Strousbourg

This was the cathedral in Strousbourg, France. It's beautiful. A lot of the glasswork and sculture reminded me of Notre Dame. This cathedral took 600 years to build, from 1100 to the end of the 1700s. I can't imagine starting something that I knew my great great grandchildren wouldn't live to see. I have to think they didn't believe it would take so long to build.

French Cars

Are really small. These were everywhere over there. Of course, gas was also 1.13 Euro per liter. That's about $5.50 per gallon, boys and girls. I'd drive one too!

The kitties are a year old today

Or so. They were born the first week of April last year. I hope they're full grown, because feeding them is getting really expensive. Here they're playing with their birthday mice. Dad, you'd be horrified if you saw under our couch or stove on any given day. Nothing but mouse skin carnage. Strangely ... we never find the tails ....

Happy Birthday!

To my husband! We're the same age for 7 months again. Yes, that is two slices of carrot cake with swirly candles. I'm a bad wife. He got a cool new air compressor. The work bench downstairs is starting to look like a real man bench.

It's Spring!

And I have flowers! Well, and some dead stuff in the background. Planting these tulips and daffodils last fall was torture. We have very bad dirt. It all paid off about a week ago when the very first hot pink bud opened. Like the stone border? I walked like an 80 year old for two days after we put it in. What happens to us when we become home owners?

I'm a bad blogger

But in all fairness, I was in Germany for most of my non-blogging time. I finally downloaded my pictures and will get some posted here. The trip was pretty good. We stayed in Kehl, Germany and spent most evenings in Strousbourg. I got to practice some French. Funny thing about these two countries: people literally live 20 km away and French people speak no German and German people speak no French. They're both more likely to speak English. Once explanation I heard was that the two peoples started fighting each other 200 years ago and have been ever since.

We went to a French castle and to Zurich, Switzerland. The castle was unbelievable. Zurich was big, dirty, and exhibited a disturbing fondness for strip clubs.

This week went disturbingly quickly. I'm glad it's the weekend.

Leaving on a jet plane

Tomorrow is the big trip to Germany. We have to be to the airport around 7 pm tomorrow for the redeye to Paris. From Paris to Strousburg, France. Kehl, Germany is right across the border from Strousburg, so we'll drive from there. From all that I'm hearing, Kehl is pretty westernized. It has the GAP, McDonalds and an 8 tiered car dealership. Strousburg on the other hand, is supposed to have some really interesting (and old) churches and fun little shops and markets.

The trip should be a little more relaxed than Brazil was. We're staying in one place the entire week, and the evenings will be ours to do with as we choose, rather than being forced into 4 hour dinners every night. I imagine we'll spend most of our free time in Strousburg. We also have a "free" day on Saturday and I hear that the Black Forest in Germany is pretty interesting.

I'm excited to be going, although I'll really miss Ryan. If only he'd fit in my suitcase. So far, working for Gerdau has added two new countries to my traveling and many new cities. Cool. It's nice to see the world on your company's dime!

Ha ha, I'm winning!

This just in ... I'm whooping Ryan in the NCAA BB Tournament Bracket. Not that I'm entered in any kind of illegal office pool or anything.

Having a heat wave

Today it was 75 degrees outside. Love love love that it's almost spring time. Of course there's supposed to be another snow storm the first week of April. There are several things that bother me about this. First, who has a snow storm in April? Second, how can the pathological liars known as meteorologists possible know what the weather is next week, let alone 3 weeks from now? Are .... you .... kidding me? Donne moi une .... break.

In other news, I'm catching a cold. I'm really freaking tired of getting random illnesses this week. My company nurse and our admin assistant have started taking bets on what I'm bringing home from Germany. Yeah, I'm a side bet. Meh.

An honorary Canadian

So I made it back from Toronto with no ill effect. Our training was actually very good ... actual training, not just talking about issues. I also really enjoyed being in Canada.

The Toronto airport is huge, and when I got in on Wednesday I literally walked for 15 minutes before getting to the customs agent. Then I had another 10 minute walk to the rental car place. After getting off a flight, it felt really good to walk, but it made me realize how coddled US travelers are. Aside from O'Hare, most US airports are more compact or if there is any walk they have a train to get you there.

Getting used to driving in kilometers was a kick. It makes you feel like you're really getting somewhere! Most of the highways around Toronto were 100 km/h, but like all big cities, no one was going slower than 110 km/h.

