Once we saw the kids off on their plane to New Orleans we went to check in at our gate and find out the flight was overbooked - -shocking ! They were looking for volunteers to be flexiable and go on the next flight so we did. Now we have almost $800 in Southwest travel vouchers and hopefully we will get on the 12:50 flight. If not there are 3 more out today. We didn't have to be anywhere so why not. :) Florida will still be there.
On May 27th the US Postal Serivce will start selling Star Wars stamps. They have represented all 6 movies and I think the one with Han Solo is wonderful. I am very sad they come out after we send out wedding invitiations because how cool would that have been. Maybe we can use them on thank you notes.
The R2D2 mailboxes are great and somehow it fills me with with pride to know the outragous amount of taxes I give our US Government is used in such an awesome way. :) May the Force by With You.
Well...hello to any readers I have out there. I hope you find this site somewhat interesting. :)
I have tracking sites on my blog so I can see who is hitting it, how many times, from what website or search engine, what ISP address and when.
If I ever decide to blog more for mainstream readers than for just friends and family it is nice to already have the tracking in place. But, it is very interesting when I get hits from China, Australia, Canada -- and they are reading it !! I know most of the hits are coming from eblogger but it is still cool to know some dude in Greenland is reading my blog.
So, Friday we put the kids on a plane to Mississippi at 9:30AM and we catch a flight to Florida at 10:30 AM. I am looking very forward to being back down in Florida for a few days. We are going to St. Pete (our old stomping grounds) for the weekend and then driving over to Ft. Lauderdale area to stay with one of my closest friends -- shout out to Shirl aka "Little Missy" for a few days. I never laugh more than I am with Shirley -- we always find great adventures.
While visiting Shirl the three of us are going to Key West -- I can't wait ! It is one of the places I always wanted to visit and somehow never made it down too while I lived in Florida. We are onlt there for a quick visit but I am hoping to return for a long stay next spring break. :)
Then we are going to go to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in South Florida -- made famous now because Anna Nicole Smith died there. I don't so much care about that but I would not mind playing a few hands of poker.
We are also going to check out other cool places like -- Morikami for a spin through the gardens. Maybe look at the JFK bunker, and have a stroll and dinner at South Beach.
Whatever we end up doing it will be a nice break from work. I will miss the kids and wish they could come with us with but it is time for them to spend with their Dad. It is also very nice for Mike and I to get some time together without kiddies. :)
I love quotes. They inspire me, amuse me and say it more eloquently than anything I might say. ;)
Here are a few of my favorites today.....
"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be."
- Grandma Moses
Mike: You know, I would like to help out more.
Jennifer: How ?
Mike: Maybe do the grocery shopping ?
Jennifer: Are you kidding ?
Mike: No, I could go after work to Wegmans, the best grocery store in the whole world, and shop for us.
Jennifer: Are you kidding ?
Mike: No, It will be fun. You could make a list, and even put brands you like and I can shop for them.
Jennifer: Are you kidding ?
Mike: No, I like going to the Wegmans and at night after work there is no crowds.
Jennifer: Am I dreaming ?
Mike: No, this is for real. Make a list of what you need.
Jennifer stands in the kitchen in shock. Makes lists and knows that she is marring a man that can go to the grocery store with a list, come back with it filled with happy, healthy foods. And he even cooks for us !!
Life is good :) Better than good, life is great !!
"Lock ness Imposter"
Very cute...see more on their website -- it has other cool t-shirts for kids and parents too !
Yea ! First day of spring ! I am so ready for warm weather. Today was a balmy 43. Ok...Miss Spring ...you need to do much better than that.
I got all the addresses finished tonight for the wedding so invites will be going out in about two weeks.
