Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday, October 25, 2010
Exciting Times
Seeing as I'm home today, I thought I'd take some time and update our little blog here. Life has begun moving at a tremendous pace and we've both found ourselves struggling to keep up.
Of course our biggest news is that we're having a baby! And the way we found out is possibly the best pregnancy story we could have ever come up with. At the end of September, the cyst I managed to grown in June became extremely painful. I had been seeing an OBGYN in town for a few months about it, and the pain finally became so great she couldn't ignore it any longer. So I went in for surgery, completely prepared to be done with all the cyst & abscess problems I'd been having for the last year. After being admitted, I was in the prep room with my mom when my doctor came in. She asked my mom to leave for a minute, which I was expecting, and then told me my urine test had come back positive, which I was definitely wasn't expecting! I had just taken a pregnancy test & it had been negative. Even after seeing my lab results, I was absolutely convinced someone had mixed up the urine samples, or results. I mean, it happens all the time, right? I was sent home, cyst fully intact, and a head full of questions. As soon as I got home, it was into the bathroom for me with another pregnancy test. Three minutes later, low and behold...
the hospital was right! I told myself I could wait a couple hours to tell Anthony in person. 5 minutes later I was on the phone, hoping he would actually answer. When I told him, his first reaction was, "How??" And then it was, "You're making me tear up at work". The next day I had my first ultrasound to verify the results, and although it was early, there was a definite baby growing! Last week we had another ultrasound to get a better estimate of how far along I am, and we got to see baby's heartbeat! The doctor put me at 6 1/2 weeks (7 1/2 now), and said I'm due June 9. We're both so incredibly excited! We've got so much to get ready, just like any first time parents, but it's all so exciting to us!
Our other big news is that we became first time homeowners at the end of August! With such incredible interest rates, we figured it was the best time for us to buy a house. After looking around at stuff in our price range, we figured we'd be best off buying the house we've been renting...and then we didn't even have to move! So at the end of August, we all signed papers and Bang! we were responsible for a mortgage instead of rent! It's still kind of hard for us to comprehend...the fact that we own the home instead of just living in it. But we feel so grown up now, buying a house, starting a family...and it all happening at once as well.
Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Anthony's still working at Lemons House Moving, and I'm still at ReMax. Fortunately, work for Anthony has picked up in the last few weeks...now we just have to hope it stays that way. He also applied for a mechanic's job at a nearby shop, and we're really hoping he gets that as well. It would be so nice to know his work schedule in advance!
I'm going to do my best to keep this updated with baby stuff for all you who are dying to know (I know there are a whole 5 of you ;) so keep checking back!
Of course our biggest news is that we're having a baby! And the way we found out is possibly the best pregnancy story we could have ever come up with. At the end of September, the cyst I managed to grown in June became extremely painful. I had been seeing an OBGYN in town for a few months about it, and the pain finally became so great she couldn't ignore it any longer. So I went in for surgery, completely prepared to be done with all the cyst & abscess problems I'd been having for the last year. After being admitted, I was in the prep room with my mom when my doctor came in. She asked my mom to leave for a minute, which I was expecting, and then told me my urine test had come back positive, which I was definitely wasn't expecting! I had just taken a pregnancy test & it had been negative. Even after seeing my lab results, I was absolutely convinced someone had mixed up the urine samples, or results. I mean, it happens all the time, right? I was sent home, cyst fully intact, and a head full of questions. As soon as I got home, it was into the bathroom for me with another pregnancy test. Three minutes later, low and behold...
the hospital was right! I told myself I could wait a couple hours to tell Anthony in person. 5 minutes later I was on the phone, hoping he would actually answer. When I told him, his first reaction was, "How??" And then it was, "You're making me tear up at work". The next day I had my first ultrasound to verify the results, and although it was early, there was a definite baby growing! Last week we had another ultrasound to get a better estimate of how far along I am, and we got to see baby's heartbeat! The doctor put me at 6 1/2 weeks (7 1/2 now), and said I'm due June 9. We're both so incredibly excited! We've got so much to get ready, just like any first time parents, but it's all so exciting to us!
Our other big news is that we became first time homeowners at the end of August! With such incredible interest rates, we figured it was the best time for us to buy a house. After looking around at stuff in our price range, we figured we'd be best off buying the house we've been renting...and then we didn't even have to move! So at the end of August, we all signed papers and Bang! we were responsible for a mortgage instead of rent! It's still kind of hard for us to comprehend...the fact that we own the home instead of just living in it. But we feel so grown up now, buying a house, starting a family...and it all happening at once as well.
Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Anthony's still working at Lemons House Moving, and I'm still at ReMax. Fortunately, work for Anthony has picked up in the last few weeks...now we just have to hope it stays that way. He also applied for a mechanic's job at a nearby shop, and we're really hoping he gets that as well. It would be so nice to know his work schedule in advance!
I'm going to do my best to keep this updated with baby stuff for all you who are dying to know (I know there are a whole 5 of you ;) so keep checking back!
Monday, May 10, 2010
It's Our Crazy Life
And we'd go mad if it were any other way. Haha! I finally have a bit of downtime (as I type this the dog whines to be let out and I am forced to watch the neighbor girls practice their Spice Girls routine while waiting for Lucie to finish up) and thought it would be good to let people in on our goings on.
