Who says that EVERY show on TV has to be one hour long? Seriously. At least when everything was 30 minutes you could have some choices. Now if you are tired of watching American Idol, Apprentice, and Survivor Season 1,000 you have to wait a whole hour. Not to mention if you miss the first five minutes of Law and Order the whole rest of the hour of the show doesn't make a bit of sense.
Good Lord...I guess I will have to turn off the TV and read a book..what a lot of work!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Mountains and Bluegrass
We headed to Asheville this last weekend for a belated Valentine's Day trip. It was an awesome time. It is total clash in culture between absolute hippieville and huge houses chewing up all of the mountain views. Very bizarro. The restored downtown area is a great place to stay and hang out. The restaurants and bars are very eclectic and chic or totally divey and delicious. That is most of the charm. There is tons of live music, and did I mention the hippies. I don't know if there is a hippie website that tells you were to go "chill and fight the man", but seriously. Nikki would have had a stroke, and the people from "What Not To Wear" would have been there for days. All sorts of greasy random hairdo, weird combos of skirts/pants/Chuck Taylor's, and all sorts of hanging around. The scary part was that all of them did it on purpose. It wasn't like what happens when I don't pay attention to what I am wearing, this was all well thought out and executed intentionally. Furthermore, I have never seen loitering taken to such an impressive level everywhere. Street corners, restaurants, middle of the street...wow.
On Friday we went to an awesome oyster bar (in season right now down here) for some absolutely delicious business, and then went to a tapas joint that was very local and fantastic. We then went and hung out at a great bar with live bluegrass for a few drinks. Again, people were dressed like they didn't have overhead lights or mirrors in their home. I didn't hate the bluegrass as much as I thought I would. I seriously thought I would want to gouge out my eyes, but the group ended up being amazing and highly talented and no eye gouging was necessary.
Saturday took us hiking up Chimney Rock Mountain where they have filmed several movies due to the fantastic scenery. It was beautiful. There were a few tight squeezes up inside the rock and moments of me having embarrassing sudden onsets of scared-y catness, but it was all super in the end. We ate lunch in the shadow of a mountain, by a lake, and we were hiking in long sleeve shirts without coats. Pretty fun.
On Friday we went to an awesome oyster bar (in season right now down here) for some absolutely delicious business, and then went to a tapas joint that was very local and fantastic. We then went and hung out at a great bar with live bluegrass for a few drinks. Again, people were dressed like they didn't have overhead lights or mirrors in their home. I didn't hate the bluegrass as much as I thought I would. I seriously thought I would want to gouge out my eyes, but the group ended up being amazing and highly talented and no eye gouging was necessary.
Saturday took us hiking up Chimney Rock Mountain where they have filmed several movies due to the fantastic scenery. It was beautiful. There were a few tight squeezes up inside the rock and moments of me having embarrassing sudden onsets of scared-y catness, but it was all super in the end. We ate lunch in the shadow of a mountain, by a lake, and we were hiking in long sleeve shirts without coats. Pretty fun.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
You Poor People
It seems like the weather in the sunflower state has been a complete disaster this winter. It is by no means tropical and perfect here, but I am truly feeling sorry for you guys. No sarcasm at all in that statement. Every time I turn around the weather channel is talking about how you all are getting whalloped by another winter storm, and it seems like my mom is having about 1 day off weekly from school due to bad weather. Hope you have fun making up snow days in June...ewww.
Just hope you all have someone to hold on V-Day tomorrow...as it is going to be 13 degrees and you are going to need the body heat to prevent frostbite.
Just hope you all have someone to hold on V-Day tomorrow...as it is going to be 13 degrees and you are going to need the body heat to prevent frostbite.
Completely Out of Hand
So all the people that did not want to come to therapy in November through January (apparently they celebrate holidays like the Swedes down here) decided to start coming...all at once. My work life is a zoo. Luckily I am still enjoying cleaning up after the elephants. Homage to my mom there.
No time for the blog the past few weeks for sure. The extra time I have had has been spent staring at Jake running up and down a basketball court (sometimes carpeted) in a striped shirt being screamed at by people I don't know. I honestly am a little relieved that it is over for the season. I have seen good basketball and I have seen bad basketball...lots of bad basketball...bad basketball. And the occasional chick fight. No boys fighting, only girls. Weird. They are vicious and unpredictable. You know it is coming when boys decide to get after one another, there are obvious signs. Not so much with girls. They silently smolder then snap like a rubber band and go totally bananas. I am now terrified of all teenage girls. I think Jake secretly is too...FACT.
