The Seven Spot

Marsh Family Christmas Tree, 2008 Edition

Saturday will be a sad day in the Marsh household.  We'll finally awaken from our sugar plum dreams, and will have to face reality.

Yes, the Christmas tree will finally come down.

This is only Dan & me's second married Christmas, so we're still nailing down our new family traditions, but there is one that, so far, we seem to agree upon:

GO COMPLETELY APESHIT OVER THE CHRISTMAS TREE!!!

We've got very high ceilings in our living room, so that means, naturally, that we need the absolute biggest Christmas tree we can find.  Last year, it was about 10 feet tall, but this year Dan decided to not mess around and came home with this massive 12-footer:

 

(Click on any of the pics to enlarge!)

Isn't it a beauty?  We can hardly stand to take down such a glorious display of holiday cheer.  Except that my stupid cat keeps eating the lights.  And the needles are falling off.  And, well let's face it:  this tree pales in comparison to next year's 14-footer.  Okay, it's time to come down.  But before we do that, let's take a little tour of some of my favorite ornaments...

Every tree needs a monogram or two:

   

Christmas is a time to celebrate love:

   

I found my prince!

The date we got engaged...

A few wine-themed ornaments:

   

And lots of Cardinal ones (this is Christmas in St. Louis, after all):

        

 

Someone's started running again!  Woo hoo!

 

One for each of our boys:

         

   

Commemorating the sale of our log cabin (finally!):

  

Go Tigers!

   

Memories of our Italian honeymoon:

 

RIP, Diet Coke (I've effectively cut it out of my diet, but more on that later):

 

A few from my childhood, lovingly handed down by my mom:    

A few miscellaneous favorites:

  

     

And one more of the glorious Marsh family tree of 2008, all lit up:

 

Happy belated Christmas to all!

CSA?

Is anyone out there a member of a CSA?  I'm thinking of joining one and would love to hear about your experience!  It seems like a great way to get fresh, local, organic produce, which I'm all about these days.  And you should be too.

Set Your Tivo!

Wanna see my uber-handsome dad on Dateline NBC this Friday?  Of course you do!  Who cares if the story covered is a bit morose?  It's actually very interesting, and you can see for yourselves where I get all of my good looks & charm.

Dateline NBC - Friday night, 10/9 central.

Welcome Back, Sarah!

Hello, hello to my long-lost blogging buddies!  Here's hoping that your 2009 is going as well as mine so far. 

And it's a welcome change.

We had a bit of a rough year in 2008, and to be completely honest I really didn't have the energy or inclination to blog about the experiences as I was going through them.  I suppose that blogs are really supposed to be a true journal of your life experiences, and I think in the future I might stick to that philosophy a bit more, but I really didn't want to turn this into a big b*tch-fest for all the world to see. 

The point now, is that I'm "back in society" (as my darling Danny says) and ready to catch up with you all.  To give you my updates, I've come up with a little something we'll call...

08/09:  A Study in Contrast*

2008:  Undergo four (count 'em) very painful and hard-from-which-to-recover GI surgeries

2009:  Advised by trusted GI docs that further surgeries are not needed (yay!)

2008:  Miss approximately 3 months of work due to said surgeries

2009:  Get promoted, even after missing 3 months of work due to said surgeries

2008:  Must rely on massive amounts of painkillers in order to function in daily life

2009:  Make the decision to get off painkillers and find natural pain management alternatives

2008:  Painkillers fight back, causing months of extremely difficult withdrawal symptoms

2009:  I fight back harder, and kick painkillers' asses.  Two more months and I will be completely weaned off the slimy bastards (double yay!)

2008:  Have no energy to exercise; gain 25 lbs. and lots of insecurities.  Still in pain, but with no painkillers

2009:  With the help of an *incredible* natural foods health counselor, drastically change diet and work on insecurity issues.  Lose first 10 lbs and become PAIN FREE!  (More to come on this- I have lots to say on the benefits of eating whole, non-processed foods for not only pain management but just "life management" in general...)

2008:  Continue to pay two mortgages (for a total of 16 months) due to really crappy real estate market

2009:  SELL HOUSE!  Be a normal newlywed couple without the stresses of double-house payments and chronic pain.  Fall more in love with husband for being so wonderful in 2008.  Plan big summer trip to Europe.  Thank God for bring me victoriously through once again, and using the experience to bring me closer to Him.  Enjoy being myself again!

*okay, so some of the '09 updates happened in late 2008, but you get the idea...

I really want to thank everyone for your emails and comments checking in with me, and to apologize if I didn't respond to you at the time.  I hope you will understand.

Leslie and I had a great talk the other night, and she told me that I really need to start blogging again because she knows I have so much more to write.  And I think she's right. 

It's great to be back!!

Bad Grammar Makes Me [sic]

A parking lot near my office:

I did not make this correction, only because some other smartass beat me to it. 

Funny story...  So I worked from home today, because I had a bad reaction to my new pain meds.  I was a little hysterical when I woke up this morning, and might have had a tinge of crying in my voice when I called my boss.  Flash forward to tonight, when I ask Dan to toss me a popsicle upstairs where I'm watching re-runs of "The Office."  SMACK!  It hits me right in the face.  Right below my eye.  Hard.

Call my boss crying, then show up with a black eye the next day?  I think I'll have some explaining to do... 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Dan was out of town last week on a family vacation to Door Couty, Wisconsin that sadly, I had to miss due to being out on medical leave for the entire month of June.  Because I was so sad that I missed the trip, and because I have trouble sleeping when I'm home all alone, I decided to break the cardinal rule of the Marsh household:  No cats allowed in bed.