Christmas was a wonderful occasion, and someday I will finally post my pictures. Both Anthony and I were spoiled by Papa and Pat with gifts from our family farmhouse in Ohio. Both of our parents spoiled us rotten too with shopping cards, various treats and a new TV (which my blind husband practically begged for), and Anthony surprised me with a new hard drive for my already full computer. Now I can work on my pictures and videos without having to delete stuff first! :)
Anthony has had a bit of a slow year so far. Lemons House Moving hasn't had consistent work for quite some time now, which has meant Anthony has spent many months molding on our couch playing video games. As much as he loves playing assassin, he gets bored pretty easily by now. His brother Brady got him into bulking up just before Christmas, so going to the gym to put himself through his paces has been incredibly enjoyable for him, plus it gets him out of the house. Now that the weather has started leaning towards spring (don't worry, the weather is calling for snow showers tomorrow...this is Idaho after all!), he's able to get out of the house more often. Last fall he started playing Disc Golf (golf with Frisbee's) and is stoked to be getting out on the courses again. On a non-work, good weather day he'll go 3-4 times a day. It makes me laugh how entertained he is by the sport, but it's been really good for him. Work at Lemons has picked up in the last week too, and that's been a blessing as well, however it's still not consistent work. All the jobs they have lined up are contingent on the owner having money, and we all know that's a bit scare. To suppliment some income, Anthony and Brady are starting up a window washing service. My mom made the comment that clients are always asking for referrals, so the boys jumped all over that idea. I'm hoping to get some pictures of them doing their thing once they start up.
I've been dealing with health problems for the most part. In November I found a lump that started to get fairly painful, and I finally caved and went to the doctor. The lump was a Bartholin's Gland Cyst, which is a gland that has clogged for some reason. I won't mention where the cyst was, but let's just say it was painful to sit, walk, or wear pants. Typically the cyst will surface, much like a zit, and the doctor is then able to lance (make a small incision) the cyst & it goes away. Most women don't even feel this kind of cyst, and if they do, one lancing will take care of it permanently. But my body had years of bad health stored up & put it all into that one little cyst! After two lancings, the cyst still hadn't surfaced & was causing me severe pain, so we scheduled surgery. The surgery went well, and I was recovering pretty well, until I went in for my 2 week post-op check up. The cyst wall had grown back, causing the cyst to grow back. We tried lancing one more time, but to no avail. Back to the OR I went, just one month after my first surgery. This go around was much more difficult in all aspects. The surgery was more difficult and intense than the doctor thought because of scar tissue from the first surgery and the depth of the cyst. My pain was far more intense throughout the process because of that, and my recovery was painfully slow. To add to the difficulty, about a month and a half ago I had an abscess form in the same area just as I was beginning to feel and walk better. My doctor lanced it once, and then it ruptured on it's own just before she lanced it again (which saved me about $300!) but as of right now, it is still hanging around and causing problems. I can wear pants (depending on the day), but I still have problems sitting and can't ride a bike. On the plus side, I managed to get a different job while recovering from my second surgery. I'm now working in the Re/Max office for Steve and Shawn Anderson. The job is part-time right now, but I'm hoping to get to full time very very soon. Last week I worked over 40 hours in their office, and worked in Dad's office for about 7 hours. Needless to say, it was a long week. But I really enjoy working in both offices (I help mom out if she needs help and I have time). There's a constant variety of jobs, and I'm learning all sorts of stuff about Real Estate that is bound to come in handy some day!
Other than that, it's business as usual. The animals are still crazy and pester us every chance they get, but we can't help but love them. I figure I should post at least a couple pictures, so below is one for Anthony, and one for me. Anthony took his himself, and it's one of my favorite pictures of him ever, and mine was just after my second surgery and my blood pressure was going nuts. Look for Christmas pictures soon!
Christmas was a wonderful occasion, and someday I will finally post my pictures. Both Anthony and I were spoiled by Papa and Pat with gifts from our family farmhouse in Ohio. Both of our parents spoiled us rotten too with shopping cards, various treats and a new TV (which my blind husband practically begged for), and Anthony surprised me with a new hard drive for my already full computer. Now I can work on my pictures and videos without having to delete stuff first! :)
Anthony has had a bit of a slow year so far. Lemons House Moving hasn't had consistent work for quite some time now, which has meant Anthony has spent many months molding on our couch playing video games. As much as he loves playing assassin, he gets bored pretty easily by now. His brother Brady got him into bulking up just before Christmas, so going to the gym to put himself through his paces has been incredibly enjoyable for him, plus it gets him out of the house. Now that the weather has started leaning towards spring (don't worry, the weather is calling for snow showers tomorrow...this is Idaho after all!), he's able to get out of the house more often. Last fall he started playing Disc Golf (golf with Frisbee's) and is stoked to be getting out on the courses again. On a non-work, good weather day he'll go 3-4 times a day. It makes me laugh how entertained he is by the sport, but it's been really good for him. Work at Lemons has picked up in the last week too, and that's been a blessing as well, however it's still not consistent work. All the jobs they have lined up are contingent on the owner having money, and we all know that's a bit scare. To suppliment some income, Anthony and Brady are starting up a window washing service. My mom made the comment that clients are always asking for referrals, so the boys jumped all over that idea. I'm hoping to get some pictures of them doing their thing once they start up.
I've been dealing with health problems for the most part. In November I found a lump that started to get fairly painful, and I finally caved and went to the doctor. The lump was a Bartholin's Gland Cyst, which is a gland that has clogged for some reason. I won't mention where the cyst was, but let's just say it was painful to sit, walk, or wear pants. Typically the cyst will surface, much like a zit, and the doctor is then able to lance (make a small incision) the cyst & it goes away. Most women don't even feel this kind of cyst, and if they do, one lancing will take care of it permanently. But my body had years of bad health stored up & put it all into that one little cyst! After two lancings, the cyst still hadn't surfaced & was causing me severe pain, so we scheduled surgery. The surgery went well, and I was recovering pretty well, until I went in for my 2 week post-op check up. The cyst wall had grown back, causing the cyst to grow back. We tried lancing one more time, but to no avail. Back to the OR I went, just one month after my first surgery. This go around was much more difficult in all aspects. The surgery was more difficult and intense than the doctor thought because of scar tissue from the first surgery and the depth of the cyst. My pain was far more intense throughout the process because of that, and my recovery was painfully slow. To add to the difficulty, about a month and a half ago I had an abscess form in the same area just as I was beginning to feel and walk better. My doctor lanced it once, and then it ruptured on it's own just before she lanced it again (which saved me about $300!) but as of right now, it is still hanging around and causing problems. I can wear pants (depending on the day), but I still have problems sitting and can't ride a bike. On the plus side, I managed to get a different job while recovering from my second surgery. I'm now working in the Re/Max office for Steve and Shawn Anderson. The job is part-time right now, but I'm hoping to get to full time very very soon. Last week I worked over 40 hours in their office, and worked in Dad's office for about 7 hours. Needless to say, it was a long week. But I really enjoy working in both offices (I help mom out if she needs help and I have time). There's a constant variety of jobs, and I'm learning all sorts of stuff about Real Estate that is bound to come in handy some day!