So, I found out last week that my project for work got cancelled and was a little bumbed out. :(
But, I got put on a much bigger project along with two of my favorite co-workers. We are going to work on getting all of the photos K12 has purchased for many, many, many past projects and get them ready for the new DAM system. The damn DAM as we lovingly refer to it. What is a DAM you may ask ? A Digital Asset Management system or a very wonderful place to store and retrive photographs. Whee ! :::::::::::much dancin here from the K12 media staff::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
My friend Jill sent this to me today and I want to post it for all to read. No matter if you are for the war or against the war I think the author of this op-ed piece gives us all room to think.
Why aren't the Bush daughters in Iraq ?
When I was working for President Bush as a photo editor I came to hate photo editing his trips to Walter Reed Medical Center. Photo after photo there would be injured soldiers with blank looks on their faces, no idea who President Bush or anyone was for that matter. The President and Mrs. Bush would stand there, smile and solders without arms, legs, eyes would shake his hand. It was one of the saddest damn things I have ever edited. I hated it. Often during this process I would lock the office door and just cry while editing.
In less than two months my son will be 18. He could go and fight for this country if he wanted. But, I caution him in making that decision because sometimes I wonder what we are fighting for. Is it for freedom or peace or are we just in the middle of a civil war ? I have to admit I support the troops but I do not want my child coming home without a leg, arm or not at all.
I explained to Adam that many, many times it is the innocent that die in the war. In Iraq, Civilian deaths are rarely counted but make up a large majority of the causalities of this war. Yes, many people died on 9/11, but does that justify the taking of far more lives in civilian and soilders deaths ? It has been for 4 years since we enter the war on Iraq. So much has changed since then in my life and in the world. But, the question remains the same ....what are we fighting for ? What are we dying for ?
Just questions to ponder....
Cork'd is a really cool little site. You can......
Ok -- Time for a quick post after a short and busy weekend.....
Katy and Gabe did Odyssey of the Mind all day on Saturday. It is really amazing what there team did. I video taped it and will try to post it soon. We are not sure what the scores are yet and if they are going to state. Last year Gabe's team placed first and went to state.
Late Saturday we took the kids to see the house for the first time. They really liked it and thought the hot tub and pool table were great. Gabe loved the woods. :) The owners, as nice as they are, did drive us a little batty. I will just be glad when we close and can start working on it.
Tomorrow is another work day....but vacation in two weeks !! Florida here we come. :)
For all those negative people in the world -- I'll start here first:
1.) Sleet and snow in the middle of March
2.) Parents that go on every field trip so no other parents can go
3.) The fact that the project I was going to be working on starting today has been cancelled and now I have to do "boring" stuff
4.) People that I try to have conversations with that just "go off on a tangent" for no real apparent reason.
5.) My stupid AOL is not sending any emails out for some weird reason
And now for the positive:
1.) We got a full commitment letter on our loan so we are all set to close 6 weeks ahead of the date - Whee ! My first "real" house
2.) It is Friday !
3.) A friend and I went shopping at Whole Foods at lunch (and I showed her the outside of the house :)
4.) Spring is just around the corner
5.) My life, even though it can be annoying, is extraordinarily blessed
Ok...I have spent a little time this week doing wedding stuff. We are trying to mail the first group of invitations out on April 5 so we have had to wrap up who we are inviting, addresses, ect. My friend Christina is designing a really, really cool invitation for us. It will be different than any invite you have gotten before but also very modern, elegant and reflects our winery theme. Her business, Paperzest, has done some really amazing things...you can check them out if you like on the web.
I can't believe it is only 3 months away. These last three months have flown by. It will be half way through the year before we know it.
My husband-to-be pointed out last night that I have been talking about "him" to much lately in the blog. "Surly there are more interesting things to write about ...maybe squirrels ?" Of course this person would say that because they LOVE squirrels. I secretly think he likes when I talk about him on the blog. ;)
But...on to more important items....
Katy and Gabe will compete Saturday in Odyssey of the Mind. They have done this every year since kindergarten and have gotten quite good at it. Gabe's team last year went to state. This year they are on the same team and it seems to be the one time when they are around each other that they are not fighting.
