Happy Holidays!

It has been a crazy time here. My last post about the weather? Well, that storm not only brought snow in the mountains but also brought high winds which proceeded to knock out power to over a million people in Washington. Our power at home went out Thursday night around 10:30 and came back sometime on Friday. The power at work was out for 4 days. Poor Chris was without power for 6 days. Work was hectic last week and then we've been busy with family in town.

The holidays have been great so far. I was bad and didn't take any pictures. My camera battery died and I haven't bothered to recharge it. Me is lame!

We found out some news about our place today. John the Builder, who wasn't returning our calls, is no longer working for the building company. The building company wasn't sending out anyone to fix the rest of the stuff because they thought all of it had already been done. Sooo...someone is meant to call us tomorrow to schedule an appointment so we can show them all of the things that still need to be completed. It better happen and soon. I'm so ready to have internet at home!

Lovely, lovely precipitation

A nice storm is passing by this week and is expected to dump 1-3 feet of snow in the mountains. Oh, the joy of snowboarding in powder.

There was a rumor that the PNW would have a crappy season this year. Those rumors have been proven incorrect so far. It seems the rest of the WORLD is having the crappy season. I'm feeling lucky!

Email from Officer Noon

Dear Mr. Johnston,

I monitored the condition of the fellow in the red car over the course of the evening after you all left. Initially he took a turn for the worst and his condition was very grave. Some how though, he pulled through and is expected to survive. He has many injuries and has many surgeries in the coming year. The other driver was released from hospital the following day. Please have a look at our webpage www.westvancouverpolice.ca in the press release section for an update.

Again though, thanks for helping us out. In times like these, where we are unsure of the survival of an individual we must get as much info as we can. The four of you certainly helped us out.

All the best,

Dave Noon

The Unfortunate Event

First, the fun stuff: We leave Seattle around 6:45 as planned. Traffic wasn't bad and we made it up to Bellingham by 8:00 PM with the intentions of eating at our favorite rest stop: Casa Que Pasa. Our disappointment was great when we found it is closed for an undetermined amount of time. We found a pizza place with tasty pies.

Our arrival time at Whistler was around 12:00 AM. The roads up were a bit icy, but not too sketchy. We awoke on Saturday to disappointment: no new snow the night before. We headed up Whistler mountain to find mediocre conditions. Julie and I decided to stop boarding after lunch in favor of shopping in the Village. We met the boys back at the condo and then went for sushi at Sushi Village. Yum!

A little bit of snow fell Saturday night, so the conditions were more favorable on Sunday. We boarded all day and had great fun. It wasn't an epic powder day, but it also wasn't icy and crunch like the day before. We headed down the mountain around 3 and then stopped for some eats at our favorite pub before hitting the road around 4 PM.

We were a bit sad to leave since snow was in the forecast for all week. Evidence of this was the rain we had to deal with on the way down the mountain which made the driving conditions unpleasant. Mountain roads are often dangerous - especially when drivers go far too fast. We were about 10 minutes outside of West Vancouver when the Unfortunate Event happened.

We are behind a pick-up truck that is going the speed limit or below - he's driving very safely. And then it happens - a little red car comes around the bend and comes right into oncoming traffic. I see the car go completely into our lane and yell, "Oh Jesus!" because I knew what was going to happen. SLAM! It has a head-on collision with the truck that is in front of us. Amazingly enough, there were no oncoming cars in the northbound lane and there just so happened to be a small, paved shoulder to the side. Tony manages to get our car across the other lane onto the shoulder. Within those few seconds, I was bracing myself for the collision we were about to be in. I am baffled that we did not hit another car, drive into the ditch, drive into the side of the mountain or be hit. Anti-lock breaks and Tony's quick reflexes spared us from our own accident.

We came to a stop and looked back - the accident was pretty bad. The truck was on its side pinned against the guard rail. The front half of the car was smashed and the smell of gasoline was overpowering. People started pouring out of their cars to check things out and several started calling 9-1-1 (including Chris). The first Paramedics arrived 5 minutes later. Soon, multiple fire trucks and paramedics arrived. They had to use the jaws of life to get the driver out of the car. At one point, they pulled out a booster seat and infant car seat from the back seat of the car. Fortunately, both were empty. We aren't sure how long we were there. We had to go to the police station in West Vancouver to give official statements and left there about 9:30 PM.

The driver of the truck came out of the accident with minor injuries. The driver of the car was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Vancouver for surgery. The officer that took our statements will be keeping us updated on how the driver of the car is doing.

It's events like these that remind me of my own mortality and how dangerous car collisions can be. Please drive carefully and defensively and give the ones you love a big hug.

sssswwwwoooooossssssshhhhhh

Hello!

I haven't forgotten about you. Promise. We still don't have internet at our new house and work has been very busy the last couple of weeks. Here's a brief list of what's been going on:

Finally closed on the house on Monday.
unpacking, unpacking and more unpacking.
Buying stuff for the house.
Tried to get internet installed on Wednesday but the joiner box was nowhere to be found.
We still don't have a mailbox or garbage bins.
unpacking, unpacking, unpacking.
Going to Whistler this weekend with my Favorite, Chris and Julie. Swoosh!

The ongoing headache

Finally, the Certificate of Occupancy was issued today. We are staying at our new house this weekend even though we aren't closing until Monday. Dammit. Me, Tony and Dustin are all in the pissed-off mood with how this closing has happened.

We are going to skip snowboarding this weekend to finish moving the last of our stuff (kitties! computers!) and settle down into our new abode. Our friends will be sad, but they will understand.

OK - must get back to work.

Did I mention the snow?

The fluffy white stuff is not helping at all with getting stuff done for our new house. The snow and very cold weather in the city has prevented people from getting to work. The status right now: the inspection has been done by the city for the certificate of occupancy, but the person who is meant to process the paperwork hasn't been in the office. Lameness. We were at our apartment tonight trying to get as much cleaning done as possible but left when it started to sleet. The roads get pretty treacherous when they get icy due to all of the hills. Although our lease ends tomorrow, we were given permission to take a bit longer to move out of our apartment. Dustin called the owner of our building and told her our situation (he still works for the company managing another building). Since our apartment hasn't been rented yet, she gave the OK for us to take a couple of extra days to move out.

The waiting game continues.

The saga continues

Woe is me. Our poor kitties must spend another night alone in an empty apartment. The excuse today? Snow. That's right folks - it's been snowing in the city a little and snowing a lot outside of the city. Apparently, the key people to make the Certificate of Occupation happen are snowed in today. Somehow, i don't believe them. All of our stuff sits in our new house that we cannot occupy. Our furry friends along with the ones that live in tanks must stay in our old apartment. We've been staying at Chris' house.

There has been other things that haven't been happening as they should be, but I don't feel like going into that house drama. I'm tired.

In other news, the snowboarding at Crystal this past Saturday was fantastic! We've been experiencing a nice front that has been continuously dumping snow in the mountains. We may have to make an impromtu trip to Mt. Baker this weekend so we don't miss out on that fluffy goodness. They've been getting tons of snow! Next weekend, me, Tony, Chris and Julie are headed up to Whistler for our first trip up there for this season.

More good news! Alyssa Wolff was born on Saturday, 11/26 at 1:15 AM. She is precious! Tony & I will need to plan a trip to Naples soon to meet our newest niece.

Intermission for a house update

I have the basis written for our honeymoon story, but there are revisions that need to be made. My extra time right now is being devoted to getting ready to move.

It hasn't been going as smooth as hoped. We've been meeting with delays at every corner that are out of our control. We signed all of the paperwork today, but Title is still waiting for some info from the seller. This info should have been requested a week or so ago but it was not. Now we wait. Fortunately, Chris the Seller is very understanding and will be giving us the keys tomorrow when we do the final walk-through so we can move over the weekend. It has been an unexpected nightmare, but we'll get through it. Our evenings have been spent packing in preparation for the movers on Friday. The closing may not occur until next week :(

It has been raining here and cold enough for snow in the mountains. Yay! We did go snowboarding last weekend but the conditions weren't good. The snowboarding this coming up weekend will be much better. Yes, we are going to take a day off from moving to go snowboarding. We just can't help it!

Long overdue

Honeymoon Day 1

Our flight to NYC left Seattle at 7AM on Saturday with a layover in Cincinnati. We arrived in Cincinnati to find that our connecting flight had been cancelled. Delta put us on a flight that went to Atlanta and then to NYC. No thank you! We requested to be changed to a different flight going into the NJ airport. Due to the cancellation, they gave us a couple of food vouchers so we had some lunch while we waited for our flight. We arrived at our gate to find they had overbooked the flight and were asking for volunteers to take the next flight. After some discussion, we decided to take the $400 in flight vouchers and more meal vouchers and spend a few more hours waiting in the airport. Plus, we flew first class. Finally, we arrived in NY around 10PM. We checked into our room that Jill reserved for us with her frequent traveler points and found she had ordered us a bottle of wine and cheese plate that was waiting for us in our room. Unfortunately, our luggage didn’t make it at the same time we did. However, our luggage was delivered to our hotel by the time we woke up in the morning. We went out to find a place to have a drink but found only disappointing atmospheres. The people in New York are much yuppier than I expected.

