Monday, May 31, 2010
New kitchen stuff
Check out these new stainless steel appliances. I love them! Today and yesterday I added some tiles to fill in around the new oven and microwave and I need to grout the new rows tomorrow. Then the kitchen will be ALL DONE! At least... until we decide to redo all the cabinets that is.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Milly the thief!
Milly loved stealing the nephews' plastic alligator and running away. It was an epic game of chase!
Wednesday update
I got the neighbor a flowering plant (a yellow heirloom rosebush to be exact). It was $20 and well worth it... I tucked a tiny card into the leaves, put it in front of her door, and ran like hell. It wasn't exactly my best moment, but my horror and embarrassment is still fresh. I'm glad that it was my neighbor's mother who this happened to, so I don't have to avoid my neighbor for months. Although by now I'm sure Neighbor also knows the story. Oh well, sh*t happens right? Literally.
Peeps, I got to POWERWASH this weekend. And it was awesome. We were helping Mike's aunts and uncles clean up his grandparents 100 year-old house. And I got to powerwash the lawn furniture. It was so cool. One minute old weathered-looking furniture, the next minute almost-new-looking furniture. No less than three uncles warned me about the hazards of running the powerwashing stream over my own foot, which I obviously realized was a bad idea. I mean, the thing takes the top layer of WOOD off, what is it going to do to my skin? Nonetheless, it was funny to see grown men take care to caution this little lady. They obviously cared about my tootsies and crocs. I also got some street cred with the uncles for wearing crocs to clean, as two of them were sporting them as well. Score!
Photography class is over next week and I am so glad. I love learning about how to use my camera better, but I could do with a little less talking about it. I mean, tell me how to use these buttons. I don't want to talk about how I felt when I took the picture. Or about why. I definitely don't want to talk about how anyone else felt when they took a certain picture. Oy vey. Talk about a waste of time. I guess I am far more utilitarian about the whole process than the average photographer, and way less dreamy artistic type. But seriously, one dude in my class rented an $8000 lens (rental price: $300) and drove to CAPE FREAKING CANAVERAL last week to photograph the spaceship launch. I mean, nice pictures, they are discontinuing the program, and blah blah special-experience-cakes whatever. People obviously have too much time on their hands. Maybe I would too if I canceled my cable television. Which will never happen. You would have to pry my remote from my cold dead hands!
We have the next three weekends in Chicago and I'm super stoked. Now here's hoping the weather cooperates!
I was all revved up to buy a macbook pro last night and chickened out. When it came time to veer off into Best Buy on my walk home from the train I just couldn't do it. Instead I went home, backed up my pink Dell, and then took it apart and extracted a dust bunny the size of my pinky finger. That largely cleared up the "runs so hot you can't put it on your lap" problem. Boo! and also Yay! Now I definitely don't need a new laptop. But I've had an offer from my mom to give ol pinky a good home so maybe I still should get the macbook. I hate big decisions, man. Maybe I'll sit on it for another month?
I need to upload pics so you guys can see the wonder that is a tiny beagle chasing around 4 little nephews from the weekend. It was so awesome.
Peeps, I got to POWERWASH this weekend. And it was awesome. We were helping Mike's aunts and uncles clean up his grandparents 100 year-old house. And I got to powerwash the lawn furniture. It was so cool. One minute old weathered-looking furniture, the next minute almost-new-looking furniture. No less than three uncles warned me about the hazards of running the powerwashing stream over my own foot, which I obviously realized was a bad idea. I mean, the thing takes the top layer of WOOD off, what is it going to do to my skin? Nonetheless, it was funny to see grown men take care to caution this little lady. They obviously cared about my tootsies and crocs. I also got some street cred with the uncles for wearing crocs to clean, as two of them were sporting them as well. Score!
