Organizing

I might have posted about this before but I am not organized enough to remember or find it ...HAHA, get it. Ok, ok, whatever.

So, I am unorganized. I know none of you are surprised so I will skip the explaining part. Part of my New Year's resolution is to become more organized. I feel like it might have been my resolution last year too but I am not sure. I am trying to come up with ways to do this and have a few ideas. I have found that I am better with a routine. I guess most people are...that is probably why they tell people to put babies on a routine, maybe we would all be happier on a routine. I also do better with lists so here are my ideas/struggles:

--I am going to make a list of "chores" that need to be done every week and do them on Sundays (other times if they need to be but even if I don't think they need to be done throughout the week I will do them on Sunday). I find that Sundays are really lazy in our house so this is a good time to get some of these things done (vacuuming, dusting, clean the bathroom, wash the sheets, etc).

--I am going to try to get some sort of organizer/system to organize my mail. I am curious what you guys keep and what you don't. I feel like even after I go through my mail I have a MILLION pieces of mail where Craig has like 5. I don't get it and it must be something I am keeping but don't need or am not filing (I don't even have one anymore).

--RECEIPTS- they consume me and my purse and various other parts of my house. It is ridiculous. I do ALL of the shopping at our house...Target, grocery, lowe's, whatever so I have a million receipts. I also have to keep up with all the ones for my million business trips and keep them organized to turn them in. I had more missing receipts than I would like to admit this last year and with me reporting to someone higher next year, I feel like I should get it together. I also have the ones for my photography business (though not much was bought there this year). I have the idea of getting one of those coupon organizers and doing sections for work, MAP, and various stores that I frequent (I am the queen of buying and then returning items) that I might need receipts for (I also have to keep the grocery store ones until I can enter the savings into my vacation fund...I would go by the receipt but last week I got one at Kroger that said I had saved $35 so far this year...um, no, way more than that).

--Coupons, giftcards, rebates. I am getting addicted recently, and I have forgotten to send in rebates or spend giftcards in the past so I want to organize them so they are all together. I feel like I can remember getting one and then I don't know where it is when I want to use it. I swear I found one the other day that I got from a friend about 3 years ago...wonder if it is still good.

--Clothes - there are just too many. You can put shoes in that category too. I know that you should throw out things that you haven't worn in a year, I just don't do it. Anyone have a good system of when they do this? I suppose seasons make sense, right? I need to 'pencil' it in so I do it. (again with the lists). I hold on to the clothes from my going out days that I know I will never wear again. I literally can't think of the last time I went out. I also have lots of cute heels and stuff that I would still like to keep for weddings or whatever...they are sort of classic styles so I don't have to worry about them going out of style but not sure where to keep them until someone else gets married or I need them.

--Food - I buy stuff but then I am not great about using whatever I buy to make meals. Sort of hard to explain but I will buy stuff on sale and not really think about what I would make to go with it so I always end up missing an ingredient here or there that I need to make a full meal. I would like to do more menu planning and then go shopping, just haven't found out the best way to do it.

Those are probably the big things. I know there are a million more but I have to be realistic about it all. Someone can't go from never being organized to being super organized in a week. Hopefully by the end of the year next year I will be much better at it and can have an original goal for next year. If you have any tips for me, pass them along!!

Week in Review.....

I am back in Ohio and finally have internet again. The person's whose internet I was "borrowing" moved so we didn't have any all week. So, here is my week in review:

Friday: Pointless to go to the meeting. Didn't find out any new information but did luck out in that it didn't pour on me on the way from Marta to my condo. Oh, but did forget to take my house key off of the car key ring that Craig had in Ohio so I had to call Drena and Adam ended up bringing me my spare that they had (thanks guys).

Saturday: Craig wasn't able to get it all together to make it down to Atlanta so he decided to wait until Sunday so I walked to Atlantic Station for some shopping and then Drena and Adam picked me up to take me to the Christmas party and dinner (thanks again). I ended up losing the spare key that night somehow but luckily I didn't lock the top and you can just push open the bottom (sad, I know. I have since made 5 copies of the key. 1 to replace Drena's, a new one for Morgan or Dudley (Morgan's sticks so we will see), one for each of my sisters and one for my desk at work).

Sunday: Had lunch with Carrie, Morgan, and Dudley. It was fun to have a little girl time :-) Craig showed up around 5 and then we had dinner with Morgan and William and watched the Packers game.

Monday: Up and at them to pick up Ariyana from daycare to take her to the children's museum. I was a little disappointed by the museum. It was just chaos and kids and toys everywhere. They did appear to have "stations" but nothing was where it was supposed to be so it was a bit confusing. There was also nothing "museum" about it. I thought it would be more like SciTrek but for kids but instead it was things like sand, painting, plastic grocery shopping, a couple golf holes and some huge contraption that you put plastic balls in that went through tubes (that part was cool). Ariyana didn't have a nap that day because she didn't sleep in the car and she was a little overwhelmed when we got to the museum. She did warm up but after an hour and a half we left. We took her back to my place and tried to get some pics for my sister...that was a challenge. Then Drena, Adam, and Oliver came to get pictures and of course Ariyana wanted a turn...figures. Oh well. We were going to grab dinner with Drena and Adam but Ariyana had been a bit whiney and Craig suggested that we just feed her and let her get home to go to bed. I am so glad that he did because by the time they left she had a complete meltdown and when we got her in the car she was asleep before we were out of my parking garage. When we got to my sister's house she said she had never seen Ariyana so tired..HA!!

Tuesday: Day 2 of Ariyana, this time the aquarium. We decided to let her sleep this time and then get her after her nap. It worked a bit better but she loved to run around the aquarium. the cutest thing was that she really didn't say "craig" but it sounded more like "deg or something....I never could pick it out but she LOVED him. She wanted to play with him all the time and when he would walk away to look at something or when she wanted to show him something she would yell for him but he didn't hear his name and isn't used to her voice so he wouldn't know it. She would just yell it over and over and over....it was so cute. After the aquarium I did manage to get some shots of her by bribing her with candy and then too her home.

Wednesday: I had two doc appts that day (we get a free physical every two years at work and there was a doc I didn't switch to OH yet). After that we sort of just laid around for a while and then went to get Ariyana's gift. After that we went to Erin and Dave's for dinner. It was really fun. We got there in time to see some cute, clean little twins running around. Those girls are ADORABLE!!! After they went to bed we had a yummy dinner and some adult time. It was really fun to hang out...thanks Erin and Dave :-)

Thursday: Couple runs to Target, LAZY :-) Worked on Craig's t-shirt quilt. The top is almost done so just have to get the edge done and then the back.

Christmas: YIKES! We got up at 7, went to Alyson's for breakfast and to watch Ariyana open her presents, then to my dad's for more family time and presents, then to my mom's for even more family time and presents, then home (at 11pm). It was so good to see everyone and to spend time with them but I was exhausted by the end of it all.

Today we drove back to Ohio :-) I am happy to be home and ready to get back on a schedule and stop eating so many treats but I had a great time in Atlanta and was so glad that I was able to see as many of my friends as I did. I will have some pictures to post coming up soon. I think that little miss ariyana might become a little photographer herself. She stole my point and shoot camera and took about 100 pictures with it on Christmas. Craig and I are going to try to figure out something cute to do with them all.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!!

today

I am a bit nervous about work today. The VP called me 8pm on my personel cell last night to tell me about the change. I am sure it was a formality but it also seems like something bigger might be going down today. I guess I will find out some time between 11:30 and 5 (provided I am still awake)

I ended up sending Craig an email yesterday telling him that he could some to Atl on Sunday if he wanted (our schedules yesterday didn't allow us to see each other for more than 5 mins before I went to bed at 11 last night. When I got out of the car at the airport this morning I asked what he decided and he said he was coming tomorrow (sat) so yay. I am a bit worried he won't be able to make it because we are supposed to get two inches of snow but we will see.

Even though I was not prepared to get up at 3:50am today and come in town a day early, I am glad that after I make it to 5:00 I will be on vacation for a week!! Lots of fun things planned! Dinners and lunches with friends and we are stealing Aryiana for two days. Plus, actual Xmas so it should all be lots of fun. Now to make it through this day with my nerves! I am sure it is nothing!

Torn

Ugh, it has been a rough couple of days at work. I have a ton to do, going on vacation next week and trying to get a lot done before year end. THEN, I am asked by several people on Tuesday (or, 2 people, but 2 people who know all the secrets at work) if I am going to be flying to Atlanta for this Finance meeting tomorrow. My understanding was that it was just to go over our latest survey results (the same thing people say every time, they aren't paid enough, blah, blah blah) so I wasn't going to go. These 2 people made it seem important that I go so I asked my boss about it. She didn't seem to know but said it was up to me. Then she talked the VP to ask him if I should go and he said it wouldn't be a bad idea but still left it up to me. So, after all sorts of indecision (I was supposed to drive to Atlanta on Saturday with Craig), I had a meeting (on the phone) with the VP yesterday and at the end he asked if I was coming. I said I wasn't sure, but should I and he again said "it wouldn't be a bad idea" but in a way that made me think that he thought I should come. So, I booked a flight last night to fly to Atlanta at 5:55am tomorrow...yuck. Then this morning my boss called me and informed me that the decision was made yesterday that I would no longer be reporting to her and would be reporting straight to the VP. It will be announced at the meeting tomorrow and she didn't want me to be surprised. Hmm, I guess that is why I have to go. I have mixed feelings about it. I LOVE my boss. She is great and I love working for her. The VP is really nice too but I can't speak about working for him yet since I never have. He will provide more leverage for me to get some of the items on my agenda done but a part of me thinks it is strange to have me skipping several layers to report to someone higher than who I should. I bet there are more changes and we will see them tomorrow.

