Monday, May 30, 2011

Week 21 in Photos

#143
I meant to take a picture of my father on crutches when we visited him this day, but I forgot . . . so we'll have to use this photo that I took at work.

#144
Still trying to figure out these mutant tadpoles. I swear these are the same tadpoles that were in our pond last fall. They are stuck and can't seem to grow into frogs.

#145
Big excitement at work today. We get a fire drill in the nice sunshine.

#146
Never a dull moment when Karlo is at line dancing classes.

#147
The start of my amazing Mexican concoction.

#148
Getting my chicken feet tattoo.

#149
Simply thrilled to have the porch all cleaned up and furnished for the season. We already spent lots of time out there.

#150
Relaxing with friends on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Weekend  

We were busy making memories this weekend. It's been jammed packed activities since Jessica arrived last Wednesday. I'm so happy that the weather has finally turned around and we were able to have some fun outside. Not to mention the fact that we are all healthy and able to walk. Such a plus!

The first night of Jessica's visit we all went line dancing. Even Karlo got out and did a little dancing. Never a dull moment when Karlo's in the line.


The next night we stayed in and made the best Mexican dish. Holy cow was it good.


I think I did such a good job due to the fact that I was sporting my new apron that Jess and Karlo picked up for me. I was actually having a little fun in the kitchen.


Later that night we watched the movie Rio and I LOVED it. I've been patiently waiting for 6 months to see this movie. Ever since I caught a glimpse of the first 20 seconds of the coming attractions I was hooked. And I wasn't disappointed. If you're looking for a great family movie, Rio is a must see.

On Saturday we headed toward the shore, which might have been a mistake given that it was perfectly warm and sunny when we left home and perfectly warm and sunny when we got back inland, meanwhile it was cloudy and cool at the shore. But that didn't ruin our day at all. We had so much fun with our buddies Sue and Tim. What a ball. We spent hours walking around a huge art show in Westerly, RI. I just loved every minute of looking at all the pretty things. I only bought a couple of things (a pretty necklace and a dog collar for myself - long story coming soon), but I got so inspired by all the beautiful art that I'm re-energized to make something, anything. And I was on a chicken hunt. Why am I so attracted to chickens??


Chickens turned out to be the theme for the day. Since I didn't get the chicken purse that I so loved we were hell bent on finding me a chicken in Mystic. We drove over there for a lovely lunch on the water and then hit the shops. Lo and behold Jessica and I found me a chicken.


We strolled and ate ice cream and strolled some more. Then we headed back to Sue and Tim's for an absolutely hilarious game of dominos. I think I beat the world record for the worst domino score of all times. That's OK. Me and my little chicken had a ball.


After a couple of beers we decided to give me the chicken feet tatoo that I always wanted. I was totally ready to hit a real tattoo parlor, but this was less painful and much cheaper.

Sunday was a glorious day of staying home, lounging leisurely, setting up the deck and porch for summer, and planning what to buy & build to further decorate our outdoor spaces. Me and Jess have big plans, and Karlo will be busy. We couldn't resist the beautiful sunshine and Jess and I took a convertible ride while Karlo followed on his motorcycle. I could have driven all day. It was so nice. This day ended with another fabulous meal cooked up by yours truly (with the help of Jess of course).

And lastly we hung out in Eastford all day Monday with our friends Dan and Jill. I made the cutest little dessert. I call this "the Penni Parfait" because the first time I had it Penni made it for my birthday. Since I wanted a Memorial Day theme it was perfect and so delicious. I have been on a roll with the cooking. I think Jessica is a good influence on me :-)


I'm sad to see the glorious weekend come to an end. It was simply perfect and I want it to extend for a few more days . . .

To see more pics from the long weekend, please click here.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

My First Digital Camera

And one of the first pictures ever taken back around 2000/2001 . . .

Sniff sniff. God I miss him. My Bentley boy . . .

I had to resort to another Way Back Wednesday now that my life is much less dramatic. I guess I'm running out of things to talk about. No sickness, no pain, no trauma. Ok well, I guess there was another little incident this week where my father fractured his foot. But I'm not going to dwell on that as yet another sign of bad luck. Lisa suggested that I wrap my entire family in bubble wrap and I may just consider doing that. Let's just see if we can make it through an entire week with illness or injuries. Fingers are crossed.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Week 20 in Photos

Week one of Karlo's recovery and we managed to do some fun stuff.

#136
I find myself in an airport, again. And just the sight of United Airlines still makes me sick.