No time for the blog the past few weeks for sure. The extra time I have had has been spent staring at Jake running up and down a basketball court (sometimes carpeted) in a striped shirt being screamed at by people I don't know. I honestly am a little relieved that it is over for the season. I have seen good basketball and I have seen bad basketball...lots of bad basketball...bad basketball. And the occasional chick fight. No boys fighting, only girls. Weird. They are vicious and unpredictable. You know it is coming when boys decide to get after one another, there are obvious signs. Not so much with girls. They silently smolder then snap like a rubber band and go totally bananas. I am now terrified of all teenage girls. I think Jake secretly is too...FACT.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Why I Love My Job...
After re-reading the title of this entry, I feel like I need to establish some sort of disclaimer and then maybe tack the phrase “most of the time” or “today” onto the end of the title. I feel like I am almost jinxing myself by admitting it. It is not that I have not loved other jobs in the past, and it is not that this job has no conflict or problems. There are just days when I feel like this job is a really good fit for me. I know that makes me a pretty lucky person that I am able to make that statement.
I have a boss that is completely insane in the best way imaginable, and goes out of her way to give me what I need, and saves my life daily. My co-workers haven’t thrown down a mutiny yet, nor requested that someone fire me or tar and feather me immediately..it’s the South, and I am not sure if they would tar and feather me prior to firing or not? I will consider that a large compliment after 4 months of dealing with me!
My company is acutely aware of the importance of keeping employees happy so they are motivated to give the very best customer service you can get at a hospital. I am just extremely proud to tell people where I work. Part of this is a result of me spending Thursday and Friday at an all day training session for all managers of the entire hospital (220 folks), held off-site. Simply the idea of this is initially terrifying. I guess it was kind of a big crisis the first time, but since then everyone has figured out that the joint is not going to burn down without the management, and the employees get to have a little more responsibility, which is part of the point I think. All the employees have a lot of ownership in the hospital, which I think makes a huge difference. The hospital does these meetings quarterly, and it has been a tremendous experience for me. They bring in motivational speakers, follow up with all of our goals as a group, and we laugh at one another and do ridiculous chants lead by the CEO of the hospital. It is amazing how much gets accomplished when everyone gets together for face-to-face meetings. I think it is great for accountability as it gets everyone on the same page, and everyone knows what everyone else has heard so there are no excuses for any variability across departments. Everyone knows what is expected and that there are people holding them responsible for their part so we can meet our goals. We work with a few large consulting groups that are totally invaluable. They do a great job of keeping our eye on the ball and pushing us forward. We have pushed our customer service numbers from single digits 3 years ago to being in the top 25th percentile of hospitals that are completing surveys currently for inpatient care. We are very progressive in our practices for being in SC and are a model hospital in the state. In the 7th largest city in SC. Amazing.
I really appreciate that we are all about celebrating victories, ridiculous chants and then putting the success behind us and pushing forward some more. We are getting really close to consideration for Gallup’s 25 Most Desirable Places to Work. That would be a pretty solid honor. It is great to feel like you can be a part of that and feel that good about work….at least for today, I may hate it tomorrow!
I have a boss that is completely insane in the best way imaginable, and goes out of her way to give me what I need, and saves my life daily. My co-workers haven’t thrown down a mutiny yet, nor requested that someone fire me or tar and feather me immediately..it’s the South, and I am not sure if they would tar and feather me prior to firing or not? I will consider that a large compliment after 4 months of dealing with me!
My company is acutely aware of the importance of keeping employees happy so they are motivated to give the very best customer service you can get at a hospital. I am just extremely proud to tell people where I work. Part of this is a result of me spending Thursday and Friday at an all day training session for all managers of the entire hospital (220 folks), held off-site. Simply the idea of this is initially terrifying. I guess it was kind of a big crisis the first time, but since then everyone has figured out that the joint is not going to burn down without the management, and the employees get to have a little more responsibility, which is part of the point I think. All the employees have a lot of ownership in the hospital, which I think makes a huge difference. The hospital does these meetings quarterly, and it has been a tremendous experience for me. They bring in motivational speakers, follow up with all of our goals as a group, and we laugh at one another and do ridiculous chants lead by the CEO of the hospital. It is amazing how much gets accomplished when everyone gets together for face-to-face meetings. I think it is great for accountability as it gets everyone on the same page, and everyone knows what everyone else has heard so there are no excuses for any variability across departments. Everyone knows what is expected and that there are people holding them responsible for their part so we can meet our goals. We work with a few large consulting groups that are totally invaluable. They do a great job of keeping our eye on the ball and pushing us forward. We have pushed our customer service numbers from single digits 3 years ago to being in the top 25th percentile of hospitals that are completing surveys currently for inpatient care. We are very progressive in our practices for being in SC and are a model hospital in the state. In the 7th largest city in SC. Amazing.