So, the torn part. Craig now has to drive to Atlanta by himself. I feel bad about it. I especially feel bad about it because the whole reason we were going on Saturday was to attend the xmas party with my friends. He wanted to go on Sunday so he wouldn't miss his soccer game on Saturday night. So, now I am torn as to whether I should tell him that he doesn't have to come until Sunday to make up for the fact that he has to drive alone or whether I just shouldn't say anything and have him come on Saturday. I will still go to the party regardless (well, if I can get a ride there from someone) but he doesn't hang out with everyone that much so he is usually pretty shy and is just better in small groups anyway (which we are doing with some of my friends later in the week anyway). Plus, I haven't seen some of them in a while so it will be a lot of me catching up with them which will be sort boring for him too. What do you guys think? Should I rack up these bonus points now?

The Grocery Game

Ok, I have completely lost it and have become obsessed with coupons. I wrote last week about how I was going to try this new website about coupons and I did. So far, I love it. Here is a basic breakdown on how it works:

You sign up and pay per store. The first store is $10 and each additional store is $5 per 8 weeks (2 months, so about $1 a week. You can save that with one coupon). There is a trial period of 4 weeks for you to get used to it (and during the trial you can have all stores in your area for free and then just change it to your fav when you will be charged).

You get the highest circulation newspaper in your area (for most the AJC) and cut the coupons of the stuff you will use (or I know some people just file it by the date and cut later).

Each week there is a "listmaker" that is employed by the website that goes to the store and goes through the flyer to enter all the sales into the database that this lady maintains. Apparently there are a lot of sales that are not advertised.

They then use the database, combined with recent coupons to see if the items are at a "rock bottom price". If it is then it goes on the "the List" and is blue which means you should buy it. They will tell you which coupon to use, how much it is for and what week it is from (they even tell the insert it was in but I don't track that but I guess if you just filed the whole insert that would be helpful).

So, for example. Say you cut a coupon this week that is $.50 off of cheez-its and they are on sale for $2.50. If you go to Kroger, they double coupons so you would get it for $1.50, BUT, in three weeks Cheez-its might go on sale for $2 and then with your same coupon you would get it for $1. So, they will not recommend you buy it this week since it is not at rock bottom but will recommend it when they go on sale in 3 weeks.

There is nothing hidden...you can cancel online with no phone call to any customer service or anything and you can change your stores when you want. It even posts online when you will be billed next so you can cancel before then. I also have only received one email from them and that was the day I signed up to welcome me. Grant it, it has only been a week, but still good.

It takes a little getting used to and they say that all sales go in 12 week cycles so the idea is that you buy the items in bulk sort of, when they are on sale and then it will last you the 12 weeks until it goes on sale again. The first few weeks you also will not have all the coupons that she tells you to use (since they are from papers in October) but once you get all the coupons, there are some great savings. I think that on an $80 grocery bill last week I paid $50. I know that the economy hasn't been great so I figure every little bit we can save is a good thing (plus, our savings go into our vacation fund so it will be used for something fun). Some of the items on the list were deodorant for $.50-1, toothpaste for $.50, frozen veggies for $.20 and they are all name brand things (not the Kroger brand) that you use every day(well, maybe not the veggies but hopefully the toothpaste and deodorant). I personally think that it is well worth the $1.25 a week to save a ton, plus, I would think that after a little while you might be able judge on your own what good prices are in general. I also recommend printing the list and taking it with you or writing down what you want and the price it should be. Last week there was a couple items that were not the same price at my Kroger as on the list but then they are on sale this week so sometimes you have to watch it. That only happened on one item but still, check it. Anyway, if you want to try it out here is the link. If you wouldn't mind putting my email in there melissapowers10 at gmail dot com, then I can earn free weeks (which is NOT why I told you about this but hey, it is a nice bonus). Or if you want me to just send you an email from the site, then I will....just leave me a comment. I know some of you out there are coupon people so enjoy!

Friends and Crafts

Ok, I know you guys are sick of my "no friends" post BUT, this is a good one. I met up with the DG last night for some drinks and Mexican food and we had a good time. It still feels a lot like dating but she was a good date. She remembered stuff that I had told her the last time we went out (in like Sept) and it was easier to talk because there wasn't all that getting to know you stuff. I really had a good time and hopefully we will hang out again. We discussed making plans with the boyfriends too so we will see....I am sure that Craig will be thrilled that I volunteered him for that :-) She also knows of this place where you can volunteer and teach cooking or gardening classes to children in some of the under privileged schools. Sounds right up my alley!! YAY!

This weekend I plan to do some crafting. It is only 18 degrees here and a wind chill of 4 so I feel no need to leave my house. I am making some xmas presents this year and I want to work on them a bit. I also am going to work on my quilt some more....I am loving it so far and will take some pictures for you guys. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have a ton of pictures of all my finished crafts for you :-)

Snow

Um, so I can't count....(it's ok because it is not like I need to be able to do math for my job as an accountant) so I really am only on 489 and not 499. I suck and I have built up the 500th post so much that it will not be as fun now but oh well. I have a fun little game for you guys to try when it finally gets here.

It is snowing today...again. On Monday I got up all ready to drive to Cinci for work that day. I needed to do some expense reports and it is easier when I have a printer and fax machine since I have to fax them in....well, when I went to get in my car I saw that it had snowed the night before. I was a little nervous but I was going to do it (Atlanta would have been shut down, Craig called it a dusting). Craig got a text from a friend that it was icy out and to be careful so I drove him to work (or I should say that he drove my car because we didn't know what the roads were like and the Z3 doesn't exactly have snow ready tires). It wasn't really that bad but I had emailed the Controller in Cinci and he said it was a mess down there any people were driving like idiots so I decided to stay home! I am glad that I did because when I was watching the Today show as working they kept reporting accidents in exactly the places I would have gone. Whew. Last night we went to bed with nothing and woke up to snow today. No ice though so that is not a big deal....it is supposed to stop. Of course they just said it was 15 degrees outside and supposed to get down to 10 tonight! I knew it was bad last night when I was supposed to meet the DG girl for drinks and she said it was too cold but she grew up here. We rescheduled for tonight but it doesn't sound like it is going to be any warmer.....

So, the advent calendar has been super fun. I didn't find too much to put in Craig's.....chapstick, cards for his camera, candy, stuff like that. He decided to go a different route and all of his have little notes in them. I was gone for the first three days that I was supposed to open so he had a little scavenger hunt for me and then it ended with Lance Armstrong's new book. It is a photo essay of his comeback year...photography and Lance together....what could be better?? After that they are little notes for massages or just other little cute things. I am proud of him for getting so creative :-)

Other than that, I really need to get on the xmas shopping train. This year my family and I (all the kiddos) drew names and set a dollar limit. It has been my goal to use sales to get as much for my person as I possibly can within the limit. It is pretty fun because I love a good deal. I have also found a new coupon place that you actually have to pay for ($10 every 8 weeks) but the girl who I found out about it from saved $98 in one trip to the grocery store so it was worth the $10 to her. They have a free month trial so I am going to try it and see if is it worth it or not. I will let you guys know if it is. Obviously there are not coupons on fresh stuff but we still need stuff like shampoo, toothpaste, pasta, cereal, crackers.....you know, other stuff that doesn't come fresh :-) Plus it would be nice to have a couple backup meals in a box when I don't feel like cooking. I will let you know.

Thankful...

Yeah, I know it is extremely late but I have been busy so I didn't get a chance to post. I thought about it a lot but just never got around to writing it down. I think that the things I am thankful for can be summed up in 3 very cliche and very cheesy words but they are so true.
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Health

I am thankful for my family because we are close. I know that if I need anything I can call a family member and they will drop everything to help me out. I would also do the same for any of them. There are so many people who fight with their families or dread having to go see them or for whatever reason just don't get along with them. I am very grateful that even though I might have gone through some of those phases with my sisters when we were growing up and learning who we were, we no longer deal with any of that. I am thankful for my niece who I love dearly and for my nephew (just found out today that Alyson is having a boy) that is yet to come. I can't imagine how I will be able to love the new baby as much as I do Ariyana but I know that my heart will grow to make room for him.

I have written a few posts about how I am having a hard time making friends in Ohio, but I think that part of the problem is that my old friends are so hard to replace (not that I am trying to). I really am lucky to have such wonderful friends. They will listen to me complain (or read about it or both), or they will share happy memories (I have been in several of their weddings). I am fortunate that I have never had a friend who did anything to betray my trust or hurt me. Even though I am 500 miles from most of them (and further from some), I still feel like we all make an effort to keep up with each other's lives and that certainly helps when I am feeling lonely.