Other than that, it's business as usual. The animals are still crazy and pester us every chance they get, but we can't help but love them. I figure I should post at least a couple pictures, so below is one for Anthony, and one for me. Anthony took his himself, and it's one of my favorite pictures of him ever, and mine was just after my second surgery and my blood pressure was going nuts. Look for Christmas pictures soon!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Seems like years ago Part 2
Back home, life has returned to normal...for the most part. Just after we returned home from the trip, I had a wonderful gift. My car! As you all know, my car's timing belt went bad last December (just before Christmas), and Anthony has been rebuilding the engine since. We ran into MANY snags along the way, including a guy in Salt Lake screwing us over on a major part, but my baby is finally fixed, and I couldn't be happier!
One of the random events we experienced just after coming home was our crazy neighbor, who I have dubbed Arson Man. One Friday night he came home early in the evening drunk (yet again) and grazed the side of a neighbor's car. I witnessed this event and watched his car sit high centered on the curb in front of his house, thinking to myself "that seems about right". A short time later he apparently got in another public fight with his wife, culminating in everyone leaving the house. But Arson Man was not yet done. He returned home to an empty house, and for some reason thought it would be fun to light their house on fire, then quickly leave. He was later picked up by the police for getting in yet another accident while drunk. Let's sum up: in one night this man managed to get in two accidents (one being a hit and run), got charged with a DUI, and oh yeah, tried to burn down his house with the animals inside. He wasn't charged with arson, as far as anyone knows, but everyone in the neighborhood knows he did it. Hence the name. :)
My life has most definitely taken some interesting turns in the last few months. I am working as a Data Entry Specialist for a records management company, and have been for quite some time now. This was supposed to be a temporary job, but since Hallmark fell through, I have stayed on for a lack of better job. It's a DULL job, and I hate it, but it's a job and it's been kind of interesting learning about mortgages. Just before we left on our trip, I was told that I wouldn't be given the time off I needed, and was advised to give my two weeks notice so that if need be I would be eligible for re-hire. I was exstatic! There was an end date in sight! The next morning I was called into an executives office, and told that I was too valuable to the company to let go, and they were giving me the time off I needed. I just had to do some paper work. Ok, so the end date was no longer in sight, but at least I didn't have to look for a new job. A plus, I guess. About two weeks before we left, an upper level job opened up, and thinking, "what the hell?" I applied. Low and behold, I got the job above some of my coworkers who have worked for the company for years (literally). And once we got home, I was told that I was also getting more of a raise than originally agreed upon. So not only did I get a promotion I didn't really care about at a job I desperately want to leave, but I got more money for simply having common sense. The irony is so thick it nearly knocked me over. I still despise the job, but at least now I'm getting paid almost a decent wage for it.
Anthony has been out of work for almost a year now. A job will come up every so often, but there hasn't been consistent work save for 2 weeks this summer. So he's been bumming around our house and keeping the animals company; working when the odd job pops up. Unfortunately for us it's better that he stays on unemployment than find a part time job that doesn't pay half what he normally makes. So he tries to find things to keep him occupied, or get him out of the house to prevent cabin fever, but it's been so long that the activities are running thin. In the last month his brother has gotten him into weight lifting, which has been really good for him. It gives him something to focus on and gets him out of the house for a bit everyday, but now that Brady's gone back to Utah it's hard for him to motivate himself. We all know that working out is much more fun if you have a buddy! Otherwise he basically plays video games, either alone or with his friends.
Our endless routine has made both of us a bit restless, me more so than Anthony. As of late we've been searching for things to change up our routine, but in a city like ours, that's difficult to do. Now with Anthony being out of work for so long, we're looking into the possibility of moving somewhere else. Something I've been wanting to do since we were married. Our plan was to only stay here for one year max, but circumstances have forced us to stay longer. If Anthony can find a good job somewhere, anywhere, we're gone. So everyone keep your fingers crossed that something wonderful comes up! Lord knows that after the year we've had, we could seriously use a break.
