Faire

The second day of Pennsylvania we spent at the Rennaissance Faire. It was fun as always. I really enjoy the humor and pagentry of the faires. During the final joust of the day, this guy was trading insults with a guy in the audience. It's about as different as it could be from the Amish country the day before ... but just as fun and interesting.

Amish Country

Last weekend Ryan and I went to Pennsylvania to visit the Amish Country and to go to the Rennaissance Faire. We had a really nice time. Amish country was cool because it was like going back in time about 100 years. Everywhere you went were people tilling their farms with horses and traveling in buggies. It's certainly not a lifestyle I would choose, but there is something appealing about the simplicity of it all. People essentially spend their time growing the food they need, taking care of their home and family and spending time with their neighbors. Several of the women we saw were starting to bald because they wear their hair in a tight bun at the back of their head. The culture doesn't make a lot of sense to me (i.e., why can they use diesel fuel to power appliances but not electricity?). It was an interesting day though.

Traveling next week

Next Tuesday I'm off to Cartersville GA to visit one of our mills that is doing a very intense supervisor training program. I'm looking forward to it, especcially since I'll fly into Atlanta and be able to visit with Becks at her apartment. I'm back in NJ then for a week and then off to Tampa and Brazil ... so posting over the next couple of weeks will probably be light.

Self Check Out - Aaarrgghh!

Ryan and I learned a valuable lesson this morning when we went shopping at Acme. We did regular shopping and since the checkers were all pretty busy, we decided to go through self check out. Big ... big mistake. Not only does the annoying woman annouce the price of everything you purchased, she also gets very testy if you try to move your bags back into the cart. We had to have the self check out monitoring employee help us at least 3 times because our items were not heavy enough to register the weight and the women kept asking us to "Please return item to bagging area." Lesson learned: only use self check out at Home Depot and when you have 2 things to buy. Otherwise, wait in the line.

Traffic

Thursday morning, 7:07 am: I leave for work. Halfway there I remember that I need to stop at Dunkin Donuts to pick up breakfast for a training class.
Thursday morning, 7:58 am: Arrive at work. Good day.
Thursday evening, 5:20 pm: Leave my office, hop on the Turnpike.
Thursday evening, 5:30 pm: On the turnpike ... stopped. Find out on the radio that the turnpike is closed 5 miles down the road.
Thursday evening, 6:05 pm: Back at work after I find my way off of the turnpike.
Thursday evening, 7:30 pm: Ryan calls wondering where I am. Still on the road. Miraculously only 7 miles from home.
Thursday evening, 7:59 pm: Finally pull into the driveway. Total travel time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.
Friday morning, 6:37 am: Leave for work.
Friday morning, 7:15 am: Pick up Adriana, a colleague from Corporate at her hotel.
Friday morning, 7:30 am: Arrive at work. Good day.
Friday evening, 4:00 pm: Drop Adriana back at her hotel. Hop on turnpike.
Friday evening, 4:10 pm: Not again! Turnpike is once again backed up.
Friday evening, 5:40 pm: Pull into driveway. Total travel time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

2 days normal travel time: 3 hours
Last 2 days travel time: 5 hours, 50 minutes

Traffic sucks.

The car is better

And it only took $613.54 to make it better. Now the radio doesn't work though. Apparently when a battery is replaced you have to reset the radio with a code. Ry took it back to the dealership and apparently got the code, but still no dice. We're still minus one radio. Always a circus.

Not kidding!

And here's the proof of our ridiculous cats.

Freaking Fantabulous

After a lovely company picnic in Sayreville, Ryan and I were driving home to nap, make snacks and get ready for a college football party. Haa, ha, hahahahahahaha! For those of you have been in New Jersey, we were heading south on the NJ Turnpike and about 9 miles from home, the car battery light came on. Within 1 minute the car started seriously overheating. We pulled over on the side of the road (complete with people whizzing by at 80 miles per hour). We coaxed the car off the turnpike (go half a mile, let the car rest for 5 minutes, go half a mile, let the car rest for 5 minutes, go ... well you get the picture). We pulled into a gas station with the coolant attempting to escape the car hood. Luckily, we have USAA roadside assistance. The last time our vehicle broke down, we called, and half an hour later the surfer truck driver showed up and we went about our business. This time .... this time we waited for 3 HOURS for the tow truck guy to show. Needless to say, we aren't going to the party, which started an hour and half ago. I guess with a 12 year old car, we're gonna have hiccups, but this was not a pleasant roadside assistance experience.

Really, a tragedy

I just got finished watching Oprah's show from yesterday. She reported from New Orleans/Mississippi/Houston and other places that were affected by or are housing refugees. The images and stories she showed made my heart hurt. I don't know if or how a response could have reached these areas more quickly, but it is a human travesty that people lived in filth and terror for days in the New Orleans Superdome. What I do know is that this cannot happen again. If it were me, I would be gone from New Orleans to somewhere that wasn't below sea level. I hope that the city is rebuilt further from the coast so something of this magnitude cannot happen again.

Another great weekend

We spent the weekend in Illinois. SOOO much fun. On Friday we went to see Lance's new love shack, complete with Illini room. We saw the best football game on Saturday (I know ... Illini football fun?!). After a depressing first 3 quarters, our guys kicked it in gear and kicked some serious Rutgers butt. Ha ... ha ... hahahahahahahahaha. Not too much rubbing it in today, of course. The rest of the weekend was fun times with friends and relatives. Even Kimmy was in town from Tokyo last weekend. She looks great with red hair, although she's a bit too thin, even for Kimmy.

My overall realization this weekend was how much I miss central Illinois. We had a great time and can't wait to go back. Ry may go back for Homecoming weekend while I'm in Brazil. Mmm, Brazil.

Finally, Curtains!

We couldn't have curtains up in the living room before the kittens got declawed because ... well ... because they wouldn't be curtains anymore. Mom made us these lovely curtains when she was here in July and we finally got them up! I love our new curtains!.