Photography class is over next week and I am so glad. I love learning about how to use my camera better, but I could do with a little less talking about it. I mean, tell me how to use these buttons. I don't want to talk about how I felt when I took the picture. Or about why. I definitely don't want to talk about how anyone else felt when they took a certain picture. Oy vey. Talk about a waste of time. I guess I am far more utilitarian about the whole process than the average photographer, and way less dreamy artistic type. But seriously, one dude in my class rented an $8000 lens (rental price: $300) and drove to CAPE FREAKING CANAVERAL last week to photograph the spaceship launch. I mean, nice pictures, they are discontinuing the program, and blah blah special-experience-cakes whatever. People obviously have too much time on their hands. Maybe I would too if I canceled my cable television. Which will never happen. You would have to pry my remote from my cold dead hands!
We have the next three weekends in Chicago and I'm super stoked. Now here's hoping the weather cooperates!
I was all revved up to buy a macbook pro last night and chickened out. When it came time to veer off into Best Buy on my walk home from the train I just couldn't do it. Instead I went home, backed up my pink Dell, and then took it apart and extracted a dust bunny the size of my pinky finger. That largely cleared up the "runs so hot you can't put it on your lap" problem. Boo! and also Yay! Now I definitely don't need a new laptop. But I've had an offer from my mom to give ol pinky a good home so maybe I still should get the macbook. I hate big decisions, man. Maybe I'll sit on it for another month?
I need to upload pics so you guys can see the wonder that is a tiny beagle chasing around 4 little nephews from the weekend. It was so awesome.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Very bad day
We've all had that moment. Whether you're a foot out the door or ten or a hundred, it's all the same. The moment you realize you left your keys on the counter inside. I had one of those moments tonight. I panicked, knowing that Mike wasn't planning on coming home before his flag football game. Knowing I didn't have my wallet or my phone. I walked around the first floor knocking on doors to beg for the use of a phone. I finally found someone that was home, a nice lady who is the mother of the woman downstairs. She told me my neighbor was in Greece and handed me the cordless phone for the landline.
At first I freaked out again silently to myself, knowing that Mike's cell # is long distance. I prayed he was at his desk as I dialed the number. I know exactly four numbers by heart - my Dad's cell, my parents' home, Mike's cell, and Mike's desk line. Let's just say the parents weren't going to help much in this situation.
Mike answered and started calling the people who have our condo keys. First he called Carl, who was still at work. Then Jay, who was in Manhattan. He got Jay's girlfriend's number and called her. Her number went straight to voicemail. I started to cry a little bit, knowing that I was stuck here for a while without any help. Even worse, I was late to meet a friend for drinks who was in from Miami... a friend I hadn't seen in years.
All the while Milly is going nuts, pulling on her leash. I'm thinking it's because the lady who let me have the phone let the neighbor's dog out and they were playing. I started stressing to Mike that I was monopolizing the woman's phone and time, when Milly squatted. I yelled NO MILLY! And then she had explosive diarrhea all over the woman's brick terrace. I screamed over the phone to Mike that Milly had just pooped EVERYWHERE and to come home, ASAP. I hung up the phone and gave it back, crying, and assuring the woman I would be right back to clean it up (with what I have no idea).
I took Milly out and she did some more business, and when I got back the woman had it all cleaned up already. I felt awful. I sat outside on the sidewalk outside our condo for the next half an hour to wait for Mike to come home.
So here is the point of the whole story.... now I need an "I'm sorry my dog had the runs all over your porch and you had to clean it up" gift. Any ideas?
At first I freaked out again silently to myself, knowing that Mike's cell # is long distance. I prayed he was at his desk as I dialed the number. I know exactly four numbers by heart - my Dad's cell, my parents' home, Mike's cell, and Mike's desk line. Let's just say the parents weren't going to help much in this situation.
Mike answered and started calling the people who have our condo keys. First he called Carl, who was still at work. Then Jay, who was in Manhattan. He got Jay's girlfriend's number and called her. Her number went straight to voicemail. I started to cry a little bit, knowing that I was stuck here for a while without any help. Even worse, I was late to meet a friend for drinks who was in from Miami... a friend I hadn't seen in years.