#137
We tried to make the most of the rainy weather and take our first walk in a very long time. The rain couldn't take away the thrill of WALKING with Karlo.

#138
I spent today at one of our trade shows at the Big E. As boring as boring gets, but luckily I got sprung out early to go to an open house to take photos. Much better than standing in a trade show booth. And the free lunch, snacks, and ice cream wasn't bad either.

#139
We went to a really fun show at UConn tonight. I couldn't snap a photo during the show, so I thought it was funny to show our tickets. Notice the date. The original show was snowed out. There's a big surprise.

#140
Although we did something much more fun than this today (a wine tasting charity party), most of my day was taken up on a video/photo gig. I visited a customer shop in NY for my first DSLR video shoot. It was a terrifying ordeal and my fingers are still crossed that I didn't screw up.

#141
Tonight was another themed dinner party with friends. This time it was Mexican night and it sure was fun.

#142
Karlo is feeling well enough to wrestle with Cooper - and win.

Somebody's Feeling Better

Looks like Karlo is healing rather nicely. Not only did we go for a challenging 4 mile hike today (10 days after back surgery), but we also took a short bike ride, and there was a brief dog wrestling match. Poor Cooper doesn't have a chance at not getting pinned.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Adventures in Asia

Since I can't come up with a darn thing to talk about today, I figured it's time for another 'Way Back Wednesday.' Here are a few shots from a trip I took to Asia a few years back. This was my second journey to the far away land so I was feeling like a seasoned pro by now. Here I am sitting comfortably (not) at dinner in Tokyo. My hips were killing me! I just don't understand why these folks would choose to sit on the floor when there is readily available furniture everywhere. But I have to admit, it was sort of fun to experience it in the short term. If I could get used to eating whatever it was I was eating, I guess the hip pain wasn't really all that bad.


Here I am at a very famous floating restaurant in Hong Kong. Of course, at the moment, the name of the place escapes me. All I remember is how sick I got on the food and how we had to take a boat to get to and from the place. Yeah, not good. But at least I came home with very good memories of the place, and cool chopsticks too.

One of my all-time favorite parts of the visit to Hong Kong was the views from Victoria Peak at night. You have to take some sort of little tram thing to get up there and once you're there, the views are amazing.


I have to say, I enjoyed the nighttime scenery much more than the daytime scenery. It was just so overwhelming. Talk about sensory overload in every way shape and form . . . the sights, the sounds, the smells . . . all so abundant and all so unique. Wow, unlike anything I ever experienced before.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Running Away in Search of Enlightenment

So why did I leave my recuperating husband all alone while I took off to Atlanta last weekend? I'm not even sure where to begin . . .

A couple of months ago a complete stranger contacted me through my YogaDudes blog to tell me that she would like to give a free book to my YogaDudes customers. I thought, "Great, I love to offer special deals to my customers." So without giving it a second thought I took her verbiage about the book and reprinted it in my blog. To be honest with you, I didn't even bother to actually read the excerpt from the book before I posted it. I was in a frantic rush, as I always am. When the woman told me that she also wanted to send me a free copy, I didn't give that another thought either, and since I like free things (who doesn't?) I quickly shot her my mailing address and put the entire thing out of my mind.

The day before we were leaving on our vacation to Moab I was thrilled to find the free book in my mailbox. As usual, I had not had time to really prepare for the trip and I didn't get myself any reading material for the plane ride. Finally, I read the back of the book, which by the way, is called "Midnights with a Mystic" by Cheryl Simone. I have to admit, it sounded very interesting and was right up my alley. Off to the airport we went the next morning.

Within a couple of hours my hair was sticking up on my arms. I just felt this erie feeling that I was MEANT to have this book in my hand. I completely related to everything the author said and felt like I shared her every feeling and thought. The real kicker came when she explained how early in her life she unexpectedly received a book in the mail. She never did find out who sent the book, but she read it. The book was "Autobiography of a Yogi" which is an ancient text written by the first yogi that brought yoga to Western Civilization. This is like the yoga bible for most yoga instructors. A very deep and hard-to-read book and it had an influence on the rest of her life. I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the book that I was holding in my hands was also sent to me (by a stranger) as if it was destined to find me.

So I read and read and by the time we got to Utah I just couldn't shut up. I wanted to tell Karlo about every single thing that I read so far. It's hard for me to even describe this, but I was so excited. It was like I just found out about a secret, or I found a treasure chest that was about to change my life. The more I told Karlo, the more interested he got. I couldn't believe how completely open to all of this he was.