As most of you know, the whole healthcare thing really hits home with me when caring for my Dad and his disability that he gets. There was a time when his insurance cost more than his rent did...literally. Luckily we were able to work through it and now have a bit of a better plan for him but I can't imagine the stress that I would have to go through had we not been able to do that. I feel for all of those people who need healthcare but can't afford it (most times, like my dad, through no fault of their own). I am so thankful that I do not have to deal with that. I am also thankful for my own health and I know that I am lucky, but when I think of the part I am thankful about, it really gets back to being able to have the means to help my dad to get what he needs.

Anyway, I had a great Thanksgiving that involved a lot of cooking for me, some football watching, and some crafting. We didn't go anywhere but it was a nice cozy Thanksgiving at home. I hope that all of you enjoyed it as well!

One more post until 500....for real this time....

Happy Note

Here is my dessert that I made for Craig's work this year. Remember I made those little turkeys with the oreos and stuff, found here last year? Well, on Sunday Craig said that people at work had been asking what I was going to make this year...um, well, I didn't know I was going to make anything so I had to get the gears going. I had found this awesome no bake pumpkin cheesecake recipes on a ww site and LOVED it. I made it for people at work a while back and it was yum so I thought I would make that but add some little turkeys to the top. After taking the pictures I decided that Reese's buttercups went better with pumpkin than York mint patties so I changed them out. I also made a few turkeys that didn't go on the pie. If you are interested in the recipe, it is here. She has some other good recipes...I also made this potato soup a while back. It would good but I would use a few more potatoes and just know that it is not full of cream so it is good but not like restaurants.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!

Allergies SUCK!

Ok, everyone knows I am allergic to cats and dogs (though cats don't seem to bother me as much) but now I am also allergic to everything.

I have been having some issues with the asthma since I moved...not just allergies but the actual breathing part (claritin helps the allergies) so I decided to go to an allergy doctor here...plus I HATED mine in Atlanta and there are different pollens here...more hardwoods, no pine. Yesterday was the big day and sorry for complaining so much on FB about no meds all weekend. They decided that since I hadn't been in a while they would test me again to see what I was allergic to....so, they poked me 42 times...yep, 42 and discovered that I am allergic to every pollen they tested me for, ragweed, horses (random, why do they even test that and I have ridden them before with no issue), cats, dogs, and dust mites. The only thing I wasn't allergic to was mold...so I guess that is good. The doc said that the cats are probably just the straw that broke the camel's back. I am equally allergic to dust mites ....which are EVERYWHERE and there is no way to prevent them totally, you just have to wash stuff and get rid of them. SO, since I am equally allergic to those I was pretty much at my tolerance level so when you add the kitties it sends me over the edge. Fun times. I am really glad that he didn't tell me to get rid of the cats because that is not an option. As silly as it sounds, I am only home half the time and I love them so much that the benefit of getting rid of them would not outweigh the sadness we would feel. I do have to work on not letting them sleep with us (I think that will be harder on Craig than them and I don't feel as bad since there are two of them and they can cuddle together).

The other piece of news was a little more concerning but I guess not any more surprising. Whenever you go to the asthma doc they have you do this little thing where you blow into a tube and it measures your lungs and some doc stuff I don't understand. Well, I didn't do so well so they made me do a breathing treatment. The sad part is that I didn't know I felt bad. I have had this happen before...when I was younger I went to the doc for a regular checkup and they wanted to put me in the hospital because I was so bad off but I felt fine. It was a little scary but I thought it was a one time event. Apparently I don't have any perception of when my asthma is really bad...this sucks for two reasons. 1. by the time I FEEL bad, it is REALLY bad and 2. since I can't tell when I feel bad my doctor wants to put me on meds every day.

I am a little more than upset by all of this. I was on medicine from the time I was 8 until my last year of college and I was so proud of myself for getting off of them. Now it looks like I am going to be right back on it. I have been trying so hard to eat less processed foods and have been doing well at it and now I have to put chemicals in my body every day (I didn't take Claritin every day). I guess the good news is that supposedly the medicine I am on is pretty low dose and I just needed a little kick but that still doesn't make me feel a ton better.

We are going to get an air purifier and some encasings for our bed stuff which should all but eliminate the dust mites and then help a little with the kitties. Since I wasn't doing anything with the dust mites before I am hoping this will help balance out the addition of the cats.

Sorry for the downer post and in the spirit of the holiday, I am thankful that I am relatively healthy and that to most people this would seem so minor.

Making friends.....

Is making friends in a new town a little like being 35 and single but desperately wanting to be married? I sort of feel that way. I think that I have told you guys about the girl that Craig is friends with that just acts weird toward me and that I have tried to be friends with but she just isn't interested....which upset me but whatever. He really doesn't hang out with her anymore since I am here because he didn't like me being upset. Well, now he has another girl that he plays soccer with and has for a long time, that I am going to try to hang out with. It is just so sad. I feel so desperate. But, on Tuesday at soccer she told him that she joined a gym near our house and wanted someone to workout with. She wanted to try the spin classes and the pilates classes but not by herself. Craig told her that I go to spin all the time and when he got home he gave me her number. I was going to a class the next night so I texted her and we were all set to go together. Then she used UA in her text and I got confused....turns out there are two gyms right across the street and she goes to the other one...ugh. But, I texted her back and asked if she wanted to get a drink sometime and she said yeah...what about that night. I wasn't really prepared for that and hadn't taken a shower and was about to go to the gym so I asked what other days she had free. We are set up to grab a drink on Monday night. That sounds promising. The other girl I asked to have a drink with me (Craig's other friend) said that sounded good and she would let me know when she had a free night (that was 4 weeks ago) so this is much more promising. I have met her before because she used to be married (husband cheated with her best friend I think) and we went to her house for the Superbowl one year. She is also from Wisconsin and a huge Green Bay fan and goes to the Crew (soccer) games that we go to. Sounds promising. Craig saw her again last night at soccer and she was saying that she didn't have many friends here anymore cause they moved (well, and the one was sleeping with her husband) and her closest friend was moving now or just moved. So, we will see how Monday goes. I just feel like it is like dating....It is hard too because I think that boys are just different and he doesn't understand my need for girl friends. I guess that girls get stuff from girl friends that guys don't need to get from their guy friends.

The DG girl that I had drinks with that one time is in school but I think that she is done with finals now so hopefully she will be able to make it out in the next couple weeks or so and I even talked her into playing kickball in the spring (which will be a good way to meet lots of people) but then I couldn't find a team here. I could probably start it up but that seems like a ton of work. I swear I saw something last spring so I am going to have to search a little more.

Anyway, making friends at 30 just seems like dating.....don't you think?

Super nervous about the photography this weekend and hoping that it goes well. I have a 10 month old, 6 month old and then one family with a 12yr old, 8 yr old, and 2yr old. All boys....YIKES!!

In other news....Craig agreed that we can get Ariyana for the day one day over the xmas break. I am so excited and sort of surprised that he would agree to take on a 2 yr old that he is not even related to in any way (not even by marriage). I don't know many guys that would do that but I think that he secretly thinks that she is the cutest thing ever!! We are thinking about taking her to the children's museum or the aquarium or something. Should be an interesting day :-)

Whirlwind Week....

Whew...last week was a long but fun week...it just seemed like the beginning and the end were two different weeks. I am happy to be home but I had a blast in Atlanta last week!! I got to see lots of people and UGA won!! Go DAWGS!! I went out with Chad Friday night and was tipsy after 3 beers, then met my sister on Saturday morning for a long breakfast and chat and then headed to the game. It was fun tailgating and getting to sit with Erin and Dave at the game. I don't get to see them as much as I used to so it was fun to hang out for a few hours at the game! Dave's light up mug was definitely a hit. Unfortunately we had to sit in traffic FOREVER to get home. Dudley didn't drop me off until 2:15am!! UGH.

Since Sprout has received his/her gift, I can now post a pic I am not trying to brag, but this was my first quilt and I was pretty proud of myself. I found a book that I LOVE. It has real projects in it...not granny stuff. I made so coasters from the book too. I bought another book recently that I liked for quilting too and see a couple more on amazon that I might like to pick up :-)

Other than that, the exciting news in our house is that we got a new hot water heater and water softener today! I know, big news. The water here is so hard that it is ridiculous..your skin feels awful afterward and my hands are killing me after washing my hands during cooking dinner. Now, I took a shower tonight and didn't have to apply a bottle of lotion and my hands are not all dried out from washing them during cooking. It is wonderful. Craig has spent the evening cleaning out all of our faucets because they were so clogged by the deposits from the water...yuck!

In the photography world, I actually got a call for a two new clients over the weekend. One is a completely new client, not even sure how they got my name yet but I am going to assume my google ads. The other is actually related to some clients I had in Atlanta. I am going to do two, maybe three sessions this weekend :-) I am excited. I am done with my Atlanta clients other than three so it is really time to build it up here. I figure that the winter will be slow because it will be so cold so I am excited to at least get a few in and to get some extra spending money.

