Poor Frido

Isn't this a pitiful picture. It makes me so sad. Frido is not getting better.
I am taking him to the vet again today ($$$).
His eye is still swollen and looks more irritated than before.

Some people may think we are crazy spending money on a ferret...
but how can you not?Just look at that cute face!

It was a fun ride while it lasted...

Last night we had the Hardings and the Galbraiths over to watch the BYU Basketball game. As I have mentioned before, this is the best BYU basketball has done since 1981...pretty epic. I am not a sports fan but I like watching basketball because it is constant action and quick games. Also, when the stakes are high, like this game, it's even more fun.

The night in a nutshell:
-Shrimp dip made by Angie
-Thick chewy BYU sugar cookies made by Joanna
-BYU shooting like crazy but only making a 1/3 of their shots
-BYU a few points behind Flordia for almost the entire game
-Having BYU's number one fan in our apartment
-Very loud yelling and clapping when BYU finally makes a shot
-Horrible refs who were obviously paid off by Flordia
-A surprising overtime "ending"
-Losing by an astounding 9 points...sad
-Jimmer ends his college career

A good and bad night -
A good night with friends.
A bad night for BYU.

But look on the bright side...
We get our friends back
now that BYU sports are over.

We're Suckers....

Last night we celebrated the Persian New Year with Pete and Hediyeh Coombs, who are in our ward. Hediyeh is originally from Iran and celebrated the Persian New Year with her family all growing up. The Coomb's were nice enough to share their family traditions with us and their other friends as they hosted their very own Persian New Year Party. If you don't know very much about the Persian New Year, let me share with you the things I learned:

1. The Iranian people celebrate the New Year at the spring equinox, the first day of Spring, which usually occurs on March 21st. I love this concept because with the coming of spring, it is a new birth and a new beginning. Very sentimental for starting a new year and getting a brand new start.

2. In Iran the New Year is a really big deal, much like Christmas in the United States. Everyone gets 3 weeks off from work and gives each other presents ushering in the new year.

3. Hediyeh had a table set with 7 very important New Year items that all started with the letter "S" in the Persian alphabet. I can't remember all the items but here are the ones I DO remember: sprouts, fish, apples, and vinegar. They were all elegantly displayed in and on traditional Persian dishes and fabrics. There was also a beautiful mirror on the table. Hediyeh told me that it is a tradition that when you get married you receive a very beautiful mirror from your family as a gift. She had her "marriage mirror" on display and it was very beautiful.

4. There are specific Persian dishes that you eat on New Years. I do not know what they were called or know what was in them, but the meals did include some beans, rice, grape leaves and other yummy stuff. Hediyeh's mom was nice enough to make it all and leave it for Hediyeh to warm up for us to eat. I am not a cook by any means and don't even know how to cook American food, so don't be offended that I do not know what was in these dishes.

5. Hediyeh also had her guests play a New Years game that involved prizes. This of course was my favorite part. The object of the game was to open up an envelope that had been stuck into the scriptures (in Iran they would use the Koran, but Hediyeh used the Bible and Book of Mormon). Inside the envelope is a prize, such as a paper reading what you would receive or even money. The prizes of the night included apples, gold fish, dollar bills, etc. After you opened up your envelope you chose one verse to read out loud that was on one of the pages the envelope was stuck between. That verse is your fortune for that coming year.

I loved this New Years game so much! I want to implement it into my own family's New Year traditions.

When I played the game my prize was a dollar! WHAT! WHAT! However, when we found out that Pete and Hediyeh were planning on killing the fish, they couldn't get rid of, by starvation, we knew we couldn't let that happen. So Pat and I ended up rescuing 5 gold fish from starvation because having 5 dead gold fish on your conscience is no way to start a new year. What can I say...we're suckers.

It was a great party; however, I don't think the night went entirely as planned. Unfortunately, the Persian New Year happened to fall on a BYU basketball game. BYU hasn't done this well since 1981 (so I am told) thanks to Jimmer. So when Hediyeh saw all the boys huddled in a corner trying to watch the game on someone's iphone, she relented and turned on the game for everyone to enjoy. Not quite a traditional Persian New Year activity, I am sure, but the boys were happy.

Thanks Coomb's for a fun and educational night. I made some good New Year resolutions and I hope to keep them this time.

Frido Update

Frido had his surgery. The vet was hoping for fluid (or puss) to come out of the abscess. The vet went through the back of Frido's mouth to lance the abscess. When he did so only a little bit of fluid came out, not as much as the vet was hoping; however, the good thing is the vet saw some gingivitis on his back tooth. With seeing this the vet thought that it might have caused an infection that caused the abscess, but he is not positive.

He sent us home with some eye drops, antibiotics and pain meds which Frido HATES. We are hopeful that it is just an infection and that in a few weeks Frido will be back to normal.

We are super happy that our little guy might be healthy soon! We love our little guy.

PLEASE PLEASE LET IT BE OPTION A!!!

I have always gone by the saying "No News is Good News"; so unfortunately today, I have some news.

