended up losing like 8 pounds - extremely unexpected & most of which I have gained back - so it was a good experience. Maybe some other time.

Random Thought

When I drive behind someone, I like to stay far enough behind them that if they were to stop suddenly I wouldn't bash into their rear, but close enough that someone can't cut in front of me - that pisses me off.

Lemon Cleanse 2: The Lemon Strikes Back

I started the lemon cleanse again today. I did the cleanse about this same time of year last year and it really made a difference in my health. So, I am off on another quest for good health. You can read about my adventures here... LEMON.

Howdy-Ho.

Life is frantically busy! I can't believe it's September. We're working every day and our weekends are packed with all the other things we can't fit into the week.

I just want to apologize to all our friends... we think about you and often find ourselves saying things like... "we should give (insert name here if you are a beloved friend of ours - you know who you are) a call", all the time. We WILL eventually call you and everything will be honky-dorry, we promise.

We've been looking at homes a lot. We were going to live out of the county we are now living in, but now we have decided that where we were thinking of moving is just way too far from work. We plan on having children and it dawned on us that if something were to happen to our child at school or something it would take me at least 45 minutes, and Paul an hour, to get to them. Also, YES we would have saved some money on taxes living out of the county, but the money we would pay for gas would almost bring us right back to where we would be... you get the point. So now we are looking at homes in Bartlett. Bartlett is a really nice place, and a friend of mine from nursing school recommended a friend of hers who builds homes there. They are actually the best builder we have found so far and there is a really nice home for sale at a great price they have available that we like. Of course, Paul is going to try to get them down more. I'm not good at dickering so I leave that to him. I'm very excited to have a home though. We've been talking about it for what feels like an eternity, and I think we have looked at every home for sale in the country - that's what it feels like.

Labor day weekend we didn't do anything vacation-like, we looked at a lot of houses, we cleaned, slept - HEAVENS TO BETSY I love sleeping. I wake up around 5 AM for work each morning so I LOVE ME SOME weekend sleep-in time. It's comparable to chocolate covered in silky smooth satin laced with gold and topped with a touch of heaven. Yes. THAT good.

We went to a BBQ wedding reception a couple weekends ago for a friend of mine at work. It was really nice. His parents are loaded. Paul had like 3 plates piled high with BBQ meat. Sometimes I wonder if he has a parasite. He can eat a truck load and stay thin. Today, I glanced down the hallway at a piece of cake this lady was carrying and I gained 20 pounds on my ass. Seriously.

More updates later!

I Was Just Wondering...

Have you ever been in a public restroom that has music playing overhead and the song just pierces your soul and causes an undeniable urge to dance to develop within you? And then you break into dance as you are washing your hands? Then someone walks in the bathroom just as you are coming out of a spin and you recover nicely by faking that you are grabbing for a paper towel to dry your hands off with... and they will never know what you were just doing... and you just basque in your cleverness as you leave the bathroom with that thought in your head and the satisfaction from a nice moment of secret emotional and artistic release?

One Of The Cutest Kids In The World

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...
to my nephew Max - one of the coolest kids I know.

He's touch, he's strong, and he can do no wrong!
We love you and miss you so much!

This Is What Happens When You Threaten Your Children With Pickles...

Link in case video doesn't work: Pickles

Happy Birthday Babe!

Today the numero uno man in my life turns 30.

Happy birthday to my best friend, my husband, Paul.
I love you forever x infinity + 1.

Paul & Edith Simpson

We finally caved and joined the latest craze... we've been simpsonized. I have to say, it does sort of look like us...

Happy Birthday Heidi!!

Happy Birthday to my big sister Heidi!

I'm so proud of you and all you've accomplished! I miss you!

The Latest Craze That Has Been Around For A Long Time That I Just Discovered...

Do you love to sing? Do you wish that life was more like a musical and you could SING those uninteresting toneless words you speak each day? Do you sing in the shower, or regularly boogie-down to the songs on the radio in your car. Then you need to try... Online Karaoke!

If you have a sound card, speakers and a microphone of some sort - even a dinky one like the one we have - you have all the necessary equipment needed to sing your heart out in the privacy of your own home.

You don't even have to be good!! You can even NOT post a picture, and make up a silly name, which no one would know was you if you did not want to be identified by someone who may know you... ahhh the luxurious internet.

There are couple of websites out there, but the one I like the best is SingShot. Where I am known as "eedy" - look me up some time and listen to my rendition of such songs as Breathless by The Corrs. Or have a listen to Angel By Sarah McLauchlan.

There is another one out there called SingSnap that has a better selection of songs, but it requires an invitation and a better sound system to get good sound on your recording. If you want an invitation let me know.

Join me flower child! (that was for you Shawna)

Why Haven't You Been Blogging Edith?

Sorry.