I really appreciate that we are all about celebrating victories, ridiculous chants and then putting the success behind us and pushing forward some more. We are getting really close to consideration for Gallup’s 25 Most Desirable Places to Work. That would be a pretty solid honor. It is great to feel like you can be a part of that and feel that good about work….at least for today, I may hate it tomorrow!
Other People's New Year's Resolutions Are Ruining My Day.
I hate going to the gym right now. Usually I really enjoy going to the gym. I walk in a swearing stressed out train wreck, then I get to turn off my mind, take out my frustrations on inanimate objects or do yoga, and am a much more tolerable person when I walk out those doors.
However, all of the new gym members that wrote down "Lose 20 Pounds" for their New Year's Resolution are making me nuts. Now there are 3 times as many cars in the parking lot, a million more people taking my spot on the elliptical and a bunch more mats in the yoga gym. Not to mention the insane increase in the number of sweaty germy hands on everything. I do realize as a health care professional I should be supportive of this trend, but deep down inside I know that 50% of these fools will quit in the first 6 WEEKS, not to mention the pile of quitters there will be after 6 months. There should be some sort of rule where the "gym regulars" get to keep coming at the good times (early in the morning or after work) and the "New Year's folks" should have to come in at really crappy times to test their resolve in reference to their lifestyle change. You would then keep the regulars happy, and cause the New Year's folks to take pause and see if they are really committed to what they thought they wanted after they got on the scale New Year's Day after their 9th helping of fruitcake. If the new folks stick to their crappy gym times for 6 weeks, they then get to start coming at the good times... And that is my platform for running for President of the United States Of America.
However, all of the new gym members that wrote down "Lose 20 Pounds" for their New Year's Resolution are making me nuts. Now there are 3 times as many cars in the parking lot, a million more people taking my spot on the elliptical and a bunch more mats in the yoga gym. Not to mention the insane increase in the number of sweaty germy hands on everything. I do realize as a health care professional I should be supportive of this trend, but deep down inside I know that 50% of these fools will quit in the first 6 WEEKS, not to mention the pile of quitters there will be after 6 months. There should be some sort of rule where the "gym regulars" get to keep coming at the good times (early in the morning or after work) and the "New Year's folks" should have to come in at really crappy times to test their resolve in reference to their lifestyle change. You would then keep the regulars happy, and cause the New Year's folks to take pause and see if they are really committed to what they thought they wanted after they got on the scale New Year's Day after their 9th helping of fruitcake. If the new folks stick to their crappy gym times for 6 weeks, they then get to start coming at the good times... And that is my platform for running for President of the United States Of America.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
2007
So Jake is on a streak of officiating. Like a big one. So I am spending a lot of time getting to become “at one with my aloneness”. That makes me pretty reflective, and I realized that I had not mentioned any sort of transition from 2007 to 2008. Everyone knows that every good blog person does some sort of “year in review” right? I got to thinking about mine and it was pretty comical.
January 2007 started out very normally, and then by June it was a total mess. By December 31st 2007 we have settled back down again. Of course that is after each of us changed jobs (careers too kinda), sold a house, drove halfway across the country in an oil-spurting Penske truck to a place where we knew no one, and moved into an apartment after owning 2 homes. Which I would report feels like a step backward in my adult maturation process, although is a better financial decision than either of my homes were. I still get nauseated every time I drive past a Lowe’s or a Home Depot..
I feel like I have come pretty far this year. I am sure my parents and Jake would both dispute this fact as I am still the same eternal 12 year old, but now I am managing some folks, really stretching myself, and learning a lot of things I never would have if we would have stayed in Manhattan. I miss everyone severely, but I feel like this is where I am supposed to be…usually. You know these Kansas City/Manhattan/South Carolina Worcesters change their minds pretty quickly!
January 2007 started out very normally, and then by June it was a total mess. By December 31st 2007 we have settled back down again. Of course that is after each of us changed jobs (careers too kinda), sold a house, drove halfway across the country in an oil-spurting Penske truck to a place where we knew no one, and moved into an apartment after owning 2 homes. Which I would report feels like a step backward in my adult maturation process, although is a better financial decision than either of my homes were. I still get nauseated every time I drive past a Lowe’s or a Home Depot..
I feel like I have come pretty far this year. I am sure my parents and Jake would both dispute this fact as I am still the same eternal 12 year old, but now I am managing some folks, really stretching myself, and learning a lot of things I never would have if we would have stayed in Manhattan. I miss everyone severely, but I feel like this is where I am supposed to be…usually. You know these Kansas City/Manhattan/South Carolina Worcesters change their minds pretty quickly!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Crazy Kansas Trip
Happy 2008! Hope this New Year's post finds you all doing well. I am going to quickly summarize our Kansas trip for your enjoyment and for posterity! I think we saw most of the loyal blog readers at some point on the trip, although some of the KC contingency was missed due to an unexpected weather event on the weekend prior to Christmas. Sorry we missed you guys!
