The Start of a New Years Resolution

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T13:09:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you all had a great Christmas. We had loads of fun! It was nice to have a long weekend with Phil at home and him not working. The past couple weeks he has clocked over 60 hours. Too bad he's not hourly!!

Charlotte absolutely loved opening her presents. She knew exactly what to do when she got a present, but after a few presents she just wanted to play with her new toys. By the end of it, there were just presents left for her (she had like three times the number of presents than Phil and I had) and we were just opening them for her. I guess we could have waited but I think we both just wanted them open. Then she played and played and took a 3 hour nap!! (She normally sleeps for 2). I made a vegetarian meatloaf, cheesy potatoes (substituted milk and cream of celery for the cream of chicken), stuffing, salad, homemade bread (in my new breadmaker yay!) and we had some cookies Grandma sent us.

I got some great gifts too! The breadmaker is amazing! Its West Bend and makes a normal sized bread loaf, not one of those weird square ones. So now I can actually cut the bread and have easy sandwiches and such. I think I'll go back to making almost all of our bread now that we have this machine. :-D. I have already made a white loaf, raisen loaf (though I had crater bread, lol) and a chocolate loaf of bread--delicious with cream cheese! I got some cookbooks (bread for the breadmaker, vegetarian crockpot, and a big vegan one). Plus a fruit dehydrator (which has been on non-stop since Christmas afternoon, a pearl necklace, icing tips (already put to use), clothes, and the list goes on! This year for Christmas we got Charlotte mostly toys that didn't require batteries, which ended up being a lot of wood toys. I found some nice Melissa & Doug wooden toys at TJ Maxx so Great Grandma and Grandpa L got those for her :). Plus we found some great toys at IKEA. She got a set of metal pots and pans (small, for her play kitchen) and when she opened them she walked right on over to the real stove and wanted them up there (all from Grandma and Grandpa L). It was very cute, she must have assumed metal pans belong on the real stove! They make this ball thing that shoots balls out the top and she has always adored it. So Grandma and Grandpa K got it for her (as well as plenty of other toys) and they even found her a healthy pretend food set. And of course she got lots of books, which she spends at least a couple hours reading everyday. Phil got some great gifts, but I'm thinking that if you got this far you probably don't want to read about everything he got as well! Though I must highlight an electric razor, video games, gift card, etc.

Phil is back at work today for a couple more days and then we are headed to St. Louis EARLY Wednesday morning. I'm really hoping the baby.... I guess toddler now, sleeps for at least one plane ride, but I'm not expecting it. I'm just really hoping she'll sleep great at my in-laws. She did pretty well at my parents but if I can get her to sleep well (and take naps) the whole trip will be so so so much easier! We're also going to a wedding on Saturday so hopefully we will see some friends! But I'm excited to see family again :-).

I am going to upload some pictures while the baby is napping. Maybe I'll have a few to post here too. :-D

2010 Resolutions

2009-12-14T14:41:00.006-06:00

Its about that time of year again... and since I am pleased with last years results, I'm going to make another list. :-D.

Number One-Find a new name for the blog & continue to blog weekly. Since the blog is just about a year old, I think that its time to come up with a new name. I also want to ACTUALLY blog weekly (not just have an average) and make sure I am doing it for the right reason... which is to be able to look back on a journal of these years and be able to remember them better. I also send this to my family, so they can see what we are up too. I just have to remember that this resolution was always about me (selfish I know, hehe) and that I should keep it that way :).

Number Two-Start Counting Calories. I am still over my prepregnancy weight and I would LOVE to get back down to it. I think that counting calories will really help me know exactly what I'm eating and how much I can eat without going overboard. It will also be something good to do in combination of exercising. Which brings me to number three...

Number Three-Get addicted to running. Some sort of exercising always seems to be on everyone's resolution list every year... and most of us never achieve it. I know I haven't yet. I decided that this year I want to, and well just have too, so I am going to get addicted to running. I used to run in high school, and I was in such great shape! I want to be able to run again, and keep running! Just keep running, just keep running just keep running, running running...

Number Four-Get a job to pay off this debt. Putting Charlotte in daycare scares me so so so much! But I'm thinking that it really is time to find something part-time for a while. Even if it sucks, at least it will pay off some debt. And once I really can't stand it, I will just quit. We just need to figure something out that we both feel comfortable with that will contribute. Once its gone, it'll be easier to have one salary and save up our e-fund and for a house. This also depends on Phil's job, as he has to work a lot of overtime :(.

Number Five-NEVER be bored! Life is too short to be bored, so when I'm feeling bored I'm going to find something to do. Whether it be play with Charlotte, talk more to my hubby, call up an old friend, or clean, I won't be bored. I should say that just "veging", because I need to relax, isn't being bored :-D.

Number Six-Complete the couch to 5k program. I started it once but never finished it. I want to complete it... and then run a 5k! So by January 2011, I will have completed it and ran a 5k.

I have a lot to accomplish this upcoming year, but I know its do-able. Wish me luck!!

2009 New Years Resolutions Revisited

2009-12-14T14:23:00.003-06:00

I know it has been AGES since I have written in here, and I'm ready to start back at it. I am going to change how I do things though. I used to get so caught up reading what everyone else wrote that it would take so much time out of my day. So I apologize in advance, but I'm going to be a bad "blogger" and probably not read much of what anyone else writes... but in doing so, I WILL have time to write entries, even if they are short. Plus, the original "resolution" was to write entries, not keep up with lots of random people (once again sorry guys!).

2009 is coming to an end and its time to evaluate my 2009 resolutions.

Number One-Blog/Journal at least once a week---Partially accomplished. This resolution seemed to go well for a while, until I got too caught up in it and what everyone else was writing. So I have faith to start again, and continue writing, but more for me and my experiences than anything else. I have to say that on average, I wrote just over 2 posts a week for the entire year ;-).

Number Two-Brush my teeth well. ---Accomplished! I have to say that I do brush my teeth well AT LEAST twice daily. And now that I have an electric toothbrush (got it for free, yay) that it helps even more :).

Number Three-Exercise at least 3 times a week. ---NOT accomplished :(. Well I did lose about 10 pounds, but I haven't been exercising. So this resolution went NO WHERE. I think that I'm going to start counting calories this January and see where that takes me. I don't think that it will be something I do for a full year, but a few months will really let me know where I am, and how much one, or five cookies sets me back a day. This way I can portion what I eat better and know when I am going overboard and when I'm not. I am also thinking about seeing if Phil wants to do the couch to 5k program with me starting in January and that way I have someone else to push me along. I have yet to discuss it with him.

Number Four-PORTION SIZES! --ACCOMPLISHED!! We do eat much much better than we used to and we are also now vegetarians (yay!). Now if only I didn't love cheese, I could be on my way to veganism. But, I don't see that happening anytime soon. And quite frankly, I'm not sure I would be happy with the choice. I can't believe how well we have done at this. Using e-mealz has helped, as well as just not being as hungry anymore. (Probably has to do with FINALLY not nursing any longer--Char self-weaned a few months ago).

Now its time to think about resolutions for the following year...which will be a different post.

I am very happy with what I have accomplished so far this year (except for the not exercising thing). And I have also accomplished much more than just these four resolutions, which I will update on in another post.

See ya soon :-D

2009-10-10T21:55:00.002-05:00

Things have been so crazy here! Charlotte and I are getting out a lot and having fun at parks. And our weekends we have been having fun going to Disney or the beach or just relaxing at home!!

I have decided to switch Charlotte over to cloth diapers, so we are slowly building our stash of diapers, but thankfully the kind that I like are one-size fits all so we will be able to use them with baby #2... whenever that happens.They have some really nice products out there too.

Oh I should mention that I won two free meals from The Dirty Shirt blog to Sweet Tomatoes. She has some great giveaways and great product reviews!! Check it out and maybe you will win something :). I can't complain about a free meal at a place that I absolutely adore!

Tomorrow we are going to go to Disney! I made some egg salad sandwiches, veggie pizza, and hummus for tomorrow. Plus we'll bring some fruits and veggies and almonds to snack on. We should be good for lunch and dinner and won't have to worry about the cost of eating out :).

Oh and we are going to go home for Thanksgiving, its going to be a long time, but I'm really excited about it! We haven't seen my parents in a long time and last time (at the reception) it wasn't very long. I'm so happy that they will get to see Charlotte and see how much she has changed... and I know that she'll change even more by then.

Well its late and time to head to bed!! I hope everyone is doing well :)

Its been too long

2009-09-28T12:29:00.002-05:00

It has been too long again!! Time is just starting to go by so quickly. In a way its a good thing, but I wish sometimes it would slow down (on the good days anyways).

Charlotte keeps changing like crazy. Right now she is laying down for her nap but isn't wanting too. Poor kid is exhausted. We spent a bunch of the day at Disney World yesterday and she didn't get a nap (well wouldn't take one) then went to bed late, and I woke her up this morning to go to the aquarium. So I'm hoping once she does drift off to sleep, it'll be a long nap so that she can be a happy kid! She is walking all over the place and REALLY enjoying the freedom :). Its so fun to see her be independent and walk around the aquarium some by herself... to be able to watch her decide to go look at the fish and which ones. Its nice not to have to have her see it only in the stroller (though we still have it of course!). She is also randomly repeating words after me... and even a few at a time. But I just don't think she's ready to talk a lot, which is fine. She also caught onto the sign language for "All Done" so now she tells us when she is finished with food (which is great!) taking her shower, playing with something, etc. It is such a good thing for her to be able to communicate.

Yesterday morning I went to a free Zumba/Fit Yoga/Bellydancing class and it was a lot of fun!! It was about 2 hours of working out and I'm not even sore today :). We are seriously thinking about joining the Y here, and I know that we would get a discounted rate. So I need to go by and see how much it would cost to join. I am excited about it. It would be great to be able to go work out together, do swim lessons, have childcare for classes that I want to work out at, etc. I'm just afraid that I will get all excited about it, then the excitement will fade and we won't use it.

I know that there has been more going on, but I sit down to write it and I never remember :(.It is so frustrating because I want to be able to journal our life and what we have been doing so that in a few years I can look back and be able to recall the memories. But if I can't remember them... then there's a problem!! Haha!

I don't know if I wrote this before, but Phil is seriously considering going to school again. He wants to get his PhD so he can be a professor. I am supporting him but at the same time it really freaks me out. We want to have another kid before he goes so that they are close in age, but I can't imagine being able to pay for everything while he is in school with two kids!!

I am having my second Pampered Chef cooking show on Saturday at 3pm!! I am excited about it :). My friend Brooke is having it and she said that there have been 15 yes RSVP's! That is crazy and great :). I really hope that I will be able to book some shows from the event, and get this up and running better. **Fingers Crossed**

Ok well I feel really boring right now. Maybe I will write more later when I'm not feeling so boring, and it'll be interesting to read then.

I'm off to make some stuffed green peppers. I hope that they turn out well :).

Anna

Blah Blah Blah... Boring life!

2009-09-17T12:12:00.003-05:00

So Disney World tomorrow (yay!) and then a Ladies Night In at Madai's on Saturday night. It should be a fun weekend!! But let me tell you, for some reason, this week has just dragged on and on and on and on. I guess we haven't really done anything all that interesting, maybe that is why. But it feels like today should be Saturday, not Thursday. Maybe Friday... if it was a slow week, but obviously this week is super slow!! Its Thursday :(... for all of you who couldn't figure out what day it is ;).

Charlotte slept in until 10 this morning, and of course that meant that I did too! It felt good to sleep in like that. Typically I wake up at 8 (can't complain about that one either), but I was up late last night because I couldn't sleep, and of course I was exhausted this morning. I really need to make myself start getting up at 7 or after Phil takes his shower, so I can go to bed with him more often and have some time to myself in the morning. I think its going to be one of those, I just have to do it. And then stick it through on the weekends, because that is where I get all messed up.

I have recently gotten really into those new Vampire books. I don't know why (and had you asked me 3 months ago I would have told you I was crazy), but I loooove them! I should be getting Twilight on Netflix today too, then I'm getting the True Blood series. And I've read the Twilight series and a few other lesser known ones. Call me crazy, but I'm hooked!

I feel like I don't really have a lot to write about... our life is pretty boring, except for the regular everyday stuff, chores, grocery shopping, and playgroup a few times a week.

2009-09-13T17:50:00.001-05:00

I can't believe the last time I wrote was 9 days ago!! It seems a lot shorter than that :-/.

First Pampered Chef show!

2009-09-13T17:42:00.004-05:00

I had my first Pampered Chef show on Friday. It went well :). It wasn't too hard either!! Even though just a few people came, it was nice to do a show around everyone I knew and that if I messed up, it didn't really matter (though I didn't really, lol). Now I just hope that I can keep it going and be able to do lots of shows every month, and make some much needed money to pay off our debt! Tonight I'm going to practice making some Elegant Artichoke Cups as an appetizer dish I can make at shows.

I am starting to feel a lot at home here, and its really nice. I am getting to know some people and doing lots of things. Being able to get out and about in town really helps the days go by quicker (quicker days=happier baby/mommy). We usually get out and do at least 2-3 things a week, plus our regular errands. Last week, we didn't have one day in, it was kind of hectic (I try to have at least one day where we can just lounge around the house, play, clean, etc.). This week we are going to the mall as a playdate, I have a MNO thing (free) that I'm going to with Madai, Water Play in the fountains, and then I'm going to Disney World on Friday with Winston when he is coming down here!! It should be a fun week :).

Oh and we went to Disney on Ice yesterday at 11:30! It was their Princess Classics show, and it was really good!! I am hoping we got a few good pictures, but its hard when they are moving so quickly!

2009-09-04T21:26:00.004-05:00

Time to blog again... woohoo!!

I was letting this blogging thing take over my world, and now that I've had a break, I'm ready to be not so "obsessed" with it.

Lets see Lets see... my biggest news? I started my own business selling Pampered Chef! I signed up 5 days ago, and I get my new consultant kit in the mail tomorrow, yaaay! If anyone wants to throw a party or a catalog party, let me know... or if you just want to order stuff, or if you are interested in being a consultant, I can definitely give you some more information!! I am having my Grand Opening Party on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. If you are in/around the Tampa area and want to come, let me know!!! All the money I make is going to go straight towards our debt! I'm hoping to earn $1000 a month which would mean I would need to book 8 shows a month, which is a large order. I'm going to start with a goal of 4, and go up one a month from there. Wish me luck!

I have also been really active on meetup.com. I've gotten to meet some people and am really happy with it :). I am even an assistant organizer in one of the groups, and I'm in a couple others. It is keeping Charlotte and me busy... and its GREAT to be able to get out and now Charlotte is walking all over the place and loving to play with her friends. There are even a few that she really knows, its so cute to see!

We had an alumni meeting thing in the beginning of August. It was a student kick-off event where one student (from Florida) attended... going to school in Missouri, so there weren't a whole lot of them. But Phil and I are activity chairs and I organized the event. I think its time to get planning on another event too, bowling anyone?

Charlotte weaned, she just quit one day and that was that. And I'm 99% sure it wasn't a nursing strike because she has still has no interest in it and just refuses to open up, lol.