All the while Milly is going nuts, pulling on her leash. I'm thinking it's because the lady who let me have the phone let the neighbor's dog out and they were playing. I started stressing to Mike that I was monopolizing the woman's phone and time, when Milly squatted. I yelled NO MILLY! And then she had explosive diarrhea all over the woman's brick terrace. I screamed over the phone to Mike that Milly had just pooped EVERYWHERE and to come home, ASAP. I hung up the phone and gave it back, crying, and assuring the woman I would be right back to clean it up (with what I have no idea).
I took Milly out and she did some more business, and when I got back the woman had it all cleaned up already. I felt awful. I sat outside on the sidewalk outside our condo for the next half an hour to wait for Mike to come home.
So here is the point of the whole story.... now I need an "I'm sorry my dog had the runs all over your porch and you had to clean it up" gift. Any ideas?
Wonka worker sighting!
I keep forgetting to tell you guys, there was an honest-to-gawd Oompa Loompa at last week's nerd conference. He was orange and everything!
You say bad spray tan, I say Ooompa Loompa!!
You say bad spray tan, I say Ooompa Loompa!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sicky Milly
Last week we noticed that Milly's left ear had a ton of gunk in it. "That's weird," I thought, and cleaned it out. Then it got gunky again a few days later. And then while I was petting her a few times on Saturday (I rub the ears) I got a little yelp. Later that day when I went to pet her she ran away! Something was definitely wrong with our little puppy!
So I texted the boss and asked if I could work from home on Monday to take her to the vet. The text wouldn't have been any different if I'd been talking about an infant, and I laughed a bit at myself for being such a Dink. "Milly has an ear infection and the only appointment they had for her was 3 on Monday... would it be ok to work from home that day so I can take her?"
Clearly the dog thinks she's people because we treat her like she's people.
Yesterday I worked from home and took her to the vet and the poor little thing whimpered as the vet cleaned out her bum ear. Milly buried her head in my arms afterwards to ward off the evil ear-cleaning vet. The vet gave me medicine to administer twice daily, and ear-cleaning solution to use once a week to prevent further infections (I guess beagles are extremely apt to get those big floppy ears infected, boo). Milly seemed better already this morning, bounding around with unlimited energy.
"She seems better," I told Mike. "Yup, she's just happy to be alive, as per usual," replied Mike.
Maybe that's why people love dogs, because they are just happy to be alive. And ecstatic to rip up the new stuffed starfish man I scored at Target for her last night :)
So I texted the boss and asked if I could work from home on Monday to take her to the vet. The text wouldn't have been any different if I'd been talking about an infant, and I laughed a bit at myself for being such a Dink. "Milly has an ear infection and the only appointment they had for her was 3 on Monday... would it be ok to work from home that day so I can take her?"Clearly the dog thinks she's people because we treat her like she's people.
Yesterday I worked from home and took her to the vet and the poor little thing whimpered as the vet cleaned out her bum ear. Milly buried her head in my arms afterwards to ward off the evil ear-cleaning vet. The vet gave me medicine to administer twice daily, and ear-cleaning solution to use once a week to prevent further infections (I guess beagles are extremely apt to get those big floppy ears infected, boo). Milly seemed better already this morning, bounding around with unlimited energy.
"She seems better," I told Mike. "Yup, she's just happy to be alive, as per usual," replied Mike.
Maybe that's why people love dogs, because they are just happy to be alive. And ecstatic to rip up the new stuffed starfish man I scored at Target for her last night :)
Monday, May 03, 2010
Favor!
My sister's work is in a contest to get a grant... I'd appreciate any votes you could put in!!
http://pep.si/dbP7Da
http://pep.si/dbP7Da
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Update of sorts
It's been a long time! What have I been up to? I guess the most appropriate questions is what HAVEN'T I been up to?
- Had my friend Erin up to Chicago the weekend of April 17th. We had sushi, we tried a great new restaurant, we designed and ordered custom purses, we hit a free basic photography class, we hit up some bagel sandwiches for lunch, and caught Sunday brunch at a yummy new spot. We ate a heck of a lot is what I'm saying. And had a DARN good time chatting and carrying on and meandering through the city. It was a perfect weekend if I do say so myself.
- Hosted a girls' book club at my place. It was fun and the food was pretty decent. Our book club doesn't actually pick a book and all read it and then talk about it. We just bring books we have already read and exchange them for other books that we would like to read. Oh and there is wine. Of course. But it was a great time!
