About me

I got this great idea from another blog I read: http://millerfamilymissouri.blogspot.com/ What a great idea! Since I post in bits and pieces, I guess that's how you'll get to know me.

100 Things About Me:

100. I want to live in Italy.
99. Not in a city, but the Italian countryside, fresh fruit, olives, wine, cheese...bliss.
98. Two of my toes are webbed on each of my feet.
97. I was adopted as an infant.
96. I have all the paperwork to start the search to find my birth mother, I keep it in the trunk of my car.
95. I don't know what's stopping me.

Little things...

It really is the little things in life that control our ups and downs, isn't it?? Yesterday we went to the movie "Cloverfield" (just David and I) and it started at 4:00. We arrived to get our tickets at 3:30 - David handed them a $20 and got $1.50 back...that's right, the tickets at 3:30 in the afternoon were $9.25 each! Apparently matinee prices now end at 3:00 pm. Isn't that just crazy? So couple the cost of tickets with what we paid for the babysitter and it was a pricey afternoon/evening out. At least our dinner was free - I won a $50 gift card to Outback at the office Christmas party and apparently Outback and Bonefish Grill are owned by the same company because we could use the gift card at Bonefish. Quite tasty.

Today I scored a B I G bottle of Matrix shampoo for 75% off at Walgreen's. That was definitely an up moment - I mean there was this weird basket of stuff, total odds and ends, on the counter and I started digging through it and actually had a hard time deciding what to buy - but then I saw the shampoo and I thought, "score!" I also spent a relaxing couple hours driving to and from Barnwell, South Carolina (feel free to find that on MapQuest) to check out a motel. We're going to be in trial for two-to-three weeks in April in Allendale, South Carolina (again, MapQuest) and the area is a bit of a travel and leisure wasteland. The motel was okay, but it's older and the rooms all have exterior doors - not so safe. It looks like we'll be staying at the Holiday Inn Express in lovely Walterboro...Exit 53 off I-95, if you want to stop and see me! LOL.

While I was typing this, Kyle got his first phone call from a girl! Loralei - a cute girl from his class (that's her in the picture above, I don't know how to put the pictures down at the bottom). I really don't know why she called, other than to just say hello to Kyle, but poor Kyle turned a bright shade of red and seemed tongue-tied. And believe me, Kyle tongue-tied is not something we see very often! I spoke with Loralei for awhile then talked to her mom, who really offered no clues as to how the phone call came about. Kyle did want me to inform you that Loralei loves his "guns" - he pushed up his shirt sleeve to allow me to admire his "guns" as well!

Perfecto!

I'm back from Charleston and it was really nice. I fell in love with the TempurPedic mattress, the lovely turn-down service with chocolates on my pillow, the herbal bath salts...and that was just the hotel! Oh and I forgot room service breakfasts and the wine and cheese each evening. I could get used to a life like that! I got a lot of work done, but of course left with a crazy to-do list. We have a two to three week trial coming up in mid-April and I am stunned at how quickly that seems to be arriving.

Oh, while I was gone I missed snow in Augusta! Luckily it wasn't much and didn't stay around long...otherwise the whole town would have shut down!

How-To

Operating instructions. That's what they should give you at the hospital when they're forcing you out the door with a baby and a bag of diapers. A how-to manual, if you will. Something with sections like "Getting Started" or "Main Features" heck, even "Equipment" would be helpful. My DVD manual? Never even cracked open the cover, but the kid manual I would sure like to open it up once is awhile. Especially this weekend when I'm pretty sure I micromanaged Kyle into never wanting to eat a push-pop again. You know the kind - the ice cream on a stick thing that you push up through a cardboard tube? Now personally, I think the ice cream ends up tasting just like the cardboard tube thing, but Kyle's been asking for them for months. He had already eaten one with no trauma while David and I raked a few leaves and just generally enjoyed the outdoors for awhile. At some point he went in for another one - a bold move on his part because I would rarely let him have two of any kind of treat. But the weather must have gotten to me because I said he could have it. Then I proceeded to analyze the way he was eating and actually tried to assist him! What??? I mean it's not like we were inside on some white, zillion dollar sofa - he was outside on the deck! It's ice cream - it washes off. Sigh.

On a lighter note, I get to go to Charleston in the morning for work. Three days and two nights at a fancy hotel paid for by one of our clients! The days will be long, but at the end of the day I get to lounge aimlessly on what I imagine will be a perfectly wonderful bed and read a book or watch whatever I want to watch on television. Ooooh...and what if there's a spa tub? Color me relaxed!

I can see clearly now

Well, to be honest I can't really see clearly right now, but after February 7 my eyes will be kicking ass! That's the day I'm having laser eye surgery! Of course at the moment I'm still dealing with having my eyes dilated at like 9:30 this morning. Apparently I'm crazy-sensitive to the drops because my pupils are still giant! I have no idea why I even went to work after the appointment, I was worthless. I couldn't see the computer screen worth a darn and my main job today was supposed to be summarizing medical records - which on a good day can be nearly impossible to decipher, let alone when I'm half blind!

I've been wearing glasses since I was 10 or 11 and could never do contacts, so this is going to be a welcome change. I think the thing I'm most excited about is waking up in the middle of the night and being able to see the clock without that crazy half-squint. The thing I'm least excited about? The fact that I have to stop wearing eye make-up for the two days prior to the surgery AND not wear any eye make-up for the next TWO WEEKS! Seriously, two weeks! Me without eyeliner is sort of like looking at a bald monkey - not pretty! A co-worker laughed when I said that was what I was least excited about...apparently I should be more worried about the chance of blindness. LOL.

Snow, snow, snow!

Kyle was two the last time he got to play in the snow, BUT when we were in Arkansas it snowed enough for us to have some fun!

Happy New Year!!!

2008 - the year that will go down in history as the year I decided to try my hand at..knitting. Yep, knitting. Me. The same me that has bad depth perception, a complete lack of patience, and zero hand-eye coordination. This should go well, don't you think? I wear a scarf that was my friend Angela's first (and so far only) knitting project and I adore it - I feel comforted wearing it because it was made by her - with love. It's like wearing a hug. I used to know how to crochet, if you call an endless chain actual crocheting so I at least know my hands can move in tandem at something! Don't worry - I'll keep you posted!

Other 2008 projects? Finish the half-bath - in fact that's a January project now that I have my bonus. I had planned to lay the tile myself, but since I can't seem to get that done I'll just get our handyman to do it. He's done a couple other projects for us so what the heck. Also in 2008 I plan to get the hall bath finished as well...by March. Why March you may ask? I have a guest coming then and she probably might like to take a shower! I'm also going to get new sheets and window coverings for the guest bedroom...and a nightstand. Hmmm...it sounds like 2008 is going to be costly!

So far, I haven't really come up with any resolutions for the new year other than to start working on the 15-minute approach to cleaning and straightening my house. Just pick some area of my house to work on for 15 minutes each night during the week. I'm also going to do my best to be in the moment with my family - to realize that we don't have to be doing some fun, fantastic thing outside the house to grow closer.

I hope your new year is off to a great start! Oh, and I'm working on pictures and a post from our trip to Arkansas to share with you - we had a great time and Kyle even got to have a snowball fight!