wow - it's been a loooonnnggg time

I cant believe that it's been so long since I posted. Well to carry on from my last post - as all true Scarlet Knights fans know - we made it! We came back and had a good 2nd 1/2 season and are on our way to the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, AL.... ok well the the team is on THEIR WAY - Eric and I are not on our way anywhere!

I've got 9 weeks left (can you believe it?!) till my due date and so the holiday season is made even more hectic as we get her room ready, wash clothes and blankets and make sure we have all of the essentials.



My sister threw me an amazing baby shower in November and I was overwhelmed by the love and show of generosity from my friends and family. This kid is gonna have a lot of love in her life - what more could I ask for?



I had my last pre-baby business trip in November as well - being huge and on a tropical island w/ your husband dont always go together but Eric and I made the most of it!


Here are some photos from our fall adventures :)

Scarlet=Sadness

I cant express to you my sadness and disappointment over the performance of my guys last night. (yea, in case you didnt know it I have a personal investment in the Scarlet Knights so they're 'my guys' lol)

I swear that we went back about 6 years in the game against UNC...they ran all over us. We made some ridiculous plays and looked like we were randomly lobbing the football around. I honestly think that my girlfriends in high school and I played better when we were in powder puff football.

(sigh) my poor hubbie. He's so distraught :)

Hopefully we'll come back on the 20th...if we lose to Navy I may have to go into mourning.

It's been a long time...

I've been completely remiss in my postings. It can partly be attributed to a crazy hectic summer, and partly attributed to me being lazy...and then partly because you never know who's out there in cyberspace reading your business (right?)


That being said, we had a great summer.


Eric and I celebrated our first anniversary in Hawaii and renewed our vows on the beach in Maui. We had a ridiculously awesome time. It was exactly what we needed to unwind, refresh, and make brand new vows to each other as our marriage grows and evolves.

We spent our days relaxing in the sun, snorkeling and just enjoying each other's company. Oh and yea, I sprained my ankle and broke my toe....we can all laugh about it now :)

Here are some of our photos from our awesome anniversary :)

Then, we came back to reality and soon we realized that we had brought home an important and life changing souvenier from the islands....

And so our hectic summer of doctor's visits began :) mix that in with some business trips for me and we were really flying through the warm weather months...Of course, what is the natural thing for a woman to do when she finds out she's pregnant? She starts taking classes towards her MBA - doesnt that make a ton of sense? :)

That being said, I have no photos of my ever growing belly to share with you :( bc they havent been downloaded yet (yes, bad me I know) BUT I can share with you that today at our ultrasound appointment we found out that our little bean (who's not so little anymore)

is a GIRL :) I say she's giving us a thumbs up in this lil photo but who knows? Anyway, we'll keep you all posted. Thanks for all the good wishes and loving thoughts. Keep 'em coming.

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." Albert Einstein

A little note to my husband...
I love you. I truly do :) Through it all, I know that I have a partner for life who will love me and support me in my darkest moments and applaud me through my greatest achievements.

Four years ago yesterday, Eric and I met for the very first time. Of course I thought he was cute (and he tells me he thought I was cute...) but nothing came of it for a while. Unbeknownst to both of us we were handling a lot in our lives at the time. Our conversations started out innocently enough - asking about work and general life. And as the time went by, and about a million emails were exchanged, a strong connection was formed.

Eric and I have stood by each other through more than most young couples. We've fought (like cats and dogs) and loved (like it's nobody's business) and the love always wins out.

My amazing husband sent me the most beautiful circus roses to mark the anniversary of the day we first met, and I was deeply touched. For us, we have no "dating" anniversary. Ours was a relationship that just grew - so this marks a special occassion for us. The day that I feel blessed to have met my match.

Our first anniversary is coming up and we can't believe it's been a year. We're both so thankful for our families and friends who are there to support us, make us laugh and who make everyday of our life so worthwhile.

We hope to see you all SOON!

