Nathan only has 5 more days and then he will be back on day shift! We have no idea for how long, it could be a week or it could be several months, but either way I am super excited. Actually getting to see my husband on more than just the weekend will be fabulous.
Speaking of weekends, this past one was pretty surprising for Nathan and I. Our original plans didn't happen, so on Friday we discovered that our weekend was pretty much open. On Saturday we hit some garage and estate sales looking for cheap (but nice!) furniture. We didn't have any luck, but still enjoyed spending the day together. We also called up a couple friends and offered to supply dinner and drinks if they supply the house and games. We had a blast, as we always do with them.
Sunday was reserved for working outside. And yet again, it rained and the yard is still a muddy disaster. But the day wasn't a total loss. We found out that a discount department store nearby was putting their entire inventory on clearance and they had a couple decent dining room sets. We found one that was ok, but we weren't sold. I really need to LOVE furniture and believe it is going to last at least 8 years to buy it. We ended up wandering over to the electronics section and finding a nice 30" TV for just over $200. Flat screen, HD, the whole nine yards. Of course, Nathan talked me into letting him buy it. Freakin' husbands. But actually, it was a good deal and my inner cheap self will probably thank me in a few months. We had been looking at TVs to buy sometime during the summer and ones similar were $600ish at Best Buy. Plus, our old TV is on it's last leg. I imagine that most TVs around that still have wood paneling are probably all going to RIP soon.
On an unrelated note, if anyone has any extra, send me some good vibes this week. I just have a feeling something semi tragic may happen...I have no idea what, but I just have a feeling.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The drinking part, a good hard punch
As promised, I posted a new recipe/cooking technique below. I also would like to touch on the drinking part of this blog. For those of you that know me IRL, you have probably had some kind of cocktail from me before because I just love creating and mixing them up.
While I would love to call this next drink my signature, I really shouldn't. It was a collaboration between myself, my husband, and a good college friend that I miss dearly. We were all sitting around my husband's rundown college house and were just wanting to mix a couple drinks and sit outside. I believe the options in the house were beer, Kahlua, and pineapple rum. Thus, our drink was born. A mixture of pineapple rum and some Hawaiian punch that was in the fridge. BEST. DRINK. EVER. After about five of these babies we decided to name our concoction. It was quite sex on the beach, but it was tropical, so it needed to be something on the beach and kinda dirty (of course):
A Donkey Punch on the Beach:
Equally parts Pineapple rum and Hawaiian punch poured over an orange slice and ice, stir gently.
Try it sometime and don't leave out the orange. it adds just a little something and when the drink is over you eat it and it is full of rum goodness. And watch out, this drink is silent but deadly, for the first couple you may want to try 1/3 part pineapple rum to 2/3 punch.
Hope you like it!
While I would love to call this next drink my signature, I really shouldn't. It was a collaboration between myself, my husband, and a good college friend that I miss dearly. We were all sitting around my husband's rundown college house and were just wanting to mix a couple drinks and sit outside. I believe the options in the house were beer, Kahlua, and pineapple rum. Thus, our drink was born. A mixture of pineapple rum and some Hawaiian punch that was in the fridge. BEST. DRINK. EVER. After about five of these babies we decided to name our concoction. It was quite sex on the beach, but it was tropical, so it needed to be something on the beach and kinda dirty (of course):
A Donkey Punch on the Beach:
Equally parts Pineapple rum and Hawaiian punch poured over an orange slice and ice, stir gently.
Try it sometime and don't leave out the orange. it adds just a little something and when the drink is over you eat it and it is full of rum goodness. And watch out, this drink is silent but deadly, for the first couple you may want to try 1/3 part pineapple rum to 2/3 punch.
Hope you like it!
How to grill a pizza
Since I promised a few more cooking related things, I thought I would share one techinque that I do quite often: grilling pizza.
First off, the dough. You can make it or you can buy it, either works fine. Normally, when I go on a Trader Joe's run, I usually stock up and buy 5 of them because they freeze nicely. I do make the dough on occasion, and if anyone is interested in the recipe let me know and I will post it, but it is pretty basic and could be found on any recipe forum/search engine.
Lately I have been making mini pizzas instead of large full sized ones. Mostly because even though I have one of the big pizza peels, the mini's are just easier in my opinion.
Ok, now that you have some dough-mation, the actual process:
Flour hands, pull out dough and put on floured surface. Divide into three or four balls if doing mini's. Use rolling pin and smooth out dough until thin and even. Put on floured cookie sheet or tray.
