Posts
Serena to Blair:
"I'm just tired of trying to hold myself back so I don't outshine you."
So who else is absolutely in love with the new Serena?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Line of the night
Serena to Blair:
"I'm just tired of trying to hold myself back so I don't outshine you."
So who else is absolutely in love with the new Serena?
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Remembering Paul Newman
Was anyone else as sad as I was to wake up to the news of Paul Newman's death yesterday? Obviously I didn't personally know him but still I am truly saddened by his death. I felt the same way about Princess Diana and Ronald Reagan. Is that weird?
The world not only lost a brilliant actor but also an incredible philanthropist and humanitarian. He was also a race car driver, director, father of six and a loving husband of 50 years.
The world is just a little dimmer today without those sparkling baby blues.
The world not only lost a brilliant actor but also an incredible philanthropist and humanitarian. He was also a race car driver, director, father of six and a loving husband of 50 years.
The world is just a little dimmer today without those sparkling baby blues.
Nobody's fool
I ran across this article in the Indianapolis Star today and was struck by just how ridiculous this election has become.
Biden's errors were pretty big ones, but how many Americans could name the presidents in order or tell you what year the television was invented? Sadly, not many. But everyone makes mistakes. Obama, McCain and Palin have all grossly misstated facts whether intentionally or unintentionally, and all have taken their turn at the whipping post for them. But at what point did simply admitting you were wrong become political suicide? Everyone does it, especially in the heat of the moment. Why not just admit it - 'I was wrong, I misspoke, I'm sorry'? Or even better, show us you can laugh at yourself - 'Guess I need to brush up on my American history!'? Wouldn't that be a breath of fresh air?
Instead of taking the high road, Biden's mouthpiece used his mistake as an opportunity to insult McCain yet again, this time for knowing who was president during the last economic crisis. Seriously?! That's the best you can do?
Regardless of your political affiliation, haven't you lost respect for these men who can't simply admit they made a mistake or perhaps misspoke? I, for one, am tired of this election and the ridiculousness that goes with it. Everyone knows these men (and woman) aren't perfect so why are they pretending that they are? Who do they think they are fooling?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Special bulletin: Must drop everything and run to Victoria's Secret's Panty Party sale! (Boys, I warned you this post was for ladies only!)Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Blind-ed by progress
Yesterday afternoon Lowe's called me to say that our blinds were in a day early and we could pick them up any time this week. Since we were headed out to the house anyway to conduct our own little 'pre-walk through' walk through, I suggested that we pick them up on the way home. Nate expressed a little concern at fitting 25 sets of blinds in the car but I assured him that we could make it work.
So the customer service person wheels out a cart stacked high with boxed blinds and we proceed to slide, stack and squeeze all 25 sets into the back of the Altima. At which point Nate pipes up and says, 'Why exactly did we pick these up today? Why not wait until next week when we could have taken them straight to the house?'.
HELLO?! Why didn't you say that 30 minutes ago when we rolled up in the parking lot?!
Seriously, though, the thought never occurred to me. They called and said they were ready and in my eagerness to mark one more thing off the To Do List, I went running to pick them up without a second thought.
We spent 30 minutes carting them from the car into the apartment, where we stacked them in the only available floor space in the entire apartment. This happens to be in my office, where I can stare at them for the next week and look forward to the day when we slide, stack and squeeze all 25 boxes back into the car, only to spend another 30 minutes carrying them two at a time into a different office!
On the house front, we had our pre-closing walk through on the house this morning with Park. We ended up with a short list of items to be fixed before our closing next Wednesday. Most are relatively minor cosmetic issues. There is one kind of major issue with some spots on the laminate wood flooring (it's like a little trail of drips all across the floor) that we are most concerned with, but both Park and Cameron don't seem to think it's a big deal and that the cleaning people will be able to fix it when they do our final cleaning next Tuesday. We plan to go out on Tuesday night to check and see if they are able to clean it up so that we will be prepared for our final walk through on Wednesday afternoon. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping it's as easy as Park seems to think it will be.