Kitty Face!

Yeah, not a great picture, but very typical of of Elf.

Kitten Updates

After the weekend of HUGE cats, we came home to our relatively small kittens. Here's Elf in his typical pose after chasing after some imaginary bugs. They may still be small, but they've grown so much since we got them!

And Chief

And Chief of course!

Pat Robertson is Wack

Seriously, who thinks it's a good idea to go around assassinating people? And how did this guy become a spokesperson for Christianity? I really feel like I don't recognize my faith in a lot of these people. How does one go from loving each other, forgiveness and patience to avocating assassination? Why is it that only the extreme sides of any political party/religion/organization ever get any air time? I'm seriously considering blocking out the news.

Nothing

Ahhhh. Ryan and I are finally alone in our house. We had houseguests essentially since we moved into our new house. As much as we love ya'll, it's really great to just enjoy my life with my husband again.
We went to see two movies recently that I really enjoyed. Sky High (yeah, I know, it surprised me too) and March of the Penguins. Sky High is certainly not going to win any awards, but it was a surprisingly clever parody of the superhero genre. I laughed a lot.
March of the Penguins was beyond interesting. For instance, did you know that the male penguin incubates the egg until the chick hatches? How about the fact that they spend 9 months of the year shuttling food back and forth to their chick? Most of the film seemed made up to me, but they really do these things! I also realized that living in Antartica would be suck. The highest temperature I heard during the movie was -58 F.

Our cats drink out of the toilet

Not kidding. I think we got defective cats.

Going to Brazil

So I'm going to Brazil for a week in October for my company. I'll actually have apply for a Visa since I'm going for work. I've been waiting for my passport to come back with my married name on it. You would think that they would issue a new passport with new photos ... but no. They take the old passport and stamp on the last page that the name was amended on a certain date. Are you kidding me? Because this is going to convince the unpleasant customs agent. Anyhow, with my freshly stamped passport in hand I can finally apply for my visa.

The fun part about this trip is that I'll be going with the other HR Training Reps from around the country. The last time we all got together 4 of us played Euchre and we're looking forward to the rematch. Not surprisingly, I got along best with the other midwesterners. I miss Champaign. I was realizing the other day that one of my best friends is going to have a baby and I'm not going to be there to watch him grow up.
In other news, I'm going to be working in Tampa for 3 days before Brazil, so I'll actually be gone for almost two weeks. That is the longest Ryan and I have been apart since we got married. I'm really not excited about that. I think he may try to schedule business during those weeks as well. I wish he could join me on my very cool trip out of the country.

As Mike pointed out ...

It's been almost a month since I posted last. We had my Mom, Greg, Bridget, Becky, Brad, Frank, Cathy & Michelle here over the last month. Unfortunately for the blog, it was the first thing to go.

The Pathfinder has been awesome! Of course I'm putting crazy miles on it (almost 2600 in one month). It's a good thing I'll be driving it forever, cause the resale won't be good. The best was that we had seven people at the house and all of them fit in the truck to go to the beach.

In other cool news, I'm going to Brazil in October for my job. I'll be in Porte Allegre and several other cities. It looks like I won't get to Rio. Sad. So, here's your opportunity to ask for cool stuff. It's something like a 12 hour flight down there, but everyone I've talked to has said it's worth it.

Becky and Brad come back on Thursday to leave on Friday and drive back to Georgia Tech. And then .... our house is finally our own! We've had people in our house essentially since we bought it. I'm really looking forward to returning to normality.

We're also going to Illinois for Labor Day weekend. On tap: Illini Game, visiting the Grandmas and seeing Autumn pregnant and sassy. It's time ... we haven't been home since April. Sigh ...

Ding dong the witch is dead!

Pathfinder, meet the world; world, meet the Pathfinder. The saga of Tufty has finally ended. We found a dealer who was willing to take Tufty ... ha ha mwahahahahahahahahahaha. This is the car we decided on. It's one of the safest in it's class and has three rows of seats so when you all come visit us we can take one vehicle. Soooo happy.

No Running?!

In more news from the country's most litigious state, New Jersey legislators are proposing a bill to make our playgrounds safer. Among the suggested changes: Putting up "No Running" signs at playgrounds; removing swings and other movable play pieces and replace them with solid, non-moving play structures close to the ground. If anything is going to help our nation's problem with youth obesity, this is it! No running?! I don't think you get to consider yourself as having a childhood unless you've been rushed to the emergency room at least a couple of times.

Ode to the car I loathe

I have a car I hate.
I wish it evil, evil fate.

Today we learn,
It should really just burn.

We try to trade
Now I'm afraid

Because our piece of crap
Is worth more as scrap.

Don't I have the cutest sister?

Outside the lighthouse.

The Pottery Barn

We also went to a really fun 1830's reenactment village where all the houses were real period homes/shops and the people were performing crafts as they were done then. This woman was making inkwells for the school mistress. Very fun. Maybe now that we have a basement, I'll take up a new hobby. How cool to make your own dishes?! The only problem is that I wouldn't have the furnace to fire it. Oh well.

Cape May Lighthouse

Instead we took side trips to Cape May, the furthest south point in New Jersey. It was pretty cool.

The Lamest Renaissance Faire

So, we decided to try a Renaissance Faire in Wildwood, NJ yesterday after we learned the awesome one in Pennsylvania doesn't open until the second week of August. Being from the Prairie and all, we had never been to Wildwood. Wildwood was ... well ... pretty lame. And the Faire? Well, see for yourself. I didn't know they had trucks and budweisers in during the Renaissance. They were charging $16 for entrance. Ha. Ha. Hahahahahahahahahaha. Ryan made a valient effort to get us in cheaper by explaining to the women selling tickets that he didn't believe it was worth $16. Since she disagreed, and we drove over two hours to get there, we decided we had to find something else to do. Hence, the pictures above.