I haven't eaten meat in forever either. I don't know if I was COMPLETELY vegetarian last time I wrote about it, but I am now and it feels great! Honestly, I don't even miss it. We are even doing soy milk for Phil and myself and cooking etc. However, cheese is a hard one to give up. And we do organic eggs. Its so sad that the Whole Foods is about 30 minutes from here. I wish there were more. Trying to find some good stuff at regular grocery stores is proving harder and harder.

I'm sure there is a bizillion more things, but this is all for now :).

I'm baack... hopefully :)

2009-07-15T12:24:00.003-05:00

It has been FOREVER since I posted. And well since my resolution was once a week, I DID do that, just on my other blog last week. We've been super busy here... or uhhh addicted to Farm Town, so I've been a bad blogger and really bad at reading peoples blogs. I'm kinda just going one at a time, catching up on everything... so I am sorry!

We paid off our credit card last week!!! It is such a relief to have that taken care of, no more credit card debt :). Yay tax returns and months with 3 paychecks!!

I applied for a job today. I'm really hopeful about it, but I always get really hopeful and then nothing happens. This job is with a photography company that does pictures for kids sports teams and such. They need people for evenings and weekends to take the pictures, and that is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not 100% sure I want a job, but if I could get a fun one (like this) it would be much easier to do. I'm hoping to work evenings/weekends for a couple years to pay off our debt and get a down payment for the house, but still stay at home with the baby. I hope I hear back!!

Lets see, what else...

We celebrated Charlotte's first birthday on July 6th. I can't believe my baby is already a year old, it does not seem that fast. Everyone says it will go by quickly, and I know it does, I'm just amazed at how time flies. I guess that happens when you don't have school or weekly deadlines or anything. But I don't regret anything and never wished time would go by quickly, I'm happy with the first year.

For the past few days Charlotte has been having a REALLY hard time sleeping, which is REALLY hard on me. I don't like listening to her cry for a few minutes before she falls asleep. Or having a few days when she takes no naps... or one nap for less than an hour. It gets really old. And all of a sudden, she quit sleeping in. What used to be waking up at 10-ish is now waking up at 7:30, even though she's going to bed at the same time. Its really driving me crazy.

Oh and I lost 3.5 pounds this past month, yay!! Now if only I could loose it quicker... guess something is better than nothing, right?

Sweet Sauer Photo Contest-2

2009-06-30T17:38:00.017-05:00

These are the results of my first ever photo contest. By the time date on this post, I'm sure you can tell I wasn't done early!! I'm not 100% happy with all the pictures, but I gave it my best shot :). I can't wait for the next one, which I will most definitely be participating in. I hope you all enjoy the photos!!

1. A View from Above (looking down)-The paddle wheel on a steam boat.
2. A Macro Shot

3. Laughter-We're on the Magic Carpet Aladdin ride in Disney World.
4. Relaxation
5. A Celebration-What's a better celebration than fireworks at Disney World?

6. A Sunset
7. Sun/Lens Flare-Unfortunately I don't have an SLR, so I'm kinda limited with what I can get.

8. A Bridge

9. A Shadow
10. A Garden
11. A Park
12. A Street Scene-St. Armands Circle Clearwater, FL
13. Signage-They're not lying, we saw two tonight!14. A Summer Activity
15. A Summer Treat-Freshly out of the oven.
16. Earth
17. Air/ Wind
18. Fire
19. Water
20. Something Vintage (pre-1980)
21. Something Made of Glass
22. Something Made of Wood - Some stairs we saw on the Steam boat tour in Disney World. Nothing special, but I was stuck tonight.

23. Something that Floats
24. Something Railroad Related
25. Something Round-The fly was desperately waiting to go flying :)

Why oh Why Mr. Washing Machine?

2009-06-25T12:36:00.003-05:00

Sorry for so many posts of me complaining, but this washing machine was just about my last straw.

I hate when nice, relaxing, laid back mornings turn into a disaster! I was looking at my weekly to do list (I've been trying to figure out if a daily one or weekly one works better, because if I don't do one at all nothing gets done, but the weekly isn't working so well), so I decided to run a couple of loads of laundry today, you know the hold-over for the weekend until its Laundry Mondays.

So long story short, about half an hour after I start the washer, I go to get Charlotte some food for lunch, and I see a little spot of wet carpet. Hoping the one of the dogs didn't pee and it was just a spill, I venture to find a rag. I then notice there is a big spot of water coming out of the laundry room and when I open the door, the laundry room is completely flooded with about an inch of water on the floor. Thankfully being in an apartment, all I have to do is call maintenance and someone comes to help clean it up.

I call, they say they will be here at some point today, kinda confused I say ok. An hour later, my hubby calls them back, and talks to someone else. This time she's like that sounds like an emergency, well duh... and they arrive at our door within a minute. The carpet cleaner guys came to suck up all the water and spray some anti-mold/fungal stuff too, so now at 1:30 our disaster is finally gone and the baby can finally take her nap.

Unfortunately, the maintenance guy thinks it is our washer that is leaking somewhere. Phil, being the engineer, disagreed, so of course he turned it on when they were gone, the verdict? no water leaking. I think that somehow the washer got confused, and kept putting water into it, even though it was full. Because after it had been running for half an hour it was still filling itself up with water. So in a couple of days were going to have to do some experimenting, but its looking like we're going to have to get a new washer, unless anyone knows of an easy fix. I just have the feeling that getting someone out to work on it would cost more than a new washer. Oh and of course, its just OVER a year old, so no more warranty, phooey. Shouldn't a GE washer last more than a year?

Photo Contest-update again

2009-06-24T22:56:00.009-05:00

Hope I don't bore you too much, but here's another update... I've added a few more pictures this time and changed a few. I'm over halfway there with 14/25 now!!

1. A View from Above (looking down)
2. A Macro Shot

3. Laughter
4. Relaxation
5. A Celebration

6. A Sunset
7. Sun/Lens Flare

8. A Bridge

9. A Shadow
10. A Garden
11. A Park
12. A Street Scene
13. Signage14. A Summer Activity
15. A Summer Treat
16. Earth
17. Air/ Wind
18. Fire
19. Water
20. Something Vintage (pre-1980)
21. Something Made of Glass
22. Something Made of Wood
23. Something that Floats
24. Something Railroad Related
25. Something Round

A ceiling fan and a sick baby make for a fun (maybe not so much) day!

2009-06-24T13:13:00.006-05:00

I'm happy to announce that we have a nice new ceiling fan in our living room!! And let me tell you what a pain it was... when we moved here, they told us if we bought a ceiling fan, maintenance would assemble it and put it up for us. So, when we got all the wedding money, we went in search of a fan... that was the easy part. So after we got it I went to the office to ask what I needed to do for them to put it up and the guy said just to bring it to the office, so maintenance can assemble it there and come and put it up. So, I go back home, finagle the fan into the stroller, and return once more to the office. Now, another lady says that it is only for "new residents" (mind you we moved in a month and a half ago), and after I told her that she replied with "oh I remember when you moved in." Seriously, what is that supposed to mean? So she says to go back, assemble it, and then let them know. So the next day Phil assembles the fan and calls the office. That lady, didn't even know that they would put a fan up for us, so she had to go check with someone and call us back. 5 hours later, she calls us back saying they'll come the next day (today). When maintenance showed today, he was VERY surprised that we had already put it together and was planning on doing that himself. But long story short, we get the fan up and it looks beautiful. We now have light in the living room! Yay! So I think the office staff needs to work on their communication skills.

Pretty ceiling fan:

Phil stayed home yesterday because he was sick, so it wasn't much of a surprise when Charlotte woke up sick today too. She was burning up!! I felt so bad for her, I couldn't get a good temperature reading but it was somewhere between 99.9 and 101.5, so she's in her third nap for the day and very very mellow, even on the tylenol. Its kinda a nice break. On top of it, I have a fever too, but I'm trying not to let it get me down.

Here's a pic of the baby today... looking not so sick (one of the few smiles we gotten out of her today, through the binkie of course, she won't give it up today):

And I know its been a while but Disney World was great!! I posted a few pictures on my last post that I took during our visit. And Phil got wished Happy Birthday more than he ever had in his life, combining all birthdays!! It was a great time though, I'm glad we went.

Photo Contest-so far

2009-06-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

Here's what I have so far for the photo contest, which is done the end of June. As you can see, I still have a lot of work to do this week, but I've got some ideas. Enjoy!

1. A View from Above (looking down)
2. A Macro Shot

3. Laughter
4. Relaxation
5. A Celebration

6. A Sunset
7. Sun/Lens Flare

8. A Bridge

9. A Shadow
10. A Garden
11. A Park
12. A Street Scene
13. Signage

14. A Summer Activity
15. A Summer Treat
16. Earth
17. Air/ Wind
18. Fire
19. Water
20. Something Vintage (pre-1980)
21. Something Made of Glass
22. Something Made of Wood
23. Something that Floats
24. Something Railroad Related
25. Something Round

Funny :)

2009-06-19T21:15:00.002-05:00

I don't know if I'm just behind times and am the last one to discover "Overheard in New York," but one of today's posts is as follows (and made me laugh so hard, Phil started looking at me weird... yes I'm easily entertained).

For more hilarity, visit the website at Overheard in New York.

You Are Welcome to Hit on Me

Thug: Hey! (gestures to Asian worker behind counter at convenience store) You look good, man.

Asian worker, in thick foreign accent: What? What you say to me?

Thug: I said, you look good.

Asian worker: What, what you saying to me?

Thug: Keep doing whatever you're doing, man. (leaves store)

Asian worker, dropping accent: Fuckin' crackahs. (sees white girl waiting at counter) Oh, shit, sorry, not you.

--Myrtle Ave & Classon Ave, Brooklyn

Food and DW tomorrow :)

2009-06-19T16:00:00.003-05:00

I'm super excited, we finally got our first week of the organic fruit/veggie co-op!!

Here's what we got for $25, a pretty good deal considering its all organic :)

* 1 head romaine lettuce
* 1 bag baby spinach
* 11 Roma Tomatoes (not sure what I'm going to do with these, we don't really like just plain tomatoes)
* 4 "heads?" of broccoli
* 5 Necterines, I think that is what they are... I just know they aren't fuzzy and the size of a plum but red and yellow.
* 7 oranges
* 3 kiwis
* A big bag of grapes

Ymmmm!!

And tomorrow is DISNEY WORLD! I'm super excited about it, Phil and Charlotte have never been and I've gone once. We're going to Magic Kingdom, and hoping Charlotte will zonk out (is that even a word?) in her carrier or stroller at some point so we can stay for the fireworks in the evening (if we're not too exhausted). Be prepared for pictures!!

Beach Trip Yesterday

2009-06-17T10:41:00.002-05:00

Besides the crappy TV thing, yesterday was a great day!!! Some of our friends from Nashville, Laura, Dragon, and Aleks, are in town this week on vacation, so Charlotte and I went to see them!! They are staying in Laura's cousins condo, which is a multi-million dollar, over 5000 sq. feet condo! And a huge balcony that was probably the size of my apartment. It had 4 bedrooms and 5 full baths. The kitchen had 2 dishwashers, 3 ovens (maybe more) a huge fridge, a food warmer, huge microwave, etc. The master suite was definitly bigger than my apartment, with a closet the size of my bedroom, and the bathroom the size of my living room. It was amazing... now if only Phil and I could afford a $3+ million condo, we could have an amazing place on the beach. Maybe someday, until then, we're PAYING OFF OUR DEBT!!

But the day was great. We got there in the morning, spent some time in the beach and at the pool. Charlotte had a nap and we hung out some more, bbq'd, had some dinner, and headed home. It was amazing just to see some people, its getting really old that I don't know anyone or have any friends here.

TV troubles :(

2009-06-17T10:20:00.002-05:00

I'm really annoyed, there is something wrong with our brand new tv!! And of course, we already got rid of the packaging and I can't find the receipt anywhere (but neither of us remember throwing it away), not that Target would probably take it back without a package, but its always worth trying. So, I decided to call on the warranty and on their website, they are going to want us to mail in the tv (we have to pay for it) and in its original packaging.... I don't see that happening. Its not my fault it doesn't work!! So basically, last night we turned on the TV and we couldn't get sound on all the channels. It was kinda weird, but I figured maybe it was just the cable or something. So when it happens again this morning, I decide to try another co-ax cable, try to plug it into a cable thing that I know works because my other TV uses it, and to even use the cable and the plug that the other TV that works perfectly. So I notice that when I wiggle the co-ax cable in the back of the TV, it will pick sound here and there, so I guess the connection is loose somehow, but I don't know how to fix it. And I don't get why it would all of a sudden do this?? If anyone has any ideas, I'll gladly take them!!! I want my TV to work!

This n' that

2009-06-15T12:47:00.003-05:00

This week hasn't been a good week for exercising or eating healthy. I haven't exercised for a week... I don't think, ok maybe a little less? And I haven't been the healthiest eater the past few days, but I'm still doing better than I did when I started. Tonight we're going to go swimming and I'm planning on burning some calories doing that.

Saturday, we took a trip to the beach. Phil did some Tobacco compliance shops south of here in Venice, FL. It was a drive, but well worth the $80 we made on the trip!! Since we usually drive south to the beach, we figured we could go a little further and make some money. He ended up with 2 free cigars, where wasn't even carded... the other 2 times he was, and had to say he didn't have it, and well they didn't let him get a cigar.

Saturday we're going to go to Disney World for Phil's birthday!! Disney World is having a special where you get in free on your birthday and since Charlotte is less than 3, she gets in free too! Phil has never been, and we're both super excited. We're also hoping Charlotte will take a nap in her stroller, so we can spend the entire day there. There will be pictures!

Oh and we finally got our couch!!! Now I'm just trying to get rid of the old one. I've had a few takers on craigslist, but I'm having trouble with people emailing me back. Its even for free! Just take it away!! I wish we had a house so I could just set it on the curb and let someone come get it. I want it gone so we can finish working on the living room!! However, we did sell a plastic little rolly thing and our old TV yesterday. We've got a dresser, metal car thing, and couch left. Wish us luck!!

If you couldn't tell, I'm not really in a writing mood. I'm going to get back to the laundry and figuring out a menu for this week. My creativeness is gone, and I'm getting sick of the same old food. I'd gladly take any ideas!! Veggie of course :)

Weight Loss :)

2009-06-11T11:46:00.003-05:00

Last week I started the running program, eating healthy, and watching what I was eating, and I'm happy to announce that after one week, I have lost 2.6 pounds, woo!! Which means I have another 5.9 pounds to make my first goal (of many). I'm kinda confused and don't know why I lost so much in one week, I'm assuming it'll slow down (just hopefully not go back up), but don't worry I am eating and exercising and doing a normal amount of both! Also, today I started a food diary, so that I can keep track of EVERYTHING that I eat. I've read that you think you don't eat a lot, but that is because you forget things.

My next goal, is to do some consistent ab work, because I really really really need it! Maybe three times a week.

Yay!!!

2009-06-09T15:58:00.002-05:00

A man in dressed in brown just knocked on my door, bringing with him a package! Inside this package was an Flat screen LCD HD 22" TV!!! The TV we registered for, hoped we would get, but knew it would never happen. Now we are proud owners of our first flat screen TV. I never thought the day would come, ok well maybe 10 years from now. So, THANK YOU TAVIS!!!

