The Honeymoon

Well, after requests to explain my comment about how our honeymoon was terrible, I am going to go ahead and give you the entire story, complete with pictures, so if your not up to reading a "review" of Ocho Rios, or you are a HUGE fan of Jamaica, don't read this! Otherwise, here's the whole story...


First things first, our wedding was wonderful. It was a beautiful day with no problems whatsoever. We had so much fun getting to spend the day with the ones we love and ultimately, getting to marry my best friend.

The day after our wedding, we got to go to another wedding (we seriously went to at least one wedding every weekend in June, including our own). My mom's best friend, well her son, whom I went all through school with and our parents always joked that we would get married to each other, well he married someone else, as did I. But we still laugh, we literally got married the same weekend, who would have thought. Anyway, we went to that wedding the day after ours. We were absolutely pooped so we didn't stay much past dinner. Then on to the honeymoon...


Joe and I booked our honeymoon a year in advance. We were so excited that we had saved up enough money to go to Sandals. We had heard what a great place it was to honeymoon. Thankfully, Joe's parents bought us our airfare for Christmas so we had everything covered. We left from Canton Akron airport REALLY early. THe flight was long, but smooth and when we got off the plane, they ushered everyone going to Sandals to this room where we waited for our bus to come. They had beer on tap, so of course, Joe loved it, and our bus came very shortly afterward so it wasn't bad at all. Halfway to our resort, we stopped ad this little roadside shack to go to the restroom and get some food, it was like 1.5 hours away from our resort, so we needed it!


A few days into our stay, they decided to up our room because we were still very unhappy with our room. I wore flipflops in the shower because it was so dirty. So that made our week better.


All in all, we felt that we were completely misled and that some place that is so incredibly expensive should be worth it's money. Joe and I have both been on all inclusives that were much cheaper than "Sandals" and we have had a nicer time. I'll show you some pictures and leave you knowing that we ultimately had a good time because we were together, but we were sick at what we got for our money in Jamaica.


If you do ever go to Jamaica however, make sure to climb Dunn's River Falls. It was by far the most awesome thing we did on our trip. It was awesome!

**OK, I AM NOT STUPID BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THESE PICTURES SHOWED UP LIKE THIS!

Knee Surgery

So here's the deal, on May 8th (next Friday) I am going under the knife again :-( for the same thing I had surgery for back in high school. I am really looking forward to it because I have had chronic pain since I finished playing ball 3 years ago. The last time I had this surgery, I recovered very quickly, with nothing different from before the surgery, so I am hoping that this will go the same way this time also.

After learning that I had to have another surgery, I started thinking about whether or not playing college softball was worth it. I had a love for the game when I was younger, but as I got older, playing softball became a job specifically to get a college scholarship. By the time I was getting ready to sign my scholarship I was starting to wonder whether I was playing for the right reasons.


Anyway... I went to college, and played for three long years. (Joe pretty much forced me to stay because he didn't want my parents hating him and blaming him for giving up something that I thought I wanted so badly). I am glad I went and I am glad that I get to say "I played division 1 college softball." Not many people are given such a great opportunity, but looking back, it kicked my butt.

My freshman year, first day of practice, I twisted my right knee wrong and it swelled up. I immediately got sent to the trainer from hell and had to do rehad for like 12 weeks and wasn't allowed to play softball. Sounds like a break huh? WRONG... you have to go to every practice, study table, game, etc. and be the teams biggest fan. I understand doing that, believe me... it was just a lot when you couldn't even play. Once I was finally released, I was pitching and stepped in my own hole and separated the immobile joint in my foot... SERIOUSLY? I had to wear a boot for like 10 weeks and they were considering surgery. All this in my freshman year. While doing this, I was slowly wearing away the bone in my ankle making it very weak. I had to have my ankle taped very tightly before I could even think about stepping foot on a softball field for the next 3 years.


My sophomore year was a bit better, I knew what to expect and was in better shape. We were down in Cincinnati playing a double header when I got a terrible phone call. Joe had been in a really terrible accident. He told me the details and that he was pretty bruised up but he was going to be ok, then he got very upset. He told me if I would have been with him he would have killed me. I thought, no way, he is exaggerating. Well, the next day, when we got home from the DH I got right in my car and drove another hour home to see him. He asked me not to drive past where his car was parked (at some garage, they were trying to salvage what they could). I honored his wishes, and broke down the second I saw him, all battered and bruised. I wanted to see the car and what really happened. I needed to see it, to put my mind to rest. Turns out, if I were with Joe that night I would have been killed. He was so lucky and I thanked God a lot around that time because had I been with him that night, I wouldn't be here today.


But I wanted to quit softball after this incident because I was so far away from him when he needed me the most. It was really hard to stay in Cincinnati for another few days to finish up our softball games before getting to talk to him. He convinced me that I was where I was supposed to be, for more reasons than one, and that he would be here when I got home. (Just one of the many reasons why I love my husband, he is always encouraging me to continue with my dreams and not to worry about him, he's always going to be there!)