We also got a tutorial on basic home ownership and how all the gadgets in the house work. I had no idea how cool our kitchen appliances are! The flat top stove heats up instantly and the oven has all kinds of cool settings. There is a slim chance that they just might entice me to cook a little bit more. (Or maybe I'll just warm myself by the stove top on really cold days).
I came away with a short list of things we need to buy that we didn't know about before (like a dehumidifier for the basement and HVAC filters). I was ready to run right out and buy them tonight so I could check them off the To Do List. Nathan, ever the voice of reason, pointed out that:
1. We do not need these things RIGHT THIS SECOND.
2. We will only have to move it from the apartment to the house so why not wait a few extra days?
3. Where will we put this new stuff? Next to the blinds?
Apparently I am a very slow learner.
So the customer service person wheels out a cart stacked high with boxed blinds and we proceed to slide, stack and squeeze all 25 sets into the back of the Altima. At which point Nate pipes up and says, 'Why exactly did we pick these up today? Why not wait until next week when we could have taken them straight to the house?'.
HELLO?! Why didn't you say that 30 minutes ago when we rolled up in the parking lot?!
Seriously, though, the thought never occurred to me. They called and said they were ready and in my eagerness to mark one more thing off the To Do List, I went running to pick them up without a second thought.
We spent 30 minutes carting them from the car into the apartment, where we stacked them in the only available floor space in the entire apartment. This happens to be in my office, where I can stare at them for the next week and look forward to the day when we slide, stack and squeeze all 25 boxes back into the car, only to spend another 30 minutes carrying them two at a time into a different office!
On the house front, we had our pre-closing walk through on the house this morning with Park. We ended up with a short list of items to be fixed before our closing next Wednesday. Most are relatively minor cosmetic issues. There is one kind of major issue with some spots on the laminate wood flooring (it's like a little trail of drips all across the floor) that we are most concerned with, but both Park and Cameron don't seem to think it's a big deal and that the cleaning people will be able to fix it when they do our final cleaning next Tuesday. We plan to go out on Tuesday night to check and see if they are able to clean it up so that we will be prepared for our final walk through on Wednesday afternoon. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping it's as easy as Park seems to think it will be.
We also got a tutorial on basic home ownership and how all the gadgets in the house work. I had no idea how cool our kitchen appliances are! The flat top stove heats up instantly and the oven has all kinds of cool settings. There is a slim chance that they just might entice me to cook a little bit more. (Or maybe I'll just warm myself by the stove top on really cold days).
I came away with a short list of things we need to buy that we didn't know about before (like a dehumidifier for the basement and HVAC filters). I was ready to run right out and buy them tonight so I could check them off the To Do List. Nathan, ever the voice of reason, pointed out that:
1. We do not need these things RIGHT THIS SECOND.
2. We will only have to move it from the apartment to the house so why not wait a few extra days?
3. Where will we put this new stuff? Next to the blinds?
Apparently I am a very slow learner.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
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You thought I was pregnant, didn't you?
Sorry, guys and gals, no bun in the oven here, but The Limited has finally announced the opening of their online store. They've been advertising it for months and it's unbelievable that they have done so well without one for so long. But the big day has arrived - go check it out. Happy Shopping!
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You thought I was pregnant, didn't you?
Sorry, guys and gals, no bun in the oven here, but The Limited has finally announced the opening of their online store. They've been advertising it for months and it's unbelievable that they have done so well without one for so long. But the big day has arrived - go check it out. Happy Shopping!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Bring back naptime!
Whew! It has been a long and exhausting 10 days since my last post. I was ready for a nap by 10am this morning and it's only Monday!! Man, I miss those college days when 2:00pm meant an hour-long nap before dinner.
We've got a lot of ground to cover to recap the last week, so hold on to your hats - here we go:
Last Saturday we headed to my grandparents' in Tampa for a four day vacation with the family. It's been awhile since the whole family has been together and over 6 years since we've been down to Tampa. The trip was a (very) late celebration of my dad's 50th birthday. Dad is a life-long Red Sox fan, so we bought celebrated with tickets to the Red Sox v. Rays game on Monday night. When we bought the tickets six months ago, we had no idea this series would be the deciding games of the season. And what a game it was! The Red Sox killed the Rays, 13-5. Thirteen runs, ELEVEN homers. (We won't mention the rest of the series, though. Let's just say, we picked the right game!)