Have grill already ready to go on low setting. I usually spray my grill with cooking spray to help the dough not stick but be careful for flame ups. Olive oil one side of the dough generously. Put this side down on the grill, again being careful about flame ups. Add olive oil to other side.
Let cook on open grill for 2 minutes or so. Whenever you see faint grill marks on the down side it is ready to be flipped. Also, if it doesn't flip easily, that means it may need another minute. After you flip it, quickly add sauce and toppings and then close the lid so everything can cook/melt. Check after 3-4 minutes. And voila! Pizza from the grill!
Not only is this way fast, but it is super yummy. Last night we took all our ingredients over to a friend's house and made the pizza there. It was a huge hit! We did ham and fresh pineapple on an olive herb dough.
Any questions please ask!
First off, the dough. You can make it or you can buy it, either works fine. Normally, when I go on a Trader Joe's run, I usually stock up and buy 5 of them because they freeze nicely. I do make the dough on occasion, and if anyone is interested in the recipe let me know and I will post it, but it is pretty basic and could be found on any recipe forum/search engine.
Lately I have been making mini pizzas instead of large full sized ones. Mostly because even though I have one of the big pizza peels, the mini's are just easier in my opinion.
Ok, now that you have some dough-mation, the actual process:
Flour hands, pull out dough and put on floured surface. Divide into three or four balls if doing mini's. Use rolling pin and smooth out dough until thin and even. Put on floured cookie sheet or tray.
Have grill already ready to go on low setting. I usually spray my grill with cooking spray to help the dough not stick but be careful for flame ups. Olive oil one side of the dough generously. Put this side down on the grill, again being careful about flame ups. Add olive oil to other side.
Let cook on open grill for 2 minutes or so. Whenever you see faint grill marks on the down side it is ready to be flipped. Also, if it doesn't flip easily, that means it may need another minute. After you flip it, quickly add sauce and toppings and then close the lid so everything can cook/melt. Check after 3-4 minutes. And voila! Pizza from the grill!
Not only is this way fast, but it is super yummy. Last night we took all our ingredients over to a friend's house and made the pizza there. It was a huge hit! We did ham and fresh pineapple on an olive herb dough.
Any questions please ask!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
50th post....Ode to stupid moments when you are half asleep.
Yay for post 50!
So the last couple of days Nathan and I have experienced some comical moments. They all stem from the fact that we have opposite schedules. Of course, this effects our sleep patterns in an irritating, but sometimes funny, way.
Apparently on Monday night/early Tuesday morning Nathan came in and woke me up. He asked me some stupid question that I can't recall and I got really angry. According to him, I was talking in my sleep about ends of potatoes. He thought I was really talking to him and he responded with, "Huh? What are you talking about?" then I got pissed and told him to shut up. He claims the next day he was looking all over the refrigerator trying to find a potato dish that he thought I made for him.
Another one.....this morning Nathan heard the front door open and close. He says he jumped out of bed and locked the bedroom door. He thought someone was breaking in so he quickly tried to get a golf club out of our closet. Then he heard a car start and he looked down at the bed to see if I had been woken up by any of the noise. Surprise, surprise, I wasn't there. I had just closed the front door and got in my car to go to work.
So the last couple of days Nathan and I have experienced some comical moments. They all stem from the fact that we have opposite schedules. Of course, this effects our sleep patterns in an irritating, but sometimes funny, way.
Apparently on Monday night/early Tuesday morning Nathan came in and woke me up. He asked me some stupid question that I can't recall and I got really angry. According to him, I was talking in my sleep about ends of potatoes. He thought I was really talking to him and he responded with, "Huh? What are you talking about?" then I got pissed and told him to shut up. He claims the next day he was looking all over the refrigerator trying to find a potato dish that he thought I made for him.
Another one.....this morning Nathan heard the front door open and close. He says he jumped out of bed and locked the bedroom door. He thought someone was breaking in so he quickly tried to get a golf club out of our closet. Then he heard a car start and he looked down at the bed to see if I had been woken up by any of the noise. Surprise, surprise, I wasn't there. I had just closed the front door and got in my car to go to work.
:)
It seems for every bad day at work I get a good one. This week my boss and I have been preparing to give annual reviews. Our company does them at the same time for everyone, regardless of hire date.
Today my boss gave me mine. I got a 4.2 out of 5 rating. :) I knew it was going to be good, but I was kind of thinking high 3s. But since I just started this new position in December my raise is pro-rated. And we don't get very big annual raises (ah, what is cost of living?) so it really isn't much. But either way, more money is more money.