I also got a lesson in Canadian temperatures while I was there. Our trip was about 10 Canadians and 3 people from the US. The first afternoon of the training we were discussing the temperature. I'm not bad at converting C to F in my brain, so I actually knew how cold it was. Anyhow, we were discussing the temperature and I said that my car said it was negative 5 C ... and oh how my Canadian counterparts laughed. It's minus 5, they told me. As I listened to radio stations for the next two days, I realized that indeed, no one says negative 5. Another of my US colleagues said the same thing about 5 hours later ... so at least I felt better about that.

It also seems that Canadians are far more concerned about environmental issues than most in the US. As we toured the mill, our tour guide mentioned several environmental issues that they were working on. About 50% of the energy they use is provided by methane from a landfill a mile from the plant. Cool huh? They said that have about 20 years of methane left.

I really enjoyed my trip and my colleagues made me an honorary Canadian (they were going to give me a hat, but alas I had to leave and come back to NJ). All in all, I liked Toronto better than NJ. Of course, they all wanted to come to NJ so they could visit New York City. I guess you always want what you don't have.

Toronto ... in the winter

As if winter wasn't cold enough in New Jersey, I'm heading to Toronto, Ontario tomorrow, eh. This little trip is cleverly disguised as training. What that really means of course is we'll spend the day talking around issues and not having any questions answered.

On the bright side, I get to see some of my colleagues from Canada and spend time in a city I've not been in before.

You probably don't care

But since I work in the steel industry, I find the hostile takeover bid by Mittal Steel of Arcelor Steel quite interesting. Like everything else, most of the steel companies in the world are starting to be controlled by a few companies ... very few of the them U.S. companies. My mill is owned by a Brazillian company, and Mittal and Nippan both own many of the other U.S. mills. It's becoming more and more difficult for U.S. companies to compete with the upcoming Asian markets. This is especcially true in the North East, where power costs more than anywhere else in the country, people get paid more and we're next to an ocean so importing is becoming a serious issue. I guess it's why so many companies are embracing lean manufacturing (after Japan whooped the U.S. for a few years I guess).

More info you don't need

Now that I'm feeling better, I have to say that I'm amazed by the body's ability to continue to generate material far after the stomach and intestines are vacant. Even after the chicken picatta, apple pie, and salad were gone, my body was still able to produce something for me to offer to the porcelain gods. Today I am finally able to replace some of the missing sustenance without feeling likely to assume the position. I wonder how long it would take to be truly empty?

The office, finally

With all the traveling Ryan and I have done recently, it took us waaayy too long to finish the office. To be honest, there were a couple times that Ryan wanted to get it finished up and I, well, didn't. I blame it on the weekend couch gnomes.

Last weekend Ryan finished up the caulking and paining on the window frames. We painted the room and Ryan hung the blinds while I was away on my ill-fated business trip. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you actually get motivated.

The first picture is what the office looked like when we moved in. Since then we have replaced the windows, framed them out, painted the walls and put in furniture (of course).

The second picture is the after shot. I think I'm going to add some pictures from our various Hawaii trips and put up a painting I bought from a woman in Hawaii to finish up.

I was pukin' in Georgia

After a successful day on a benchmarking trip to Cartersville, GA, our host took us to the Appalachain Grill. "The best meal in Georgia!" "This place is great!" I was looking forward to the highly praised meal, and indeed, it was good. We had fried green tomatoes, salad topped with walnuts and cranburys, chicken piccata and apple pie for desert. Yummy ... until 1 am.

When I woke up with a terrible feeling in my stomach. I threw up from 1 am until 11 am. I was supposed to be on a flight at 3:45. Fat chance. My co-workers brought me medicine and gatorade and took me to a hotel near the airport where Becky came and babysat for the night. Thank goodness she lives in Atlanta.

I finally got home this afternoon. I don't feel great, but have managed to keep down some food today. Food poisoning sucks. Sisters rock. Being sick away from home is really lame.

At Volcano

Some of the monsooning we experienced.

Spelunking

Here is the opening of a cave we went exploring.

Cool looking orchids

In Hilo.

Donkey!

There are apparently wild donkeys hanging out in Waipio. We also saw wild goats at one of the more deserted beaches.

Waipio Valley

Waipio Valley is a beautiful valley that you have to have 4 wheel drive to get into. It used to be the vacation spot for Hawaiin Kings and Queens. A couple thousand people lived here at one time until a Tsunami wiped it out in the early 1900s. It's slowly being repopulated, but still only a few dozen people live there, without running water, electricity or other creature comforts.

The end :(

On Friday we really just hung out at some beaches and soaked the last of the Hawaiian rays. Our trip home was sad (and long). Like last time, Hawaii is one of the only places I've visited that I really wanted to stay. I'm going to post a few more of our favorite pictures from the trip, in no particular order.

