mission: buy a bed

the visit of my sister and her fiance not only meant time spent together, but it was also the time that patrick and i had to give up our bed. why you may ask? the bed belonged to my sister, given as a Christmas present by my mom several years ago. since tori was still in college and either living at home or in an apartment that could not fit a king sized bed in a shared room, we were able to borrow it for two and a half years. it is such a lovely bed, and we were so sad to give it up. but being the amazing big sister i am, i gave it up without a fight. afterall, it rightfully belonged to tori.

so this meant we had to get a replacement, and fast! i searched on the internet for weeks trying to find a mattress that would match my sister's, but everything became so expensive once delivery was taken into account. the bed frame i could care less about, but i did want something that was nice. ikea popped into my head; however, the prospect of putting together yet another piece of furniture from that place sounded too daunting. if you have ever bought anything from ikea and tried to decipher the hieroglyphics they give you as instructions, you would run away as fast as you could! with that being said, 95% of my furniture is actually from ikea...good stuff but not for my bed

then i set my sights on bob's discount furniture store, especially their pit clearance center. i saw some things that were pretty nice there last weekend when i was visiitng the sleepy hollow area. my friend danielle introduced me and i was hooked! bob's is great! you can get a lot of really amazing furniture for less. a 7 piece bedroom set can cost as low as $799! not too shabby.

i only wanted a bed and mattress, and so patrick, tori, tori's fiance dylan, and i set out to yonkers, ny, to find what we needed. the plan was to get in there as the store opened its doors at 10, get the bed we want and leave by 11. well, that didn't happen. maybe we fooled ourselves into believing that we could find something perfect in the clearance center of a discount furniture with no qualms...yes we were fools for sure!

however, after dealing with one of the craziest sales ladies i have ever met, we finally decided on the bed ( with a few minor defects) and a super plush mattress (still getting used to it...it's like sleeping on a cloud). and then this morning patrick and i headed out to home depot to get some ply wood as extra support for our bed (it didn't come with support slats at all...jerks wouldn't give us a better price. crazy sales lady). but now we are happy with our choice. my favorite part is that the headboard has shelves and reading lights, and also i don't have to give this one up until it breaks!

thanks to tori and dylan for your help! we could not have done this without you. thanks to my brother josh for lending the trailer to transport all the beds! love you guys!

this is beth signing off.
mission accomplished.

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mission: warm fuzzies

i am awaiting patiently for my sister to come and visit me this weekend. her visit is going to be short, but at least i get to see her. i realized that from this moment on i will be visiting with friends and family for the next couple of months. it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside as the holiday season approaches and the craziness begins.

the holidays are not just about the presents (which are great and i love to open them..hehe), nor are they just about spending time with the ones we love (this is also enjoyable). for me the holidays mean that there is a whole season to step back and look at what God is doing or has done in our lives. it is a couple of months to pause and be thankful for His love, His gift of life, His Jesus.

my pastor, pete scazzero at the new life fellowship church in queens, talks a lot about pausing to recognize God throughout our day. this isn't always easy, but i find when i do this i can handle life better (most likely because i am letting God be the center of my life). so i encourage those of you who read this, to daily let God be a part of your life. give Him the recognition he deserves and spend time with Him, whether in prayer, thought, or study. let Him love you unconditionally and experience the grace He gives to us each day.

this is beth signing off.
mission, a work in progress.

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mission: in search of yankees tickets

last night i was working late when i got a call.

"i found tickets for the game tonight," he said as i listened to the message he left on my voicemail. i rolled my eyes and braced myself as dialed his number. i was anticipating the tone of voice, pleading with me to go with his plan all the while picturing his puppy dog face waiting in hope that i would say yes.

"how much?" i asked right away. patrick laughed nervously and said, "$400." i sighed in disgust and mulled over the idea of $400, but i conceded and thought that going to the possible last game of the world series would be fun...expensive, but fun. so i gave the okay to my husband and as we talked about what $400 meant, i told him he could forget a new camera any time soon. then he realized my misinterpretation of what he meant by $400...he forgot to say each.