When I get home from work, I just feek like relaxin', ya know? The blog hasn't even crossed my mind... CRAZY, I know. I frickin' LOVE blogging.

I love my job though. It is so great. I am learning so much about being a perioperative nurse. I have seen SO MANY surgeries, and most of them have been very interesting and educational. You name it, I have seen it and/or participated in it.

The reason I chose to work at the hospital I work at is because they give the nurse interns the opportunity to learn the scrub tech role AND the circulating nurse role (I will be a circulating nurse once I am out of training). As a scrub tech, I get to scrub in and be part of the surgery. I am in the sterile field and I hand the surgeon surgical tools and instruments. Sometimes I even get to hold things like organs!

I'm learning all about circulating as well, and I know I am going to love my job once I get out there and I am on my own.

Another interesting thing about working in an OR is the people I work with. I love my co-workers. Everyone is so great. It's like a family. You not only have to interact with patients, but you interact with anesthesiologists, surgeons, physician assistants, scrub techs, other nurses, patient care assistants, the list goes on and on. Some of the surgeons are awesome. Some... well, lets just say they could use a nice swift smack and a "what the hell is wrong with you?" comment. Of course, I would never do or say that cause I hold in these thoughts and then divulge them later when I am telling Paul about my day or blogging.

Anyway, things are great. We're getting closer and closer to getting the house thing going. Paul is good. I'm on a diet. I started exercising again. Unfortunately since I started working I've gained a little weight. But since I started exercising again I am down 4 pounds. Just taking it one day at a time.

Oh, did I tell you? The other day, we came seriously close to buying a puppy. There were some people at Walmart with a cage full of 7 week old chocolate labs with BLUE EYES. THEY WERE SO ADORABLE IT WAS DISGUSTING. I begged Paul for a little while, even gave him some guff when we later got home, but he stood his ground. He's right... we were not ready to get a dog. That sort of thing needs to be planned and prepared for. Plus... I have a hard time picture a little puppy in this one bedroom mansion we call home. When we get our house, there will be definite puppage.

More blogs to come! Promise.

Tickle Or Die

Sitting on the couch hanging out after work...

Edith: starts to tickle Paul

Paul: grabs at Edith's hands and pushes them away

Paul: "Don't tickle me."

Edith: "Come on... let me tickle you. I like when you laugh."

Paul: "No... don't tickle me!"

Edith: "Let me see how long you can stand being tickled." tickling Paul a little longer.

Edith: "What if you had to last 5 minutes of tickling or I'd be killed."
Brief pause...tickles continue

Edith: "Don't give up or I'll die!!"

Paul: pushing Edith's hands away, "Wait, why would someone tickle me and threaten to kill you if I stopped them? WHO would break into our apartment and hold you hostage while someone else tickled me??"

Edith: "I just died. Thanks a lot."

Independence

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Paul and I went out to breakfast, played with water balloons, saw "Live Free, Die Hard" - Yippee Kiyay!!- and then went to see the fireworks in Germantown.

The Fourth of July, a.k.a. Independence Day, has always been one of my favorite holidays.

When I was a kid every year on the 4th my family got together with a couple of families across the street to have a BBQ, play games like volley ball, and we always had a massive water fight. Preparation for the event began in the early morning hours. We are talking kiddy pools full of water balloons, waterguns fully loaded with Mother Nature's sweet nectar (water), and hoses positioned and ready for war. Everyone was involved... even the moms sometimes. By the end, everyone was soaked Pruney. We'd dry off by laying on the hot sidewalk and then head over to the BBQ'er to eat the best hamburgers and hotdogs in existence, and then feast on fresh watermelon and popscicles.

When the sun began to set, we'd walk a mile or so to the Junior High School and head to the back with our blankets and lawn chairs so we could watch the city fireworks that were lit every year down at the city park. We'd run around doing cartwheels and playing tag until the fireworks began. Then we'd head back home to watch as my brothers and neighbors lit our own fireworks. We had 'em all... stink bombs, snakes, those panda houses that shot up 5 levels, bottle rockets, ooh and flowers that my brothers would pocket a couple of to later make flower bombs and force the neighbor kid to stand on a bucket which was over said flower bomb... and we'd laugh and laugh. We always saved the biggest, best fireworks for the very end... the grand finale'.

"Oooohhh... Ahhhhhh...."

As a kid I never realized how lucky I was to be a citizen of the U.S. of A. I never realized the gift of freedom that we had. Most children in the world don't ever have the life I had growing up.

There have been many men and women who have lost their lives and who are now fighting to protect the freedom I hold so dear and to them I say Thank You!!. I love America. I love that I have the freedom to write this blog, live how I choose, learn what I want, and be who I am. My children will know the meaning of freedom and what a great gift and blessing it is to be an American.