This is directed at you!

Disclaimer: If you are my Mom, my Dad, Frank or Jason, this is not directed at you.

Ahem ... it has come to my attention (thank you Kassie) that many more people actually read this thing than I thought. So why don't you write me back!?! What's the deal with that? See, here's how it works, I share my thoughts, you share yours and so on and so forth. Ok? Ok.

The Last Few Weeks

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. The Friday before last, Ryan and I flew down to Tampa for a mini-vacation before my work trip. We got to spend an evening with his Mumu and Papa. I really enjoyed hearing their stories about life when they first got married. We also spent a really great day at Busch Gardens. It was supposed to thunder storm all weekend, but we had mostly beautiful weather. During the one storm we got, we were walking in the "Safari" and spent an hour in a hollowed out jeep with a hyena in the bed. We hung out with a hyena!

Ryan had to go back to New Jersey on Sunday (yeah ... sad) while I had three days of business trip ahead of me. The hotel I stayed in was great. I actually slept pretty well, which is unusual when Ry's not around. I did find that I rolled from one end of the huge king bed to the other, but oh well. The trip went well, although I was exhausted by the time I got back in town.

Dad and Laurel were in town for the 4th of July weekend. We got to see some really good fireworks on Sunday (the finale was all the stuff they forgot to shoot during the rest of the show ... it looked like daylight). We spent most of the day Monday at the beach, where the waves were fabulous and watching Becky get knocked head over keister was good fun.

So today I decided I should probably blog again since it's been a long time and I don't want to be one of the non-blogging bloggers. So, yeah, here ya go.

Tufty Update

Hehe, he's got horns.

Kitty Face!

Promised before and after shots

And now more cleverly masquerading!

Shelving cleverly masquerading as closet doors.

Front hallway after.

Front hallway before.

Tiniest Bathroom After

Tiniest bathroom before.

Maguire Air Force Show

Promised shots from the Air Force show. It was really a very cool experience. There was some kind of show going on the entire time we were there. I blown away by the huge planes more than the quick small ones. How does something like this get off the ground?! I really admire the people who said "Yeah, of course tons of steel can fly" because that would never have been within my imagination.

The biggest freaking plane ever.

Blue Angels are the coolest.

Yard fun

Today we spent several hours cutting out the vines that overtook our back flower bed. I don't think I realized just how much work our yard needed. Not only did Ryan and Brad rake 3 bags of random sticks, glass, nails and rocks out of our yard, but the flower beds are ridiculous and the side yard is a crap repository. We have at least 8 bags of vines and roots. The bed was lined with what were essentially 4x4s that were rotting and termite eaten. But after much hard work, we can actually see the fence in the back yard. It's amazing what a difference that makes! I really enjoy having a house.

The joys of home ownership

So our new dishwasher is making a noise like it's trying to eat the utensils. Luckily, it's under warranty. Owning a home means that we can't just call the landlord and when we get home the next day the dishwasher is magically not making that horrific noise. Interesting ...

On the other hand, I have a HUGE clothes washer. It holds all of Ryan and my jeans and work pants for the week. It used to take 2-3 loads in the other old washer. It's the coolest (yeah, I've crossed over into the land of the old ... washers are cool).

Meet our newest family members!

So I convinced Ry that we needed cute little animals. We had decided on a puppy first, but found that finding puppies is much much harder than finding kittens. There were crazy listings in the paper for free kittens ... not so much for puppies. So, we decided on cats first, and of course, they do better in pairs so ... (hehe, yep, he bought it). We got our kittens from Trenton. The area wasn't too bad, but reinforced our decision not to buy a house there (although Ryan's rendition of "In the Ghetto" was good fun). We decided that if we can handle kittens, we can get a puppy. If we can handle that ... then we'll consider kids.


Chief: Yep, he's orange. We're working on him not running away when you walk in a room.

Elf: our social kitty. He actually likes to sit on our laps and play.

A long hiatus

It has been a while since I wrote ... but I have an excuse, I promise! We've been very busy with closing on our house, moving, and not having internet access at home set up yet. Whew, finally we are connected with phone, internet and DirecTV.

Our closing went very smoothly, although we found that our fridge was broken during the walk through. We decided not to push the matter though since our seller had already given us more than he wanted to to replace the windows and bought a new dishwasher for us (also broken). So, we sucked it up and bought a new fridge along with a washer/dryer. It is so nice having a normal sized washer/dryer. I'm constantly amazed by how much fits in there! I know, it's the little things.

The move went well. It was really really nice to have the family out to help. We got a lot done in just a few days. Since then ... things have stalled. It doesn't help that it's summer and all we want to do is be outside doing stuff. Yesterday we went to an Air Show at Maguire Air Force Base (pictures to follow), and today we have our church picnic, which will last all afternoon. Oh well. We'll get the boxes unpacked later.

I promise to write more soon and get some pictures of the house up. It's amazing what a coat of paint and some furniture can do for a room.

It was an interesting morning

I was trying to get out of the apartment early this morning so that because our Regional VP was coming for a plant visit today. I got up a little early, took a quick shower and was heading out the door when I realized I didn't have my cell phone. I ran back upstairs and grabbed my cell from the dresser. When I got to work, I opened my purse to put my cell phone on my desk and realized that instead of my cell phone, I grabbed deoderant. Uh, oops. But hey, I smelled great all day!

Truth in advertising?

Closing ... delayed

Our closing was delayed until Friday because the seller got "Clerked".

Ahem.

"Clerked" - when a low-level self-important bureaucrat has a bad day and decides you must pay for it.

Thanks for the fun new term, My Love.

Our seller did some serious remodeling to the house. He got all of the permits he was required to get. Apparently, if you redo a kitchen sink, you only have to get a permit if you move it. He did not. The Township Inspector decided arbitrarily that he did. Yeah. So he couldn't get his Certificate of Occupancy in time for a Wednesday closing. Friday it is.

