Sunday, December 20, 2009

Here in my room...

Here is the promised updated nursery video!  We're almost done!

Pretty much we've got outlet covers, switch plates, a bookshelf, wall shelf and rug to go, oh and bedding.  But as far as construction goes, all done!

In other news, unless my doctor isn't getting back to me until next week, I don't believe I have gestational diabetes.  My numbers before drinking the glucose drink were very very low and the nurse draining me of all my blood thought it was unnecessary for me to even be there.  But heck, why not use the insurance and spend 3.5 hours of my Friday in the hospital waiting room? All in good fun, I say.  I also enjoyed how anyone there for a procedure has a little light-up, vibrating pager like you get in restaurants.  So techno-savvy!  You might even forget you're at the hospital and suddenly think you are waiting to eat at the Olive Garden.

But anyway...the nursery...


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Ain't She Sweet

Had the 1 hour gestational diabetes test yesterday...failed...by a mere 7 points!

I go back for the 3 hour test on Friday morning, so here's hoping I get to enjoy all the Christmas treats per usual...otherwise, it's a sugar-free holiday for me!

I went in very confident that I would not end up having gestational diabetes, even though my sister had it and I tend to follow her trends. Now, I'm not too hopeful that I won't fail this next test also. Oh well, I suppose being forced to have a healthier diet is only a good thing and will make losing post-baby weight an easier task? Or will I just go off the deep end after having the baby? We'll go with the first scenario...if I, in fact, have it.

In other news, the nursery is so close to completion! I will post another video of progress soon. And, my Christmas wish is almost complete with all the furniture being moved over. We now have a complete family room and living room and I'd say 90% of the dining room. We've got a few closest to finish clearing out and one of the guest rooms to empty, plus a large buffet and a couple rugs. The garage is another story entirely, but since none of my stuff is out there and it's all Danny's ridiculous mess, I'm not worried about that...I can't worry about it, because I can't even let myself think about it.

9 days until Christmas. Not quite sure how to feel this holiday season, but I'm going to try to allow myself to feel as much positivity as I can.

erin

Monday, December 14, 2009

All I Want for Christmas...

This year, Danny and I decided to just pick out one gift we wanted that the other person would provide, and then maybe one or two small, inexpensive things just to have something to unwrap Christmas morning.

Then we bought new hardwood floors for our other two bedrooms...Merry Christmas to us!

He picked his out and it is now sitting under the tree, along with one other fun Black Friday find I picked up at Target. I, however, had a hard time thinking of something I really needed or wanted. I usually can't think of anything and he is left to determine what to get me all on his own, the poor guy! Well, this year, I figured out what I really wanted...what I really, really wanted.

I wanted the rest of my furniture moved into our house...before Christmas.

I'm done with the "staging" of our home to entice buyers. Nothing is enticing buyers and I want my stuff! We've been living there since September with 2 entire rooms empty of all furniture as it stood out for show in the other house. I'm done with that! I was actually done with that a long time ago, but preoccupations kept me from getting to antsy about it.

Then I did get antsy.

I wanted my stuff.

I wanted my house to be complete.

And I wanted it done soon.

And since I can't do much lifting and hauling these days, I was left to abide by my husband's time table for doing projects he doesn't want to do. And I couldn't take that any longer, so I offered up my Christmas gift in exchange for getting our house in finished, working order. At first, I had given him the deadline of March, so it was at least all moved over in time for the baby (also I REALLY hope our house is sold by flipping March, but I'm not counting on it). Then, I determined that if this was really going to be my Christmas gift, I wasn't going to wait until March, it should techincally be finished by Christmas...so 2 weeks. Go!

Today I came home for lunch and shortly thereafter was my husband and father-in-law with my lovely living room chairs and dining room chairs and then came our other couch and desk and tools went back with them to take apart a guest bed and dining room table. Oh the progress!

With this "all-of-a-sudden" action of Danny's, though, comes a little disorganization that I never enjoy. We have a few pieces of furniture whose places of rest are occupied by remnants of the current nursery project. So they will have to sit in the middle of our dining room until those spaces open back up. Let's just say I am not a fan of multiple projects happening all at once.

But I am a HUGE fan of having my furniture, all my furniture in the current house where I live.

Merry Christmas to me!

erin

Saturday, December 5, 2009

In my room

Today I did some nursery power shopping!

Danny and I have been really cooking on this nursery.  Danny has ripped up old wood floor and painted and prepped the room for new floor, installed a new light fixture and cut and painted new trim.  Our crib, changing table/dresser, and glider/ottoman combo have been ordered and today with A TON of help from my mom, I purchased window treatments, a small pink table (which we bought a new glass drawer pull for), frames for some pictures I had, and stuff to make our own mobile for over the crib which we then did make.  It was quite a day!

I honestly think this room will be the nicest in our house and we'll probably all spend a lot of time there.  

Here is a peak into some of the work done...also, we are training Harrison to not come into the room unless asked, so that is why she can be seen running from the doorway.


Monday, November 30, 2009

Paint it Black

Oh Black Friday...

We went.  The "we" was my sister and me.  We hadn't been since she was pregnant back in 2006 (right?) and we had gone for a few years up until then.  And then we didn't go for a while.  I'm not sure if it was because plans kept us apart on Fridays or we just had enough of the crazies and needed a reprieve, but for whatever reason, this was our first venture back into the madness of the start of the holiday shopping season in a few years.

At first, I had no intentions of going.  Emy mentioned something about heading out, but I was unsure of my level of commitment and stamina due to being just about 6 months pregnant (tomorrow!).  But then, I got a second wind...first wind?  Was there even wind at this point?  Nevermind.  I got motivated to go and there were some deals Em wanted to score like the 32" flat screen at Target for $250.  I really had nothing pending I wanted, but Black Friday shopping is no one man task.  So I was all set to go!  Then she broke the news of what time we were heading out.  4am.

4am!

Also please note that we were doing Thanksgiving at Mom's later that day, so we still had cooking turkey, potatoes, green beans, etc. to accomplish that day.

So I reluctantly agreed to be up and ready and pick her up at Mom's at 4am so we could get to Target no later than 4:30am for the 5am opening.

When we got to Target, I first saw no line of people, though I did see plenty of cars.  Well, there was a line.  What I thought was a long line.  But, by the time 5am rolled around, the line had grown to at least 1 mile long, wrapping around the entire store.  Our goal was a tv, though being about 100 people back and hearing the store manager talk about no running, pushing, biting (yes, biting), we were skeptical of our chances on the tv front.  So we figured out what else we would shoot for ($3 toaster, blender for mom, husband gifts, maybe sheets?).  We got into the store and we were off.  No, there was no real running, though my sister did run about 3 steps in the end, rebel...but I was on cart duty and she planned on heading straight to the tv section, which according to our maps was to be located in maternity on this cold morning.  I lost her in the crowd in my attempts at cutting people off to get a cart (sorry) but when I caught up with her, she was smiling, and hauling a big tv box back through the racks!  SCORE!  We got one of the probably 25 tvs available, that literally were gone by 5:02am.

We also managed to pick up everything else on the list and got in the long long line by 5:20am (I was the time keeper) and by 6am, we were back at home with our loot, ready for the day!

Oh Black Friday, you may be crazy, but we former Evans' girls heart you so!

erin

Monday, November 23, 2009

Thanks for the Memories

We all know Thanksgiving is this Thursday and this time of year is when we all take a moment to reflect on the good things in life, the things we are thankful for...

And sometimes that's hard, especially this year. This year has been hard. There have been a lot of things this year that we've had to struggle with, struggle though, and struggle to comprehend and I have a difficult time finding reasons to be thankful for such struggles. Death, no work, bad economy, 12 months of negative pregnancy tests, rude/thoughtless relatives, rude/thoughtless co-workers, too much rain...the list flows like floodwater, especially this year.

But, there is also something that comes with struggle and that is strength. And even though it is harder than hell to look past what is right in front of you to find the thing that keeps you going, it's important to try. This is what separates us as survivors in life.

So here is my list of thanks for the strength I've found through the struggles:
-Danny has worked 2 months in 2009. This has made life a definate struggle financially and emotionally, but we've perservered through it and managed to both make ends meet and do a lot of home projects. We've also learned to cope with the stress of no work, so I'm thankful for that.
-There have been instances where people have shocked me with their rudeness and thoughlessness, even relatives in our family. I've really struggled with letting the resentments for these people go this year, but I find that in doing so, I no longer have to harbor feelings of resentment. It doesn't change them, but nothing will. I, however, do not have to make myself feel worse because they lack a level of maturity and sensitivity. So they can have it, and I'll move on and be thankful that I am able to do so.
-Our house is still for sale. I realize many people have faced this and are currently in the same boat due to our current state of economy. I would be so happy if someone would just buy the damn thing, but I'm thankful for our situation and that we don't have to make 2 mortgage payments, we don't have to go through foreclosure, we can just ride this out until it's over.
-12 months of being told "no" sucks, plain and simple. I never thought it would take so long for us to get pregnant and during those 12 months it was very hard to hold on to hope that nothing was wrong. Turns out, nothing was wrong and here we are, 5 months pregnant. For that I'm thankful, but I've also realized I'm thankful for that year. If nothing else, we learned that having a baby is something we truly want. During our moments of stress and worry, it's still something we desperately wanted and our resolve was tested. So now we get to fully enjoy the experience of waiting without worry for our child to be born. Nerves, sure, but not worry.
-And that leads me to death. I want to say that I am in no way thankful for losing my Dad. He wasn't in pain, he wasn't sick, he wasn't ready and I'm can't find any "thanks" for his passing. I would give it all back to have him back, but unfortunately, that's not how it works. And everyday it's a struggle to think about and deal with and everyday I have to find the strength to deal. But a lot of days I do find that strength and I am able to deal with it. For this I am thankful and I credit this to my dad. Somehow, I believe, he made it possible for me to go on without him here. And the strength I've gained by going through that whole experience is something no one can take from me. It's almost a bravery to face the unknown. Many times in life you try to prepare yourself for bad news by picturing the worst thing that could happen to you and thinking of a coping mechanism for that. Well I've been through the worst and look at me, I'm doing alright. So what else is there to fear? What else is there to worry about? Not much, and for that I am thankful. Thanks, Dad...you still keep me going.

