Just Us

Hello, New World!!!

Every few weeks, the planets align, and Heffe and I get to spend some real QT together... i.e., do normal coupley things, not just cross things off our to do lists and work. 

Last night, we had a date night!

The pics we tried to take last night at dinner were awful (pretty standard... don't get me wrong, we're a good looking pair, but man, we are NOT photogenic! Engagement and wedding photos should be REAL interesting...), so this is a pic from a previous date night. :)

:) :) :) 

Sidenote... this date night location was recommended by Mosey... she's GREAT for date night ideas!!!

We went shopping, and then went to one of our favorite restaurants to gorge ourselves on carbs and wine. :)

"No one is as fun as us." -Heffe

Couldn't have said it better myself. :)

Until next time... This is me. Bein me. Cornball Sciato. Fallin in looooooooooooove all over again. :)

Cheers. :)

Hump Day CtJ

Well, hello new world!

What is a CtJ you ask? It is a Come to Jesus. Heffe and I coined the phrase and use it regularly in our conversations describing anything from "Man, I'm stressed and could really use a good ____" to "Crazy mama walking with her screaming kids while she smokes a cigarette and yells at them to shut up needs a ___."   We had many the CtJs on our drives back and forth seeing each other while we were doing the long distance thang. 

So... what is a CtJ. 

Every once in awhile, you need a Come to Jesus chat with yourself. With Jesus. With no distractions. Completely alone. Zone out. The appeal of the CtJ is that it provides clarity and understanding and sense to the craziness and unpredictability of life. Sometimes CtJs make you laugh. Sometimes CtJs make you cry. A lot of times CtJs make you cry. But it's the culmination of stresses and solutions and comfort that make the CtJ so... beautiful.

I conquered the weather today and willed it not to rain, so I was able to get in a much needed 6 miles. It was a little chilly, a little sunny, I had new tunes to jam out to, the trail was pretty empty... formula for a great run, one might say. 

First substantial run in 2 weeks? Sure. My mind thought it was a great time for a CtJ. 

This is where the magic began...

Seems harmless enough. Ooooh, CtJ... you trickster.

So this is about 0.4 miles into the run (I took the picture at the end, after I had run out and back 6 miles). 

There were some people running in a group that I recognized from last week. The reason I recognized them from any other token runners is that they were pushing running strollers... and the passengers were adults with special needs.  

My heart broke and swelled at the same time. What love and compassion these runners have. What passion they have. What respect for life they have. 

 I hope I see them at the half marathon in 2 weeks, and I hope they beat me.

This respect for life thought got me thinking to a conversation I had with a coworker today in the copy room. She is pregnant (everyone at my school is preggers!! Don't worry Heffe and my new world... I'm NOT drinking THAT water!), and we were just talking about how she and her husband are so excited. She waited to tell everyone until she was in the  middle of her pregnancy... which seemed normal to me (I'm thinking well, duh, you really never know what could happen)... and then she told me she had a miscarriage at the beginning of the year, and how she was glad she didn't tell anyone she was pregnant because she couldn't relive the story every time someone asked her how she was doing. Holy. Lord. Then, we talked about how excited she was for this baby, and how she can't wait to meet him/her. Wow. So much emotion and love and respect for life wrapped up into a 5 minute conversation. 

I know everyone makes mistakes, and people, me included, don't act with dignity and respect for life at all times... 

But as we get caught up in BIG stresses of life... we can't forget the small things. I really believe life is made up of a million small moments that take our breath away. I also believe that there are consequences for everything we do, good or bad. 

Whether you are helping a family member with special needs thrive, or you are expecting mothers and soon to be fathers, or you are just taking care of you and trying to do the right thing... 

Let's all hope and pray for the strength and motivation inspiration we need to show just a little more respect for life.

And that, ladies and gents, is a CtJ. :)

Oh. Gotta close the CtJ out right. 

Ms. Dion is a big part of my CtJs. 

Take us home, Celine. Take us home.

Until next time... this is me... bein me. :) 

Cheers. :)

Brotherly Love

Hello New World!

As I've mentioned in past posts... I have recently moved away from my family, and while it's been the best thing I've ever done, I miss them like crazy. That doesn't even cover it.