I am starting to get ready for xmas. I pulled out some lights tonight to ask Craig when we can hang them up...unfortunately we have no plug in the front of the house so we have to figure that out. Next up this weekend is figuring out the advent calendars. I got one for Ariyana and one for us. My idea for Craig and I is to have us either pick odd or even and put little gifts in there for the other to open and we will take turns. It is dorky but a friend of mine did it with her husband and I thought it was a really cute idea. Craig didn't seem totally opposed but not super thrilled either. Anyone have any ideas what I can put in there for him?? The one for Ariyana I am going to fill this weekend and mail it to her. I asked for some suggestions on facebook but if you have any and didn't post them there, post them here. She is 2 and I got suggestions of stickers, bouncy balls, candy and raisins. I think that those are all good options. The boxes are only 2inx1.75inx1.75 in so they are really small.

Another early day....

I have another early day tomorrow...my flight is at 6:15 to Atlanta...I seriously can't believe how fast this week has gone. I am back to temporarily doing what I love at work (problem solving) so it makes the days fly by and now it is halfway over. I can't believe it. It looks like I am going to have to come back here in December. I am not too excited about that but I know I have to do it. So much for not traveling the rest of the year.

So, I tried the gingerbread latte this morning at Starbucks. It was pretty good but I wasn't overly impressed (especially considering it was twice the calories as my normal latte). I really want to try the eggnog one but it is REALLY a lot of calories. I have been eating so well lately that I hate to drink away so many. Maybe I will try it next time I travel here.

Anyway, not much tonight...looking forward to seeing all my Atlanta people in the next few days!

On the road again....

Whew, these posts are getting fewer and farther between. I guess that I don't have much exciting going on in my life lately...I am sure you are all on the edge of your seat to hear about my weekend of crafting, raking, and shopping for hot water heaters, but I will spare you the details.

I am back on the road...though only for a week and I think that this is the last time I will have to travel this year other than the week I will be home for xmas WITH A CAR!! Craig is coming too so if anyone wants to do dinner or anything, let me know...we have 0 plans so far.

It was harder to leave this time because Craig and I have been together for 3 weeks straight...the longest since I moved and it was nice....well, better than nice, it was awesome. We got into a little routine and I got to actually spend time with him (the whole reason I moved...hello). I was able to cook dinner every night and we could snuggle up on the couch and watch TV or football or a movie. It was awesome. Then I wake up today (at 4am) and have to go get on two planes and spend tonight in a hotel alone :-( Boo! Oh, well, hopefully I am going to get some extra work done at night so I can really enjoy my Thanksgiving.

So, I was thinking of making some Christmas gifts this year....not like a popsicle stick picture frame or anything, but maybe using my sewing/crochet/knitting skills. We will see. I made something for someone who has something coming up (had to speak in code because you read this) yesterday and I was really pleased with how it turned out. I hope that she will like it too. There was just something really rewarding and fun about doing it myself and then having Craig impressed with how it turned out :-) I will post pictures as soon as the gift is given!

Other than that, the only other news is that I tried a new haircut person last Friday. I was very scared about this. With my naturally wavy hair you have to cut it just right or it doesn't lay right (yea, I know, you wouldn't know that by looking at my hair, but true). This lady cut it once while dry and then again while wet. I about had a heart attack when she started cutting long pieces out of the middle....like 12 inches long pieces, but she said she was thinning it out. I have never had that done before but I do have thick hair so I let her snip away. I was not sure how I would feel about it. We also tried side sweeping bangs...which never work well on me because of said thickness mentioned above, but I let her try it. Now, whenever I get my hair done I never judge by what it looks like when they fix it but wait until I fix it.....well, yesterday was the first time I did it myself and I have to say that I like it. It does feel really thin and I am not sure I love that part, might tell her not to do that next time....it is about to be freezing in OH, I need all the warmth I can get, but I do like the bangs....she did thin those out so they actually lay down...you guys will have to let me know what you think.

I go to Atlanta at the end of the week and lots planned.....drinks with my friend Chad, lunch with Rebecca, game with Dudley, Erin, Dave, Morgan, and hopefully Drena and Adam, breakfast with my sis for her birthday....and all that in 3 days!! YAY!

Dudley's Visit and French Onion Soup

This past weekend Dudley visited me in Ohio....I feel so special to have only lived here for 7 months and to have already had 3 sets of visitors...and Dudley said the bed was super comfy (it is my bed from Atlanta) so if anyone else wants to try it out......

We pretty much relaxed most of the weekend. We had Mexican Friday night and then did the outlet mall and watched our game and gave out candy (to the whole 10 kids that showed up) and then on Sunday I showed her downtown Dayton and we watched a couple movies. I didn't have much exciting planned but it was nice to just hang out and watch movies and relax. I feel like I have been going hard at work lately trying to make up for my senior being on maternity leave (though she still promises she is coming back) and I had been traveling a lot so it was some much needed rest.

Tonight I tried a new recipe and I really liked it. It was for homemade french onion soup and was really easy. I included it here for anyone that wanted to try it. I am still looking for crockpot ideas if anyone has any.

French Onion Soup - makes about 3 big bowls....maybe 4, will have to let you know after lunch tomorrow :-)

Ingredients:
3 onions
3-4 TB of butter (depending on how much you need, I used 4)
4 cups water
3 beef bouillon cubes (or three tsp of the beef bouillon powder)
(you can use 4 cups of store bought beef stock in place of the water and bouillon)
2 TB of flour
1 TB of Worecheshtire sauce
1 clove of garlic (optional and you can put more, I was testing)

Prep:
Chop up the onions and the garlic.
Sautee the onions and garlic in the butter until they are limp and start to become clear with a little browning on the edges.
While waiting for the onions to cook, mix up the bouillon and the water so it has time to dissolve, this makes your beef stock. You can also use already made beef stock and not have to add these two things together.
When the onions are done, add the flour and Worechestire sauce in and then the beef stock slowly, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 mins.
While simmering I toasted a piece of sourdough bread (just the kind in a loaf for sandwiches) and put my provolone cheese slices out on the counter so they would melt easier.
When the soup is done simmering, pour it over the piece of sourdough bread (I tore it up in the bowl and poured the soup over it) and then put the slices of cheese on top (we used two cause it was small slices). They will melt.

It was SO GOOD and filling!! I will say that it is a little on the sweeter side compared to restaurants and isn't as salty but Craig and I both liked it (and Craig didn't know that the french onion soup in restaurants had onions...seriously, that boy has no idea what goes into food.)

If you have a good crockpot recipe, let me know.

Well, it has been a while since my whining about the crappy weather on vacation last week and guess no one had an opinion on the CSAs :-)

We ended up coming home on Saturday. It rained on and off the entire way so I know we made the right decision. I was so glad that it wasn't sunny the whole way because I would have been upset that we left early. I am one of those people who always wants the weather to be perfect on vacation so I was already a little upset. It ended up working out though because when we got home the yard was yellow and orange and at least a million leaves were on the ground. We did yardwork for hours on Sunday and we never would have gotten it all done during the week because we have had some rain. I also started my compost pile out in the garden. It is far from the house so I don't have to worry about it smelling or anything and I just keep the stuff in a bag while I cook or if I eat an apple that day and then Craig takes it out in the yard at night. Not sure how it will all go but since we had a million leaves and the dirt in the garden isn't the best, we are trying it.

Other than that and work (where I am back to doing the part of my job that I hate and have to do once a quarter) I have been filling some of the orders from the festivals my mom and I did a few weeks ago. We did really well with our stuff and now that I am caught up on all my orders (well, almost, I need to make 6 more dresses) I am going to try to get ahead for next year. We had a lot of fun doing them so I think that we will try again next year. Dudley is coming to visit this weekend so I have some cleaning to do today (actually, it is just my weekly cleaning that I do on Sunday but since she will be here before then, I need to do it early).

Not too much exciting going on....

CSAs

Ok, I know, two posts in a matter of hours but if you read the last post you will understand.

The other night when the weather was crappy we watched Food 101. It is sort of a documentary about the food industry...it is partly done by the guy who wrote Fast Food Nation and partly by the guy who wrote In Defense of Food (which I posted about a while back here). It talks about how poorly they treat the animals and workers in the large farms for cattle, chickens, and hogs. It also talks about what big companies do to small individuals. It really made me sick. Even though I read those two books, seeing it on screen made it so much more real. You guys know that I have been trying for quite some time to cut out the processed food and eat healthier. This movie just reconfirmed all of that for me. So, all that to say that I am going to sign up for a CSA in the spring for us. I know it can be a bit of a pain to go and pick up our food and stuff but I do spend a large part of our food budget on fresh items so I think that it would actually benefit us...plus, we can eat what is in season and I can learn to make new things with veggies that we don't currently eat (or puree like Rebecca). I really enjoyed having a garden this summer and I think that I would love getting more fresh produce.