Tomorrow I have to give a review that I think may result in tears from the employee. I am mentally preparing for that. Ick, sometimes it really sucks being someone's boss.
Today my boss gave me mine. I got a 4.2 out of 5 rating. :) I knew it was going to be good, but I was kind of thinking high 3s. But since I just started this new position in December my raise is pro-rated. And we don't get very big annual raises (ah, what is cost of living?) so it really isn't much. But either way, more money is more money.
Tomorrow I have to give a review that I think may result in tears from the employee. I am mentally preparing for that. Ick, sometimes it really sucks being someone's boss.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Stress and a vow
Yesterday was rough for me. I got to work and found out that 5 of my vending machines had been broken into and all their currency had been taken.
When this occurs I have to switch into high gear. Getting product out of the machines and securing them is priority as well as getting them off campus as quickly as possible. I also have to make about a dozen phone calls to people that get highly irritated when this happens.
As you can see, I have dealt with this before. And since it is always the same campus now the college is thinking about getting rid of those machines completely, which would totally suck for me considering it is the campus that does the most sales.
Onto the next stress...my dad called me. Anytime this happens I know something is up. My dad and I have a WONDERFUL relationship but we are before very far from being phone people. With the exception of one person I can talk to, I hate, hate, hate talking on the phone to anyone. But back to my dad....he informed me very nicely that I hadn't returned a few of my mother's phone calls. I've had a lot going on between my yard, town flooding, hospital visit, Easter and vending break-ins and I guess I just hadn't noticed that well, yes, maybe I hadn't returned 2 or 3 of my mother's calls in the past couple of weeks. Plus we skipped their place this Easter to see Nathan's family, which wasn't a big deal but still resulted in less contact with my mom.
Apparently she was worried. VERY worried. She thought something was terribly wrong like Nathan and I were getting a divorce, we were behind on our mortgage, I was going through a deep depression, etc. So after convincing my Dad I was fine, we agreed I would get off the phone right away and phone my Mom and just leave out the part that he called me. Thank goodness my Dad can help clue me back into reality.
So that's my stress. Wine and sleep therapy is helping.
This is my vow: I will post more cooking related stuff on this blog. In the beginning I told some readers outside of blog world that I would do this and I have really been lacking. Plus, eating is in the freaking title! So I will make a strong effort to post a recipe or technique or cooking something every week. Plus, I will try and touch the "drinking" part too besides just talking about my wine consumption and drunk debauchery.
When this occurs I have to switch into high gear. Getting product out of the machines and securing them is priority as well as getting them off campus as quickly as possible. I also have to make about a dozen phone calls to people that get highly irritated when this happens.
As you can see, I have dealt with this before. And since it is always the same campus now the college is thinking about getting rid of those machines completely, which would totally suck for me considering it is the campus that does the most sales.
Onto the next stress...my dad called me. Anytime this happens I know something is up. My dad and I have a WONDERFUL relationship but we are before very far from being phone people. With the exception of one person I can talk to, I hate, hate, hate talking on the phone to anyone. But back to my dad....he informed me very nicely that I hadn't returned a few of my mother's phone calls. I've had a lot going on between my yard, town flooding, hospital visit, Easter and vending break-ins and I guess I just hadn't noticed that well, yes, maybe I hadn't returned 2 or 3 of my mother's calls in the past couple of weeks. Plus we skipped their place this Easter to see Nathan's family, which wasn't a big deal but still resulted in less contact with my mom.
Apparently she was worried. VERY worried. She thought something was terribly wrong like Nathan and I were getting a divorce, we were behind on our mortgage, I was going through a deep depression, etc. So after convincing my Dad I was fine, we agreed I would get off the phone right away and phone my Mom and just leave out the part that he called me. Thank goodness my Dad can help clue me back into reality.
So that's my stress. Wine and sleep therapy is helping.
This is my vow: I will post more cooking related stuff on this blog. In the beginning I told some readers outside of blog world that I would do this and I have really been lacking. Plus, eating is in the freaking title! So I will make a strong effort to post a recipe or technique or cooking something every week. Plus, I will try and touch the "drinking" part too besides just talking about my wine consumption and drunk debauchery.
Monday, March 24, 2008
The winery trip!
Saturday with Kristal, Jenn, and the husbands was an absolute blast! We spent an entire day eating, tasting different wines and beers, and then even had a little time to go to a local bar and dance and shoot some pool. I ran into wayyy too many people from high school, and had a few too many shots, but I survived.