Honeymoon Day 2

We didn’t have any definite plans for our first full day in NY except to have brunch with Brad. We decided to walk because the best way to explore a city is by foot. We met Brad and his friend, Megan, at a vegetarian restaurant that he picked out. After a tasty meal, we parted ways with Brad & Megan and strolled through Central Park. The area was really crowded due to the NYC Marathon. As we were walking by the Children’s Zoo in the park, I spotted Estelle sitting in the zoo. She, Jean, Charlie and a couple of their friends were headed out of the Zoo so we met them at the exit. We knew they’d be in NYC at the same time we would be, but I didn’t imagine we’d randomly run into them! We chatted for a bit while walking out of the park and then parted ways. Our next stop was The Apple Store on 5th Avenue. We picked up a few things and then headed out – the store was too crowded to spend much time there. After that, we wandered around the city exploring the different areas. One of our stops was Macy’s – the store was huge and confusing. One fun thing was riding a wooden escalator – who knew there was such a thing? We continued to explore with no particular destination. At one point, we were hungry and needing some food but could not find a place to eat. Our legs were tired and we needed to rest so it was a little frustrating to be a little lost. Finally, we did find a place to rest and afterwards, we headed over to Greenwich to get some dinner and catch the movie, “”Borat”.

5:20 AM in Prague

I didn't do so well with conquering the jet lag. We didn't sleep much on the plane ride here which wasn't a surprise. I fell asleep between 8PM and 9PM Prague time and woke up around 2AM. Not sure what to do to help me get some sleep.

My first impression of Prague: I am so surprised with how modern touristy it is. Very Old Buildings everywhere and the street level floors have been converted to retail/dining space.

I will tell the stories later and post more pictures. Promise.

Amanda - the internet is about the only way we are reachable. Would we have to rent a car to get to where your friends are?

The best thing about NYC is

You and Me!

Here's the brief list:

Delayed lots in Cincinnati - didn't get to NYC until 10pm.
Wandered lots on Sunday - had lunch with cousin Brad & Megan, ran into friends in Central Park (for reals!), visited the Apple store and wandered around a LOT. Oh yeah! Rode on a wooden escalator. For reals! In Macy's: the most confusing store ever.
Monday - MOMA and East Village.

Fun stuff! New shoes! Leaving for Prague tomorrow!

Kale chips! Kale chips :p

I love me some kale. Being that it is one of nature's 'superfoods', I was excited to try this new way of making it that I found on Hungry Girl. Kale chips! Yes, it was too good to be true. I made some Kale Chips last night and they just tasted like burnt paper. So disappointing.

We had our inspection yesterday and everything went really well (as expected). Too bad my GMAT exam didn't go as well. I'm unsure if the score will be high enough to get into the program. Let's hope they don't make me wait too long to find out.

I forgot my camera yesterday so there are no new pictures of the place :(
Jenn - I asked about the fireplace and they are putting up tile all around it. We'll just have to wait and see!

It will be weird. We leave for our honeymoon this Saturday. As soon as we get back, we'll be doing our final walk-through and signing the paperwork. So exciting! Dustin's going to check in once in awhile to make sure they are progressing on schedule.

Too nervous for a title

3.5 hours until my exam. I'm trying not to be too nervous. Nerves do not help with the standardize test-taking. If all goes well today, I won't have to fork out another $250 in an attempt to get into grad school. I figure if I can't get a high enough score today, I shouldn't be attempting grad school anyway.

So tonight, I will get to socialize and not feel guilty that I am not studying. Tomorrow, I want to have a leisurely brunch, do a little shopping, do some cleaning around the house that I've been neglecting and finish up paperwork (voter's ballot, Escrow, mortgage).

Thank you, Jenn, for the message this morning :D

Inspection has been moved to Tuesday at 1pm. This weekend, we will be filling out as much paperwork as we can - I think the last thing that will need to get done for the homeowner's insurance ppwk is the appraisal. That really can't be done until the house is finished a bit more. Need to get that all set up before I can send back the Escrow ppwk. Our goal is to have everything done before we leave next Saturday so all we have to do is sign the closing paperwork when we get back from Prague.

Time to do some last-minute review of the math problems that give me anxiety!

Didn't get the memo

I really enjoy taking a bath once in awhile. However, I don't enjoy taking a bath in a tub with glass doors on it. No thanks, I say! So, when we went to go see our place on Monday, I remembered that I wanted to make sure they didn't put doors on the tub in the master bath. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to say something until after we got home. I called Dustin and left him a voicemail. He then called the seller, Chris, and left him a voicemail. Apparently, he didn't get the message.

I got a somewhat distressed call from Dustin yesterday afternoon informing me that they installed glass doors earlier that day. The seller requested that we take a look at it just to make sure that we didn't want them on the tub. We made a little trip to the house last night and verified that no, we do not want the doors. The silicone hadn't even set so it won't be hard for them to take them out.

We were really happy that we went to the place because 1) we got to meet the builder, and 2) we got to see our appliances. The builder's name is John and it was obvious he is very proud of the project. He took us around and showed us this and that and raved about the quality of the materials. He explained why the light fixture was off center in the guest bath and assured us it would be fixed before we moved in. We discussed putting in a soaking tub in the master bath in the future (my dream!) and the reason why he chose cherry wood for the floors and maple for the cabinets.

Our washer and dryer have been installed - front loading washer! I am so excited about this. Our refrigerator - side by side with an ice/water dispenser in the door! We are very happy with the quality of appliances.

The iffy news: John is not sure they'll be done enough for the inspection on Friday. He's going to give Dustin a call tonight to inform us of the status.

House pictures

We showed up for inspection yesterday at 1pm to find that they weren't far enough along for us to have the inspection done. It's been rescheduled for Friday. I did snap a couple of pictures - it will be nice to see the progress. We were pleasantly surprised to find they built a little awning for the front of the place:

Our boss, Ralph, was in the neighborhood visiting a friend so he stopped by. He was very impressed with the cabinets:

Here's Tony & Dustin discussing things - this would be close to our eating area:

Our gas fireplace, slider door and big window. There are big windows throughout to let lots of light in:

Stairs going up to the top floor. The skylight is a nice touch:

Upstairs guest bedroom:

Master bedroom:

I'll take more pictures on Friday. We are very anxious to move in!

Progress

Just wanted to pop in and post a little something before I delve back into studying. It was tough at first, but things are coming back to me. I'm still disappointed how quickly I forget formulas - if I don't use it, I definitely lose it.

Tony made me lunch and dinner yesterday - I could totally get used to that! However, he doesn't know the concept of vegetables. I don't think he would eat vegetables at home if it wasn't for me. He'll eat them when we go out to dinner but doesn't think to prepare any when making a meal. I'll have to see about changing that habit since he'll likely be the one doing most of the cooking once I start grad school.

The fear of the GMAT

With taking a little break from studying to get married and stuff, I thought it would be easy for me to do a quick review of the math and I'd be back up to speed. This is not the case so far and it makes me worry. I really wish someone wrote a quick review instead of these monsterous books :( I'm also finding it increasingly difficult to stay focused in the evenings after work. I review the work, but just can't seem to concentrate enough to get it. Ugh. This weekend will be all about the studying - my test is next Saturday!

Our inspection was pushed back until Monday, so you'll have to wait for the pictures. The appliances are being installed tomorrow and I'm excited to see what they look like. I have been reassured daily that we made the right choice - there have been no new listings on the market that are even remotely appealing to me.

Negotiations

Eeeeep! So, the seller counter offered our original offer with a $356k asking price and $1k in closing costs. We replied with $356k asking price and $5k in closing costs. He replied with $356k asking price and $3k in closing costs so we are going with it. Dustin will be faxing the paperwork over shortly for us to sign. SO EXCITING!!!!

We'll be having the inspection later this week - I'll be sure to take my camera and get pictures of the inside.

Prague Hotel

Here is the hotel we are staying at in Prague. Wheeeee! Thank you to Dad & Carolyn for scoping the place out while there and getting us a great rate!

Hotels in New York are freaking expensive! We may just go with a hostel if it will save us a good chunk of $$. Tony's on the task since he knows New York and has an idea of where we want to stay.

Let's try it again

We put up an offer on another place today. This one is a brand-new townhouse in the Mt. Baker/Columbia City/Rainier Valley/Genesee area. The area is going through a lot of changes (bluntly: Gentrification) and the location is prime. The pictures aren't much to look at since the places aren't even finished. However, I can say that it is the best laid-out townhouse we have viewed and it is really well-built.

We came across this place when we first started looking but didn't jump on it right away because we weren't really sure if we wanted to buy in that area and we were hoping that we could find a house. The last few weeks have been a great learning experience and it really helped us figure out what we want right now for our money. At first, we thought we'd want a smaller place where we could build a lot of equity quickly by making renovations and then sell it in 2 years. However, the houses that we were finding were at the top of our price range and we wouldn't have the money to do the necessary renovations within the next two years. We did see a condo this weekend that was well under our price range where we could easily renovate the place, but then we decided that we wanted someplace bigger. There was the one townhouse that we've had our eye on that is in the Central District, but it just didn't feel right. There were issues about the layout that we didn't like so we didn't make a move on it since it's at the top of our price range.

After much discussion and a second look, we knew this place was the best we could find for our money and in a location we'd be happy with. It's also large enough so we won't grow out of it anytime in the near future. And let me tell you, the place is swank.

Dustin presented the offer to the listing agent today who also happens to be the builder/developer. We are offering a lower amount than the asking price, so keep your fingers crossed that he agrees to our offer and there is no counter offer!