Whale Watching

Since it was whale season in Hawaii we had to go on a whale watching cruise. Right now, it is calving and breeding season, so guess what we saw? First were two groups of three, a mother, her calf and her escort. Before we went in, we also saw a female being followed by a couple of amorous males. She turned on her side and slapped the water with her flipper to let the guys know she wasn't interested just yet.

These are amazing creatures. They are the size of a bus. A couple times, we got to see them right off the bow of the boat. We also got to see spinner and bottle nosed dolphins, taking a free trip in our wake. This was maybe the coolest experience of the vacation.

One of God's little clues

That maybe we shouldn't go any further into the water. The ocean was super rough the entire time we were in Hawaii. Apparently the ocean is rougher in the winter anyway, but it was even rougher than normal because of some strange ocean currents. This beach had tide pools where the ocean broke on the lava before the pools. It makes you feel very insignificant to observe the awe inspiring power of the ocean.

The aftermath

We had to get a picture of the aftermath of all our 4 wheel driving. The jeep looks red in this picture, but it was Illini orange. Even after we took it through the car wash, you could definitely tell we had been off roading. Ooops. The good news is we didn't get charged extra.

Don't adjust your colors

It's green sand. We headed back to the south point of Hawaii, which is the southern most point of the United States. This was defininately one of the most fun days of the trip. The south point is a 4 wheel drive to the green sand beach. This is a beach you literally have to climb down into. It's also the one where I got an earful of green sand that took almost a year to get completely cleared. I thought that this year it would be different. Alas, I still ended up with green sand in places it should never ever be. For whatever reason, Ryan seems to get away from the beach without getting knocked tail over teakettle.

As an aside, it looks like we're getting a blizzard this weekend, so I may actually have time to finish blogging the trip.

So I have a thing for Hawaiians

I assure you, I went home with Ryan.

Luau on the table

The last time we went to Hawaii, we went to a Luau. This time, we went on a dinner cruise and it was soooooo much better. It was essentially a Luau on our tables. Yes, they are dancing on the table. The three Asian women behind them were too funny. They were horrified and couldn't decide if they wanted to watch or not.

The food was tasty and the adult beverages were cheap, so a great time was had by all.

Anniversary

I can't think of a better way for us to have spent our anniversary. In the morning we went on a snorkeling cruise, in the evening, a dinner cruise. This picture is actually from the first beach, but the pictures were better, so there you go.

Snorkeling in Kona

Our first day back in Kona we went snorkeling at a beach a few miles from our hotel. All you had to do was stick your face in the water and ....

We swam with at least 2 turtles (maybe 4, we don't know if they were the same 2 turtles over again). They are really beautiful, graceful creatures underwater. I got a little obsessed with turtles this trip. Pretty much all of my souvenirs were turtles (necklace, office holder, window clings, etc).

There were also beautiful and ugly fish. There is a fish that is usually yellow. In the waters off of Kona, it is black. People would pay thousands of dollars for it, because it is only black in Kona, no where else in the world. You know what happened when they took it away from Kona? It turned yellow. Hehe. One of God's little jokes.

Puna

Puna is the farthest east town in Hawaii. Apparently, scientists test "virgin" air there because it's been floating over nothing but ocean for thousands of miles. Smelled good.

Puna is a very cool town, and the weather finally broke the day we explored there. This is a natural steam room, created by volcanically heated steam that rises into caves like this one. It was not quite as warm as a sauna here, but very warm and steamy. This one even had benches put in there by locals.

We also got to swim in a natural freshwater swimming pool 40 feet from the ocean and saw a series of tide pools created by lava flows. You get to see things in Hawaii that you see no where else on the planet.

Whoa there in Waimea

My favorite sign of the trip. We took a really quick trip to Waimea, in the northern part of Hawaii. The town is primarly a ranching town. Apparently, the story goes that a couple of cows were a gift to King Kamemehea. He made it kapu to kill, harm, or eat them to give them a chance to multiply. Soon, they were hoodlums, eating everything in sight and literally running people out of their homes.
This Parker guy was a rancher in the mainland who was living in Hawaii. Because he was good with cows and guns, the King gave them the authority to start hunting the cows, and control the population. He started taking the best cows as payment, domesticated them, married the princess and was eventually deeded (through the royalty) a ranch with something like 125,000 acres (9%) of island. Paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) have been ranching ever since. Kind of a neat story, although indicative of how the Hawaiian lands ended up in non-Hawaiian hands.