- Our fridge went out. So we went to Lowe's last week and bought all new stainless steel appliances. They come on Sunday. I am so stoked about the stainless and my new! convection! oven! I can barely contain myself.
- I broke down and got ourselves a maid. She is coming every three weeks and she rocks. Milly howls her fool head off every time she comes in (she came today for the second time) but we got Milly to warm up to her with many yummy chicken liver treats. Milly is a sucker for chicken liver treats.
- Speaking of Milly-treats, Milly got put on a diet. I feel bad that I can't stay on my diet (see above re: fridge... not having one makes dieting hard) but I make Milly stay on one. She was pudging up and we realized that Mike thought Milly got 1.25 cups of food per serving instead of per day. Oops. At least he wasn't around more to fatten her up too much! Although our friend Carl called her a "sphere" and the neighbor said "Milly! Gaining some LB's!" Poor Milly. She looks skinnier already.
- This past weekend, I went to Florida to be Emily's date to a wedding. We had a great time! The weather was amazing and all the bride and groom's friends were really nice and super fun to hang out with. I made a few new facebook friends and now Emily and I have plans to go visit another bridesmaid in Austin in October. Woot!
- Mike has a Super Scary Actuary Test on Friday. Let's hope he passes! But he has been studying like a fiend and I am so proud of him! And it will be sooo nice to have him back this weekend!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Inheritance
Between when my grandmother passed away in July of 2008 and now, I've been handed down a few pieces of her jewelry and thought they would be fun to show them off and share a little background about them.
A couple months after she passed, my Grandpa asked my parents if there was anything in particular they wanted - and they asked us the same question. I felt so weird asking for this ring... the only reason I did so was because Grandma had told me time and time again that she wanted me to have it after she passed away. However, I remember stories in the family of my great-grandparents telling multiple people that they wanted them to have things and large arguments ensuing. Arguing was definitely what I DID NOT WANT so I brought it up to my Mom but made it absolutely clear that if Grandpa wanted anyone else to have the ring or wanted to keep it that I was completely OK with that. I didn't hear anything about the whole thing until a couple months later when I was home for something. "Here," my mom said as she handed me a white envelope, "It's that ring of Grandma's." Sweet! I think I remember Grandma saying that the ring has been in the family for 8 generations and that she got it from her great-grandmother Carpenter. The ring fits my left ring finger perfectly and sometimes I wear it instead of my own wedding band and engagement ring. It's such a simple, gorgeous piece of jewelry. I remember her wearing it as her own wedding band... it's full of good memories.
Grandma also lent me this ring as my Something Old and Something Borrowed on my wedding day. She'd lent it to me with a white ribbon tied around it and I pinned it under my dress with my sorority pin. I remember obsessively checking it all night to make sure I didn't lose it!
My sister and I went to visit Grandpa last winter, and we were looking through a bunch of Grandma's jewelry. "Oh, fun beads!" I exclaimed, and Grandpa goes "Good price! Free! Take it with you!" My Grandmother had a love of collections, and there was an impressive amount of jewelry (costume and otherwise) that we were looking through. I think Grandpa was glad to pass some along! And I was so glad to have some fun beads to wear out and about. :)
I got this ring on that same visit with Katie. I have no idea what the stone on this ring is - it could be a piece of glass for all I know. However, I love this piece! The ring itself is nice and delicate and the stone is big and fun. I was going to have this ring sized to my right ring finger and dipped in white gold until I got the next piece. Now I keep it and wear it on my right middle finger whenever I'm wearing clothes with gold accents. This ring is just so fun... and my sister Katie wore it as her Something Blue at her wedding. It was so nice to have a piece of Grandma's jewelry that I could loan out to her for a special occasion like that.
