Putting it Together...

....bit by bit!

I just ordered our invites!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I know it's hard to see, but it's pink hearts and swirls. Our ink color is dark pink and the font is less "scripty."

Holiday Spirit

Jay put the lights on our tree yesterday afternoon, after working all night, and did a perfect job.

Last night, getting ready for bed, there's a santa hat on the dresser. I ask him why it's there, he said, " I wore it while I was putting on the lights."

Priceless.

Tags: love, x-mas

Today is my birthday

Can't say it feels like it though. But I did become famous overnight. Check me out on my favorite gossip site! Scroll past Britney on Us Magazine:

 

http://bricksandstones.blogspot.com/

 

By the way, Britney and I share the same birthday!

: (

My grandpa died at approx. 4:20 this morning. The wake will be Monday, funeral Tuesday.

I'm so thankful that I've been with him these last few days, by his side. Even though, it's for the best at this point. I am just so very sad.

Vigil

My grandpa is still hanging on, but most likely, not for much longer. The most important thing is that is resting peacefully and comfortably. We've been spending most of our time sitting beside him talking to him, stroking his arm, holding his hand... So many people are there taking care of him and looking out for him. It has been so touching to see staff members come in to see him. They all say such wonderful things about grandpa and how funny he is and how much he loves the Yankees : ) Warms my heart.

 

Jay has been so great through all of this. He takes care of me and has been right there with me always. I am truly blessed.

The Latest

My grandpa is under hospice now, on morphine. He will likely be gone in a matter of days. It's all too real now. It had to be done though, he was in agony. I looked awful yesterday. His brother and nephew are visting today, along with my family. I was a basketcase last night. Thankfully had Jay and Tylenol PM to help me calm down and get some sleep.

 

: ( 

Grandpa Status

Not so sure how he is today yet, but he's "home." He got brought back to Sunrise today so at the very least, he's in comfortable surroundings which we are all happy about. My parents are going to visit him this afternoon then fill me in. He didn't look so great on Saturday when I saw him. I think his lack of eating and drinking is really taking its toll on his body. Yesterday, Jay and I went to church and I lit a candle for him. I feel good about doing that, but it did make me tear up a few times when I looked over at it during mass. I felt like it represented him still holding onto life - the candle holding onto its flickering flame.

Cried Myself Awake

Early this morning, around 4:30, I woke up crying. My pillow and face were wet with tears. I had somewhat of a nightmare, but sadly, this nightmare is real. My grandfather is in very bad shape. For the past few months, he has been shipped back and forth between the hospital and a nursing home, and a couple days at home (Sunrise Assisted Living) in between. He has been plagued with an ulcer that required surgery, bouts of pneumonia, bladder infections, bed sores and has fallen several times. His biggest problem however is self-inflicted, or so it seems. My grandfather is suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. He absolutely refuses to eat or drink much of anything. He has refused a feeding tube, twice. He has already been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for severely low blood pressure and low blood oxygen levels attributed to his lack of nourishment. His doctor has prescribed him 3-4 different appetite stimulants to little avail. The few small bites of food and tiny sips of juice he has daily aren't enough to sustain him. I've brought him Dairy Queen - he always loved vanilla ice cream- but he only had a few spoonfuls. My parents brought him the ultimate "grandpa" meal - meat loaf and mashed potatoes with extra gravy and creamed spinach. He wouldn't even TRY any of it.

Last night, my brother Chris, Jay, and I went to see him. His eyes were glassy and sad. Looking at him made my eyes fill up so I had to look away several times. I didn't want him to see me upset. He was hooked up to an IV and oxygen and sitting in a chair. He kept wincing in pain from the bed sores on his backside. He's not supposed to be in any pain. The doctor wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. My brother and I ask about a cushion for him to sit on and they tell us he can't use it because when he does, he slides off - it's extremely slick for some stupid reason.

We asked him if anything appealed to him, what kind of juice he likes. He said orange. They've been giving him cranberry which he hates. While we were there, a nurse walked in with a small container of chocolate pudding and said, "Here you go Ralph," then promptly took it away! Apparently, it wasn't meant for him. But my God, this frail little man is starving, shouldn't he always have food in front of him?! Pudding is easy enough to get down and he actually likes it! That made my blood boil.

While we were there, Jay made a run to a local convenience store to try and get some things he likes. He picked up his old favorite, Frosted Flakes. He also got orange juice and a soft chocolate chip cookie. We actually got him to eat 2-3 small pieces of cookie and he washed it down with a couple sips of orange juice.