That being said, this sign was the coolest thing in Waimea.

As close as we got

We couldn't get any closer than this to the lava. Still, it was pretty cool to see earth being formed ... in the driving rain.

Volcano

Volcano was pretty much a wash out. It was driving rain the entire time. We have some cool pictures of lava flows and the lava tube we walked through, but they're on the other camera, so you'll have to wait. Once again, we couldn't get right up to where the lava was flowing, so we had to content ourselves with distant pictures of steam rising from where it was flowing into the sea. We couldn't get closer. The rangers said something about "unstable lava benches" bah.

We walked through an old lava tube while we were there. That was really cool. It was 1000 feet in complete darkness. We brought good flashlights, but at the end of the tube you literally could see nothing. Not your hand in front of your face. And your eyes never adjusted. It was pretty cool to see how lava reaches distant parts of the island.

Since it was monsooning, we headed back to Hilo and stopped at this botanical garden. Seriously amazing vegatation. Here's Ryan next to the biggest tree I'd ever seen. There were flowers that looks like they would eat you and some of the coolest looking vegatation I've ever seen.

Hilo

After getting in late to Kona on Wednesday night, we spent the night in Kona and got up on Thursday to drive to Hilo. This is the view from our room, which was very pretty, but we quickly learned why the east side of the island looks like a rain forest.

This was about as much sun as we got during the first couple of days. Our room always smelled like must (although supposedly the "best hotel in Hilo"). I'm sure depression isn't as high here as in Seattle cause of the beaches and all, but I was happy to head back to Kona on Sunday.

Our first day, we saw some interesting waterfalls and other beautiful natural phenomenon. What was amazing to me is that in most places you hike for hours to see one gorgeous waterfall. Not here, you just pulled off the side of the road and it was beautiful. Not to be deterred, we left for Volcano on Friday.

Two Crazy Haoles

Aloha. We're safely back in New Jersey. Sigh. We had a great time, and next time the trip will probably be 2 weeks instead of 10 days. It's gonna take me a couple of days to blog our entire adventure, so be patient with me!

The first 3 days of our trip can be summed up in two words: It Rained.

Aloha!

Probably no blogging for the next 2 weeks or so. Tomorrow morning we're off to Hawaii! We've had really crazy weeks and both of us are more than ready to get out of New Jersey, relax on a beach somewhere, and drink something fruity. The only part of traveling I don't like is the packing. Last time we went to Hawaii we only wore 1/4 of what we actually packed. I'm hoping that we're a little more realistic this time around.

We'll be back soon ... and with some fun pictures I'm sure.

Aloha!

Nothing to say really

I've thought a few times this week about blogging, but haven't really had much to say this week. Ryan had a stressful week and his tossing and turning kept me awake a couple of nights this week. Mostly, I'm trying to get things together for the 10 days I'll be out of town. We have an audit originally scheduled for next Tuesday that's been postponed until during our vacation ... so I actually have to do more work so someone else can present my material.

In other news, we finally took down our Christmas lights yesterday. We also have a lot of laundry to do before we head away. Yeah Hawaii!

The Elliptical Experience

I had to work a whole 5-day week this week. Same thing next week. I think there's something wrong with that. Especially because Ryan has two more 4-day weeks in a row before our 2-day going to Hawaii week. I want to work for the government. I think we should petition for a 4-day work week ... or at least a 40 hour maximum.

Ryan bought an elliptical machine this week. He's down in the basement now trying to put it together. It has a real lot of pieces. I'm glad he bought it though, since he has a tough time actually getting to the gym. We had a blast shopping for them. We tried out everything from the ones you find at the gym to ones I was afraid I would break if I actually stood on them. We also tried the Gazelle. For anyone who was considering buying one after seeing the infomercial ... don't, just don't. It's wrong on levels I can't even explain.

In other news, our Christmas lights are still up outside the house. Poll: how many of you have taken down your lights? Since about half the houses in our neighborhood still have their lights up I don't feel like the freaky all year Christmas light people yet.

Finally, a weekend to recoup

After 3 weekends away from home (total: 12 days out of town, 6 days home) we finally have a weekend at home this week. Today we didn't leave the house until 7 pm. Ryan finally got the window framing in the office done and I cleaned the house, which was beginning to look like a garage sale. Ahhh, order at last.

We also watched a very disappointing Illini loss to Iowa this afternoon. I suppose we were all surprised to be 15-0, but to Iowa?

