Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Handy Hoyts

Blair and I fell in love with a wine tasting wall idea in a recent Pottery Barn catalog.  We decided we could copy the idea for far less than it would cost to buy the modular racks from Pottery Barn.  We painted and hung the chalkboard and wine racks a few weeks ago.  My parents came over this weekend with their tools to help us cut the crown molding that we used as a frame.


A HUGE "thank you" to my wonderful parents for bringing over the mitre saw and finish nail gun, and for teaching Blair how to use them while Mom and I supervised.

A piece of pressed hardboard, some chalkboard paint, crown molding, and a few wine racks from Amazon.com, and a tadaaa...  I present to you the Hoyt Wine Tasting Wall!


Saturday, March 26, 2011

Happy Little Marriage Fairies

The success of or marriage certainly doesn't depend on them, but the status of our household most definitely does...marriage fairies. The other day I was stressing out a little bit about how much cleaning that needed to be done.  No one was coming over or anything, but I was hell bent and determined to start scrubbing.  I was busy working away, wondering if Blair had any idea why the loft bathroom never had any mildew.  I decided that he has "bathroom fairies."  Truthfully, Blair probably doesn't have any idea why the bathroom in the loft is free of mildew because he never worries about the bathroom in the loft period.

Fast forward a few days later.  A routine oil change reveals that I need four new tires.  I come home, and Blair asks how the maintenance appointment went.  I told him that I have good news and bad news:  bad news, we have to spend a significant amount of money on new tires, the good news, he has just been crowned the "tire fairy." 

More than a little confused by my amusement at my own jokes, and a little disturbed that I labeled him a fairy of any sorts, he graciously accepts the title.  

Another week in the Hoyt household has gone by with the marriage fairies hard at work.  Life is great, and we are more than blessed.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patty's Day!

There are many things I love about my family (and new family), but one of my favorite qualities is that if you stick around long enough, you become a member of the family- blood relation or not.  I have dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins that aren't technically "related".  This list includes, but is not limited to, half the state of West Virginia and according to my dear Nana, Wayne Newton.

It took me no time at all to realize that Blair and his family share this same quality, and I was soon adopted by his wonderful parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins- those blood and friends as deep as blood.  I am blessed.  Some of the best parts of my new family are the wonderful little ones I get to watch grow up.

Hard to believe that a year ago today we welcomed our nephew Connor into the world.  Happy 1st birthday little man!  You are very loved!

And to all of us that are actually Irish, and those of us that have somehow been adopted into Irish families, happy St. Patrick's Day!

Cheers!

P.S.- I read Blair this post prior to publishing and he pointed out that St. Patrick was actually Scotish, not Irish (and he sort of threw in this "booya!" hand guesture).  So, happy St. Patrick's Day to all you Scotts out there too! 

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Then and Now

Pretty much everything in my life has changed over the past few months, but I realized yesterday, that one of the biggest changes has been how I spend my days off.

In my "life before wife," when I had the very rare day off it typically went as follows:
- Get out of bed around 8:30
- Call up one of my squatches (the affectionate term I use for my life-long best friends), and pick them up and head to the beach
- Rummage through my closet in search of something to wear out on the town for our inevitably awesome night out ahead.
-"Eh, forget it, I'll make Tory go shopping with me for a new outfit once I get there."- Side note- this usually happens after a few margaritas which leads to 1) an overpriced outfit and 2) something I would regret ever purchasing, much less wearing
- Spend the afternoon at the beach with the margaritas mentioned above
- Go out on the town
- Go to bed somewhere around 4:00 am
- Wake up feeling like I shouldn't have survived, and wondering if I really have the will to continue through my hangover

How I spent my day off yesterday:

- Wake up at 6:00 am and make Blair breakfast before he heads to work (ok, so it was instant oatmeal, but I did put dried fruit and almonds in it, so it still counts)
- Run around the house cleaning until 8:00am
- Jump in the shower
- Meet home inspector for 4 month home inspection
- Head to the social security office to get a new card with my new last name
- Sit around in social security office for 2 hours trying to figure out who is trying to scam the system (go ahead, you can judge me now for this)
- Head back for a dentist appointment and leave the dentist totally stoked for a clean checkup
- Close my old bank accounts
- Get my nails done
- Head to "work" at Wine Styles
- Go to bed by 11:00 while Blair watches VT basketball
- Fall asleep thinking...I should blog about this

So...needless to say, things have changed here, and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Happy weekend to all!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Big Things in the Hoyt Household!

Yesterday was a HUGE day for the Hoyts.  Not only did we get cable...AND internet, but we went out to celebrate the birthday of Yo Pops (aka G Pops)!  Happy Birthday!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Final Showdown

After successfully passing the blood test, and the skin prick test, I thought I was well on my way to being deemed "not allergic to shellfish."  Today was the last test, the final showdown, it was the "challenge."  I had to bring shrimp into my doctors office and eat it in front of her in slowly increasing quantities while she and a nurse checked in on me every ten minutes for an hour.

My mom was wonderful (as always) and had cooked the same type of shrimp I reacted to and had it ready for me to pick up on my way to work.  My dad called her and told her to wash it really really good first, and maybe I wouldn't react :)

So, I pass through the test with flying colors, and my doctor explains that sometimes people only react to shellfish that isn't totally fresh because there is a higher amount of some chemical that gets released.  This was likely the case with me and my previous reactions, given that I had reacted to frozen shrimp.  She welcomed me back to the shellfish eating world, and I was on my way. 

Circa 30 minutes later I am shopping in Pottery Barn, and I start to feel itchy.  I head over to South Moon Under, duck into a dressing room, and see...yep, my transformation into "Hitch" is underway. Awesome. I call the doctor on her cell, and she tells me to head back to the office and her nurse would be waiting for me.  I then explain to the doctor, that this really doesn't mean I'm allergic to shellfish.  It could be that chemical like she said before.  Yes, I'm trying to rationalize my allergies away with an allergist...please reference my father's suggestion to wash the fish...I think this trait is hereditary.  She's not buying it.

So I call Blair on his cell to tell him to cancel next week's date for Red Lobster and that he might need to pick me up. 

Arrive at the doctors office where I am given 5 steroid pills and an anti-histamine.  I text Blair and tell him never mind, I will just carry the Mazda home. 

I have had this particular steroid before.  Not only does it make me certifiable crazy, it also makes me think I am completely hilarious.  Blair should have fun over the next few days!

So it's an epi pen and a no-shellfish policy for me. 

I may have won the battle, but shellfish won the war. 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Free Therapy

Some women claim they find running, baking, cleaning, or organizing therapeutic.  For those of you who might fall into one of these categories, I would like to extend this offer for unlimited, free, therapy, sponsored by yours truly. 

I would not at all mind if someone ran on the treadmill for me.  Blair would love some freshly baked cookies (ok, ok, I'm the one who wants the cookies).  This house could use a little spring cleaning, and we are in definite need of some organization.

Cheers,

Ashley