So there you have it. A list of struggle that I've taken control of and giving a new spin to. For that ability, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

erin

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Girl.

Is what we're having!!


Beyond thrilled!


erin

Sunday, November 15, 2009

It's Raining on Sunday

The title says it all.  Rain, again.  All week.

Not a bad weekend, all in all.  Had to work Saturday morning/early afternoon and then I got to spend a little downtime at home before going to dinner with my in-laws and then watching a movie with a friend of mine.

Today I was up by 7, did some housework, then went out with Mom for a little shopping and lunch.  Now I am home again, doing laundry and awaiting Sunday dinner, again at the in-laws.

Not too much is happening right now.  We find out the baby's gender on Tuesday and I've taken the whole day off work so we can register and continue to celebrate the occasion!  We're very excited at our house to finally find out who will be joining our family in March.  And how soon is March??  This pregnancy is flying by!

Have a good week!
erin

Monday, November 9, 2009

Working on the Chain Gang

Whew!

That's all I can say.

I think nesting mode is kicked in!

Now, usually when I "dedicate" a weekend to cleaning, it's a half-hearted thing. I have the best intentions, and then I usually scale back what should get done to what really only needs to be done to look passible until the next round of cleaning happens. And after that 2 hours or so, I'm totally non-functioning for the rest of the weekend.

Not so this past weekend.

I didn't even go into Saturday with a gigantic to-do list. I had somethings I wanted to accomplish, I knew my mom was going to be helping me, and that was that. I was even attempting to scale back as I made my way to the grocery store for the first time in about a month (yay for macaroni and cheese keeping us going).

But then I picked up Mom and her cleaning equipment, we made our way back to my house, put groceries away and it was on!

What we accomplished:
After I filled in at work from 7:30am-9:30am:
-I cleaned both bathrooms
-Mom vacuumed the MOUNDS of dog hair from the dining room
-Got a load of dishes washing
-Mom and I washed the dining room floor (this is a large floor, mind you)
-Followed by steaming the dining room floor
-Followed by polishing the dining room floor
-I vacuumed other rooms in the house
-We put clean dishes away
-Mom did more dishes. I swear dishes multiply while you do them!
-I promptly fell down on my bed for 40 minutes while Mom finished ripping down all wallpaper from my old bedroom to prepare for the transformation into a nursery.
-Danny finished painting in the hallway (so all rooms but the nursery have now been repainted).
-Danny fixed our fence out back so now there is a working gate.
-Danny and I both raked/swept leaves in the front and back yard (that 97 year old rake that we've had my ENTIRE life gave me wicked blisters because I did not wear work gloves...silly me).
-I participated in a very futile job of cleaning the back door of dog nose and paw prints. They will return shortly.
-I made dinner, which is not a big deal, but I totally wasn't planning on doing so and hey, it was a long day! Then I did dishes, again!
-I fell asleep at 8pm
End Saturday.

On Sunday, my entire plan was to do nothing but watch mindless television, which I did for a good while, but then I started a load of laundry, picked up drop cloth in the living room, attempted to move the piano (I thought I would just slide around, not so much), folded AND put away said laundry, started another load, and finally took a nap.

I did notice that soon I will need to vacuum the basement steps and change out the shower curtain in the guest bathroom, but I think those tasks will have to wait until the next nesting jag kicks in...which could be later today.

erin

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Body Bumpin'

19 weeks, 5 days...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Monster Mash

It's almost Halloween!

I'm realizing that this will be one of the last Halloween's that I don't have to do much.

I pretty much stopped trick or treating in middle school, when a lot of my friends kept doing it for a few years. Besides myself and a few friends, there were a ton of other kids trick or treating in my neighborhood, so when we kind of lost interest, that was that. For a few years after that I helped pass out candy, but over the years the trick or treating really dropped off in my neighborhood.

Then I went to college. And literally I am trying to remember what we did on Halloweens...I know one year we opened our door for kids who would trick or treat at the dorms (that was Freshman year, when there was a lot of other options on Halloween and our dorm was so far from life, it wasn't worth the walk). But seriously, I can't recall specifics on college Halloweens. Hmm.

Then I had my own home in a more popular trick-or-treating neighborhood and Danny and I were pumped to hand out candy until like the second group came by and then it was a "no you do it, no you" kind of thing. Lost lots of appeal very quickly.

So last year, we went trick or treating with our nephew which was nice and we didn't have to deal with buying/eating/handing out candy, though since Austin was only 1 and a half, we did eat most of his candy...sorry, buddy.

This year we are going to a Halloween costume party (I got really creative and bought cat ear and a tail...whoo!) and again, won't have to worry about candy, however, now that we've moved back to my childhood home, I doubt the trick or treating has picked up much.

From now on though, I will have a child, upon which this holiday really revolves. Costumes (do I go store bought or homemade?), candy (do I go cheap or fun?), eventually classroom parties (do I become a room mother or stay out of it?) trick or treating (who stays to pass out candy and who takes the kid?). It's no longer a "whatever" time of year. It's one more opportunity to make a lot of decisions, get cavities, and above all else, have fun.

Happy Halloween!

erin

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The beating of our hearts is the only sound...

I am 18 weeks pregnant.

We had another appointment today, and though I thought it unlikely, Danny and I wondered if there was maybe a chance of this appointment being the "big one" meaning the gender scan. It's supposed to come around 20 weeks and low and behold, here we are right around 20 weeks. Danny was PUMPED that this was it, to say the least and knowning my husband as I do, I really tried to drive home that this really might not be the appointment, especially since no one at the doctor's office said anything to me about this being that appointment. I said this could just be another quick in and out, hear the heartbeat, pee in a cup appointment.

And of course it was.

And my did the walls fall down around Danny's world.

Poor guy, he doesn't handle disappointment well, but what could I do? I'm not in charge of ultrasounds.

So in 4 weeks, we will be going for our gender scan and for the love the Jesus I hope we can see all we need to see, otherwise, I'm going to have another grumpy guy on my hands.

But in the meantime, I just love hearing that whooshing sound! And I have only gained 3 pounds since my last appointment, at which I had lost 2, which makes my grand total of weight gain 1 ENTIRE pound. Apparently the key to me maintaining my weight while eating without thought was getting pregnant. Who knew? Also, I'm sure that's all about to end as we get farther along. Too bad, it's like magic!

If my camera was worth anything, I'd have a few bump pictures to post, but alas, it's utter crap. That's something I'm going to have to work on before March for sure...so maybe I'll get a wild hair and get on fixing that situation and posting some photos. We'll see!

Looking forward to November 17th!

erin

ps. that new Miley Cyrus (sp?) song is on the radio right now and I really really don't enjoy it.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

Seriously!

So much rain this fall. Days of unending rain. Sometimes I can get into the feel of a rainy day, especially when I'm home with a movie to watch or something, but all day for days on end gets depressing. You just end up taking naps at inconvenient times and eating "comfort" (translate = caloric) food. At least, I do.

But in happier news, this is my first weekend in a long time that I have nothing work-related to do! Hooray! Fall is a ridiculous time of special events at the Conservation District, and I'm so done with it. Too bad I can already think of 4 more weekend happenings coming at me in the next 4 weeks. Boo on that. And as a result of all the special events...we have SO MUCH FOOD AROUND HERE! Danish, muffins, chips, pretzels, cheese, crackers, candy, chili, cookies, hot dogs...it's a pregnant woman's fantasy land. Thank goodness I have a lunch meeting today so I will be away for the tremendous (in size) lunch being prepared for us today by a volunteer...6 pies for dessert alone! Ridiculous.

So, I'm just trying to stay dry, avoid massive amounts of food, and find some down time this season. Can't believe we're getting towards the end of October already. Also ridiculous.

erin

Monday, October 5, 2009

It's Been a Long Time, I Shouldn't Have Left You...

Sorry!

Even though I've been having a jam-packed Fall season both at home and at work what with moving, attempting to sell a house (seriously...sell already!), big work events every flipping weekend, mourning a loss, having a spouse, and growing a person...I just haven't felt remotely interesting lately. Nothing too blog-worthy to note. So, I guess here is a quick run down of some of the activities I have found myself a part of in the last few weeks:

-Hubby's 27th birthday with corresponding party at our house = firepit, marshmallows, good friends, 2am (haven't seen that time in many months!)
-Bears' football season
-New bedding for our bedroom, new light fixture for the dining room, new kitchen mats and towels
-Helped prepare 24 gallons of chili for a work event, then help serve about 18 of those gallons. You do the math...anyone want some chili?
-Dinners with family
-Walks with Mom
-Falling asleep at 8pm most nights
-Birth of a good friend's second baby girl
-Selling a car (again with the lack of actual sale driving me a bit crazy!)
-Vaccuming dog hair...this is really something that I do way more often than I'd like. Wood floors and Golden Retrievers = many vaccum bags.
-Expanding waistline. Most days I'm all for this pheomenon of waking up fatter, some days, I just feel like a cow.
-Mom's old and my new refrigerator (the same one). I appreciate it daily.
-Preparing for about 5 more weekend work events until they are done for the season. It's not all deer and trees out here people.

