Shopping!

Mom and I took a bus trip (thru work) to shop in St. Louis yesterday. We had a great time! We got some screaming deals! I have found that my bad shopping habits have rubbed off on mom. We ended the day with a total of three new purses. I actually walked away from a shoe store (Steve Madden, nonetheless!) with NO shoes, even though I tried on about 10 pair, so that was an accomplishment. Anyways, we had a wonderful lunch at Cheesecake Factory, walked through the entire mall, plus Crate & Barrell across the street, then boarded the bus for home. We were both beat by the time we got home, but mom came over and we and Dan ate the three pieces of cheesecake we bought for dinner. We did see Superman getting arrested. Apparently, his fight for "truth, justice, and the American way" is not allowed inside the St. Louis Galleria mall. Who knew?

Slacking....

So, it’s been awhile since my last update…

Here’s a recap of the way things have been around here..

HOT- this summer has been brutally hot and humid so far.

AWESOME- I have taken the summer off from school and have LOVED the way that it has worked out for me. We had an amazing trip to Florida and the end of May where we enjoyed hanging with the Florida fam, snorkeling, a Rays game (and Hall and Oates concert!! :) shopping, and lots of food and fun.

We also took a trip to Vegas about a week after we got back from Florida. Vegas was SO hot. I love how people try to compare the heats and minimize it by saying “It’s a dry heat” (that actually became our joke)! It’s actually a scorching heat, it just doesn’t make your hair freak out. The swear pouring off your body takes care of that!! :) It was a great trip, though. And I could easily see us going back someday. We toured Hoover Dam, spent a day on a boat on Lake Mead, chilled in the hotel, walked the strip, and saw lots of cool stuff. Oh, yeah- and Dan went to a Convention. Which was why we went in the first place. :)

I didn’t take a lot of pics on either trip, so I may post a few later, but none today. Sorry :)

SLOW- Dan’s parents bought his sister a house, so Dan put our remods on hold in order to finish her house as they want her to move in ASAP. I can’t wait to get ours done. It has been since March, so I am looking forward to seeing the end result. Hopefully, sometime soon. Keep your fingers crossed!!

CHILL- I am enjoying not having classes. I have signed up for TWO in the fall. I am afraid it’s more than I should handle. We will see. In the meantime, I am enjoying the downtime I have.

A STRESS POINT – I am scheduled to take a huge exam for work in September. I have put this exam off for THREE YEARS, so I am not looking forward to it. But how cool would it be to pass it and not have it hanging over my head anymore?!? I am on Chapter 5 of 15. Wish me luck!!

FAMILY- FUL – My aunt Connie was here for a week. Fun! Uncle Randy and Aunt Pat came home the following week, so that was cool! Lots of time for family and friends, we are liking that.

It has pretty much been one of the best summers ever. Hope yours is just as good ;)

I can't believe March is almost over...

This year has definitely flown by so far. Hard to believe it's almost April. I've been sick for almost the past week, missing 2 days of work this week and now Dan hasn't been felling well. I hope I don't pass my "cooties" to everyone around me :( We've been watching some b-ball. I picked Duke to win in my bracket (against Kansas, nonetheless), but at least want them to win so I have bragging rights at work! :) Mom drew West Virginia in her pool, so of course our teams play each other. She might win money, though, and mine's just for bragging rights so I guess we'll see.

In other news, I painted my finger and toenails since I haven't been able to get in to get a pedicure since the lady I go to is booked up on Saturdays. I know, you needed to know that, right ;) I painted them pink, the color that came "free" (yeah, right!) with the last purse I bought. It matches one of the colors in the pattern.

Hope all is well and everyone has a good Easter week! :) Stay healthy!!

Catching up...

It's been a busy past few weeks! Dan, Todd & Ben (our neighbors) put the hardwood in, and it looks excellent. Needless to say, the remodelling bug has bit again. We are now looking at carpet for the bedroom! Too bad they don't base your tax return on what you want to spend it on :)

Spring break has come and gone and other than not taking the usual spring break trip to Florida :( nothing around here was different except not having class one night, kinda sad. That's what happens when you get old, I guess :) I did have a paper due immediately after spring break, so I got that finished over break, then will go in for an appointment on Wednesday to find out how many things he can find wrong with it. Dreading that! Oh, well. Keepin' my head up, only a few more weeks... And to feed my mean side (and make myself smile in class), I have started writing the end of the year review for the teacher. That will be interesting..hehehe. ;) Some "educational literature" for him to read, I'm sure.

Ok, it's Brandi typing again, no longer my evil twin Bambi :) I did learn that I won't be taking a summer class because the only one I can take (and my first choice for fall class) are both full. So, summer off and we'll see what happens for fall. I am going to try (hold me to this!!) to take the CPCU 540 exam for work that I have been putting off for the last 3 years because of the terrifying math involved. I want to use the summer to study, then take it either before or right when fall semester starts. How nice it would be to have that done!!

My little sister turned 18 over the weekend. I feel old :) Dan's brother and my little sis share a birthday. Kinda cool. Happy belated Bea & Dean!!

Ok- I'm out! Have a good week!