I have the best brothers in the world.

Here's our clan at my little brother Michael's wedding rehearsal  :)

Michael, Tony, Tony's wifey-poo Amanda, and ME:)

See those little munchkins (Drew, Alex and Aidan) at the bottom? They belong to Tony and Amanda. :) 
They have prompted this post.

 Drew had his tonsils taken out, and had EXTREME complications... he was released from the PICU 3 1/2 DAYS later. Surgeries to stop bleeding, blood transfusion, breathing tube for almost 3 days, adult-sized pain killers and sedatives, people constantly hounding him... Hims a WARRIOR.

While all this was going on, Alex and Aidan were at home with my parents, Nona and Papa. They didn't complain about being carted between their house and Nona and Papas, or once cry for their parents, or so much as misbehave for Nona and Papa... they were TROOPERS. (Plus... they are now OBSESSED with Heffe... Alex wouldn't let me push him on the swings at the playground because I can't do it like Jeff... whatever, sassy. Thanks a lot Uncle-but-not-our-uncle-yet-because-they-aren't-maaaaarrried- Jeff).  

#truepersonalities. Drew is the trickster. Alex is the crazy man, hahaha. and Aidan... I'm going to take off my big boy handsome sweater at Christmas, I don't care, look at how freaking cute I am, I do what I want, I'm going to be the mayor one day.

Obviously, Tony and Amanda went with Drew to the hospital... by ambulance. The next day, Michael took off work to be with Tony and Amanda. 
A-MA-ZING. He knew there was nothing he could do that would lessen the intensity of how Tony and Amanda were feeling... he just stayed there and sat and talked with them. Michael kept the rest of our family informed of Drew's progress... and gave a candid report of how Tony and Amanda were holding up.

Amanda... wow. She is incredible. Heffe and I got down there on Drew's third day in the PICU, and she was completely calm and... doing her taxes!!! What?!? She was able to make light conversation with us, and was laughing and seemingly comfortable... I'm not an idiot. Amanda had what they call the "duck effect." Even though under the water she was probably paddling like crazy just trying to tread... on the surface, she was cool and calm, and exactly what a frightened and confused Drew needed her to be. 
Strong. Smart. Woman.

Tony. Oh my God, Tony. I don't even know what to say. My big tough brother. He is absolutely.... wow. I can't even think of an adjective that describes him. Don't ask him to ever describe himself to you. He won't tell you how smart he is, or how considerate and compassion he is, or how he would give his left arm for his family, or how he is funny, or how he is driven, or how he finds time between work and the boys' soccer practices and LIFE to send me blogs he follows about watching my finances (... thank GOD Heffe is a CPA... girlfriend Sciato needs some help!), or how he motivates ME, or how he makes everyone accountable for what we do, or how he gives his family all he has and then some because he loves them. We are the stream, constantly moving and flowing and faltering... he is the rock. 

Go home today and tell your family how much you love them. Email them. Call them. Send them a card from the section at Target that's labeled, "blank inside."
After what happened with us this past week, plus the tragic events in Boston, on top of the ever-constant fear of what happened at Sandy Hook... 
Go home today and tell your family you love them. 

Until next time... 

this is me... being me. :)

Cheers to my clan and to yours. :)

I'm an athlete! (slash how I lost all my toenails)

Hello new world!!!

After completing a 12 mile run this morning, I feel a bit compelled to share a little about my journey of becoming a "runner". :) 

Check me out!!!

So. My first experience with a half marathon. 

Enter 2008ish... decided on a whim to walk the Flying Pig Half Marathon with some coworkers. I didn't train (inner monologue of hello, I'm ONLY walking 13.1 miles... it's walking... I probably walk that far when I go shopping...) Girlfriend had no idea what she was doing. I wore ridiculously old and improperly fitting tennis shoes, and went for the experience and to be able to say, yes, I can 'do' a half marathon. Did I mention I was overserved at the Hofbrauhaus the night before? Sure, I can have 2 liters of heavy beer and walk 13.1 miles the next day. I mean, it's only walking.... 