My junior year wasn't too bad, Joe and I got engaged on a cruise to the US Virgin Islands and that is when I decided enough was enough. I didn't love the game anymore and I was ready to move on in my life. The college parties and all the drama (it was RIDICULOUS), I was done with it all. I informed my coach in January that the upcoming season would be my last. I went out with a bang. We ended up winning our tournament and advancing to the finals. (Also an awesome experience that I am glad I was given the opportunity to experience). I made some great friends from softball, but it was a time in my life where it wasn't even close to the top of my priority list.

So, the reason for this post was to explain the surgery I am going to be having in a few weeks. It's called a lateral release. After I explain this, you will know why I blame softball on my injuries. I have a patellar tilt, which means my knee cap sits completely sideways on my legs. I was born like that. If I had not played softball, it probably never would have bothered me and I would have never needed surgery. Now, 6 years later, I am having my second knee surgery and I still get aches and pains all the time. UGH...

Please don't get me wrong, softball paid for my school, without which I would not have been able to go away to school and I am fortunate for that. I am also very fortunate for some of the best friends a girl could ever want, that I made soley through softball. But, right now, I am weighing in my head whether it was worth it.

We're Expanding!!!

And no... it's not a baby.

Joe and I decided to add to our family by buying another dog this weekend. We love Zoey, but she is truly handicap and we aren't sure how long we are going to have her with us :-( We made the decision awhile ago that our next dog was going to be, as Joe puts it, a "real" dog. A, big, lovable, lot of dog. I was ok with that as long as we chose a breed that was kid friendly and loyal.

I have always wanted a dog that SOMEDAY I will be able to take with me to a hospital as therapy to little children who are sick. I was in the hospital when I was a kid (for nothing major) but I was there when people brought in their dogs. I have never seen children light up like that. So, ultimately, some day I want to volunteer some of my time to make that smile appear on people's faces as well.

Long story short... we went out to Lake Milton on Saturday when Joe got off work and picked up our second little bundle of joy... Riley!

More on her later, I promise!

Outside

So, I love to be outside as much as the next person, but what I don't understand is how we here in Ohio think that 60 degrees constitutes shorts and tank tops, tops down on the convertible, and not putting an f-ing jacket on a young child.

We live in the apartment complex in Stow where, I have decided, children do NOT have responsible parents. One day, and this is the honest truth, I was sitting outside reading and I had Zoey outside and a bunch of children came up to pet her and ask questions about her, that's fine. She is one of those dogs that attracts attention. But, the next day, I had one of the little girls knock on my door and ask if Zoey could come out and play. SERIOUSLY? She's a dog. Then, when I said Zoey couldn't come out and play she asked me to come inside and play with her. That's all I need, to be suspected as the neighborhood stalker by letting young kids into my house. Don't get me wrong, I love children, but I do not like it when children have no friends and no parents to play with them that have to play with my dog. UGH!!!! But anyway, back to my story... these kids were outside in shorts and tank tops and no shoes, at like 7 at night... when at its highest yesterday it was 60. Where are their parents? I am not a parent, but yet I know that 60 is not 90 and kids should still be in long pants and sleeves and SHOES!!! UGH!!!

ANYWAY...to enjoy the weather today I went on a nice brisk walk. It was great, besides the terrible aching that happened in my leg. I am super excited to get this all taken care of and HOPEFULLY be done with knee problems forever. STUPID SOFTBALL. Don't get me wrong, I am completely greatful that I was given the great opportunity to play a sport in college, none the less, get my school paid for, but I am not sure if it is totally worth all the pain and agony I went through and am still continuing to go through with all the knee pain.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the great day outside, and is planning to enjoy the weekend. We are having a cookout/bonfire with friends this weekend at our place. I LOVE entertaining, so tonight Joe and I went and bought a fire pit and scouted out the flowers I am going to buy to make our patio a nice place. I am so excited. I LOVE SUMMER AND WARM WEATHER!!!

I hope everyone has GREAT plans for the weekend!

Love, Tricia

Bad Blogger

So I have been a TERRIBLE blogger over the past like three months. Sorry! I continue to read a certain few blogs on a regular basis, but frankly, after sitting in front of a computer all day at work, I have no desire to come home and sit in front of a computer there too. And since blogger is blocked at my work unless you somehow stumble upon it, I don't get much time to read and/or write my blog. But I am going to try and make a conscious effort to do so on a more regular basis, not because any of you care what goes on in my life, but because I need somewhere to put my thoughts.

So here goes, this past weekend we took a much needed little get-away with friends down to Lake Mohawk. Joe went down to help friends during the day and me and Britt met them down there in the evening for some drinking, corn hole, and cookout food. It was a blast. We don't get a chance to do that very often, with us being all grown up and whatnot, so it was very needed and a lot of fun.Other than that, nothing too exciting has been going on in our lives. I have been trying to spend as much time as possible outside, because in two weeks, I am going to have my legs cut into AGAIN and I am not sure how long it is going to take me to bounce back. When I had knee surgery in high school it was only a few days until I was up and moving (slowly and in pain, but still moving) so I am hoping that even though I am older and not near as athletically fit as I was then, that I can bounce back quickly.

Well, that is all for today, and I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to be able to find old friends from high school and learn a little bit about their lives. The internet truly can be a good thing.

Tricia