So, I found this website (I encourage you guys to check it out because you can search anywhere in the country) and have narrowed it down to two of them. I need a little help deciding. Craig will not entertain my craziness because he says I have 6 months to figure it out....which is true, but since I am stuck in a hotel now, I thought I would get suggestions from you guys.

Spring Run Farm and CSA:
Pros:
--you have to work 12 hrs throughout the season and will meet other people.
--there is a lunch after every working day and an end of season party.
--$300 for 20 weeks
--Close to us

Cons:
--You have to work so if I got busy (hopefully with photography) then it would be tough to get it all in.
--It only goes June-Oct
--no meat at this farm


Mulberry Farm CSA:
Pros:
-- June-Feb so only a few months we won't get stuff.
--you can get your own garden there for a nominal price (which is a good way to meet other people who have them there next to you because no one can work alone). Plus it will probably be full sun and my one at home is not so I could grow more stuff.
--You can work on the farm and then earn discounts in the future (and meet people).
--you can also get meat (though not beef and it is REALLY pricey, there is a local grocery store that only sells the free range chicken and it is cheaper).
--you can give back what you don't want
--you can get eggs

Cons:
--$250 for every other week or $500 for every week...more pricey but longer.
--further from home and pick up might be tougher
--no required work so you might not meet people.

I guess that the thing that appealed to me the most with the first one is that I might be able to meet people, do you guys have any opinions?

Weather

sucks here....ugh. It is about 34 degrees and about 30mph winds with pouring rain that blows sideways. YUCK. Yesterday when we looked up the weather it looked like it would be ok until about 4pm today so we were hoping to get a lot in before then but when we woke up it was already really windy and raining. We contemplated going home but couldn't cancel our hotel room which was about $200 so we decided that maybe it would move out early since it moved in early. So far, no such luck. Then to top it off we had a "weekend getaway" package at our hotel that was a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant, a one hour bike rental and a lb of fudge. We obviously can't use the bike rental and the local restaurant is already closed for the season....so we got refunded $50 which might have been enough for me to say for us to just go home, had I known. I think that we are going to cut the trip short and go home tomorrow anyway. It is supposed to rain at our next destination and I was out of town for almost two weeks before being home for 12 hours and then leaving for vacation.

Don't get me wrong, I still love spending time with Craig but sitting in a hotel room all day with him is like trying to keep a golden retreiver in a crate the size of a shoebox...it just doesn't work. He likes to be out and about so it sort of puts a downer on things...plus, most of the places we have been close early and it got dark aroudn 5:30 so we were in the hotels for most of the evening anyway...we don't need to be there during the day too.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much, we normally have great luck with weather on vacation (other than being cold when we pick a place that is supposed to be cold to go to) but this cold front that is moving all over the country hit here too. It hasn't been this cold this week since the early 80s....what are the chances? It is probably worse because we are on an island (which involved a ferry that was like a speedboat and where the guy on the end of our row and a girl across the aisle seemed to not enjoy. The girl across the aisle had a bag ready and I was nervous because I didn't know what the chain reaction might be. We had 5-8ft waves but we weren't rocking side to side. I was really nervous and complained a bit and then felt bad about it.) Tomorrow there is a half marathon here and I can't imagine that many people will actually make it out for it....They are crazy if they do.

Oh, and the other thing that sucked about this trip was that my camera crashed to the ground in the Packers Hall of Fame when my strap came undone and now it will not turn off and I can't get it out of Apeture mode...that means I can't use it in my studio anymore (without getting into the technical aspects of it...it will not acknowledge the studio lights). That sucks, it was my backup camera and I just bought it a couple months ago for a bit of a hefty price tag....GRRRR. I do have insurance for my photography business and it should cover my equipment no matter where I am but I have read about photographers having problems actually get payments from insurance companies...not that I am surprised. We will see.

Ok, end of pity party....I am going to go crochet while Craig naps....very exciting!!

Wisconsin

I have a few minutes while Craig is doing gosh knows what so I thought I would catch everyone up on our trip.

Friday - We got to Milwaukee around 9:30pm and then met up with some of Craig's childhood friends who now own a pizza place there. It was sort of fun to know the owners and the place was pretty cool. They had a photographer there who photographed a lot of famous people in the 60's and it was sort of funny to meet him (he had on elf shoes...like not as a joke) and hear him talk about doing cocaine with some of the people he had photographed. I also met the one friend of Craig's for the first time, his wife, and Craig's other friend's girlfriend. They were all so nice and I wish that they lived in Dayton because they are the type of people who would actually invite me to hang out and stuff. It was a really long night though...we were on our feet from about 10pm until 3am...whew...I am not that young anymore!! Good times though.

Saturday - we went to the Milwaukee Museum of Art and took pictures...it is an awesome building and then we went back to the pizza place to actually eat. OMG, it was SO GOOD!!! I wish they had one in Dayton. They use ingredients from a local farm and have an awesome chef and it was so tasty. After that we went to the Harley Davidson Museum and then made our way up to Green Bay.

Sunday - PACKERS. We went to the game and Craig was seriously like a kid in a candy store. He doesn't get excited about much it seems, but boy was he excited about this. It was so cute.... It was also like nothing I have seen for pro football. I mean the falcons, seriously?? This was like a UGA tailgate....serious tailgating!! It was so cool. The stadium was PACKED even though they were playing one of the worst teams in the league (Lions) and our seats were awesome! When we originally got the tickets I was excited because I thought I would get to see Stafford play and even though I wanted the Packers to win, it would have been good to see Stafford do well. No such luck...he was hurt :-( He was dressed so I thought that there was a chance but then he was limping to and from the locker room and didn't get to play :-( I did watch him a bit on the sidelines and he just looked sad....especially after the second string QB got hurt and they had to put in the third string....

Monday - We went to do the Lambeau Field Tour and go to the Packers Hall of Fame. It was cool to learn all about the field and Craig loved it. We even got to go on the field and take pictures. Fun stuff and the funny thing that on our tour were two guys who were actually fans of other teams but just wanted to see the Packers stadium because the team is such a different team from other NFL teams (I mean Green Bay has a population of 102K and their stadium holds 71k.......) After that we drove up to Door County. Craig has talked a lot about Door County and how it is very much like New England...I have to agree. The leaves here are BEAUTIFUL. It is hard to capture it on camera cause I suck at it but they are just gorgeous and it is fun to ride around and just look at them.

Tuesday - More driving around Door County, seeing lighthouses, windy roads, and other things (like get some freshly picked HoneyCrisp Apples...YUM!!! (Drena, tell Adam he was right!)) We even went to a fish boil tonight...they put all this stuff in a pot and boil it and then at the end they make it boil over so all the fish oil and water go out...when they do it though there is a huge fire ball. It was awesome! I will write more about that when I have the pictures.

Tomorrow we might go and pick our own apples, hit up a winery or something.......it is supposed to rain tomorrow so that will determine what we do. It is very relaxing here. We are toward the end of the season so things are starting to close up. I could seriously retire here...the season is just May-Oct and then everyone closes up for the winter. I think that it would be awesome to own a little bed and breakfast (there are no large hotels here...20-30 room is huge here)......

I miss all the blogs but will catch up later.

facts

In an effort to not be negative, I am just going to state the facts of today. You can draw your own conclusions.
1. My car is not done being repaired and will not be until after tomorrow.
2. We leave for vacation tomorrow at 3 and were supposed to drive my car.
3. We now have to spend $300 to rent a car.
4. I got frustrated with Craig due to #3. I know it is beyond his control technically but he was being a pain about the type of car we would rent. 5. My flight is delayed by an hour and a half.
6. If the rental car places closes before my luggage arrives at baggage claim (and my plane) I have no way home and no car for our trip.
7. I still have 3 sessions to edit and to pack before I leave tomorrow.
8. I just had a corona and feel better.


Really #s 1-3 are what put me in a not so great mood, the rest is just icing on the cake. I just wanted to share!

Craftiness

This weekend my mom, sister, and I did a craft fair in Gainesville. It was actually a lot of fun to do and we did pretty well at it. Actually toward the end we were running out of hats and stuff so that was good. I had a great time hanging out with my mom, niece, sister and brother-in-law. Ariyana definitely wore me out!! We are doing another one in two weeks to I guess I better get to crafting....

Other than that, it is back to the grindstone for me today. Lots to do and not enough time to do it in...I feel like that is my life lately. It is good to be busy but I am looking forward to Friday when Craig and I leave for vacation.....I am hoping to get to a really good place today at work and then to have a nice break next week before the worst month of the year for me will start.

For those of you on FB...sorry about the outburst yesterday on there...I was just really pissed. I am not dwelling on it anymore and have learned that some people are just the way they are and they don't care and aren't going to change. Life goes on and I have enough wonderful people in my life that I am not going to worry about it.

Loser

Yeah, so I THOUGHT I was getting close to my 500th post until I realized that I have a bunch that are just drafts and if you really look at the published posts then I only have about 474 or so...that sucks. So, even though I posted that the last one was 499, it really wasn't. I am sort of glad because I had a cool contest to do for my 500th post but I just haven't been able to get it together yet so I have avoided posting at all. Now I can post and THEN get my contest together. I am sure that no one is really paying that close of attention but I feel like I started talking about the 500th post like 20 posts ago and for that I am a loser.