Well. DUH. I was sorely mistaken. I emphasize SORE. I had blisters on my feet that had blisters that were bleeding for 12.9 miles. I was so grossly dehydrated. My legs were sore for about a week. I didn't train!!! What a disaster. Hot Mess Sciato was born. (well, probably rebirthed, but who's really keeping track!)

So. With some motivation from my friends who had started running, with the whole dating a runner (have I not told you, new world, that Heffe is a ROCK STAR and has run 4 marathons?! :) crazy man!), plus hitting my all-time high weight (not having dance practice 4-5 days a week when college ended didn't stop me from eating like CRAP and overserving myself like a fish...)... I began my running career after my 25th birthday.

I decided to do the Flying Pig Half up real nice. I was actually going to run it. WOO! So I started training. I use that word loosely. "Training." I think the farthest I ran was probably 9 miles. Everyone I talked to told me that adrenaline was going to kick in with the other runners and spectators and it would be easy to run the rest. As if I hadn't learned my lesson the first time around.

If any of you out there have never heard of the Flying Pig and are runners, serious or socially... this is THE race for you. It's in Cincinnati, and it's like nothing else I've ever experienced. The course (for the half, at least) is amazing, and I LOVE the hills. :) I'm a lot biased, but if you are up for the fun challenge, I highly recommend it!

I digress... :) 

So my first RUNNING half marathon in 2010 wasn't a complete disaster... I finished in 2 hours and 35 minutes. Not completely unfortunate for my "training". I wasn't prepared for the hills, and walked for a few chunks of time, but I did it. :) In the RAIN! :) I was sore for a few days, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the first time around.

I wanted more. :) 

So, I decided to run another half in October of 2010. This time, I was actually going to train. :)

I convinced one of my besties, Meesie, to run with me. We did a lot of runs together, and pulled each other through. It was a totally, 100% BETTER experience than trying to run it by myself. After all, I'm still a running newbie at this point!! And Meesie is a supah star, so we had some fun times :)

We did the race, and I finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes. I cut 26 minutes off my time!!! We had lots of crazies chasing us around the course... Heffe, Meesie's hubby, Heffe's sister Aileen, another one of my besties Amy and her fiance'... it was great motivation to just keep truckin along! I felt amazing after the race... even had the energy to go to brunch with all our entourage after the race :)

Look at me go!!

I wanted more. :) 

So... involuntarily, I took 2011 off.... I was planning on running my first full marathon... The Flying Pig (duh!). I used an actual training schedule (Thank GOD for Hal Higdon) and ran more than I ever thought was possible. Then... I got into a car accident. SO not my fault, but none the less... slipped disc in my lower neck/upper spine, and MAJOR whiplash...to the point where it STILL hurts to this day, and I can't sleep on my right side. (This isn't a sob story, PS, keep reading :)) 

SO. I went through a ton of PT and endless rehab doc appointments..... It was ROUGH. Running hurt. Walking hurt. Sleeping hurt. 

Lesson to all readers... PUT DOWN YOUR CELL PHONES AND DRIVE. 

After what seemed like FOREVER, I finally got the go ahead to start running again. I could barely make it through 2 miles. Slowly but surely, I got back to it! 

Here's Heffe and Me at a 5K... Mosey and RyGuy ran with us, too!!!

So. I'm back in the game... with a MISSION: Full. Marathon.

SO. Heffe and I decided to run the Cleveland Marathon. Did the 18 weeks of training... while doing long distance dating. We always rewarded ourselves with ridiculously overpriced meals... usually some sort of seafood and pasta... and countless bottles of wine. :) 

YEAH!!!!!!

May 20, 2012- Race Day!

It was a nice and pleasant 86 DEGREES in Cleveland.... neither one of us were prepared for the heat. I know, dedicated athletes say "no excuses"... Please. The heat was an excuse. A pretty freaking valid one, at that. We ran slow and took lots of water and walking breaks, but we finished!!! Took us 4 hours and 57 minutes... but man, it was an accomplishment. :) :) :)

Well, heh heh heh, now that I'm a "seasoned" runner, bahahaha still cracks me up to say that, I have set higher goals for myself. 