This is the piece I wear the most. My grandfather gave it to my Mom, but she didn't really ever wear it. At Christmas, she asked me if I would want it. I loved it! I had it sized to my right ring finger and dipped in white gold (it was originally yellow gold). The work to the ring wasn't cheap, but now I have an amazing ring that I wear very often on my right hand. And I get TONS of compliments on it - people are always asking me where I got it and saying how pretty they think it is. It's nice to reply that it's vintage and was my grandmother's, and even nicer to have something of hers that I can wear all the time. I love having a lovely reminder of her with me!
So those are jewelry I inherited from Grandma. It's so nice to have these as reminders of her, and fun to imagine passing them down to my own kids or grand-kids someday!
A couple months after she passed, my Grandpa asked my parents if there was anything in particular they wanted - and they asked us the same question. I felt so weird asking for this ring... the only reason I did so was because Grandma had told me time and time again that she wanted me to have it after she passed away. However, I remember stories in the family of my great-grandparents telling multiple people that they wanted them to have things and large arguments ensuing. Arguing was definitely what I DID NOT WANT so I brought it up to my Mom but made it absolutely clear that if Grandpa wanted anyone else to have the ring or wanted to keep it that I was completely OK with that. I didn't hear anything about the whole thing until a couple months later when I was home for something. "Here," my mom said as she handed me a white envelope, "It's that ring of Grandma's." Sweet! I think I remember Grandma saying that the ring has been in the family for 8 generations and that she got it from her great-grandmother Carpenter. The ring fits my left ring finger perfectly and sometimes I wear it instead of my own wedding band and engagement ring. It's such a simple, gorgeous piece of jewelry. I remember her wearing it as her own wedding band... it's full of good memories.
Grandma also lent me this ring as my Something Old and Something Borrowed on my wedding day. She'd lent it to me with a white ribbon tied around it and I pinned it under my dress with my sorority pin. I remember obsessively checking it all night to make sure I didn't lose it!
My sister and I went to visit Grandpa last winter, and we were looking through a bunch of Grandma's jewelry. "Oh, fun beads!" I exclaimed, and Grandpa goes "Good price! Free! Take it with you!" My Grandmother had a love of collections, and there was an impressive amount of jewelry (costume and otherwise) that we were looking through. I think Grandpa was glad to pass some along! And I was so glad to have some fun beads to wear out and about. :)
I got this ring on that same visit with Katie. I have no idea what the stone on this ring is - it could be a piece of glass for all I know. However, I love this piece! The ring itself is nice and delicate and the stone is big and fun. I was going to have this ring sized to my right ring finger and dipped in white gold until I got the next piece. Now I keep it and wear it on my right middle finger whenever I'm wearing clothes with gold accents. This ring is just so fun... and my sister Katie wore it as her Something Blue at her wedding. It was so nice to have a piece of Grandma's jewelry that I could loan out to her for a special occasion like that.
This is the piece I wear the most. My grandfather gave it to my Mom, but she didn't really ever wear it. At Christmas, she asked me if I would want it. I loved it! I had it sized to my right ring finger and dipped in white gold (it was originally yellow gold). The work to the ring wasn't cheap, but now I have an amazing ring that I wear very often on my right hand. And I get TONS of compliments on it - people are always asking me where I got it and saying how pretty they think it is. It's nice to reply that it's vintage and was my grandmother's, and even nicer to have something of hers that I can wear all the time. I love having a lovely reminder of her with me!
So those are jewelry I inherited from Grandma. It's so nice to have these as reminders of her, and fun to imagine passing them down to my own kids or grand-kids someday!
Friday, April 09, 2010
Random decor
Awhile back my friend Emily and I hit up IKEA to grab some household stuff and I scored a bunch of white frames. I got a whole bunch to make a collage above our bed in the guest room, which I haven't gotten around to doing. I did put the Milly print in one of the frames, look how cute it is! Right now I have it on our mantle and I love it. I think I'll be sad when I end up doing the collage in the guest room and have to move it in there!