On our last day in Salt Lake City, you may remember my terrible stomach cramps from that stupid Jeep ride. Well, there really wasn't all that much to do in Salt Lake, we had the entire day to kill, and we weren't in a rush to check out of the hotel. We had free wifi and my laptop so I started to research some references in this book. The book is all about a man named Sadhguru (he's the Mystic). I googled him, his foundation (Isha Foundation) and his method of yoga (Isha yoga) and I found all sorts of fascinating things. There was even a 30 minute video (Caution: the links will take you away from this blog. Please finish reading then come back and click on the links.) that explains everything. I can't imagine a single other time in our lives when Karlo and I would have had the time or patience to sit and watch this video. But the timing was perfect. We sat quietly and watched it. And by the time it was done, that was it. I knew I found the answer to all my life's problems. This man could teach me how to find my inner peace. How to finally enjoy my life. How to let go of all the external influences that have such a effect on my every emotion.

The reason why I related to the author of that book so much was because she described most of her life as 'perfect.' She was happily married, had a successful business, lived in a beautiful home, had plenty of money, etc. There were literally no real problems in her life, but yet she was constantly searching for more, more, more. She never truly felt happy and just had this aching feeling that there had to be more in life. Boy did that touch a nerve with me. Sometimes I stop and think, "Can my life get any better? What the hell is wrong with me that I'm not 250% grateful every single day for the life I have? What is it that I'm looking for?" In my previous marriage I thought it was just lack of passion in my relationship. I had it all, but I wanted more. Now I have Karlo and everything I can possibly want. What is it that I'm looking for NOW? Well, I was looking for was Sadhguru and I finally found him!

At the Salt Lake airport Karlo's Kindle had a melt down and he wasn't able to buy a new book for the ride home. I took this as an opportunity. Although I was dying to get back to reading my book, I offered it to Karlo to read. I sat looking over his shoulder for hours on end as he read half the book. By the time we got home he was sold. We talked about what we read so far and I could already see a change in both of us. We continued to read the book and we continued to change . . . for the better.

We immediately signed up for Inner Engineering which is an online course consisting of 7 one and half hour lectures by Sadhguru. After every single class we can both feel the changes happening. We were calmer, more patient, kinder . . . the list goes on. It was impossible to not think about Sadhguru and his teachings in every aspect of life. It was just a completely refreshing feeling. At the end of this online course you are invited to go to a live event to learn a very sacred meditation ritual that is completely life changing. It's impossible for me to try to explain this so if you are interested go to this link and watch some of the videos. There was no doubt that I wanted to experience this too. These events happen a few times a year all over the country, but Sadhguru himself only teaches a couple and there was no guarantees he was going to be back in this country again this year. This was my ONE CHANCE to be in his presence and learn directly from the master and I just couldn't pass it up.

This is getting really long and I haven't really explained my experience, not that I really can. I will likely be writing more about this subject on my YogaDudes blog, so if you're interested in hearing more on this subject I invite you to drop in over there. And if you are personal friend of mine reading this (and even if you're not), I strongly encourage you to click below and buy the book! You have about 7 bucks to lose and a lifetime of joy and happiness to gain.

Monday, May 16, 2011

My Weekend of Enlightment

This may be hard to believe, but I took off (all alone) to Atlanta this weekend. Karlo came home from the hospital on Friday and that day proceeded to be one of the worst and hardest days of the year. I suffered so much stress, and anger, and guilt I thought I would simply collapse. Here's a (as-brief-as-I-can-make-it) recap.

Without going too deep into explaining why Karlo and I had a trip booked to Atlanta for this weekend (I will tell that story at some point, but not now) my hopes of Karlo being able to make the trip dwindled with each passing day over the last two weeks. In the beginning, I really thought he would recover on his own with plenty of time. But as the days went on I knew we needed professional medical assistance, and as you saw from a previous post, THAT didn't turn out so good with the doctor causing major delays. So now we are down to the wire and we need to make the decision whether we would go together, I would go alone, or we would just cancel the whole thing. Oh the drama involved in this decision, I can't even begin to illustrate it.

Most of the drama revolved around my least favorite airline in the world, but once again, if I get too deeply into the story it will just serve to infuriate me all over. I'll just say this . . . I spent an hour on the phone with (and screaming at) United Airlines only to get nowhere with them, but elevating my stress to record levels. By the time the afternoon came, my back nerve was fully pinched and my neck was killing me. Great, we just barely get one nerve fixed in the family and another is about to snap.