The call from Dustin

My phone rang at 10 AM on Sunday - it was Dustin. The seller pulled her house off the market. Apparently, she's done this before. The listing agent believes she needs the money but doesn't want to sell her house so she keeps changing her mind. Oh well - things like this happen. We'll keep our eye out to see if she relists it.

We are pondering putting up an offer on this place. The value will definitely increase in the very near future due to the location, but it has some quirks that we'd want to change. However, I told Tony that I don't want to pay more than $350k for it. I'm willing to go over our limit if it's a house, but not a townhouse.

Tuesday is the most popular day to list new properties. We're hoping to see something we really like this week!

Fingers crossed, please!

So we're putting an offer up on a house - our agent is on his way over with the offer letter. An offer was already submitted to the owners but they sent it back so we still have a chance. If a bidding war starts, we'll likely have to bow out since the house is already above our price range. Per Jenn's request, here's a link to the place.

The price is a stretch for us, but it's doable if we watch our pennies. The updating we want to do to the house will definitely increase the value without costing us too much. Plus, it's a place that is large enough for us to stay in once our family starts to grow.

Keep your fingers crossed! I'm not allowing myself to get too excited yet.

A stumble

I was in the middle of printing a mail merge and my printer ran out of ink. D'oh! I decided to take this pause in work to post here because I can.

I must buckle down and start studying for the GMAT again. I scheduled my test for October 28th and making sure I take a print-out of my confirmation this time.

This week, our nights have been filled with TV Season Premeirs. Summer's over and it's time to start watching our TV shows again! We've added one (not sure what I think about watching more TV): Heroes. So, Monday is Heroes, Tuesday is Veronica Mars, Wednesday is Lost and Thursday is The Office. That 3.5 hours of entertainment a week - a.k.a. study breaks.

The gym I was going to during my lunches closed down :( My body is a'hurtin from the lack of exercise. I don't want to pay another sign-up fee and then our office move in 6 months. Ugh. Yes, i know there are other options to gyms for exercise. I could start taking walks during lunch or something. I've been so busy during my lunches that I forget to get up from my desk. Meh.

Julie's mom is arriving in Seattle today. She hasn't come for a visit in 7 years. We are having a big dinner at El Gaucho tomorrow night. It's a pricey steak place, but isn't so pricey for me since their non-meat stuff isn't too expensive.

OK, so maybe the pictures do it justice

The place at the top of our list right now

House Hunt revisited

On Sunday, Dustin (our Realtor), came over at 1pm to whisk us away to view houses & condos for six hours. It was exhausting. There were a few that we could totally see ourselves in, but we've decided to wait a week before we make any decisions to see what else comes on the market. We also had a heart-to-heart last night about how much we really want to spend on our housing each month and it ruled out 2 of the contenders that were high-priced due to ideal location. The one that's at the top of our revised list is a cute townhouse on Beacon Hill. We've decided that we are going to buy bicicles when we move because it's likely that our home will not be within walking distance of anything and we'd prefer not to drive. I also made a Very Good Point that living away from the ease of going out to eat whenever we are hungry will definitely cut back on our expenses which is something we will have to do when we buy a house.

I would link to the place that we are eyeing, but the pictures do not do it justice.

This is a very exciting time and, unfortunately, it keeps me up at night. I lay down to do to sleep and I start thinking about owning our own place. *sigh*

Yesterday was our one-month lunaversary. Yay! We went out to 22 Doors to celebrate and try out their new menu. I made the mistake of ordering something without checking to see if it had meat in it. I didn't eat but a few bites and then I was going to eat something when we got home but then I totally forgot. Oops.

Belly full of chili

I know it's not chili season (it's still quite warm here), but it looked good and convenient. I have been eating far too many convenience foods lately. We've been a little busy.

This past Sunday, we went to dinner with Julie & Friends to celebrate her birthday. Monday, we went out for drinks with Natalie & Friends to celebrate her birthday. Tuesday, we went to dinner with Amanda & Friends to celebrate her birthday. Natalie wanted to dinner on Wednesday to celebrate her birthday some more, but ended calling it off due to illness. We grabbed a quick dinner with Sunny, Chris and Amanda at Broadway Grill instead. Tonight, we are going over to Angie & Jessie's for dinner. Tomorrow night, we are having a party to celebrate the birthdays of Julie, Natalie, Amanda and Adrianne. Are you tired yet? I sure am.

This weekend, we'll be looking at houses. Very exciting!

A week-old crazy squirrel story

I promised Jenn I'd write about this and I always try to keep my promises.

Last Wednesday was my night to stay at home and Get Stuff Done like laundry. Our laundry facilites are in the basement of our apartment building. To get to the basement, it's easiest to go out our back door. I head out to put the first load in while it's still light out. I started to head down the basement steps when I was startled by a little squirrel. I like squirrels and all, but I'm used to them being a little cautious of humans. The little guy wasn't scared of me nor did he try to run away. I stood there for a bit trying to persuede him to leave the steps but all he would do is run down to the basement door like he wanted to go inside. I finally gave up and gingerly walked around him with hopes that he wouldn't jump on me and sink his little teeth into me. There was no jumping - he just sat there as I got within a foot of him. When I walked out of the basement, I was able to shoo him up the steps, but he still showed no fear.

I didn't think about the little guy again until...

The timer went off for me to go get my last load of laundry from the dryer. By this time, it was well after dark. I open my back door and was greeted by a ruckus. I couldn't see what was making all of these funny noises, but I definitely knew it didn't like me being where I was. Finally, after scanning all around our back steps, I spotted the little guy crouching in the corner between our back door and screen door with his back against the wall. Eep! I thought I might have injured him or something, but he looked OK. No matter what I said, he just wouldn't move. This is very strange behavior for a squirrel! Anyway, I had laundry waiting for me so I let him be and retrieved it from the basement. To be safe, I walked around and entered the house from the front door.

And then...

I walked into the kitchen and found the back door ajar. Oh no! I didn't close it completely due to being startled by the ruckus! I thought for sure the squirrel was somewhere in the house. After all, all actions made it seem he was after me. Fortunately, he didn't come into the house and was still sitting in his little corner between the doors. I closed the back door very carefully to make sure I didn't squish him. I called Tony to tell him of the creepy squirrel and he said that strange behavior like that can sometime indicate rabies infection. Eeep! He came home shortly thereafter and the little guy was still in his corner. Tony decided that he was going to make him move just to make sure he was OK. Finally, with the help of a little nudging from a stick, the squirrel left his corner and scurried off. We haven't seen him since but keep an eye out for him everytime we take out the garbage.

Haircut

I haven't forgotten

I've just been busy lately. And my downtime has been filled with busy-ness.

Happy Birthday to the wonderful Kikaroo! I heart you!

Work has been very busy so I must get back to it. I will try to post sometime this weekend before my crazy-busy week begins next week. Social events every night starting on Sunday - ack!

Haircut

Well, folks, I'm pretty excited. I haven't cut my hair in months in preparation of The Wedding Updo. Now that it's all over with, I am going to get the hairs cut off tonight after work. You see, when my hair gets below my shoulders, it's stringy and flat and BORING. I get bored with my hair pretty quickly which is also why it's always changing color. I'm going to be sticking with the blonde for a bit longer, though.

In other news, I woke up with a headache and it has yet to go away. Lameness.

We went to Utah this past weekend for a lovely family wedding reception. I met all of Nathan's family (tony's stepfather) for the first time. His family isn't nearly as huge as his mom's side. I'll post some pictures to my Flickr account soon.

My eyes burn from reading the computer

I was talking to my step sister-in-law this weekend in Utah and she was telling me about my step nephew's experience as a sixth-grader at a private school (I have step relatives now that I am married, right? If they are step relatives to Tony they are now my step relatives and vice-versa?). It seems they have done away with the textbooks and are doing everything on computers now. We talked about the pros: up-to-date information, reduction in overall costs, etc; and the con: how hard it is to read a computer screen for a long period of time. I realize that many of us look at a computer screen for a good part of our work day, but we aren't trying to read chapters in a textbook. Maybe it's not like that at all, but i do know that if I get caught up in reading blogs for too long, my eyes start to burn and it gets hard for me to focus.

Speaking of reading blogs, it wasn't until somewhat recently that I realized that people read blogs as entertainment and some writers can actually make a living off of writing blogs. Yes, I realize I was behind the times for quite some time and didn't realize this until one of my favorite people wrote about how she reads people's blogs for fun and linked to a few. There was a post that linked to a blog that has a sidebar with links to many blogs. I started reading a few of these other blogs and recently a couple have gone away. An event or maybe more caused these writers to decide to stop sharing their lives with The Internet and it makes me wonder why. The bloggers started sharing about these life-altering events and then just stopped. These blogs were read by many people and several of these people would decide to post responses to whatever the writers decided to share with The Internet. Unfortunately, strangers sometimes say mean things to writers who decide to write about their lives on The Internet and I think this may have contributed to the end of these blogs that I speak of.

The Internet is a weird creature.

Hello! I am married now! part 2

So where was I? Oh yes - Julie & I arrived at The Smith Tower at around 6:45 and saw that a few guests were still arriving. We head up in the elevator with my dad, Betsy, Kik & Amy. They drop me off on the floor below to wait for everyone to get seated. When I stepped off the elevator, I ran into Photographer Chris and he took me into the bathroom for a quick photo session before he headed upstairs. Jenn, Manda and Dad came back downstairs and we continued to wait for about 20 more minutes for the final guests to arrive and all to be seated. Finally, things were ready to start. The ceremony was sweet and I cried. Afterwards, the family went downstairs for pictures while our guests stared with the drinking and the eating.