We may have been a little over-eager to get there. We had to stand outside for quite awhile!
Emily, Katie and Daddy enjoy batting practice.
Big Papi steps up to bat.
Enjoying the game with Emily Claire.
It was so nice to spend time with the family and especially to see my grandparents. I have the world's best grandparents, for sure. They were so great about letting us descend on their house and had all our favorite drinks and breakfast foods stocked up. I was lucky enough to get a whole extra day with them to myself on Tuesday. I genuinely like hanging out with them (you guys are pretty cool!). Love you!
Then on Wednesday it was off to Portland, ME for a work conference. The conference is always fun, we eat good food and I enjoy the people there, but all I really wanted was to go home! The weather was freezing (literally, it was 30 degrees on Thursday night) and I missed my hubby and my puppies. I was glad when Friday came and it was time to head home.
Friday night we checked out our new landscaping at the house. We ended up opting not to sod the backyard this fall. We let them go ahead and just hydroseed. If that doesn't take before the winter, we'll look into sodding in the Spring. It's just one less ball to juggle right now. The front yard looks great though. The grass looks really green and healthy and we got a great tree! The bushes are looking a little sad but they can always be replaced in the spring.
The weekend was spent with friends, football and lots of packing. The apartment is half-packed; there are boxes everywhere. As excited as I am to be in the house, I am not looking forward to the moving part!
We've got a lot of ground to cover to recap the last week, so hold on to your hats - here we go:
Last Saturday we headed to my grandparents' in Tampa for a four day vacation with the family. It's been awhile since the whole family has been together and over 6 years since we've been down to Tampa. The trip was a (very) late celebration of my dad's 50th birthday. Dad is a life-long Red Sox fan, so we bought celebrated with tickets to the Red Sox v. Rays game on Monday night. When we bought the tickets six months ago, we had no idea this series would be the deciding games of the season. And what a game it was! The Red Sox killed the Rays, 13-5. Thirteen runs, ELEVEN homers. (We won't mention the rest of the series, though. Let's just say, we picked the right game!)
We may have been a little over-eager to get there. We had to stand outside for quite awhile!
Emily, Katie and Daddy enjoy batting practice.
Big Papi steps up to bat.
Enjoying the game with Emily Claire.
It was so nice to spend time with the family and especially to see my grandparents. I have the world's best grandparents, for sure. They were so great about letting us descend on their house and had all our favorite drinks and breakfast foods stocked up. I was lucky enough to get a whole extra day with them to myself on Tuesday. I genuinely like hanging out with them (you guys are pretty cool!). Love you!
Then on Wednesday it was off to Portland, ME for a work conference. The conference is always fun, we eat good food and I enjoy the people there, but all I really wanted was to go home! The weather was freezing (literally, it was 30 degrees on Thursday night) and I missed my hubby and my puppies. I was glad when Friday came and it was time to head home.
Friday night we checked out our new landscaping at the house. We ended up opting not to sod the backyard this fall. We let them go ahead and just hydroseed. If that doesn't take before the winter, we'll look into sodding in the Spring. It's just one less ball to juggle right now. The front yard looks great though. The grass looks really green and healthy and we got a great tree! The bushes are looking a little sad but they can always be replaced in the spring.
The weekend was spent with friends, football and lots of packing. The apartment is half-packed; there are boxes everywhere. As excited as I am to be in the house, I am not looking forward to the moving part!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Cleaning House
Nate and I have been busily cleaning and packing things up in the apartment and the new house got a thorough professional cleaning yesterday, too. I seriously don't know how we still have so much stuff even after two moves in the last year. I look around and wonder how the heck we're going to make this move on our own. That is going to be one L-O-N-G weekend!
While the apartment looks like a hurricane blew through, the house is looking awesome! I got to go out twice yesterday, once in the afternoon to have the windows measured for blinds and then again in the evening with Nate. The front door and the garage doors have been painted, the house number was put up and the mail box is at the end of the driveway. The outside is so close to being done; just a little grading and sodding left.