The cats seem to be very happy that we didn't abandone them again this weekend. They were super pissed when we got home after skiing. They were so attention starved that they would walk by and rub against our legs but didn't want to be held. They're better now.

Skiing is cool

Spent the long weekend at Elk Mountain in the Poconos. The forecast called for 40s and raining all weekend ... not the ideal skiing weather. Nonetheless, we hopefully headed to the moutain. Our bed and breakfast was lovely, and since it had a hot tub and a kitchenette, we never had to leave. It got colder on Thursday night and Friday we had good, though icy, skiing. On Saturday we got a freak snow storm and about 5 inches of snow. I love skiing in fresh powder. It was a great day. Sunday was good snow as well. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

This trip also pointed out to me that I am terrifically out of skiing shape. My quads burned by the end of each day. We're going to try for at least one more short ski trip this year, although funds will be a bit tight, what with Hawaii and all. Hehe.

I got really used to not working. I had a 5 day weekend for Christmas (thanks United) and a 4 day weekend for New Years. This week has been brutal. At least it's a nice short week to ease back into work. We leave for Hawaii 3 weeks from today though, so I won't have to get too used to the whole working thing. Yeah vacations!

A call to boycott United

Lack of home = lack of posting. sorry.

Had the world's worst experience with United Airlines this weekend. We had to buy tickets on priceline for this trip because all the tickets to my mom's house were $500 a piece. Friday morning started out auspiciously enough. We got up before the butt crack of dawn and made our way to Philidelphia airport. There was no traffic on the road and we got there in under 45 minutes. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:55. We barely made it because there were at least 200 people in line for check in and three open counters, including self-check in (no kidding). Okay, so I can blame that on heavy Christmas travel traffic.

We had a layover in Chicago (yeah, another reason I'm never flying United or purchasing from Priceline again). We got in around 8:30. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:10, so we checked the departure time and gate and got some breakfast. (Incidentally, it was yummy). When we meandered back to our gate we found our flight had been delayed until 12:49 pm. 'Scuse me? And why? Because they plane they had was having mechanical problems and so they had to find another plane. Things happen. We bought some magazines and settled in with Newsweek and MarioCart.

Delayed: 1:49
Delayed: 2:13
Delayed: 2:30
Delayed: 2:45

Finally, around 2:30, they load us onto the plane, which had to fly, empty, from Dulles. We get settled in only to hear that we're not going anywhere because the sink in the lavatory won't stop running and they have to get a mechanic to drain the water tank. Sigh. Delayed. The water is drained and the pilot comes on the intercom to tell us that the co-pilot has exceeded his allowable hours and we now have to wait for a new co-pilot. We finally leave O'Hare around 3:45. Touchdown in Memphis: 5:30. Total travel time: 13 hours.

But wait ... it gets better! Before we get on our flight home on Monday we check our flights. The first flight was delayed 1 hour, 15 minutes. Layover time: 1 hour ... last flight of the day. So I call the happy people at United. They want us to get on a plane to O'Hare and spend the night there. I ... don't ... think ... so. The earliest they could get us out Tuesday was 2:30. 'Kay.

Tuesday, all seems to be going smoothly. We get to the airport and check in to find that our flight has been delayed until 3:30. Why? Mechanical problems. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! The flight leaves at 3:45. We run to our connection and the flight boards in less than 5 minutes. Whew. The one thing United did right the whole weekend was get us home on time Tuesday night.

Every one of our delays was the airline's fault, not the weather's. I will not be flying United again.

3 Things

I got these from another blog I was reading. Now it's your turn!

1. Three things you like about yourself:
I'm a very loyal friend. I stay pretty balanced. I remember every day why I love my husband so much.

2. Three things you don't like about yourself:
I let work get to me. Patience is not one of my virtues. I don't always live my faith like I should.

3. Three parts of your heritage:
English, Cherokee Indian, Okie

4. Three of your everyday essentials:
Chapstick, kisses, downtime

5. Three things you are wearing right now:
Sweater, jeans, socks

6. Three things you want in a relationship:
Love, mutual respect, laughter

7. Two truths and a lie:
I wanted to work for the FBI, I make cookie dough and don't make the cookies, I had my toungue pierced.