So, we've got things going on. We get through each day and on to the next and some are easy and some are challenging, but at least the weather is cooperating nicely.

erin

Thursday, September 17, 2009

You've Really Got A Hold on Me

My ode to Macaroni and Cheese...

I love macaroni and cheese, any kind really. I especially love the old run of the mill, out of the box Kraft kind. I know, I'm fancy. It seems like mac and cheese has had a significance in my life from a very early period.

My first memories of mac and cheese...I can't have been older than 3 or 4, and I, excuse the graphic nature of this memory, but I got sick in the hallway of what is now my home again and my sister SWEARS I left a "macaroni trail" which I kind of recall. Gross, but there it was.

Every time I was sick or stayed home from school with something, my mom made me macaroni and cheese, and to this day anytime I feel under the weather, that's what I want to eat if I feel like eating. And it's really perfect if Mom is around to make it.

It was the food I could make myself from start to finish, no problem. Since then I'd like to say my culinary skills have somewhat improved and I've even made mac and cheese from scratch, but I did get the timing down to a flat 7 minutes when it comes to the kraft version.

And now that I'm growing a person, its the food I want ALL THE TIME. I guess you'd call it a craving. Now don't get me wrong, I don't eat this stuff everyday (Mom, this is for you), and I'm happy to incorporate other foods into my meals, but I kind of need it at least once a week. Today at lunch, Danny made some and I couldn't get out the door to head back for work until I had some of his...I already ate my lunch. I asked him to pick up some at the store the other day and when he came home with 12 boxes, I figured I was a little obsessed.

Hopefully, when my child is old enough to fully enjoy the goodness that is mac and cheese, I will let him/her actually eat some.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

How Does it Feel?

I always wondered what it would feel like to be pregnant.

For the first week or two after finding out, it was pretty nauseating, but that was about it.

For the next 5 or so weeks after that, I was asleep, so I can't recall what it was like. Seriously, I always read that being tired was a big symptom of pregnancy and there were months this past year where I thought I was more tired and so yes, I must be this time! But then, no. Oh man, that tired compared to "growing a human" tired is NOTHING! I couldn't walk around my house without having to lie down for 20 minutes and doze off. I went to bed pretty much by 6pm, asleep for sure by 8:30pm every night and took a nap each weekend day. I was also a grump because I was so tired, so I'm sure everyone around me had a blast with that.

Now I've entered the 2nd trimester. The extreme tired has faded, though I get worn out quicker. And even though I somehow managed to lost 2 pounds at my last doctor's appointment, my pants no longer fit unless they are elastic-waisted. Odd. However I don't really look pregnant, I look fatter. And for the past two days I've been experiencing pretty uncomfortable "hey I think my uterus is growing" pains that get extra bad after I eat any kind of food. So I've instructed Danny to get me lots of fruit to eat because for some reason I think that will do the trick (I base this on nothing other than watermelon sounds really good right now). Also, if I talk about Mac and Cheese, I have to eat it and I'm sure that's not helping my pants situation any.

But you know what? It's FANTASTIC!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

One child is born, and the world carry on...

We are having a baby!

You have no idea (well, most of you do) how long I've been waiting to put out this post.

Coming this spring, late March in fact, baby Moyer will be making "its" debut. We will most definately be finding out whether a son or daughter joins the family and we have no preferences. Danny and I couldn't be happier and this has been a dream long in the making...but its like everyone says, it happens when it happens and it has happened.

Of course it is going to be a bittersweet moment for me because my Dad will not be physically there, but I know he'll be spiritually there and I hope that our child will be graced with some of his qualities, too. He did know we were expecting and was very happy for us, and for that I'm thankful.

But for now, we wait with excitement for our first child. Excitement, joy, and every now and then a flash of "oh my god, what are we doing?!" and then excitement again.

erin

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Kind & Generous

You've been so kind and generous, I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
For your selflessness, my admiration
For everything you've done, you know I'm bound, I'm bound to
thank you for it.... 

la la la la la la la la la 

You've been so kind and generous, I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
And I never could have come this far without you
For everything you've done, you know I'm bound, I'm bound to
thank you for it.... 

Na Na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na na

Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave with love and tenderness,
I wanna thank you
I want to thank you for your generosity, the love and the honesty that you gave me
I want to thank you, show my gratitude, my love and my respect for you,
I wanna thank you 

Oh I want to thank you, thank you, thank you, 
thank you, thank you, thank you... 


Thank you.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Gone Too Soon

My dad died on Wednesday.
It was 100% unexpected.

I can hardly fathom that I'm even typing this, but here I am.  Typing.  My dad suffered a heart attack in 2005, a pretty major one at that.  That was also 100% unexpected, but the genetics in his family are not heart-favorable.  However, he recovered really well.  For the next 3 years he was fit, lost weight (not that he really needed to), ate even better than before, and everything seemed cool.  He had a pacemaker/defibrilator put in and we all moved along in life.

Then, this past January, his device was needed to shock him back to life after he quickly passed out while walking.  Again, scary and unexpected, but he really bounced back from that too and even gained a whole new positive outlook on life and coined the slogan "I can't take it to heart because my heart can't take it."  meaning that none of us should dwell on the negativity in our lives because it will get to you in the end.

Over the last couple weeks and months, he'd been experience some dizzy spells and falls, and we were told it was his meds, not his heart.

On Wednesday my dad was having a fantastic day.  He was happy, upbeat and enjoying everyone around him.  He decided to golf, alone, and on hole 11, he went down.  Fellow golfers got to him and called 911, gave him CPR and got a hold of my mom.  He was taken to the ER, but in the end, his heart was just worn out and "couldn't take it" anymore.  I was there, with Danny and Mom and my sister arrived just after Dad passed away at 5:05pm.  We sat with him awhile after that...bizarre.

These past few days have not been my favorite.  A lot of the time I'm okay, holding it together, but then I need a couple minutes to lose it.  Every so often I catch myself just staring off thinking, "wow, Dad is gone."  It's absolutely surreal.  And it absolutely sucks.

I debated blogging anything about this, but the subtitle to my blog is "the thoughts and events of my life" and this was certainly an event and here are my thoughts.  I already know that I feel Dad with me now, but it's still so ridiculous to me that I am even going through this that I can't fully appreciate it yet, but in time, I know I will.

I left Mom's house this evening for the first time since Wednesday evening.  I don't like to think of her there alone for even a night, but she's the strongest person I know in life.  I still pray for her strength and comfort.

I guess I'll wrap it up by saying that my dad was my hero.  He was and will continue to be the standard to which I measure all other people, male and female.  A lot of people I run into day to day do not measure up and for them I am sorry, but there are people who do come close, like my husband, who I think is somehow a small reincarnation of my dad.  I thank God for that.  My dad has always been the epitome of cool and I credit all my random knowledge and musical appreciation to him.  Thank you, Dad, for the 26 years I had to know you and be loved by you.  No daughter has ever felt more love.

Love you forever, with me always.


erin

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Are you familiar with that commercial about school supplies? The one with the father happily picking out pencils and staplers while his children look on angrily?

I really used to loathe that commercial back when I was in school. Now, I LOVE it! I do not miss school ONE BIT.

And don't misunderstand, I was good at school. I was really good at school. I kicked school's butt, but by the time I got to college, I was just pretty much done with the whole concept. So I majored in education and proceeded to finish my academic career. Now, I am not in education and while many of my friends go on to earn master's degrees, I can safely say that I will not. I was done with school when I graduated, with honors. DONE. But I still get off on other people having to go back to school.

But anyway...in my last post, dated last Wednesday, I went on and on about how desperately I needed to grocery shop. So tonight, almost one week later, I am going to Wal Mart! I have my list, I have my mind set, I am ready to go! I'll let you know how it all turns out...

erin

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

To everything, there is a season

And the summer season, while full of fun, sees very little accomplishment.

Can anyone go shopping for me?

I have a long list of supplies I need to restock my shelves. We are currently down to 1 frozen pizza and water at our house as far as nurishment and that, my friends, won't do. I honestly don't think I've grocery shopped, like really grocery shopped for a good few months. I've grabbed random things now and then and Danny went out once for a couple essentials, but it's been ages since I've gone armed with a list and a dream.

For whatever reason, I have no time or energy to feed us. And we really should be fed. I have totally slacked in the whole "domestic" department. I finally folded laundry (did I put it away, no, is it sitting folded in the basket in the middle of the living room, yes.) after a couple of years. I've prepared like 4 dinners the whole summer I think. Something about the hot and selling a house and attempting to move/paint/be in 2 bands just adds up to very little personal time.

And speaking of selling a house. I have to email my realtor after I finish this blog. I haven't even heard from the guy for a week or so. Seems promising! I realize that he can't just create interest in our house (even though he is a realtor and selling houses is in his job description), but I'm thinking he could at least shoot an email our way saying, "yep, I still remember you guys. Younger couple, great house that I said would sell quick for top dollar that now is taking a long time and we'll probably reduce the price soon...I'm working on a big strategy to get that sucker gone!" When this all started, I was quite sentimental, sorry to see the old girl go, but now...I'm done with her. Thanks for the memories house, but it's time to move out and move on. I'm sick of seeing you with that for sale sign in the yard!

Of course selling the house means someone would have to have a walk through, and that means I would have to re-clean it and get that laundry out of the living room.

But its so hot!

In closing, this blog was meant to remind me that I need to get it in gear and get back to doing the necessary everday things of life. If that means a late night trip to Walmart, so be it.

Remind me I said that next week when we're down to water and baking soda and walking around in dirty clothes, ok?

erin

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

It's Decatur Celebration Time again!

Pull out your wife-beaters and flip flops and make your way to downtown Decatur this weekend. As is custom, the weather will be heinous and the alcohol will be flowing.