First off, to illustrate how much we love the people we saw, we left 65 degree weather with sunshine to drive on snow packed and icy roads in 8 degree weather...however you all put up with us staying at your houses so we will call it even.
We flew from Greenville (which is an awesome airport) to Wichita through the winter weather that dumped 10 inches of snow on Lindsborg the day before, so our plane ride was not awesome. There was a ton of turbulence and puking, but luckily I took my drugs so I barely noticed anything was going on. The pilot really stuck the landing in Wichita on the snowy runway while pumping the brakes pretty good, so I was just pretty darn happy to get there in one piece.
We got off of the plane in Wichita and headed to our frozen over rental car which we then pointed towards Manhattan. The road alternated between totally clear to nearly undriveable I-135 and I-70, but we managed to make it to Justin and Kelly's. They had just gotten power back the day before, so we are really glad we did not come into town on Thursday night to rough it. We are not that tough anymore after 4 months.
The next leg of the trip was to KC. We stayed with Andy and Erin, and got to see my aunt Martha and cousin Mary to catch up. Everyone was great about moving around their schedules and opening their homes to us. We really appreciated it. We went to the Cats basketball game at the Sprint Center that evening and had a great time. The Sprint Center is amazing, and the Power and Light District that is going in around it is an awesome addition to downtown. Maybe it isn't, I don't live there, but coming in from outside it was fantastic. The environment for a Cats fan was awesome. Very much like a bowl game type of atmosphere at the bar prior to the ball game. The bar across the street had a capacity of 404 people and was completely full by 3:30 on a Monday afternoon...nicely it was full of people wearing purple! Jake and I got to see a bunch of folks that we hadn't seen since leaving Manhattan so it was a great time for us.
Hill City is a long way from KC. Fact. Luckily Jake and I only live with each other and have no friends, and had traveled with each other (only) all week so we really had a lot of catching up to do. It all comes down to a game of "Would You Rather" on a 5 hour car trip. I recommend it. I am not sure of the exact origin, but Molly or Nikki brought it to my attention. It is a game where you think of the two worst scenarios you can think of and then pose it for response to the other party. I will give you the classic example: "Would you rather sweat cheese or have cauliflower for ears?" Think about it. It is a really great game if you are creative people. I may have to turn it into a board game and quit working. I am going to get right on it.
Hill City was great. We had some serious relaxing time with Jake's parents and sister in front of the fire, I went to Hill City yoga, watched Dan referee some basketball, ate delicious prime rib with friends, and I went to a women's group meeting with Sue where they played the bells. Yep, a musical instrument complete with sheet music. I am not sure if Sue exactly understood my musical limitations until the instant I looked at her with panic in my eyes and asked her to highlight the notes I was supposed to play and maybe elbow me when it was my turn. Luckily I don't think I was the worst one there. That may have been the lady was sitting on the other side of Sue! I am not sure how I was not the worst one there, but I wasn't. I think some folks were sandbagging to make me feel better, but I appreciated it. I was sweating through my shirt and having 7th grade band flashbacks.
Next we headed onto the 'borg. This is the part where we bailed on going back to KC. Sadness. I missed the major friend Christmas party, but I also missed a blizzard so we will still call it a good decision. Sorry we missed you guys, but really glad we didn't come to KC on Friday as they ended up closing I-70 between Topeka and Manhattan on Saturday, which would have trapped all 4 of the Toll girls in KC until Sunday. My sisters and I all came home a day early and managed to avoid the storm. For once the Toll girls used some solid logic instead of being motivated only by the thought of having fun with friends.. We must all be getting older and wiser. Anyway, Jake and I stopped at the brewery in Hays on the way home and it was great. I highly recommend it. The beer is SUPER and the food is good. Very cool atmosphere as well. Big, old building with exposed beams, etc. Awesome. I understand that the restaurant is a co-op of people that all threw in some money together so that they would have somewhere to eat downtown and the effort has been great. What a cool thing.
Lindsborg was fun as well. We made the regular rounds at the Stuga for drinks and sandwiches, and then filled up the Toll house with people. Nikki brought her boyfriend Bob along for the trial by fire that is staying more than 1 night at the Toll house. He spent major hours with Jake and my dad and was still speaking to Nikki so we assumed that he didn't have a totally terrible time. He talks loud like the rest of us, has great stories, and then my dad made him chase the trash truck...no really he did. In my father's defense, Bob was the only one wearing shoes...that is the only thing I will say in my father's defense on the issue. He also joined the Tolls in wearing a light up Rudolph nose I brought for him all the way from SC, so major points scored with me! We had game night per usual on Sunday night with Molly and Jake emerging victorious. However, I am pretty sure Molly was point shaving and Jake was helping her. Of course I can't prove it, but I think it is a fact. Shannon was there and brought a little trendy Californian-ness with her. Nikki and Shannon were responsible for dressing me repeatedly and all my sisters made sure my Christmas gifts would help me to be trendy in the New Year!