8. Three things you can't live without:
Husband, faith, family

9. Three places you'd go on vacation:
Hawaii, Egypt, Australia

10. Three things you just can't do:
Wake up on the first alarm, play basketball, sew

11. Three kids names:
Tucker, Emma, McKenna

12. Three things you want to do before you die:
Live in Hawaii, get my scuba certification, have a family

13. Three things you wanted to do for a living:
Veterinarian, FBI agent, Professor

14. Three ways you are stereotypically a boy:
High maintenance women make me tired, I love college football/basketball, my house is cluttered

15. Three ways you are stereotypically a girl:
I love getting pedicures, I get ice cream and french fry cravings, I love my cats

Like watching hair grow

While most of my day was spent getting things accomplished and being productive, I would rather have spent the last two hours getting my toenails pulled out than how I actually spent it. I was supposed to receiving training on Crystal Reports and querying. Instead, I spent two hours watching a man stumble through a query builder that I already knew how to use. I had the conscience to feel guilty, because he was really a very nice man ... like Mr. Rogers on downers. I didn't, however, have enough conscience to sit through any more of the mind-shrinking. Instead, I said "I think I need some time playing with the software. I'll call if I need anything."

Coming Home!

So I got an email from Ryan yesterday. He's (supposed to be) coming home today. It looks like he'll get off the boat this morning!! I'm so ready for him to be home. My week overall was good and busy, so at least I didn't have a lot of time to mope around the house. I had a follow up meeting with some colleagues and got a lot of questions answered, so that was nice.

You may notice the time on this blog. I should be on my way to work right now. And yet you notice I'm not. Why? Well, because nothing is plowed and the main road on my way to work is speed restricted to 35 mph and already peppered with accidents. The snow is supposed to be over by mid-morning, so I figure I'll wait out the worst of it and go in a little late this morning. I usually try to sleep in on mornings like this, but I got up and showered, thinking I would be able to go into work at normal time. So ... I'm awake. It's ok though, I'll get some stuff done around the house.

He's coming home!!!

Stupid boats anyway

Ryan is floating somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean this week. Apparently they needed his expertise with some kind of "safety" testing. Meanwhile, my husband is in the middle of an ocean with no means of communication. While I knew this sucked, I didn't realize how much it sucked until last night. When you have talked to someone every single day for the past 3 or so years, it's very unnerving not to talk to them. It's amazing what a mind can create at 10:47 pm on a school night when you're used to saying "goodnight my love."

Chiminea

So after 2 weeks of going to work with me, we finally got our new Chiminea out of the Pathfinder and put it together. I was a little concerned when I took it out and the instructions said it would take 2-3 hours to assemble. Luckily for me ... my husband's an engineer, so it only took like 4 hours. Kidding, about 30 minutes. We ate s'mores and our butts turned to ice. All in all, a satisfying fire-in-your-backyard kind of moment.

First Christmas lights on our home!

So we got up some Christmas lights today. How do you like our tchotchke Christmas trees? They're no bloated blow up Santas, but hey, we do what we can. Here's my recommendation for anyone considering these "valance" lights. Don't. Just don't. They are a huge pain to unwind, and as you can see, have a mind of their own. We're hoping that with time and gravity they'll hang out and look better. If not, well, Christmas is the season for dumb looking decorations.

Makes our neighborhood seem tame

How would you like to live across from this guy?

http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/xmaslights.asp

No comment

Seriously, none needed.

Unexplainable phenomenon

Now this is a phenomenon I really don't understand. Is this some strange East Coast "must stand out" ritual or does this happen in other areas of the country as well? Every season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas) we've been treated to the bloated faces of our season favorites.

I thought at first it was just one or two families. No, there are a lot of people in our neighborhood who think that blow up lawn art are the raison du jour. Maybe I'm the one who doesn't get it.

Kitten Update

Now that they're older, they aren't nearly so innocent and cute. Elf is a contortionist. He is also well acquainted with Ryan's water bottle. The cat will actually get into the shower with us. I think there is something tragically wrong with him.

Immigration

Ryan and I have gotten hooked on the "Current" television station, broadcasted by google. It shows random documentaries sent in by viewers. It's really an interesting channel. You see everything from a white guy getting a hair cut in a black barber shop to race riots in France.

One of the shorts from tonight was about illegal immigration from the Mexican border. These people are so desparate and are trying to get to the US only to support themselves and their families. While I don't think that people should circumvent the laws and enter the country illegally, I truly don't understand why it's so difficult to get into this country legally. These are people who are willing to do any job, desparately struggling to survive. It makes our everyday struggles seem microscopic in comparison.

Freakishly Warm Day

Today was in the 70s. Are you kidding me? I remember snow on many of my birthdays growing up (which was over 2 weeks ago). I love this! Of course, it needs to get cold in a hurry. We made plans to go skiing over New Year's weekend, but as of right now, the slope isn't open. We're traveling 3 weekends in a row. The 16/17 is Cathy's graduation (happy graduation Cathy!). We're going to my mom's for Christmas and then we're off to the Poconos for 4 days of skiing.