I will, once again, be in the Razzle, Dazzle Good Times Parade with the District, though this year I will be riding in style in the Mobile Nature Center...out of the heat.

Not sure if we'll make it back to the festivities any other time this weekend. Danny expressed interest in seeing the Romantics of "What I Like About You" and "Talking in Your Sleep" fame. Could be cool. Those old groups who show up at the Celebration are always hit or miss. Marshall Tucker Band was a big miss, while WAR was a huge hit. Boys II Men wasn't bad either, but there were so many people crammed in the streets I was reserved to watch it on the small video screen of someone's camera standing nearby.

You can certainly find a fantastic selection of fair food from deep fried twinkies to alligator on a stick to giant turkey legs to chinese food. And as I mentioned, plenty of beer for the masses. And I just heard on the radio today that you can register your kids for school! So grab a brew and head over the the public school registration table! One stop shopping, really.

Oh D-Cel, what a fixture you have been in my life!

Hope to see you there!

erin

Sunday, August 2, 2009

First I Look at the Purse

But not mine...mine was stolen!

Yes, Friday night, I left my purse in the car.  I often leave my purse in my car, car in the driveway, doors locked.  Well, Friday night, apparently we didn't lock the car as we thought we did and low and behold...purse gone in the morning.  Wallet also gone.  Thankfully, I didn't have keys in there or my cell phone so after I cancelled my credit card and realized my debit card was the old, expired one, I realized that it could have been much worse.  It did make me feel creepy that someone else was in possession of my license and my cool yellow purse and wallet, but I didn't get as upset as I thought I might.  Still, bummer of a Saturday morning.

The rest of the weekend shaped up to be not so bad.  This week we'll be starting with the big move to the new house.  My dad is working on painting and I think slowly but surely we'll get our stuff moved over.  

No word on our current house as far as selling, but we're hoping for the best as always.

erin

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I've got a feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night...

Thank the lord my husband is FINALLY going back to work!

Hopefully for a while....but you never know...

After getting laid off in January, we're now looking at more than just a couple days work here and there or side jobs, though side jobs have really gotten us through this long 7, almost 8 months. And I have to give him hugh props for seeing this through as he has. Yes, he's brought home unemployment and other funds, but not working takes its toll on a man, mine at least and in the last few months I can only count on one hand the couple of times its really gotten him down to the point of being outwardly depressed. Fortunately for him, he had the finishing rennovations on our house to sustain him for a few months and yes, side jobs, couple of which he'll continue doing on weekends, but to have someone call and say we need to at work tomorrow morning...he's been waiting for that!
"Because if he would have had to clean our house one more time...." guess I get that lovely task back, in other words. I'll take it. I'll take cooking and cleaning back happily. I've always had laundry, I can't get rid of that job at all! But it's too bad, because that guy can make a mean dinner!

In other news, our facebook is still a no go here at work. Boo.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

We're Moving on Up

My parents have officially moved into their new home and that means, it's time for us to move!

This will be a slower transition that usual, I think, as we have not yet sold our current home. So some of our furniture will have to stay put so as to "stage" the house, while other stuff can be moved over. We are also going to paint before we get too many things over there, which will be great! Way less work when you don't have to manuever around furniture.

As far as our current house, we have a lady coming back for a second look tomorrow. She's single and looking for an older west end home, which is exactly what we're offering! Also, when I purchased the home I was not married and when the girl I bought the home from purchased the home, she was single (I think...), so this house should be right up a single gal's alley! Anyway, I'm hopeful. That way I don't have to end up paying two power bills.

Here's something tragic in my life...
Facebook no longer works at my computer at work! None of us can figure it out! We don't think it was blocked, but what else would be causing the problem? I know we're probably not supposed to technically be on facebook at work, but I don't really care, plus, I've caught the boss on it several times. But now that I don't have it, I realize what a good chunk of my day I devoted to facebook if I had no other real pressing things to accomplish. Not Cool!

erin

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

You Say Potato...

I say, "it's Volunteer Quarterly Meeting time!"

I am preparing a baked potato bar and ice cream sundae bar for my meeting this evening, that only 9 people have signed up for. Oh well, at least it will be short and sweet.

So that's what I'll be working on today. Of course I have way too much food, but the staff will just eat it later in the week. I like that I can essentially buy groceries for work, and hey, I'm licensed to do so.

That's pretty much it for now. I'll get back to you with more news later...stay tuned for part II: Storing the Leftovers!

Anyone want a potato?

erin

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

It's my birthday too, yeah!

My birthday was on the 1st, right in the middle of my vacation.

The vacation was my gift to myself.

I had a really nice day! Danny planned a fun dinner with friends which was a big surprise to me, although I started to suspect something when he suggested I wear my new top to dinner. He rarely suggests outfits. My mother-in-law made me a fantastic cake, too, which we enjoyed back at our house with all our dinner companions. Earlier in the day I made the trip up to Bloomington with Mom, who was delivering Austin back to Emy and Nick after spending the night in Elwin. So I got to see all my family on that day too.

Danny got me a beautiful necklace that matches a ring he gave me on our first Christmas (although he didn't know that at the time) and an air popcorn popper! We have already enjoyed a few batches of popcorn from this.

On Thursday, I went to the pool with Mom and totally burned my legs to a crisp. Oh well, being fair skinned and getting absolutely no sign of burnage on our Mexican honeymoon, I was due. Then Danny came and met us for lunch.

On Friday we went to dinner with Mom and Dad and then off to meet friends and I enjoyed one or two or seven drinks. That was also a really good time!

Now I have to remember to get my license renewed this weekend so I don't end up not doing it for 9 months like my husband.

Here's to being 26!

erin

Monday, July 6, 2009

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies

Or cloudy, rainy, chilly skies...

So, 4th of July...really? That was it? Independence Day, Land of the Free, and I spent it how?

I woke up at roughly 7am, and it was darkish outside, cloudy. I fell back asleep and awoke later (obviously, but I don't recall the time...9am-ish?) and it was still dark and cloudy. Now something about my house, and I'm going to be bold and post this even though we are in a "state of sale" because I don't think any of the 7 people who read this blog are planning on purchasing my home...well our house, you cannot tell if it's raining. Let me clarify. It's not like there are no windows, quite the contrary, but just the positioning of the neighbors and trees and things of that nature, you have to literally walk up to a window and look out to see if it is raining. So, when I woke up and saw that it was dark and cloudy, I was unsure if anything else was going on. Apparently, it was raining.

And it rained all.day.long.

Happy 4th of July! A day to get outdoors and light sparklers, have block parties, grill out, golf, swim, hang out with friends...not this year! Not at all!

We were invited to a party, initially starting at 6pm. Then, due to forecasted rain, it was changed to 2pm. At 2pm, it was pouring, but our friends were determined to have their party. So it was moved back to 5pm. Danny went. I, however, opted out due to my Sunday plans. I remained bored at home with the dog, continued re-reading my Harry Potter books and watching tv. We got into bed at like 9pm, due to Sunday plans, and listened to fireworks. I saw no fireworks this year. They postponed the official fireworks until Sunday night, but lots of individual Independence day celebrations went ahead with their own and I listened to them while Harrison barked at them for about an hour. Happy 4th of July! We didn't go to the rescheduled fireworks on Sunday because of my Sunday plans.

So the Sunday plans...woke up at 5:30am, tried to get dressed. I put a particular t-shirt into the dryer the night before and only the t-shirt to ensure its dryness for that day. Apparently I did not set the dryer for very long because upon opening it up the next early morning it was more than damp. So I tried to get a few more minutes of dry time in, but ended up donning my uncomfortably damp t-shirt and "still wet from fording through the river that was the Kroger parking lot yesterday" jeans that I thought would be dry as well. Then a co-worker picked me up at 6am and low and behold he had an official event t-shirt for me to wear for the event of the day: The Rodney T. Miller Triathlon. It's Chicago Bears' orange, so Danny feels I can easily sew some kind of Bears logo over the Triathlon logo and wear it this football season! Sure, hon!

Anyhoo, I was one of 12 volunteers for this triathlon, who would be in "safety canoes" out on the lake for the 1 mile swimming portion of the race for tired swimmers to hang onto during the course. We had 5 people stop by our canoe and almost tip us, and we had to maintain our position for 1 hour before the race actually began in the cold, drizzly, windy weather. My back it sore today, but all in all, it was a decent time. However, after spending roughly 5 hours down at the lake and getting up oh-so-early on the last day of my vacation and working for free led me to not want to return to the Lake and sit and watch fireworks with Decatur's finest and get bug bites. Also, Danny golfed that day, all day, and he was too tired for fireworks. All fireworks. Instead, we got Pizza Factory calzones (of which I only ate half, whereas a few months ago I would have eaten the entire thing...portion control, it's essential) and ordered the movie Notorious off our On Demand. It's the movie about the rapper Notorious B.I.G. It was pretty good, entertaining anyway.

And so today, Monday, July 6th, I find myself back at work after a week of a fantastic vacation and great 26th birthday, which I will blog about next time. What was waiting for me when I returned? Well, here's a short list:

-Lots of mail
-Lots of email
-1 potential new volunteer
-1 potential new volunteer clean up event
-My CPR/First Aid cards made out to "Erin Moyes"
-An article deadline that I was assigned WHILE ON VACATION (what?!)
-Missed co-workers
-Not missed co-workers
-Lunch hour phone duty
-No voicemails! Hard to believe, but appreciated.
-A new calendar of events
-A "typo" pointed out to me on a flyer I created
-A "typo" on an already-created pamphlet I used to create my flyer, therefore negating a "typo" on my part. I pointed this out with a smile.
-Chips in the kitchen. There are ALWAYS chips in the kitchen. I ate none.