Week One-Done!

2009-06-09T09:17:00.002-05:00

I finished my first week of the Couch to 5k program!! I also had a couple other workouts in there!! I'm really happy to be finally exercising, which also gives me some time to myself! Tomorrow I'm going to weigh myself again, I'm really hoping to have lost some weight. I'm trying really hard to watch what I eat on top of exercising.

So, I must brag, but I have the best baby ever. After a couple weeks of fussing fussing fussing, she didn't hardly fuss yesterday. Then this morning, when she got tired. She crawled into her bedroom, and stood by her crib trying to get in. She was ready for her nap!! It was super cute.

Yesterday I discovered that Ross's, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls were all within about 5 minutes of each other. We hit up all three, but I am so surprised at how expensive TJ Maxx can be!! I don't want to pay $20 for a pair of shorts and t-shirt for baby clothes. I did find a couple deals at Ross's. An outfit for Charlotte and a couple of pairs of dress pants for Phil. They were $60 and $65 originally and I got them for $10 and $15... and nothings wrong with them, I love that store!!

Last night I finished a book called Predictably Irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions by Dan Ariely. It was really interesting. It discusses why people make irrational decisions (not what we think we would decide), and yet they are predictable. He classifies his work as "behavorial economics," but don't let that deter you, it is an easy read and not filled with economic jargon. He has an interesting view on life, and I'd have to agree that he's on track. Let me know if you read it and what you think! I'm now off to start The Post American World by: Fareed Zakaria.

It seems that I always think of so many things to write about, but when I actually sit down to write, I can't think of anything worthwhile.

20 Followers :) And a photo hunt!

2009-06-02T18:19:00.003-05:00

Yay, I made 20, Thank you Jenna!!

I did my running tonight. I got there and the same two people were on the treadmill, but noone else. So I did one of those elliptical thingies, basically where you stand up and kind of run but in a circle? Ok I probably confused you guys even more, but I have no idea what they are called. So, I did that for a whole 10 minutes!! Then I did my running/walking. It was great, but tiring!!! Yay me. So tomorrow, I'm going to just work out somehow, but now running. Maybe lift some weights. Then thursday I run again!

So I'm joining my first ever photo hunt!! I love to take pictures, but I'm not professional or anything. This should be fun. I'll update some when I get them, for more information and to join go HERE! Now I'm off on a scavenger hunt for my camera battery, I hate moving.

2009-06-02T15:56:00.002-05:00

Woohoo 100 posts so far this year, and 19 followers... if only I could get to 20, then we'd be in business, haha!! Does anyone else count their followers? I get so excited anytime someone chooses to follow my blog!

So, I didn't get to run yesterday, I got down the the gym and both the treadmills were taken (we have 2). So, I biked and when the people got off the treadmill (and I wanted to get on) other people jumped on, even though I was there first, next time I think I need to stand up for myself, but generally I'm too nice :(. So my plan is tonight, if they're taken, then I'll just run on the sidewalk outside of my apartment complex. It'll be HOT but its what I need to do. I'm seriously contemplating that $70 key so that the gym is 24 hours. Then I could go in the morning when Phil was getting ready for work... oh wait, who are we kidding, me get up at 6:30? Well, maybe.

Well I have a fussy baby and its 5, so I better get changed into some running clothes and hope Phil gets here soon!!!

Running

2009-06-01T15:03:00.003-05:00

Today is the day!! I'm starting the "Couch to 5K" program. I saw it a while ago on Chele76's blog (awesome blog by the way!!) I always wanted to start it, but never got around to it. But today is the day, no reason in particular just because. The goal is to get down to the pre-baby weight (through running/exercise, and eating better, *much* better). Haven't weighed myself yet, but my guess is about 20 pounds (eek!). I'll make more goals once I've gotten there.

So, I guess this is my way of announcing to the world, I'M GOING TO DO IT!! So, please hold me accountable. I told Phil the same, but I can easily talk him out of something, aka I stick to my whining longer than he sticks to his "Anna go do it," so I win. I'm going to make a little chart, where I can cross of when I do each workout, and write the date on it!! Its going front and center on the refrigerator, and going to be really big, so it reminds me!! Its not coming off until I complete it!

Cheers to running!!

We have a bedroom :)

2009-05-31T10:08:00.003-05:00

We bought it, well not exactly. Phil didn't like that the bed was so so low, so we ended up with a metal, silver looking bed, then we got the same furniture in black, but obviously, the second nightstand because the first would have nothing to hook onto. Though the bed frame with that nightstand looked really awesome :). The original bed would have been complicated with the box springs too, it was made for a slatted thing under the mattress, and we didn't want to spend an extra $120 or so on them.

So, here's the bed, but its a little darker than it looks in the picture. Our mattress is higher too because we have a box spring (instead of those slat things).

Phil is currently putting together one of the chests, him and Charlotte are hammering away (aka she's banging her hand on it to imitate daddy). We decided to get the glass to put on top of them and the nightstands!!

We even found a couch, but its not on their website (odd!) Super comfy and everything, for only $329. I'm just not so sure on the color. Its brown, and in some lights looks kinda plum-ish. But I bought some light blue pillows while we were there for it to brighten the room up. We just need a way to get it home!!

Here's the breakdown of what we got:

* One bedframe (above)
* 2 Chests of drawers, brown-black color
* 2 nightstands
* 2 pieces of glass for on top of the nightstands
* 2 pieces of glass for on top of the chests
* 2 dog beds (with new living room furniture they're going to need a new place to sleep!!)
* 4 blue pillows (small)
* A strainer (because I melted the last one to the stove a few weeks ago... Phil insisted we get a metal one this time, ha!)
* 2 plastic bibs for Charlotte
* 1 Oven mitt, we lost the one we had in the mail...
* I feel like I forgot something, oh well!

All for $750!! Go us!

Mirror

2009-05-30T13:40:00.002-05:00

I noticed that I forgot to mention that we already have a mirror, so we don't have to worry about that. It is something we got at IKEA, our last trip. We have two sets of these guys, one on top of another to make a wide full length mirror, so imagine this, but twice the length. They are by themselves on the wall, and it looks pretty good :).

Cute story: Charlotte loves the mirrors. She pulls herself up, so she can look at that other baby in the mirror, then continues to give it lots of sloppy kisses, cute, but not so good if I don't clean it daily!

New Furniture!!

2009-05-30T13:21:00.006-05:00

Its been forever since I posted!! We've been super busy here, but we had a GREAT time at the reception, and a very safe trip!! Even though 3 out of 4 of our flights were delayed, it wasn't a good weekend for the airlines!!!

Phil and I *think* we have decided on what we're going to buy with some of our wedding money, bedroom furniture!! Here's what I found, we're hopefully going to look at it after Charlotte wakes up from her nap, and if we like it, buy it!!!

Let me know what you think!

Bed Frame:

Chests (we are buying two, one for each of us):Attached bedside table: (we are debating this or the next, we'll have to see it in the store). This one attaches to the bed frame and the top is for holding books, and the bottom is a drawer. I think it looks kinda funny, but we would have to see what it looks like in the store.
And here is the other nightstand option, more traditional, but we don't really need two drawers. Plus, its not as cool, it doesn't attach to the bed!!

Also, the set comes in white, birch, oak, medium brown (what is pictured), brown-black, and black. We like the medium brown, plus we thinks it will match our tv stand thing in the bedroom. However, the white and black furniture is cheaper.

The best part... our grand total: $596.98+tax!!!! Yay Ikea!! (the total is the same with either nightstand, and we would get 2 of each).

Cupid

2009-05-19T12:01:00.004-05:00

I really hate when the networks pull the shows that I watch! They always keep the ones I won't ever watch and then bring on new ones, some that are hopeful (inevitably canceled) and the rest something I'd never sit down to watch. Today we got the news (which was already assumed) that they were pulling Cupid. The one of two shows that I reliably watch (granted its usually online and during naptime), but it was one of those feel-good happy shows. The networks hardly even give shows a chance anymore. I mean really, 6 episodes? We're just getting to know the main characters, and there is so much opportunity for plotline.

My other, is Brothers & Sisters, which they aren't pulling, yay! And for anyone looking for a good show, I highly recommend it! I don't know how much good you would od if you started the beginning of next season, but if you have the chance, try and catch up, it'll get you hooked!

Here's a summary:

“BROTHERS & SISTERS”

“Brothers & Sisters” continues to follow the California-based Walker family through the complicated maze of American life today. The compelling one-hour drama series is about a collection of five enmeshed and somewhat damaged adult siblings, their spouses and their strong and passionately devoted mother, Nora Holden (Oscar and Emmy Award winner Sally Field).

The Walkers’ lives have not been without challenge; romance, parenting, divorce, infidelity, addiction, war, birth and even death have pushed each of them to the limit, but they continue to work toward living their lives as individuals, while loving each other unconditionally and trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy after the loss of their larger-than-life family patriarch, William Walker.--TV by the numbers

There's more on ABC's website for anyone interested. :)

Tortillas

2009-05-15T12:09:00.003-05:00

Last night I made my own tortillas for the first time, and they were wonderful! I don't think I'm ever going to buy tortillas from the store, ever again! It was super simple too, I just bought the Walmart brand mix (found in the Mexican section), and mixed with water. kneaded the dough, let it sit 15 minutes, rolled it out and made them on my griddle. They were delicious and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the time and likes to cook, you'll be converted in no time! I'm not a fan of the long ingredient list, but you can always make your own from scratch with flour and a couple extra ingredients (shortening, salt, baking powder, water). If anyone tries it out, let me know how it goes!

2009-05-14T16:00:00.002-05:00

I lost my recycling bin again (on the desktop)... I swear, it just disappears, and of course I never notice until I need to get rid of something. I mean really, where does it go?? Its supposed to be there so I can delete stuff, right? Yet I always find it deleted. I guess I'm off to go find it!! Wish me luck!

The Dreaded DMV

2009-05-14T13:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was errand day, and well after moving to a new place there is A LOT to do! My list consisted of:
* Giving boxes to someone
* Changing name on S.S. card (yeah I'm a little late on that one).
* Getting Florida insurance (a must to register a car here)
* Getting Drivers License
* Registering and transferring title

I went everywhere, but left the DMV empty handed. Phil went to register his car in FL and get a license too, and at least he got his license, though it took them a couple tries. Apparently, his "sex" is: "F" according to them, even though his birth certificate and previous DL said "M." Apparently my hubby got a sex change that even he was unaware of. Thankfully he noticed it before we left, but it took them at least an HOUR to correct the mistake. Another reminder why I hate the DMV so much.

Oh and I had to wait over an hour at Social Security for a quick 5 minute transaction, while I sat there and listened to all these people trying to talk their way into or out of something, saying the same thing 10 times, isn't going to get you any farther than saying it once!!

So, we're going back Monday or Tuesday, hopefully for the last time in a long time!

I'm Awe-Summ!

2009-05-13T16:20:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Kym, I have my very first award, its an "awe-summm" award! YAY!

The rules: List seven things that make me awe-summm and then pass the award on to seven other people who I think are fabulously awe-summm.

1- I'm living in Florida, a life-long goal that I (we) accomplished at 23.
2- I have the most beautiful baby ever created, go me!!
3- I love baking, especially if it has chocolate involved, my hubby finds this pretty awe-summm!
4- I have just packed everything up, moved forever away, and unpacked it all (except 2 boxes) in 2 weeks.
5- I've ridden on a water buffalo. It was a long time ago at this place called The Heifer International Ranch, and since its helped put the rest of the world in perspective for me.
6- I'm a great cook, and love to experiment in the kitchen!
7- I'm in the process of paying off all our debt so we can be debt free!!

The Tags:
* Funny Girl
* Samantha
* Nicole
* Jo
* Chele76
* Crystal Jigsaw
* Katie

2009-05-11T23:25:00.002-05:00

Tonight, my husband looks like one of those old greek statues, you know the kind, of just a man laying there, or standing there, or kneeling there. It was kind of weird, and must have been attributed to his position and the lighting, but I looked at him, and he looked like an ordinary man. Of course, being my husband, I never see him this way, I always look at him and think "Phil," but for that split second, he was just an ordinary man, laying in bed, sleeping, and waiting for his *beautiful* wife.

I guess its just one of those things that makes someone think. To everyone else, we're just another person, in another apartment, living our own lives. Its hard to imagine how many millions and millions of families there are in this world who do the same thing we do (well not exactly) and no one really cares.

2009-05-10T23:47:00.003-05:00

Its been a busy weekend and I have no idea where to start! I keep randomly thinking of things to blog about, but once I finally sit down to write, my mind turns blank. So I guess we'll start with tonight, half a bottle of wine and a large piece of chocolate cake later (yep it was tasty!). Phil and I just hung out, had some nice "couple" time after the babe went to bed, hence the wine and cake! Earlier today Phil and Charlotte took me to the new IKEA that opened this weekend. I had a blast! I feel so blessed to be able to spend some time there and get some stuff! During our visit, the fire alarms sounded three times, I hope they caught that kid or whoever thought it'd be a great idea to set them off. There were so many freaked out little kids, I felt bad for their parents, thankfully Charlotte didn't care. She was too interested in her macaroni and cheese she was having for lunch. After lunch, we walked around, and let me tell you, the place is huge! We ended up with 2 4-packs of mirrors (to make a full length mirror, 2 lamps for our nightstands... that we'll get someday, a rug for the kitchen, 2 bibs, 6 plastic baby bowls, and a bread knife (I keep making all this bread, but have no knife to cut it!). Long story short, it was a great trip.

Yesterday we walked around the mall that is really close to here. I found some great finds at Ann Taylor Loft, one sweater vest that I've had my eye on for quite some time. It started at $50 and I got it for $15! And a short sleeved shirt that will work well this summer. Phil got measured and reserved his tux for our reception in 2 weeks. Hopefully we'll be getting plane tickets in the next couple days for the trip, its gettin close and starting to stress me out! Then all we gotta do is the DJ's list and show up! I think it'll be a great time! We also had bruch at our apartment complex Saturday morning... they do a free brunch thing, and it was ok, no hot food or anything, so I was kind of hoping they would, I can't turn down free food though!

Friday night was the best of the weekend, even though we got a late start, we took a trip to the beach. We ended up in Treasure Island and went to dinner at a place called "fishermans ..." something and walked around on the pier (where dinner was). We then went for a night walk on the beach with Charlotte in her carrier. All of us enjoyed it. It was unfortunate that we didn't have a chance to go the rest of the weekend. I hope we will next weekend!

Ok ok, that was a LONG post about the weekend, for those of you who made it through, congrats, I hope it wasn't too boring! I hope there's something more interesting tomorrow!

IKEA

2009-05-06T23:06:00.002-05:00

Tampa's IKEA opened today, and people are going crazy, its all over the news. Would someone care to inform me on the importance of an IKEA? I looked at the website, but half of it didn't work. From what I gather, its cute, cheap stuff. Good quality?

Even though I don't know much about it... I think we'll be spending a bit of our wedding money there :). I can't wait to go explore it once the hype of the grand opening calms down!