It became a clear and easy decision that there was no way Karlo could travel, but should I leave him home alone? Would I be the worst wife IN THE WORLD for this? Karlo insisted that I go, mostly because the nature of the trip was one of self realization and enlightenment. Again, this part is a very long story, but I needed this trip more than ever after going through the past month. This opportunity would only present itself once a year and I couldn't pass it up. Off I went Saturday morning, leaving the patient behind to fend for himself.

It was the most grueling two days of enlightenment. I never dreamed it would be so hard, or tiring, or make me so sore. Do you notice anything interesting about this scene?


There are no chairs! I had to sit my bony self on the floor for 3.5 hours Saturday evening and nearly 11 straight hours on Sunday. We got two short breaks in all that time to use the rest rooms.

And hungry. Did I mention hungry? I didn't really eat for two straight days and by the time I got back to my hotel Sunday night I was ready to pass out. I'll have to save the real story about this weekend for later, but here's some more very bad pictures of the scene.

Just about the entire time, we sat and listened to this guy talk. I know you want to know who he is, but that part comes later.

Before lunch we had to assemble for a group picture. That means the photographer had to organize 350 hungry people. It felt like an eternity, but at least we got to watch the special speaker play frisbee in the parking lot.

For some reason part of this event involved meeting in a park at 6:45 AM (my hotel was 40 minutes away) to play games. I still haven't figured out what that was all about, but it was fun. At least I got to STAND UP for that hour and half.

Week 19 in Photos

I'm warning you now, most photos this week were taken with my phone, so go easy . . .

#129
No matter how long I stare at it, it still doesn't start and run itself around the yard.

#130
My new lens arrives and I'm not the slightest bit excited. I was shopping out of depression and surprisingly the prize didn't help the mood :-(

#131
The scene at the doctor's office on Wednesday. We got to learn all about the spine this day.

#132

The patient wakes up to his favorite treat. Chocolate and no more nerve pain. Life is good again for Karlo although he has to spend a second night in the hospital.

#133
Finally, Karlo gets to come home . . and he gets to stand up!


#134
The reason I traveled to Atlanta all by myself this weekend.

#135
A very special rose, touched by Sadhguru himself.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Heeeee's Baaaaack


I'm positively thrilled to report that Karlo's surgery went very smoothly and he's now back home. It's amazing what a difference a few pieces on bone fragment can make. The doctor pulled quite a bit of 'stuff' out of Karlo's back and he was actually able to get up and walk last night, only hours after the surgery. You can't imagine what a thrill it was just to see him standing at the sink washing his hands. Despite being at the hospital for hours on end, I only got to visit with him for about an hour last night. Then I had to deal with the near riot trying to get out of the parking garage and make the long trek back home. After not sleeping for 2 weeks, I finally managed to get a good night's sleep last night, knowing that Karlo was comfortable and no longer in pain.

This morning I went back to the hospital to fetch him. It was a much, much better experience driving home then it was driving him there a couple of days ago. Things are definitely improving. Now his only pain is from the surgery itself and that will get better and better each day. What a mental relief this is for me. I am so looking forward to less dramatic days.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Blood Pressure Status Report

I think my blood pressure has finally returned to normal. Since my last post I'm sure it went through a few roller coaster rides, but by now I think I'm finally calming down. As I sit here in my dining room, I'm staring at the bottles of wine in my rack and I'm thinking maybe I should be opening them.

I'm not totally sure I remember where I left off yesterday, but within 10 minutes of Karlo's doctor getting the MRI report, he scheduled Karlo and appointment with an neurosurgeon for this morning. I figured that couldn't be a good sign. Something in that report must mean that Karlo is in pretty bad shape. I had to go to Day Kimble hospital in Putnam to pick up the actual CD containing the MRI film, and with it came the written report. I tried really really hard to decipher what the heck it said. I never seen so many words that I didn't know all in one place. It was just paragraph after paragraph of words I couldn't even come close to pronouncing, let alone understanding. But I looked up a few on Google and the more I researched, the worse of a feeling I got.