1. Fast Half Marathon May 4, 2013.

2. PR at my NEXT FULL MARATHON, October 20, 2013... registered last weekend!!!!

SO. Thanks for sticking with my entire running-life story... I know this was a REEEEEALLY  long post, but it's a really important part of my life! 

Running has taught me so many things:

1. Determination

2. Strength of mind (as in, the ridiculous mind games one needs to play in order to make it through 26.2 miles...)

3. Strength of heart

4. Don't run in cotton socks

5. Plan ahead

6. How to pop blisters under your toenails.

7. How to paint your your TOES when all your nails fall off

8. I can do anything I put my mind to.

I challenge YOU to push yourself mentally and physically. Embrace life. Do something that you don't think you can. If you want it bad enough... you can do it. I promise. :)

Until next time.... This is me. Bein me. 

Cheers. :) 

Heffe Gets Down on One Knee!

Hello, new world! I feel I left my last post with a cliffhanger and a lot of emotional bombs dropped... Here's to a little clarity, and mostly why my aforementioned "big moves" were all worth it...

Heffe's Proposal:)

Setting the Stage: 

It was Friday, October 5, 2012. Heffe and I were planning to travel out of town immediately after I got out of school for the day- the dance team I used to coach was performing promptly at 7pm... We were also going to visit to my parents (planning on staying with them for the night, then coming back to our home city the next day)... since it's usually an 1 1/2 drive, and figuring Friday traffic in the mix, we needed to jet outta town! Heffe was taking a half day off work to "get ready for our trip and make sure he was on time"... sneakster. :)

I was actually excited to spend the driving time with Heffe... things had been pretty crazy for both of us at work lately, and we hadn't gotten to spend much time with each other. He had to spend long nights taking work home and didn't have a lot of time to spare... or so I thought;) 

Heffe sent flowers to my school, purple somethings (yeah I SUCK at flowers, but they were so pretty!!!) with the little note, "Happy Early Birthday, I love you!" :) :) :) (My b-day is actually October 12.) He's a reeeeeeeeal good one. :)

K. So. I, like most teachers I've met, canNOT pull myself away from my job. My best planning ideas come at the most inopportune times, and I left school WAY later than I had thought... and of course, I had NOTHING ready for our trip (duh, we had done long distance for such a long time, I figured myself an EXPERT on packing for an overnight trip... especially since we were only going to be "out" for Friday night... so I changed clothes and packed sweats and yoga pants... we'd be with my family, I wanted to be comfy!). By the time I'd been to my apartment, thrown together an overnight bag, stopped at Starbucks (we needed pumpkin spice lattes for the drive!), and went to pick up Heffe, we, I, was running LATE. 

Setting the stage:

The "new" song at the time "Wanted" by Hunter Hayes came on the radio as I pulled into Heffe's apartment complex. So I blasted it, had a sip of my pumpkin spice latte, and had a nice little romantic moment to myself. I was ready to give Heffe a big fat hug and smooch as soon as he jumped into my car!

So. Finally, I get to Heffe's. I texted him that I was there and for him to move it or lose it! He, instead, came out to my car and insisted I come into his apartment. <Enter Crazy Anissa's inner monologe: This kid had a half day off work. He obviously had time to get his hair cut and dress himself up nice, if he's not fully packed for a freaking overnight, I'm going to go ballistic.> So I begrudgingly left my pumpkin spice latte and Hunter Hayes and speed walked into his place. 

Heffe is a good one. :) He knows exactly how to calm me down and slow me down when I'm feeling a bit spastic on any given day, but MAN, having wrapped birthday presents waiting for me was just not what I expected when I walked into his place. I can honestly say (and he knows this!) that the thought entered my mind to just leave the presents until tomorrow because we were going to miss my dance team's performance! But, I token, "awwwww"-ed at them, and tried to stay in the moment, all the while in the back of my head, I'm screaming "HEFFE, we need to leeeeeeeeeeeave!" Heffe said that he knew the last few weeks had been rough, so he wanted to give me my presents early! Sneakster Heffe knows that I canNOT resist my birthday or presents. He got me good!