The floor is in!

That's right, we have hardwood!!!

Woo-hoo! :)

Curiosity killed the cat...

I used to think this was just a saying that people who didn't know much about cats said. After all, Sabre' (our cat growing up) and Lucky were both very smart. Hemi (mom's cat) is smart, too. So, I never understood why someone would say that..

Until now.

Here is Lightning, who during the remods, climbed unnoticed up onto the fish tank to take a peek..














Here he is on top of the refrigerator again.. guarding the Pringles..










Here he is trying to get the Italian Beef I made fresh out of the
crockpot..


















My little helper "helping" me shred papers.. and luckily not a tail..so far!!




That's what it's like in our house with our death-defying Beast.

You can take the cat out of the alley, but you can't take the alley out of the cat! ;)

Here's some updates...

Taking a quick break from the remods ...

I finally pulled some pics off my phone and uploaded them to the computer.

Here's a pic of the bedroom..



And here's one of our nekkid hallway..



Now, back to the drywall and sawdust and trying to keep the cat out of it...

Oops!

So, I have been the worst blogger in recent history. Not only have I not updated the blog recently, I also haven’t kept up on many things in life that I should have (birthdays, anniversaries, moves, etc). Saying things have been crazy both in my life and around our house lately is an understatement.

First up, my class isn’t going very well. My professor is one of those notorious B-givers, so I am struggling with that. People like that shouldn’t be teachers. We are there to learn, not to write for the New York Times. We know we are not perfect, but an "A" shouldn't be perfection, it should reflect effort and progress. He assigns tons of reading, class presentations, short assignments and a huge paper, which is thankfully divided into parts. But still, one part is due quite often, so there is constantly something due soon and I have been busy with that. I need to just be accept that I’m going to get a “B” and move on. (Sorry, I’ll save you the rest of my rant)

Work has been crazy busy lately.

Dan has been working diligently on the house. He is in the process of putting the floor down in the hallway. The trim is completely torn off, as are the doors. The carpet is just laying on the floorboard, the nails have been removed. It’s ready to be removed as soon as it’s time to install the hardwood. Our house is a mess, but it will be SO worth it when everything is done. He also recently painted the bedroom and installed the tv, so we are waiting to put new carpet in there and reinstall the trim.

Needless to say, between the 1-2am bedtimes and being up at 5:15am, plus having the weekends packed full of stuff, I haven’t had much time lately. I actually painted my own toenails and fingernails this past weekend as I haven’t had time to make an appointment. Not the worst thing in the world, I know. But, I don’t have much patience, plus when you have a tummy, it's hard to maneuver around that to reach your toes. Anyways...

Tim and Nadyne moved last week, and I haven’t had a chance to check in with them. I got home late (11pm) on Pat’s b-day, so I didn’t get a chance to call her. I still have Connie’s b-day gift sitting at home and I forgot to email her and Larry for their anniversary.

So, Tim and Nadyne- congrats on the new digs!! Can’t wait to see it! Connie & Larry- happy belated anniversary- your card will be in the mail soon- I promise!! Pat- Happy belated b-day. I will call you soon!

P.S. Tim called the other day, so I have talked to him since I wrote this and I did send Connie's b-day gift. Making progress.. :)

One year with "Stinky the Mom-biter!"

He has many names: Lightning, Stinky, Koala, Walla Bear, Wally, Ouch (as in "Ouch, stop biting me!"), and many others. Last Tuesday, we celebrated one year with our “new” little guy! Guess that means that he is no longer new :) We celebrated this weekend by taking him to see Dr. Getty for his checkup/shots. He was thrilled (ok, not really, but he WAS pretty nice and affectionate when we got him back home afterwards. 3 shots must have worn him down). He got to hiss at a little dog, too. He apparently doesn't like to be stared at by curious dogs while in his carrier in a strange place- who knew? He did really well, and though Dr. G said he’s overweight, he is otherwise healthy. Yay!! We’ll take it.

Here is a pic of the anniversary guy doing what he does best..coming up with new and clever ways to get into trouble. This one involved heights and chips. At least there was no bread destroyed this time. We've learned to keep that in the fridge!



We also had a busy weekend. After a trip to the vet, we attended a funeral on Saturday for the father of a friend of Dan’s since childhood (and a friend of mine since I met Dan). Later, we met Dan’s parents at Kenny’s (the old Fireside) for dinner. I’m pretty sure they gave me enough food there for 2-3 people. It was good tho! We then went home and took it easy, watching tv until bedtime. Our friend Doug’s b-day was Saturday, so when we texted him, he informed us that he was partying in the Dominican Republic. How cool!

Sunday, mom made chili and we watched the games. We’re looking forward to watching the Superbowl next weekend and predict Peyton and the Colts to bring another one home. I also did lots of laundry, but I am still not caught up. I did a ton of homework (reading), too. My professer felt the need to assign way too much reading this week. Next week- same thing, but add two papers and presentation in there as well. Sigh!

In other news:

* The bedroom is painted, waiting on new carpet and re-installation of trim. New tv is up!!