This print was one that Mike kind of bought on our cruise back in March of 2006, before we were even engaged. I thought it was super cute - my nursery when I was a baby was Pooh themed. On the cruise, the art auctioneers only brought up items that people had an interest in and had marked with post-its. I wanted to see how much it would be in the auction, so I put tagged it with one of my post-its. I went to the bathroom during the auction and came back and Mike had bought it. "I bought if for you," he said. "Oh that was nice!" I replied. "Um, no.... well.... I bought it on your account." He had used MY ship account to purchase the print and boy was I honked off! It was $75 with a $75 shipping charge so he had basically just spent $150 of my money without my consent. Oy. Crazy boy. But I am glad he did it now - shipping was one flat rate regardless of how much stuff you got so I ended up buying a Pete Rose signed home plate that hangs in our den to really get the most out of my $75 shipping charge! And now we have this for the guest room. It sits on the dresser with the Paddington Bear I inherited when my grandmother passed away. They are a nice-looking pair together.
I love these two little prints. Most of the decoration in our condo is photography, and while I love having photos around, it's fun to mix it up a bit!
This print was one that Mike kind of bought on our cruise back in March of 2006, before we were even engaged. I thought it was super cute - my nursery when I was a baby was Pooh themed. On the cruise, the art auctioneers only brought up items that people had an interest in and had marked with post-its. I wanted to see how much it would be in the auction, so I put tagged it with one of my post-its. I went to the bathroom during the auction and came back and Mike had bought it. "I bought if for you," he said. "Oh that was nice!" I replied. "Um, no.... well.... I bought it on your account." He had used MY ship account to purchase the print and boy was I honked off! It was $75 with a $75 shipping charge so he had basically just spent $150 of my money without my consent. Oy. Crazy boy. But I am glad he did it now - shipping was one flat rate regardless of how much stuff you got so I ended up buying a Pete Rose signed home plate that hangs in our den to really get the most out of my $75 shipping charge! And now we have this for the guest room. It sits on the dresser with the Paddington Bear I inherited when my grandmother passed away. They are a nice-looking pair together.
I love these two little prints. Most of the decoration in our condo is photography, and while I love having photos around, it's fun to mix it up a bit!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Easter!
Usually we head to Mike's family festivities in northern Indiana for Easter, but this year he really needed to stay home and study. I was sad I didn't get to see Gracie in her Easter finery last year, so I conned my brother and his girlfriend Kim into heading to Evansville! And I am so glad we all went, because I had a great time!
On Saturday we held our own little private Easter Egg hunt for Gracie. I am a little pissed at myself because I forgot to adjust my ISO for these pics so they're not as crisp as they could have been. Oh well.
Look how thrilled she looks. Haha... maybe we should have let her have a little more time after the nap to wake up before tossing her in her Easter dress and out into the back yard?
She didn't like that one of the eggs was on top of this bronze turtle my parents have in the backyard. So she signed for one of us to help her. So cute, a little kid signing "help."
I loved how her dress billowed out when she sat down. So cute! She really got the egg thing too, she was a pro.
More egg-hunting! The weather was so nice in the 'ville. It was amazing.
That basket got pretty darn full!
Grandpa had to show her what was inside a few. Yummy chocolate!
Jay took some videos too. I'm sure I looked like junk - Kim and I just got in from a run. That's the great thing about being the cameraman, though, you don't have to be in the pics!
On Saturday we held our own little private Easter Egg hunt for Gracie. I am a little pissed at myself because I forgot to adjust my ISO for these pics so they're not as crisp as they could have been. Oh well.
Look how thrilled she looks. Haha... maybe we should have let her have a little more time after the nap to wake up before tossing her in her Easter dress and out into the back yard?
She didn't like that one of the eggs was on top of this bronze turtle my parents have in the backyard. So she signed for one of us to help her. So cute, a little kid signing "help."
I loved how her dress billowed out when she sat down. So cute! She really got the egg thing too, she was a pro.
More egg-hunting! The weather was so nice in the 'ville. It was amazing.
That basket got pretty darn full!
Grandpa had to show her what was inside a few. Yummy chocolate!
Jay took some videos too. I'm sure I looked like junk - Kim and I just got in from a run. That's the great thing about being the cameraman, though, you don't have to be in the pics!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thinking of the future
Before Mike and I got engaged, I would look at my left ring finger and wonder what it would look like down the road. What would my ring look like? Would it look good on my finger? Would it fit right? Would I like it? Sometimes I would hold my hand out and think "Be patient. Enjoy this time. Enjoy this time where you don't have to wear any jewelry." I had never worn jewelry consistently before - I would wear a fashion ring for a few months and then ditch it for something else or for nothing at all. I wasn't sure I would like always wearing something on my left hand.