The nurse claims she gives him Frosted Flakes every morning but he won't eat them. She also tries giving him hard-boiled eggs which he specifically mentioned liking last night. She said he won't eat them either. I told her that he must have salt on them, that he LOVES salt. She nodded and smiled but I don't believe her. She told us that the only thing he likes is rice pudding. Well then for heaven sakes, shouldn't he always have it on his tray available for him! His days are numbered! I understand it may be too late, or too little to make any real difference, but my goodness, why is his tray EVER empty??!

These are all the thoughts that ran through my mind as I slept. I woke up crying from them. This is just so hard. My grandpa is still there! He's still talking about the college football games and how our dogs are doing. We all just feel so helpless right now. This is just pure agony. And if it's this bad for us, how must my poor grandpa feel?

6 Months from NOW...

Jay and I will be married!!! AAaaacckk!! I can't believe how fast time is going by!

Double Anniversary!

 Jay and I are together 10 YEARS as of today! AND, it's been 1 year since we got engaged!!! It's scary sometimes how time flies!

My Life in Pictures

I am LONG overdue for a worthwhile journal entry. It just seems I am always so gosh darn busy. This has been a truly eventful summer and I've taken a great deal of photographs which I will now share with you all. This summer, we finally got into our house, although, we aren't 100% yet. We need to put lots of molding up still. At least it's painted and ready to go. My kingdom for some blinds and curtains! Right now we have framed posters blocking out the sunshine in our room - not very effective I might add.

Besides our move and the big open house/housewarming that followed, we had our niece Ava's christening and Jay's Aunt Jean's wedding. It seemed like every weekend was something going on, but at least it was all good. Time spent with family and friends is the best time of all.

We didn't have any sort of vacation this summer but we are taking off this week to relax and take a few day trips - the Bronx Zoo, Jay, his dad, and his brother are going deep-sea fishing and I HOPE Jay and I make it to the Cloisters ( http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_art/introduction.asp?dep=7 ) I went here in high school and really enjoyed it. I went with the choir and we sang there. It is a beautiful place and I know that Jay would appreciate it. He's into medieval sort of stuff and the place is like an old castle with authentic medieval style garden and famous tapestries.

In a few weeks I will be having a garage sale. Kristine is going to help me because Jay wants no part of it, haha. It should be fun and we have lots of junk we truly don't need. I hope we get some donations too, to pad our inventory. I hope to make enough money to pay for invitations : )

Which brings me to my next subject - our wedding plans. Since I last wrote on this topic we have booked our honeymoon! We will be staying 7 nights at Ti Kaye in St. Lucia - www.tikaye.com . The place looks gorgeous and we will have our own oceanfront cottage with our own little pool. I cannot wait! We've also begun our registries with Macy*s and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. We need to add things to them but it's still early yet. It was fun although the woman at BB&B was not very nice. I could definitely write an entertaining entry about her. I plan on writing a letter of complaint to the company if I actually ever get around to it.

So, I've really been hating my job lately I'm sad to report. I've just been so overwhelmed that I start to feel completely stressed and depressed. I have so much on my shoulders and when I can't get everything done in a timely manner, I can't help but feel like a bad employee. I haven't even been able to take my lunch break or go to the gym there for weeks because of it. New Jersey is looking more and more appealing as I hate coming home around 8:15 on nights I get stuck there late.

GRANDPA update: After being in the hospital for a couple weeks with bilateral pneumonia, he is now in a rehabilition center for 2 more weeks to regain his strength and mobility. You can do it grandpa!

 

Well I've rambled on and on long enough. Sit back and enjoy the plentiful pics and be sure to "view larger" for best results!

Day of Remembrance

So True

Dear Lesley, Here is your horoscope for Monday, September 11: There's a time to stand and fight, and that time is now. This endless cycle of push-me-pull-you was fine for a while, but now you need a resolution -- and fast. State your demands and then take action.

 

 

I HATE MY JOB

The Crocodile Hunter Died!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

Sneak Peek!

Here is our living room right now! The 2 chairs are only temporary, and yes I know we need molding around the windows!

Never a Dull Moment

My grandpa is in the hospital. His doctor called late last night and told my parents that he had over 102 temp and bronchitis. He really wanted him to go to the hospital but my grandpa kept refusing. Dr. feared it could develop into pneumonia. My dad had to get a prescription antibiotic and bring it to him like 11pm. When my dad got there, my grandpa was nauseous and throwing up. It was then decided to get him to Valley Hospital. My dad didn't get home until 4am.

So Much To Say!

The big news right now is that our house is close to being finished, but we'll be moving in before it's 100%.