GFAW :)

Aptly named, our GFAW nights include lots of good food and wine...it just so happens that gfaw is also indicative of the enormous amount of laughter that is produced when we're all in a room together. I'm still waiting for the photos that Bob took at our house in February but here are some from the last GFAW (april @ Pri and Anthony's house). It was a blast!















It's never a good thing when Ms. Pri has that look on her face...let's hope she didnt rename the child "bubbalicious"

















Even Annalie, at her young age, is thinking "What in the world is this woman doing to me?!"
(you know I love you Pri)

















The three ladies with no child related responsibilities stopped to take a shot (a photo!! not the other kind)








while lil miss slept...so angelic

All I needed was the rain...

It's that kind of night (hell it's been that kind of day) where you just want to sit in your pjs and snuggle with the dogs and watch tv. I sat down to check my email and realized that I had neglected to post photos of our closet redo as well as to post about the Coulianidis hosted GFAW!
I'm pretty sure that our 'good food and wine' (hence GFAW) night was in late April - the 23rd I believe and Miss Annalie Lucia Brice made her first appearance at our dinner party. You know that we're all friends like family and it's a beautiful thing when our dinner circle begins to expand with little ones...forcing us to put a place setting of a bottle and pacifier at the table :)
So I'd like to share some photos with you - first of the crash boom closet redo and then of the lovely Annalie...she's an amazing baby with so much love around her. I can't wait to spoil her rotten like a good aunt should! If I have technical difficulties (which I often do) I may have to post the GFAW photos separately, let's see how it goes!

This is, of course, after we emptied and gutted the closet as best we could....

Eric put up some new hardware...

the lovely wood floor (ahem ahem) in the closet...though I WOULD like to know what the heck that slanty thingy is...

YAY! New, clean closet with a new light and carpet!!

Of course Ginger helped A LOT during the re-do process. Morgen was absolutely nowhere to be found, as usual; since she usually hides from the mamarazzi.

This was Ginger's gift to her Daddy for giving her Mommy a new closet. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that this is how Eric wakes up EVERY morning :)

And here's the closet team resting after a long night's work. Ginger's in her usual position and so is Morgen - she just can not bring herself to look at the camera. So instead, she tried to make herself look like Eric's hat.

We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong...

Today, Tiffany and I (or as we're collectively known - Tiffamin) went to a Women's Conference in Princeton.
Some people may laugh at the idea of a women's conference. They may say that in the year 2008, women have every opportunity to excel and succeed. And "they" are right in a sense. Women have been making amazing strides for decades (centuries if we go past what's been written) but there is still something to be said for the professional woman that often goes unnoticed...

We are Super Heroes.
That's right - I'll say it...I'll toot my own horn and I dont care!

Women (and some men - I'm not knockin the men who do all this too) go to work each day and work in an office, then they come home and work at home and if you have children and a husband all of that gets multiplied exponentially...I can't even calculate it. We are the nurturers, the problem solvers, the democrats (sometimes the Republicans but you know what I mean), the cooks, the housekeepers, best friends, party planners, bill payers, travel agents, lovers, wives, sisters, mothers, daughters, CEOs, masters of school projects, queen of last minute cupcakes for 60 and much more. Did I leave something out?

I found out in a text message from my husband that "he relies on me." REALLY? I think I knew it deep inside but it was a little nice to know that he acknowledges it too. The cold hard fact is that these million roles we possess are not going away any time soon. Years and years of living has proven that we're actually GOOD at all of this stuff. We know, inately, how to dry the tears while perfecting last quarter's market share reports while cooking a (healthful) meal for 2.5 children and a spouse.

Doesnt that amaze you? It amazes me...and then I realize that that woman IS me. And my chest gets tight and I start to tear up thinking of all the other things I need to do...scratch that. Want to do.

Do you ever feel like you want to do something but then have an excuse why you don't do it? I run that scenario all the time. I want to paint, I want to run, I want to do yoga but I can't because (I'm tired, I don't have time, I don't have this or that). Today was about no excuses...no complaints. Basically, telling you that you're in control so prioritize and do what's most important to you - focus on it, no distractions, time yourself, and then reward yourself for it...with something that you love. The facilitator suggested chocolate but we all know that that would leave to very bad things for me. :)

So many of us feign being totally put together all the time - I know i do it from time to time. But I'll tell you - I feel stress like the rest of us too. I realized that the tight feeling in my chest and my physician's tendency to take my blood pressure 3xs before giving me a lecture on stress - these were not good things.