"$800!" i gasped in horror. "no way...no..no! no...no. no."
patrick's nervous laugh increased and the begging and manipulation began. "this is a once in a lifetime opportunity...you can see the phillies! the seats are great and this is the lowest price i have seen."

i told him that i would think about it if he continued to find a better deal. a glimmer of hope settled into patrick's brain and so he reeled with ways to get me to say what he wanted to hear...yes let's get those tickets! after much thought on a subway ride to catch up with patrick after work, i decided that we would go to the game if he could get his guy to lower the price. i called patrick with this news and he was elated, but i thought i was going to be sick. then we found out that we could have the tickets for $700. i gave patrick another glimmer of hope and said if we could get the cash out of the bank then we could go. at this point i was relying on the fact that the magnetic strip on patrick's debit card was on the fritz. by this time, about 7:00, we were nearing game time and the decision was in balance. finally around 7:10ish patrick made his withdrawal and we went to go meet the ticket guy on the corner of 58th and 8th.

now my head was reeling, and so i conveyed my skepticism with patrick by letting him know that he could not hand over the money until the tickets had been inspected. i told him that i was not in the mood to be taken in for a sucker or i would sucker punch the guy. patrick laughed at my comment as we hurried over to the aforementioned corner. as we arrived, we hoped. patrick hoped for a game. i hoped for a decent meal and then maybe a crumbs cupcake while looking forward to watching the game at home.

7:30 came around, and my hopes were in reach as the ticket guy never showed up. poor patrick. we gave up on waiting around for him and went over to one of our favorite restaurants, thai basil. i love that place! located at 56th and 8th, this thai restaurant is small, cozy and has some amazing food. i got my usual, the pineapple fired rice with chicken and patrick had his, chicken pad thai. we we ordered the summer roll appetizer, which was light and full of fresh veggies and a piece of shrimp, that we dipped into the delicious sweet and spicy peanut sauce. yum!

cupcakes were next, and they were like a soothing medicine to a wounded soul. patrick had the reese's cup and i settled for a classic chocolate.

so we watched the game at home and when the yankees won, we were able to listen to the rejoicing sound of our neighborhood and even watch a decent firework display that was set off a block away from our house. we slept soundly knowing we did not have to endure the horribly long subway ride from the bronx down to brooklyn so late at night.

so baseball is over for the season, and we still have a decent amount of money in the bank with the promise of someday spending it on a st. louis cardinals world series game ( i would have to say yes to that...it's his team. i can't squash that dream nor would i want to).

this is beth signing off.
my mission accomplished...patrick's not so much.

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mission: paint a picture

look what i did! two more to complete the set. can anyone guess what i am painting?

this is beth signing off.
mission accomplished.

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mission: relaxation and a burger

after a long and difficult day dealing with the kiddos at work, i finally get to sit down and relax. as i am blogging, the sounds of the church bells are chiming through the brooklyn night air. oh how i love that sound. it is so comforting to me, and makes me think of my alma mater, asbury college in wilmore ky. every night right around dinner time, the bells tolled a lovely hymn lulling all the students to the cafeteria. strange how ingrained that has become a part of my soul, and i am definitely grateful for it tonight.

speaking of dinner, my quest tonight is to go get a burger. i have had an insatiable craving for one for days now, and i hope that i finally get it tonight! oddly enough, though, my craving is more for the texture of a burger rather than the taste. i have only had one other texture craving in my life, about a month ago, and it was for something soft like taking a bite of an entemann's rasberry danish or a crumbs cupcake. if i do not get my burger i will just have to wait yet another day and settle on a bertolli frozen meal (which i love...don't get me wrong! those things taste yummy and are easy to make! my weekly lifesaver i like to call them).

after dinner, my plan is to begin a new art project while listening to some soothing music...i can't wait.
oh and score for me! i just found out that i am totally getting my burger tonight. woo hoo!!!

this is beth signing off.
mission: burger accomplished...working on the relaxation portion still.