Heffe went on to tell me that he bought me one of the presents, and made me the other one. I chose to open the bought present first, which ended up being a few of my favorite Philosophy bath and body products. Yum! Those would have been enough. Heffe knows what I like! :) <Enter Crazy Anissa's inner monologue: Aww, cute, okay LET'S GO!> 

Okay, now it's time to open the "made" present. I unwrap the present, and it's a scrap book. Seriously? O.M.G. Heffe's an even better one than I thought! The past year had really taken its toll on "us", being long distance, our futures up in the air, our relationship up in the air... well, he'd documented the past year of our life together, starting with January 2012. He had saved ticket stubs, restaurant receipts, taken pictures from the parks we used to run around while training for the marathon, gotten pics from his and my family... I mean, this MAN bought SCRAPBOOK supplies and made me something so invaluable. :) 

<Enter Crazy Anissa's inner monologue: Holy crap. This is big. Something's happening. Why am I nervous? Oh yeah, I'm nervous because WE'RE SO LATE and I need to break land speed records to make it in time to see the dance team. Heffe, why are you so good to me!!!>

So as I'm flipping through the pages, a little faster than I should, I realize the last page, the page for "October", is just pictures of us. I cannot help but start to tear up, we've been through a lot together, getting to know each other and just having fun, it's so nice to see pictures of our life together. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't notice (which probably gave Heffe time to change position...) until after a few minutes that along the edge of the page, he had written, "Will you marry me?" :):):):):):):):):):):)

When I noticed that, I don't even think I moved. I looked up and he was already down on one knee and started to actually propose outloud. 

Wow, my hands are shaking just writing about this!! 

The moment was so magical, and I'll never forget the look on his face, and how we just stood there in his kitchen hugging each other and crying (me, duh) and not even saying a word to each other. :) 

So we then popped some champagne, and the rest is history! Heffe confessed that he'd been blowing me off the past few days to finish the scrapbook, and had actually taken most of the day off to prepare for this evening. He was getting anxious because I was running late... hello, you've been dating me for awhile, punctuality is NOT something I'm known for! He ALSO told me that he had driven the 1 1/2 hours to my parents house when I was at dance camp with said dance team, and asked for their permission to marry me. (My mom and dad later told me that they thought he was nervous but he was so respectful and honest and DUH they obviously gave their blessing!) Heffe ALSO told me that he would be driving on our long trip, and I proceeded to make phone calls to all my closest family and friends to let them know our Big News. :) We made it in time to see the dance team perform, and the girls were the first people to see me with my ring!!!!! It's so shiny! :) Heffe did GOOOOOD.

Sidenote about the ring... we had NEVER gone to look at rings before. I think the farthest the "ring conversation" ever got was "I like her ring" or "That ring is disgustingly tacky" or when I had been obviously overserved, I'd blurt out to his family, "Yeeeeeah I want to get married, and I want this!" :) No one, not even me, really, knew my ring size. Heffe asked my mom, who definitely guessed my big Italian fingers were WAY bigger than they actually are... the ring was literally falling off my finger :) The next day, we went to a random jewelry store to get a sizer for it until we could go to THE jewelry store to get it properly fitted. We waited a few weeks, though, I wanted to make sure everyone saw my big, shiny, solitaire round cut DIAMOND:) :) :) :) :) 

If you look closely at this pic, you can see the first reflections it made from the sun... I love it!

So another surprise that Heffe had for me was that he not only drove me around the entire city to see a lot of my friends and share our Big News, but he arranged a big dinner with my entire family... parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and my Nan (who was TICKED, by the way, that she was the only one in the family that didn't know Heffe was proposing... whatever, she can't keep a secret, haha! :)). 

So, in keeping with the trend of the weekend, Heffe made EVERYTHING about me, and even tagged along (and helped me!) with me shopping to find something other than yoga pants to wear to dinner, and here we are! I'm holding The Scrapbook. :) Clutching it with the jaws of life, really. :) He cleans up so good! :)

So, after a weekend filled with lots of excitement, we had to get back to reality. Aaah. But this reality is just a little sweeter than the days before. :) 

Aaaaaah. :) 

So until next time... This is me. Bein me. :) 

Cheers. :)