So today was about me. Well about women everywhere really but since I was there and this is my blog it was about ME. It wasn't so much LEARNING how to take charge and be assertive because I think that I know those things. I find myself to be a fairly diplomatic and take charge kind of gal. I think that I'm a natural leader and one who takes other's feelings into consideration. What I needed from today was the permission to take charge - permission to be in control - to say no - to stand up and just get done what I thought was most important.
And best of all - to not let all those "Mr. Grumpy Pants" (thanks Shirley) ruin my day.

I was talking to a young mom/wife today who was telling me how much her husband frustrates her because they run a business together and are polar opposites. I kept saying, "but you LET him frustrate you." and then I came home and got frustrated with my own husband.
No one is perfect. But we all need to live our lives and lead our destiny...hopefully with the one that we love by our side because that makes the journey so much sweeter.

So tomorrow I'm going to wake up and think positive, I'm going to be amazing and know that my frustration and stress comes from my reaction to others' actions...and those idiots down the hall.

(just kidding - the people down the hall from me at work are really nice. The idiots are someplace else...)

Is there something in the water?!

Seems like everyone's havin a baby!

On Monday, April 28th at 5:11pm Declan Douglas Drucker came into the world at 7lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. He has forever changed the lives of his amazing parents - Jamie and Susan - whom we love greatly. Susan was an amazing pregnant lady - looking beautiful the entire time -always smiling! I know that her sunny disposition and infectious laugh will be passed directly onto her beautiful son. Couple that with new dad Jamie's quick wit and you've got a combination to rival Jerry Seinfeld...this kid's gonna be a star!

look at the proud papa.... Congrats to the Druckers on the start of their family...many more to come.

And then there was a loud crash...

That's right. At about 3am we heard a loud terrifying noise. My big strong husband jumped out of bed to investigate (that's what he does right?) :) No burglar (thank God), the girls (by that I mean Ginger and Morgen) were fine, and the kids weren't with us so...what on earth could the noise be.
I watched my husband, ever so slowly, open the closet door and there it was. Ok ok - I'm totally being melodramatic. The noise we heard was our closet imploding - all the rods had fallen, our entire wardrobes were piled on top of each other - on top of my shoes no less! Needless to say we were exasperated.

So today's mission has become closet reorganization. We've been meaning to do it for awhile and I think that this was a sign - get off your a$$e$ already and clean up!

Eric is installing a new light in the closet right now so I figured I'd post and then go in the basement and start compiling our Goodwill/Salvation Army donation. We both promised that we'd only put away the clothing that we actually wear. The rest will either go to donation or freecycle.com
Pictures to come! I already took some "before" shots.

When I find myself in times of trouble... Let it be

Yes, yes I know I skipped a line there but its not really relevant to what I'm trying to say.
The past week and half have been a blur, a flash, and most of it filled with moments that we'd rather forget...or at the very least move past as if they had been a bad dream concocted in the outer regions of our minds.

There are those of you, our family and friends that are so close they are LIKE family - who know the story. For those that don't, it is a story that need not be repeated because with each utterance I lose some emotional energy. It is in times like these that we realize that there are people in the world who will never be content, never be whole, never have that light that shines in those that we keep close to us. And that, to me, is the saddest thing of all.

We've spent a lot of time praying like we've never prayed before. Don't get me wrong - I talk to God on all sorts of occassions but He (or She) knows that when the conversation comes fast and furious and with a fervor and intensity unlike before...well, I like to think that those are the prayers that get pushed closer to the top of the "listen" pile.