The thing I am most proud about this Christmas was again executing the Toll Girl picture. My parents had one done when I had my senior pics done, and we (girls) have been wanting to replace it as the last one is full of braces, unfortunate hairstyles, and general weirdness of being captured for eternity on film at your most awkward phase. It was a major covert undertaking that was spearheaded by Molly, with major thanks to Turner for taking the pic on a Saturday and then working over the weekend so we could have one for my parents to open on Christmas morning, and to my grandma for helping us mislead my parents. I think she really had a great time with it! My mom tried to booby trap us several times by wanting to come along on our random errands to town, but Molly and Nikki managed to sneak around town while Shannon distracted her. It was all very impressive. I couldn't believe that we pulled it off. It was totally worth it.
Christmas Day we flew back after seeing both of our families in the morning. Whew. We again had some exciting activities in the air as we flew into a major storm in the Southeast. I was pretty worn out when I walked into work again on Wednesday, but it was all totally worth it!
Thanks so much to everyone that made time to see us! It was great to see everyone and we really appreciated everything you did for us!
First off, to illustrate how much we love the people we saw, we left 65 degree weather with sunshine to drive on snow packed and icy roads in 8 degree weather...however you all put up with us staying at your houses so we will call it even.
We flew from Greenville (which is an awesome airport) to Wichita through the winter weather that dumped 10 inches of snow on Lindsborg the day before, so our plane ride was not awesome. There was a ton of turbulence and puking, but luckily I took my drugs so I barely noticed anything was going on. The pilot really stuck the landing in Wichita on the snowy runway while pumping the brakes pretty good, so I was just pretty darn happy to get there in one piece.
We got off of the plane in Wichita and headed to our frozen over rental car which we then pointed towards Manhattan. The road alternated between totally clear to nearly undriveable I-135 and I-70, but we managed to make it to Justin and Kelly's. They had just gotten power back the day before, so we are really glad we did not come into town on Thursday night to rough it. We are not that tough anymore after 4 months.
The next leg of the trip was to KC. We stayed with Andy and Erin, and got to see my aunt Martha and cousin Mary to catch up. Everyone was great about moving around their schedules and opening their homes to us. We really appreciated it. We went to the Cats basketball game at the Sprint Center that evening and had a great time. The Sprint Center is amazing, and the Power and Light District that is going in around it is an awesome addition to downtown. Maybe it isn't, I don't live there, but coming in from outside it was fantastic. The environment for a Cats fan was awesome. Very much like a bowl game type of atmosphere at the bar prior to the ball game. The bar across the street had a capacity of 404 people and was completely full by 3:30 on a Monday afternoon...nicely it was full of people wearing purple! Jake and I got to see a bunch of folks that we hadn't seen since leaving Manhattan so it was a great time for us.
Hill City is a long way from KC. Fact. Luckily Jake and I only live with each other and have no friends, and had traveled with each other (only) all week so we really had a lot of catching up to do. It all comes down to a game of "Would You Rather" on a 5 hour car trip. I recommend it. I am not sure of the exact origin, but Molly or Nikki brought it to my attention. It is a game where you think of the two worst scenarios you can think of and then pose it for response to the other party. I will give you the classic example: "Would you rather sweat cheese or have cauliflower for ears?" Think about it. It is a really great game if you are creative people. I may have to turn it into a board game and quit working. I am going to get right on it.
Hill City was great. We had some serious relaxing time with Jake's parents and sister in front of the fire, I went to Hill City yoga, watched Dan referee some basketball, ate delicious prime rib with friends, and I went to a women's group meeting with Sue where they played the bells. Yep, a musical instrument complete with sheet music. I am not sure if Sue exactly understood my musical limitations until the instant I looked at her with panic in my eyes and asked her to highlight the notes I was supposed to play and maybe elbow me when it was my turn. Luckily I don't think I was the worst one there. That may have been the lady was sitting on the other side of Sue! I am not sure how I was not the worst one there, but I wasn't. I think some folks were sandbagging to make me feel better, but I appreciated it. I was sweating through my shirt and having 7th grade band flashbacks.
Next we headed onto the 'borg. This is the part where we bailed on going back to KC. Sadness. I missed the major friend Christmas party, but I also missed a blizzard so we will still call it a good decision. Sorry we missed you guys, but really glad we didn't come to KC on Friday as they ended up closing I-70 between Topeka and Manhattan on Saturday, which would have trapped all 4 of the Toll girls in KC until Sunday. My sisters and I all came home a day early and managed to avoid the storm. For once the Toll girls used some solid logic instead of being motivated only by the thought of having fun with friends.. We must all be getting older and wiser. Anyway, Jake and I stopped at the brewery in Hays on the way home and it was great. I highly recommend it. The beer is SUPER and the food is good. Very cool atmosphere as well. Big, old building with exposed beams, etc. Awesome. I understand that the restaurant is a co-op of people that all threw in some money together so that they would have somewhere to eat downtown and the effort has been great. What a cool thing.