Jay and I took off last week and spent every day from morning til' night working our butts off! We ended the week feeling like we needed a vacation from our vacation! We managed to pack up most of Jay's things and schlep them over with the help of family and friends. It was exciting seeing the place finally starting to look like a home! We also went out and put on the closet materials and over the last 2 days, Jay and his sister Randi assembled all the shelving. This weekend we picked up a refrigerator from Kristine's parents' house and spent hours cleaning it only to have it only blow hot air - ugh. We are having a repair come check it out this week so hopefully it's not an expensive fix.

Let's see, what else, what else...Jay moved his large, corner aquarium over to the house and set it up with the help of Scott. It looks great! And finally people will be able to enjoy it since it's in a better location than it was before.

I got a few hydrangea stems and stuck them in a basket of ivy in the bathroom. This is truly exciting to me as it adds to the whole hydrangea theme I'm trying to work in there!

This Friday we are getting cable, telephone, and internet set up - this is THE reason we aren't living there yet! We can't live without those necessities - primarily the TV, LOL! We already got our phone number and while it kinda sucks, I was able to make a word out of some of the numbers, so that should make it easier to remember.

OH YEAH!

I almost forgot! I got my wedding dress!!! On Saturday, July 24th, Kristine, my mom, and I went to Macy's Bridal Salon in Wayne because there was a specific dress I wanted to try on and when we saw it in person, it was hideous!! That was a disappointment but even more so than that was when I tried on the most gorgeous dress ever. Here it is, but the roses were a delicate pink: http://www.demetriosbride.com/us/collections/couture_05/highres/1273A.jpg WELL, after trying it on 2x and deciding it was "the one," Kristine looked at the price tag and her jaw dropped. It was OVER $4000!! I was dejected. I would never spend that much on a dress even if my parents were willing too. The saleslady felt bad and said she'd take 20% off and throw in a veil, but still, it wasn't doable.

We went to TGIF's for lunch and I mentioned that there was a David's bridal across the street somewhere, according to someone I spoke to on theknot.com. I called them and asked if we could come by and we did. I didn't like the greeter at the store and she instantly made me want to turn around and leave. GOOD THING I DIDN'T!

We asked for anything with pink and I tried a couple dresses on but wasn't happy - I was still bummed about the other $$$ dress. My mom asked me to just try on one more so I reluctantly agreed. I loved it! After I put it on, I didn't want to take it off! I asked for a bridesmaid dress that would match and they pulled one that we admired when we first walked in! Camps tried it on and looked great! I really felt like a bride then : ) We found shoes for the girls too!

Later in the week Diana ordered hers all the way from Tennessee! She's having it come to the Wayne, NJ store and her mom will pick it up. Last Friday, I went with Randi and Shara and they ordered theirs too! It's so nice to have another big thing DONE! And well done I might add!  ; )

 

Phew... that was a lot of writing early in the morning!

Still Shaken Up

New details came out about the suicide/murders. The father pressed the gun to the heads of his children. Unspeakable. He didn't kill himself until a couple hours later. Unbelievable. It is just so unthinkable, unjustifiable. Just plain awful.

Last night my bus had to detour just before my stop because the main road the funeral home was on was closed off by police. I can't imagine what it was like to be there. The father there too?!? I keep thinking about this tragedy, can't get it out of my head. That poor mother and daughter who have to live with this the rest of their lives. The girlfriend. It's just so sad. Those boys never knew just a few days ago that this is how they'd "spend their summer vacation."

This article appeared in today's paper:

 

Hundreds attend wake for father, two sons he killed
Friday, July 14, 2006

By JEAN RIMBACH and GIOVANNA FABIANO
STAFF WRITERS

WESTWOOD -- Hundreds of mourners -- many of them stunned teenagers in tears -- paid their respects Thursday to two young men and the father who chose to end their lives.

By evening, a line of red-eyed adults and shaken adolescents had wrapped around the Becker Funeral Home, three days after Thomas Frazza of Washington Township shot his sons, John, 20, and Kevin, 14, in their beds before turning the gun on himself.

Some sobbed and embraced as they stood before the bodies of John and Kevin, which lay in open caskets.

FUNERAL IS TODAY The funeral for Kevin, John and Thomas Frazza is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today at the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Washington Township. Burial is to follow in Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington. The cafeteria of Westwood Regional Junior and Senior High School will be open after the funeral for parents and children, with professional counselors and staff members on hand to offer support.

Kevin's casket held a stuffed teddy bear, a Rosary Novena and the jersey of his favorite New Jersey Nets player, Jason Kidd. A Toronto Blue Jays jersey and a heart-framed picture of John with his girlfriend of two years, Theresa Finnelli, were in the older brother's casket.