Before we got Milly I would look around the condo and wonder what life would be like with a dog. Surely there would be dog hair tumbleweeds all about, as I'm not the greatest housekeeper. Would our dog be a boy or a girl? How big would she be? Where would she like to sit? What would she look like? Would she like to cuddle and sit on our laps? Would she be good at playing fetch? Would she like me or Mike more (answer: Mike! He must be the alpha) What kind of dogparents would Mike and I be? And then I would think to enjoy this time where we don't have to vacuum up dog hair, pick up poo, walk a dog that is not very good at heeling. Enjoy our freedom.
Now I walk around our condo and wonder what our future looks like. What will this room look like in a few years? How will we balance our lives? What changes will be made? And I think to enjoy the freedoms we have - that we can take Dog to the kennel or any one of our friends at a moment's notice to head off on an adventure. That I can take a run whenever I want, stop at the grocery on the way home. Simple things that make me happy. I think enjoy, enjoy, enjoy what we have.
But then I also remember how scared I was that we wouldn't get engaged, how scared I was that Milly would be a rotten dog and a horrible decision, or that she would never stop peeing on the floor. And now I think of how scared I am of maybe our life never following the path we want it to, never being able to make certain changes.
And I repeat to myself, "Enjoy. Enjoy what you have. " And I get down on the floor and play with Milly and she licks my hand because I just ate a slice of cheese, and she looks at me like licking cheesy hands is the best thing in the world. And I think of Mike coming home tomorrow for good, rejoining our daily routine. And I enjoy.
Before we got Milly I would look around the condo and wonder what life would be like with a dog. Surely there would be dog hair tumbleweeds all about, as I'm not the greatest housekeeper. Would our dog be a boy or a girl? How big would she be? Where would she like to sit? What would she look like? Would she like to cuddle and sit on our laps? Would she be good at playing fetch? Would she like me or Mike more (answer: Mike! He must be the alpha) What kind of dogparents would Mike and I be? And then I would think to enjoy this time where we don't have to vacuum up dog hair, pick up poo, walk a dog that is not very good at heeling. Enjoy our freedom.
Now I walk around our condo and wonder what our future looks like. What will this room look like in a few years? How will we balance our lives? What changes will be made? And I think to enjoy the freedoms we have - that we can take Dog to the kennel or any one of our friends at a moment's notice to head off on an adventure. That I can take a run whenever I want, stop at the grocery on the way home. Simple things that make me happy. I think enjoy, enjoy, enjoy what we have.
But then I also remember how scared I was that we wouldn't get engaged, how scared I was that Milly would be a rotten dog and a horrible decision, or that she would never stop peeing on the floor. And now I think of how scared I am of maybe our life never following the path we want it to, never being able to make certain changes.
And I repeat to myself, "Enjoy. Enjoy what you have. " And I get down on the floor and play with Milly and she licks my hand because I just ate a slice of cheese, and she looks at me like licking cheesy hands is the best thing in the world. And I think of Mike coming home tomorrow for good, rejoining our daily routine. And I enjoy.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
So how's that going?
A couple of weeks ago I decided to do some things to bolster spirits and make me feel better. Here's an update as to how that's going:
- Exercise: Yoga - I've been going at least once, maybe twice a week. And so far I like it! I have been going downtown during lunch mostly but still want to try a yoga basics class on Sunday in the Gold Coast. It's so hard to make it out of the house at 10:30 AM on a Sunday though!! Lifting: I've also been lifting with Michelle every Tuesday night. Running: I have gone for about two runs a week. I'm doing the Couch to 5K program on my iphone and am going to run the JP Chase Corporate Challenge at the end of May.
- Photography class - I've signed up and it starts April 18th. I am so excited!
- Take other steps to mitigate stress - I've started seeing an acupuncturist and left open a few open weekends to take a beat and hang out.