So, couple things from the weekend. I felt loved and then dissed on Saturday. First the love came when not one, but two people called me from Athens to tell me that it was just weird without me being there...grant it, both of these people might have been intoxicated but it was still a nice feeling to feel like I was missed.

Then the diss...she didn't do it on purpose but I totally got stood up. You remember the girl that I had drink with a while back...the DG. Well, Saturday was her birthday and we have tried a couple more times to have drinks but she is in school and I am out of town A LOT so we just never can get together. She sent me a text that morning that she was going to celebrate at a local bar on Saturday night. I am not normally the type to just show up at bars alone but since I have 0 friends (and was missing my Atlanta ones even more after the calls (but thanks :-) it was worth it) I decided I would go. The only catch was that we had a soccer game that night in Columbus so I wouldn't be back until 11pm. I texted her back and she said they would be out late (and she is only 24 so that actually means late, and not home by midnight). Well, when we got back Craig was in a foul mood so I was just ready to go and I didn't check with her first. Got to the bar and couldn't find her. Went to another bar nearby, couldn't find her there either. It was all kind of weird because I didn't know why she would invite me if she didn't want me to come (and she had texted me several times that day with "go bulldogs" and "do you want to know the score" and stuff). I tried calling her and texting her but nothing. I considered having a beer alone but then I remembered that it was late (midnight by now), I already had a boyfriend and I already had beer in the fridge at home and the second half of the UGA game to watch. So I left. I went home, grabbed a beer, was a little sad I didn't get to meet anyone new and watch the CRAPPIEST refs ever...I mean the UGA game. The next morning I got a text from her saying "so sorry, I was really drunk and have no idea when we left" Ah, to be 24 again :-) The good news is that at least she makes an effort, is super nice, and I had a good time with her the one time we hung out...maybe I will make a friend yet.

Other than that, we had a pretty eventful Saturday...we removed two couches and a chair and lots of really hideous sweaters that Craig had...I believe one even had sparkles....it was scary and I wish I had taken a picture of them before we gave them away. It was sweet though because he was making me closet space (plus he literally hasn't worn those sweaters in two decades...). We took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill (and I had to rent a truck since we had the couches) and then we had to take the rest to the dump, after that it was football, then soccer, and then my uneventful night out. We mostly had all my stuff moved in....good thing cause Dudley is going to come and visit in a few weeks :-) She will be up there for Halloween and the Florida game. It will be nice to see her a little more relaxed! I had dinner with her a couple weeks ago and she has finally realized that she doesn't need 110 in every class..it is a much more fun Jenn and I told her so :-) We have a friendship like that..more like sisters...where you annoy each other sometimes and don't want to be around each other but then you forget and no matter what, you would do anything for the other.

Craig and I are going on vacation in two weeks and I am excited just to get to spend some nonstressful time with him. We are doing the Wisconsin trip and going to where he grew up, to see a friend of his, to a Packers game and other assorted fun. We are going to drive so no flight drama :-)

Other than that..not much else. Work has been busy but that is good, just frustrating sometimes and I have been a bit sick. Not sure what it is but probably all the darn germs on planes and since I can't seem to stay off of one for more than a week, it just keeps getting me sick. Vitamin C is back in the routine! I am really ready to be home for an extended period of time but don't see that happening anytime soon...that sucks.

Long post...that is what happens when I am restricted!!

499 and Insurance Commercial

This is my last post before my big 500! I have a plan for what I want to do for it but since I think that I am sick again, it will probably be this weekend. Ugh, I hate being sick. I think that it is just a little cold that I probably caught from Craig when he was sick last week so hopefully it is over soon. I feel like poo and don't want to be sick...I was just sick 6 weeks ago...I really need to get back on the vitamin C. I also had a flu shot last week so I hope that I am not getting the flu ( you know how sometimes you can get it and I have been run down lately so my immune system is probably down).

So, I feel like I am in that insurance commercial where the wife backs into the husband's car. This morning while I was getting ready to take my cold medicine I hear a tap on the sliding glass door and go to see Craig standing there where he told me that he backed into my car. He has been backing out of that garage for 11 years and has only had my car sitting there for the last 6 months so he just forgot. He says that once a week he has to slam on the brakes...this time he didn't do it. It messed up his bumper a bit and dented in my door and the panel right behind it and took some paint off both of our cars. He felt so bad and was so upset with himself. I didn't really get mad. I was more upset that he was so mad at himself than I was that the car was messed up. Accidents happen so I didn't want him to feel too bad about it. We can fix the cars...they both still run and no one was hurt. Not sure we will turn it into insurance.....any advice?

It has been a rough couple days for us....last night I washed the mattress pad for our guest bed and I didn't know that they dryer was on high heat (I never use that except towels and Craig had just washed towels two loads ago) and it sort of melted the mattress pad...which then ruined some of his clothes that he put in afterward.

At least I am finally moved out of my apartment, and now I just have to find somewhere to put all the stuff here. That will be fun I am sure. It is that 80/20 rule....80% of my stuff is put away (guest bedroom, living room furniture, and craft room) but 20% of it still needs a home and we are out of room for extra stuff. There are a lot of things that I think that I will take back to my condo in Atlanta but we just need to find a place for those for now. This is when I wish that I just moved into here first and didn't have all the back and forth but oh well.

In other news, I am going to look at a space this weekend that I hope will house my photography business here in Dayton....very exciting!!

I survived...sort of

OMG, I never want to move without friends or family ever again!!!

If this tells you anything, here are the two rules Craig gave me before we started: 1. There is no crying in moving and 2. There is yelling in moving. I told him that I couldn't promise on either of the rules but really I didn't do either.

It was the hardest thing ever..by the end I was just exhausted and couches have to be the worst things ever to move. Plus we had to take his TWO out of his living room to put in my couch and chair and a half. I have to say that it went really well though and the new furniture looks really good in the living room. His furniture was dark and mine is yellow so it looks much brighter in his house now. I can't wait to see it in the daytime when all the light shines in.

Ok, that is it for now, I am exhausted and need to sleep!!

Moving...how I loathe thee

Ugh, I HATE moving...HATE IT!! I especially hate it when it involves stairs! Today is when I pick up the truck to move all the big items from my place to Craig's place. It is just the two of us which really sucks! I know we can do it because my mom, Dudley, and I did the whole apartment in Atlanta in an hour and a half but we didn't have to worry about stairs. I am on the second floor at the apartment and at Craig's house we either have to go up the basement stairs or park the truck on a hill and go in the front door (thinking this will be a better option if the truck can fit down the driveway. I just dread it. Craig was sick all weekend so I feel a little stressed and like we are a bit behind with it all. I am sure it will all turn out well, but I am just worrying.

After we move we are keeping the truck for an extra day so I can make a stop at Goodwill. We are getting rid of the couches downstairs (hideous) and replacing them with the couches upstairs and then putting my couches upstairs (which I think will help tremendously with the allergies since no doggies have been on them). Along with the furniture is all the cleaning out of closets to get rid of the rest of the stuff. I feel like it is going to be a long few days and I just felt like whining. Maybe it will go much easier than I thought....it is yet to be seen.

It's sMarta

Yeah right. Whew, today was quite the travel day. I honestly didn't want to come to Atlanta this time. Not because I don't like being here (and I have something planned with a friend each of the three nights I am here) but because I wanted to stay home and cuddle with Craig (I think he missed me last week so he has been extra affectionate) and because all I heard about here was RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. I have no car and have to walk a block to marta...doesn't sound like much but there is no way to stay dry while doing it so I was not looking forward to that.

Thankfully, there were other plans in motion for today. I got a call at 5:15am (30 mins before the alarm was going to go off) and it was Delta saying that my 8am flight was delayed until 9:55am. Sweet, I crawled back into bed. Flight was ok, minus the delay..I got upgraded. Then I got on Marta and after two speeches (1 from a guy talking about alkaline water and how good it was for you and that he does choreography and the other from a homeless guy who gets his first paycheck on Friday and needed $9) they stopped the train at the Civic Center station and said there was an emergency ahead and she didn't know how long the delay would be. After 10 mins they told us to get off the train, no other explanation. Then another train (Doraville) came and said they would take us to Midtown and then we had to get on a bus to go to Lindbergh and then we could go north cause the emergency was at Art Center. By the time I did all that I would not have gotten to work until 2pm so I just worked from home once I got to Midtown...quite a day though. At least it was sunny out..hopefully to dry it all out.

4 posts until 500!!

Beach Weekend Minus the Beach

Ha, a few of us got together for a girls' weekend this past weekend at the beach. Um, we never really saw the beach. We did get a peak at it one night when we attempted to eat on the water but that was about it.

We had a really good time while we were there doing nothing at all! We laid around, ate, and talked. I think that the moms especially had a nice break (I was the only one without kids that was there) and even though I don't have kids, I do feel like I have been running around a lot on the weekends with all the travel during the week so it was nice to just enjoy my time with no agenda.

