Three is a Magic Number.

Today marks three years that Erich + I have [officially] been together. After meeting him + blowing him off a handful of times a month earlier, I finally hung out with him - to have a homework date + watch LOST. The rest is history. We've had our ups + downs, like all couples do, but we always come out on top, stronger than ever. From living together, finding three bebe kittens + taking them in [without having a clue what to do], losing one of those kittens, losing my job, + most recently, the storm that flooded our home - we have been through a lot. This year has been particularly rough, but I wouldn't want to weather it with anyone else. He constantly makes me laugh, cheers me up when I am sad, + is the voice of reason when I am being irrational [which happens more often than not]. To say I am lucky is an understatement. I look forward to the future + making memories with this handsome dude!

The song below is one that we would listen to on the overhead music on an iPod when we worked at Starbucks together. Whenever I hear it, it reminds me of the beginning of us.

TMST: Holiday Submissions!

For the month of December, I am looking for some holiday-themed Teach Me Something Thursday submissions. It can be a craft, recipe, shopping strategies - anything that relates to the holiday season.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with TMST, you can read more about this weekly feature here. If you would like to submit something, please contact me. Thank you!

After The Storm.

The other night, when we got our cable + internet back, I wrote up a post about how the hurricane affected us, but didn't finish it. Today, I had time to sit back down to it, but decided to delete it + start fresh. Our home was compromised by Sandy. There was a mandatory evacuation + our apartment flooded with over a foot of water. All of our furniture + appliances are damaged, along with many personal possessions. Hours have been spent cleaning, driving to pick up hand-me-down furniture from family [we can't afford to buy anything at the moment] + washing bags upon bags of clothes that were drenched by the Great South Bay. Last night was the first night I slept through the night. I have been stressed about completing my school work, making up a week of student teaching that I missed + finding normalcy.

Some of the damage on our end - it could have been far worse, though.

At the same time, I feel like the biggest asshole in the world for feeling like this. While I have been stressed, I am also beyond grateful. Yes, we had thousands of dollars worth of damage + Erich's dad lost his car in an attempt to save mine [I am so grateful for this, he has no idea], but some people lost everything. We have power in our home, gas in our cars + food on our plates. We are so very lucky + I cannot stress that enough. In fact, I even feel guilty for recovering as quickly as we did.

October was a rough month for me. I was student teaching, my aunt passed away + we celebrated Dominic's 15 birthday - the first one since he passed away in May. I kept telling Erich that I couldn't wait for October to be over, because it was eating me up inside. It got so bad that I even went to the doctor, because I was having daily anxiety attacks + felt like I was losing grip on everything [don't worry, no suicidal thoughts, just severe anxiety + mild depression]. Then the storm hit. 

I am glad that November has arrived, because there are many things to be thankful for + look forward to: our three year anniversary, my thirtieth birthday + Thanksgiving, to name a few. I am hoping that once we get caught up on our academic work, that we will be able to help volunteer in areas that were devastated by the storm. If we have to wait until school is over, so be it. They will still need volunteers, so we will make sure to be there.

Clockwise from top left: Penelope scared + hiding under the bed at the hotel the first night; Puar followed me around the hotel most of the time [she's a fraidy cat]; making light of the situation with the light that helped me clean out our flooded apartment in the dark; a treat from Erich's wonderful mother - one of the many things she brought to the hotel for us to make our stay that much easier.

I hope all of you are healthy + well. If any of you were affected by the storm, please email me + let me know what you need. Many of my friends want to help others in need [but don't want to go through agencies where they are unsure of how money is being allocated]. If you are in need of clothes, shoes, food, gas, whatever - please let me know. I will try my hardest to help you. Also, thank you so very much to my friends who have reached, asking how they can help us, or so make sure we were safe. That means the world to me + I hope you all know that.

Sunday Social, Volume Nine.

This is the first time I've tended to the blog since hurricane Sandy swept across the coast [the TMST post was scheduled weeks ago]. I have many things to catch up on in the land of blogging, among other areas of my life, but I needed to take a break from the craziness + give my blog some attention. Here are the latest questions for Sunday Social. You can link up over at A Complete Waste of Makeup.

01.  What is currently on your wish list? For life to get back to normal. Hurricane Sandy threw us for a loop + caused thousands of dollars of damage to our home + belongings. Seeing as we live in a garage apartment that isn’t to code, we can’t claim anything through the insurance company, so anything we have to replace is out of our pockets. Granted, our damage was nothing compared to what others sustained, it was still stressful for us as well.

02. Share a new iPhone or Droid app you discovered that we all need? Its not really new, but I really like using PicFrame to make collages to use on Instagram.

03.  What is a new Fall TV show that you have added to your DVR? I don’t have DVR, I’m not too much of a television person anymore. When we were evacuated from our home for the hurricane, I watched back-to-back episodes of Long Island Medium to keep me entertained. There’s only so many hours in the day that we could watch the news, it was heartbreaking + anxiety-inducing.

04.   Share your social media links for us to follow you on.  Which is your favorite and why?

I use Bloglovin, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest + Twitter. My favorite is definitely Instagram – I love being able to post pictures sporadically + see what my friends are up to.

05.  What is a TV show, movie or song that you could listen to over and over and never get tired of? Television show = LOST. Erich + I haven’t watched much television since our favorite show has been off the air. The only other series we really got into is Dragon Ball Z [I was totally against watching it, but after a few episodes, I got really into it]. Movie = You’ve Got Mail. Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors + the cast of this movie just makes me feel all warm + fuzzy inside. The Star Wars series is also a given. Song = Jackson 5 – Rockin’ Robin. I loved this song as a child + every time I hear it, I just get in the best mood.