One of the random events we experienced just after coming home was our crazy neighbor, who I have dubbed Arson Man. One Friday night he came home early in the evening drunk (yet again) and grazed the side of a neighbor's car. I witnessed this event and watched his car sit high centered on the curb in front of his house, thinking to myself "that seems about right". A short time later he apparently got in another public fight with his wife, culminating in everyone leaving the house. But Arson Man was not yet done. He returned home to an empty house, and for some reason thought it would be fun to light their house on fire, then quickly leave. He was later picked up by the police for getting in yet another accident while drunk. Let's sum up: in one night this man managed to get in two accidents (one being a hit and run), got charged with a DUI, and oh yeah, tried to burn down his house with the animals inside. He wasn't charged with arson, as far as anyone knows, but everyone in the neighborhood knows he did it. Hence the name. :)
My life has most definitely taken some interesting turns in the last few months. I am working as a Data Entry Specialist for a records management company, and have been for quite some time now. This was supposed to be a temporary job, but since Hallmark fell through, I have stayed on for a lack of better job. It's a DULL job, and I hate it, but it's a job and it's been kind of interesting learning about mortgages. Just before we left on our trip, I was told that I wouldn't be given the time off I needed, and was advised to give my two weeks notice so that if need be I would be eligible for re-hire. I was exstatic! There was an end date in sight! The next morning I was called into an executives office, and told that I was too valuable to the company to let go, and they were giving me the time off I needed. I just had to do some paper work. Ok, so the end date was no longer in sight, but at least I didn't have to look for a new job. A plus, I guess. About two weeks before we left, an upper level job opened up, and thinking, "what the hell?" I applied. Low and behold, I got the job above some of my coworkers who have worked for the company for years (literally). And once we got home, I was told that I was also getting more of a raise than originally agreed upon. So not only did I get a promotion I didn't really care about at a job I desperately want to leave, but I got more money for simply having common sense. The irony is so thick it nearly knocked me over. I still despise the job, but at least now I'm getting paid almost a decent wage for it.
Anthony has been out of work for almost a year now. A job will come up every so often, but there hasn't been consistent work save for 2 weeks this summer. So he's been bumming around our house and keeping the animals company; working when the odd job pops up. Unfortunately for us it's better that he stays on unemployment than find a part time job that doesn't pay half what he normally makes. So he tries to find things to keep him occupied, or get him out of the house to prevent cabin fever, but it's been so long that the activities are running thin. In the last month his brother has gotten him into weight lifting, which has been really good for him. It gives him something to focus on and gets him out of the house for a bit everyday, but now that Brady's gone back to Utah it's hard for him to motivate himself. We all know that working out is much more fun if you have a buddy! Otherwise he basically plays video games, either alone or with his friends.
Our endless routine has made both of us a bit restless, me more so than Anthony. As of late we've been searching for things to change up our routine, but in a city like ours, that's difficult to do. Now with Anthony being out of work for so long, we're looking into the possibility of moving somewhere else. Something I've been wanting to do since we were married. Our plan was to only stay here for one year max, but circumstances have forced us to stay longer. If Anthony can find a good job somewhere, anywhere, we're gone. So everyone keep your fingers crossed that something wonderful comes up! Lord knows that after the year we've had, we could seriously use a break.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Seems like years ago
All right, I confess. I have become horrible at updating our blog. In my own defense, when I started this I had much more free time on my hands, and that's not such the case anymore. However, I know you all crave knowledge of our happenings, so I will once again plop myself down in front of my magical computer screen and wow you with tales of our lives.
Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen since the last post is that we took a trip (albeit a short one) to visit my grandparents at the end of September. Anthony's never met most of my family, so I was extremely excited for the interactions as well as seeing my dear grandparents. There were some bumps along the way in regards to my job, but everything smoothed out just in time for us to run to the airport and settle in for a week's worth of travel.
For those of you who don't know, I have a set of grandparents in Ohio and another in Tennessee. When we get the chance to visit (typically every other year or every two years), we usually fly into Ohio, stay there for a few days, then drive down to Tennessee, stay a few days, and then drive back up to Ohio for a day or two before flying back home. Bouncing back and forth can sometimes be exhausting, but so worthwhile. Oh yes, and we usually visiting during the 4th of July, so it's scorching hot and humid like you wouldn't believe. Most of the time I have to spend indoors because the heat and humidity make me so sick. This was the first trip we've taken since I was little that wasn't in the middle of the summer. This is the first east coast Fall that I can remember, and it was wonderful! A bit chilly at times, but the changing leaves and refreshing breezes were fantastic.
While we were in Tennessee, we did something that we've never done before. In nearby North Carolina there is a privately owned mountain called Grandfather Mountain. The brochure talks of wild animals that roam the area and of a mile high swinging bridge. The bridge is what caught our attention, and of course, it was decided that we MUST go. So up the mountain we went in search of bears, mountain lions, and a mile high rope swinging bridge. Imagine our surprise when reaching the first stop on the mountain we found paved walking trails, a nature museum, and a parking lot. We all shrugged and decided to stretch our legs for a bit and headed down the "hiking" trails. Not far along a sign sprung up in front of us. "Cougar exhibit to the right. Otter exhibit to the left." I'm going to assume you're all intelligent people and know that Otters do not live on mountains. Our curiosity peaked and off to the otters we went. Turns out that the "wild life" roaming the area is actually a very small zoo placed in the side of Grandfather mountain. You can even feed the bears, and they do tricks for their treats! Although a bit disappointing, we still enjoyed the animal area. But then it was off to the mighty swinging bridge where we would all face certain death. We drove up to the very top of the mountain (a steep a windy road), piled out of the Pimp-Mobile (did I mention we were rolling in a baby blue Lincoln Continental? Oh yeah. That's how we roll.), and began the climb to the bridge. The view was breath-taking. You could see almost the whole of the Smoky Mountains, and learned they weren't called that without reason. The family stopped for a quick photo-op out on some rocks, and while Anthony and I were doing our own pictures, everyone else decided to tempt their fate upon the bridge. Now when you think of a swinging bridge, you imagine an Indiana Jones-type bridge right? Made of rope, sags in the middle, only enough room for people to cross single-file. I was so incredibly disappointed to find that our death-defying bridge was actually a walking suspension bridge made of metal. It barely even swayed! Coming as far as we had, we decided to complete our adventure by crossing the bridge and traversing across rock to the tip of the mountain for an unobscured view of the valley.