2009-05-06T21:10:00.003-05:00

I made dinner tonight for the first time in my new kitchen (ymmmm fajitas)! It was so so so nice! I've never made dinner anywhere, and had counter space I haven't used by the end of it. I even made cookies afterward and it was AMAZING!

Maybe once we know some people, we can throw a party and I can make a bunch of stuff!! I love big kitchens :).

Oh and our new apartment has Cable as part of the deal, so I've been watching The Food Network and I have a lot of cool new things to make :).

2009-05-05T15:11:00.003-05:00

I forgot the best news... Phil got a raise :). I feel a thousand times better that we're paying more for our apartment than we did in Nashville now! And now even more money for our debt snowball :).

2009-05-05T14:01:00.003-05:00

I'm unpacking unpacking unpacking. Taking a break from the kitchen at the moment. I figured I better get that done so we can have some homemade food.

I'm starting to get sick of it all though. I got it all packed up in a week, got here, and unpacked for a while, and now I just want to take a weeklong vacation on a private caribbean island or something and start working on it again, or just come back and have it all perfect, and the way that I want it. I can dream, right?

Oh and its so hard to unpack with a baby! When she's napping, I have to be quiet (kinda hard to do while unpacking), but when she's awake, she wants my attention, or gets bored if I'm not watching her and giving her something to do. And she's not old enough to just sit in front of the TV, not that I want to do that, but if it means I can unpack... it'd be worth it for a week.

And I love love love the new apartment. Its so much more open, its a nice neighborhood, its got a huge kitchen, and I'm making everything just how I like it. Even the bathrooms are big, there's extra room. I can see more tile than bathmat, its been a while since that's been the case!!

Oh and tonight is smoothie night at the mailboxes, so once Phil gets home we're talking a walk to check our mail :). And Saturday is Mothers Day Brunch and tea at our apartment, except they want all the moms in dresses and tea hats. I'd much rather prefer sweat pants!! Why would moms want to get dressed up in dresses on a saturday morning? If its to honor us, shouldn't we be allowed to wear whatever we want? But if it comes down to it, I"ll put on a dress for a free brunch :). Anything for free food, right?

Apologies

2009-05-04T11:01:00.002-05:00

Recently I've been doing a really bad job posting replies to comments and reading others blogs, I promise this will improve! I just gotta get unpacked, then I will spend LOTS of time catching up :).

We're here!

2009-05-03T09:18:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to Florida! We have unpacked about 1/2 of the U-haul and Phil just got back with some people to help.

I'll update more later.

We're almost there!

2009-04-29T10:36:00.003-05:00

Thanks for everyone's suggestions on boxes! I'm going to drive around in a few and check out those places, hopefully find a few more decent sized boxes. :)

We got a lot more packed up yesterday and last night. I packed up all of Charlotte's room before Phil got home (at least I did something productive), and then we worked for a while after she went to bed. Our apartment is starting to look like we're actually moving! Boxes stacked in every room and nothing on/around the furniture. Yay! The only real things we have left are the kitchen, coat closet, and toys, and of course a few suitcases of our stuff. I've even packed the bathrooms :). Phil should get off by around noon today too, granted he has to drive back and such, it'll be nice to have some help, before 10PM!

We pick the U-haul up tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I'm glad we get it in the morning, I was afraid they wouldn't give it to us until that night, which would throw our entire plan off. So we get to load up tomorrow and head out Friday. Its hard to believe we're only staying two more nights here... we haven't even been here a year! (Not that I'm complaining).

Lets just hope our trip doesn't take a little detour...

I can't wait to be on that u-haul on our way down to Florida because by then, we will be past the halfway point!!

2009-04-28T16:04:00.003-05:00

I should be packing, but I'm not. Instead, I'm people watching outside, finding new blogs, being lazy, etc. Though I did go to the bank and Wal-mart today. Plus, we're almost out of boxes. I figured I'd go to the recycling center and grab some, but they only have an "in," no "outs," aka, really small slats to put the boxes out, which means I can't really go dumpster diving. Not like I would have been able to with Charlotte anyways. Any ideas where to get boxes? Now-a-days it seems that everyone crushes their boxes, so there's not really much point going to a grocery store or something. So, this could prove interesting.

They were supposed to quit up in Clarksville for the week once it started raining, well it poured this morning, and they decided to wait a few hours instead. They were about to call it, then someone decided to start working, they've been working for the rest of the day. I hope it starts again soon, so Phil can have tomorrow off. We're supposed to pick up the U-haul on Thursday. I don't know when I'm going to finish packing everything. It'd be really nice to have some help, aka Phil. Oh well, I'll be VERY happy when we get this stuff on the truck and on our way down.

Florida 2009 pictures

2009-04-25T19:30:00.010-05:00

Playing at the airport, waiting for the flight.

The view from the sky... if you look carefully you can see the coastline.

Big girl sitting all by herself on the plane... for the moment. She was squirmy!

Unpacking once we got to the hotel. She really loves to take things out!

Mommy and baby at the beach!

Playing with Daddy at the beach!

More playing, she's about ready to take off any day now!

Long overdue Easter-ish Pictures

2009-04-25T19:22:00.006-05:00

Hanging out before bed.

Enjoying the teething toy of choice, a dog bone... I do take them away from her.

Her first-ever Easter Bunny!

First ever Easter Egg Hunt, she got 2 eggs all by herself!

Spaghetti at TGI Friday's.

Chowing down on the dog food. Thankfully, she doesn't like it!

Anyone know?

2009-04-25T18:43:00.002-05:00

I'm using site meter to track my clicks, and I have a question... At least half of my clicks are from people searching "lasagna" on google! Can I get rid of this? I just want to know who is actually coming to read, not find a picture of "lasagna" on google. I don't really want to get stop the "searchable" setting though.

Its getting really frustrating!

Florida!!

2009-04-24T14:04:00.002-05:00

We had a great time in Florida the past few days. We got back late yesterday afternoon. During our visit, Phil met the people at the Tampa office and kind of interviewed. We also did our apartment hunting and it went much quicker than I had imagined! We even had a day to go to the beach. We went south to Bradenton and spend a couple hours on the beach. Charlotte loved it too!

It looks like we are going to be moving this next weekend, May 1st and 2nd-ish. So, I have a lot of packing to do this next week. Thankfully, Michele is going to come up to visit and help!! Phil's office has released him for that date and Tampa is expecting him! Thankfully everything is getting worked out!!

We're going to move from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom apartment, but its only 65 less sq. ft. than we have right now oh and a HUGE kitchen!! No more galley kitchen for me :).

More later, I've got stuff to do!

Florida... here we come!

2009-04-21T00:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm off to bed for a compromised (yes, Phil wanted less) 5 1/2 hours of sleep... it was a long night of a cranky baby, packing, giving Phil a haircut, etc.

I'll probably be giving quick updates here and there as the trip progresses. We should have internet and are bringing the computer.

Wish us luck!

Running with Scissors

2009-04-19T01:20:00.004-05:00

I just read a really good, interesting book. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I highly recommend it, but it'll make you think. Since its 1:20 AM and I just finished, I'm going to forgo my own summary and just write whats on the sleeve of the book.

"Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain. Suddenly, at age twelve, Augusten Burroughs found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian in perfect squalor. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients, and a pedophile living in the backyard shed completed the tableau. Here, there were no rules; there was no school. The Christmas tree stayed up until summer, and Valium was eaten like Pez. And when things got dull, there was always the vintage electroshock-therapy machine under the stairs....

Running with Scissors is at turns foul and harrowing, compelling and maniacally funny. But above all, it chronicles an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances."

I read its also been made into a movie. I guess thats the next one to add to the top of the Netflix list!

I think I'm going to start Twilight tomorrow and *hopefully* finish it before its due, as I'm sure I won't be able to renew it with all the holds. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to find out what all the fuss is about.

Earth Day 2009

2009-04-17T23:48:00.003-05:00

Its almost Earth Day! Tomorrow Nashville has Earth Day festivities at Centennial Park. It looks like its going to be a great time and I'm excited! I can't wait to go and visit the different booths and learn about stuff :). If you're bored, check out what is going on in your city and enjoy a nice day outside!! Don't forget that Earth Day is April 22, 2009.

Recession Shopping: 10 Things to Buy Right Now

2009-04-17T23:29:00.002-05:00

CNN and TIME magazine put out an article explaining the 10 things to buy right now. The article can be found here.

1. Fancy Threads (Formals, Cashmere, etc.)
2. Computer Memory
3. Digital Cameras
4. Stuff for your house (b/c going out of business sales, and craigslist)
5. Lobster
6. New Cars
7. Travel
8. Country Club Membership
9. Housing
10. Stocks

Of course, I have to agree with some of these... Stocks, Housing, Travel, New Cars... but some, I don't think have anything to do with the recession. In fact, I think they would have dropped MORE had we not been in this recession. For example, Computer Memory and Digital Cameras. Technology advances and such a quick rate, something down 50% from 2 years ago, is normal, even if its not a recession.

As technology gets older, it gets cheaper. It gets easier to make and there is less demand, as people either already have the item or people want the new item.

Personally, I think that the prices would have dropped even further on any particular computer memory chip. Had we not been in a recession, the demand for computer memory would be much higher than it is now because people would be looking to spend money. So, there would be more money to research and make higher "level" memory chips, therefore, making the older ones cheaper, because there would have been bigger and better things than there is right now... due to the fact that the demand is lower and there is less money to spend on research, etc.

Just my 10 cents for the day.

2009-04-16T16:34:00.002-05:00

I love this idea ! Esp. if we move to the gulf coast... :).

Sorry I haven't been posting much, I've been super busy! I'll try to write something in the next few days!

Another day of tornados!

2009-04-11T00:49:00.003-05:00

The weirdest thing happened today, there were tornadoes in a suburb or Nashville, and I didn't even know. If you know me at all, you'd know that I love severe weather. And when its happening, the TV's on, the radio is on, the police scanner is on, the door is open, and I'm outside watching it all.

We wake up this morning at like 11 (yes, Charlotte slept in late, and we still had to wake her up!), and we have an appointment to get our pictures done at 12:30. Which means, find everyones clothes, shower, get the baby ready and fed, and do my hair (and I got my haircut yesterday, so I haven't even had a chance to practice). So, while the storms were coming and there were tornadoes heading our direction, I'm running around like a chicken with no head, trying to do everything. We get to the studio right at 12:30 (have to wait 15 minutes of course), and hear, tornado warning!! To say the least, I was confused... and felt pretty stupid, walking in there, like... what the heck is going on?

To make matters worse, I didn't even know there was damage, etc. until about 4, when I turned on the TV and checked out CNN.com.

Of course, all this follows the storms last week, where there were tornadoes 5 miles down the highway... while I was trying to drive home! Who would have guessed TN would have had so many tornadoes!

Charlotte update!

2009-04-08T15:40:00.003-05:00

Charlotte had her 9 month check up today and it went really well! She weighs 20 pounds 12 ounces (81st percentile) and was 27 and 1/4 inches (39th percentile). Apparently she's short and fat, but she really doesn't look like it!! I asked the doctor about it and she said that they don't worry about the height in the first year because unless they cooperate, you could measure them a million times and it would all come out differently. Her head circumference was 18 inches, 91st percentile. She's always had a big head (but then Phil and I do too!) No shots this time too, just a TB test... beats me.

Yesterday, she discovered that there were goodies in the kitchen cabinets! At first, she was only opening and closing them, and after about 10 minutes of that, she discovered the pans, so she had fun cleaning while I was cooking. Hopefully now she can be a happy baby when I'm cooking!!

She's getting really good at crawling too. I think she's finally figuring out that it takes less energy to crawl in a normal crawling position, than the army crawl. And she's going from sitting to standing a lot now. Before, she had pulled up a few times, but now she does it intentionally. And she's definitely getting into more stuff, like the dogs water and the electronics below the TV. I think its time to invest in some more child proofing stuff!! There have been lots of changes in the past week or so!

I don't have any new pictures, but I'll take some in the next couple days and put them up!

Yummy!

2009-04-04T23:16:00.003-05:00

Tonight Charlotte and I went over to Brandyn's and she cooked us some tasty food!! We had crackers with cheese ball, a tasty salad, lasagna, bread, and homemade cheesecake! It was so nice to have a home cooked meal that I didn't cook!! Phil got home late but got to eat the leftovers :).

Tomorrow we get the treat again, when we go over to another friends house for dinner!! We're assuming the men will get off early because it is supposed to rain, so we're going to go over and play, then eat dinner with them (and hopefully the guys too!) I'm making some revel bars to bring over too, which I'm leaving over there, we don't need anymore of them!!

2009-04-04T15:58:00.002-05:00

I finally did a little research about leaving our apartment, since we're way past the 60 day notice mark, and come to find out our lease is up April 20th! They told me April 30th like a couple of weeks ago, what the heck?!? Then, when the lady was looking further at our lease, we never officially signed it, I kinda wish I had just refused to sign it, that would have been interesting! On top of that, the lease said that we signed a 14 month lease... (we were never informed), but the official move out date on the paperwork was April 20th, 11 months after we move in. They really screwed it up! Now, the earliest we can get out is going to be May 20th, but that will probably work better. We'll have some overlap here and plenty of time to get out, and for Phil to finish up here.

Phil had yesterday off too. He went up there in the morning, and they canceled for the morning because it was too muddy, then canceled for the rest of the day, so Charlotte and I had him from 9:30 am on!! It was very much needed, I felt like I was about to go crazy! We had such a great day. We cleaned out some stuff, threw away 2 1/2 garbage bags of stuff!! And packed up most of our books and the stuff in the desk. We're going to sell my desk, so if anyone wants to buy it, let me know. But, there won't be room for it wherever we move. And if we need one, we'll need a little tiny laptop desk.

Today, I went out with a friend, and we got Charlotte and her son's feet measured, got some lunch out, walked around the mall and Target, it was great! It made it feel like a weekend. When Phil works on these weekends, it feels like its just another weekday.

Katie comes in like a week and a half too! I'm so excited to see her!!! Then Mom and Dad come for Natalie's recital, then we're off to Florida! I hope this goes quick!

Another update!

2009-03-31T22:52:00.003-05:00

They changed our dates to visit Tampa, yay!! We're now going down April 21st to 23rd. I'm hoping all goes well, and he officially gets offered the job! They put the job back up on their website, dang! And took down another one.

I can't wait to get down there and look around! Neither of us have ever been to Tampa, though we've been to other places in Florida, and loved it. On top of just Florida, the job sounds great too :).

We've been discussing how to finagle (sp?) this moving thing. Since our lease is up April 30th, and Phil can't go down until the end of this job he's on (his boss told him to start thinking of when he's going to have everything wrapped up so he can tell Florida when he gets down there), we're thinking maybe I'll move down there and unpack and all, and he'll stay up here in a hotel for a week (maybe two) then come down. It would suck, but it might be the cheapest option. Hmmm.