Of course, I didn't take any pictures. Sorry:( But I did search through Google images for a few pics that pretty much sum up our evening....enjoy:
Friday, March 21, 2008
Guten Tag!
I have gone international! According to the fabulous Google Analytics, someone from Germany visited my blog yesterday. :)
For the idiots on Channel 5
I don't like to post angry so I let myself cool off a little before writing this post.
But some stupid moron was standing at the intersection of 44 and 141 while Channel 5 was filming the news and he said that even though he saw the flood in '82 the way it was now was just "awesome!".
Yeah, no it is not "awesome". This flood is horrific and devastating. People are losing their homes and a few have even died due to this flood.
I am not a violent person but if I had been there at 141 and 44 today when this guy was talking, (which, by the way, I wouldn't because I am not stupid and need to be behind a camera waving like an idiot) I may have punched him in the face. Why don't you go down to St. Louis Ave in VP and tell someone that is sandbagging around their house that this is "awesome".
No one should be excited about this occurrence. Just because you think it is "cool" to see water everywhere doesn't mean it is cool, it means you are a douche bag.
But some stupid moron was standing at the intersection of 44 and 141 while Channel 5 was filming the news and he said that even though he saw the flood in '82 the way it was now was just "awesome!".
Yeah, no it is not "awesome". This flood is horrific and devastating. People are losing their homes and a few have even died due to this flood.
I am not a violent person but if I had been there at 141 and 44 today when this guy was talking, (which, by the way, I wouldn't because I am not stupid and need to be behind a camera waving like an idiot) I may have punched him in the face. Why don't you go down to St. Louis Ave in VP and tell someone that is sandbagging around their house that this is "awesome".
No one should be excited about this occurrence. Just because you think it is "cool" to see water everywhere doesn't mean it is cool, it means you are a douche bag.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Why I am obcessed with this song?
Ok, I was recently on some random girl's webpage and I heard this silently annoying but kinda catchy song by this group I had never heard of, Hot Chip.
So I listened to it again and now I am obcessed with it. Tell me your reaction. Anyone heard of this group or song before?
I tried to find a site with a free audio clip, but didn't (I didn't look super hard) so you can hear it on my MySpace profile.
So I listened to it again and now I am obcessed with it. Tell me your reaction. Anyone heard of this group or song before?
I tried to find a site with a free audio clip, but didn't (I didn't look super hard) so you can hear it on my MySpace profile.
Starting the weekend early!
My ultra fabulous boss gave me tomorrow off and isn't declaring it a vacation day for me. How cool is that? His justification is that since my office is on the college campus and all other college campus managers got at least a couple days off last week during spring break and I didn't, that I definitely need my own little spring break. I find this really awesome because he even has a super busy day tomorrow and still doesn't mind me being off. Woohoo!
I have big plans too! I am going to attempt to stay up to the wee hour of midnight when Nathan gets home, then I plan on sleeping in until at least 8, getting up and going to get dirt to fill in around the french drain. I know it doesn't sound like that great of a time, but I am seriously going to enjoy the day.
Oh, and if you don't know.....our little house in Valley Park is doing just fine. We are under voluntary evacuation, but since we are in the newer area and not as close to the river as the rest of the town, it would have to get pretty freaking bad for anything to happen to us. But thank God we didn't buy one of the houses we were looking at in the older section of VP, because we would definitely be in a scary situation now. But none of this stopped me from grabbing our home owner's insurance policy and looking up over coverage, just in case.
The last bit of news.....I finally gave in and got my hair cut!
(this is my I feel so stupid for taking a pic of myself with my cell phone camera pose) I like it. :) I've had my hair similar to this before, but not with the uneven thing going on. The back is cute too, kinda choppy. Plus, I really like the girl who cut it. She really took her time and gave me a couple different options.
Of course, tomorrow or the next day it won't be as cute. My hairstyles tend to lose all their cuteness about 2 days after the cut.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Wine!
I am about to finish the bottle of Chianti I started at about 5. Hehe......wine makes me happy. :)
Monday, March 17, 2008
5 confessions
1. I get offended when someone I have known for a long time or work with that sees my name often spells it with an h. T-E-R-E-S-A. No H desired or required.
2. I really have no fashion sense whatsoever. I often ask Nathan for his opinion on outfits and he doesn't know what he is talking about either.
3. I am in desperate need of a haircut but a.) I hate the actual process of the haircut because of random small talk, comments on my hair care abilities, etc. b.) I am cheap and c.) I just want to go home straight after work and get in my pjs and there is no way I will come home and go out again to get a haircut.