Sad to be back, yet okay with being back. And what's really getting me through the day is the rest of my calzone waiting for me at home. I even texted Danny to remind him not to eat or let anything happen to it because I AM GOING TO EAT TO TONIGHT AND I CAN'T WAIT! Portion control also makes you manical about leftovers, apparently.

erin

Saturday, July 4, 2009

I got the music in me...

A recent show...check it out

and here's one more...

PS...my little week vacation was FANTASTIC, and I never want to go back to work again.  Sadly, I will go there on Monday.

erin

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Our House is a Very Very Very Fine House

I'm pretty sure I've used that title before, but too bad...I'm hot, busy, and exhausted!

Wanna see our house?

www.brinkoetter.com
MSL # 182444

It's a better photo tour than I could provide you.

We already had a showing! Before the photos were even loaded up on their webpage! I haven't heard anything from it, so I'm not expecting this to be it, but I never thought we would be doing this thing already!

I ran home at 11 and found Danny and 3 other helpers working on straightening the garage. So I got my butt in gear and spot cleaned a few of those "never will really go away stains" on the carpet, some we moved in with, some we created ourselves. I threw laundry into the dryer from the basement floor, so I'll have to remember those are not clean and dry. Put a couple of stray dishes into the dishwasher, made the bed upstairs, straightened, managed to eat approximately 6 bites of a salad, then I raced Harrison over to Mom and Dad's and made it back to work with no time to spare in my hour lunch. Actually I think I was 10 minutes late...oh well!

And now that the pictures are online, we will probably be getting more and more of these days. I can't wait to be done with this, but once I saw those photos online, I was really kind of sad. Our house is just to unique and cute! I really hope someone cruddy doesn't buy it and ruin it.

So we're off to the races! Here we go...


erin

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I wanna talk about...

Everything!

Okay, this is a random blog and to start off, I just want to say one thing...

IT IS SO FLIPPING HOT!

The heat index these past few days has averaged right around 105 degrees. Balmy!

What makes it even more enjoyable is the copious amounts of home projects we've endured these past two weekends in order to get the house "top notch" for selling. It's there. It's on the market. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and although it's not quite as bright as it will be, I see the glimmer of being done with this ordeal. Though I will say this, when I pulled into our driveway last night and saw the "for sale" sign in the yard, I got a little sad. And Harrison has bascially moved into my parents house, our house, so we could avoid tumbleweed-sized piles of dog fur rolling around the house and we miss her so much! She'll be home tonight, but then she'll go back on Thursday and any other time our house is going to be shown. Oh this is so fun!

And on a different note entirely, I watched the highly anticipated episode of Jon and Kate plus 8 last night. It was awkward. It was sad. It was hopeless. It was, in my opinion, a cop out. We heard a lot about doing what's best for their kids, but if they truly meant that, I feel like, if it were me, I would stop doing the show, get some marital counseling and see if things could be saved. Talking. Talking is what lets people know the truth. Talking is what saves arguments. These people stopped talking to each other and that is what leads to all kinds of misunderstandings and resentments. I was just discussing this with my sister. And lets not kid ourselves, there are times when talking is REALLY hard, or at least, talking with purpose. But it seems like if you have a relationship that both people want to be invested in, eventually, you will talk it out. You may not figure everything out all at once, but you'll at least see that you both are willing and committed. Okay, end public service announcement for marital discussion.

But mind you, 105 degree heat indeces will make every difficult situation more difficult!

Monday, June 15, 2009

She Said, She Said

Yes!



Let me take you back to June, 2007...

I had just taken my current position at work and was getting into the groove of working full time in an office, no longer hiking and teaching kids. Happy for the benefits, sad about the change (and frankly, that's still the case). This was also the beginning of the first summer in our new house! We'd been there for just over 2 months, settling in, adjusting, all that fun stuff and makes you wonder...are we really sure about this?

But we were sure. We were in it for the long haul. We both knew it, nonetheless, we were still just "dating" technically. Boyfriend and girlfriend, nothing more.

It was all about to change.

I had gone to work that day and after work, I went out with my mom to pick up some supplies for Danny, who was going to the Bonnaroo music festival the next day with friends. I was making sure he had important things I wasn't sure he'd consider like first aid stuff, sunblock, not-quite-so-unhealthy snacks, etc. This was essentially 4 days of camping with thousands of other people, listening to music in the blistering heat of Tennessee. So I get home and Danny wasn't there, I'm not sure where he said he was, but he was actually pacing around his parents house with an engagement ring, nervous as all get out.

So I settle in at home, probably had some dinner or something and got all set to watch a program I had DVR'd about the race horse Barbaro...remember that story? Won the Kentucky Derby, broke his leg in the Preakness, eventually had to be euthanized, very sad. Anyway, I was about 45 minutes into an hour long documentary about this and Danny came home. I told him I had picked up some supplies for his trip and he said thanks and ran upstairs. So I go back to watching. Then he comes down and asks me to go upstairs with him. Now, my first reaction was less than stellar. I was really annoyed that I was going to have to PAUSE the program I was almost finished with to go upstairs and probably do some chore for him like help him pack. But I noticed he was all smiley and when he made me close my eyes, I figured something was up.

We got to the top of the stairs and when I'm told to open my eyes, Danny is down on one knee holding a ring and simply asks "Will you marry me?"

And after a moment of pure dumbfoundedness (pretty sure that's not a word), I said yes!

I made the phone calls to family and friends and everyone seemed to already know, but it was a pretty wild Wednesday night in our house. He was going to propose on my birthday that year, a mere month away, but he couldn't wait any longer and so he went for it.

The next day Danny left for Tenneesee and I went to Chicago. So we essentially celebrated our first weekend as an engaged couple in different states...and Danny got 2nd degree sunburns on his legs. But we still went for it anyway and it seems to be working out alright!

erin

Friday, June 12, 2009

Like the corners of my mind...

In a matter of days, our lovely house will be on the market and it will no longer be just our own.


It's a bittersweet feeling for me, really. And even when I am frantically cleaning the carpets, or not just putting my dishes in the sink for two seconds, but going through with it and putting them into the dishwasher to keep the house nice all the time, I have a little feeling in the back of my mind that when the day comes that we move out, it will be sad.


We've only been in our home for just over 2 years. I looked for MONTHS AND MONTHS before we found this little charmer and all it's space and large rooms and character. I wanted it from the moment we all walked in on the day after the terrible midwest ice storm of 2006. And we got it! And we moved in and my dad put everything in place and it was fantastic and then Danny moved all his stuff in. And then we brought Danny's dog, Nick here to live with us (and while this wasn't my absolute favorite thing in life, it was nice to have a little companion in the house...who ruined some carpet). And then we tore up some carpet. And then we got engaged at the top of the steps on a random Wednesday night. And then we started having band practice in our basement. And then we tore apart the dining room. And then we put up a fence for a future dog. And then we brought that future dog, Harrison, home and watched her grow and play and chew EVERYTHING up. And then we had a wedding and opened many fun gifts for our house and found places to put new, shiny things. And then we had a year of wedded memories in our home and now, we will leave. It will be sad, but we're very excited for the next step of our home-owning adventures. And we'll pack the memories and move them too.

So, just a few more days...

Of course, someone's got to buy the darn thing!

erin

Thursday, June 11, 2009

She's Leaving Home

So...just got back from my lunch break...

I vacuumed and steam cleaned my carpets!

I'm ready to move!


This could be a very long summer....


blah.


erin

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Stand By Me

This was our wedding song. It was my first choice, but not my ultimate choice, and then it became my saving grace.

So...I have to say I was in NO WAY a bridezilla. I was calm, cool, collected. I let my sister be in charge of my wedding planning because A. she is really good at that and B. even though I was one of those "plan my wedding when I was 7" girls, when it really came around, I only cared about the dress and the music. Everything else was not a huge deal to me. So I made decisions, but I had my sister and my mom to make the phone calls, help me narrow down the choices, finalize details, etc.

However, I needed the music to be done right. I worked for months on compiling a play list of all the songs I wanted to hear at the reception, the songs I wanted to play before the ceremony, and of course, the first dance. I had a few thoughts for the first dance, including Stand By Me, the John Lennon version...but one day, Danny and I were riding around listening to his iPod when the acoustic version of If I Ever Lose My Faith in You by Sting came on. We both commented that we really like that song and really liked that version and Danny just casually said, "that should be our first dance." And it hit me...that should be our first dance song. It's an artist we both love, Danny especially, it has the perfect sentiment, it's not overdone...perfect! So we settled on it.

After we picked our dj, a friend of my brother-in-law, I made sure to tell him that our first dance song was the ACOUSTIC VERSION, not just the one from the cd. I asked if he needed me to get him a copy, he said no. I asked him again another time. I had my sister ask. I had my brother-in-law ask.

Cut to wedding day...I had held it together beautifully in those last few weeks leading up to the big day. Through the tearing down our dining room walls. Through getting a brand new puppy and figuring out where she would stay during our honeymoon. Through a very hot rehearsal. Through torrential rains the morning of my wedding. Through the extreme heat that followed. Through all the tiny little details of getting this person here, having this one sleep here, dealing with groomsmen for heaven's sake! Even through thinking everyone left us at the church to finish our pictures and we had to ride to the reception (I ended up riding there in the back of Danny's brothers Lumina). We really had no big issues that whole day.

Then I walk into the reception venue and see my sister walking up to me with a strange look on her face. "Don't freak out about this because we'll fix it somehow..." she says. "Charlie (the dj) doesn't have the right version of your first dance song."

I'll admit, I lost it a little bit. I turned and went right into the bathroom and cried for about 1 minute. I was so looking forward to that moment! Now it's ruined! I asked him if he had the right version 857 times! AHH!