Whole Foods/Going Organic

2009-03-31T14:28:00.005-05:00

The last grocery trip I made, I bought about 75% of our food organic (a few things all natural). I was so proud of myself!! It did cost a little more, but its well worth it. This month I added another $100 to our grocery budget. So we're going from $300 to $400/month. I'm slowly working on replacing all of our "staples" with organic ones. So far, I've got the ketchup, soy sauce, and cooking spray replaced. I'm waiting for our oils to run out before I splurge on some more. I also bought some organic flour and brown sugar for our bread. We're even switching Charlotte's cereal (and formula... to mix cereal) over and its not that much more!! And since Char loves finger foods and I make whatever other "baby food" she eats, that doesn't cost us a lot either!

Unfortunately we don't have a Whole Foods store nearby (closest one is like 1/2 hour + away), but Kroger does pretty good. Their brand Private Selection is mostly organic, and they have a decent produce selection, considering. I also know that Publix has organic chicken, so I need to catch that on a sale and stock up. Plus, a lot of their store brand is organic, but they're a little more expensive.

It looks like the closest Whole Foods is 25 minutes from where we'd be if we moved to Tampa, and no Trader Joe's even in Florida!! But there is Publix and even a Publix GreenWise store :)

Tampa Update

2009-03-31T14:20:00.002-05:00

Tampa booked plane tickets for all of us to go visit and for Phil to have his official interview when Katie is coming, so they're hopefully going to reschedule! Otherwise, Phil is just going. I wish they had asked before they bought the plane tickets!! And a few days ago, I noticed they posted the job Phil is applying for online, but since they have taken it off, yay!!

I've been doing some research online and have apartments narrowed down to 5 or 6 that we are going to look at while we are there. They all accept our pets and have rent that we can afford for a 2 bedroom, 1 or 2 bath. There's no way we could even afford a 3 bedroom right now, and unfortunately a lot of those 2 beds are under 1000 sq. feet. We'll just have to scale down! A lot of them do have a built in computer center which would definitely help too. But, we want quality over quantity right now, I think it'll be nicer in the long run. Looking at the floorplans, they have the same size bedrooms, and a slightly larger living room and either one or two bathrooms. Some just have a closet laundry room, others a real laundry room like we have here. Oh and they also have smaller dining rooms! I hope we can keep our table, otherwise we'll have to find a cheap circular one! But, I'm not going to get ahead of myself. We need to be guaranteed the position and find an apartment first. Then I can try to figure it all out.

A few minutes ago I talked to Phil and they shut down for the day, yay! It was about 2 p.m. but I'm still betting he wont' be home until 6. He has to wait around for some samples, drive back, stop by the office (there will be people there), and I bet they get distracted, then finally comes home. He doesn't think it'll be that late, but we'll see!!! I shoulda bet something good!!

We're probably moving!!

2009-03-27T22:01:00.003-05:00

Last Friday (a week ago from today), Phil received an email saying that they were looking for a geotechnical staff professional in the Tampa office (for his company). So, he jumped on the opportunity and put his resume in. Turns out, he was the only one too, and they want him down there, asap!

Since neither of us has ever been down there, they're going to fly us (and Charlotte) down there so he can meet everyone (make sure they all get along, because there was no interview etc.), and so that we can look around and make sure that we like it, before we move there. I'm not too concerned, I know we'll like it, we have each liked all the places in Florida we have been. Today they were thinking next Monday (6th) till Wednesday we would go down there.

So, we don't know exactly when we'll move because Phil is on this crazy job, but when he first spoke to them, they were hoping he could be there by April 1!! So, it won't be that soon, as Phil's office wants him up here to finish this project, but we're hoping it will be sooner rather than later. Plus, our lease is up April 30, and we COULD probably extend it (and pay more), but we'd rather just leave!!

I'm super excited (and so is Phil). Our goal has always been to live on the coast in Florida, and well, we won't have a place on the coast, but we'll be in Florida, and be a quick drive away from the beach, yay!!

Life's been crazy!

2009-03-27T21:45:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I know its been a long time, but I've been busy, really I have!!!

Oh and there's so much to say. I went to visit the in-laws from Thursday to Tuesday, it was good, but I didn't realize how much I missed Phil even though I don't get to see him. So, I was glad to be back home, and of course that helped Charlotte sleep better too. She doesn't sleep well other places. We did some work on the reception and just hung out. It was nice to have other people to watch Charlotte too, but I never felt like I could let go... like when Phil gets home, I know I can go do something and not have to worry about her.

Charlotte learned how to get from laying to sitting!! I knew she had done it before, but she didn't want us to know that she could or something. Because, if she knew I was there, she wouldn't do it, but if she didn't know I could see her (like I was in the kitchen), she had no problems. Go figure. But, now she does it all the time, so yay! One more thing that she can do and now won't be so frustrated. She's also spending a lot of time in the real crawling position, but not going anywhere, though she's getting much faster at the army crawl thing.

Phil got off work Wed afternoon and has off until Monday morning, yay!! I'm so ready for him to finish this job!! Its getting crappier and crappier, he worked 94 hours last week!!! But, only about 45-50 this week, so at least that's good!!

So, we've been busy. Storytime was Thursday morning at the library and Phil came to that. Then, I went to the zoo with a mom's group and Phil went by work for a couple hours. And we went grocery shopping together that day. Oh and MIZZOU played, GO TIGERS!!! They won, it was a fun game to watch :). Can't wait to watch the next one. I think its tomorrow??? Oh and we made some yummy dessert! And today we cleaned up the apartment some and then had a friend over for dinner. I made homemade pizza and a salad! Unfortunately, the past few days I've been sick. I took some Nyquil last night, after not being able to sleep the night before that, and I'm planning on taking some again tonight. I've also been on dayquil on and off. I hate colds!

Oh and some more exciting news, but I'll write a different post it here.

Library annoyances

2009-03-18T12:26:00.004-05:00

I don't think the Nashville Public Library has enough books. Sure, I walk in and there are tons of books on the shelves, but apparently not the ones people want to read. So far, I have only checked out two books, that I haven't had to request... and they were COOKBOOKS. I have had to request or place a hold on every novel I want to take out, books on babies, etc. Maybe part of it is that our branch doesn't have a lot, or maybe I'm just reading popular books? I just thought you were supposed to be able to go to the library and find a book, and check it out then... not have to plan ahead and "request" it so that it will arrive in a week.

So, now I'm sitting at home, searching for books I want to read and am placing holds on them, so I can get an email and go to the library and pick it up off the hold shelf. It seems to take away from the fun of wandering around a library. I go, head straight to the hold shelf, check out and leave. Hmmm....

Bread Machine!

2009-03-17T16:15:00.003-05:00

I forgot one of the most important of all, I got a breadmaker!! My hubby's mom had one that she had never used and wasn't going to and just gave it to me :) :) :). So far, I made one white loaf, and it came out perfectly. I'm trying my first whole wheat loaf, I hope it turns out well! It is going to take like 4 hours to cook!! My friend Katie tried one and it didn't work, but I'm hoping this will because it was in the recipe book that came with the breadmaker!!

If anyone has any recipes, pass them my way! I can't wait to get going and try out all kinds of things.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T14:14:00.005-05:00

This week has been so busy, and I’m just now getting a chance to write! By the way, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

So, Friday morning, Phil headed to Clarksville, and SURPRISE, they decided to cancel for the weekend. So, we decided to take a last minute trip to St. Louis/Rolla.

Natalie and Brandyn came over for dinner on Friday night. We had some BBQ pork sandwiches we had in the crockpot all day. It was good, but not as good as when we had made it before. Exact same recipe though, kinda strange.

Once they left, we cleaned up the house real quick and got on the road to St. Louis. Charlotte slept for the first 3 hours, and screamed for the last 2. Of course, I was driving the first 3 and Phil was sleeping, then when we switched, and I was supposed to sleep, but she was awake. We got there close to 2 a.m. Saturday morning Phil left for Rolla for St. Pats and alumni stuff at Beta Sig. I decided to stay in St. Louis with the baby. I did not want a cranky, tired baby, plus I don’t think she would have been too happy with the car ride.

So, we had a good visit with Phil's family and I think Phil had a good time in Rolla.

We came home Sunday afternoon and my parents came Sunday night. It was so so so good to see them! They got in late, so we went to bed pretty soon after they came home, but the next day we spent time playing with Charlotte, Mom and I went shopping (lots of new clothes, yay!) while Dad babysat. We made Veal Parmesan for dinner and it was tasty. Charlotte just loved it, and made a huge mess. Phil even got to come home early (about 6:30, should again today too) and we played POP 5. Natalie came over after her Opera practice to play the game with us.

This morning, we got around, played with the baby, and went to lunch at Panera, it was tasty! Charlotte even ate a whole sandwich and some yogurt! But now the parents have left and the baby is sleeping. Its time to get the house all cleaned up and get on with our regular lives, for a few days anyways. Next weekend I'm probably going to go to St. Louis and spend some time up there.

Here's a picture of Charlotte and Phil playing when he got home early yesterday. She was very happy to see him and they love playing together!!

I finished the Recycling Center!!

2009-03-10T13:53:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Charlotte and I had a play date at a friends house. Charlotte swung for the first time and absolutely loved it! I wish I had taken a video or picture. At the beginning, every time she would swing towards me, she would laugh!

I got our recycling center up and running this past weekend! Its unfortunate that we don't have a lot of space, I think I'll have to run to the recycling center once a week or something. As you can see in the picture, the cardboard section is already overflowing! Now I just have to train myself to put everything in the recycling. The hardest part is the paper... since we can recycle all kinds of paper (not just newspaper and cardboard). I'm so used to cleaning up and putting it in the trashcan! I caught myself doing it multiple times yesterday :(.

I'm starting to have reservations about moving. I'm just now feeling at home in this apartment, after being here for almost a year, and to move everything again, it seems crazy! I still feel that we'd be happier in the other place, but its going to be a lot of work. Once I sat down to think about it, we have A LOT of stuff! And that's A LOT of trips next door and up the stairs. I'm thinking maybe we could get a few days to move our stuff in there, and then we wouldn't have to do it in one day. Because right now, that seems like it'd be impossible!

We had a busy weekend!

2009-03-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

Phil didn't get his review on Thursday, because his boss had an emergency parent-teacher conference. So, it was this Monday instead. And it went great, but they're still not giving any raises! Oh and they're cutting salaries of anyone making over 60k... and giving them stocks instead. I have a feeling the company isn't doing great.

Friday, we spent most of the day relaxing, and Charlotte had a lot of time playing. She got better at crawling. She will now lift her tummy off the ground with just about every stride, she looks like she's doing the worm across the floor, its pretty funny!

Friday night was the much anticipated alumni event at Blackstone Brewery. We had a lot of fun!! We were the youngest people there by about 5 years, but it was still a good time. A lot of people didn't think that I had gone to school there too, which was kind of disappointing. In all, there were about 30 people there. They said the last alumni get-together, which was a St. Pats party, there were 6 people and it was in 2001. We got home about 10 and passed out, we were tired!

Saturday was a busy day! We all slept in and then went to Cracker Barrel at 11! It turned out to only be us and one other family, but it turned out pretty well. We met M and her husband, and their son who is 11 months old. The babies had a lot of fun sitting across from each other at the table. M's husband is also a Nashville police officer, so it was fun to talk to him. He patrols downtown on a bike (car in the winter). I need to get in contact with them so that I can set up a ride-along. M said that he would be able to tell me about some fun people to ride along with.

Following lunch, we returned home so that Charlotte could take a nap. Then we went bowling (for a mystery shop)!! It was a lot of fun. We bowled a couple of games and got some food (we had to), then it was time for a CiCi's mystery shop... we were stuffed by the end of the night!

Sunday, we were going to visit a church, then ran into Phil's coworkers and their son at the gas station. They invited us to go to the Zoo with them, so we did that instead. The guy we went with is the other engineer that is out on the job with Phil in Clarksville. Instead of paying for us to join, we decided on a membership, which gives us coupons, and entrance for a year. It was only $55 and would have cost us $28 to go just today. Now, I can go to the two meetups that will be at the zoo! And we can go for a year! It will definitely pay for itself very quickly. It was so cheap because Charlotte is free until she is 2!!

Then we met them for dinner at Famous Dave's and it was so so so good! Charlotte loves the smoked meat there too, so she was having a grand time. Unfortunately, after we were stuffed, I had to do a Sonic MS, and we did not want to see the food. Oh and while there, a creepy homeless guy started to approach our car (it was freaky), but an employee yelled at him and asked him if he was planning on eating and to leave, phew!

Charlotte wouldn't sleep Sunday night very well either. Once she finally got to bed around 11:30pm-ish we passed out too. She ended up half fussing herself to sleep. But, she woke up this morning on her own, so that was ok. Now she's down for a late, and hopefully long nap.

Phil's back on the job Monday, as expected. Another 8 weeks, they're 1/3 done... if they had kept it at the original 8 weeks, he would have been 1/2 way there!! Oh well, a job is a job right now, right? Only 10 more days and I get a long weekend with him. Next weekend Laura (her hubby is the other engineer doing the Clarksville job) and I are going to get together while they're stuck working up there. Then, my parents come and then I get Phil, and then I'm going to St. Louis, and I then Phil again, and I haven't looked any further. I think it will be close to when Katie comes!!! I really hope these next 8 weeks fly by!

Who's the driver?

2009-03-05T12:32:00.002-06:00

I thought that this was really cute. I went into a store, and the dog was just chilling, but when I came back out, I think he was ready to go. He was just sitting in the drivers seat all dignified and ready to take off. It was really cute, so I thought I'd share.

Its almost the weekend!!

2009-03-05T12:06:00.005-06:00

We get the whole weekend with Phil! I am so happy :). He's thinking they'll quit around two, then he has to finish up on the site for a few minutes, go back to the office, have his review, then he's home for the weekend, yay! So, I probably won't be posting for a while. Please pray that his review goes well!

Charlotte and I had "Baby and Me" at the library this morning. I signed up for the next session too. Its 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off with up to 10 babies. There's often a wait list, so I'm lucky I got into this next one :). I don't think that Charlotte was old enough to appreciate all of it, but that's ok. She will, and I think its really important to have her at the library this young. Plus, I get to meet other mommies!

Tomorrow night we have our alumni meeting thing at a local brewery! I'm super excited about it!! I know I've talked about it before, but its so weird being an alumnus, and they're finally doing something! I hope that lots of people show up :)

Here's a picture of Charlotte from a few days ago, amidst all her toys. She's crawling more and more now. I think it helps her to see other babies doing it.

Recycling

2009-03-04T12:20:00.002-06:00

I have a new goal, I'm going to get our recycling center set up by the time Katie gets here. Even though we're just going to be moving shortly after, I'll have all the boxes labeled, put in there places and us used to recycling then. Now if only I could find some more paper boxes, so that I could get it all set up right now. You know, milk crates might work too. I wonder how many of those we have sitting around, I know at least one.

And Nashville is great, they recycle all plastics, glass (green/brown/clear), paper, newspaper, and cans/tin. Unfortunately, we have to separate each one (plastics can all go together, doesn't matter the number). So, it takes up a bit of space. And we have to go to the recycling center to drop them off, but there's one super close. I guess that's what happens when we live in an apartment not a house.

The foodstamp experiment.