Update: Crapmobile

The Service Engine Soon light is still on. The duct tape and packing tape roof is holding up like a champ. It's a good thing I work at a Steel Mill where every other car is a hoopty(you know, I don't think I've ever seen the word "hoopty" spelled ... "hooptie"?) or I would be embarassed.

Whirling Dervishes

Do you know what a Whirling Dervish is? I definintely didn't before The Amazing Race tonight. I always thought they were like Tazmanian Devils or something. As it turns out (thank you google), Whirling Dervishes are a sect of Islam who use the whirling dance to show their adoration of God's creation. See, TV is educational!

House inspections

Our home inspection was yesterday. I didn't get to go, but Ryan spent a few hours with the structural engineer. It was mostly good news. There were only small things wrong with the house, which means we're still planning on a May 18 close. I can't believe we're actually buying a house.

One of Ryan's colleagues heard a good "duh" story about house mortgages. Kristi is also looking for a house. One of the houses she is considering bidding on was under contract when she first looked at it. It's not anymore. Why? The people who were going to buy it went out and bought a bunch of new furniture and a new car. The mortgage company couldn't give them the loan anymore because they screwed up their credit. Dumb dumb dumb dumb. They should have read the book "Duh ... stuff you shouldn't do when someone is going to give you hundreds of thousands of dollars." The title's a little long, but I think it could be a big seller!

Twisted steel

I saw the coolest thing at work today. During today's safety walk (for an hour each day managers walk the mill to look for any safety problems) I saw a spectacular steel jungle. In the rolling mill (which is where the steel billets are reheated, cut into strips and rolled into rebar) they were casting 3 bar. 3 bar is about as big around as my index finger and when they make it, they roll it out in strips that are easily 50 yards long. Each row of rebar is put on the cooling bed less than an second from the ones before and after. Once one row gets screwy, all the rows after it do to. So what you end up with is 15 - 20 spindly steel bars going every which way. It looks like spagetti or a tumble weed, only it's red hot and huge.

Watching the melt shop (where they turn scrap metal into liquid steel and then steel billets) is unbelievable. The steel is so hot that when it pours into the caster you can't watch it with your naked eye. It's like staring into the sun. You have to wear special sun glasses to even look at it. It makes these crazy sparks that literally fly 5 - 10 feet from the pour. The billets come out red and cool to gray within 5 seconds or so but are still so hot that you can't touch them for hours.

I have a cool job.

Update on Tufty

... and here we have Tufty featuring the scotch tape and duct tape roof. So far this is the winner. Even after a torrential downpour I stayed toasty and warm. Tufty almost fooled us into believing it was beginning to behave. The Service Engine Soon light turned off for two days! Today we found out that he has earned his name, the light's back on. In some twisted way, I'm really enjoying this. I look forward to finding out just how much can go wrong before we finally foist him off on some dealer. I think he needs a jingle, so I'll be working on one. Send any lyrics you think would be appropriate.

Clang Clang ... Here comes the Crapmobile!

So the first attempt to contact paper over the sunroof didn't stand up to the speed test too well. It's Tufty the Crapmobile!

Up close on the first unsuccessful contact paper sun roof.

I don't know why car makers don't just use the stylish contact paper and duct tape roof featured here. Since we refuse to spend any more money on this piece of crap, this is the look for at least the next few months or until something else goes wrong and we beg some dealer to take it.

The evilest car ever

Ryan and I bought a cheap car (Oldsmobile Intrigue) last summer thinking that we could pay it off quickly and not have a car payment for a while. This was the .... biggest .... mistake .... EVER!!!

Shortly after buying the car, the Service Engine Soon light came on. So, we took it back to the dealer where we bought it. The verdict? There was nothing wrong with the car. That dealer sent the car to the Oldsmobile dealer. The verdict? There was nothing wrong with the car. Ok, we thought, we'll deal with it later.

Of course in New Jersey you have to get your cars inspected regularly. When Ryan went to have it inspected we were of course rejected even though there was nothing wrong with the car! We took it to a mechanic (yes, that's three) who said, big surprise here, there is nothing wrong with the car. That said, he told us that if we fixed this air pump thingie it should turn off the Service Engine Soon light. Indeed it did ... for a few hours. Shortly after we drove the car from the mechanic the light came back on. So, back we went to the mechanic. Now the code for the light was different. Great. The cause? The spark plugs. Fabulous. Got them fixed. We have now spent $530 dollars on a 6 year old car. At least the light was off.

Ryan took the car to be inspected today. On the way to the inspector, a rock/brick/piece of frozen airplane poop crashed into the top of the car and SHATTERED THE SUNROOF. Great. Ryan still took it to the inspection site after closing the cloth part covering the sunroof. By some miracle of God, the car passed inspection. Now of course, we have another $500 or so repair to the sunroof. Running total: ~$1030. But wait! The story is not over yet.

Driving away from the inspection station what happened? The stupid Service Engine Soon light turned back on. I would really love to put a couple of slugs in the car and put it out of its misery. But I can't do that. I just read a story the other day of a man doing just that, putting his car out of its misery and he got arrested for discharging a firearm in public. Any other bright ideas?

Home improvements

Since Ryan and I will soon be embarking on the wonderful world of home ownership, we have been reading/watching everything we can get our hands on about home repairs/decorating/renovation. This blog kills me. I can only hope that our new house doesn't turn up such interesting surprises.

Becky coming

It's finally official that Becky and boyfriend, Brad are coming to New Jersey to intern at Ryan's base this summer. What this means for me is many hours of conversation that I understand very little of. It also means that Peanut and I will get to live together for the first time in a while. She may be horrified at my housekeeping skills after living with Dad and Laurel, but it should be a great summer. Another good thing is the free labor that Becky and boyfriend represent for our new house (and from the pictures below, you can see it needs it). Between beach, bonding and work, I have no doubt I'll have an unbelievable summer.