Black Friday

So Ryan and I went shopping on Black Friday this year (apparently, we also lost our mind). Actually, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Aside from walking a long way from our parking spot, we only waited in a long line once. The nice part is that we probably got almost half our shopping done in one day.

Sorry not much writing lately. Nothing really interesting has happened lately. We finally got shutters up on the house. I'll post pictures later. Ryan is also framing out the two windows in our office and we're finally painting it. It'll be a lovely blueish grey color.

I think we should have 4 day weekends every week. Work would be much cooler if I only went 3 days a week. Sigh.

Banzai!

My 26th birthday was mostly uneventful ... which I suppose is a good thing. Ryan made it home from his business trip a day early, so was actually home for my birthday (good husband!) We went to Banzai, a Japanese Steakhouse, for dinner. As they usually are, it was a good time. The first time we went there we had a cook who gave out Saki shots if you caught the zucchini in your mouth, said something funny, or generally looked in his direction. His catch phrase? "Waaassaaaabbbiiiii." Our guy on Thursday was fun ... but no Saki shot guy.

It's strange to be 26. Ryan and I decided that you don't hit your late 20s until 28 ... but it's still kind of a surreal age for me. Everyone at work talks about what a baby I am and yet I look at my or Ryan's sister and think how grown up we are. Not old ... just grown up. Our daily dialouge with friends and family is about careers, home projects and children. Autumn is due any day now. She's having a baby. It's strangely comforting knowing that I am able to support myself, own a house, and make adult decisions. I wake up every day next to my husband and thank the Lord for him. Then as I go about my day I realize that I'm married. Someday I'm going to be the parent. I wonder if anyone ever really feels like the grown up. I sure don't.

Tomorrow I leave for another business trip. I'm one of those people. Those traveling people. I watch my frequent flier miles and buy travel pillows. I do almost all of my clothes shopping on business travel (not one of Ryan's favorite activities). I have colleagues. They think I'm a grown up too.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about when I met Ryan, almost 9 years ago. We were 17 and even then we knew we met too soon. Now, 9 years later that 17 year old boy is my husband. I don't know that I pictured our life today when I was 17, but I don't think anything I pictured could have touched the reality of my life today. I think the moral of this story is that 26 is going to be a good year.

Good Night; and Good Luck

Ryan and I just watched “Good Night; and Good Luck”. This black and white film chronicles the end of the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s from the viewpoint of Edward Murrow, a CBS reporter who was publicly critical of McCarthy’s methods. Aside from being well written and beautifully directed, it provoked several thoughts from me.

As trite as this sounds, this movie beautifully illustrated the saying that “Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.” The historical footage of the McCarthy hearings was frightening and eerily familiar. In an age where our civil rights are being increasingly co-opted for the greater good, I find echoes of McCarthy. While we have not yet reached hearings in which people are convicted of communism (or terrorism) by unproduceable witnesses, we do live in an era where suspected terrorists can be held without trial indefinitely. The search for terrorism has not yet reached the fevered pitch of the red scare, but we need to be careful and protective of our liberties.

Second, “Good Night; and Good Luck” showed the birth of the ratings war that currently rules our television viewing. Murrow’s program was canceled because people would rather be entertained by Ed Sullivan, and without ratings, the show had no sponsors. What struck me about the broadcasts portrayed in the movie was how cerebral they were. I cannot believe an audience today would take the time to comprehend Murrow’s message. I don’t know if people are dumber today or simply lack the willingness, but it is a shame that our news is delivered in 15 second sound bites with words no more than 3 syllables long.

It’s been a long time since I watched a movie that made me think as much as I have tonight. I highly recommend this film for its history and commentary about how precious it is to have the rights afforded us in this country.

Lost, our newest obsession

So we never watched Lost before. After hearing good things about it from his mom, Ryan bought the first season's DVD. It is so good! We watched the entire season in less than two weeks. Of course we were sick, so we spent a lot of time couch-louging over the past few weeks. The show is unlike anything else on television right now. Now of course, we have to wait for the second season to finish up. Hrm.

Feeling Human Again

I'm finally starting to feel human again after a week of nasty infection. Ryan apparently caught what I have. He went to the doctor today and they gave him antibiotics as well. Luckily, it seems as though we caught his a lot earlier than mine, so he won't get as sick.

We had our first Halloween in the house tonight. We had at least 40-50 kids stop by. When did they stop saying "Trick or Treat"? It seemed like everyone just came to the door and took candy. It did seem like the parents made them say thank you though. Our first visitors were Snow White and a Power Ranger. Toooo cute.