The biggest problem on my hands was going to be transporting the patient all the way to St. Francis hospital. Poor Karlo. It was dreadful. The ride took us just about an hour and we had to go through Hartford rush hour traffic. That was fun. Not. And that wasn't nearly the worst part. Once we arrived at the hospital we had to get to the doctor's office. Luckily we were able to ride on a motorized scooter where Karlo would lay down. Once we got inside the office (an hour before our appointment) Karlo was taken right in to a room where he could lay on a bed. I guess they didn't like the other patients seeing Karlo laying on the floor in the waiting room.

Now here's the point where I have to take back all the bad feelings I had toward doctors yesterday. This doctor, and everybody in the office, were fabulous. I was floored at how helpful and compassionate they all were. The doctor came in 15 minutes before Karlo's appointment and apologized for making him wait. Within 2 minutes of being with this guy I loved him and put all my faith in him. He showed us the actual MRI film and explained everything to us. Nothing had happened yet, but suddenly a huge rush of relief came over me. It brought me to tears, just knowing that this guy was really going to help us.

Bottom line: Karlo got admitted to the hospital on the spot and is having surgery done tomorrow. He has a few ruptured or herniated discs and one piece of disc is so far out of place that it has a strangle hold on a nerve. The surgery will remove it - just like the Operation game. I can not tell you how relieved I was that 1) Karlo agreed to surgery after he swore he was NOT having any such thing done to him and 2) I did not have to go through the grueling ordeal of watching him suffer as I transported him back and fourth from hospital to home and back.

So here I sit, all alone, several hours later and I'm still literally shaking like a leaf. I know Karlo is in good hands and I know everything is going to go perfectly smoothly. The mantra that I've been saying all day long will come true . . . Starting today life gets better, starting today life gets better, starting today life gets better.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

My Blood is Boiling Over

As I type this my heart is pounding through my chest and I'm ready to scream. I don't think I have ever felt more helpless and angry in my life. I've been watching Karlo completely laid up and in pain for 8 days now. At the MRI appointment the technician (seeing the shape Karlo was in) tells us that he will 'expedite' the report to our doctor. It was a relief to hear him say that and I put so much hope and faith in the doctor's hands. He would figure out the problem and quickly let us know what to do to get Karlo back on his feet.

But that didn't happen. I called the office on Friday afternoon begging for another refill of pain medication. At that time I told them that Karlo was not improving and still in tons of pain. They didn't seem to care that they still hadn't gotten the MRI results and did agree to prescribing more drugs. I tried to be patient over the weekend knowing nothing was going to happen for two days. But I had every expectation that Monday would bring some news. The doctor HAD to call by the end of the day on Monday because there is no way the results couldn't arrive by then. I was patient and waited, and waited . . . all day long. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I called the office, but unfortunately they were already closed. I left a desperate message explaining that we were very anxious to get some news and asked to please call us this morning. Did we get a call? No.

My next step was to call the MRI department at Day Kimball Hospital to inquire if and when the results were sent and was told that they rushed them to the doctor on Thursday afternoon (just as they said they would). That was it. I was ready to drive to Hartford with a club in my hand and beat somebody silly. Instead I opted for a phone call. 10 straight minutes of calling only to reach a busy signal. Blood pressure rising by the second.

I finally get them on the phone and by now I'm mad. There was no way I was getting off that phone without some satisfaction. Ready for this? They tell me they never got the results. Holy mother of incompetence. What the heck is going on here? So now I wait some more . . . while the idiot parties involved figure out what went wrong and where to go from here. These are the people we trust with our lives???? That makes me feel just great.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Week 18 in Photos

An all around crappy week. Why do they seem to be getting worse instead of better? Fingers crossed that this coming week is at least less crappy than the previous week.

#122
The start of my 4 days of Hell. Hated every minute of my cleanse.

#123
Finally, a new color in the yard.

#124
The beginning of Karlo's pain management.

#125
Sitting at the hospital waiting for Karlo to finish his MRI and wondering if my laptop is OK in this "magnetic field."

#126
The patient sent the nurse some flowers, although he says they are from the dogs for Mother's Day. Either way, very sweet.

#127
Too many Down Dogs Cooper?

#128
I actually got out today and had some fun with friends. We hiked at Bigelow Hollow while poor Karlo laid in bed :-(

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Can't Seem to Catch a Break

My goodness this year seems to be a challenging one for us. When I look back at all the bad things that happened this year they far outweigh the good and I don't like it. I am so eager for the tides to change. Karlo used to tell me a little saying that his grandfather always told him. It had something to do with a wagon wheel and the mud . . . when life is hard and bad it's like you're the part of the wagon wheel that is stuck in the mud. It is during this time that you should be joyful because you know that when the wagon starts to move again, you'll soon be getting out of the mud and working your way back to the top. And it's when you're at the top of the wagon wheel that you should worry because there's only one direction to go from there . . . back down into the mud. So we are definitely in the mud right now and I'm very eagerly awaiting the damned wagon to GET MOVING!