La la la

... and look at all that closet space! Gonna have to do something about the old closet shelving cleverly disguised as closet doors though.

Master bedroom

Ryan's arm in this picture of our new master bedroom makes it look like a mini house, but the corners only slope to 6 feet, so it's actually a good-sized room and kind of feels like cathedral ceilings.

Kitchen

The kitchen has new maple cabinets, terra cotta ceramic tile and nice appliances.

Bathroom

The littlest bathroom (and only).

Our new home

The front of our new house. Imagine it with shutters, a front light, house numbers, tidy cables and a mailbox. Ahh, the joy of home ownership.

A sad state of affairs

Some of the top stories in the news today:

• Britney's pregnant
• Mom trades her daughter for a car
• Police arrest a man and blow up his luggage
• AIG's CEO gives his wife 1.2 billion dollars in stock before he gets ousted

Granted, there was other news on the sites today as well, it's just an interesting commentary on our society.

Not so official

So we had an appointment to go sign the contract on our house this afternoon. And then we got a call from our Real Estate Agent telling us that the home owner got another "comparable" offer. Apparently, the other offer was the same except for the other couple was going to put down 20%. So they came back to us ... not sure why since we couldn't put down any more than we have. So the story is that even though they came to a verbal agreement with us, they're considering another offer. So we told our real estate agent that we offered what we offered and they agreed to it and while we would do everything we could to expedite the process, that was still our offer.

Their agent called our agent and said that the home owner was still leaning toward the other offer, but why didn't we sign the contract so that if the other offer fell through we'd be ready to roll? Are you kidding me? We're supposed to sign a contract that the other party hasn't agreed to? I don't think so. So long story short, we're back out looking for a house again. It's probably a good thing we found out they were shady now instead of a month down the road when they were really playing games. I really dislike game players and don't want to do business with them period. So we won't ... and aren't. And we'll find another house.

It's official

We're buying a house! After several offers and counter-offers we will be purchasing a 3 bedroom home in Bordentown NJ. It looks like we'll sign a contract this weekend or Monday and close at the end of April ... just like real grownups. The sooner the better, as interest rates look to be on the rise. I am very excited to have a real house and a dog! Ryan keeps accusing me of wanting a house just to get a puppy, but I have assured him that is not the only reason. Now we'll have plenty of room to host guests (hint hint) from other places. Yeah house.

Scary stuff, we're buying a house

We are putting on offer on the house we saw this weekend. Scary scary stuff. We're about to find out just how "negotiable" our very negotiable home owner is. Since they're looking to close quickly, we're making an offer with a quick closing that would require a bit (ok a lot) of movement on the price. So I guess we're about to find out.

In other news, Peanut finally heard from the Office of Naval Research. It looks like we'll be moving too quickly to take advantage of her free labor though. Bummer.

Husbandless this week

Yes, Ryan is in San Diego this week. The first day he is gone on a business trip is always strange. The days after are just sad. I never realized how much I like to have him around. I lived by myself for a while and liked it very much. I always knew where everything was, it was always clean (or if it wasn't, they were my piles) and I enjoyed the quiet. Now I find that I wander around my apartment thinking "is anyone home?". Pathetic, I know.

I also never used to be jumpy in my apartment. I don't know if it's because it's bigger or not a neighborhood I grew up near, but I find myself a lot more aware of extraneous noises in this apartment. A few times ago when Ryan was away I thought I heard whistling in my apartment while I was washing dishes. Talk about freaking me out! So I grabbed the phone in one hand (to dial 911, of course) and a butcher knife in the other and started tiptoeing around the apartment. Perhaps not the smartest move if someone was indeed in my apartment, but I felt stupid just calling the police. As it turns out (after much looking in closets and locking my bedroom door when I went to sleep), no one was there. Maybe we just have some crazy whistling ghost in our apartment. Crazy whistling ghost would be a great name for a rock band!

I think maybe the reason I'm so much more aware of noise now is that when Ryan is home I can assume it's him. When he's not ... logical conclusion ... it's not him. Therefore, someone else is in my apartment. Alrighty then. Great. I'm nuts. The end.

Even more house hunting fun

Today we saw 5 more houses in the Hamilton area. We found a house we liked a lot with a "very negotiable" price ala the owner. It's got a great yard, a finished basement and a big two car garage. The only problem is that they are looking to close pretty quickly, and we don't want to do anything until we know what's going on with my job. I don't know how it would work to apply for a mortgage with one job and then switch before the contract is signed. So, we're having our real estate agent do some research for us ... but we're not going to do anything until after my interview next week.

Also saw a real gem today that we lovingly dubbed the "Hungarian House." One wall was covered with mirrored squares, the carpeting was variously, bright kelly green, Illini orange, pink and some crazy 70s pattern. It also featured a 4 foot tall refrigerator in the kitchen ... but have no fear, there were 3 other refrigerators located throughout the house. The basement was stocked with multiple cans of food from 1994 (dozens of cans of mushrooms, tomato sauce, 5 bottles of fabric softener). While we didn't see one, I'm sure there was a fallout shelter somewhere on property. The yard came complete with no less than 6 bird houses and a matching pair of ceramic kittens climbing the outside of the house. I almost wanted to buy it for sheer entertainment value. It was obviously lovingly maintained, and had it been a little less expensive it would have been a good house. Fun fun stuff. I like shopping for houses!

Filling out the NCAA bracket

Every year I enter a NCAA Men's BBall Tournament pool. And every year I lose a NCAA Men's BBall Tournament pool. Why? Well, usually because I pick teams based on whether not I like them/their coach/their geographic location/the alumni I know instead of on whether or not I actually think they'll win the game in question. So, every year I pick the Illini to win it all ... even when they're a 10 seed.