- Healthier eating - I think I've been doing pretty good at this! I have been making big healthy meals and eating them during the week. I am currently in love with the mushroom barley soup that is this week's selection... so yummy. The thing about this one is that I know exactly what I should eat (salads, yummy whole foods) and what I shouldn't (cookie dough straight from the mixing bowl) but the execution can be rather shaky. I haven't been awesome lately but I haven't been awful. I big component of that is eating at home more than eating out - which we did all three nights this weekend! I was so proud of us!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Little brother
is not so little anymore!
My brother turns 28 today! I can't believe he is so old - that makes me feel SUPER old. I love you, Jay, happy birthday!!!
Some evidence that my husband is dorky. And also super smart.
Mike sent this email to some friends this week. It's awesome so I thought I would share!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi, science friends.
Jay's birthday is this weekend and I was going to get him a set of whiskey stones. (Granite or soapstone rocks that you keep in the freezer and then use instead of ice cubes) The question I was pondering was which are better? I was looking at specific heat and thermal conductivity...trying to figure out which material would hold more "coldness" and transfer it best to the liquid.
After some googling, I came up with:
Specific heat
Granite - 0.79 KJ / kg K
Soapstone - 1.047 KJ / kg K
Density
Granite - 2.75 g /cm^3
Soapstone - 2.98 g /cm^3
Specific Heat by volume (calc'd using above inputs)
Granite - 2.17 J / cm^3
Soapstone - 3.12 J / cm^3
I think this means that it takes more energy to warm up a certain volume of soapstone than it does the same volume of granite. Since they'd both be chilled to the same temperature in the freezer, I think soapstone is the better choice.
Soapstone also has a much higher thermal conductivity (6.4 W/mK compared to 2.1 W/mK), which makes me think it will absorb heat more quickly, thus allowing quicker consumption of a chilled adult beverage.
So....all signs point to soapstone, right? It's been a long time since I've thought about thermo so figured i'd run it by you guys first. Also, I know Brett doesn't actually do any work and is probably looking for something to distract him.
Mike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi, science friends.
Jay's birthday is this weekend and I was going to get him a set of whiskey stones. (Granite or soapstone rocks that you keep in the freezer and then use instead of ice cubes) The question I was pondering was which are better? I was looking at specific heat and thermal conductivity...trying to figure out which material would hold more "coldness" and transfer it best to the liquid.
After some googling, I came up with:
Specific heat
Granite - 0.79 KJ / kg K
Soapstone - 1.047 KJ / kg K
Density
Granite - 2.75 g /cm^3
Soapstone - 2.98 g /cm^3
Specific Heat by volume (calc'd using above inputs)
Granite - 2.17 J / cm^3
Soapstone - 3.12 J / cm^3
I think this means that it takes more energy to warm up a certain volume of soapstone than it does the same volume of granite. Since they'd both be chilled to the same temperature in the freezer, I think soapstone is the better choice.
Soapstone also has a much higher thermal conductivity (6.4 W/mK compared to 2.1 W/mK), which makes me think it will absorb heat more quickly, thus allowing quicker consumption of a chilled adult beverage.
So....all signs point to soapstone, right? It's been a long time since I've thought about thermo so figured i'd run it by you guys first. Also, I know Brett doesn't actually do any work and is probably looking for something to distract him.
Mike
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Well hello old friend
Had to take a picture of my old suitcase before I donated it to the Salvation Army. I probably should have just thrown it away because the handle to wheel it along with doesn't really work! But oh well. Maybe someone would want it. 
Regardless, this old boy has been along with me to many places - I bought it when I first started travelling for PwC. It has been to Hawaii, Italy, and all over the US to name a few. I was kind of sad to see it go.
Regardless, this old boy has been along with me to many places - I bought it when I first started travelling for PwC. It has been to Hawaii, Italy, and all over the US to name a few. I was kind of sad to see it go.
Friday, March 12, 2010
I didn't take very many pictures in Tahoe...
... but one that was a must-take was of our friend Brett accosting a three-foot icicle. I think it was worth it, no?
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