Nate talked to the sod guy yesterday and I think we've decided just to pay them to sod the backyard for us. We were planning to do it ourselves but it ended up costing less than we expected for them to do it. We've got enough on our plates and it's one more thing to mark off our 'To Do' list.
The appliances were delivered on Tuesday and they look great. The dishwasher still has to be anchored down and pushed a little further back but other than that they all look great.
We've started looking at things pretty carefully and critically in order to prepare for the pre-closing walk through on the 24th. There are a few little things we've noticed that we want to make sure they address before we close. They have done such a great job so far, they will probably catch a lot of them before we even get to the walk-through but we are taking notes just in case.
We finally got to meet Jill's husband, Will. He seems like a really nice guy and gave us a couple of hints on moving ourselves and movers we might want to try for the big stuff. Jill came out to say hey and tell us how excited she and Renee are for us to finally be there. It's so nice to know that our neighbors are already looking forward to having us!! She stayed outside talking with us for a full ten minutes before she realized she'd left poor Zack sitting in his highchair waiting on his dinner!!
Check out more pics of the house on Flickr.
While the apartment looks like a hurricane blew through, the house is looking awesome! I got to go out twice yesterday, once in the afternoon to have the windows measured for blinds and then again in the evening with Nate. The front door and the garage doors have been painted, the house number was put up and the mail box is at the end of the driveway. The outside is so close to being done; just a little grading and sodding left.
Nate talked to the sod guy yesterday and I think we've decided just to pay them to sod the backyard for us. We were planning to do it ourselves but it ended up costing less than we expected for them to do it. We've got enough on our plates and it's one more thing to mark off our 'To Do' list.
The appliances were delivered on Tuesday and they look great. The dishwasher still has to be anchored down and pushed a little further back but other than that they all look great.
We've started looking at things pretty carefully and critically in order to prepare for the pre-closing walk through on the 24th. There are a few little things we've noticed that we want to make sure they address before we close. They have done such a great job so far, they will probably catch a lot of them before we even get to the walk-through but we are taking notes just in case.
We finally got to meet Jill's husband, Will. He seems like a really nice guy and gave us a couple of hints on moving ourselves and movers we might want to try for the big stuff. Jill came out to say hey and tell us how excited she and Renee are for us to finally be there. It's so nice to know that our neighbors are already looking forward to having us!! She stayed outside talking with us for a full ten minutes before she realized she'd left poor Zack sitting in his highchair waiting on his dinner!!
Check out more pics of the house on Flickr.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Countdown
4 days until I get to see my family in Florida!!
6 days until we watch the Red Sox spank the Devil Rays.
21 days until we are officially home owners.
55 days until the election! (Don't forget to Rock the Vote)
76 days until Kerry and Cheryl come to visit.
78 days until the most fabulous shopping day of the year.
95 days until my first live COLTS game at The Luke.
106 days until Christmas.
...just in case you wanted to know.
6 days until we watch the Red Sox spank the Devil Rays.
21 days until we are officially home owners.
55 days until the election! (Don't forget to Rock the Vote)
76 days until Kerry and Cheryl come to visit.
78 days until the most fabulous shopping day of the year.
95 days until my first live COLTS game at The Luke.
106 days until Christmas.
...just in case you wanted to know.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Falling in Love with Autumn
The official start of Autumn is still two weeks away but I am already in a Fall frame of mind. The temperatures have been in the low 70's all weekend, sunny and beautiful; a perfect sneak peek of the Fall weather to come.
I find myself looking forward to wearing jeans and long sleeves and pulling my beautiful boots out of carefully packed boxes after their long summer nap. I pulled my lightweight scarves out of storage yesterday and wore a cute little cropped jacket to church today. I'm practically clapping my hands in gleeful anticipation of fashionable Fall days to come.
Do the changing seasons inspire the same responses in anyone else or do I just have too much time on my hands?