About two weeks ago Frido's left eye started watering. We noticed it but hoped it was allergies or a cold; however, this past week it started to get enlarged and looked as if something was pushing it out. Disgusting, I know.

Of course we went to the internet to find out what it could possibly be and were both comforted and terrified at the possibilities.

For the past couple of nights Pat and I have had to discuss how far we will go to save our little guy. Admittedly, it got a little heated as Pat would do anything to save his best friend, while I tried to have a sense of reason and not let my heart do all the thinking.

We almost did not want to take him to the vet because then we would possibly have to face the cold hard truth and make some hard decisions. However, every time we would look into his bugging out eye, we knew we had to do something.

So today I took the day off of work to take our "baby" to the vet. I love going places with Frido because I feel like a super star, when really Frido is the actual super star. Because Frido is technically {whisper} illegal in New York City, the vets don't get a lot of Ferret clients. All the other vets and technicians wanted to come and pet Frido and even stay in the room while he got examined. So as they poked and prodded poor little Frido, he had quite the crowd observing him, and he did so well.

After just a few minutes the doctor was able to conclude that Frido did in fact have an abscess behind his eye which was growing and pushing his eye out of it's socket. Now there are two different possibilities of what it can be:

A) The abscess can be lanced. If it is not solid it will be drained and with some antibiotics Frido will be good as new.

B) The abscess can be lanced. If it is solid then, well....it can be cancerous and we will have to see where to go from there.

So, without much thought I left Frido with the vet for his surgery to determine what the abscess could possibly be. So, let's pray it is option A.

The Ghosts of Grand Central

This Saturday night we had a spectacular evening full of ghosts, capes, cheese cake and funny scenarios. A few weeks ago we purchased a Groupon deal for a Ghost tour. Patrick has always been into ghosts, mainly because he wants to believe in them so badly but doesn't, so I knew he would love a Ghost tour.

Our friends, Nate and Ashley, also purchased the tour tickets and scheduled us for the tour this Saturday. We met Ashley and Nate for yummy Thia food and then headed over to Grand Central Terminal (we discovered on the tour that Grand Central "Station" is incorrect). We were immediately intrigued and hyped for the tour when we saw our instructor was wearing a cape.

The tour was 90 minutes long and took us throughout Grand Central, which is a building I love and need to explore more. We learned some unique history about the station and New York City. Unfortunately, there weren't as many ghost stories as we wanted, but it still was so much fun. I mean, how often do you get to follow around a man in a cape?

After the tour we walked to Times Square and ate Junior's Cheese Cake and laughed a lot.
It was such a fun night, one that was completely unique and memorable.

I am THAT person

You know those people that sing along with and dance to street and subway performers? Well, I am one of those people. I especially love it and get into it when the performer is singing a song that I like. I lean more toward the 1950 and 1960 Motown songs because Pat says I am 40 year old woman at heart.

Pat sent me this 10 minute video today. I started watching it thinking I wouldn't watch the whole thing, but surprisingly it gave me chills, almost made me tear up and now I am slightly obsessed.


Stand By Me | Playing For Change | Song Around The World from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

There you have it....

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird,
and when we find someone whose weirdness is
compatible with ours, we join up with them
and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.

-Dr. Seuss


Pat sent me this quote today. I think it sums up our relationship quite nicely.

Celebrating with Bull Riding

Even though Patrick's birthday was on Thursday, March 3rd we celebrated with our friends this past Saturday with good Mexican food and free mechanical bull riding!

A few weeks ago my co-worker told me that he was going to a restaurant that had a mechanical bull. This sounded like so much fun to me and so when I was planning Pat's birthday celebration I knew JUST the venue!

Around twenty of Pat's friends were so nice to travel all the way to Brooklyn, despite the horrible train service, to meet at the restaurant Viva Toro. This place had such a cool atmosphere with loft-like open spaces, brick walls, fake fire lamps, a live DJ, and of course a whole corner dedicated to the mechanical bull.

Rubi, Ashley and Kelsey

Top: Patrick, Scott, Fabio, Todd
Bottom: Nathan, Lindsay, Casey, Rodrigo

The bull ride was so fun and I was so impressed with the hidden-bull-riding-skills of some of our friends. The bull was controlled by the DJ who moved the bull with the beat of the music. Depending on the riders cockiness and skill level the man controlling the bull would either let you stay on for a while or made you fall off to put you in your place. I only rode the bull once because I am wimp when it comes to things in motion. I could barely stand up, not only because my thighs got quite a workout, but because the spinning and bucking of the bull made me a little nauseous--but it was definitely worth it.

Patrick and I had such a great time being with almost all our friends here in New York. I don't think there is any better way to celebrate your birthday. Friends and Bull Rides. It doesn't get much better than that.

Happy 28th Birthday, Pat!

Yesterday Patrick turned 28! Can you believe it? That is almost 30! Where has the time gone? The funny thing is when I would talk to Pat about turning 28 he didn't want to talk about it because he was so upset about being that old. I guess this is about the time you start getting upset about getting older and you start lying about your age. I always wondered when that would happen.

