MERGE!

   At lunch today with my dear friends I found myself contemplating what's different about dating, being engaged and being married. It dawned on me that all the things I have to do now as "the wife" were not issues before mainly because our finances weren't combined. If I don't want to pay an extra $40 a month because Aaron "never canceled" the phone service we have been paying for for the last 2 years then I have to call them myself.

   Aaron went as far as to paint a hallway at 6 on a weeknight just to get out of calling our cable/phone provider. No one likes to paint...so I'm guessing he just really can't handle professional confrontation. That's what I think the process should be dubbed. When you are being royally screwed by some company and you have to call up and fight for your rights...or in this case to "not pay for a non existent phone". I assure you, I don't even know where the phone jack is. We don't OWN a regular phone. Autumn got on the phone and got it fixed.

   We had horrific damage to our living room carpet, ceiling and our bedroom when the ice hit this winter and our condo complex only had 2 guys to clean ALL the ice and snow up in 400 + units (duuuhhhh). So 250 units ended up with water damage. They somehow "weren't aware" the living room carpet was damaged (even though they just paid to have our ceiling replaced...?) and it the reason I was told is "oh your husband never mentioned the carpet when we came to look". UGH. Guess who "has the time" during the day to fight that battle now? This girl right here. I think Aaron would rather pay $1000 to re-carpet the living room ourselves than to call up and ask for what is rightfully ours. It's all about finding your "character" in the marriage I think. Someone has to be the organized sense-keeper.

I would liken myself to Monica Geller any day. But that's really because I am bossy and I like things clean...

The "Pribe of libe"

   Good morning, blogisphere. I was struck down with cold-like symptoms yesterday and last night. So I dealt with this via new method. My wonderful hub made me a grilled cheese sandwich, I watched an old Mel Gibson movie (which I actually really enjoyed...and I'm not a Mel follower), and then 2 Tylenol pm and went to sleep. Woke up feeling at least 50% better! Last night's overall mood reminded me of one of my fave Friends episodes, clip found HERE, Watch that and minus the "trying to get Chandler in the bedroom" part, that was me last night.

   The fun part of last night was opening my mailbox to discover a package! I love mail. And even more than mail, I love getting packages in the mail. I'm pretty sure that's why I do so much online shopping. It's like surprising myself with something I pre-selected and paid for. I open the mailbox to see "The Hoffmans" yaaaaayyy!! What can it be! Janice is my oldest friend in the world. She is my treasure. Jan recently went on this amazing expedition of London and Paris and had told me she had souvenirs for me. I certainly didn't expect them via mail, so it was doubly awesome! I opened the package to find:

   Vintage art postcards from The Louvre! #1 I LOVE CATS. I actually own 3 or 4 of the prints on the postcards in poster form! Nail? Yes, it's been hit on the head.

   A cat mirror with my favorite vintage poster of all time...home run. Then my other love; peacock print. A case from Harrods in London that low and behold, fits my camera flawlessly! Since I'm taking more pics now for blogging it's perfect and protects my camera while in my overflowing purse. Jan knows her audience!

   Then I watched the movie "Forever Young" starring a young Elijah Wood (like we're talking 11 years old), boisterous Jamie Lee Curtis and of course Mel Gibson. Good flick, ended with the phrase "So you gonna marry me, or what?" verbatim. This sent me reeling because those were the exact words Aaron said to me when he proposed to me! I couldn't believe my clogged ears!

   When Aaron called to check in on me (he had  gone to a friends house to plan a bachelor party for his BFF) I told him about Mel's proposal. He laughed and said what I knew he'd say because it's one of his most told stories. He asked if Mel had also had his original proposal ruined. This is because I was unaware of my original proposal and botched it. Aaron had gotten my ring on a Wednesday in June and it was burning a hole in his pocket. He had several ideas for the proposal planned but couldn't wait (aww!).

   That Friday he sneakily put the bulky ring box under my pillow for me to feel when I laid my head to rest. Sadly, I did not feel it and continually slammed my head against the pillow trying to get comfortable and the ring was not found. After the lights went out he snuck his hand under the pillow to remove the ring box and put it back in his messy nightstand, he knew I'd never go in there. He did end up proposing that Sunday after a day of walking and admiringng beach houses in Fairfield, CT.

   So that's that. It's just me, my husband, and our wonderfully large cat.