It's in times like these that the strength and vitality of my marriage becomes clear. Eric and I go through life each day like most couples - loving, laughing, fighting, and making up. But with us, when the going gets tough - there is no conversation - no game plan - no strategy. We are like a Swiss made timepiece - like a precision military machine - and in perfect concert we execute a plan that was never spoken - always right - and we know how to shift and change with the other's decisions. It's amazing to me to step outside of it and recognize the amazing relationship we have. And when all is said and done, and we're laying in bed at night, the best comfort we have is in the knowledge that we will hopefully ALWAYS be this way.

We're quickly approaching our first anniversary and I think that Eric and I have had a first year wrought with more tough times than most other couples. (at least I hope for everyone else's sake that that is true!) And yet, we're always looking at all of the AMAZING things that we have in our lives and we know that we're blessed for it.

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be...

A new little soul to love

Today at 6:39am (I hope I'm getting the time right) lil Baby B was born to our beautiful friends Nichole and Kevin Brice.
Annalie Lucia Brice came into this world and I don't know the stats because her wise parents decided that the first moments of their little girl's life should be spent cuddling with mom and dad - not being poked and prodded by the docs.

Kevin and Nicky are an amazing couple - full of love and laughter. Nicky has been an amazing source of information and I ask her all sorts of questions as Eric and I discuss the topics around getting pregnant. I know I can always turn to Nicks because she researches EVERYTHING, keeps spreadsheets and is able to email me all her knowledge - who could ask for a better friend?

I can not WAIT to meet lil Miss Brice. All our love to Kevin and Nicky and a HUGE hug for our beautiful new addition to the GFAW Family.

It's just another candle on your cake....

Yesterday we celebrated my cousin Asif's 30th birthday (his actual birthday was on the 20th - Thursday) at Avenue in Long Branch. None of us had been there before but his beautiful wife had heard great things about it. So she sent the evite and the rest is history! I, of course, checked it out on the web and when I realized that it was in Long Branch - where our good friends PatT and Gerard live - we gave them a call and told them to meet us out too!

Eric and I got there a little early and had our "alone time" with PatT and Gerard and then the birthday boy and Erin (with baby in tow - by "in tow" I mean - in utero) arrived with her sister Kelly and boyfriend Dan. They seriously are the nicest, funniest, and fun extended family one could ask for :)
Below are some photos from our night - I think you could tell that we had a great time!

Congrats to Asif and Erin on the impending birth of the first little one in our family - I cant wait to meet him/her and shower Erin with gifts in May!

This one's for you babe

Anyone who is a cop's wife knows that its a hard job in itself. Marriage is one thing. Being a wife is a totally different thing and now this is just...well I guess it's a third thing huh? :) That being said it's sometimes sad when my husband is away at work in the wee hours and I'm by myself. I'm certainly used to it by now but I was reminded of how much I love him when Liz played for me a song that is special to her and Tim. Tim played it when he proposed to Liz and now I'm playin' it for my husband. Really listen to it - you'll hear my voice in every chord...I love you babe...one year is just around the corner :)

What's the opposite of the Seven Year Itch?

It's happened ... my close-close (you know I've said that before!) friend Liz (aka White Chocolate) is engaged to her long-time beau Tim. It happened on their 7 year dating anniversary :) I guess after 7 years Tim's pretty sure that he's getting a kick ass wife outta Liz.

Their relationship isnt that fairy tale 'la-la' relationship. And honestly, after 7 years together if they were that way I'd be worried. They're real. They love each other tremendously and truly respect each other and I know that they're entering into this marriage eyes wide open.

Here's to you guys - being married for a hundred million years and always being happy.

Liz and I met long long ago in a land far far away. ok FINE. We met in New Brunswick at Rutgers but it was long ago. And I think at first we paid no attention to each other. In fact, Im not sure Liz even liked me though I dont remember liking or not-liking her so I must have been completely indifferent towards her. I do remember thinking one day in a staff meeting, 'Geez that girl is sarcastic'.

I dont know how it happened or when, but I love my Liz. We are there for each other through anything. We can call on each other for silly or serious matters and we're just 'us' all the time. No pretenses no facades - just the real Liz and Yas or White Chocolate and Brown Bear as we call each other (if you watch Scrubs you'll get the reference).