* Have purchased hardwood, which is piled up in boxes in the weight room, waiting to be installed in the hallway when time/schedules allow (things seem like they’re always pretty hectic around here).

* Trying to negotiate a trip to see the Florida fam!

* Tired of snow! It all melted last weekend, (it has been foggy for over a week from it), the ground got all mushy, then guess what? More snow Monday afternoon- yuck! It’s also freezing cold with a lot of wind to make it worse. I’m hoping to one day see that big, burning ball of fire in the sky. If I remember correctly, it’s called the sun.

Ciao!

This past weekend

We had a busy weekend!

On Friday night, we went to the Flyleaf/Breaking Benjamin/Three Days Grace Concert in Peoria. We had a great time. The bands were awesome (esp. 3DG). I’m glad we didn’t get floor seats! There were shoes and bottles and all kinds of other stuff being thrown. I guess it means I’m old, but that would have gotten on my nerves really fast had I been the one getting hit with that stuff. I also think it was “Be 14 and get a free beer night” or something. Lots of severely-underage drinking going on there. It was the same way when we saw Kenny Chesney at the Coliseum last September. No one hosted “Free Beer for 14 year olds” night when I was 14. :) We did have a really good time, and it was great to get to hang out with Dan's brother Dean for awhile!

On Saturday, we (meaning Dan) embarked on the much awaited task of painting our bedroom. It has been light blue since we bought the house many years ago, so we decided it is time to make it our own. I’m not allowed to paint in the house (that’s another post, apparently ADD and painting do not work well together ;). We are painting it the same gray color we have in the living room. We moved lots of stuff out (even got rid of some stuff!!) and taped off the trim that he didn’t remove.

On Sunday, we watched Dallas lose and the other games. (On a tangent, I hope to enjoy the Saints stomping Brett Far-va-ray and the Vikings next week! Brett - you're going to be lookin' like a fool with YOUR pants on the ground - haha! )We went to Chris' for B&G breakfast and had a cuss-fest while watching the game (ok, that was mostly me, but whatever!! Tony Romo WAS playing worse than a girl!!) I have figured it out. I think my Throwback Troy Aikman jersey is bad luck. I wore my Witten jersey last week and they won with style. Aikman jersey this week, and they choked! Then we went home and Dan painted more.

Yesterday, lunch at Kemp’s, then more paint touch-ups. I finally took the Christmas decs up into the garage attic. They've been down for a few weeks now, but I just hadn't taken them upstairs. I love Christmas, but it’s a relief to have them off the counter for another three hundred and something days.

Have a good week!!

My b-day!!!

My b-day was awesome! Lots of calls, texts, emails, and b-day wishes from friends and fam far and near- I love it. Thank you :) We went to Chili’s for lunch, then Mom took us to Outback for dinner. Mom made a chocolate cake and we got cookie dough ice cream (it was diet, I grabbed the wrong container at the store, but it still tasted good!). Tim & Nadyne sent me the funniest card ever! Dan and I got new phones, so my immediate plan for the next 6 months is to learn how to use it :) My technological skills are really lacking, so it may be interesting.

Happy 2010!!

Hope everyone had a happy new year’s eve/day and continues to have a good year! On NY Eve, we went to dinner, then hung out at home. It’s too cold to do much. I only made it through one glass of champagne, instead of my regular bottle, then I was really tired. Sad. :) Age is creeping up on me-lol! Dan worked on mom’s car heater, now she has some much-needed heat for the extra-cold weather we’ve been having.

Resolutions.. the usual. I want to make 2010 a good year! I want to lose 50 pounds (or more!) by the end of the year, complete some more classes and take a work-related test I have been putting off for the last three years due to my fear and mathematical ineptitude. I also want to stay in touch with fam & friends, so maybe I will be better at it this year. We'll see what happens.

Anyone have any good/unusual resolutions?

Christmas & Cruddy Weather!!

I was going to log in on Christmas morning and talk about how grateful I was that we didn’t get any snow and about how I can live without a white Christmas some years. I’m glad I didn’t. For about 2-3 days before Christmas, we had a steady, heavy rain. Things were starting to flood, but it did make for some good parking spaces and last minute bargains at the mall since very few people were out in it. About halfway through the B-fam Christmas party in Heyworth, everyone started talking about how hard it was snowing. The rain turned to snow and it was a mess. We got a few inches of snow and eventually it stopped. It started again a few days later. Then stopped again. We are supposed to get a “winter storm” tomorrow. Great! They are shutting the heat off in my building at work for a few days, so that should make for some chilly times!

Florida fam- we are jealous of you right now ;) Soaking up all the sun ;)

We have been in a nasty deep freeze for several days. It started a few days after Christmas and will continue through at least the end of this week. Yuck! It literally feels like it “bites” your skin when you walk outside without gloves or a hat or coat on. I took the trash & recycle out last night (just outside the door to the bins) and it was COLD!!! It makes me feel bad for Lightning and what he went through when his horrible former-owner left him outside overnight in a mesh carrier in -30 degree temperatures. I’m really not sure how he survived it, but I’m sure he suffered a lot. At least now, our little beast has a warm home and can look outside from the warmth of inside the house.