Birthdays

This past week I turned 29 years old. 29. It's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind around. Just the fact that this is the last year of my 20's. I can say that my 20's have flown by - the years have been good, full of love and laughter - a very good decade for me.
I am sitting here trying to think of where I have been for each birthday...and what I was doing.
Well, on my 20th birthday Tony proposed to me.....so by my 21st birthday I was married. I'm pretty sure that we went out for Cinco de Mayo at a bar that year. The next ones are kind of a blur....but I remember my 25th, that was in Maryland and a bunch of friends came over to the condo to celebrate. That is when they realized how far away I lived from everyone else and why I didn't invite people over more often.
My 26th birthday - Heather and Gary, Sean and Bern, Jen and Adam, and Craig came down to Federal Hill to go bar hoping for this birthday. That night was so much fun!! Great memories, even if the next morning I was sore and bruised up. :)
All in all, I'm most thankful that I have gotten to spend every birthday of my 20's with my sweet husband.

A surprise party!

So last Friday was Tony's 30th birthday! 30?!? Where has the time gone? So I planned a surprise party for him and it went off so well!! I wish I could have taken a picture of his face - it was enough to make me cry! The biggest surprise of all? Tony's parents drove down and arrived Friday afternoon. Tony was completely shocked....I don't think he would have been any more shocked if Godzilla was standing in our kitchen. Mandy and the kids helped out by sitting on the stairs when Tony walked in they shouted surprise! Then I took him to the kitchen where his family jumped out. It was so wonderful!!! I'm so glad that they were able to make the LONG drive down!
Justin arrived about 10 minutes after Tony got home and Amy and Brian arrived later. It was a wonderful party and Tony said it was his best birthday ever...isn't that a wonderful sentiment to say about the big 3-0?
Tony said that he thought I had something up my sleeve, that perhaps I was going to have a party for him and maybe Justin was going to drive down and Michael and Mandy would be here with the kiddos - but he was not expecting his parents and Danny! He said I was cleaning way too much during the week for nothing to be planned.
I can't believe I kept it a secret though - that was the hardest part....and I know that this birthday is going to be hard to beat next year.
So here's to a wonderful 30th year to my wonderful, ever evolving husband. May it be the best year yet!

In this picture - Chuck, Tony, Dan-o, Justin and Garce

Michael and Chuck

Picture of the whole crew

Tony opening Grace and Josh's cards

Didn't this picture turn out wonderful? I just love it!

This picture is probably my favorite of the evening. I love how happy everyone looks!

Farwell Parties

Sitting around the table chatting after dinner at Cherie's on Saturday

Diego and Irene, Jesse and Nathan at Cherie's a couple of weeks ago
Irene, Jen, and Heather at Jen and Adam's house for dinner
Renata, looking very preggers!!! I love it!


The past few weeks our friends have had a few going away get togethers. The parties have been so nice and have meant so much to us. Everything has been happening so quickly that it still hasn't sunken in that we are leaving. I know that we will be back to visit and I'll be back for meetings and classes, so that makes it easier, knowing that we will get see our friends again. And I'm really hoping that (hint hint) they will come out to CO to visit us! I want to keep in touch and not lose the connections we have made. Especially since our friends are starting to get married and have children, life just changes so much and I'm really hoping that we don't become just Christmas card friends. I promise I'll try my best, good friends are really hard to come by. And without our friends here, I don't think we could have made it the 3 1/2 years that we did. Just thinking back on how lonely and how sad we were when we first moved here, just that sick feeling of being so homesick, and having no one here to ease that. I REALLY cannot say thank you enough to the people who stretched out their love to us and made being so far from home easier. You guys took us into your homes and into your lives, you have shared our sorrows (losing Arnold) and our joys (moving to the city, getting this job in Denver). You have allowed us to be with your family and closest friends, bringing us into your existing circles, giving us a chance. You did so much, I really can't thank you enough for accepting us (especially me, Tony is pretty easy to love) for who we are, for the invites to your special moments (Renata and Jason's wedding) and for always thinking about us and inviting us into your homes for the holidays, when you knew how sad we would be. You have been a blessing to our lives.

In the moving arena...no new news....unfortunately. We were supposed to go to CO for our House Hunting Trip this coming Wednesday. Then Kirby got sick and we thought he was dying, then laid down $500 all for the vet to say every test was inconclusive, but to continue shoving antibiotics down his throat.....needless to say this was not the added stress that we needed on top of everything else. So hopefully we will make it out there either this week or next week and we can sign a lease on an apt. Tony has an interview tomorrow, hopefully he will be able to find a position before we get out there.

I'll try to keep the blog updated as we learn more - and as I get more and more weepy.

Christmas Parties

Tony and I got to go to a few Christmas parties this year. We got to see some friends we hadn't seen in a while, Steve and Rosie, Jesse and Nathan,and it made the Holidays more special. Tony's work party was at a bar in Canton and had an open bar...so that was a memorable night! Here's some pics.

The BIG 2-6

I know i'm posting this about 2 1/2 months late, but I wanted to post a picture of my birthday party. Some of my friends came to the city to help me celebrate! We went to a tequila bar (always a fun way to start out the night), then went on to another bar. I had so much fun and it was so nice of my friends to come out! There wasn't too much debauchery (sp?), and only one drunk dial to JT, instigated by Sean.
From left to right is Craig, Jen, Adam, Bernadette, Sean, Heather, and myself!
One of the funniest memories of the night were the people dancing in the street beside Lime (tequila bar)...it was south Baltimore's finest. Very good entertainment!