I guess one reason for being upset about getting older is about not being where you imagine yourself at that age. I can tell you, when I was 8 and someone asked me where I would want to be in 20 years, I DEFINITELY did NOT say "living in a 450 sq/ft one bedroom apartment, working as a receptionist, and having no dog or kids."

However, it's all about how you look at it; my life is way better than I ever could have imagined.

Just because at the age of 28 I don't live in a two story house with a white picket fence, have a huge back yard with a mini farm house, a dog, and two little kiddies running around, doesn't mean my life isn't great. I wouldn't give up any of my past or current experiences in a million years, I just wish there was more time to experience all that life has to offer. I am of course speaking for myself, but I am sure Pat feels the same way.

There is no way that we give up any our single-dating years to learn what we truly wanted in a spouse and to appreciate that person when we found them. There is no way we would give up the 1 1/2 to 2 years of leaving everything behind to dedicate ourselves to helping and serving others and teaching them about Jesus Christ. A person learns so many invaluable lesson when he or she gives up all his wants and desires for every minute of the day for that duration of time. And there is no way we would give up the (almost) 4 years we have been married and have been able to enjoy life with our sole purpose and responsibility to make the other person happy. All these things are just what we needed for our ultimate happiness, now and in the years to come.

So I guess what I am saying is....Pat there is no shame in being 28 because every year was and is essential and precious in contributing to the extraordinary man you are today. And that is something to be proud of.

So when the day came to celebrate the birth of Patrick being born 28 years earlier, we were both quite excited. Pat was excited to get presents and I was excited to give them. Months prior to Pat's birthday he starts planning on what he was going to ask for and is continually changing his mind weeks and even days before the event. This makes it a bit difficult to get a present that he wants the most on the day of his birthday.


However, Patrick taught me a lesson over Christmas. According to Pat when you give gifts there has to be one big gift that is the ultimate surprise and want of the receiver. However, it is not enough to give one big gift, but you also have to give a few small gifts in addition to the big gift. I did not know these rules of gift giving before Christmas this past year, but I made sure to show Pat that I learned my lesson and learned it well, just in time for his birthday.

However, a week prior to his birthday Pat changed his mind on what he "really" wanted for his birthday. His new fixation is a bicycle. We even went to a bike store and checked them out and he found the one of his dreams. I didn't know what to say because I had already bought his gift, so all I said was "Let's discuss this after your birthday." This blew his mind and it was all he could think about. What gift could I have possibly gotten him that would call for that comment? He loved thinking about it and trying to get me to tell him what I got him. However, all I would do was smile.

Anyways, on Patrick's birthday we slept in a little longer than usual and went together to work. During the day, while Patrick was at work and totally oblivious, I carried home one of his enormous gifts through the streets of NYC and on the subway. It was a ridiculous site but one that must be done because I have to have all his gifts shipped to my work and I love my husband. So after lugging this huge awkward box home I set up the "presentation." I had it all planned: We would go out to dinner by his work and I would bring the two "supplemental" gifts with me and he would open them thinking that there were no more gifts. Him being a little disappointed (secretly of course) we would go home and there would be a the grand prize gift waiting for him. He would be so confused, because from what he knew there wouldn't have been time for me to wrap and put it out. This is what I had pictured in my head for the night. But that isn't what happened....

I called him up a few hours before we got off of work and asked him if he wanted to go to dinner near his work, and I could meet him. He didn't want to and was pretty adamant about just going home and relaxing and eating somewhere near home. Since it was his birthday, I couldn't put up much of a fight. So I went home as usual and I had a about 45 minutes until Pat's arrival. When Pat came home I played "Happy Birthday" music and danced around and lip synced the words to him. And boy, when he saw the presents that awaited him, he sure was excited. Of course we had to start with the smallest gifts first. I got him a pair of motorcycles goggles and a new motorcycle helmet (that we are most likely going to take back because he looks silly in it).



Then for the grand finale I got him new motorcycle pipes! Patrick has been wanting these pipes for years now to make his bike sound more manly and loud, and to also make it look cooler.


Since Pat is constantly changing his mind on what he wants, I thought this would be a pretty safe bet since it has been the consistent "want" throughout the years. However, the celebration didn't last long because he couldn't believe I got them for him because they cost more than what we usually spend on birthday gifts. And to increase his anxiety, I told him that I got these for him before his new fixation of wanting a bike started, so he could return these and get a bicycle. This is where the dilemma started...Was Pat going to keep the pipes, which have been his dream for years, or return them to get a new bicycle, which he really wants too!?!?! He doesn't really "need" new pipes, but he really really wants them. He already has bicycle, that is my dad's bike, but it is way too big for him and could potentially be dangerous. WHAT IS A MAN TO DO!!?!?!?

This caused Pat a lot of stress and continues to cause him stress. But he says it is the best kind of stress to have. Even though Pat has a very big decision to make, he said it was a great birthday. I am so glad that we both got to celebrate Patrick being born because it's definitely something that needs a celebration.

Happy Birthday Pat and I love you!