To the left of the boys in the same room was the closed coffin of their father, the polished wood adorned with a spray of red flowers.

Young girls and boys hugged, at times collapsing in tears. Some left the viewing with their hands over their mouths.

"To deal with death at this age -- and one of their own ..." one mourner said.

"It's just so unimaginable," said another.

Investigators have been stumped for clues as to what prompted the killings. Those who knew Thomas Frazza well said he'd become increasingly distressed the past year by his failing pay telephone business. He was also upset over having to sell the family's home at the New Jersey Shore.

"No one knew he was in trouble," someone at the wake said. "He hid it very well."

Throughout the day, Beatrice "Betty" Frazza and her 19-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, accepted -- and at times delivered -- words of comfort as they embraced friends and neighbors. Both were at the Shore house when the shootings occurred early Monday at their Washington Township home.

"How are you guys? You guys doing all right?" Betty asked a group of shaken young girls.

Slideshows playing on two televisions, framed pictures and various collages in the funeral parlor belied the tragedy. They showed a happy family and smiling children at different stages of their lives -- at the beach, on holidays, at birthday parties.

In one, Kevin as a baby is dressed as a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween. Another shows Betty and Thomas on their wedding day. Another has them holding each other and laughing years later at the Shore. There was also a photo of Kevin and John together in a frame with the words "Me and My Little Brother."

Finnelli, John's girlfriend, had apparently assembled candid shots of him for one of the collages, each with a handwritten message or memory. Comic strips she drew for him were on display on another. At one point, she stood before it and broke down sobbing.

"I just don't understand this," she said, "and I never will."

The comics had a special note to John, telling him that someday, when her comic strip gets published, it will feature the character she created for him: "The Pirate."

"You will continue to live on in my heart forever," she also wrote.

Photos of John showed the outgoing Ramapo College student at pool parties, the ice skating rink and what friends called his favorite place on earth -- the Pascack Theatre, where he worked as a projectionist.

Theater owner Spiros Papas said he respected John not only as an employee but as a friend.

When he gave his condolences to Betty at the wake, she told him, "Are you Mr. Papas? John spoke very highly of you."

"I was happy to hear that because I worked with John for 4½ years, and I treated him like my son," Papas said.

Papas said he and John had a Monday lunch ritual.

"I would say, 'John, you hungry?' And he always said yes. So we would go out for Greek food sometimes and other times cheeseburgers."

A few nights before he died, Papas gave John a ride home after a late showing of "Superman Returns."

John appeared depressed that night, Papas said.

"He said, 'I'm having a little problem with my father. He doesn't want me to go to school,' " Papas recalled. "I asked him if a raise would help and he said, 'Yes, Mr. Papas.' "

Murder/Suicide in a Small Town

A father killed his 14 and 20 yr old sons then himself. This was in my Jay's town, Washington Township, NJ,where he still lives with his family and is only a couple blocks behind him. We pass this creepy looking house all the time in the car, on our bikes... Its all wood with no windows seen from the street at all - only on the back facing the lake. The wife and 19 yr old daughter were in South Jersey at the time.

So tragic. Why did he have to take those boys with him???

Article and news footage here: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4353999

This is a quiet lil' suburban town. Things like this just don't happen here..

 

 

EDIT: The older boy's myspace page. He last logged on on Sunday : (

MySpace URL:

http://www.myspace.com/fubar69418

 

EDIT:

Another longer article:

http://tinyurl.com/lvuhm

Say it Ain't So!

Gawker Stalker

 

Tom Hanks was near me today. He was actually right down the block at 1pm but I was chained to my desk. I just read this on Gawker Stalker. Link above to their site:

 

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

4 TIMES SQ

Jun 29th, 2006 @ 1pm

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson in the Conde Nast Cafeteria. He looks just as puffy as I expected (meanie!). She is actually really pretty. I had so hoped for a celeb spotting when I finally got invited to lunch there!

Dave & Christine's Wedding

Our dear friend Dave and his lovely bride Christine were married on Saturday, June 17th. Here are some pictures from the happy day. We all had a really really great time. Christine looked gorgeous. And Dave didn't look so bad himself ; )

Jay was the best man. It was exciting to think that we are under 300 days away from our special day! I can't wait!!!