I find myself looking forward to wearing jeans and long sleeves and pulling my beautiful boots out of carefully packed boxes after their long summer nap. I pulled my lightweight scarves out of storage yesterday and wore a cute little cropped jacket to church today. I'm practically clapping my hands in gleeful anticipation of fashionable Fall days to come.
Do the changing seasons inspire the same responses in anyone else or do I just have too much time on my hands?
Saturday, September 6, 2008
It's a small world after all....
A few months ago I posted about this great recycling website called FreeCycle. Over the last two weeks I have been using FreeCycle to collect boxes for our upcoming move. On Wednesday there was an offer of 30+ boxes available in Noblesville off of 191st, which just happens to be the same street our new neighborhood is on. Being that 191st is not a super developed street, I thought, 'Wouldn't it be funny if these people lived in our new neighborhood?'.
Turns out the world is even smaller than I thought - the people actually live on our street! Kriste and Matt are five houses up from us on the right and they just moved in a month ago. We had to make two trips to get all 30+ boxes so we got to chat with them quite a bit yesterday. They seem really nice and their little boy Jack is really cute.
It's exciting to think we might finally get to make friends with our neighbors. We had such great neighbors in Knoxville but not so much in Boston or Indy. Working from home has a lot of perks, but it severely limits my opportunities to make friends. Sadly, the baristas at Starbucks are about the closest friends I've made in nearly 10 months here!
Turns out the world is even smaller than I thought - the people actually live on our street! Kriste and Matt are five houses up from us on the right and they just moved in a month ago. We had to make two trips to get all 30+ boxes so we got to chat with them quite a bit yesterday. They seem really nice and their little boy Jack is really cute.
It's exciting to think we might finally get to make friends with our neighbors. We had such great neighbors in Knoxville but not so much in Boston or Indy. Working from home has a lot of perks, but it severely limits my opportunities to make friends. Sadly, the baristas at Starbucks are about the closest friends I've made in nearly 10 months here!
Friday, September 5, 2008
It's all in the details
That is what we are down to in the house - just the details. This week's progress is minor because there's just not that much left to do!
The fireplace people came back and unpacked the fireplace and 'set' the logs.
The shower heads, towel racks and toilet paper holders are installed in all the bathrooms.
The air conditioning was on for the first time which for some odd reason Nate finds very exciting. He's been waiting for them to turn on the air for weeks now.
They have installed all of the door knobs (which we upgraded) and also the sliding closet doors in the upstairs hallway.
The shower stall in the master bathroom was installed. We upgraded this too by getting the textured walls rather than the clear walls. The idea of being able to see straight through the shower just weirded me out.
And in big kitchen news, the island counter top is back! We found out from Cameron that the original piece that we saw in the living room weeks ago was cut backwards from the way it needed to be, so they sent it back and had it re-cut. Seeing it for the first time yesterday, I was completely shocked to see that it actually has a breakfast bar that hangs off about a foot and half from the edge of the island! I had no idea it was going to be like that and I have to admit I was mildly horrified by it at first. Okay, that might be putting it a little strongly but let's just say I wasn't really digging it.
After a few minutes of looking at it from different angles, I've made peace with it. I think with some bar stools or chairs it will be less obvious and I'll be okay with it. We are going to need some bar stools ASAP or it's really going to bug me.
The dry-wallers are out there today making a few last minute touch ups and the painters are following behind them doing the last coat of paint. Parke called today and said the cleaners will be out on Wednesday to give the house a thorough cleaning which basically means the house is done except for the final inspections. I can't wait to see it clean and sparkling and completely painted.
The fireplace people came back and unpacked the fireplace and 'set' the logs.
The shower heads, towel racks and toilet paper holders are installed in all the bathrooms.
The air conditioning was on for the first time which for some odd reason Nate finds very exciting. He's been waiting for them to turn on the air for weeks now.
They have installed all of the door knobs (which we upgraded) and also the sliding closet doors in the upstairs hallway.
The shower stall in the master bathroom was installed. We upgraded this too by getting the textured walls rather than the clear walls. The idea of being able to see straight through the shower just weirded me out.