2009-03-03T23:31:00.005-06:00

I know that a lot of you have already been reading this guys blog, but I bookmarked it a month ago, and never checked it again until tonight. Long story short, a reporter was going an experiment and living off of what one person would get in food stamps for a month. After talking to the authorities, the most someone could get was $176. He blogged about his experience, which is great, but I think that $176/person for a month is A LOT of food. Oh and Obama is attempting to, or has, upped the amount that people are expected to receive.

I went to a website that he provided, which said that the most someone could get is $323 for a family of two or $463 for a family of 3. Wow, I wish I had $463 to spend on food each month. We budget $300 and often have about $25 or so left over each month. Granted I'm trying really hard and preparing before going to the store and such, I wouldn't say that we're eating badly. In fact, I think that we eat pretty well. No, we don't treat ourselves to steak, or a lot of seafood, or even go out to eat, but I'm ok with it. We do go out, which is from money in our budget, but I know that we let some food to go waste too and we could easily still make it with the $300/month. Oh and on top of food for us, I also buy about a can of formula a month, and baby food (well not the jars, becuase I make it), but rice cereal, toddler puffs, fruit and veggies to make into baby food, etc.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that I WISH that we were fortunate enough to spend $463/month on food and not think twice about it. I wouldn't make so much baby food, we'd eat a real steak every now and then and definitly buy a lot more natural and organic foods.

Its Another Tooth!

2009-03-03T17:04:00.002-06:00

And I forgot to mention this earlier, but Charlotte has her third tooth! I felt it yesterday and a lot more has poked through. So all of this teething is starting to pay off!! I hope that she gets the other three quickly so we'll be through teething for a while. Boy will her smile change :-D

2009-03-03T13:22:00.003-06:00

I just finished 30 Rock: Season 2!! Now I have to wait for Season 3 to come up so that I can catch up and be ready for Season 4 next year. This is going to be a busy summer. Catching up on 30 Rock and The Office. Now I need to find something else to watch that they have "instantly" on Netflix... I wish the selection wasn't so limited.Phil has his first performance review on Thursday, yay! He doesn't think that the company is giving raises right now, but we can always hope. At least its a job, raises can always come later. I'm nervous for him, but I don't think that he is, which is good. Oh and they told him and his coworker that they needed to have less hours, that they were spending too much time on the site (last week Phil clocked 90 hours). They wanted them to leave earlier and catch up the next day. Unfortunately, Phil has to commute and the other guy isn't great about getting out early. Phil has been getting home between 7:30 and 8 everyday now :(.

We have decided that we're going to move out of our apartment for sure. We're going to get one of the "brand new" ones that they're working on right now in our complex. The rent should stay the same, a little less square feet, and 2 bed 1 bath. I filled out a "vacate" form yesterday (need Phil to sign it), and will turn it in. So, if something goes wrong with that place, I guess we'll be looking for another complex to move into. Not at all bad though. We are looking for someplace to stay for 3-4 more years until we are ready to buy a house and we want to LOVE the floorplan, etc. This apartment should be all new, with new appliances and such. Since its from insurance, they aren't buying "used" appliances, like dishwashers and such. I'm excited about it!

The Bachelor

2009-03-03T00:07:00.004-06:00

I have to admit, but I've stooped to the level of watching The Bachelor. Not that its a horrible program or anything, but I never used to get into those things. But this season, I haven't missed an episode.

SPOILER ALERT BELOW:

So, tonight was the final episode, which went on for 3 hours... and there's a second tomorrow (which I'll be sure to watch)... but anyhow. He decided to propose to Melissa, my favorite from day one. Then of course after the whole proposal, they have an "After the Final Rose" or something like that, where they get on with the happy couple, 6 weeks later, and talk to them about their relationship, plan for marriage, and such. Well tonight he DUMPED Melissa and asked Molly for a second chance. I mean, WHO does that? I just was so mad at him. And poor Melissa, if anyone saw how she reacted, that is EXACTLY how I would have reacted. It was like I was looking at myself, after a breakup etc. That brought back some memories!! Of course some people are saying that ABC fixed it way back, but I'm not so sure. I just want to SMACK him and tell him that relationships take WORK. They're not all honky-dorry and even during an engagement, or three months after beginning to date do they work out perfectly.

Then I got to thinking, who would sign up for such a show. I always thought that if I was single and pretty enough, why not give it a try? But why? You're end goal is to be proposed to, but would I really want the stress of being one of the last two? And then you're stuck with a guy who was in love with you AND another woman, so he's not just happy to have you, but sad to have lost the other girl, and is going through a pretty big break-up at the same time you are trying to celebrate an engagement. I don't think that is how its supposed to work. I understand the premise of the show, and I think its great, but they need to change it somehow. I'm just not sure how yet.

Ahh, why do I torture myself so?

Its going to be a busy week!

2009-03-02T14:03:00.004-06:00

This week is going to be busy, but good!!!

Today: MS (mystery shop)
Tuesday: Nothing :(
Wed: 2 MS's, Story time at the library
Thurs: Baby and Me at the library
Fri: Alumni St. Pats party at a brewery
Sat: Cracker Barrel with meetup.com group and MS
Sun: MS

Of course that doesn't include the bank run, grocery store (x2), and whatever else we normally do in the day.

I'm also *hoping* to get a new lease signed for the apartment. We're going to move into a 2 bed 1 bath (instead of 3 bed 2 bath) with only 100 less sq. feet. It'll save us a few bucks too, oh and the rooms are a lot larger. But, if they can't get us the one we want, I'm going to put in our 60 days and we'll be feverishly apartment hunting the next 60 days. There are others that we've seen. Unfortunately, we'll have to *waste* money with more deposits and such, but we're planning on sticking there for 3-4 more years. (Fingers crossed the job situation doesn't stink).

I am super excited about this alumni get-together. Phil talked to the guy in charge of it and they hadn't done anything for about 10 years. I'm glad that they finally are. Maybe it'll become somewhat regular... every few months or so. I can't wait to meet some fellow alumni! Its so weird, I'm an alumni, you would think I'm 70 or something... I guess that's how I always looked at it as a kid. Some old man, long beard, grey, and wrinkly, about 70... thats someone who is an alumnus of a University. I'll let you know how it goes!

Church Shopping

2009-03-01T13:50:00.005-06:00

Charlotte and I went to church this morning, it was the first time in a while. We went to Hermitage Church of the Nazarene. Its the same place that we go to MOPS. Their contemporary service was at 10:15 and we went to that. It was a lot like Dad's church (the contemporary one anyways). They also have a traditional service at 9 (and Sunday School at the same time) too.

I really like that they have so many things that you can be involved in. MOPS, Mothers Day Out, Bible Studies, Prayer Groups, and I'm sure there's a lot more. Its a decent sized church too. They also seem to be a lot like the Methodist Church which is nice because that's how I was raised. Oh and everyone that I've met is nice! My only complaint is that people didn't really seem to get into the service. The music and band was great, but it was just quiet... you couldn't hear people singing, or saying the Lord's Prayer. Maybe it was just the day. I think I'm going to go back again.

I really want to find a church home, but we don't seem to be having much luck. I loved The Oasis, but it was over 1/2 hour away and they didn't have a lot of activities during the week. I also need to check out Victory Fellowship (I think that's what its called). We were going to go last weekend when Phil was home, but he set the alarm for PM, not AM. Maybe I'll go next week (I think Phil will have off). I know that they have bible studies and such too, though I think that its a little further away. Boy do I hope we find something soon!

Free (or really cheap) things to do in Nashville

2009-02-28T13:44:00.000-06:00

So, my friend Katie is coming to Nashvegas in about 6 weeks, and I'm looking for some free (or really cheap) fun Nashville-y things to do. If anyone has any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

This is what I have so far:

Parthenon Visit-Free for the outside, and I think we'll survive missing out on the museum. It was cool, but not essential.

Stone Rivers Greenway-A trail thats really close and great for walking with a stroller, dogs, exercise etc. It should be nice, so we can always just take a relaxing walk.

Opryland Resort-The resort is expensive and lavish, as is the parking, but thank goodness there's a mall next door and we can walk. I've always wanted to explore all the gardens and such, should be fun!

Farmer's Market-I've been during the week and on the weekend. Its not super busy during the week, but fun (if we're bored).

Nashville City Walk-I JUST found this... apparently its a walking tour that you can see a lot of historic Nashville, plus the fort that's downtown, the statues, the capitol, etc. Its marked with a green stripe on the sidewalks, interesting. Plus there's a guide. I need to do this for me, ha!

Percy Priest Lake-The lake that's right down the street from us. I know that they have a bunch of hiking trails, a beach (if its warm), and stuff. We never got to explore last summer, I was hoping to some this one.

Pancake Pantry-One of the best places to eat breakfast in Nashville. Yummy pancakes and not terribly expensive. There's also another place Natalie knew of where you bake your own batter... maybe we'll give that a try.

Music-I'm sure that SOMEWHERE there will be some sort of free music, there always is. Or some kind of interesting festival.

Ok well, I'm not finding much else, but I'm not in a very creative mood today, maybe later. Let me know if anyone knows of any free... or really cheap... things to do in and around Nashville!

Its the Weekend!

2009-02-28T09:21:00.006-06:00

We got our free Quizno's last night, and it was tasty!! We didn't buy chips and a drink either, making the meal completely free!! It can't get much better than that. Brandyn and I also went to Smoothie King and we used my buy one get one coupon. I love that place!

Phil and I went on our first date night since Charlotte was about a week old last Saturday. It was a lot of fun to be able to go out as a couple, not as parents. Charlotte stayed with Aunt Natalie and had a fun time playing with her. Phil and I bowled a couple games and went out for dinner. It was nice to finally use my bowling ball again, it has been a long time. Now all I need are some shoes, and bowling will be even cheaper!!

Phil is at work again this weekend. Unfortunately, its in the 30's and raining, so he's cold and uncomfortable. They were thinking about quitting early, but now he's not sure they will. I hope for his sake that they do. He could use a relaxing afternoon. Its also supposed to snow tonight, 1-2 inches, 3+ in some areas... and STICKS! I haven't seen the snow stick here, ever... but I haven't been here for a year yet. I hope that they can get the roads cleared off early enough, otherwise it will be a LONG drive for them in the morning. This is the end of Week 3, only 9 more to go (I hope)!! We're 25% done!

I went to MOPS on Friday and that was nice. They had waffles for breakfast, ymmm, and the speaker spoke about postpartum stuff. Kinda a heavy topic, but still good to talk about. We got a bunch of brochures and such. We also had our small group meeting and next week we're in charge of the food. Its supposed to be a game day so that will be so much fun! I love games!!!

I really feel like we haven't been doing a lot here. I try to make an outing most days, even if its just to the grocery store. Today we went to the bank and picked up a package in the front office. I need to run to Kroger for a few things at some point as well. But for now, the baby is asleep, I'll probably go once she wakes up and gets some food in her. Its such a crummy day though, full of rain, wind and cold weather, a part of me wants to just stay here.

Oh and I finally got a new-er phone. Its a Katana, so not really the newest one out there, but much better than what I had. It'll last long enough, then we'll reevaluate the cell phone situation. And its pink too (of course!). Now we just need to find a cheap... non-pink one for Phil so that he and I can be on the same service and we don't have to worry about all of our minutes. It wouldn't be bad, except that we like to talk on his lunch and at other breaks during the day while he's in Clarksville. If anyone has one they wanna sell, let me know.

An the last exciting bit of information is that we got our electric bill and its only $130!!!! The past few months its been right around $200... YOUCH! I've been working really hard at turning everything off and we've had some nice days that we haven't needed heat. I think we went about 2 weeks without heat this past month... and apparantly thats like $70!! Boy electric heat is expensive. I can't wait until we get a house... someday!

Free Quiznos!

2009-02-25T17:17:00.000-06:00

I posted this in my Dave Ramsey blog, but I thought I'd put it here too. For anyone out there looking for free stuff (as I always am), Quizno's is giving away one million free subs... and there's no strings attached!

Go to...

http://www.millionsubs.com/

and sign up for your free coupon. Its limit one per person and you have to have an id. You will get an email with a link to the site and you can only print your coupon once. Once printed, it will expire in 5 days. There's only 400,000 left, so sign up and enjoy a free sub.

I think we're going to go tomorrow for dinner and drink water... we might just bring them home and eat our own chips :). (Because I'm not buying them there!)

A night of good deals, and then some.

2009-02-25T00:27:00.006-06:00

I went to a consignment shop tonight, it was fun. It was part of a meetup group from my stay at home mommies meetup.com group. Five of us went. We got to go before the public because we're new moms. They have a deal where new moms (with kids under 1) and expecting moms can shop for an hour or so the night before it opens to the public.

I found Charlotte a couple toys, one with the alphabet and the other that you pull and it has some balls. I also got her some summer clothes and a rain coat (it was very cute!). However, I got dissapointed because there was this one toy I went looking for, and someone had already claimed it. Maybe there will be one at the next shop I go to (in March). I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Charlotte is learning how to clap and it is so cute! She has been watching us do it for a couple weeks now, and just loves it. A couple days ago she would start to while we were, and its been progressing since. Its fun to see the 'lightbulb' go off in her head whenever she figures part of it out. She did discover that if she just hits the table or a toy or her highchair with one hand, it makes the same noise.

Poor Phil is back at this Clarksville job. Its such long hours, and when his coworker asked about a bonus, they said they still weren't sure and were figuring things out. Frustrating! I calculated 12 weeks from the week he started and it looks like he'll be done the end of April. Oh boy do I hope so!! Maybe even sooner, that would be nice.

My friend Katie is probably coming to visit in April and I am SUPER excited!!! I can't wait!! I haven't seen her since graduation, crazy! I know that we'll have a great time and that she'll get to meet Charlotte and that will be awesome. Plus, some grown-up interaction during the day will be very much appreciated!! Now I have to come up with a few fun things to do in Nashville... that are free, or cheap. We don't really have a lot, but it will be nice out. I think a visit to The Parthenon will be in order, and I'm not sure what else. We could probably take a few walks on the trail by our house. Maybe we'll explore around the lake too.

I need to get some sleep! Its almost 1 am here and I'm still on this computer. I have to wake up early tomorrow too for a mystery shop. I think I'll be taking a nap with Charlotte.

Wow, its already been a week!

2009-02-24T00:27:00.004-06:00

I can't believe its already been a week, though I guess that's good in most senses.

I have been adding some posts to ourvoyagetofinancialfreedom.blogspot.com and outlining what we're doing, how its going, and month to month progress. Its hard to stay motivated when we only write one big check a month, but none the less, it feels good to do it. I'm seriously considering taking on a part-time job when Phil gets done with this Clarksville job. Unfortunately, it'd be impossible for either of us to add something on. He has volunteered taking the job, but I think I'd rather get out of the house and work and let him spend some time with the baby. If I do (or he does), we're going to set a limit on it, so that we don't get overwhelmed. Still lots to think about that.

Phil had this past weekend off, and that was VERY nice! He came home Thursday night and didn't have to go back until today at noon. He also started carpooling with his coworker today (he didn't have a choice), so hopefully that won't tack on too much extra time. We went on a date Sunday too and Natalie watched the baby. It was our first date since Charlotte was 1 week old when Mom watched her while we went to dinner. Phil and I went and bowled a couple games... it had been a very long time, and then went out to dinner someplace near Natalie's school. I think its called Jackson's. Its a bar and pub type of place, but was very delicious. It is where Natalie went for her 21st birthday.