The reception was a fun party and the night flew by. Everything ended around 11:30. Sol & Lauren gave us a ride home. Once we got there, we discovered that neither of us had our keys. Oops! Sol gave Tony a ride to where Amanda was to pick up his keys while I hung out with Jessica in her apartment.

Pictures!

Sol's pictures
Murray's pictures
Natalie's pictures
Amy's pictures
Betsy's pictures

Hello! I am married now!

Why did I wake up before 8 AM the day after my wedding? I did this yesterday, too!

This week has been fantastic. Jenn, Cameron, Mom & Paul arrived last weekend/beginning of the week. We got to spend some quality time with them and celebrate Mom's birthday with her. Dad & Carolyn arrived on Wednesday and they kept busy for the rest of the week by picking up the rest of our out-of-town guests up at the airport.

We both took Friday off from work. During the day, Mom, Jenn & I went and got our nails done by the fabulous e. Marie. My nails still look great! Friday night, we had all of the family and a few close friends over to our house for dinner & socializing. Thank goodness for family-sized frozen lasagna! We still have a ton left over. Everyone had a good time.

Saturday, my eyes popped open shortly before 7:30 AM. I was just too excited to sleep. I got out of bed and wrote the ceremony for our wedding. Yes, we hadn't really had much written before the day of! After writing it out, I took a long shower and then got Tony out of bed so we could go over it before our officiant came over (Murray). He arrived shortly after 10 and we hung out for a bit before Jenn & Cameron came over. Elna arrived after 11 to start doing our hair. Natalie, Brenda & Stephanie came over to put together the centerpieces and bouquets. We bought the flowers the day before from the farmers at Pike Place Market. It was fabulous - we did our flowers for $80! - 7 centerpieces, 2 bouquets, 5 boutonnieres and flowers for the cake (all Dahlias) and it looked gorgeous! We bought our vases from Ikea and Carolyn made lovely bows out of ribbon to go around all of the vases. We spent the day getting ready with a quick run to the Chinese Room for a rehearsal and to drop off the centerpieces, cake and liquor. Ton

Jenn, Julie & Natalie spent the rest of the day with me helping me get ready. Around 6:30, the towncar came to pick me and Julie up to head to the wedding (everyone else went in their own cars).

Life is The Busy

I was pretty engrossed in studying until a couple of weeks ago. When I went to take my test, they told me I wasn't on the roster. Apparently, I didn't finish all of the steps to reschedule even though I thought I did. I thought I rescheduled and didn't think about it again. Like, I didn't think to look for my confirmation email. My own fault. So now, I'm not thinking of the test until after the wedding. Not starting school in the Fall means we have much more flexibility on when we take our Honeymoon.

We had a lovely visit from Anna. She lives in Eugene, Oregon and teaches at a school where you learn how to build bicycles. We hadn't seen each other in 3 years. It was really good to catch up.

We are now wrapping up loose ends re: The Wedding. I got my eyebrows waxed today and have my make-up consultation tomorrow. Jenn & Cameron got into Seattle on Saturday and spent the night with us. Mom & Paul got in today and we had dinner at Elysian.

Last Friday, I woke up to a sore back. I slept in a weird position Thursday night and have been in pain since. Ow! It has been so bad that I had my prescription for Tylenol 3 filled. Jenn has been a goddess and has been rubbing my back daily. I am so done with this pain!

I am very excited to see lots of family & friends this upcoming week. Our wedding is going to be so much fun!

quickie

Pictures

Test didn't get taken. More on that later.

Tomorrow is Tony's birthday! Wedding is a week away!

Prioritizing tasks

It is crunch time right now and I'm feeling it. I can get everything accomplished. At least, that's what I have to tell myself everyday.

I may be absent even more than I have been as of late. Gotta focus!

Dur

Birthday boys = We got to celebrate Cameron's 2-year birthday on July 31st and Dad's birthday on August 4th. Yesterday was the 3-year anniversary of 'the' First Date.

Birthday Boys and Family Reunion

Life has been keeping us very busy. Last Thursday, Tony & I got on a jet plane and flew to Pennsylvania for a family reunion. On our flight out, we met up with Jenn & Cameron in Dallas where we changed flights. We started out on Friday in Philadelphia with a lovely lunch with Howard, our far-away 'boss' at work. After lunch, we started on the long drive to the small town of DuBois where we met up with Dad, Carolyn, cousin Steve and his wife, Doreen for dinner at the hotel. On Saturday, we went to a picnic at cousin Cindy's farm. Tony just couldn't get over how beautiful it was out there. Sunday morning, we loaded everything up and drove to Lock Haven to the official Hanna Family Reunion. This reunion has been going for 70 years! I've been to 4 in my lifetime. The Hanna Family is pretty large - 5 generations with about 460 relatives. My grandma was the 9th child in a family with 11 children which explains why the family is so large. It was really good to see so many relatives that i hadn't seen in some time. We all had a really good time. Thanks again to Dad & Carolyn for making the trip happen for us! Check out the photos here

The Heat is On

The West has been experiencing record heat. These are the days where I wished we had central A/C. Poor Jenn & Cameron have it much worse so I can't really complain. The poor kitties look so miserable!

My arm pain has pretty much diminished. Yay! I've been studying today like a good pre-grad student with the occasional distraction of laundry & eating. I am sticky from sweating and am reminded of what it's like to be in Florida. Tony & I are going to escape to an air-conditioned restaurant soon for some dinner & a cold beer. There is nothing like a cold beer on a hot day like this.

gimp

i am hunting and pecking. my right forearm is waging war on me and it is causing great disruption in my studies. it lays beside me like a limp,wet towel. i can only guess that the pain is caused by repetitve motion something-something. it is not fair and it makes me grumpy. i wish i could write with my left hand.

Oh Look! A week later.

Where does the time go? I do not know.

This weekend was great fun. Tony & I took off from work a little early so we could be sure to grab the best site at the campground. We set up camp and then our friends showed up a couple hours after we arrived. The camping crew on this trip was Me, Tony, Chris, Heather, Natalie, Jeremy and Kristin. Saturday, we went on a 5-hour hike up to Shannon Ridge. Sunday, we boated on Lake Baker. See the picture evidence here. Driving 2 hours out of Seattle to have a fun weekend like this is one of the top reasons why I love living in the Northwest.

Far-away family & friends - if you want to plan a camping trip up here next summer, I'd be totally down with that. The best months to camp are June through August.

*gasp*
It has been a week since I have posted. Crimminy!
Too bad I don't have time to post right now. Busy Monday as always!

Anniversary

Yesterday was my 3-year anniversary of moving back to Seattle.

Tony just called - PomPom passed away.

Well-rested

I fell asleep arount 1 AM last night and didn't wake up until 9:55 AM this morning. I really cannot remember the last time that happened.

I dropped Tony off at the airport yesterday - he's in Utah for the week. They are taking his Grandma (PomPom) off of the respirator. Tony's mom, Sherry, asked him to come out there to give her support. The antibiotics helped PomPom fight off the infection that the doctors didn't think she would survive, but that doesn't mean she is well enough to leave the hospital. The docs say that she needs to breathe on her own without the help of the respirator. Thing is, her body may be too weak but they won't know until it's done. It's a little scary.

Yesterday, we went to brunch with Amanda, Julie and Natalie. Afterwards, I helped Tony pack and then sent him off. I decided not to spend my afternoon studying but rather to take time for myself. I talked on the phone with Jenn, read my Vegetarian Times, took a little nap, ran a couple of errands and then did a major cleaning of the bedroom. Tony finally agreed to let me get rid of the Elliptical Trainer he bought from Sunny when we first moved into the apartment and then he proceeded to never use. It has only taken up space and collected dust in our bedroom for the past 1.5 years. I put a listing on Craigslist and voila! it was gone. I really hope the new owner puts it to use! The floor underneath it was covered in a layer of dust. This inspired me to move all of the furniture and dust & mop the floor. When you have hardwood floors and furry animals, the fur gets in every little crevace. I love how the bedroom feels so much cleaner. And, it looks so much bigger without the huge piece of exercise equipment in it. Ah, the little joys in life.

A week of success

I have successfully gone to the gym every day this week. Go me! Levona took today off so I almost didn't go because I have plenty of work to do. But, I did go and it was worht it! yay!

Tonight is the Sonic Youth show. I haven't listened to any of their current stuff in about 4 years, but they are one of the bands that I've been familiar with for so long that I figure I should see them live one time in my life.

Need to get back to working - going to try and take off early today.

I've already told her twice today, so a third time won't hurt. Happy Birthday, lovely Betsyroo!

p.s.

Our neighbors are back and they are all safe. Yay!

So...

I rescheduled my GMAT exam. I am going to need as much time as possible for the math section. It is h-a-r-d HARD! Hardy hard hard. I am not confident that I could adequately absorb what I needed to by July 8th in order to obtain a quality score on the test. So, I forked out $50 and postponed it until August 19th and now I feel much better.

Before this weekend, I had this idea that somehow my work & life experience would contribute to my absorbtion of The Math. Tony & I sat down this weekend to start going over The Math and he said, 'This is really hard!' and that did not help my confidence. The work & life experience did nothing for me. Sure, I do basic algebra and whatnot and I don't even think about it, but I'm not getting tested on the basics even though 'they' say that's all it is. The test questions are long and complicated and are not easy whatsoever.