Lindsborg was fun as well. We made the regular rounds at the Stuga for drinks and sandwiches, and then filled up the Toll house with people. Nikki brought her boyfriend Bob along for the trial by fire that is staying more than 1 night at the Toll house. He spent major hours with Jake and my dad and was still speaking to Nikki so we assumed that he didn't have a totally terrible time. He talks loud like the rest of us, has great stories, and then my dad made him chase the trash truck...no really he did. In my father's defense, Bob was the only one wearing shoes...that is the only thing I will say in my father's defense on the issue. He also joined the Tolls in wearing a light up Rudolph nose I brought for him all the way from SC, so major points scored with me! We had game night per usual on Sunday night with Molly and Jake emerging victorious. However, I am pretty sure Molly was point shaving and Jake was helping her. Of course I can't prove it, but I think it is a fact. Shannon was there and brought a little trendy Californian-ness with her. Nikki and Shannon were responsible for dressing me repeatedly and all my sisters made sure my Christmas gifts would help me to be trendy in the New Year!
The thing I am most proud about this Christmas was again executing the Toll Girl picture. My parents had one done when I had my senior pics done, and we (girls) have been wanting to replace it as the last one is full of braces, unfortunate hairstyles, and general weirdness of being captured for eternity on film at your most awkward phase. It was a major covert undertaking that was spearheaded by Molly, with major thanks to Turner for taking the pic on a Saturday and then working over the weekend so we could have one for my parents to open on Christmas morning, and to my grandma for helping us mislead my parents. I think she really had a great time with it! My mom tried to booby trap us several times by wanting to come along on our random errands to town, but Molly and Nikki managed to sneak around town while Shannon distracted her. It was all very impressive. I couldn't believe that we pulled it off. It was totally worth it.
Christmas Day we flew back after seeing both of our families in the morning. Whew. We again had some exciting activities in the air as we flew into a major storm in the Southeast. I was pretty worn out when I walked into work again on Wednesday, but it was all totally worth it!
Thanks so much to everyone that made time to see us! It was great to see everyone and we really appreciated everything you did for us!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
"How I Would Kill You"...
So, Jake and I were sitting out on our deck tonight and somehow the topic turned to how we would dispatch one another in mortal hand to hand combat....Jake didn't referee tonight, so the conversation was sparse... I figure that is a regular conversation for any regular married couple to have occasionally anyway.. So, it was my skilled PT knowledge against his general brawn and I guess both of us were pretty passionate about the discussion as neither of us is really fond of being wrong. Later that night Jake is taking the dog out and runs into one of the apt managers who makes a comment about how it is so weird that OUR SPECIFIC BUILDING is situated in such a way that you can hear every word we say all the way on the other side of the apt complex. In case you are not keeping up, that is code for the fact that everyone heard Jake and I talking about how we would kill each other in hand to hand combat. Even I am a little embarrassed about that one. Probably not good. Jake thinks he needs to go talk to the apt guys about it tomorrow and explain that neither one of us is actually trying to kill the other one...just talking about how we would do it if we had to.... The lesson is that Jake and I no longer live where no one else hears our discussions so we need to keep the crazy to ourselves...or, if you find me dead from a 3rd grade Tae Kwan Do move, Jake did it...
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Not So Awesome
It really does not sound like it is a good week to be in Kansas. I hope all of you are staying safe and warm in your houses. Jake and I are thinking of you and are guessing you are wishing you had come along to SC...at least for the week!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Ike The Trainwreck.
Ike has not been getting out as much since we moved. We live on the second floor of an apartment complex with a very serious rule about dogs not being off of the leash so his life is pretty sedate. So when Ike does get outside and off of the leash to do a little Frisbee catching he takes it very seriously.
Jake brought Ike back from the park yesterday and Ike was limping a little...and tracking blood all over the white carpet that we don't actually own. Anyway, to make a long story short, Ike had torn the top off of one of his small pads. Jake and I taped a sock on his foot (yep, the vet said that was the way to go) and ran out the door.
We get home last night and he is limping on his other leg, which he has actually slit/skinned a quarter size chunk of pad off of the bottom of his foot. So, by 11 pm last night our dog was walking around wearing two of Jake's socks taped on his front feet. He was not amused and fell over several times when he stepped on his own floppy socks. Sad little animal...he can't trust either of us. Jake apparently took him to play fetch in an abandoned glass dump and I taped socks on him. He is hiding from us today. I would hid from us too.