Then she got me to pull it together and my dad pointed out that in the end, we were still married and that is the whole point...but darn it if I wasn't bummed! Danny was also bummed, but seeing how upset I got made him pretend he didn't really care. So then my sister says..."so what song do you want instead?"

Danny told me to pick..."Stand By Me...the JOHN FREAKING LENNON VERSION!"

It turned out to be just right...

Even though I will always be a little bit bummed everytime I hear the other song...

But we are still married.

One year on June 7th.

(also, thinking back, we probably could have just used the other version of the song...oh well!)


"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You"
You could say I lost my faith in science and progress
You could say I lost my belief in the holy church
You could say I lost my sense of direction
You could say all of this and worse but
If I ever lose my faith in you
There'd be nothing left for me to do
Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world
You could say I lost my faith in the people on TV
You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me
If I ever lose my faith in you
There'd be nothing left for me to do
I could be lost inside their lies without a trace
But every time I close my eyes I see your face
I never saw no miracle of science
That didn't go from a blessing to a curse
I never saw no military solution
That didn't always end up as something worse but
Let me say this first
If I ever lose my faith in you
There'd be nothing left for me to do

Friday, May 29, 2009

It was 20 years ago today

Actually, it was one year ago yesterday...

We brought this home...






And life has never been the same!







Thursday, May 28, 2009

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Man, it's been a while and I've done many things...so here's a recap of sorts:

-"Bon Voyage" party for some friends who are going on a 4 week trip to Europe. Just the two of them. I don't know if Danny and I could handle that, but it sounds like a great time.
-Took dog to vet...1 year old, 84 pounds, she's still the most popular dog there!
-New front door installed, looks fantastic...way to go hubby!
-I made a kick-ass lasagna on Sunday that is still only halfway eaten...this probably isn't noteworthy, but I will post the recipe on the other blog (it's one I stole from Pioneer Woman).
-Danny defended my honor, such a good husband.
-Memorial Day=No Work!
-Moved a mattress downstairs to sleep because the upstairs was SO HOT and I won't turn on the AC. Turned out to be really fun to sleep on the floor in front of the big tv with Harrison jumping all over the place.
-As a result of the above, we basically just hung out all weekend together, watching Jon & Kate plus 8 marathons, relaxing. I have to give my husband props for sucking it up and watching that show with me, plus I let him bitch about Kate as much as he wants...compromise.
-Band practice has been really fun lately!
-Yogilates (this is the correct spelling) kicked my butt on Tuesday, but it was still fun.
-Personal day Wednesday = 12 hours of house cleaning with help from Danny, Mom, and Dad...things are really coming to the finish.
-Realtor came today, looks like we can ask more than we thought for the house...he'll let us know the official number early next week (yay!)

We're just rolling along with life. I'll tell ya though, I'm ready to be done spending money on this house, I'm ready for someone to pay me big bucks for it, and I'm ready to move! I haven't even started packing...that just makes me shudder. But it's right around the corner.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Let me hear your body talk...

Mine says...ouch!

So, Mom and I went to our yogalates class last night. It was the two of us, two other ladies who are regulars, and an older gentleman named Ed, also a regular. I was next to him. I told myself that if Ed can handle this stuff, so could I...or so I hoped.

The class was not at all difficult, nor did I go home feeling dead tired and over-worked. A lot of the moves I'd done before in other yoga classes and there was seriously like 1 pilates move. So the whole time I was thinking, I am not paying $80 for 3 months of this class (plus gym membership)...not worth it! But by the end of the 45 minutes, I was feeling stretched and worked and slightly rejuvinated. Mom is hooked, as she is Mrs. Flexibility, USA and was even the star of the class with just how far she could reach past her toes. I, on the other hand, can't even get to my toes, let alone past them. Anyway, today my body is sore and in all the right places, so I'm going to give it a whirl. The next 6 week class starts in June, so we'll see. It's better than nothing, which was my alternative exercise plan.

Plus, I'm a big fan of Ed.

erin

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Let's Get Physical!

I am going to Yogilates class with my mom tonight. Yogalates? Yogilates? Whatever, I'm going.

Right now as I sit here at work I am so worn out! I had to help lead hikes today due to lack of volunteers and many many children. So I guess that little extra effort put forth by me today has completely worn me out! Lame.

Hopefully this will be a fun class, Mom and I are going to try to go every Tues/Thurs (after I join her health club that is). Tonight is a little preview to see what it's like. But I am looking forward to being a bit more active than I have been of late. Plus, it's only a 45 minutes class, so at least it won't last forever.

We'll see how it goes!

erin

Monday, May 18, 2009

Rollercoaster of Love

So, in a mere 3 weeks, I will no longer be a newlywed.

Or, at least I won't if you go by the whole "you're only a newlywed for the first year" thing. Our one year anniversary is quickly coming up on the 7th of June. I'm really looking forward to it and, of course I can't believe it's been a year already! So many things have happened that I never expected and so many things haven't that I totally did expect. Oh life, aren't you funny? Ha.

Anyway, to celebrate we've had a few ideas. This first...well I don't remember the first. There was some kind of plan, but it went by the wayside quickly, thus me not remembering what it was. Then we were going to get family pictures taken with Harrison. That was a cool idea as the first anniversary is the "paper anniversary" and photos are on paper, yada yada, how fitting! Well, for some reason that kind of went on the back burner and then Danny came home all pumped with his grand idea to celebrate....A weekend in St. Louis, including a trip to Six Flags and the St. Louis Zoo! Hell yes to this! I haven't been to either place in AT LEAST 14 years. The last time I remember going I was 12 and that was Six Flags, I think the last time I went to the zoo I was like 6...so, it's been a while.

So we were all excited about planning the trip and all of a sudden I had a thought...what if I wuss out on the rollercoasters? See, the last few times I've done the six flags thing, I did, in fact, go on the Batman and some of the other rollercoasters, but I always had the safety net of choosing not to participate if I got nervous last minute. There were always enough people going to allow some to ride, some to watch or participate in some other way. Now though, it will just be us and if I don't want to go, he'll have to go by himself and who wants to do that? So I was trying to express this concern and all of a sudden, the whole trip was off. No one was mad, but the point was made that if we're not going to take full advantage of the trip, why spend the money to go? Good point! So, I'm going to just suck it up and ride! What a marital compromise!

We also booked a hotel room, a suite (for once in my life!), and we'll be taking our wedding cake top layer to eat. Wonder how that will turn out in reality. It's been sitting in my parent's freezer for this past year so it wouldn't be prematurely eaten by yours truly. I'm a cake fan, what can I say?

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this trip! A little getaway, but without the pressure/stress of going out of the country, catching trains and planes, going through customs, getting swine flu, getting stuck across the border, being sold into an underground prostitution ring, or whatever else we're warned about on the news.

Rollercoasters, here I come!

erin

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Rock Lobster.

I am meeting the husband at Red Lobster for dinner tonight, thanks to a gift card and a couple of meetings we both have after the work day. So date night: quick little dinner, followed by a quick trip to Menards to pick out a new front door (swoon!) and then back to work!

But...I'm excited to see him! And very excited for either apple chicken walnut salad, or a pasta dish....you see, I am in no way a seafood fan, but I still get included in the gift card usage!

Also, I had to run to Kroger for foodstuff for this meeting of mine tonight (food handlers unite!) and I parked right next to my Dad in the parking lot! But, I never saw him inside the store and by the time I got to the checkout, I could see he was already gone! Mysterious!

So, mystery day, red lobster night...it's the little things, I suppose.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Thunder, Lightening, the way you Love me is Frightening!

Whew! That was quite a little rain storm we had this morning...and I think it's gearing up to go again. And there goes some poor soul for a hike on the trails right now! Perhaps she should rethink her exercise routine today. Hit the elliptical instead today, folks...if it isn't raining, our trails are sure to be mud-packed messes.

I've heard it through the grapevine that "the bear" aka Harrison, got herself into some muddy fun in our backyard today. Something about the "entire left side of her body" and being "barricaded in the kitchen for a good long while." So she's been bathed, and was rolling her little heart out all around the house this afternoon...according to the husband. She manages to have fun no matter what the weather in the great outdoors! And she's only killed 3 bunnies this year!

On a different note entirely, I've been doing my fair share of keeping up with the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" dramailty news that's been circulating. This was one of my favorite shows back when it started. It was a great look into the lives of these seemingly normal folks with a crap load of children. They were down to earth and their imperfections at dealing with life, each other, the kids was a plesant alternative to so many other programs on at the time. Then it began to gain popularity and it became something different entirely. Don't get me wrong, I still watch the show and for the most part, I enjoy it, but man oh man, it got very glamorous and orchastrated and that Kate seemed pretty mean to Jon and that Jon seemed pretty short with his kids and now, all this crazy controversy is going on! What kind of happy, easy-going family is this? So, I guess you just can't really ever call being on tv "reality." Or maybe you can call it that, but you also have to realize your "reality" is going to get way ridiculous, way fast. Let that be a lesson to you Duggar family! Anyway, I'm going to keep watching the show and maybe that's wrong of me to do, invading the privacy of these kids who seem to look sad in many of their publicity photos, but until they start competing for cash prizes and giving each other weird nick names or striving for the attention of Flavor Flav and Bret Michaels, it still beats all the rest!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

In the Summertime when the Weather is Nice...

You should grill some turkey brats because those are good!

And I guess if you want to get technical, it's still the springtime, but it sure is nice! I just popped out of my office for a bit and hiked a trail and it was all I could do to come back inside.