Not long after that, we set our sights on Ohio. It was my Papa's 80th birthday this year, and my grandma Pat had been planning a big celebration for months. A good portion of the family came into town for the festivities, and we bunked up at a little bed and breakfast for a few nights to clear out rooms for Uncle Bob and cousin Nan. The house we stayed in was built by Pat's brother (hope I got that right) and was really cute, with a wrap-around porch and a Chapel built just off the house. The couple who bought it had decided to retire, but loved the area so much that they wanted to share it with other people. So they dug out a huge chuck of ground behind the house and made a pond that looks out to the fields behind it. The weather was too cold for us to go sit out there, but just looking at the pond from our window there was a sense of peace that overtook you. Unfortunately, the house is fairly old, as are the pipes, and the water coming out of the faucets reeked of sulfur. Anthony and I learned the hard way to open our window when someone was taking a shower so that our room didn't start to stink. But the people were incredibly sweet and we sincerely appreciated their hospitality. I actually felt kind of bad that they had gone to so much trouble and all we did was sleep there. We were out the door as soon as we woke up and only came back at the end of the day.
One of the things that I had to show Anthony was Eerie Lake. So we all bundled up against the wind and made our way down to the deserted shore. One a good day, you can occasionally see Canada on the other side of the lake, or a big liner cruising along the horizon. There weren't any ships out that day, but we spent a long time strolling along the shore, shouting stories to each other and examining the types of debris we could find. Anthony made a collection of golf balls at one point. A whole arm-full! One of our traditions is to walk along the shore collecting any seashells that we can find. At one point we did run across a group of birdwatchers, braving the cold and the spray from the waves. Even though it was freezing, it was so nice to visit "our" lake, especially since we had the whole beach to ourselves. Usually the beach is overrun with people and seagulls.
For Papa's party, a local firehouse was rented and we spent a few days getting everything ready for the party. The day of the party, everyone went to the hall first thing in the morning to set up the tables and chairs, and then returned later in the afternoon to get the food ready and blow up all the balloons. My aunt got helium tanks for the balloons, and Anthony, Nan and a few others decided to experiment with putting balloons inside of balloons. Eventually they wound up having far too much fun with the helium and we had to remove them from their inflation post. ;)
The party was such a good time! I saw more family in those few hours than I have in about 12 years...not even joking. All the brothers made the trip for the party, as well as several cousins, Pat's family and friends from church. And the food! Oh the food! There was so much of it! And we had to make a table just for the pies! I'm not much of a pie person, but even I was drooling obscenely over that particular table. At the end of the night we had a balloon releasing party for the hundreds (literally) of balloons we had inflated. Everyone piled out of the hall to cheer the balloons on their journey into the night sky.
Even our trip home wasn't without incident/excitement. Not many of you know, but I have an intense love of Cheddar popcorn. Normally the only time of year I can get it is around Christmas, when Walmart has those tins of popcorn. So while Strolling through the Cincinnati airport the aroma of popcorn wafted into our nostrils. Idle curiosity and hunger drove us to the stand and I was beyond elated to discover the stand not only sold Cheddar popcorn, but it was the BEST Cheddarcorn I've ever tasted. I quickly bought the biggest bag they had and smuggled it onto the rest of the flights home with me. My kind of souvenir!
Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen since the last post is that we took a trip (albeit a short one) to visit my grandparents at the end of September. Anthony's never met most of my family, so I was extremely excited for the interactions as well as seeing my dear grandparents. There were some bumps along the way in regards to my job, but everything smoothed out just in time for us to run to the airport and settle in for a week's worth of travel.
For those of you who don't know, I have a set of grandparents in Ohio and another in Tennessee. When we get the chance to visit (typically every other year or every two years), we usually fly into Ohio, stay there for a few days, then drive down to Tennessee, stay a few days, and then drive back up to Ohio for a day or two before flying back home. Bouncing back and forth can sometimes be exhausting, but so worthwhile. Oh yes, and we usually visiting during the 4th of July, so it's scorching hot and humid like you wouldn't believe. Most of the time I have to spend indoors because the heat and humidity make me so sick. This was the first trip we've taken since I was little that wasn't in the middle of the summer. This is the first east coast Fall that I can remember, and it was wonderful! A bit chilly at times, but the changing leaves and refreshing breezes were fantastic.
While we were in Tennessee, we did something that we've never done before. In nearby North Carolina there is a privately owned mountain called Grandfather Mountain. The brochure talks of wild animals that roam the area and of a mile high swinging bridge. The bridge is what caught our attention, and of course, it was decided that we MUST go. So up the mountain we went in search of bears, mountain lions, and a mile high rope swinging bridge. Imagine our surprise when reaching the first stop on the mountain we found paved walking trails, a nature museum, and a parking lot. We all shrugged and decided to stretch our legs for a bit and headed down the "hiking" trails. Not far along a sign sprung up in front of us. "Cougar exhibit to the right. Otter exhibit to the left." I'm going to assume you're all intelligent people and know that Otters do not live on mountains. Our curiosity peaked and off to the otters we went. Turns out that the "wild life" roaming the area is actually a very small zoo placed in the side of Grandfather mountain. You can even feed the bears, and they do tricks for their treats! Although a bit disappointing, we still enjoyed the animal area. But then it was off to the mighty swinging bridge where we would all face certain death. We drove up to the very top of the mountain (a steep a windy road), piled out of the Pimp-Mobile (did I mention we were rolling in a baby blue Lincoln Continental? Oh yeah. That's how we roll.), and began the climb to the bridge. The view was breath-taking. You could see almost the whole of the Smoky Mountains, and learned they weren't called that without reason. The family stopped for a quick photo-op out on some rocks, and while Anthony and I were doing our own pictures, everyone else decided to tempt their fate upon the bridge. Now when you think of a swinging bridge, you imagine an Indiana Jones-type bridge right? Made of rope, sags in the middle, only enough room for people to cross single-file. I was so incredibly disappointed to find that our death-defying bridge was actually a walking suspension bridge made of metal. It barely even swayed! Coming as far as we had, we decided to complete our adventure by crossing the bridge and traversing across rock to the tip of the mountain for an unobscured view of the valley.