Jake brought Ike back from the park yesterday and Ike was limping a little...and tracking blood all over the white carpet that we don't actually own. Anyway, to make a long story short, Ike had torn the top off of one of his small pads. Jake and I taped a sock on his foot (yep, the vet said that was the way to go) and ran out the door.
We get home last night and he is limping on his other leg, which he has actually slit/skinned a quarter size chunk of pad off of the bottom of his foot. So, by 11 pm last night our dog was walking around wearing two of Jake's socks taped on his front feet. He was not amused and fell over several times when he stepped on his own floppy socks. Sad little animal...he can't trust either of us. Jake apparently took him to play fetch in an abandoned glass dump and I taped socks on him. He is hiding from us today. I would hid from us too.
Christmas Time...Kinda
It is 77 degrees today. There are people at the Christmas tree place wearing shorts. It is really hard to get into the spirit this year due to the unusual weather circumstances I am living in. NOT THAT I AM COMPLAINING. I know most people that read this are sitting in Kansas in a pile of ice and snow that is a major problem to every activity. I am baking Christmas cookies with the deck door open and the air conditioner on so we don't sweat to death with the oven running. Very bizarre.
It is a little weird to get up everyday and have nice weather. It is like being Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day". Almost every day has been sunny, pleasant, and exceedingly boring. Not to say I want to return to freak ice storms and random tornadoes, but a nice thunderstorm when I am at work with nowhere else to go wouldn't be completely uninvited. That and the fact that it hasn't rained here in forever and apparently Atlanta is drinking all of the water in the south...too bad they can't drink out of the ocean. Then again, they would probably use that all up on their yards anyway. Everyone is so wound up about "the drought" down here. Apparently they have never lived in Western Kansas.
Anyway, I am definitely feeling badly for all of you with the 1 inch of ice on the roads, brandishing your snow shovels (we sold ours for $1 about 4 months ago), and slip sliding all over the Sunflower State. I am so excited to get back home for a little Christmas and maybe just a dusting of snow while Jake and I are there...no more than a few flakes required to make me happy.
It is a little weird to get up everyday and have nice weather. It is like being Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day". Almost every day has been sunny, pleasant, and exceedingly boring. Not to say I want to return to freak ice storms and random tornadoes, but a nice thunderstorm when I am at work with nowhere else to go wouldn't be completely uninvited. That and the fact that it hasn't rained here in forever and apparently Atlanta is drinking all of the water in the south...too bad they can't drink out of the ocean. Then again, they would probably use that all up on their yards anyway. Everyone is so wound up about "the drought" down here. Apparently they have never lived in Western Kansas.
Anyway, I am definitely feeling badly for all of you with the 1 inch of ice on the roads, brandishing your snow shovels (we sold ours for $1 about 4 months ago), and slip sliding all over the Sunflower State. I am so excited to get back home for a little Christmas and maybe just a dusting of snow while Jake and I are there...no more than a few flakes required to make me happy.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Selling the House.
I totally forgot to mention that we got our house sold last week. I probably forgot to mention it as we didn't exactly get what we wanted for it and I probably won't want to ever talk about it again after all of the hours Jake and I spent picking adhesive off the floor and literally investing blood/sweat/tears to fix it up. Oh well. Jake keeps reminding me that there are people everywhere losing everything since they cannot sell their house, and with 353 houses on the market currently in Manhattan we should feel lucky that they chose ours at all. It is funny to sit around and having NOTHING to do to your home/apt to fix it up. Actually it is a total relief. Part of me is going to miss that place....and part of me just wants to never look at it again. Those feelings are actually a step up from me wanting to just burn it down for the past month.
For the record, St. Joseph himself had a hand in this whole thing and it was a strong one. For those of you that are not a Toll and did not pray to St. Jude to find your lost stuff growing up or wear a St. Christopher medal to protect you in your travels, St. Joseph is the saint of the home. The belief is that if you take a statue of this particular saint and bury it under specific specifications (in the backyard, upside down, facing the house I think) it will help you sell your home. I can hear you laughing. However, it works. I know several Realtors (Lutheran ones) that are not above a little help from good old Joseph, and if a Lutheran is up for a Catholic idea it must be a pretty good one.
Anyway, Jake and I were getting anxious about selling the house since the market is so disastrous, so when I stumbled across a statue at the market in Charleston with my folks 2 weeks ago I bought him. Kelly Law had agreed against her better judgement to sneak over to the house and bury the statue in the lawn. I really think she thought I was joking when I asked, but the little guy was all boxed up and ready to roll when we started negotiations for these folks to buy the house two days later. Pretty impressive that he managed to work his magic from inside a box half the country away...I do have to talk to him about working on his financial negotiations....I probably needed a different saint for that one!