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mission: a bit of marital rivalry

for those of you who haven't realized it yet, baseball is a religion here in the northeast! even if you do not particularly follow the full season of baseball, one cannot help but be sucked into the enthusiasm that the world series brings. as well all know, the phillies are battling the yankees this year, and my husband and i are each siding with the team we like best.

growing up in south jersey and going to many a phillies game every summer, i naturally am cheering for the defending world series champions. i remember going to the games, sitting next to my poppop (the greatest phillies fan i know) and asking him for information on each player that stepped up to bat. "is he any good?" i would wonder aloud to him. "sure, he's good," poppop would reply patiently as i did this every inning just to make sure. so of course this series is exciting for me because after being the losingest team of all time, the fighting phils are making up for it by providing the fans with two consecutive seasons of greatness.

patrick on the other hand, a tried and true st. louis cardinals fan, is cheering for the yankees (his second all-time favorite team). i think he has chosen the yankees for second place in his heart because they are a more prestigious ball club and one that wins...every time! this could be their 27th world championship win. the phillies have only a few under their belt!

needless to say, the tension between patrick and i has mounted over the past few days. while at a friend's house to watch the saturday night game, i was the only philly fan in the room! patrick tried to keep me quiet in the first couple of innings when we were crushing the yankees. i would have to sit benignly on the couch suppressing my inner happiness as the others sulked and complained about the yankees lineup. then when the tables turned and i was the one who ended the night in a pout, my friends, gloated about the glory of the yankees.

whatever. even as i sit here on the couch blogging while simultaneously watching the game, there is about a foot and a half between patrick and i. of course this tension ends as soon as the tv turns off and we enter back into the world of reality. i told him that it is a good thing that i don't let my life revolving around sports or this would be a serious problem to our marriage.

so sorry to all the ny fans out there...i hope the yanks go down! i know i live here in the big apple now, but i will always be loyal to my philly teams and wear their shirts proudly around the neighborhood in spite of the dirty looks i get.

so go phils and i am signing off.
let's hope that thethey will accomplish their mission to win the world series.

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mission: sleepy hollow

as i stated in my last post, friday october 30th i visited sleepy hollow, ny to partake in some halloween festivities. every year, the town of sleepy hollow, famed for its tale of ichabod crane and the headless horseman, recreates the legend by taking the curious on a haunted hay ride. so i, along with patrick, headed up to westchester county after a long day of work in the city to catch up with our friends josh and danielle samuel for dinner and the hay ride!

our plan was to eat out at a mexican restaurant, guatalajara located in briar cliff manor, where i had a delicious chicken chimichanga, authentic salsa, and a tasty strawberry mojito. the restaurant also had a mariachi band playing music as we sat and ate our dinner. the place was a little crowded and service was slow, but the atmosphere and food were worth the wait. after dinner we then headed over to sleepy hollow, only minutes away, hoping that around 9 p.m. the line would have slowed down a bit.

boy were we wrong! that place was hopping with music and was still very crowded. as we arrived on the main street, there was much confusion about where we should go and what line we needed to be in. after asking someone who worked at the hay ride, our group was directed down the street to the end of the line. so we trekked a couple of blocks away, knowing that we were going to wait quite a while before our ride. at first, we did not mind. halloween themed music blared and a group of children and parents danced in the middle of the street. characters from the ride, who looked like vampire tramps (trampy vamps is what we dubbed them) posed for pictures and scared onlookers waiting in the ridiculously long line. at least we were entertained.

after about an hour and a half went by, we realized there was a shorter line we could go to. i was a little upset, blaming the trampy vamps for not directing us to the other line. as we drew closer to our ride, ichabod came over to keep our spirits up. we also tried to keep his up as well after working a long night. then is was our turn!!!!

i get a little freaked out by these types of things, but i felt i was up for a challenge. about 20 of us were loaded onto a truck bed filled with hay. our tour guide with creepy makeup on read us a historical legend of henry hudson mixed in with ichabod's tale. we entered through the old dutch church and graveyard, est. in 1685, and proceeded through the winding path of the deep cemetery. the story combined with knowing that i was in an actual graveyard totally gave me the heebee jeebees. and that was the scariest part of the ride. from that point on were were spooked with cheep thrills and timely screams. the tunnel with floating heads (captured by the headless horseman) followed by a scary lady popping out of nowhere gave patrick quite a fright. the costumes were elaborate, but the ride was over before we knew it and left many without the thrill they were seeking.

was it worth $15...maybe. i would go again for the scary ghost story and ride through the historical cemetery, but the rest was just ok. i think most of their budget goes to props (which were really good) and gas for the trucks running the hay rides. we thought that more thrills could be had if you had to walk through the different scenes and be a little more vulnerable to those jumping out at you. over all it was fun and a little scary, and i think i would go again in the future. sleepy hollow does a good job making the experience family friendly, and so i would recommend it to them,





this is beth signing off.
mission accomplished october 30

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