2nd Proposal

Last night was great. Jay and I went out to dinner for his birthday and when we got back to his house I gave him a stack of gifts. He was feeling all bad that I spent money on him on so many gifts. Little did he know one of them cost me like $800!! When he got to the box with his wedding ring, he had no clue what could be in it. He said, "is this a tie?" Cause that's the kind of box it was. He pushed aside the jeweler paperwork and polishing cloth and when he saw the ring he just stared at it completely speechless. I sorta got down on one knee and took his hand and said "will you marry me?" I was kind of laughing because I was feeling so nervous and excited. He really was in shock that I actually got it. He kept saying things like, "Honey, wow. I can't believe you did that." He was very happy and I was even more happy because it actually fit!

It was a very good and happy night : )

house VENT

We should be coming down to the wire but we're having some really friggin' annoying issues right now.

Baseboard heatig should be the next step, however, the plumber won't do it until the carpeting is in the 2 bedrooms. FFIL (future-father-in-law) says carpeting should go last, he's a contractor, says you don't want someone soldering over new carpet. Also, FFIL wants to put in baseboard molding but can't until heat is in so he knows where it ends.We also need HW floor to be finished. Arrrgh. It's like we're at a standstill.

We've had this house since August. I thought we'd be living there MONTHS ago. All my summer clothes and shoes are packed up and over there.

I just want to be done already!

Housey House House

Ahh the house. We need wood floor finished - will just take a phone call, carpet installed - another simple phonecall. And the rest of the molding installed. Jay's brother might finish tile in shower tomorrow. Coming down to the wire!!

We Got a floor!

 

 

 

Well in the living room and hallway at least!

Taking Shape...and Color!

See for yourself!!

DA VINCI CODE!!!

I have 25 pages left. I'm timing the completion of the book with the beginning of the movie soooo precisely! I hate hate hate all the bad reviews I'm hearing. ESPECIALLY when they talk smack about Tom. How dare they! I saw him on Regis this morning. Ahhhhhhhh : )

Things Are Happening Fast!

Boy oh boy. Where do I begin?

 

The entire house has been painted inside. Hardwood floor wood should be delivered this week. The floor has been leveled to prepare it for the hardwood installation. All the doors have been ordered. We have lights up and working in the living room, bedrooms, master closet, and over the shower. Our bathroom vanity is in the garage along with our bathroom cabinet. The rest of the bathroom fixtures have been ordered. The tile has be laid and grouted in the bathroom.

 

Today, I believe Jay wants to do another coat on the kitchen ceiling. The kitchen looks amazing by the way. Bright white pain makes a huge difference. He might also put the sealer on the bathroom tile.

 

So much progress in so little time. Thank you Joe, Brian, Bill, Randi, June, Shara, and Jim for all of your time and hard work!!!

Productive Weekend!

We primed the entire house on Saturday and then painted all the ceilings and closets yesterday and even painted the bathroom and spare room. And oh yeah, Jay painted the kitchen ceiling too! Productive weekend for sure!!

 

I think the wood is being delivered for the hardwood floor this week!

 

Very special thanks to Randi, Shara, Joe, and June for all of your help!! We got soooo much more done than I could've ever imagined in just 2 days. Thank you for giving us your time, energy, and talents!

My bio on thenest.com

This is our non-pro engagement pic.
X-mas '05 - We did a little decorating even though we don't live here yet!


Our first house! Closed on it Aug. 24, 2005!
***THE FOLLOWING ARE “BEFORE” PICS, PROGRESS PICS FOLLOW***

Other pics of the house
garage
View from the front porch (that tree is my fav part of the house!)
Backyard...small but not TOO small
steps in back leading to mudroom/bathroom/kitchen

current kitchen cabinets. recommendations? (that's my best friend Kristine in there snooping)
kitchen sink
view from kitchen. living room doorway - far left, bsmt door - middle, encl. porch door - far right.
LR/DR BEFORE

AFTER: Jay, drop ceiling removed.

panelling gone too and we found a window under it! see last window on left side? it was under the panelling!

Me, getting into the act!

This is fun!
Jay taking down wall and closets between the 2 bedrooms
View from Master BR into 2nd BR. Is Jay not the neatest demolition man or what?!

View from original 2nd BR into living room. We are turning it into a hall and new full bath.
View from living room into 2nd bedroom.
"New" free front door salvaged by a family member for us from a job site!
New main beam going up since we moved walls-
Jay holding up this house : )
The guys raising the new second bedroom wall
All the walls framed out!!!!



New view from front door!



View from living room into kitchen-



Living room looking into 2 bedrooms



Last living room shot



New second bedroom



Master bedroom



Bathroom so far



picture for new bathroom once we have one!

bathroom accessories for new bathroom too! got these from eBay for only $26.00!

Mirror for the living room from Pier 1

picture for over our bed from art.com

Jay and I



Our new baby niece Ava Rose (2-23-06)








Notblushing's version of our backyard -- I love it!!