Not long after that, we set our sights on Ohio. It was my Papa's 80th birthday this year, and my grandma Pat had been planning a big celebration for months. A good portion of the family came into town for the festivities, and we bunked up at a little bed and breakfast for a few nights to clear out rooms for Uncle Bob and cousin Nan. The house we stayed in was built by Pat's brother (hope I got that right) and was really cute, with a wrap-around porch and a Chapel built just off the house. The couple who bought it had decided to retire, but loved the area so much that they wanted to share it with other people. So they dug out a huge chuck of ground behind the house and made a pond that looks out to the fields behind it. The weather was too cold for us to go sit out there, but just looking at the pond from our window there was a sense of peace that overtook you. Unfortunately, the house is fairly old, as are the pipes, and the water coming out of the faucets reeked of sulfur. Anthony and I learned the hard way to open our window when someone was taking a shower so that our room didn't start to stink. But the people were incredibly sweet and we sincerely appreciated their hospitality. I actually felt kind of bad that they had gone to so much trouble and all we did was sleep there. We were out the door as soon as we woke up and only came back at the end of the day.
One of the things that I had to show Anthony was Eerie Lake. So we all bundled up against the wind and made our way down to the deserted shore. One a good day, you can occasionally see Canada on the other side of the lake, or a big liner cruising along the horizon. There weren't any ships out that day, but we spent a long time strolling along the shore, shouting stories to each other and examining the types of debris we could find. Anthony made a collection of golf balls at one point. A whole arm-full! One of our traditions is to walk along the shore collecting any seashells that we can find. At one point we did run across a group of birdwatchers, braving the cold and the spray from the waves. Even though it was freezing, it was so nice to visit "our" lake, especially since we had the whole beach to ourselves. Usually the beach is overrun with people and seagulls.
For Papa's party, a local firehouse was rented and we spent a few days getting everything ready for the party. The day of the party, everyone went to the hall first thing in the morning to set up the tables and chairs, and then returned later in the afternoon to get the food ready and blow up all the balloons. My aunt got helium tanks for the balloons, and Anthony, Nan and a few others decided to experiment with putting balloons inside of balloons. Eventually they wound up having far too much fun with the helium and we had to remove them from their inflation post. ;)
The party was such a good time! I saw more family in those few hours than I have in about 12 years...not even joking. All the brothers made the trip for the party, as well as several cousins, Pat's family and friends from church. And the food! Oh the food! There was so much of it! And we had to make a table just for the pies! I'm not much of a pie person, but even I was drooling obscenely over that particular table. At the end of the night we had a balloon releasing party for the hundreds (literally) of balloons we had inflated. Everyone piled out of the hall to cheer the balloons on their journey into the night sky.
Even our trip home wasn't without incident/excitement. Not many of you know, but I have an intense love of Cheddar popcorn. Normally the only time of year I can get it is around Christmas, when Walmart has those tins of popcorn. So while Strolling through the Cincinnati airport the aroma of popcorn wafted into our nostrils. Idle curiosity and hunger drove us to the stand and I was beyond elated to discover the stand not only sold Cheddar popcorn, but it was the BEST Cheddarcorn I've ever tasted. I quickly bought the biggest bag they had and smuggled it onto the rest of the flights home with me. My kind of souvenir!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Fair Time 2009
So I promised you all a fun (or at least a non-depressing) post this time, and here we go.
Every year at the beginning of September the Idaho State Fair comes to town, and it is possibly our favorite "holiday" ever! It's a ridiculously huge event, and everyone from towns all over South East Idaho come at some point during the week that it's open. There is a petting zoo for the kids, tractor displays (of course), art exhibits, sales barns, 4-H demonstrations, horse shows, comedy and hypnotist acts, a demolition derby, etc., etc. The best part, however, is the FOOD!!! Anthony and I will go two to three times every year just so we can sample all the food we want. There is a massive food court in the dead center of the fair with hundreds (literally) of food stands. Most of the food you can only get during the fair, and everyone has their favorites. One classic that EVERYONE loves are Tigers Ears; giant scones sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and slathered in honey butter. I'm drooling just thinking about it...
This year our dear dear friend Messina came for a visit right around fair time and brought our little neicey Bailey with her. So on a Saturday morning we loaded up the Suburban with Jared, our friend Ross, Messina, Bailey, Anthony and myself to take our long awaited trip to the fair...
After taking an afternoon siesta, we went back to the fair that evening sans Ross, adding my parents. We went to the early hypnotist show (which was pretty good, I have to admit, if not a bit tame because of the audience), and after wards hit up the food stands before touring the art exhibits.
Mixed berry funnel cake. Well worth the 30 minute wait.
This is the grand champion cake. That's right, this is an actual cake. You can smell the fondant.
Bailey reeeally wanted to talk to Pop Pop Mike about something and decided to climb over the table.
This is a mostly eaten Tigers Ear.
Every year at the beginning of September the Idaho State Fair comes to town, and it is possibly our favorite "holiday" ever! It's a ridiculously huge event, and everyone from towns all over South East Idaho come at some point during the week that it's open. There is a petting zoo for the kids, tractor displays (of course), art exhibits, sales barns, 4-H demonstrations, horse shows, comedy and hypnotist acts, a demolition derby, etc., etc. The best part, however, is the FOOD!!! Anthony and I will go two to three times every year just so we can sample all the food we want. There is a massive food court in the dead center of the fair with hundreds (literally) of food stands. Most of the food you can only get during the fair, and everyone has their favorites. One classic that EVERYONE loves are Tigers Ears; giant scones sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and slathered in honey butter. I'm drooling just thinking about it...