This postponement..what does it mean? Well, if I don't get the score that I need, I will have to take the test again. And, I will try to get into the program in the Winter quarter instead of Fall quarter. Do I really want to wait a month to start school? Prolly not.

4 years on Blogger

June 24th was the 4-year anniversary of starting a blog on Blogger. I meant to post something meaningful but I was too busy studying and I forgot. When I first started an online journal, I didn't know what to write. I never kept an offline journal so it was really awkward. Now everyone is doing the blog thing!

Tonight, we went to see Wordplay with Chris & Heather. Funny movie! I loved it. I've never been very good at crossword puzzles but this made me want to try to become good at them. I didn't go out and enjoy any of the Pride festivities today - I stayed in all day and studied. Tomorrow will be a repeat as will next weekend. My test is in two weeks! Ack!

Sometimes, I must share The Gross

Because this blog is all about my daily life, I will share with you a bit of The Gross.

We live in a 2-story apartment with the bathroom residing upstairs. When someone is feeling a bit pukey, oftentimes the kitchen sink is the closest basin. I know. Grody. We have a garbage disposal if that makes it any better. Just a minute ago, I grabbed the soap to wash pans from dinner and felt 'stuff' on it. It took me a second to realize it was dried vomit. GROSS! I suppose it splattered a bit last night and Tony missed some things when cleaning up.

p.s. I always scrub down the sink with Bon Ami afterwards. I didn't think about checking for splatter last night!

Our neighbors disappeared. Their mail started piling up in front of their door so we started picking it up. I'm worried because they didn't ask anyone to watch for packages and stuff while they were gone...they just took off. I hope there wasn't some awful emergency. I'll feel much better when they come home.

Time to be more proactive

Last night was no fun - Tony was a very sick boy. I believe it was a migraine. He complained of a headache and then it got worse and then he started with the puking. Poor guy :( I was too distracted to get any studying done. He woke up feeling completely better this morning so all is good.

I have joined a gym again - one that is right down the street from work. I have two short-term goals: (1) tone up my arms so I like they way they look while wearing my wedding dress, and (2) strengthen my back muscles to help prevent the pain. The only time I have been pain-free was when I was exercising on a regular basis. My plan is to go during lunch AND I have a work-out buddy, Levona. No excuses! I'm trying to get Tony to join, too. He says he wants to lose weight before the wedding. He better get started now!

The little things are getting to me

There have been multiple things today and yesterday at work that have not been going smoothly. I've had to put too much energy into fixing these issues. I've noticed that the stress has gone to my upper back and it's no good at all. I need to figure out how to prevent that. I will be putting ice & heat on it tonight in hopes of relaxing the muscles.

Time to go home!

I love me some Vietnamese food

Tony's coming home tonight. His grandma is awake now and can have conversations. The doctors are unsure of recovery, so things are definitely still iffy. However, Tony is very happy that he got to spend time with his grandma while she's coherent.

Since it's my last night to myself, I treated myself to Vietnamese food. i love it! but my sweetie isn't in love with it as much as I am. It was so tasty and now my belly is very full.

I am going to attempt to get in an hour or so of studying before I head to the airport to pick up Mr. T. Chris got back from his 3-week Bolivia trip last night and wants to hang out tonight. I'll give myself social time tonight and then it's hard-core studying from here.

Perfect GMAT score - here I come!

Oh look! Here is me.

I studied for about 2 hours tonight and now I'm stopping even though I really shouldn't. Well, OK. I convinced myself. I will attempt to study further after I post this.

I left an empty laundry basket on the floor. It is Screech's new favorite thing to sit in. He's a silly kitty. I took the furry kids to the vet on Saturday for their annual check-up and both have gained a little weight. I buy them expensive, prescription diet food for them to gain weight? Huh? The vet explained the calorie difference between wet & dry food. We are going to increase the wet food and decrease the dry since the dry is much higher in calories. Wish I would have known that last year! Although a bit heavier, both kitties are perfectly healthy. She commented on how they are exceptionally healthy for their age. It's because they are very loved!

After we got home from the vet, we napped because we could. Tony got up before I did to take Amanda shopping for her suit for the wedding. I enjoyed my nap and then finally got up to study for a bit. Shortly after they got home from Shopping Extravaganza, Tony received a call from his mom with some bad news: his Grandma is dying. So sad. I put away my books and spent time with my Favorite for the rest of the day. I took him to the airport early on Sunday - he's in Utah right now with his family. The doctors don't know how much longer Grandma is going to be around. I'm glad she didn't pass before he got to Utah.

I have the house to myself and it's a little quiet. I've been spending most of my time studying with the occasional break to do laundry or go to the grocery store.

Ack.Ack.Ack. I am freaking analyzing my freaking sentence structure and wanting to go over every word to make sure it is all correct. See what this exam is doing to me?!

This post doesn't even deserve a title

I'm tired and I'm grumpy and I want to shut my office door and take a nap. I was planning on doing the studying tonight but I have no idea how I'm going to stay focused. Lameness. I've been drinking the coffee and it's not doing a bit of good.*cry* I wanna go home now!

Books'o'rama

I just ordered two more GMAT prep books - one specializing in the Math section. I was reading a bit online and found that some people take a YEAR to prepare for this test. WTF? What have I gotten myself into? Tony is going to help me with the Math and he is excited. He loves Math. How did I end up with a lover of Math? I suppose we balance each other out.

OK, I'm going to keep on truckin' and will do my best. Unfortunately, I have increased my caffeine intact in hopes of staying awake while studying. I don't know how I'm going to get through a year of grad school while preggers w/o caffeine. Lordy! Others have done it, so I can do it too.

Critters in the attic

One pain about the GMAT practice test: the disk only works on Windows machines. Yes, I know my laptop can now run Windows, but I have to go buy it. There was a point last night where I was dozing off while taking the test. No good! My PC is up in the office in my comfy office chair. Normally, I do my studying in the dining room. There's enough activity downstairs to keep me awake.

I admit, my practice test score SUCKED. I have my work cut out for me. Now I will go in the corner and cry. (not really crying. no need to worry, m'kay?)

There was something uninteresting I was going to post and now I have inconveniently forgotten. I should get back to work. I just remembered that I forgot to mail Father's Day cards out today. D'oh!

Things that happen on Tuesdays

I wake up in the morning and wish I could sleep longer.
I drag myself out of bed and take a shower.
I get dressed for work and gather some food for lunch.
We drive to work and then start working.
My 1pm interviewee doesn't show up.
I post in my journal to give myself a little break from working.

I started to take a practice GMAT test the other night and I'm pretty freaked out right now. I am going to have to study my butt off for the next month and really hope I do well enough on the test. I have a problem, though. The task of relearning all the math is terribly daunting. Therefore, I find myself wanting to avoid the studying. It's no good.

I dyed my hair 'Light Golden Brown' the other day and no one has noticed. I'm trying to get a color that matches my roots, but it's pretty hard. I'm hoping to find a color that is really close to my natural color before the wedding.

OK, time to make more things happen on this Tuesday.

Rambly ramble + procrastination

We had a lovely time with Dad & Carolyn in the evenings while they were visiting. After they left, I intended to be productive right away but that didn't happen. The next plan was to be productive today: go see SIFF movie about the Pixies - check; meet up with caterer to discuss things - check; come home and create 2 lists of things I need to do for school and for wedding - not checked. However, I did find an application on my computer that makes checklists. For reals! Now I just need to focus and start using it.

Safari is doing something really, really annoying. It just started last week and I don't want to troubleshoot it. I should have Tony do it.

We saw An Inconvenient Truth last night. It's a movie that everyone should see. We've also been watching Six Feet Under. We are almost done with the series. Sad :(

Well, I thought I was in the mood to post but realized that I'm not but I'm going to post this anyway even though I'm not satisfied with the flow.

Status check

Oh nos. I didn't finish my studying and my test is tonight. I did finish my other tests and all of my homework, but now I might not do so well on this test tonight.

Sometimes, the little voice in the back of my head reminds me that I'm not taking this class for credit and the grade really doesn't matter so it's OK to slack a little. And then the other little voice in my head talks back to the first voice reminding her that I have set my own standards and if I do not meet up to those standards, I am only failing myself.

This class has been good practice for grad school. After the orientation, I thought it would be so easy to ace the class. I admit, I made the assumption way too quickly and ended up being wrong. I will pass the class, but i do not know if I have 'aced' it.

Kitty poop does not smell pretty

Friday night, I neglected the studying and hung out with Tony instead. Yesterday, I studied for 10 hours and drank too much coffee. My jaw still hurts today from the caffeine buzz. I got a late start on studying today. We decided to go out to brunch and invited some friends. We then stopped by the Farmer's Market (Yay!) on the way back so I could scope out the produce - picked up a bag of spinach & stuff. I have one more chapter to read and take notes on and also need to finish up the homework problem for this last chapter. I am so close to done but have no desire to study any more today. It's 8 o'clock and my butt is plenty numb. I must persevere and get over myself!

Stormy

My Florida peeps - it's storming here right now with a bit of thunder. After the first clap, everyone got excited. For reals. I haven't seen any lightening, though. No work would get done if we had lightening, too!

Miss Natalie brought a boy she's been dating to the get-together last night. He went to FSU at the same time I did and we apparently hung out at the same places. It's a small world sometimes.