No sooner did I start to feel better from the Lyme disease, but Karlo falls out of commission. And I mean completely out of commission. We are trying to figure out how this happened to him and sadly, we think it all goes back to that stupid tick. You see, when I started to feel a little better we started to go for nice easy walks on the road. Yes, the road, because I now have a 'woods phobia' due to the ticks. So we took the dogs for road walks and that's when the problem started. Karlo started to have strange pains in his left hip. But he's had these before and he just ignored them. By last Saturday I was really starting to feel better so we took a 3 mile walk (on the road, with the dogs) and it was after that that Karlo's hip really started to bother him. We figured out that Cooper must be the culprit because that stupid dog can't figure out how to walk on a leash without walking directly into Karlo's leg on every second step. So it was 3 miles of Karlo walking funny and pushing Cooper away with his left leg.

By Sunday Karlo was really hurting and we therefore didn't go for another walk. Instead he decides to go outside to chop and gather wood for a bonfire. After hours of serious heavy lifting and one bonehead move so stupid that I can't even discuss it because it really upsets me, Monday rolls around and now we really have a problem on our hands. Karlo can barely stand up and walk. Tuesday things get much worst.

Here we are five days later and he's still completely bed-ridden - flat on his back in terrible pain. We are waiting on results of the MRI, but we already know it's his sciatic nerve. The only question is what's causing it and how the hell do you make it go away? He's been taking double doses of some serious pain-killers plus a muscle relaxer and still can't stand for more than 2 minutes. I just pray that somebody kicks the horses that are attached to our wagon. I desperately want to get out of this mud. And soon!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Return of Way Back Wednesday



It's been years since I posted a "Way back Wednesday" but when Tina made a comment that she never saw pictures of our house in Maine it gave me the idea to blog about it. And that will mean that I'll have these pictures published in next year's blog book too.

So, here's my story from the past. Many years ago Karlo and I went on one of our first vacations together. We headed to Acadia National Park in Maine. I guess this was the start of our crazy, active, adventure vacations. When I booked the trip I had visions of 'laid back Maine' in my head. The thought of it was so relaxing. But of course, it was nothing like that. Instead it was non-stop hiking and biking and we were simply in Heaven. We loved everything about the place and that was it. Love at first sight. I picked up a real estate book and there started our 2 year non-stop hunt for real estate.

We spent the first year finding and purchasing the perfect piece of land. Now the dream was becoming a reality. We were going to build our post and beam on the top of a hill in Northport, Maine. We tirelessly worked on house plans and Karlo even built an amazing model of our proposed house. I was all ready to name it "The Majestic Moose" - had the URL reserved and everything.

The next year we hunted for a place to live while building this dream house and that's when we settled on a little place in Stockton Springs. It certainly wasn't our 'dream Maine home,' but it would be perfect to live temporarily while Karlo built the real house. Could our plans not be coming together any better? And that's when Karlo got the job offer of a lifetime that he simply could not refuse. Hello great job, goodbye moving to Maine. No regrets, that's for sure, but now we are stuck with a house that we no longer need.


We cleaned it all up and spent a few grueling weekends furnishing and decorating it. Lisa and her husband were a HUGE help and we have them to thank for the place looking as cute as it did. If anybody ever paints over the fabulous fish that Lisa painted in the bathroom I will be heart-broken. We named the house "Jessie's Landing" after Jessica, of course, and managed to rent it out seasonally for 2 years and that went OK. We had professional management and it was pretty painless for us. The best part was that when it was vacant we could go up and use it.


But then things went South and I don't even want to document all the bad stuff - and there's plenty of bad stuff. Bottom line is that we no longer rent it seasonly, and it no longer looks all cute like it used to. It's rented permanently and we no longer have the luxury of 'a vacation home,' but we have all the headaches of being land lords. The bills never end and we would love to be relieved of the burden some day. So let's just focus on how cute it used to be . . .


I'm just really happy that we were able to make some good memories there during the short amount of time that we actually used it. Jessica actually got to spend a weekend there and we even celebrated one of my birthdays all together at the house. One weekend of memories that I'll treasure forever.