And speaking of turkey brats (not an everyday sentence for me), that's exactly what my hubby and I enjoyed last night on our patio. We took Harrison on a walk through the park after I got home from work and then we had brats, fresh spinach salad and strawberries for dinner outside in our backyard. It was really nice! We talked about our plans for the new house, eventually we want to add on and reconfigure some stuff. We talked about our timeline of projects to finish on the current house so we can get it on the market asap...just a few to go! We talked about how much I would not let us have 2 dogs after we move. One goofball golden retriever princess baby dog is enough, especially when we were talking about adding a german shepard to the mix. Not happening.

All in all, it was a lovely evening at home, plain and simple. Looking forward to many more of those this season.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Saturday In the Park

Good news! I no longer have to work this Saturday! Hooray for rain!

Now, if only Harrison would learn how to sleep past 6:30am, I could actually sleep in for once.

What I am doing this weekend is going up to Chicago with my sister-in-law for her brother's dance show. He's a dancer/pilates instructer (aka in very good shape) and I've never seen any of his shows, so when she invited me to go up with her, I agreed. Should be a fun time!

And on Sunday, Danny's mom is making lasagna for dinner! Looking forward to that for sure.

Yesterday I had the day off from working last Saturday, so my mom came over and we FINALLY painted the dining room baseboards and other woodwork. Wow, that was only a year in the making? Then we did a little house cleaning and rearranging, trying to stage the house for when it goes on the market, hopefully in the next couple of weeks...please...I'm typing this to you husband...let's do this thing.

Danny finished his last class for this year of his apprenticeship. 4 years down, 1 to go! When we started dating, he was almost done with his first year and I was told that he would NOT be moving in/getting married until he was COMPLETELY finished with his schooling. And I just needed to understand that this was his LIFE PLAN and he would NOT alter his plans...it was the first time he really had definate life GOALS and no matter what, I just needed to get on board with THE PLAN. So, now that we've been living together for over 2 years and married for almost 1, I say...GOOD PLAN! This just goes to show us all, sometimes plans work themselves out the exact way they are supposed to, without us having to help them along. Also, if my dear hubby has any regrets about his wayward plan (which I'm sure he does NOT) I point out to him that this year's tax return was far better than his last year. Chalk one up for marriage.

Wow, isn't it weird how my blogs end up. I start out with one thought process, and then all this "stuff" just comes spilling out onto the page and you get an amalgamation of news and stories. I guess you can't have fun blog themes all the time.

erin

ps...I have seen the clock today at 11:11, 1:11, and now, 2:22. Told you!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Boom Boom Pow

I've got a new song obsession!

It's been awhile since the last one I blogged about.

This new one, Boom Boom Pow, is a Black Eyed Peas tune and at first, I was not impressed. Way too techno-sounding for me and what is "boom boom pow" anyway? Nevertheless, I found myself bopping about my office. So, the next time I hear it, I discover that in fact, I LOVE this song! I can't not dance to it when it comes on the radio, which is of course, 1100 times a day. So I encourage you to seek this song out if you haven't and give it 2 listens. You'll love it by the second time through. BOOM BOOM POW (stupid, but catchy)!

Speaking of boom boom pow, we were supposed to have all kinds of thunderstorm activity today and while it did rain pretty hard for like 8 minutes, I'm seeing no lightening, hearing no thunder. I am ready for our spring storms! Nothing major, I don't need to have my home relocated or anything, but a little lightening and thunder? Is that too much to ask? I'm sick of this wimpy drizzly business. Let's just do this thing and move on to sunny skies.

Segue to Festival of Spring...very sunny and warm, I even got my first sunburn of the season, though very mild. We had roughly 700 people out that day and I ran around like a crazy person, per usual. After the event, I dragged myself home, showered, saw my husband for the first time in 2 days (in his new glasses no less - he's so cute!), suffered through watching the NFL draft (seriously, that is boring) and headed to my brother and sister-in-law's house for a "wine and wigs party." I wore a wig for the obligatory picture of all of us in our wigs and then I took it off for the rest of the party. Also, I drank no wine or alcoholic beverage of any kind, so I guess I didn't really participate in the theme so well. But, I did eat food, drink water, and rock out on Rock Band, and leave promptly at 11pm...which was way longer than I thought I would make it being tired and sunburned. It was fun! Who doesn't love a good theme party?

Sunday I had to address our laundry situation. Let's just say I was minus pants without ridiculous holes in them and underwear. It was a weird clothing day for me. But I managed to get some stuff clean so I can sit here at work with underwear and a complete pair of pants.

Also, as a side note, while I appreciated the beautiful weekend weather we had, I'm going to have to "tsk tsk" at the humidity in April. I will not be bullied into turning on my AC in April, so mother nature can just take her humidity elsewhere until at least mid-June. And our octogenarian of a house just doesn't cool down well, especially when only like 4 windows open. So, I realize I've spent a good portion of this blog as a weather stickler, but darn it, that's just how I feel!

How do you feel?

erin

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Poison Ivy

Yep, I've got that.

Do you recall all the "outdoorsy" things I did last weekend? Well let's add contract poison ivy on my hands and waistline to that list. Fantastic. Now, I will say that at this point, I'm not to the state of misery that usually accompanies poison ivy. At least this is what I'm told. In all my 25 1/2 years, I've never had the stuff. I've worked here at the Conservation District going on 7 years on and off the trails and nope, never had it. So now that I have a nice cushy indoor office (where I've also gained weight from sitting in a chair most of the day) I get poison ivy. Bonus plus 2. I'd rather go back to the outdoor work when I never was blessed with such an attractive affliction. So, perhaps the unberable itchiness will kick in just in time for the Saturday event that I can in no way miss. That would be perfect timing. "Sure, I can come into work, but I just can't use my hands or wear pants...shouldn't be a problem." But I'll be here! And my husband, who is severely susceptable to this stuff refuses to touch me in any way. Enough said.

Now for my Public Service Announcement on Poison Ivy:

Rest assured for those of you under the wrong impression, poison ivy cannot be spread by scratching or touching someone's rash unless they still have the active oil from the plant on their person. You can in fact get the rash from your clothes if the oil hasn't been washed away, or you pet's fur, but if you have washed yourself, clothes, animals (in cold water with soap) then you should be fine. Sure, you might have already been exposed enough to contract the rash and will break out in a few days, but you have stopped any further exposure due to washing away the oil (Urushiol).

See, I've learned a couple things from work...

Anyway...stupid poison ivy!

erin

I Wish to go to the Festival!

It's that time again! Time for another event at the old workplace!

The Festival of Spring is this Saturday. Wagon rides, kids' games, fishing derby, canoe rodeo, river clean up, bird shows, storyteller, food, face painting, and sign up for summer camp to boot!

Whew, I'm going to be exhausted.

Another Saturday of work. This makes 2 in a row, with the 3rd next weekend. Can't wait until this little stretch is over. I'm a big fan of Saturdays, mainly because they don't include work. Oh well.

I really have no other news to share. Harrison killed a baby bunny last night at my parent's house. She was pretty proud of herself on that one and put up a bit of a fight when Mom tried to get it from her. Bunnies beware that yard! They've had a good run at it the last few years with no dog around, but now that she's officially moving in there, word better spread that she means business! The squirrels still manage to torture her from up in the trees, but the bunnies and the neighbor cat better watch it.

The weather is finally shaping up after all that rain and cold, so I fully intend to enjoy that! More yard work to commence on Sunday!

That is all.

erin

ps...what is the title of this post from? What song? What place? What entity? Anyone?

Monday, April 20, 2009

It's raining on Sunday

My arms are sore.

And my hands.

I did a whole load of "outdoorsy" stuff this weekend.

On Saturday morning, I got up bright and early and went to work! Love that. I had to participate in a volunteer Restoration Day at one of our sites. Only like 4 hours of my day, but I did manage to work up a sweat chopping down invasive plants out in the woods. I also had to provide food and take pictures. I'm a multi-tasker, apparently. That reminds me, I still have the company digital camera out in my car...let's try to remember to get that out of there before something bad happens to it.

After all that choppin' n' sweatin', I ran home, took a shower, and Danny and I headed off to Bloomington for our nephew's 2nd birthday party. Not only did I partially, somewhat, kind of climb a tiny bit up a fireman pole (I've never been able to do that, and I really still can't), chase bubbles, and climb through a oh-so-slippery and somewhat small playground tube, I also took my turn on a giant teeter-totter you stand on, and got into a water gun fight with my husband, though not by choice. After all that outside business, I was tired! We drove home and I promptly fell asleep on the couch. I'm pretty sure I was in bed by 8pm that night.

On Sunday, I again got up bright and early and my mom came over and we did yard work. I dug holes (until I made Danny finish the job), trimmed hedges, pulled dead things, and eventually worked carefully to cut back a very thorny hedge! Why anyone would ever choose to plant such a deathtrap of a shrub is beyond me. It's hardly decorative either. However, we prevailed over said thornbush. We spend a good 3 hours working that day, in the rain even, and I did end up taking another nap that day, but not before I visited a friend for a bit while Danny did a side job for a friend of his.

So tonight, unless it's raining again, Mom will return with electric hedge trimmers and I will go to town at my house! It's all an effort to pretty it up so someone will decide to buy it! We've got to get in on the market soon. Danny's done a ton of work in the back yard, we have a whole newly landscaped portion with mulch and plants and all that. Harrison LOVES hauling ass through the new mulch. She also enjoys the fact, I'm sure, that it turns her feet red, especially when it's rainy and she's outside assisting with home projects. I know I do! But anyway, soon Danny will start on the few projects we have inside and then, hopefully, someone will be charmed by our house's unique qualities as we were, and buy the damn thing!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Does Anybody Really Know what time it is?