I am in a very different place in my life being single and no kiddos, but it was so great to get together with my friends who do have a lot more responsibility and be able to talk to them without them having to worry that they needed to get home from dinner to relieve a babysitter or their husband. It felt like really good quality time :-) I learned a lot about how theirs lives have changed since having children. I am sure that they see this everyday, but for an outside person peaking in, I think you see it a lot more. Plus, I got to hear about what the little kiddos were up to which is always fun and I enjoyed hearing them talk about their kids and seeing their faces light up when they did so. I have often talked about how much I love Ariyana and how I would do anything for her...I can only guess that what I feel is a fraction of what they do.

Some of you were not able to make it and you were missed! I think that all of us agreed that we should do it again next year so hopefully all of you will make the next one.

When I got home I came home to an almost different house. We had to switch two of the rooms and disassemble the exercise machine/gym. Well, Craig did all of that while I was gone!! YAY! Now I have to just move my stuff. Unfortunately I am going to be in Atlanta Tues-Fri but I will have to start the moving when I get back. It was raining when I got home so Craig and I just cuddled on the couch and watched a movie. I had a thousand things that I should have done last night but that seemed like the best of the options. I can work on the rest tonight or next weekend :-)

How to start a business in Ohio....

Want to know another thing that I like about Ohio? They actually make it easy to open a business here. Well, that might be jumping the gun a bit but so far it looks like they might actually have useful information.

When I was trying to figure out how to open a business in Atlanta and how to get a business license, insurance, sales tax number, and all that it was really hard. You really had to read everything and even then it was sort of confusing as to when to charge tax and when not to and all that. Well, when I did a quick search today for the same thing in Ohio they had a nifty little survey that you filled out and then it would download all the documents you need into a little zip file "kit". I hope it is all there. I haven't actually opened the zip file yet but that is my project for tonight. Craig has another friend who he hasn't talked to in a while that showed up out of the blue (more on that below) and she had a friend/sister (he couldn't remember) who needs a new photographer so I got to thinking that I am ready to make the transition. I spent all day Saturday messing with my website to change it over to Ohio and to try to get some new clients (still working on one part of it cause I know very little code and my pictures aren't showing up). I did a new google ad and I looked for places that I might be able to set up a studio. I even went and met with a guy on Friday who said I could use his studio whenever I wanted. It was nice of him but he doesn't seem to have any structure (which is good because it is easy going but also bad because I am sort of afraid that he will flake on my when I have a client set to come and then can't.) There are TONS of retail places that are empty in Ohio (even that nail place that I talked about hating when I first got to OH) so I am trying to see if any of those will be good. I found a place downtown that would be perfect, but unfortunately that is not the part of town that my customers would probably be in and Craig thinks that it might freak them out a little bit to go downtown.

So, this friend of Craig's that showed up out of the blue...it is a girl that he has known forever and they used to work together and stuff but she has moved on. He had lunch with her on Saturday and when he came home he said that she was the most like me of any of his friends and that she suggested that we all four (us and her and her fiance) get together. I am pretty excited about it. I think that I have bored most of you with the rest of Craig's friends and how the one girl doesn't seem to like me though I can't figure out why because I have never done anything to her. It makes it all awkward so I hope that with this girl being "most like me" it will be more fun. I am going to try to see if we can get together with them in a couple weeks when I get home. Should be fun.

Sorry for the rambling post...I got up at 4:45 this morning and then worked until 7pm....

ps, does anyone else hate coming up with titles for their posts? I am horrible at it...

Football Pool Week 1

Congrats to Erin and Dudley who are tied for first place this week with 54 points each (they only missed on game and it was their 1 pt game). The full results and this week's picks will be emailed to all the participants tomorrow!!

Bittersweet

That is what the move feels like in the photography arena of my life. I am happy in Ohio and I love being so close to Craig but leaving my photography business behind was hard. I have been doing the remaining sessions to finish up the clients that I have and get ready to move all of my studio stuff permanently to OH after Christmas. Well, today I sent out my email that I do every year for my holiday sessions for holiday cards and as I get the emails back in I realize how much I miss my clients. I watched them grow up from the time they were in their mommy's bellies until they were 1 (and some them past that) and now I don't know what they are up to anymore. One of the mom's said she was going to send me an update on what was going on in her little one's life and I really feel like they are my friends. I know it might sound silly but I am the one who captured all the professional (depending on how you see it because sometimes I can't call myself a professional) photos of them in their first year. I knew when they could sit and stand and walk and I started all of it with only one client that I actually knew...the rest grew from word of mouth.

I am still struggling in trying to figure out how I am going to do the photography thing here. I did that one session a couple weeks ago and the mom loved the photos. She ordered about one of everything and said she was going to place another order so that is good. I did it at her house though, and will now have to travel around to people to do them until I figure out where to set up my "studio". I am hoping that she will refer me to a few people but I guess only time will tell. I know that having a holiday shoot here would be a good way to get people in the door (and then I could let the pics speak for themselves and they would either like them or not) but I am not sure how to do that exactly yet (how to advertise when I don't really know anyone)....back to the brainstorming board on that one :-)

Anyway, I am just a little sad today with missing my clients and trying to think about how to start here.....sorry for the Debbie Downer post!

Football Pool

I hate to waste of one my precious last posts before the big 5-0-0 because I don't know what kind of contest I am going to do yet but oh well.

I am wishing that I had done a football pool this year but I didn't have time to find one or anything. It always makes the game more interesting for me to see who I picked how I did. I wanted to see if any of you guys wanted to do it. I can put it together and it will be mostly games that we all watch so it will be fun. It doesn't have to be for money, just blog bragging rights and maybe I will send you a little prize at the end of the season. If you would be interested, let me know by leaving a comment and if I don't have your email send me yours or message me on fb if you don't want to post it here and I will get it together by tomorrow so we can start this weekend we just won't include tonight's game.

I am so ready for football season but so sad to be in Ohio State territory!!

5 Days

That is sort of a long time for me :-) You might have guessed (and I mentioned it 923749379 times) that I am not traveling this week so there is no need for me to complain like I normally do..hope you guys don't think that I am Debbie Downer. Here is a run down to catch you up:

Sunday- Weighed in (still doing WW) and had lost another .8 lbs and that was with traveling last week all week. Did my first photography session in Ohio for a girl that Craig works with. She went and had pictures done at JcPenny's and left crying so I redid them for her. I am hoping that this will lead to some more sessions because I am REALLY missing it. And, now that Carrie has started and I will get to here about all the fun she has, I am going to miss it even more :-( sigh......

Monday- It was Monday so not much. It was the second day of my detox program (read the healthy blog of mine for details) so I cooked fish for the second time and learned that I like cod with a little lemon...simple but yummy!

Tuesday - 3rd day of detox and went on an hour long ride with Craig on our bikes...struggled a bit but made it and burned 600 calories in the process.

Wednesday - Went out for drinks with a DG that lives here in Dayton...different from the other one, she is younger and just out of school (OSU boo, but I forgive her). I liked the other girl too but I just haven't emailed her and she hasn't contacted me either. We had a good time, had married guys hit on us, and even ran into some people that she knew. Hopefully we can hang out again. She has a boyfriend who is almost my age so I am hoping that maybe we can do some couple stuff. She was super easy to talk to and we have been friends on FB for months but just never caught up with each other (she is in grad school too) so I know she is always doing lots of fun stuff and since she is from here she knows a lot of people! Maybe this whole friend thing is starting to look up.

Tonight I have to clean up my place a bit, do some grocery shopping and stuff. Nothing exciting but just getting ready for my sister's visit!

Bathroom After Pics

Happy Beth?? HA, just kidding. Here are the after pics of the bathroom. You remember the before pics here, right? Much better now!!

I am so happy to be home. I got home last night and after about an hour Craig grabbed my hand and took me downstairs to my room. Much to my surprise, he had finished the entire room for me! He took out the old carpet, put in new carpet, painted and put up trim and put together the "furniture" that I had bought for it (storage stuff). I was so excited. Earlier in the week I had emailed him to see if he could paint the first coat of the trim while I was driving home from the airport and then I could paint another coat when I got home. He emailed back and said he would if he had time but he didn't think that he would....little did I know, he had already done it three days prior. I feel bad for getting annoyed that he couldn't start on it (when I thought he wasn't going to).

Today we spend most of the day chasing Lance around. We got up early and when we got to our first stop we had missed him by 5-10 mins...ugh. We followed the course for a while but then realized that we would never catch up because it was winding road and we kept getting stuck behind other bikers so we got off the course and headed down to another spot by taking the highway and then meeting up with the riders. We stopped at a McDonald's cause I had to pee and they said he was 4 miles away so we road on down and stopped down the road....we were literaly there for 8 mins before he came by....we were not really prepared. I was still testing settings and stuff but luckily it worked out. It was just Craig and I on the side of the road so I waved at Lance and he waved back :-) It had to be at me cause no one else was there. If you look in the picture you can see his right hand off the bike handle as he was putting it back down...I waved and then took the pic but didn't get him waving. Oh well. We went to two other places to see him and it was a fun but long day. We left at 7:30am and got back around 3 (the race was like 1.5 to 2 hrs from us). Tomorrow I have my first photography session in Ohio and I am excited. I hope it goes well!