Even though Dan truly loves our cats, and often falls asleep on the couch with one (or both) of them snuggled up with him, he has a real issue with them sleeping in our bed.  I've learned to live with it; marriage is all about compromise, right?  Dan doesn't travel without me much, but when he does, I've been known to open up the bed to Henry & Jack.

The really funny thing is that I'm certain Dan knows that the cats join me in bed whenever he's gone.  I'm always extra-careful to wash all of the linens before he returns, but I get the sense that he sees right through me.  He's never said anything, probably because he knows I can't lie to him, and he truly doesn't want to know. 

The moral of the story is that I'll keep up the charade as long as I can, all the while appreciating the quiet understanding between a husband who loves his clean & orderly bedroom, and a wife who just loves to snuggle up with her kitties.  As I've told him many times:  Hey, I was sleeping with them long before I was sleeping with you...  HA!

Back in the Swing of Things

Recipe for the perfect Friday night:

Kung Fu Girl riesling & continuing education courses for my insurance license.  Good times.

Recipe for an even-more-perfect Saturday night:

Dinner with my sweet husband at our favorite Sushi place (yes, I did order chicken.  But we had some great champagne!).

I'm so happy to be back in the normal routine of life, even if I did totally dork-out on Friday. 

Recovery, Week 6

It's been quite a long road, but I'm happy to report that I'm doing soo much better!  My remaining stent (the biliary duct one, for those of you following along at home) was removed last Monday and thank goodness I wasn't admitted to the hospital and could go right home afterward.  Tuesday and Wednesday were reeeeeaaaalllyyy painful as my insides tried to calm down from being poked and prodded, but by Thursday I was ready to go back to work.  It sounds like it was a quick return, but remember that I'd been home for nearly 5 full weeks.  Since Friday was a holiday, Thursday was the perfect day to return; it was super quiet at the office and I spent most of the day chatting with my co-workers and cleaning out my inbox.  Friday I worked in my mailbox garden for a couple of hours and then we had dinner at my in-laws' (the super-strict lowfat diet is very difficult to follow when smoked ribs are on the menu, let me tell you).  Saturday was a wedding shower for my fave NYC girl (Suz, you are second!) and KD roomie Jen, and then Dan and I headed down to my parents' house for their neighborhood block party.  It was a whirlwind weekend, and probably too much activity (damn you, hindsight!).

Today I had all kinds of crazy abdominal spasms, but I don't think they were anything to be concerned about.  Hopefully they'll go away soon (fingers crossed).

Anyway, just wanted to check in with everyone.  I'm really thrilled to be getting back into my routine.  It's amazing how easy it is to take life for granted when you're trapped in your house for 5 weeks, but I'm certainly appreciating things right now!

The Blogosphere Just Got a Whole Lot Better

Emily has started not one, but two fab fab fabulous new blogs:

Green Beans & Cake is her eco-chic journal.  Make sure you check out her very first post, with a hilarious tribute to TOPH.

See Prep Run is her journal of her (our) training for the 2008 Chicago Marathon.  Now that I'm nearly recovered and ready to jump back into my training, she will serve as major inspiration.

Enjoy!

QVC & TMI

Since I was in grade school, my dad and I have had an unexplained fascination with the shopping network QVC.  It started with dad jokingly changing the channel on me every time we watched TV together.  He'd flip over to the Q, hit the mute button, and launch into his own version of "product description."  I'd giggle like crazy as he went on and on about the lovely 14-karat rose gold pendant with lobster-claw clasp currently on air. 

Over the years, our QVC-watching evolved into quite the competitive game:  who could talk the longest without saying "um" during their turn at product description?  Dad usually won, since I never quite got over the giggling.  Neither of us had purchased anything from QVC.  Well, I take that back.  I gifted dad a $25 Q-card for Father's Day one year, but it was really more of a gag gift than an actual desire to purchase anything.  To this day, every time I flip past QVC I smile remembering the silly, quirky things that my dad did to make me laugh. 

But lately, I'll have to admit that I've been seriously corrupted.  Yes, I've begun to actually purchase things from QVC.  And no, I'm not ashamed.  I've had hours in front of the TV the past few weeks, and I've definitely been in need of some serious comforting:  the prefect recipe for a little QVC.  Imagine my delight when I came across a full two hours of philosophy beauty products.  I've been a fan of their products for years; in fact, I own nearly the entire Amazing Grace line.  It's expensive, but I've always considered philosphy well worth it, especially every time Dan tells me I smell great (which is usually several times a day).  Take a look at these two great deals I scored:

Amazing Grace Duo - 32oz each - Shampoo & Shower Gel, Firming Body Emulsion

Sephora Price - over $100 (when purchased individually- they don't even carry the 32 oz sizes!)

QVC Price - $49.99 (also on auto-delivery every four months, with price locked in forever!)

Shear Splendor Hair "Marinating" Oil - 8oz (by far the best treatment for dry, frizzy hair)

Sephora Price - $40 (for two 4oz bottles; they don't carry the 8oz)

QVC Price - $29.99

I might have had to stifle just a small scream when I saw the Amazing Grace duo.  Hey, sometimes it's the little things in life that make all the difference.

On a final note, who wants to see what a pancreatic stent looks like?

 Don't ask how I got this; now that would be TMI.