I am notorious for checking the time when all the numbers are the same...i.e. 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55. (Darn it! I just missed 2:22...but I totally caught 1:11)

I do this all the time! They say you're supposed to make a wish when you see these times and I always do. So far, I haven't seen much come to fruition, but then again, maybe I'm not paying attention in the right way or something. Maybe I'm getting some secret alternative wish I know only in my subconscious that is triggered every time I see these "magical" clock times?

That's a little deep for me today.

Some days I can really get into being deep and appreciate others who can do the same. People who get really into the mind/body/soul connection and meditate outside or commune with nature...I can really get into that whole scene sometimes.

Other times, it kind of makes me gag. I feel those people are trying way to hard to be serene and I resent the hell out of it. This is probably because on some subconscious level, I am jealous of their peace of mind. See? There I go again!

Also, I find it very difficult to be altruistic and non-material when the weather is gross and cold. You see, when the weather is gross and cold I just want to buy Starbucks (not grind my own coffee beans like the "naturals" do) and watch tv (the root of all evil). Don't get me wrong, I want to do both of those things everyday, but on gross days, I want to do it with pride and hey, maybe I'll stop at Walmart and buy something unnecessary and use a non-reusable bag!

See, I'm a complicated woman...

Do you really know what time it is?

erin

Monday, April 13, 2009

Call Me On the Line

Oh my goodness! What happened to my blogging?

Well, I'll tell ya what happened...my pesky job got in the way! Darn job.

Last week, I held the biggest event in my department...the annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner. I changed the venue this year, I scaled back on some things, I upgraded some things, I took heat for some things, and I disregarded opinions of those higher up than I on some things. It was a whirlwind! However, it came and went without incident, I got rave reviews from the volunteers, and now, it's over for a year! The next day I attended an all day volunteer conference away from my work and that was nice. I took Thursday off and Friday was a holiday, so I've had a lovely little break from crazytown, U.S.A. aka the conservation district. Don't worry though, I'm right back in the middle of ridiculous today. Seriously, this is a place where deer walk around like nothing and eat grass and squirrels prance around...what happened to all that serenity? It's like an ER around here and I refuse to participate in the absurdity of that.

Whoa...end rant.

Easter weekend wasn't too bad. I took many good walks with Harrison and my mom, I took naps, I made ham, and then ate ham, and then ate more ham. We had a big dinner at Danny's parents house with, ham, and lot's of other good food. All the kids (ages 25-30) got their annual easter baskets and we were pestered for not producing grandchildren fast enough yet again. But aside from the guilt trip, I had a lovely time.

I realize I have posted absolutely no pictures from various events I've experienced and I'm going to have to confess something here to blogland: I suck at documenting my life in photographs. If I don't forget the camera in the first place, then I forget to take pictures or, quite frankly, just don't enjoy taking them. I have a few from Harrison's birthday way back when that I could share and I completely didn't take any camera to the New Kids concert! Oh well, guess it lives in my memory!

The other big news of my time away...I have a new phone! Yes, I've upgraded from the old phone I've had for the past 3 years. I'm also not one of those people who gets a new phone every other week. I feel that my phone is sufficient and I don't need it play music or do my banking. However, I left the phone charger in Bloomington after the concert and after my phone died a mere 8 days before I could get my phone back, I faced a dilemma. So where did I turn? My technology-friendly, money-spending, loves-to-buy-new-stuff hubby. I altered him to my situation. He volunteered to go buy me a new charger. I agreed to that. I'd been putting him off for months on the "let's go get you an upgraded phone" front. I was just never in the mood to go get a new one. I think I have an unrealistic assumption that it is a way more undesirable process then it really is. So while I was out with Mom on Thursday, he went out and upgraded my phone for me! I didn't even have to go! I love that! After we send in the rebate, the phone (which is really nifty, by the way) will end up being less expensive than a charger for the old phone. I was presented with my upgrade after I got home. It had all my numbers and pictures all in there waiting for me! I have been tinkering with it ever since. It even plays music! But I don't use that feature. Again, I don't need my phone to entertain me.

So, right now I'm about to leave work and go home to eat dinner (ham) and fold laundry. One of these days I will realize that my house will need to be clean because one of these days, we're going to sell it, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Have a good one!

erin

Thursday, April 2, 2009

You've Never Heard of a Talking Horse?

Okay...what in the heck happened to Nick at Nite?

Right now, the only shows aired in primetime are Home Improvement, The George Lopez Show and Family Matters. If you make it until the am hours, you'll find some Roseanne and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air but that's about it.

I remember watching a lot more shows than this, and not all that long ago. And they were classic shows, not shows that only just went off the air. And more than 5 in the rotation! I am upset with the current Nick at Nite and wish it would include some of the "oldies but goodies" it used to entertain us with.

Here is a sampling of programs that appeared on Nick at Nite from the mid-80s until the early 90s that I remember watching with my family:

Mr. Ed
The Patty Duke Show
My Three Sons
Get Smart
Green Acres
Mork & Mindy
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Taxi
The Monkees
Make Room for Daddy

And there were more great shows that aired even more recently than those that Nick at Nite included in their programming in the late 90s and early 2000s (that's sounds weird to me, but whatever):

The Andy Griffith Show
Family Ties
Cheers
Perfect Strangers
Wings
Head of the Class
Murphy Brown
Who's the Boss?
Growing Pains
Mad About You
The Wonder Years

And there were many more than these airing throughout those time periods. Now we have so few to choose from. I wish we could recycle some of the old ones back in for our viewing pleasure. It's all about recycling these days!

Anyway, I decided this was a blog-worthy topic and if it seemed a bit incoherent, it's due to the fact that I am absolutely in need of lunch and therefore unable to correctly focus on anything other than my lack of food.

In conclusion, I want my Mr. Ed back! And some Wonder Years, and Mary Tyler Moore, and...well you know.

erin

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

You're My Popsicle

And I hope you're cherry, because that's my fav!

So get ready...hold on to your seats...I've got big news!





I am going to see New Kids On The Block on Sunday! Get pumped!




I saw them one other time, back in their glory days. We were like 5 rows from the top and I was only maybe 7 years old? This time around will be so different and I'm excited! We got great seats this time and didn't have to pay $900 for them, and as of right now, I haven't paid squat because my sister bought the tickets...so until I pony up my share, it's free!


In other news, no, I haven't posted any "Harrison's trip to Petsmart" photos because did I remember my camera? Absolutly not. I did, however, snap a few shots of her enjoying her first birthday and I know everyone would love to see those!

So I just have a few more days to go until a pretty fun-packed weekend! Definately going to take pictures this time (hopefully...where has my mind gone?)

erin

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Happy Birthday To You!

I'm doing this a day early to ensure it gets done!

Tomorrow is Harrison's birthday. She will be 1. It will also be the 2nd anniversary of us moving into the house. Big things happen on March 25th.

Now, I know many people feel it is odd or even crazy to go all out for your pets, but I always have and until I have kids, probably always will...might even go all out after kids too. One of the best parties we've had was for the first birthday of our yellow lab and her brother, Pearl and Hank. There were party hats, cupcakes, hamburgers on the grill, the works! Of course it helped that the owners of Hank were also good friends of the family, but still, quite the shindig!

We don't have anything major planned, but we are taking a trip to petsmart to let her pick out a toy. I don't really know how we'll manage choosing just one, but we'll do our best. I've been debating getting her a dog bed, but I still KNOW that she will just eat it, or at least destroy it at this point in her life...so I haven't yet decided on that.

And the fact that she is one year old, means that we've almost been married for one year. Wow! That was so fast! There were so many weddings in 2008, and I haven't heard of too many for the spring/summer of 2009 yet, at least we haven't been invited to any at this point.

I'll try to remember to bring the camera for our shopping adventure and post them, I'll try.

erin

Monday, March 23, 2009

Monday Morning Coming Down

Except now it's Monday afternoon...

Had a decent weekend. Went to a funeral on Saturday, that's wasn't a highlight, but the rest of the weekend was good. Danny won a pretty little pile of cash in the finale of his poker tournament Friday night. We stayed in on Saturday night and made dinner together and watched a movie. Sunday I tried to hang out in bed and watch tv while Danny slept, but Harrison was NOT having that. She didn't even want to be outside, she just wanted me to not be in bed, so we played "maybe this will occupy your time for a while, oh not so much" with a few of her toys until I made her bother Danny enough to get him out of bed and then I got out of bed. I attempted to be productive: folded laundry (finally!), showered, walked the Dog, took out the trash, then went to Sunday night dinner at the in-laws for homemade fried chicken and blackberry pie!

Tonight after work I must address the dishes situation. We have clean ready to be put away and dirty ready to go in. I also need to clear out the "too old to eat" leftovers from the refrigerator. At least I don't have to make dinner thanks to our "not too old to eat" leftovers from last night.

Also, Friday afternoon, Harrison decided it might be a good idea to ingest our aluminum foil box and she potentially ate some of the serrated edge on the box. So after talking to the vet, we decided to "bulk it out of her"...sorry, kind of gross...and she enjoyed a weekend full of wheat bread and extra treats. She seems to be her usual hyper self and so I think she only managed to chew up the serrated edge, which I don't think would be at all enjoyable...but she's a wonder!

Tomorrow night we're taking our bass player out to dinner to celebrate his birthday last week. It's up to me to pick the location, so I'm trying to figure out a good place that we don't always go...somewhere different! I'm also trying to figure out what level of restaurant to go to. Do we go cheapo and hit up a pizza place? I'm not going to go uber nice and hit up one of the fancier places in town because A, I'm cheapish like that and 2, I feel like we'll be uncomfortable there, this particular group. So, I'm thinking middle of the road, somewhere where a few extra drinks won't break the bank (because we might have some drinkers in this bunch) but not so cheap that we get our drinks in styrofoam containers.

Any suggestions?

erin