One more day!!

Tomorrow I go home!! I am home for the next two weeks (sort of) and I am so excited. I can't wait.

Today/tonight Craig and I figured out how much vacation we had left and I think that we have decided to take another trip this year. We are trying to decide where to go and here are a couple of the suggestions he had (I will go almost anywhere and do anything):
--Southwest (New Mexico, Grand Canyon)
--Wisconsin/Canada/Michigan (mostly to the central part for the leaves, the center of Wisconsin is very much like New England with the lighthouses and the leaves and all that. Milwaukee is where Craig grew up and we would sneak in a Green Bay game while we were there. He said he wasn't sure I would like it because there isn't as much to do. I had to inform him that on most of my vacations I just chill..he is the one who always wants to go, go, go and I normally only run around when I am with him :-) )
--New England/Nova Scotia (leaves and such)
--Key West (I was SHOCKED that Craig suggested this since he is not a beach person).

I am not sure which I want the most. The Wisconsin or New England ones would be the cheapest because they don't involve flights or rental car. We spent a bit on our June trip and out little vacation nest egg from change isn't quite ready for another trip so I would like to do the cheaper option, but I have wanted to go to the Grand Canyon and Key West!

Craig finished the bathroom on Tuesday night, now we just need to find some guest towels and stuff we like....should be easy. I will take after pics and I am hoping to get mine done this weekend. We need to put the carpet and trim in and then I need to "build" all my furniture. I am planning on stopping by Ikea tomorrow on my way home from the Cincinnati airport to get the table. I think that it is supposed to rain all weekend (which should make watching Lance ride on Saturday tons of fun) so that will be a good time to get everything situated and with no traveling next week I will be able to be all set up and well rested for my visit from my sister's family!

In 24 hours I will be home!!!

rough day

Today was rough. I finally felt better and have been going to bed at a decent hour and gettimg plenty of sleep but around 9:45 today I got the screen that you never want to see. The "you are screwed" screen and that is exactly what I am. Screwed. My work computer's hard drive crashed today. The IT guy tried to breathe life into it with 0 success. Ugh. I did raise enough hell to have them overnight a new one to the location I will be visiting tomorrow but I still lost everything. I didn't have much personal stuff on there but I did have my tax software and therefore, my taxes. Not sure I have that anywhere else. I also lost all the emails that I had to archive or that I put in folders (I have a separate folder for all 80 something locations and lost all that stuff). It sucks. Craig said I will probably look for old stuff less than I think and I do have the super important stuff on the server but it just sucks!

I drove 2 hrs across VA with no working radio station for the first hour or so and am now in Harrisonburg for the next two days. I think I will get some more good sleep tonight and hopefully tomorrow will be better. The one good thing about this is that I talked to the guy that I was supposed to visit next week and he has it handled so now I don't have to go! A whole week in town and then my siste, Zach, and bb visit!!!! Yay!! I can't wait! We are going to take her to the zoo and the Air Force museum where we can go om President Clinton's Air Force One! Wonder if there is a bj room :-)

Sick

For real this time. I know I said that last week I thought I was getting sick (and I do) but yesterday it hit full force. It probably is due to all the travel lately (I think that I am going on my 7th straight week of being on a plane. UGH.) It was bound to happen. I also haven't been taking the Vitamin C. I heard of a couple studies that said it was all a myth so I slacked a little but I am going to start it back up for sure. I don't care if it is just all in my head. I feel better when I take it and I don't get sick.

I had a really productive weekend before I started feeling like crap (and a little after). I painted my craft room (3 coats and I was sweating...I wonder how many calories that burns. Since I was sweating I considered it a workout and didn't go to the gym), got the carpet for it, we finished the bathroom, I edited my client's photos from last week, and got all the suggestions on the photos for my new website done. I also ordered some news lights that I wanted and entered a photography contest. I think that the fact that I wrote stuff down helped me to get through it.

I was getting ready to take the after pictures yesterday of the bathroom but Craig wouldn't let me because he wanted to finish painting the cabinets (you won't really be able to see in the picture but he was so funny about it that I gave in).

I am in VA now and hopefully am going to meet up with Terah Kinser Defore tomorrow (depending on how I feel) in Richmond, then the next day a two hour drive to my next place.

I am glad that I will not be traveling as much the next couple weeks (sort of).....

Lists, lists, and more lists....

yep, my life is consumed by lists. I posted about this before and got a little consulting from Erin and have started to put all my big items on my planner (my rocks) and then fill in the smaller items when I have time (the sand). I have to say that I do feel less stressed about it all because I know when I am going to work on certain things. The problem that I have had is that my job is really unpredictable and I get calls all day and hundreds of emails that I have to answer, problems to deal with and conference calls that are last minute. I know most people's jobs are like that and I know it keeps things interesting but I sometimes envy people who can come straight in and work through their to do list with no interruptions or at least if the interruptions are there they are small. Then again, I would probably get bored with that. The one thing that I have not been good about completing are my weekend projects. I need to work on that. I was doing well until the home improvement projects came up unexpectedly. I need to reschedule them.

Yesterday I got almost everything on my to do list done but today I am already behind and it is only 9:45. Oh well, hopefully I will catch up.

I am not feeling very well, I think that it is allergies but not sure why it would be allergies right now. Anyone who has bad allergies know if they are bad right now? If it isn't that then it is probably just all the traveling. I have been on a plane at least once a week for the last 8 weeks....that will definitely wear you down.

The bathroom is making progress! I haven't seen it but Craig finished the counter Sunday night and had started the painting last night (mostly the filling in holes and all that stuff). I am hoping that he will be able to finish the painting tonight or tomorrow and I will have some after pictures for you when I get home on Thursday night.

Finally, I am really close to my 500th post and I am trying to think of something good to do for that post. I like the giveaway that Carrie did but I don't want to seem unoriginal and steal her idea. Then again, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Time

I am a bit cranky tonight. I don't really want to be in Atlanta right now. Don't get me wrong, I like coming here, I like hanging out and I liked that I got to eat dinner with my mom and hang out with my sister but there is SO MUCH to do at home. I have been traveling like crazy and it doesn't really slow down anytime soon so it is hard to get stuff done in Ohio. I am moving in just a few weeks and I have a lot to get done in that time. I feel like I am starting to get rundown and I am worried that I am going to get sick soon :-(

I am also a bit annoyed by the chain of events today. I got a phone call at 9am and after I had sent a reminder to my one and only client (and the ONLY reason I came to Atlanta today and cut my weekend short as opposed to coming tomorrow) I knew it would be her. Sure enough, it was her and she wanted to know if there was any way to do the shoot earlier because she just started a new business and had a meeting today. While I understand that these things can happen, why didn't she let me know days ago? Why the day of? I think that I get annoyed because I feel like people have a complete lack of respect for other people's time (or at least mine). I am not a store that is open from 9 to 5 no matter whether people come in or not. I plan my travel, weekends, and to some extent, life around when I need to be at my studio for customers. I find it extremely rude when people are always late or think that they can just switch stuff around on me. Of course I always oblige when I can. I really like this family so I try to be understanding but part of me is just annoyed that they were 20 mins late and then we only spent 30 mins taking pictures when I could have used all the hours today to paint and partially set up my craft room. I also just felt flustered because the trains in the airport weren't working so you had to walk from the terminals and I was on C and then everyone had to walk so it was packed and some people just mosy....so, by the time I got home it was 2:55 and they were supposed to be here at 3. I felt so rushed. Oh well, it ended well, the kids were angels and I got to have dinner with my mom so that was all good.

In other news, I just finished reading My Sister's Keeper and I was PISSED at the ending. I mean PISSED. I HAVEN'T seen the movie and I know everyone says it is different so please don't tell me what happens. I am sure I will equally as pissed and I am not sure I can even make it through the movie because I will want to know how the ending is different. I think that I may get Craig to get it for Friday.

Also, I can't believe that football season starts in a couple of weeks! I looked into it last night and I think that I am going to get ESPN Gameplan so I can watch all the UGA games. I am so sad that I will only make it to one this year and if anyone is going from Atlanta to the Auburn game, I would love a ride :-) We watched the Greenbay preseason game yesterday and Lumpkin did well!! YAY!

I am thinking that it will be an early night tonight for me....

Remember this ugly yellow tub?? Well, look at it now. Obviously it is still in progress, but isn't that amazing? This stuff smells so strong it is ridiculous....I feel like I am going to get a little buzz just from being in the house...I had Craig open it up. Also included in the before picture for the craft room. I have no idea when I am going to have time to actually get it ready....I was going through my weekends and there is not a lot of time left in them. This weekend I am going to Atlanta, next weekend I will be here, the weekend after that is a race that Lance is in in Ohio so we are going to that, then my sister visits, then an off weekend, then girls' weekend and then I have to move all my stuff the following weekend. It is fast approaching. Where did the summer go?

PS: Sorry the pictures are so dark and crappy, I was using a point and shoot :-) They actually look a lot better on my computer before I put them on the blog....