This year our dear dear friend Messina came for a visit right around fair time and brought our little neicey Bailey with her. So on a Saturday morning we loaded up the Suburban with Jared, our friend Ross, Messina, Bailey, Anthony and myself to take our long awaited trip to the fair...
After taking an afternoon siesta, we went back to the fair that evening sans Ross, adding my parents. We went to the early hypnotist show (which was pretty good, I have to admit, if not a bit tame because of the audience), and after wards hit up the food stands before touring the art exhibits.
Mixed berry funnel cake. Well worth the 30 minute wait.
This is the grand champion cake. That's right, this is an actual cake. You can smell the fondant.
Bailey reeeally wanted to talk to Pop Pop Mike about something and decided to climb over the table.
This is a mostly eaten Tigers Ear.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Inevitable Truth
It is quite incredible how time can get away from you. I am amazed at how the days will drag, but the weeks and months fly by. At this point in time, Anthony and I are giddy with excitement that the Idaho State Fair opens next weekend, and that means one thing. Food, food and more food. I am in fact so excited that I had a full blown fantasy about tearing into a behemoth roasted turkey leg one of the fair booths provides to the hungry fair-goers. Rest assured, once we enter the fair grounds and lay our hands on one of these mouth watering creations, another post and picture will come along.
Truth be told, I have been dreading this post, and have been finding any possible excuse to postpone the inevitable. This year has been a bit rough for Anthony and I, and no one wants to be a downer, but I've had many requests for an update, so here goes.
In December, the timing belt on my car went bad while it was sitting in the driveway and managed to cause all sorts of damage. In fact, the damage caused was so bad that we've been rebuilding the engine since Christmas time, and are still working on it. Anthony is amazing and knows how to work on VW's, so he's been the one doing all the work, while I've been paying for the parts and anxiously awaiting the return of my car. My parents have been incredibly generous and have let me drive one of their cars this entire time so that we didn't have to pay for a rental. Anthony's got the engine completely rebuilt, but the engine has been making a mirade of noises ever since, and it's working out those little kinks that's been taking so long. Hopefully we've figured out what's been causing the latest ticking, and once that's fixed I'll have my Jetta back. Keep your fingers crossed!
One of the other things that happened to me personally is that I've had to job-hop since November of last year, and it's been extremely difficult for me. I was working for a property management company at the beginning of the year and I adored everything about the job. My co-workers, my bosses, the hours, the work, the office...everything. At the end of January, the owners announced that they were selling the business and would be closing their doors at the end of the month. It gave my co-worker and I approximately two weeks to find new jobs. This was difficult for me because I was going to be out of town at the beginning of February, and who is going to hire someone who has to take time off immediately? It pained me to say good-bye to the job, and I still wonder what might have happened had they stayed in business.
I decided to wait to find a job until we'd come back from Florida, partly because I had a tentative job offer. It came as no surprise to me when the job offer fell through, and I began hunting for a job. It took me just over a month to find a job at a company called Qwest Communications. I was working at an in-bound call center as a Customer Service and Sales Associate, which is something I'd never done before. The job paid extremely well, came with benefits and we had weekends off, so I figured I could tough it out until August, when we would be moving. We were required to take 10 weeks of training, at the end of which we were evaluated and either cut loose or offered a job on the floor.
Training was incredibly boring at first. Much like being back in Junior High where the teacher lectures for hours on end and then you're given busy work and homework. Except I was getting paid, of course. It took a few weeks for the group to get comfortable with each other, but once we all opened up it was a blast! Our class got along ridiculously well and I looked forward to work each and every day, and was a bit sad to leave every night. As much as I loved my co-workers and the office however, I could not handle being on the phones all day.
At first, I had no problem. Talking to people has always come naturally to me, so striking up conversations with people who called in was a real treat for me. I would come home with crazy stories for Anthony every night, and I spent a vast majority of my day laughing. One lady I talked to was the first operator in the U.S.! She had incredible story on top of incredible story. (One of them involved Arsinio Hall) Another gentleman entertained me for two hours with Irish folk stories and recommendations on books to read. My trouble started two weeks after I started on the phones, I won't go into details, but suddenly I was having a serious internal struggle with working for the company. My breaking point came when a lady called with a major problem that hadn't been handled properly, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help her. Being yelled at for an hour straight first thing in the morning isn't the best or easiest way to start your day. After that, it was all downhill, and I began desperately looking for another job.
Thankfully I did find another job and was able to quit Qwest. I'm now working as a data entry specialist for a records company. The work is dull beyond belief and requires no active brain function, but at least it's a job. Technically this is a temporary position, so I've been searching for a job for months with no luck. I'm praying something will pop up in the very near future.
On top of all my job problems, Anthony's been having troubles too. His company hasn't had any work until about three weeks ago, and there has been talk of closing the business. In the meantime, Anthony's been claiming unemployment, but because it's taken so long for the company to start working again, his unemployment for the year has run out. Now we're panicing about what will happen this winter when the company doesn't have work yet again, and Anthony doesn't have unemployment and I'm working a job that couldn't support someone living with their parents and not paying rent. The scooter shop Anthony was working at as a second job closed down a few months ago, so his alternative source of income has run dry. Our hearts go out to our friends who owned the shop, but our concerns are beginning to mount.