Katy is also doing Girls on the Run and will once again run another 5k race in May. Both Gabe and Katy are going to do spring soccer. Both are busy with scouts. Another busy, busy spring.
Yes...we can be independent women and be in a relationship too ! That is why I love living as adult in the 21st century. Please read what one of favorite bloggers has to say today.....
Jackie's Awesome Blog
Quick post...Mike told me after closing on Monday he spent sometime at the Fairfax Library stocking up on books to read. Mike usually reads sports type books, biographies, ect. So..what I suprise this morning when I see one of the books....."Stanley Complete Drywall". I can't wait to see the other titles.
Little does he know that I have been adding to my Amazon lists such titles as "The Complete Color Book", "Home Renovations" and the best selling "This Old House Essential Home Repair."
I think we are getting ready to own a 38 year old house that needs a little renovating. :)
As of today Mike's condo is sold to its new owner. We have some great memories of this condo....and I know Mike will miss the special screen door that his parents and I bought and surprised him with for his birthday 2 years ago.
(I promise I can buy you one for the new place)
So, Mike has officially moved into my place for the next two months. Once we close on our new place he will move in there first and then me and the kids after we get married and the end of school-- sometime at the end of June.
It really seems weird living with another adult again. I am sure it feels even more strange to Mike because besides roommates in college he has never lived "full-time" with another person.
But, I thank him in advanced for putting up with all of us in my small house for two months. It will all be much better when we move to our bigger house -- with tons of closest and storage space. And I even cleaned out the bathroom cabinet for him so he now has a place for a razor and toothbrush. :)
Happy, happy birthday wishes to Mike !!
More freaking snow is forecast for this week ....sigh ! I am so ready for spring and warm temps. But, no...old man winter must hang on.
From Capital Weather.....
"A clipper will move in from the northwest on Tuesday night and bring our region snow on Wednesday. Right now it looks like snow will develop during the late morning or early afternoon hours and continue into the mid-evening. The amount of accumulation is dependent on several factors. These include the impact of the sun angle, intensity of the snow, timing, and surface temperatures. As indicated by the graph below, currently this looks like mostly a nuisance event with areas well northeast of town having the best shot at more than just a couple inches. We will continue to update as the event draws nearer."
SIGH !
On another note.....
Let's hope Mike stays safe and dry....he is driving to Atlantic City Wednesday AM (Also his b'day) to go play in the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. With the snow coming, he might just leave Tuesday night. I have a good feeling he is going to do quite well this trip. Wish him luck. :) And check out his blog for updates.
Quick updates:
1.) We are clear to close now on Mike's condo -- which means it is a for sure deal -- March 12th the new owners take over.
2.) The owners of the house we are buying agreed to all of the terms of the what we wanted them to fix after the home inspection.
3.) My realtor says that I should play the lottery because everything I say will happen comes true. :) Let's hope that continues.
Whew ! What a ride the past 24 hours have been -- First, the inspection took 6 hours -- yes, that's right 6 hours. To say it was thorogh would be an understatement. Second, the home inspector thought the house might have some minor to moderate structural damage cause by how the sun porch is attached to the house. But, today we had to have a structural engineer come out and inspect the house. THANK GOD – it is structurally sound. The lean in the upstairs bedroom was cause from mislaid carpet not from the house falling over. So, we now have his written report and everything seems a ok. It has some minor electrical, plumbing, masonry and fireplace items but none of those were major – and we are hoping the sellers will fix most of them because they are saftey concerns. Our realtors are hashing that out today.
We did meet the owners and it is amazing how much we have in common with them. They even wrote a letter to us and the kids along with photos to tell us all about the neighborhood and house. We also found out that all the utilities in the area are buried so they very rarely lose power. Which with all the crazy weather sometimes is a very good thing.
We also saw two deer in the woods so that was kind of neat.
So..the nuttiness continues......
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