This year will be different! Well, not so different actually, it just so happens that the teams I like have more than a snowball's chance of winning this year. My bracket this year has the Illini winning (of course), Kansas LOSING, and Georgia Tech, So. Illinois and Boston College doing quite well. Why Boston College? I dunno, I just like them. Since the pool I'm entering this year consists largely of Illini fans, I have a high likelihood of losing again this year ... but at least I'll feel better about it.

Someone went and bought our house!

How dare they?! Apparently, the house we were interested in went under contrac the day we saw it. Bummer. Now I guess we're back to square one ... more house hunting fun!

Dueling (piano?) blogs

Since Peanut (for those of you who don't know, that's my little sister) and I seem to often play a fun game of phone tag .... this blog's for you! She's going to be spending the summer here in New Jersey interning at Ryan's base. I know ... she's coming to New Jersey on purpose. Since everything here unfortunately moves at the speed of government, the nice people at ONR (the Office of Naval Research) have not yet notified her that she does indeed have a position at Lakehurst this summer. Apparently, she has to accept ONR (which means that they have to call her) before Lakehurst can call. So rest assured my darlingest, you're going to New Jersey. Somohow, that doesn't seem to have the same ring as "Going to Disney World!"

Unfortunately, what I do not know and have not the means to find out is whether significant other Brad also has an internship. I have to assume that even the nearly pulseless at ONR understand that summer break is quickly approaching and will notify the applicants very soon. But you know what happens when you assume ...

I will keep you updated as news breaks.

Big Ten Champs and Number One Seed Too!

Life is good for the Fighting Illini. Compared to yesterday's game, today's game against Wisconsin was a relative breeze. I'm also surprised that we sent 5 teams to the tournament. Go Big Ten! March should be fun. Kansas is a 3 seed. Hahahahahahaha. Take that Bill Self.

More House Hunting Fun

Went house hunting in the Hamilton, NJ area today. I'm actually much encourage by what we saw there today. While there were a few scary houses, for the most part it seems like we'll be able to get a nice little starter home. We did see one big house today in our price range that needs a lot of cosmetic work, starting with the seriously hideous kitchen. The upside is that it's really big and has tons of potential. Houses of equal size that were kept up to date are selling for 20-30,000 more than this one. Unfortunately, it's empty, which means the sellers are most likely looking to unload pretty quickly. Since our lease runs until July, we could be SOL. We're gonna look into lease options next week to see if we can leave early or go month to month once the lease runs out. Lots of options I think.

We really liked the real estate agent who showed us around today. While she was quite New Jersey (complete with long fake nails and too much tan) she seems genuinely interested in us and treated us like grown ups. It also seems like she'll be patient with us as we find the right house for our budget and needs. All in all, an enjoyable day, although one that has my head feeling a little full at the moment.

All Kinda Homesick

Had a tiny mental breakdown yesterday. Luckily, I got better. With all the house hunting the last few weeks I had a realization yesterday that if we bought a house out here we would have to live out here.

For a while.

At least a couple of years.

In New Jersey.

I really miss my easy friends (not that kind of easy you dirty-minded people!). I miss the friends I can just hang out with and talk or not talk, do something or not. I miss having friends where I feel comfortable with my shoes off curled up on the couch. I miss having someone to go shopping with and get my nails done with (love you Ry, but you're just not that guy). I'm just hoping that I'll make that connection with someone at our new church. I finally feel like I'm not constantly on guard with people there. They're still New Jersey, no doubt about it ... but they're a kinder gentler New Jersey (heh). Only time will tell. Maybe our small group will hold some promise.

Better today.

Weather Report

Still cold ... still winter ... stupid New Jersey.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2005 everyone! We had a quiet night with a few friends and missed the actual new year because we were on the wrong TV channel. Oh well. Here's to a good next year!

Fun watching the Illini

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Illini play in a high school gym during the last few days (still undefeated, baby!), I had to chuckle at the laughable commentating and score keeping on the channel we had to watch. Fox sports was the only channel that carried the games, so we purchased an extra channel package for a few days. Not only were the score keepers late putting up points (sometimes 2 minutes late), but one commentator insisted on calling Roger Powell "Luther" and mispronouncing other names. I miss watching games with local announcers who actually know the names of the players. What a fun team to watch this year!

The Llama Song

Ok, so my little sister turned me onto a website with some truly random songs, videos, etc. Maybe I'm getting old, because I had never visited albinoblacksheep.com , but this song about Llamas is just too funny.

More thoughts

This is actually a response to a comment on my “No More Christmas Carols” entry, but thought it deserved some space here.

“oh, and be careful what you wish for or your kids will learn that much of the history and customs of Christianity are just borrowed or co-opted from other cultures and religions.”

Not really sure what I did to warrant this comment, but to be completely honest, I’m a little hurt. Why? Well …

I’d like to think that I truly do try to examine issues from all sides (even the ones I don’t like). I do wish that my children will have a chance to examine my faith and what has been done for/by/in the name of it … all of it. There is not denying that the Christmas holiday is largely a conglomeration of customs, rituals and habits from other cultures. In fact, most historians believe Christ was probably born in March or April in the year 4 AD, not December 25, 0. The wise men didn’t arrive for at least two years after he was born. Further, the first several centuries of Christians conscripted many of the rituals of pagan or other faiths in the rituals of worship. Many of the trappings of the Catholic faith, in particular, are relics of other first and second century faiths.

The real question is, does this make any of my faith and the way I practice it less valid? Should I indeed fear that my children learn about the history and customs of the Christian church? I’ll be the first one to admit that for many people, Christmas is not about Christ. I just don’t think that all the trappings of the faith should be forcibly removed from the celebration of the holiday. Whether or not people currently celebrate the birth of Christ as part of their celebration, historically the two are intertwined. Not only do we lose some of the most beautiful, moving music and ritual by banning all Christian-themed carols, we also lose the freedom to celebrate as we choose by forcing the holiday to be a secular one.