And finally, to the news I'm most ashamed to tell. Anthony and I were supposed to be moving to Massachusetts right about now so that I could attend the Hallmark Institute of Photography. All year I've been talking with the financial advisor and filling out mountains of paperwork in an attempt to get as much financial aid as I could for school. When it came time to get the loans I needed, I found out I would need a co-signer other than Anthony in order to get the loans. We talked to my parents for a long time about the school and the loans and asked if they could co-sign. After checking on a few things, my folks weren't able to co-sign on a loan of any amount because of the business. I was (and am) absolutely devestated. I've been looking forward to this adventure for 10 months or more, and suddenly we're staying exactly where we've been for the last two years. It's taken me a long time to get through the mourning process, but I haven't given up hope. My goal is to attend the 2011-2012 school year, and until then I'm trying to get a job or an internship with a local photographer. There is a girl who just graduated from Hallmark, who is an incredible person and has been helping me from afar with my photography and giving me priceless advice. Check her out at www.sararenee.com. She is truly amazing!
I apologize for being such a downer, but like I said, I've had requests for an update, so it had to be done. I promise that the next post will be an upbeat one with lots of pictures!
Truth be told, I have been dreading this post, and have been finding any possible excuse to postpone the inevitable. This year has been a bit rough for Anthony and I, and no one wants to be a downer, but I've had many requests for an update, so here goes.
In December, the timing belt on my car went bad while it was sitting in the driveway and managed to cause all sorts of damage. In fact, the damage caused was so bad that we've been rebuilding the engine since Christmas time, and are still working on it. Anthony is amazing and knows how to work on VW's, so he's been the one doing all the work, while I've been paying for the parts and anxiously awaiting the return of my car. My parents have been incredibly generous and have let me drive one of their cars this entire time so that we didn't have to pay for a rental. Anthony's got the engine completely rebuilt, but the engine has been making a mirade of noises ever since, and it's working out those little kinks that's been taking so long. Hopefully we've figured out what's been causing the latest ticking, and once that's fixed I'll have my Jetta back. Keep your fingers crossed!
One of the other things that happened to me personally is that I've had to job-hop since November of last year, and it's been extremely difficult for me. I was working for a property management company at the beginning of the year and I adored everything about the job. My co-workers, my bosses, the hours, the work, the office...everything. At the end of January, the owners announced that they were selling the business and would be closing their doors at the end of the month. It gave my co-worker and I approximately two weeks to find new jobs. This was difficult for me because I was going to be out of town at the beginning of February, and who is going to hire someone who has to take time off immediately? It pained me to say good-bye to the job, and I still wonder what might have happened had they stayed in business.
I decided to wait to find a job until we'd come back from Florida, partly because I had a tentative job offer. It came as no surprise to me when the job offer fell through, and I began hunting for a job. It took me just over a month to find a job at a company called Qwest Communications. I was working at an in-bound call center as a Customer Service and Sales Associate, which is something I'd never done before. The job paid extremely well, came with benefits and we had weekends off, so I figured I could tough it out until August, when we would be moving. We were required to take 10 weeks of training, at the end of which we were evaluated and either cut loose or offered a job on the floor.
Training was incredibly boring at first. Much like being back in Junior High where the teacher lectures for hours on end and then you're given busy work and homework. Except I was getting paid, of course. It took a few weeks for the group to get comfortable with each other, but once we all opened up it was a blast! Our class got along ridiculously well and I looked forward to work each and every day, and was a bit sad to leave every night. As much as I loved my co-workers and the office however, I could not handle being on the phones all day.
At first, I had no problem. Talking to people has always come naturally to me, so striking up conversations with people who called in was a real treat for me. I would come home with crazy stories for Anthony every night, and I spent a vast majority of my day laughing. One lady I talked to was the first operator in the U.S.! She had incredible story on top of incredible story. (One of them involved Arsinio Hall) Another gentleman entertained me for two hours with Irish folk stories and recommendations on books to read. My trouble started two weeks after I started on the phones, I won't go into details, but suddenly I was having a serious internal struggle with working for the company. My breaking point came when a lady called with a major problem that hadn't been handled properly, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help her. Being yelled at for an hour straight first thing in the morning isn't the best or easiest way to start your day. After that, it was all downhill, and I began desperately looking for another job.
Thankfully I did find another job and was able to quit Qwest. I'm now working as a data entry specialist for a records company. The work is dull beyond belief and requires no active brain function, but at least it's a job. Technically this is a temporary position, so I've been searching for a job for months with no luck. I'm praying something will pop up in the very near future.
On top of all my job problems, Anthony's been having troubles too. His company hasn't had any work until about three weeks ago, and there has been talk of closing the business. In the meantime, Anthony's been claiming unemployment, but because it's taken so long for the company to start working again, his unemployment for the year has run out. Now we're panicing about what will happen this winter when the company doesn't have work yet again, and Anthony doesn't have unemployment and I'm working a job that couldn't support someone living with their parents and not paying rent. The scooter shop Anthony was working at as a second job closed down a few months ago, so his alternative source of income has run dry. Our hearts go out to our friends who owned the shop, but our concerns are beginning to mount.
And finally, to the news I'm most ashamed to tell. Anthony and I were supposed to be moving to Massachusetts right about now so that I could attend the Hallmark Institute of Photography. All year I've been talking with the financial advisor and filling out mountains of paperwork in an attempt to get as much financial aid as I could for school. When it came time to get the loans I needed, I found out I would need a co-signer other than Anthony in order to get the loans. We talked to my parents for a long time about the school and the loans and asked if they could co-sign. After checking on a few things, my folks weren't able to co-sign on a loan of any amount because of the business. I was (and am) absolutely devestated. I've been looking forward to this adventure for 10 months or more, and suddenly we're staying exactly where we've been for the last two years. It's taken me a long time to get through the mourning process, but I haven't given up hope. My goal is to attend the 2011-2012 school year, and until then I'm trying to get a job or an internship with a local photographer. There is a girl who just graduated from Hallmark, who is an incredible person and has been helping me from afar with my photography and giving me priceless advice. Check her out at www.sararenee.com. She is truly amazing!
I apologize for being such a downer, but like I said, I've had requests for an update, so it had to be done. I promise that the next post will be an upbeat one with lots of pictures!
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