Dear Blog

I have missed posting meaty updates to you. Work has been very demanding this week and I have been spending my evenings studying. I am very close to finishing the Finance class. After my final test next Tuesday, I will relax until Dad & Carolyn head back to Houston. Soon thereafter, I will make a list of everything I need to get done before The Big Day and Grad School. There is a lot, so a list is a must.

I am not going to study tonight, however. Socializing with friends is necessary - our beloved Chris is leaving for his 3-week trip to Bolivia tomorrow morning. We must wish him a happy farewell and he insist on having a good drink before he leaves. I think I might join him in the tasty beverage.

I miss all of the loverlies in Florida. Both Tony & I want you all to move to Seattle. Tomorrow. Pretty please? OK, fine. I know begging isn't going to make it happen. You all are awesome.

Before I head to bed

Check out the rest of the set here.

To Florida and Back

We made it back to Seattle in one piece. Much fun was had this weekend and the ceremony was perfect. I felt honored to be a part of it. I am out of it and will post more later along with pictures.

Amanda has fun with Photo Booth

List

There are some people that cannot do certain tasks without a 'to do' list. I'm typically not one of these people unless I have so much going on that my brain cannot contain my mental list accurately. I'm feeling in a list mood today:

1) Work
2) Appt. with Jackie at 6pm
3) Eat dinner
4) Laundry
5) Study
6) Watch 2-hour season finale of 'Lost'
7) Balance checkbook

For Thursday:

1) Work
2) Pack - don't forget the shoes to go with the dress!
3) Dinner
4) Get to airport for the red-eye flight to Tampa

Storytime

Adrianne's bachelorette party started pretty tame. After a few of us had a delicious dinner at Cafe Flora, we meandered on down to Barca for a drink and to meet up with a few other people. After being there for about 30 minutes, pirates show up and kidnapped us. The rest of the night was out of control. Check out my pictures and also check out another set of pictures. Major silliness couldn't be avoided.

Tonight, I have been sufficiently distracted by my laptop. I LURV IT! One application that has been distracting me is called Photobooth. Tony hates half of the effects because they make you look really ugly. Check out the samples of all of the effects I played with.

YARG!

Story later.

My laptop arrived today. Yay!

Hunch-a-bunch

My upper back is much happier now thanks to the fabulous Stine. She mentioned getting a stand to hold my book so I would not hunch over to read. Dur. Why didn't I think of that? I will be venturing to Office Depot to pick one up this weekend. I think it would also be helpful if I start typing my notes instead of writing them in a notebook. Writing in a notebook also requires hunching.

I just finished my second test - one more to complete before my final test on June 6th. My strategy is to spend some hours at the library with the answer book once I receive my laptop so I can complete the homework and know it's accurate before I submit it (homework is done online).

I love my overcast skies

We got a break from the heat & sun today with a nice layer of clouds. I love Seattle weather. Warm & sunny for a few days and then a nice cloud cover to give us fair-skinned folk a break. Speaking of fair skin, I was standing next to Tony this morning in the bathroom as we were getting ready. I am noticibly tanner than him. Go fake tanner, Go!

The Boss said we could close shop early today (4pm). I am tempted to enjoy my evening and do no studying. I need a break one night this week, no? I'm going to skip out on bookclub tomorrow and go for a massage to see if it will help with the sciatica. My upper back is not happy at all about being hunched over a book for hours at a time.

Tomorrow night is Adrianne's bachelorette party. We are going to start off with dinner at Cafe Flora and then do the bar hop on Capitol Hill. Julie is have a bbq on Sunday, but I may have to skip it so I can focus on studying all day long.

Just wait until grad school starts. All I'm going to talk about is how I study everyday. Wow. So exciting.

Stuckthroat

Don't you hate it when you swallow pills and you have the sensation in your throat that they are stuck there even though you know they really aren't? Hate.That.

My sciatica is bothering me today and that displeases me so. I haven't had any problems with it in quite some time. My body is so lame sometimes.

In other news, I did not have a headache yesterday or today.

My boss asked me today if I've lost weight. He's the second person to ask me that in the past month. Although I haven't lost any weight, I'm totally down with looking like I have. I think it just really depends on what I am wearing.

edited to add that there are Fun Times happening tonight with a bbq at the lake and I am going to skip it so I can study. Lame.

Seattle heat

It's hot in Seattle today. I think it might have reached 80 degrees. Good thing we have air conditioning at work.

I'm twiddling my thumbs right now waiting for Tony to get back from the motocycle shop so we can go get some dinner. I hungry! His old battery is dead and we just couldn't revive it, so he went to get another. I really hope he doesn't want to put it in his bike before we eat. He's thinking about selling it. I love riding on the back of it, but we didn't take it out once last summer because he has neglected to update the tags. It would probably be best if he did sell it and then get another once we have a place where he can park it (other than the street).

Oh! Exciting news! My birthday present was finally released today and Tony ordered it for me!

Memo to my head

Stop hurting. Please. Something is triggering these headaches but it is unclear what it is. I'm thinking it might be pollen even though I have no other allergy symptoms.

I am a Tan Goddess

I jest. I can't tell if I look any less pale.

It sure is quiet around here. I was getting used to the Cameron chatter. Although Jenn & Cameron were just here for a brief weekend, the house seems empty now that they are gone.

I will upload the few pictures I took this weekend except for The Dress pictures. If you would like to see those, email me. I have to be sneaky about this since Tony sometimes gets on my computer for stuff. After I took Jenn to see The Dress on Saturday, we did a little bit of shopping looking for accessories. We didn't have any luck with that, but did find shoes for me to wear with the Pink Dress later this month.

I made a couple of quiches this weekend. I wanted to make them completely vegan, but didn't have time to grab the vegan cheese. I made the first one with spinach & mushrooms - it was OK but needed more salt. I made the 2nd today with spinach & facon and used more salt. This one came out much better. I do hope it reheats well since I plan on it feeding us for a few more meals.

This Finance class is turning out to be more challenging than I thought it would be. I've been attempting the homework problems and haven't been getting them 100% right and can't even figure out some of the answers. I then realized that I had yet to watch the lecture and they actually do help. So now I must watch it and hope that it doesn't put me to sleep.

Oh! Fun stuff! I've reconnected with a couple of old friends from my days in Naples via MySpace. I hope to hang out with them next time I'm visiting. Yay Internet!

Friday is my favorite day

At least my favorite work day, that is.

I am very excited that Jenn & Cameron will be here in a couple few several hours! Yay! Before picking them up from the airport, we are going to a friend's BFA show. I am very excited to see her work in person. We got to hang out last night at the show and she was telling me how she is excited to finally have a social life and we were lamenting that mine will soon be non-existent. We share a birthday 'cept she's a year younger than me.

My head is hurting again today and I'm just not happy about this! I think my office is just too small for the lilies. I will take them home with me tonight.

Excited must be my favorite word today. I used it far too many times in this post.

I have no discipline

Or else I'm just getting my socializing out of my system (ha!) before grad school starts. I haven't been as diligent with my studies with this one class as I would like to be. Working a 9-5 job and going to school is very different than going to school and working at a restaurant or in the mall. When I get home at night, sometimes I just don't feel like studying. Or I need to go grocery shopping so we have food to eat. What do you do? Tuesday was my one night of studying this week and I was so tired that I couldn't concentrate. I wasn't willing to drink caffeine because I was not willing to forego sleep. Oh well. I will scale back on the number of social events I go to during the week until I have taken the GMAT.

Well, after tonight that is. We are going to see Goldfrapp tonight at The Showbox. No more shows are on the agenda except for Sonic Youth in June.

The headache that won't go away

I awoke this morning to a headache. It's 1:23PM and I still have this headache. I'm starting to think the Easter Lily plant in my office is not helping. Lameness.

Tonight is Girl's Night at Sunny's house. She's doing a spring cleaning of sorts before her and her man shack up and is giving all of her girlfriends the opportunity to go through the stuff she's giving away before hauling it to Goodwill. I love free stuff! We'll also be firing up the bbq for tasty goodness.

Distractedness

Well, it seems I'm having a hard time staying focused on work today. My brain is refusing to function properly. I sent an email to all of our marketing affiliates with a typo of sorts: approvements. I dunno. I meant to say 'improvments' but for some reason I combined the work approve with improvements and came up with approvements. Dur.

On Friday night, neighbors & coworkers Jessica and Eric had a Cowboy party. It gave us an excuse to pull out our Halloween costumes. We hung out there for a bit before heading to Amanda's house to watch Delicatessen. It just came out on DVD and looks wonderful. I love that movie and hadn't seen it in years. Good times. Saturday, I went dress shopping with Julie & Natalie and then we met up with Chris, Amanda, Murray and his parents for dinner at Twenty-Two Doors. Afterwards, everyone except the 'rents came back to our place to hang out and be silly.

Well, I suppose I should try and get a bit more work done before 5:00. Eh.

And of course

A Very Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Sister! I cannot wait to see you and Cameron this weekend!

Tan in a bottle

I have learned the opinions of methods of fake tans. The friends who have gotten the Mystic Tan says it turns blotchy in a week. It was recommended that I try out Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. I've bought that for my body and Neutrogena Build-A-Tan face since it also has SPF 15 like my regular moisturizer. Keep your fingers crossed that the results are not orange and streaky!

I also bought a dusty rose shirt that I am wearing today. It's not Pink pink, but it's a step in that direction.

Death is no stranger

For the past several months, I've been expecting the call. Every time I would see Dad & Carolyn on my caller ID, I feared the bad news. The call came on Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. Even though I was expecting it, I was still taken by surprise.