Liz - I'm here for you :) you know that if anyone can help you plan a fall 2008 wedding it's me. I love a challenge!

The Intricacies of Dialect Varm It

When cultures intersect, it is a beautiful thing. Sometimes, though, Americans are too proud or too embarrassed to reveal their misunderstandings. The result? Comedy gold. Thanks, Mom, for sending this to me.

St. Patty's Day isnt just about drinking beer...

It's about drinking GREEN beer. Sheesh - don't you all know this already?

No, seriously - St. Patty's day was important to us not just because it's an Irish holiday and neither of us are Irish but because Chief Harris was returning to official duty this day. She had been gone for about 10 weeks in an FBI training in Quantico, VA and boy did we miss her! Her amazing leadership and insight are always a wonderful guide for my shining star Sergeant...though I guess that would be 'shining stripes Sergeant'.

I was under the weather on this day but by the late afternoon/early evening was up to having some dinner. So I indulged my hubby and we went out for some food, drink, and a surprise visit from one of my favorite ladies :)

Pete says "Why you gotta go so soon?!"


ok listen, that's not fair to Pete - here's a better picture of him:

Some people care too much, I think it's called love. Winnie the Pooh

Well.... (drum roll please)....the moment we've all been waiting for - little Riley Sofia Goetz has arrived!

Ok, maybe not EVERYONE was waiting for this but a lot of people I know certainly were!!

For those of you who dont know Riley's parents (as they shall now be known for the rest of their days) - they are awesome people. Those kind of people who you meet and just know that they are the good kind :) warm and funny, generous in spirit and generous in general. They are fun to be around, fun to have around and now they've got this beautiful little expression of their love. And I must say, I've seen a lot of babies in my day (ok. I'm not 97 or anything but I have seen a lot of babies) and she's awfully cute. Some may say all babies look alike ... maybe they do... but if that's the case then they're all amazingly cute miracles.

As I said to Peter in an email - I cant wait to meet her in person (finally!) and to hold her tiny hand.

Congrats to the new parents - they're gonna rock!

Ummmm...can you say 'Trouble'

What other word would you use to describe the girls from college getting together with their spouses (and one soon to be spouse)?
Finally, after much trying - Becky & Bob, Pritee & Anthony, Nicky & Kevin, and Carol & Michael all came over for dinner on March 8th...Actually the more amazing feat then all of us getting together was that I actually pulled it together! I landed the night before from a business trip to Dominica - was surprised by my awesomely romantic husband at the airport and cooked a full meal the next night.
Though with us, its not really the food that matters, its the company. I was reminded of this during the evening when I went into the kitchen (for what - who knows?) and heard the raucous laughter from the dining room. I smiled...reminisced a little...and got this warm feeling of being surrounded by my 2nd family - these amazing people whom I've been blessed to meet and keep close in my life.
We weren't just getting together, but were also celebrating! Meeting Michael for the first time was great - he and Carol will be wed this fall. He fit right in and was firing one liners back at us in no time. Good job Michael and welcome to the family :)

Also celebrating the impending arrival of the wee baby B or B-squared as I like to call Nicky and Kevin's not yet arrived child. This will be a great moment in the lives of a truly wonderful couple who will be incredibly loving parents. Also this moment makes me feel old....we're adding a whole new generation to our GFAW :)
Remember - babies are always welcome at our dinner parties...we're getting of an age where we cant exclude them...and c'mon - who doesnt want a little cute one running around to serve cheesecake at the end of the night? I should really buy that baby an apron ;)

Go on little guy...the water's just fine

Sunday March 9th marked an important day for my nephew, Christian Charles Nielsen. He was baptized and my husband is his Godfather. Of course, being the somber serious couple that we spared no joke about the Godfather. In all seriousness, the morning was beautiful and baby Chris was a champ - no fussing or crying - just being his usual contented self. He did look MUCH more comfortable at the reception afterwards when he got to change into his "Got Milk" outfit :) congrats to mom and dad....