I also got a chance to finish making baby food, I found that its very hard to do with an unhappy baby, and its not really something I can just up and leave. We also really enjoyed each others company (and Charlotte too) and had some much anticipated family time. I hope that he gets another good long weekend off again soon!!

I've started to watch 30 Rock again. I had started it, but didn't get too into it. Now, of course, I'm addicted. I don't think that the beginning of the first season was very good, but once I got to the halfway point or so, it picked up. And I have to admit that Alec Baldwin is very attractive, is that normal? I mean he's old! I don't know if he's one of those actors a lot of people like. I didn't really think so until the past few nights... you know maybe its just his character, hmmm. So, now I'm laying awake at 12:30 am, unable to sleep. For some reason that always happens after I watch a few shows of something. Too much visual stimulation I guess... not that this is helping.

Nothing that new going on with Charlotte. She's getting around better and better, but still doing her "army" crawl. She's also starting to throw fits whenever she doesn't get her way. If I just ignore her for a minute or two she gives up and finds something to play with. I am not looking forward to the full-blown tantrums. Maybe we can just skip over that phase? doubtful. She's getting more and more vocal and adding a few consanants in here and there, so that has been fun to listen too. She absolutely LOVES peek-a-boo and enjoys finger foods. I think she'd rather just have finger foods than baby food, but I just made A LOT of it, so she'll have to eat it for a while more. She's not even 8 months, she'll be ok.

Tomorrow there is a HUGE consignment shop that I'm hoping to make it too. Hopefully Phil will be back in time and I can g without the baby. I'm hoping to find her some cute summer clothes and maybe a toy or two if there's something that she'll love (she has so many though!) Friday, I have MOPS and am looking forward to it. I am curious as to what their normal schedule is and how everything goes. It should be good though. I will really enjoy the time with other mothers and know that Charlotte is in good hands. Plus she'll get to interact with other babies too!!

Speaking of which, I went to a play group on Wednesday and it was so much fun. It was through the site meetup.com and it was my first time. It was very nice to see the other mothers and the babies interact. I couldn't believe how much the babies interacted with each other, even Charlotte was busy poking and trying to get the attention of the other kids. It will be very interesting to see them grow up more and interact at further playdates.

How are YOU doing today?

2009-02-17T20:32:00.005-06:00

I came across a unique audio project today called the "How Are You Doing Project." Its a project where you call a toll-free number and after being asked how you are, you report. Are you good? bad? happy? sad? did you have a date? did you meet someone new? did you get fired? ... ok I'm sure you get it by now.

So, why not call the How Are You Doing Project at 1-800-737-6045 and tell them how you are doing.

The Resolution Begins

2009-02-16T14:22:00.006-06:00

I was recently invited to become part of another blog called The Resolution Begins. Its a blog where multiple people contribute their New Years Resolutions, some pretty normal, others a bit crazy. Then everyone writes entries on how well they have succeeded (or miserably failed) so that the public can read it, track their progress, and applaud their efforts, hopefully.

I strongly urge you all to check it out. I just finished my first post and its "pending approval." Hopefully it will show up soon.

You can find it at TheResolutionBegins.com

We're making some progress!

2009-02-16T13:21:00.001-06:00

We signed up for Identity Theft Insurance!! Its through who Dave Ramsey recommended, Zander Insurance Group. Its $140/year. So I paid for it all up front and we are going to create a sinking fund in order to save for it so we'll keep paying for it by the year (it would cost us $10 more a year if we paid monthly).

We also received our Last Will, Living Will, and Power of Attorney today in my email. We will have to work on filling them out and finding a couple people to witness (can't be related, in the will, or receiving anything, etc.). They will then need to be notarized, which I believe I can take them to the bank. Phil will have to find some time in order to get his notarized... during bank hours. Maybe someone at his work is a notary.

I feel good, we're getting things done. Next order of business, life insurance! That's a big one and I don't know very much about it... eeek!

If only it FELT like the weekend...

2009-02-14T13:18:00.005-06:00

I went to my first MOPS meeting yesterday, it was fun. It was nice to hang out with other mothers of preschoolers and have some time without the baby, and not have to worry about her. I'm definitely going back. This MOPS meeting was spa day, what a great time to go! I got a facial and my nails painted. They even had a chocolate fountain with a lot of stuff to dip (including marshmallows, my favorite!) And I just sat and read a magazine for a while. I also met and talked with a lot of nice women and saw one person I met at my meet-up last weekend (at Rainforest Cafe). I don't know what the normal schedule is, but I think it'll be nice to be able to get together with other people. Next week they're doing something on Women's Health. That should be interesting!!

MOPS also has get-togethers during the week. On Monday they have a Mom's Night Out, for board games etc. I wish I could go, but I don't think Phil will be back in time. And they also have a playdate at some point before the next meeting.

Anyone doing anything interesting for Valentine's Day? We're not really. We got some stuffed steaks at Aldi's a few days ago (prepackaged) and were going to have them for dinner, but I have some left over chicken that needs eaten, so I think I'm going to make into fajitas instead. We'll save the steaks for another night. Mom and Dad sent us some money to go eat (THANK YOU!) and we're going to save it for the next time Phil has a day off, and hopefully Natalie can watch the baby and we can have a date!

These long days are starting to get to me, and it hasn't even been a week. Phil leaves at 5:45 and comes back around 7 if we're lucky. I feel for Charlotte too, she hardly gets to see her daddy. I don't think it would be so bad if he had weekends off, but he doesn't so it doesn't really even feel like a weekend. Its going to be a long 8ish weeks. I asked him to ask about the "finish" date, so that I have something to look forward too. Hopefully he can do that Monday. At least a job is a job....

Update on New Years Resolutions...

2009-02-09T13:44:00.004-06:00

Since I started the blog as a New Years Resolution, I thought I'd update everyone on the progress of the resolutions I made.

Obviously, the blog has been going well. I think there was one week where I waited exactly a week between posts, but for the most part I've been posting at least every few days. I have found that sometimes I feel like nothing is really going on, and I don't have anything to write about, but I still write, and usually something interesting happens within a few days. Hopefully I'm not too boring! I've even started a second blog about our journey to financial freedom and I'm loving the blogging world. There is so much out here and so many cool people. Its hard to imagine I've lived so long without it! Even though I've only been blogging for 40 days, I'm learning so much, I can't wait to learn even more.

Exercising three times a week... we all know how that one is turning out, not well! I did do well on Wii fit for a while, then I got sick and didn't exercise a week. Now, I'm afraid to weigh myself on it, and I won't do it. We need to weigh Charlotte, so maybe I'll start again. I did walk 2 miles yesterday. They have a paved trail thing by a river and it starts like a minute from our house (its right over the dam). Once Charlotte wakes up, we're going to go for another walk, its so nice out today.

Portion sizes, I think that we're doing a lot better. I'm usually only eating one sweet a day (unless we have something really really good), and it feels good to do that. I'm also concentrating really hard on cooking the right amount of food for two people, or if I cook for 4, we either have people over or make sure there are leftovers. Of course we don't succeed at every meal, but we're doing better than we were, progress is always good. I've also started making a menu, and that really seems to help. I used to and then I got sick of it, but now I'm doing it again. I'm also trying to make sure we have a lot of fruits and veggies with every meal, and less of the bad stuff. I really wish we could afford all natural and organic stuff, but that's not happening right now, so I'll make due with what we have.

The last was brushing my teeth, well. I am finally brushing twice a day again (its hard to remember when you don't have anywhere to go like work or school), and about 1/2 the time I'm brushing well. Usually its at night. I think in a few more months I'll start flossing.... maybe.

And one more that I didn't really list before, but I think is a resolution, is to become DEBT FREE!! We're working really hard on it and doing pretty well. Its not something that we can do overnight, but we've definitely changed our lifestyle and are doing a lot more with the money we have than I ever thought possible. Oh and we're not going any further into debt! Hopefully it won't take more than a couple of years to get debt free... then we get our emergency fund, then save for a HOUSE!!! I can't wait until we can purchase a house, thats my driving force right now, a yard for the dogs to run in, a place for Charlotte to play, and not so much boom boom music through the neighborhood (I can hope, right?).

Dreams

2009-02-09T11:09:00.005-06:00

Every once in a while, I have nights filled with crazy dreams, sometimes to the point that I'm afraid to go to sleep the next night. Last night was one of those nights.

Actually, the majority of the dreams were in the morning. Phil woke up at 5ish and left shortly thereafter. The rest of the morning, I had these crazy dreams, and I know I can't remember them all.

How crazy? Well, the first was that Phil came home and crawled back in bed with me at 7 this morning. This one felt real. I was like whats going on? And he said he wasn't going to clarksville today because he got there too late. He then got chewed out by his bosses... turns out, he got in the bus they were using to commute (not true in real life) and the busdriver kept falling asleep and driving erratically, so he climbed out of the window when it was going slow and went back to work. Later he found out that everyone died in route in an accident.

Second, Charlotte was trying to feed herself, as she always does, but actually doing a good job. I look at her, and she's happy as can be, but she has 1/2 the spoon down her throat. I freak out and pull it out, and she continues feeding herself normally.

Third, I decided to go to the mall. The drive there was really quiet (that never happens, Char is always screaming her head off). So I get out, and go to the mall. After roaming around for about 45 minutes, I realize I don't have Charlotte. I get to thinking, and realize I didn't even bring her in! I go rushing out and see that I have a $75 and the baby is gone. I have to go to counseling to get her back, in the meantime she's in a foster home.

I know that there were more, but they're not coming to my mind right now. If I do remember them, I'll be sure to add them.

I always wonder where the crazy dreams come from, not the ones about "The Office" when I watch 5 episodes before bed, or trying to spell words after playing Word Whomp for half an hour, but the crazy ones. Like the one I had a few days ago about Batman dying, because he was walking on a powerline and slipped on a shoelace.

And then there's the dreams that I can control (the majority of my dreams). I even know they're fake but I can make some pretty awesome things happen during them, and then I only wish they were true. And those recurring ones, like the recent one about me taking online classes to graduate and I always forget about them... even though I have my degree and I'm not in school.

I really think some of these crazy ones come from the full moon today. Not that I'm supersticious (wow I spelled that right on the first attempt!), but I do believe the moon affects us. It affects the tide, and we're mostly water. I guess I better wait to go to sleep tonight, until the full moon has passed.

I think I'm finally going to start keeping a dream journal. I've been meaning to for a long time, but now I might actually do it, and it looks like I've just started.

Does anyone else have crazy dreams that correlate to the moon cycles?

Clarksville finally begins!

2009-02-08T15:26:00.005-06:00

Phil goes to Clarksville tomorrow! Yay the project is finally starting! He's the head person out there too, yay Phil!!! He gets to record the rain gauge, cancel when its raining, etc. And he even gets a Qore truck to take home (for at least this week anyways).

We were talking today, and thinking that maybe Charlotte and I will take a trip up and go camping on the weekend. So when he gets off work he goes to the campsite. Charlotte can sleep in her Pack N' Play, and we have an air mattress, well it works for a night (there's a small leak). Maybe even Dragon, Laura, and Alex could come too. Then Laura and I could hang out during the day, cook meals, play on the playgrounds, go hiking and enjoy each others company. We could even bring the dogs, hook them around a couple trees and just chill and enjoy life. I think I'll have to ask her!

Phil just found a flat tire, but it was only because of the valve that you use to put air in the tire. it cost $3 to fix it, yay!!! We finally got to meet our upstairs neighbors too. We've said hi here and there, but never been brave enough to knock on their door and introduce ourselves. So, he helped Phil figure it out and drove him down to the gas station and the auto parts store, etc. I don't think we would have known if it wasn't for him! So we found out they have a 2 year old boy and that he is a stay at home dad, for the time. They're originally from Nashville and have lived in Texas and moved from Indiana. They're here to take care of their parents so that they don't have to go into assisted living. Yay people!!!! I like meeting people.

We also finished registering today. We have a few more things to put on the list, but not a lot. It was pretty hard figuring it all out, since we have a lot of stuff... but not too hard :). I am trying to go a lot more green, so we registered for compact florissants, cloth napkins, and the like. Then of course there's some stuff we need replaced, and I got rid of a lot of stuff from the first wedding, didn't really want it around. It feels great to finally get that done!

Charlotte is crawling more and more. She's using it as her preferred method to get around. She used to roll everywhere, and now its crawling/scooching. She's getting much better at it, oh and of course she gets into everything! no more baby just laying there...

Its such a nice day out, I think we're going to go for a walk soon. Its in the 70's and sunny!!! I love this weather, the winter, cloudy, cold weather gets me all depressed, yet another reason to keep on goin south!

For some reason there's always bad news with good news.

2009-02-06T10:38:00.003-06:00

Phil got into work today and was told that they aren't going to Clarksville until Monday. He was supposed to go partway through the day and work all weekend. So, we get him for another weekend. He will be working long days. He is supposed to get to Clarksville at about 7 and will be done at 5ish. Its an hour commute and either in the morning or evening they have to stop by the office and "sync" their PDA's with all the data they collected during the day. So, at least he gets to come home and sleep at night. I think I might attempt to change Charlotte's schedule, so he will get more time with her in the evening. I don't know how well that will work though.

The bad news? They laid off two engineers today at Phil's work. One was a senior and the other was one of Phil's good friends at work. His wife actually did our wedding cake for us, and they're expecting a baby in March. I can't even imagine having to deal with that right now. The office manager said that the office has broken even with those layoffs. I'm just wondering for how long they have broken even? What happens when they loose money next month? Phil is probably the lowest paid at the office as he is the newest one there, so that is always good, they seem to be worrying about money, not seniority right now.

Of course with this news, I'm thinking more and more about trying to save as much money as possible and not working on our debt snowball, just paying the minimums. I think I need to turn on Dave's radio show today. Maybe he'll have some good advice.

My 25 things

2009-02-05T15:09:00.002-06:00

Its all over facebook, so I posted it there and I'm going to post it here....

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I'm a stay at home mommy.

2. My pregnancy was a HUGE surprise. that being said, I can't imagine my life any other way and would never change it.

3. I volunteered for the Obama campaign, however I think we need to start over and need a new form of government. (Or just a lot needs to change now).

4. I love Dave Ramsey, we're working really hard to get out of debt, hopefully it will only take a couple of years. $35k, is a lot to pay back!

5. Heath Ledger was on my "list." It has seriously taken me months to come up with someone to replace him, I finally decided on Jim from "The Office."

6. I won't buy anything unless its on sale... usually.

7. I shop at Aldi's, it saves so much money.

8. I love to travel, if I could, I would just constantly travel. Maybe someday.

9. I hate cold weather, I want to live in Florida, or someplace like it.

10. I am messy, but I have to know where everything is in the mess, otherwise I can't deal with it.

11. I still don't know what I want to do with my life, but I know I want to go back to school.

12. I started a blog as a New Years resolution, and now I have two. I think they're boring, but people still read them, go figure.