My Grandma passed away Sunday morning at 1:00 AM. She had come down with the flu earlier in the week and her body just wasn't strong enough to fight it off. She was 94 years old.

It was a surprise to us because my Dad was out there just the week before and she was doing better than she had been in 9 months. He was able to have long conversations with her and she was able to leave the nursing home to visit my Aunt's new house.

Tony & I went to visit her while we were in Florida in November. She didn't talk much at all and I wasn't sure if she recognized me. When we first got there, my Aunt brought her out to sit with us while she went in to straighten up her room a bit. Here was our conversation:

Me: How are you doing, Grandma?
Grandma (looks down at her arm and pulls at her skin): I don't know how I got like this.
Me: How is that?
Grandma: So miserable.
Me: I'm sorry.

Tony & I weren't really sure what to say after that. We went to lunch at a cafe in the community she lives in. Tony didn't eat much of his lunch (too greasy). My Aunt told me later that Grandma said, "Kris' husband doesn't eat enough." She knew before we did that we were getting married.

I am sad that my Grandma is gone. I thought we would get to see her again when we were in Florida later this month. I know she is no longer miserable and I do take solace in that, but it doesn't make me less sad. I had already planned to Photoshop out my tattoos in the wedding picture we were going to send her so she wouldn't get upset (years ago she yelled at me and my dad after she spotted the one on my right arm).

My Grandma was the last of my blood-related grandparents to pass away. My Grandmother (Mom's mother) passed away when I was 8. I don't really remember her too well. My Granddaddy (Mom's father) passed away when I was 16. That hit me really hard. Shortly after his death, I decided that I was going to start having kids when I was 25 so they could have more time with their grandparents. Since I didn't meet The Right One until a few years ago, that plan didn't work out so well. I lost my Grandpa (Dad's father) my senior year in high school and I've had two uncles (Dad's brothers) and a great aunt & uncle (Mom's aunt & uncle) pass away. My Grandma is from a large family and most of her siblings have passed away, but I didn't know them too well. My point is, although many loved ones have died, it doesn't make it any easier when another passes away.

I love you, Grandma. I'll miss you.

Why everyone should see bands live

Have you ever been to a show where seeing the band live makes you love them more? That was our experience last night for everyone in our group. Flunk put on a fantastic show. The lead singer was adorable. This was their first time playing in the states and they were so bashful when the crowd cheered and thanked the crowd multiple times for being there. Many bands have such big egos but Flunk does not. Apparently, Seattle is the top place in the world for CD sales for them. Go figure!

I gave Kik their most recent album for Christmas because some of the songs reminded me of her and I could also imagine her doing her little Kik dance to some of the songs. I never did ask you if you liked the CD. I have found that people either love Flunk or do not care for them at all.

Here's Tony's post about the show with links to music video & pictures he took at the show.

Start, stop and do it again

Where did my last night go? Oh yeah: chiropractor, acupuncture, food, cooking food, chat with jenn, Lost (OMG the ending was CRAZY!), lecture on DVD and then bed.

I feel like I should be studying every free second that I have, but it doesn't really work that way.

Tonight is the Flunk show and we are very excited. Of course, this means another night of No Studying. That's alright. I will have to decline social activities this weekend which is what a responsible student does.

Plus, we need to start cleaning in preparation of the visit from the wonderful Jenn & Cameron!

My hero

I love me some Stephen Colbert. The man has balls.

Procrastinate

Who's procrastinating? me! I'm feeling pretty lame about it right now. lame. and i've been sitting in front of the computer w/o my glasses and now my eyes hurt. even lamer. and i'm thinking about procrastinating some more by doing some laundry, but i think i'll procrastinate on doing that and actually start studying.

Pink!

I have been drawn to the color pink lately. I keep eyeing the pink Razor and other fun pink things. No, I'm not going to decorate our bedroom in pink or anything like that. This new attraction has caught me off guard. It seems so against my nature. I still haven't the courage to buy pink clothes, but that will change since I found out I get to wear a Pink Dress in Kik's wedding. Not only do I get to stand with one of my favorite people in the whole wide world while she professes her commitment to her beloved, but I get to wear Pink while doing it! I don't know what I'm more excited about - the ceremony or the dress. JK Little Seed! Hee.

I have a month to test out the fake tanning products so I don't look ghastly in the Pink Dress. Wish me luck!

Casey's visit

Sometime last week, I broke down and upgraded my Flickr account to Pro. I like the service and wanted to give them my money. Now I have the option to create more sets. Last night, I uploaded the pictures Tony took while Casey was here.

Saturday: Snowboarding at Mt. Baker


Sunday: Aquarium with friends


Monday: Seattle Center & Pacific Science Center

Check out the whole set here.

Destroy Everything You Touch

We went to go see Ladytron last night. Good show. However, the spaz couple standing in front of us and often bumping into us was quite annoying. When you are in tight spaces at a show, you do not flail around, people!

Who's got time? I do...not.

Oh yeah! Who's slacking right this second? I am! I had a little brain overload where I started pulling out my hair so I decided to take a little break. The lack-of-internet yesterday made today more hectic. I'm drowning in work a bit and know I can get it all done this week, but everyone wants it done yesterday. Oy vey.

Last night, I did a really good job at avoiding studying by going grocery shopping and stuff. I did eventually study, but not for as long as I needed to. I'll be back to the grind tonight and will hopefully be more productive.

I tried distracting myself with laundry last night but found that our community washing machine was broken. Great. There will be a fight for it once it's back up and running. I might run out of clean underwear by then. I'm going to try and get in a load tonight.

My brain is still overloaded but I can't avoid the work any longer. Good thing it's almost time to go home.

Ode to a useless Monday

The day started off like any other Monday. My sleep the prior night was restless and I awoke thinking how nice it would be to sleep in. We get to work early due to light traffic and I find out right away that two of our pharmacies in North Carolina can no longer ship due to a new state regulation. Shortly thereafter, our internet connection goes down (about 10:30 AM). It’s now 1 PM and it’s still been down so I resorted to drafting this in Word. We are all extremely limited to the work we can accomplish w/o internet. Tony & I go out to grab some lunch. First, we try Whole Foods. They didn’t plan very well and made their parking lot too small. After trying to procure a spot for a bit, we decided to scrap that idea and go to Taco Time (much to my dismay). We get back to the office and I take a bite out of my bean & cheese burrito and bite into a rock. Not a tiny, little thing but a good sized rock. Ow. How unappetizing. I told Tony that I will not be going to Taco Time again. Ever.

This weekend was pretty alright. Friday night, I opted to stay home and read my book for bookclub instead of going to a local bar with Tony, Natalie & Jeremy. I had to wake up early on Saturday for an information session at Seattle University regarding their MBA program. I found out a lot of good information and am excited about their program. When I got home, I got a call from Julie tempting me to go to the zoo with her. Alas, I had to decline so I could stay home and study. Saturday evening, we went to Solomon’s house for his birthday party. Lots of fun was had.

I did get to sleep in for a little bit on Sunday but it didn’t really feel like it since we got home at 3:30 AM the night before. I headed to bookclub and picked Sandi & Patti up along the way. After bookclub, I dropped Sandi off and went over to Teresa’s to hang out with her to catch up for a bit and meet her little puppy, Piper. Later in the evening, we went over to Chris’ to bbq and hang out until I fell asleep on the couch.

OK – I suppose I should find something else to do that doesn’t require an internet connection.

Edit before I post: It’s 3 PM and we are still down.

Contemplate

Lately, I've been thinking about the purpose of this journal aka blog. I'm not sure if I'm really satisfied with the hum-drum of 'this is what I did this weekend' and that be it. If a random person stumbled across this thing, they would prolly think that I am a boring person. B-O-R-I-N-G. Why do I care? Well, I really don't care what others think. But, I do enjoy reading other people's blogs. Yes, I read the blogs of strangers. Lots of people do it. A lot. And I'm not a boring person. Most of the time. What I did tonight was pretty boring. I studied and then I watched a lecture on DVD. When it got to the practice problems, I laid my tired body down and promptly snoozed. Just like I did when I was in high school / college.

It's all about effort. Maybe. You see, I could write in a more interesting way if I take the time to do it. The question is, do I want to? Sometimes I think 'yes', others I think 'I don't have the time'. The truth is, I can make time for everything I want to do. It's all about how I choose to spend my time. I am very aware that I don't really spend my time the way I would truly like to. Well folks, I'm prepared to change that. Let's just see if I can stick with that desire and not get lazy. I sometimes feel like laziness is the bane of my existence. The 'maybe' part is this: being in a relationship often comes first. Blogging isn't something you do when you are hanging out with your significant other. You do things together where you interact. However, the 'thing' we often do is watch T.V. and, well, that is getting pretty boring. Unless it's Lost, Veronica Mars or The Office.

Now I feel the need to defend something I just said about myself (for no particular reason other than to defend it in my own head). I said I was lazy. It's only laziness in my Type A brain. If I'm not doing something every waking second, I feel lazy. I know that I'm not really lazy unless I'm being judged by another person who is Type A. Actually, I've had to force myself to be lazy because those around me were uncomfortable with my need to be constantly productive.

Well, it's getting late and I should probably stop rambling. I just wanted to say that I love my family and I love my Kik & Betsy and you all are the reason why I write this thing.

p.s. If you read this and I didn't say I love you it's because I don't know that you read this. So there.
p.p.s Before I published this, I did the spell check. It didn't recognize the word 'blog'. I find that very funny.