And in big kitchen news, the island counter top is back! We found out from Cameron that the original piece that we saw in the living room weeks ago was cut backwards from the way it needed to be, so they sent it back and had it re-cut. Seeing it for the first time yesterday, I was completely shocked to see that it actually has a breakfast bar that hangs off about a foot and half from the edge of the island! I had no idea it was going to be like that and I have to admit I was mildly horrified by it at first. Okay, that might be putting it a little strongly but let's just say I wasn't really digging it.
After a few minutes of looking at it from different angles, I've made peace with it. I think with some bar stools or chairs it will be less obvious and I'll be okay with it. We are going to need some bar stools ASAP or it's really going to bug me.
The dry-wallers are out there today making a few last minute touch ups and the painters are following behind them doing the last coat of paint. Parke called today and said the cleaners will be out on Wednesday to give the house a thorough cleaning which basically means the house is done except for the final inspections. I can't wait to see it clean and sparkling and completely painted.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Odds and Ends
How bout them Vols? So the game on Monday night was more than a little disappointing. UT lost on a missed field goal in overtime - to an unranked team. It was supposed to be an easy game against a third string quarterback! Needless to say, it was a tense four hours in our living room!
Oliver was oblivious to the Vol's poor performance and wore his orange jersey proudly. Isn't he the cutest?
In other weekend tidbits, we had our third celebrity sighting in Indy. On Friday night we were enjoying a nice dinner at this prime rib and sushi buffet called The Journey. When I got back from a trip to the buffet, Nate tells me he saw Rupert from Survivor.
I knew that Rupert was from Indy and people talk about seeing him around lots of places, but Nathan LOVES to make up stupid stories like this and trick me into believing him. He makes things up at the drop of a hat, tells it to me with a completely straight face and usually convinces me he's telling the truth. Ask him about the graduation streaking incident and his Mandi-on-TV sighting and he'll be happy to tell you how gullible I am. So of course, I am immediately suspicious. He says, no seriously, I'm not kidding, ask the people at the next table. Which is exactly the type of thing he would say to make me fall for it! As it turns out, Rupert really was there in a private party room with his family. It was kind of cool to finally see him since we are big fans of the show.
And big thanks to the fabulous Kimberly of Fab Finds under $50 for introducing me to the world of thrifting this weekend. I've been reading a lot about the great deals you can find by thrifting but found the prospect of pawing through all those racks daunting. Thanks, Kimberly, for showing me how easy thrifting can be!
Oliver was oblivious to the Vol's poor performance and wore his orange jersey proudly. Isn't he the cutest?
In other weekend tidbits, we had our third celebrity sighting in Indy. On Friday night we were enjoying a nice dinner at this prime rib and sushi buffet called The Journey. When I got back from a trip to the buffet, Nate tells me he saw Rupert from Survivor.
I knew that Rupert was from Indy and people talk about seeing him around lots of places, but Nathan LOVES to make up stupid stories like this and trick me into believing him. He makes things up at the drop of a hat, tells it to me with a completely straight face and usually convinces me he's telling the truth. Ask him about the graduation streaking incident and his Mandi-on-TV sighting and he'll be happy to tell you how gullible I am. So of course, I am immediately suspicious. He says, no seriously, I'm not kidding, ask the people at the next table. Which is exactly the type of thing he would say to make me fall for it! As it turns out, Rupert really was there in a private party room with his family. It was kind of cool to finally see him since we are big fans of the show.
And big thanks to the fabulous Kimberly of Fab Finds under $50 for introducing me to the world of thrifting this weekend. I've been reading a lot about the great deals you can find by thrifting but found the prospect of pawing through all those racks daunting. Thanks, Kimberly, for showing me how easy thrifting can be!
Monday, September 1, 2008
IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!
Well, the game isn't technically IN Tennessee (and neither are we!) but the Vols season opener is tonight at UCLA. We have been counting down the days and proudly wearing Tennessee orange all weekend.
In honor of the day, here's a little football funny that my mother-in-law Cheryl sent me several years seasons ago:
Football FINALLY makes sense.......... A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience.
"Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents."
Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: 'Get the quarter back! Get the quarter back!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!"
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