13. I really really hate my couch. Maybe with wedding money we can buy a new one.

14. I get bored exercising, I can never stick with it for more than a couple weeks.

15. I just started watching The Bachelor, and I'm a big fan now.

16. I took 60 hours my last year at school so I could graduate. (Yes, thats 2 years in 1).

17. I am not a morning person, I can't stand them. Thankfully, Charlotte isn't either.

18. I love to sleep, I usually sleep at least 10 hours a night.

19. I don't like Nashville, not at all, but I don't want to move back to Missouri either.

20. I love to shop. Even grocery shopping is fun for me.

21. Married life isn't any different than it was before I got married, but I still love it!

22. I have two big dogs, I don't think I could own a small dog.

23. I'm a mystery shopper, its fun and easy.

24. I'm addicted to the internet, I spend way to much time on the computer.

25. I hate living under someone in an apartment, I'm NEVER doing it again.

Charlotte starts Army Crawling!!

2009-02-05T11:56:00.005-06:00

So Charlotte is getting more and more mobile. She has started the "army crawling" phase. She will pull herself forward with her arms. This video was taken on Tuesday, since she has gotten better. She is happy staying in one room, which is good, but she will go all over to get whatever she wants. I hope that you enjoy!!!!!

A few days ago I decided that Charlotte needs some new toys. Rattles aren't doing it anymore, I'll give her one, she'll look at me like I'm crazy, and then throw it across the room. So, I've been busy on craigslist and at thrift stores. (I'm not paying $40 for a toy I can get for $10-15!). Of course, her favorite toy is the one I picked up for 50 cents at Goodwill. Its a Little People school bus. It didn't come with any Little People, so I need to find some, but putting blocks in works just fine.

Charlotte also has a table thing that she can hold onto while standing and play with... or you can take the legs off and she can play with it sitting down. She has a big ball thing, kind of hard to explain, a hippo with blocks that when you push it or ride on it, it eats the blocks. She also has a giraffe with blocks (see-through kind), a train thing with animals, and another train with some blocks... but I haven't washed them yet. We're going to need to invest in some more rechargeable batteries! Oh and we bought two large baskets to put her toys in! We had a little one and it was overflowing with toys everywhere... so I think I'll stick books in it and all other oys in these baskets :).

Does ANYONE have a secure job these days?

2009-02-03T10:41:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago on CNN, one of the people who work for them doing a radio show or tv show or something, asked the question "Is your job secure" or safe or something along those lines. Of course, everyone answered that no job is safe... except a stay at home mom. And after thinking about it for about a week, I would have to disagree.

Yes, there is still a need for me, and someone has to watch the baby, take care of the house, clean the kitchen, cook dinner... but my job is nowhere near safe or secure. Why? you might ask. Well I believe my job is just as secure as Phil's. If he looses his, then I'm out to find work... and there goes my job too. He collects unemployment, looks for a job, and stays with the baby while I go find work as quick as possible and juggle a couple part time jobs. So really, my job isn't as secure as people make it out to be... its just dependent on my husbands job.

The other answer that a lot of people gave to job security was retirement. And I'd have to disagree with them too. If someone was living off of their saved money, and most of it was in the stock market (as most of it usually is), then they are by no means secure. The market is almost 1/2 of what it was... and for those living off of interest, forget it! Nothing is making any money. If the market happens to crash anymore, I bet more and more retired people will attempt to find a part time job so that they can pay their bills and eat.

Speaking of Phil's' job, he still has it!! They laid off a part-time secretary on friday and a full-time tech yesterday. He is supposed to be going to Clarksville Thursday or Friday this week and will have tomorrow off (maybe Thursday if he doesn't go until Friday). He is going to work 7 days a week, at least for a while, if they get ahead I think they'll go to 5 or 6 days. He's supposed to get the rest of the details by the end of the day!!!

867-5309

2009-02-02T13:08:00.003-06:00

Anyone remember that song with the phone number 8675309? I think its something that is going to be forever in my memory. If I went into coma and forgot all phone numbers, I think that would be the first one I remembered.

While looking for some interesting news, not Superbowl related (I already have something for that one), I came across this article on CNN. Someone actually has that phone number and is now going to sell it, on ebay. Ebay never ceases to amaze me, from Cheetos shaped like different figures selling for thousands of dollars, to this. Technically, its illegal to sell a phone number, so he is selling his DJ business with the number... as a way around the law. Pretty smart if you ask me. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't done it earlier... or anyone else for that matter.

The phone number even scored him a girlfriend for a while, who is now good friend. And now, he's hoping that it'll give him about $40,000. Boy do I wish I had that number for $40k. I'm sure we could all use it right now! The bid currently stands at $6001.00 with the reserve not met.

Anyone have any good ideas of what I can sell for $40,000?

New Blog!

2009-02-01T21:34:00.004-06:00

So, after a little thought, I decided to start another blog about our debt snowball, etc. and leave this one to general information about us, the news, etc. Basically what it has been.

For anyone interested the new website is:

OurVoyageToFinancialFreedom.blogspot.com

Let me know if you want me to add your email address to get an email anytime I write a new one, like I have this one.

Debt Snowball Progress

2009-02-01T20:11:00.004-06:00

So, I've decided that I'm also going to write about our Debt Snowball here, so that I can look back for some encouragement whenever I need it.

For those of you that don't know, Phil and I are following Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps. We took his class, Financial Peace University, and graduated right before Thanksgiving. We haven't used any credit cards since Charlotte was born either!!!

Baby Step 1 is start a baby emergency fund with $1000. We completed this right before our class started, I believe in late August. We put the money in the savings account and its not attached to our checking account or anything. Thankfully, we haven't had to touch it.

Then, it just took us awhile to get going. We started FPU and that was great! It was nice to have a more concrete plan and someone to help us with our budget. There was a lot of good support there too.

In September we paid off my ring... it was on a credit card with 3 months, no interest. We paid it off in the 3 months and closed the account. That was during the beginning of our class, in September. There was $2000 on it (another $1000+ paid in cash to purchase it).

After that, it just took us a while to get our budget balanced. We decided that we really wanted to get married so we added in Baby Step 1b, and paid for our wedding with cash. We did not want to go into debt for it. We saved about $2000 in September-early December and paid for our wedding. The rest of December's extra money we used for gifts, because we hadn't planned very well (before September) for Christmas time.

Finally, this January we were able to start our Debt Snowball! In January, Phil got an extra check (he gets paid every two weeks, so two months a year he gets an extra check). We used it and more money that we had for our debt, to pay off the lowest student loan for $1500. It was our first thing and it felt so good to write the check. Since we paid it before February 1st, we didn't have to pay any interest on it! We then put just over $450 on his other student loan, the next smallest, which is just over $2500 with interest right now (before the $450). It looks like we're going to have another $700-800 this month to pay on it, thanks to mystery shopping, expense checks, and spending less than Phil makes.

I will be posting more documents, just outlining our debt snowball, different debts, and a few other forms that we received during FPU. They're more for me than anything for motivation... but feel free to look. I'll be updating them every few months too so that I can see the progress!

I encourage everyone to check out Dave's Radio Show. You have to put in your email, but that's so they can tell you what radio station it is on in your area. I also STRONGLY recommend Financial Peace University, it costs about $100 and its a lifetime membership (so you can go back again). It is good for all people in all different places in their life. It is often offered at a local church, but you do'nt need to be a member or anything to attend.

If you have ANY questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Super Bowl Sunday!!

2009-02-01T19:38:00.004-06:00

Its Super Bowl Sunday! Anyone do anything interesting today? We just stayed at home and made a sub, it was yummy! I did a mystery shop at a grocery store, so I got $10 of free groceries and I HAD to buy lunch meat... oh darn... so we had a sub with two kinds of cheese and four kinds of meat... yummm! Oh and some BBQ chips, fruit and peanut butter fingers.

I was rooting for the Steelers, basically because thats who my parents grew up rooting for, so I'm following their lead. I hope they win.... there's about 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter as I'm writing.

So do you all have a favorite super bowl commercial? I missed the first few because I was stupid and signed up for some shops to make sure all of the signage was working at fast food restaurants. I didn't miss much though. I'm not sure which was my favorite. I saw a lot of funny ones though.

So, I saw a Denny's commercial and they are giving away a FREE Grand Slam... no strings attached, I'm not sure which day though. Of course, I went straight to the website and it had crashed... imagine that. I wonder how many people are sitting here on their laptop, watching the superbowl, and went straight for their website. I'd be interested to hear the results. Or even how many people google'd it in the 30 seconds after the commercial aired. I think its been about 10 minutes, and I still can't get it to go through. Someone at Denny's didn't think that one through. The only thing I can get is "Enjoy a Free Grand Slam" on my browser window.

Charlotte is getting stronger and stronger. She's standing really well while holding onto something, and she can pull herself up if she holds onto us, but we don't have anything the right height for her to pull up on, she tries though. Phil's mom told me he walked at 9 months, so it looks like she might be taking after him... not me (I walked at 13 months). Even if she took the average, 11 months, thats still a little early!!

The Denny's site still isn't up... it'll load like one picture. I hope its up before I forget about it, then its going on my new trusty calander!

ETA: When looking at Wikipedia's website, someone has added the following about the free Grand Slam... "Denny's had a commercial during the third quarter of the Superbowl. At the end of the commercial, Denny's announced a "free Grand Slam for everyone in America" on February 3rd from 6am - 2pm. Following the ad, the Denny's website was unreachable due to the number of hits. This was the most hits Denny's website has received in recorded history known to man."

Good News!

2009-01-30T13:25:00.004-06:00

Phil got a memo today from the new CEO of Qore, and it sounds like Nashville jobs are safe! They laid off about 30 people this week (per previous post) and they're restructuring some upper management. They're also conducting reductions in six other offices, but Nashville dodged the bullet! Plus, the company is no longer matching 401k's and sick days don't carry over... and they took away one a year from 6 to 5.

I bet it really helped that Nashville got that large job up in Clarksville that Phil is going to work at soon. Speaking of which, he was told he'd go late next week or early the following week to Clarksville. Yay job security for 8 weeks... I hope!

I feel so relieved. I hope this economy starts to pick up so that there are no more reductions... layoffs. Its rather stressful and I'm not a fan of it all. The economists are predicting it will pick up soon... but they've said that for a while. I don't think anyone really knows.

For reference to below:
Dave Ramsey's Baby steps

I'm thinking that we might need to put a little more into our emergency fund. I don't know. The plan is to have $1000 bucks in it and pay off all of our debt, and then fully fund it, but all the job cuts are really starting to worry me, but then if nothing happens, there's wasted money we could have used to pay off our debt, which would save us more money from interest etc. Its just hard to make the call. I think that we should probably stick to the plan and work on the debt. We have a long road ahead of us but it'll feel really good to pay it off. Each check we send for over the amount feels great! I hope that Phil gets some sort of per diem on this Clarksville job because he won't be getting mileage or anything and thats the money we use to go towards our debt! I can't wait until step 3b, saving for and buying a house!! Yay!

Right now, I'm hoping and praying

2009-01-29T18:07:00.003-06:00

So at about 4 today, one of Phil's coworkers came into his office, well cubicle, and told him that corporate had just visited their Birmingham, AL offices, and fired (or laid off, we're not sure) all but 4 people. There were about 30 people in the Birmingham office. To make matters worse, they're coming to Nashville tomorrow. No one knows why... so it might not be related, but either way its really nerveracking! Hopefully with the large job that their branch just got (in Clarksville), they'll be ok, but Phil's the lowest in the office and has dodged two firings/layoffs, so we assume he'd be next to go.

If he loses it, I don't know what we'll do. We hardly have any savings because we're working on paying off our debt, and we have A LOT of bills.... student loans suck. I'm sure we'll get through somehow, but lets hope we just don't have to get to it!

About the Clarksville job... Yesterday, Phil was told that he and his coworker, were to commute together (daily I'd assume) and they'd have vehicles for them there. There was also going to be a trailer for them for when its cold/windy/raining/etc. Just to keep them out of the elements I guess. Otherwise, he hasn't heard anything. Hopefully tomorrow... assuming he has his job!!

I finally get to meet some people!

2009-01-28T12:11:00.006-06:00

I finally changed my drivers license... now it says Anna Kauzlarich :) Yay! I actually did it last week. I went one day and forgot my birth certificate, so I had to go another day. Let me tell you, the DMV is the one thing that I miss about Rolla. You just walk right in and right up to the counter. Here, I had to wait in line, just to get a number... then I had to wait about an hour to get my drivers license. Thankfully Charlotte was a doll and wonderfully behaved. She had a lot of fun watching all the people. Now I'm slowly getting everything changed, its a lot of stuff! I think the bank/pay pal are on the top of the to do list now. Those are always fun!

I joined this site meetup.com and its a social networking site with the idea that you actually meet in person. So, I'm in a new mom's group, a board game group, and a book club. I can't go to the next book club meeting because I don't want to buy the book and the library has a long wait on it, 15 people for 8 books, so I'm hoping I can do the next, and start from there (It was an Obama book). I'm also going to go to the mom's group for the first time, yay! They're meeting for a mom and baby brunch in a couple Saturday's at the Rainforest Cafe. I'm excited to finally meet some more people. And as far as the board game group.... we don't know Phil's schedule so once we figure that out, I can figure some more stuff out. I'm really excited to get to meet some people.

Oh and I signed up for a Baby & Me story time at the branch near us. Its something that you have to sign up for and there was a long waiting list, until the one that starts the beginning of March. Its a 6 week session and for 15 babies and their caregivers. They can be up to 24 months old. Hopefully I'll meet some people, if not Charlotte and I will have something fun to do Thursday mornings :).

I'm excited that I finally get to meet some people, hopefully like me! I'm thinking I'll probably give the MOPS people from around here a call and see how that goes. Then I think Charlotte and I will be super busy learning and playing, and I'll get some new friends. I have a few, but its hard to meet people with a new baby and no job! Plus its really starting to get to me. Its time to have a life again.

Nothing out of the ordinary :)

2009-01-26T21:03:00.002-06:00

Well no new news about Phil going to Clarksville, I'll post as soon as we get some. He was out of the office all day today in Dickson, TN so he didn't have a chance to talk to anyone about it. He's has to go to Dickson again tomorrow, but hopefully he won't be there all day. We're thinking he'll be able to come home at night every night... someone to keep my feet warm at night :).

Charlotte is learning to move more and more. She is rolling and scootching everywhere. Not crawling yet but working on pushing herself up and she tries too! She's one determined little baby.

I got to go to lunch with a friend today. That was really nice. We went to the Savannah Tea House, it was yummmmy! It was nice to catch up too. Afterwards, I went to Target to get Charlotte a few more binkies (I hope she is off of those soon!) and it turns out they were having a huge sale! Yay clearance. So I got Charlotte some jeans for next winter and a couple shirts. Plus, a bunch of other random stuff. Some Boppy pillow covers (green) and some stuff for Charlotte now, pajamas, etc. All like 75% off!!! I also went to Kohls a few days ago and bought A LOT of clearance stuff. Mostly 80% off. I got a lot of great brands for super cheap. So, I think her fall/winter wardrobe is just about finished for next year, yay!