How to keep an 11-year-old entertained

It's not too hard when it's just a long weekend. Casey's flight got in at 5pm on Friday. Tony picked him up at the airport, came back to the house, loaded up the car and then went to Chris' to pick him up. We headed up to Mt.Baker and stopped at Casa que Pasa for some eats and to meet up with Adrianne & Josh.

We awoke Saturday morning to find it snowing outside. Sweet! We totally didn't expect the snow levels to get that low. We headed up to the ski resort and delt with the insane crowds. They only had one lodge open so things seemed much busier than normal. We finally got all situated and headed up to the top of the mountain. Adrianne, Josh and Chris took off to do the extreme stuff while Tony & I took Casey on mellower stuff. This was Casey's first time boarding in powder. He learned his lesson the hard way:



Even though he had to dig himself out of powder several times, he said it was the best day he's ever had snowboarding. The snow was really excellent and we all had lots of fun. We headed back to Seattle where Casey promptly went to bed; he was a bit worn out from all of the fun.

Sunday, the three of us went to the Aquarium with Amanda, Julie, Chris, Heather, Greg, Kara and Solomon. Afterwards, we grabbed some pizza in Pike Place Market and then went back to Capitol Hill for awhile. Greg (Tony's brother) & Kara hung out for a bit before heading back to Auburn. Later in the afternoon, I took Casey down to Cal Anderson Park which is just a few blocks from where we live. He really liked the fountains and I could tell that he wanted to get in but knew that he shouldn't.

Blahblahblahandblahblah. Tony took the day off today and will be taking Casey to the Space Needle and stuff. His flight leaves this afternoon.

Awesomeness

12" last night and another 12" expected tonight. I don't think Casey has ever snowboarded in powder before. He's in for a treat! I am so freaking excited - it's going to be so hard to concentrate on work today!!

April snow showers

Tony's nephew, Casey, is coming to visit this weekend. His flight is coming in at 5 and then we pick up Chris and head to Mt. Baker for snowboarding fun on Saturday. The great news is that it has been snowing there. Can we get a 'hell, yeah!' That's what I thought. 8" today and continuing snow through the weekend. Now I'm really excited! We are only going for one day so we can take Casey to do other stuff. It's his first time on a plane and his first time visiting an urban city. We're going to take him to do fun kid-centric stuff like the aquarium.

I haven't been doing my studying like I should. I get so distracted by doing the normal stuff and really need to kick myself into getting into the habit of doing school work.

People like me! They really like me!

Jill & William's wedding reception was lovely. It made us change our minds re: hiring a professional photographer. Theirs did a really nice job so now I'm going to bug Jill to see how much s/he was.

My birthday day was just how I wanted it. We slept in and then had brunch with Chris, Amanda, Natalie, Jeremy and Julie at Cafe Flora. I was sung to a total of 4 times, but not at the restaurant. Natalie gave me flowers & chocolate and Amanda gave me this rad magnetic necklace. And then the big gift that is from just about everyone I know - a freaking Mac laptop! We're waiting for the ones to come out that have the Intel chip, so I don't have it in hand yet and I'm not really sure which one I'm getting. How awesome is that?! I even think everyone at work put money in the pile to get me this thing. I was planning on buying a laptop after the wedding for grad school but now I'll get to play with it before then. So awesome!

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent being mellow which was exactly what I wanted. I suppose that means I'm getting old.

The Almost-Birthday Post

I am almost 32. 32!

We hired an accountant here at work. Previously, we were outsourcing our bookkeeping and now we are bringing it in-house. The person is really nice but very quiet. We're hoping he'll open up as he becomes more comfortable working here. I was occupied at the beginning of this week showing him the financial stuff I do and now he's at our current accountant's office getting trained.

With the addition of a new employee, we are having to move things around here and reorganize where people sit. I think I've got it pretty well covered as long as everyone else does there part like wiring and building walls.

I made it to my class orientation on Tuesday in time but the instructor did not. The class is totally self-motivated. Nothing and I mean nothing is due until the last day of the class (June 6th). Our first two tests are open book and our last test is open note. The only homework we have is to answer 10 problems over the next 3 months. I would have to try to fail this class! Of course, I will not. I plan on getting all of my work done ASAP and then read/study the last two chapers that our final test will be on as the date gets closer. If I get it out of the way now, I can focus on planning the wedding and studying for the GMAT.

Oh yeah! the birthday thing. I have a profile on My Space as do many of my friends. I received a comment today from They Might Be Giants wishing me a happy birthday! It made me giggle. I love TMBG :D

Hectic

It really does feel like it's been one of those weeks. Whew! I want it to slow down NOW! On Monday, we went to see Metric at The Showbox. Typically, the all-ages shows end pretty early. Not this one! There were two opening bands and the show didn't end until after one. I was so grumpy the next day from not getting enough sleep, but it was well worth it. It was a great show. AND! We ran into Tate (old friend from college) and his ladyfriend. Good Times!

So my supreme grumpiness on Tuesday made my whole day bad. I do not do well without enough sleep. Wednesday was better but I have so many things going on at work that my head is spinning. It will slow down soon enough, but damn! Anyway, I finally did my taxes and emailed my instructor. I have class orientation on Tuesday. Whee. OK, must get back to work now. Not enough hours in the day!

Tragedy

It was very surreal to wake up on Saturday and hear about the massacre that occurred about 7 blocks from where we live. Seattle is considered one of the safest metropolitan areas and I definitely don't worry about my safety in my neighborhood. Although I did not know any of the victims, it has definitely affected everyone in the neighborhood. Some worked at the places that I frequent. There is a melancholy air wherever you go now. So sad :(

ARG! Grumpiness!

I awoke this morning at 4 AM and couldn't get back to sleep until around 6 AM. The lack of a good night's sleep makes me very grumpy! I think I'm going to have to have multiple cups of coffee today instead of just my usual one. Grump!

I super cleaned the car yesterday and she's looking very pretty now. She'll be a mess again after our next trip up to the mountains, but that's OK. I can enjoy her cleanliness for the rest of this week.

Links!

I added links over there in the sidebar. There is now a link to my page on Flickr for easy access to my photos and I also added links to many of my friends' blogs. There were other things I thought about linking to but the list was getting pretty long. Anyway, check out my flickr page - I uploaded a few photos from our day trip to Mt. Baker.

This is the first weekend in a really long time that we haven't gone snowboarding. Two days of sleeping in! I was pretty productive yesterday and had intentions of doing the same today, but I've been spending a good amount of time in front of the computer. I think I might go wash the car now - it is in desparate need of a bath!

Put your hand inside the puppet head

Did you know that there are 250 calories in a bag of Skittles? And lots of freaking sugar?

Why do I do this to myself? I voiced a craving for sweets to Jessica and she hands me a bag of Skittles. A handful was all it took to make me jittery and hyper from the sugar. Yay! Ack!

Monday always seems to come about again too quickly

This weekend just flew by.

We had fun at Mt. Baker on Saturday. They have gotten so much snow this season that it has really changed the terrain.

I have heard that some fear that we will get caught in an avalanche or something like that. The likelyhood of that is slim. The way people most often get hurt when doing snow sports is 1) colliding with another boarder/skier; 2) colliding with a tree; or 3) falling on unforgiving ground like packed ice or rocks. The likelyhood of these incidents causing major injury is also slim. I had a kid run into me on Saturday and I just have a lovely bruise on my shin. That's the typical injury.

When I arrived home on Saturday night, I relaxed with a bath and watched some TV. I ended up spending 5 hours at work on Sunday before heading home and cleaning before Tony got home. He and Chris arrived around 7 and we hung out for the rest of the night. Tony & I watched an incredibly depressing movie: House of Sand and Fog.

oh yes - Happy Spring!

Where I spend 40 hours a week

Inspired by Kendra and Amy, I decided to take some pictures of my office and surroundings.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I'm not Irish, but I did wear green today inadvertently. I forgot about the whole "wear green on St. Patrick's Day" until I was at Costco and overheard a conversation about it.

I had been plagued with a headache all day until recently. The hurt going away makes my weekend start much better! The plans: tonight, go to dinner at 22 Doors with Tony, Chris and Julie. Afterwards, we'll venture over to our house where Natalie will arrive and then we'll watch The Office and hang out. Tomorrow will be a very early morning since we are heading to Mt. Baker. After a day of snowboarding fun, Chris & Tony will head up to Vancouver for William's bachelor party and I'll head back to Seattle where I get the whole house to myself. What will I do?

Seriously - all of the peeps I hang out with regularly are out of town this weekend. I pondered hooking up with friends I only see once in awhile, but I decided to have quality alone time instead. What will I do? Who knows!

I fixededed the link to Tony's pictures in the prior post. We are going to Chris' house tonight to finally see the video from their heliboarding trip. It is hella expensive to heliboard and then they make you pay $75 for the movie and $15 for a picture. It's ridiculous!!! With that being said, chris was the only one who bought the movie. The intentions are for him to make copies and disperse to those that were also on the trip.

Work has been keeping me busy this week; it always does when I take a Monday off. I think I may come in on Sunday to get some busy work done that I let pile up. I have been in the mood to spring clean lately - I think it's in preparation of not having much free time in the near future. Eeep. We haven't done any wedding stuff lately which is why I haven't posted anything. No news. We are going to be going in for a tasting next Thursday with the caterer, but that's about it.

Oh look! Almost time to go home!