I really owe a big thank you to everyone who picked up a roller, picked wallpaper, pulled up carpet, or entertained me while I pulled up tackstrips. Without your help, we never would have gotten this joint in good enough shape to sell at all. We really would have been in trouble. Oh, one last thing, if Jake and I ever talk about buying a home that "needs a little work" ever again you are to kick us in the heads and remind us of the last two years!
Wow.
I am trying to put in a picture of the football/basketball watching set up at my home. I really thought when we got rid of the HUGE tv that we were calming down the insanity. Apparently I was totally wrong. I am hoping the picture turns out as it is totally worth 1,000 words
Thanksgiving
I was definitely missing everyone on Thanksgiving. However, we managed to get through it unscathed and in one piece with only 1 or 2 meltdowns on my part. That is pretty good as far as I am concerned for me!
Jake and I went to Greenville on Thanksgiving Eve as I was assigned the pecan pie and Jake ate all of the "good" pecans I purchased the week before...His defense was that I didn't tell him NOT to eat them. My defense was that I didn't think anyone could eat that many pecans in two days and still be alive... Anyway, off to Greenville we went because I wanted South Carolina pecans that would be fresh and fantastic for the pie (Jake assures me that the first batch I had from Greenville were indeed delicious) so we went to Whole Foods. I am sorry if some of you hate Whole Foods, but they really have it figured out. They have it rigged so that you can buy a bottle of wine there (regardless of day of week/time/whatever) and drink it while you shop. You can't leave the store with it on Sunday, but you can drink 10 bottles of wine if you want to as long as you are in the store. BRILLIANT! So anyway, they had wine and cheese sampling randomly going on that Wednesday evening that basically turned into a party. I dare you to find a party in your neighborhood Dillon's or Scott's Thriftway... Then we went next door to get some dinner so we could be legally sober to drive home. Then I baked 2 pies. It was a long day for sure, but a pretty fun Thanksgiving Eve.
We got up the next morning and watched Christmas Vacation. Everyone should do that at least once this time of year. I am convinced it is good for you.
My boss was nice enough to invite us over on Thursday. She is a very nice person who makes me look like a slow moving, unpassionate, quiet person. I love it. I am never the craziest person in the room when she is around. Nice feeling to have occasionally! Anyway, she always has Thanksgiving for the "homeless", not the actual homeless of course as much as the folks at work that live too far away to get back for the holiday. This year it was her family, her parents, Jake and I, and one of my co-workers and his girlfriend. My boss has a mother that is a carbon copy of her, only 75. It was hysterical to watch. The kitchen is like roller derby, you want to jump in and help with something, but I was worried I would be knocked over by someone and accidentally tramped by someone else before they even realized I was down! It was nice to see chaos in someone else's home and it made it feel like home!
Jake and I went to Greenville on Thanksgiving Eve as I was assigned the pecan pie and Jake ate all of the "good" pecans I purchased the week before...His defense was that I didn't tell him NOT to eat them. My defense was that I didn't think anyone could eat that many pecans in two days and still be alive... Anyway, off to Greenville we went because I wanted South Carolina pecans that would be fresh and fantastic for the pie (Jake assures me that the first batch I had from Greenville were indeed delicious) so we went to Whole Foods. I am sorry if some of you hate Whole Foods, but they really have it figured out. They have it rigged so that you can buy a bottle of wine there (regardless of day of week/time/whatever) and drink it while you shop. You can't leave the store with it on Sunday, but you can drink 10 bottles of wine if you want to as long as you are in the store. BRILLIANT! So anyway, they had wine and cheese sampling randomly going on that Wednesday evening that basically turned into a party. I dare you to find a party in your neighborhood Dillon's or Scott's Thriftway... Then we went next door to get some dinner so we could be legally sober to drive home. Then I baked 2 pies. It was a long day for sure, but a pretty fun Thanksgiving Eve.
We got up the next morning and watched Christmas Vacation. Everyone should do that at least once this time of year. I am convinced it is good for you.
My boss was nice enough to invite us over on Thursday. She is a very nice person who makes me look like a slow moving, unpassionate, quiet person. I love it. I am never the craziest person in the room when she is around. Nice feeling to have occasionally! Anyway, she always has Thanksgiving for the "homeless", not the actual homeless of course as much as the folks at work that live too far away to get back for the holiday. This year it was her family, her parents, Jake and I, and one of my co-workers and his girlfriend. My boss has a mother that is a carbon copy of her, only 75. It was hysterical to watch. The kitchen is like roller derby, you want to jump in and help with something, but I was worried I would be knocked over by someone and accidentally tramped by someone else before they even realized I was down! It was nice to see chaos in someone else's home and it made it feel like home!
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