So, I really am aware of what I’m wishing for. I resent the implication that I only want the free exchance of ideas and knowledge if it supports my own belief structure. I’m not offended by people who celebrate a non-Christian Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza or any other variation of the winter holiday. I have no problem going to holiday concerts and watching kids sing about those various celebrations. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the coolest things about this nation. I just feel like it’s just as bad to force a secular holiday as to force any particular religious one.

Stupid Coddled Athletes

Chad Pennington of the New York Jets told reporters yesterday that it was a “privilege” for them to be reporting on him and his fellow athletes. Please … without reporters these precious athletes would be no more than glorified high school heros. I don’t think he understands just how quickly the tide of public sentiment can turn. Just look at hockey: something like 60% of people polled recently didn’t even know that hockey was not being played this winter.

Crank in the Basement

Jason’s blog about democracy and blogging reminds me of my favorite illustration from teaching. Yes, the internet opens up the political process to many who may not have been able to fully participate before. It also opens up what I like to call Crank in the Basement. While many bloggers will fact-check and print mistakes when they are pointed out, many also will not. Young people, who are often using the internet as their only source of new information may very well be taken in by the Crank in the Basement, who uses the internet as his own personal bully pulpit for conspiracy theories, propaganda or whatever Cranks in the Basement want to write about.

Patriot Act Under Review

In 2005 parts of the Patriot Act will be up for renewal. Among them is a provision that allows the government to detain foreign citizens without due process for consorting, even unknowingly, with terrorists. Also up for renewal is the provision that allows the government to look into your library check out habits, bank accounts and other personal records to see if you’ve been up to no good.

I’ve heard the argument that if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide … but that’s just not a good excuse. I have a fundamental problem with snooping without cause, because many actions or habits could be construed as suspicious. I also have a deep-seated problem with allowing people to rot in jail until the time the government sees fit to release them.

I don’t disagree with the entire Act, but certainly parts of it need to be critically reviewed now that we’re not emotionally overcharged by the 9/11 tragedy.

Adopt A Family

My company adopts about 20 families each Christmas. There is a hosted dinner and each family gets big bags of gifts from "Santa" to take home for Christmas day. Ryan and I volunteered at the dinner last night and it was a truly amazing and humbling experience. The family that we hosted all night had two little girls, 7 and 2, who were the most well mannered, sweetest kids. The family was obviously trying so hard and still not quite making it. I just wish there was more we could have done.

Life in a cubicle farm:

At times hilarious, at times deeply, deeply disturbing. For the most part, I would have to say that my demotion to a cublicle has been a good thing. I enjoy the social atmosphere of our little office now that we have no walls. Since it is just the 4 people in the training room, we can play music, yell to each other and hold impromtu conversations. Of course there are the obvious downsides to life in a cubicle, like trying to hear your phone conversation over someone elses and a complete lack of privacy for the occasional personal phone call. All of that is understandable, and in my view, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

... except for your exceptionally weird cubicle neighbor. Yes, this is the man who says "Ahhhh" after each sip of water, listens only to show tunes and Frank Sinatra, and makes the kind of organic smacking noise that our beloved Maggie made when her mouth was dry. This is the man who objects to Diana Krall because she just can't sing the old music like Frank, sings loudly and off key to Christmas music, baby talks to his wife and revels in the fact that he "has always been a loner." Yes he drives me crazy.

Today I realized however, that in addition to driving me crazy he injects my day with little moments of shared silent laughter with the rest of my office mates. I have to admit, he's beginning to grow on me. While he may never be a man I choose to have an adult beverage with, it's his very quirkiness that endears him. I have to admit that I'm beginning to enjoy my strange cubible neighbor ... well at least most of the time.

No more Christmas carols

Several school districts in New Jersey have decided that Christmas carols can no longer be sung at holiday concerts. No Christmas Carols, Hanukah Songs, Kwanza songs ... but especcially no Christmas Carols. Instead, just songs about Santa and Snowmen and that special "Holiday" feeling. Why? They don't want to offend anyone. Um ... yeah. Winter breaks are because of relgious holidays. I understand not singing songs about only Christmas or only Hanukah but seriously, people need to get over themselves and stop being so freaking over sensitive. Is it going to change my life? No, not really. Does it kind of piss me off? Yep.

Holidays are hard

This whole Christmas thing is hard. Between keeping a Christmas tree drinking and trying to shop in the few awake hours we have after work I've decided that I need a vacation. Oh wait, I guess we just did that. I've had a really good time buying toys for all the little people on Ryan's side of the family (kids, not leprecauns). Insight: when Ryan and I have children I will have to monitor the time he spends playing with the kids' toys. Quote of the week ... Jenn: "You know you'll have to let the kids play with their toys." Ryan: "Not if we buy two of everything!" Yeesh.

The cold that won't go away

Is finally finally getting better. I don't remember being sick with a stupid cold for two stupid weeks when I was younger. Is it really possible that at 25 I'm already less cold-resistant? Well, at least no more hacking cough to keep me (and Ryan) awake every night.

... and I'm back

Yeah ... sorry for the long time, no write. I got out of the habit because of Hawaii and Thanksgiving. I promise to do better!

On Hawaii: Gorgeous, beautiful, wish you were there. In all seriousness, it was the most fun. We rented a 4 wheel drive vehicle that provided us too much stupid fun. The weather was beautiful, the landscape more so and the escape from reality the best. I kept trying to convince Ryan that we needed to move there. No luck, so we're back in New Jersey. Sigh.

On Thanksgiving: I miss having family around. We had a really nice Thanksgiving by committee (thanks to those who helped the clueless). Favorite quote of the weekend? "Oooh, there's a Dunkin Donuts. Can we stop?"

On Illini Basketball: Watching the ass whomping the Illini gave Wake Forest was sweet sweet relief after a season of heart wrenching football. Weber can stay.