Brazil Update - Monday

Brazil --

And now for the update. I will share as much as I can about my trip without getting bogged down in the gory details.

After spending a few days in Tampa, my colleagues and I left for Brazil last Saturday afternoon. After nearly 24 hours in the air or airports we arrived in Porto Allegre. Exhausted and dirty, we showered and cast out for food. Unfortunately, everything is closed in Brazil on Sunday and we couldn't find the mall/restaurant our front desk told us about. After finally finding food, we all passed out pretty early to get ready for our big adventure.

We spent Monday at the corporate office learning from our Brazillian and Chilian counterparts. It felt like I was at the United Nations. We had headsets on and had continous translation from the back of the room. Very cool.

Monday night we went out to a traditional Brazillian barbeque. The waiters bring out huge skewers of meat and slice you pieces until you can't move. Because so few preservatives are used, everything was incredibly salty. I tried my most unusual food of the trip here: chicken heart. Verdict? It won't become a staple of my diet.

Tuesday

On Tuesday we visited our mill south of Porto Allegre. Watched barbed wire and nails being made was very cool. The biggest difference between Brazillian mills and American is that in Brazil the mill is very much the center of life. The mill looks more like a campus than a mill and often includes a social club, a medical center and sports fields. Often, the mill will offer free medical services to the surrounding communities. It's a very different way of life in Brazil. It broke my heart to see families living in one-room shacks with aluminum roofing. It truly is still a developing nation.

Dinner was at a Italian restaurant. In every restaurant we went to, food was served in rounds and dinner always lasted at least 3 hours. First was the bread course, then appetizers, then more appetizers, then the main course, then dessert and finally, cordials and dessert wine. Yeesh. Give me my 45 minute dinner any day.

Wednesday - before the illness

Hehe… our laptop kept dying, so my blogging was truncated yesterday. Ehem … to continue …

Wednesday was another day at the mill. It was a cool mill because they made specialty products like stainless steel and molds. This picture is of my colleague, Trisha and I, about to set out for our tour. After the tour we set off for the airport. My favorite example of the difference between our cultures was when our first flight was very delayed. Would we miss our flight? We wondered to our Brazilian cohort. “Likely” she replied … completely unconcerned. We didn’t, but we didn’t get into our hotel until 1:30 am with directions to be ready at 8 am the next morning. I started to get a sore throat on the flight.

Thursday

Thursday morning I woke up to this beautiful view from my room. This, by the way, is as close as I got the beautiful beaches of Recife. We were all completely exhausted for our mill tour on Thursday. I was in full-blown head cold by this point and spent most of the tour looking for a chair. I skipped out on dinner that night and only joined the rest of the crew after dinner for a little conversation.

Friday - last day

Friday was our one day to see Brazil on the trip. We went on a 3 hour city tour of Recife. This picture was taken in Olinda, overlooking the city of Recife. The city was beautiful, but much poorer than Porto Allegre. Our tour guide had his own agenda. Apparently, he got a cut of everything we bought at certain boutiques … so our tour was very directed. It was fun, but not enough time spent actually seeing the country of Brazil.

Then … back to the airport. Our first flight took us from Recife back to Porto Allegre. We got into the airport at 9 pm and figured we had plenty of time to get to our midnight flight to Atlanta. We went to check in for our flight and found out that our flight had been moved to 8 am the next morning. I was not staying another night in Brazil, sick and away from Ryan. We ran for the 10 o’clock flight and were the last people on the flight at 5 minutes till 10pm. Unfortunately, one of our colleagues was not so lucky.

I finally got into Newark at 10 am Saturday morning and was greeted by my wonderful husband. He got to put up with sick wife for the weekend as I slept nearly the whole weekend away trying to get better. To no avail. I had to call in sick on Monday. I barely made it to work Tuesday when my boss and the company nurse told me to go to the doctor and go home. As it turns out, I have an infection in my left ear, throat, and sinuses. I wasn’t being a baby after all. Yesterday I was blogging from the couch, my new home. I made it back to work today and am finally feeling human again today. Thank you antibiotics.

And that’s Brazil.

A Ball

Last night was the Navy Ball in Atlantic City. We had a GREAT time. I am bummed that this picture ended up blurry because it is the epitomy of the evening. We got dressed up, danced the night away and lost some money playing video poker. It was a perfect rainy October evening. The bed in our room was like sleeping on a rock ... so we're spending the rest of the day couch luge-ing.

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.