On being sick: Ew. I'm tired of having a cold (which is another reason I haven't gotten around to writing). Ryan is also tired of my having a cold.

On life in general: Still good. Can't believe that we're coming up on our 1 year anniversary. If this is the toughest year of our marriage, we're doing just fine!!!

"Oooh, there's a Dunkin Donuts, can we stop?"

A Hawaiian Forecast

The forecast for our week in Hawaii:

86 Degrees and Partly Cloudy

Yep, for the whole week.

Ha ha hahahahahahahahahaha.

Feeling good about 25

As most of you know, I will be turning 25 tomorrow. I'm more excited to be getting a break on car insurance and renting a car than depressed about being a quarter of a century old. Even if I was feeling bad though, today would have picked me up.

I went swimming after work. Since the pool is not the main attration of our gym, I tend to see the same few people often. One of the people I see from time to time is a kid I would estimate to be 16 or 17 years old. As I finished my swim and started streching, he came over to my lane and asked "So, what team do you swim for?"
I said, "Oh, I don't swim competitively."
"Oh, you should!" he said.
Trying to be polite, I asked, "What team do you swim for?"
He answered "The local high school team."
"Oh," I said, "I've been out of high school for a couple years."
Not to be deterred he said "Well, you could always swim for your college then."
I said, "Yeah, I'm a few years out of college." The look on his face was priceless.

New swimsuit: $60
Monthly gym membership: $50
Having someone think you're in high school the day before your 25th birthday: Priceless

Ha!

Father-Daughter Talk
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and was for distribution of all wealth. She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican which she expressed openly. One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich & the addition of more government welfare programs. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor she felt that for years her father had obviously harbored an evil, even selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. The self professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

He stopped her and asked her point blank, how she was doing in school. She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain. That she studied all the time, never had time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because of spending all her time studying. That she was taking a more difficult curriculum.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your good friend Mary doing?" She replied, "Mary is barely getting by." She continued, "She barely has a 2.0 GPA," adding, "and all she takes are easy classes and she never studies." “But Mary is so very popular on campus, college for her is a blast, she goes to all the parties all the time and very often doesn't even show up for classes because she is too hung over."

Her father then asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0." He continued, "That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter visibly shocked by her father's suggestion angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I worked really hard for mine, I did without and Mary has done little or nothing, she played while I worked real hard!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said,

"Welcome to the Republican Party."


Thanks Dad! Too bad our current Pres doesn't understand Fiscal Responsibility.

Alarmists, all

I'm getting really tired of the alarmist fever sweeping through people recently. Whether it's the lack of flu vaccine (never got one, rarely sick), gay marriage/civil unions (why can't we just let people live their lives?) or the re-election of Dubya (yep ... he's a cowboy, but how much damage can he really do?), people are whipped into a frenzy unlike any I've seen. Do people have nothing better to do with their lives or do they just thrive on the drama of it all? I wish everyone could calm down, take a deep breath, and try to talk to the "other side" (whatever lines are drawn) with civility and respect. If I never hear another shrill argument it'll be too soon.

Is it really that big of a deal?

I know a lot of democrats who are incredibly upset by the fact that Dubya was re-elected last week. I don't understand the hatred of this man. I especially don't understand the extreme reactions, like this guy, who killed himself at Ground Zero today, apparently upset that Bush was re-elected. Is it worth that?

Off to bed ...

Because we have church in the morning. Last week we finally visited a church that we're interested in attending again. It's a non-denominational church about 10 minutes away. We felt immediately at home and were greeted by no fewer than a dozen people. Another big plus, the Pastor's from Illinois. He went to ISU. He and his wife moved from the midwest three years ago and invited us to talk about the "culture shock" of moving to the east coast. I'm looking forward to that conversation. Goodnight all.

Much fun on the horizon

Coming soon to our lives ... lots of fun! Ryan and I have some crazy times for the next couple of months. We leave for Hawaii in less than 7 days (6 days, 7 hours)!! We planned out all the stuff we want to do there, although we're leaving the specifics until we get there. The plan is to spend at least every other day being Hawaiian Beach Bums.

3 days after our return, we're hosting Dad, Laurel and Becky for Thanksgiving. It should be interesting, considering I've never even thought about making a Turkey before. Luckily for me, they have all these fun roasting bags that make it pretty idiot-proof. Really looking forward to some good, midwestern-style fellowship.

And then ... and then ... we're into Christmas Holiday Season! Gasp. Can you believe it's been almost a year that we've been married? Married! I have a husband!! Well, it's a good thing he's cute.

Better luck next time

I really hope that we'll have more moderate candidates in 2008. This country is just not made up of party extremists, and that's what we had this election year. I would love to see a Liebermann/McCain race next time. What a race that would be! I would feel so much better about my choices.

My election day experience

As most of you know, I was one of the rare undecideds until I walked into the voting booth on Tuesday. As I sat there staring at the ancient contraptions on which I was supposed to vote, I pondered.

"I wonder what I should have for dinner tonight?"

Kidding. In all honesty, this vote came down to what I knew and didn't know. What I didn't know is what I would be getting with Kerry. This man showed a remarkable ability to reinvent himself for the audience he addressed. While a neat trick, this was not the person I want running our country. I don't really want Bush running it either, but at least I know what I'm getting with him (even if I don't like it all the time). Kerry was just a wild card for me. And so ... I held my nose (thanks Dad) and switched the lever for Bush/Cheney.

Bush re-elected

While I don't think that I could be happy with the results of this election, regardless of what they were, I am glad that there was not a long, drawn out court battle ala Florida 2000. Kerry showed real concern for the country by conceding the election gracefully. It should be an interesting next 4 years.

A little annoyed

I have been trying to post to this for a coupla days now, and the site has been pretty continuously down. Grrr. So that's why no posts during the very crazy election days.

One day to election

So get out and vote tomorrow!