4. I sometimes go to bed when it is still light out.
5. I have no idea what I did with all my free time before I discovered Google Reader and blogging in general.
2. I really have no fashion sense whatsoever. I often ask Nathan for his opinion on outfits and he doesn't know what he is talking about either.
3. I am in desperate need of a haircut but a.) I hate the actual process of the haircut because of random small talk, comments on my hair care abilities, etc. b.) I am cheap and c.) I just want to go home straight after work and get in my pjs and there is no way I will come home and go out again to get a haircut.
4. I sometimes go to bed when it is still light out.
5. I have no idea what I did with all my free time before I discovered Google Reader and blogging in general.
All the money stuff
Lately I have felt really comfortable talking about money. I am thinking this is partly to the fact that some of my more mature friends have been talking finances with me. While I don't consider myself an expert by any means, the last month or so I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject and really examing how Nathan and I live.
So today I was thinking about credit cards. We recently paid them off and I am soooo happy about that. The only balance we carry on them is a few small charges here and there that we can pay off every month without any kind of charge. But with all kinds of things happening in our lives like the sewer problem, having to pay a big amount to taxes, my neck injury (we have insurance but for a long time we didn't) etc. It kind of got me thinking about if we do have to get into the credit cards again, I need to make sure we are in the mindset that they would be able to be paid off in a timely manner.
I made some phone calls and made sure I knew our interest rates for each card because honestly, I knew the ballpark for each on standard purchases but nothing exact and I had no clue about the cash advance rate. Here is what I found out about the three cards we carry:
Card 1: 11.24% standard purchase, 31.74% cash advance
Card 2: 11.99% standard purchase, 20.99% cash advance
Card 3: 19.99% standard purchase, 24.99% cash advance
These numbers really surprised me and I am REALLY glad I called about the rates. Because Card 1 is linked through my bank and due to the glory that is online banking, it is the easiest to transfer money out of, but with a 31.74% rate on cash advances that is obviously not the best move.
I am just glad I am staying informed because life can throw curve balls at you pretty fast. Now, some of you are probably saying, "ah, duh, Teresa, that is kind of common sense." and that's okay, I know I am kind of nerd, but just in case someone else didn't think to look into this, maybe now you will. :)
So today I was thinking about credit cards. We recently paid them off and I am soooo happy about that. The only balance we carry on them is a few small charges here and there that we can pay off every month without any kind of charge. But with all kinds of things happening in our lives like the sewer problem, having to pay a big amount to taxes, my neck injury (we have insurance but for a long time we didn't) etc. It kind of got me thinking about if we do have to get into the credit cards again, I need to make sure we are in the mindset that they would be able to be paid off in a timely manner.
I made some phone calls and made sure I knew our interest rates for each card because honestly, I knew the ballpark for each on standard purchases but nothing exact and I had no clue about the cash advance rate. Here is what I found out about the three cards we carry:
Card 1: 11.24% standard purchase, 31.74% cash advance
Card 2: 11.99% standard purchase, 20.99% cash advance
Card 3: 19.99% standard purchase, 24.99% cash advance
These numbers really surprised me and I am REALLY glad I called about the rates. Because Card 1 is linked through my bank and due to the glory that is online banking, it is the easiest to transfer money out of, but with a 31.74% rate on cash advances that is obviously not the best move.
I am just glad I am staying informed because life can throw curve balls at you pretty fast. Now, some of you are probably saying, "ah, duh, Teresa, that is kind of common sense." and that's okay, I know I am kind of nerd, but just in case someone else didn't think to look into this, maybe now you will. :)
Oh the joys!
Well, after a couple stressful hours of digging we managed to get our french drain project under control and about 90% complete. I say 90 because we still need to throw a little more dirt on top of the drain pipes and clean up the hellish muddy mess. Oh, and plant grass seed, but that seems pretty minor. Of course it just had to rain today and make doing anything to complete the project impossible.
My neck felt pretty good so I did some shoveling, but Nathan ran the "Trencher". We did have a friend come over for about 10 minutes to help us load the mother of a thing back into the truck, but Nathan and I did the rest.
Oh, ummm, in case you are wondering the purpose of this project (maybe I should have included this earlier) we have a problem with drainage in our backyard. Basicly, the back yard slopes to the house so water pools next to the house. Big puddles next to house = mud = damp crawl space = bad stuff. So we saved ourselves about $800 and installed our own drain tile.
I could go into more detail but I think it is pretty boring so that is the cliff notes version. If anyone needs to do this or think they might let me know and I can email you step by step stuff.
Here are some pictures of the project. I don't have any good "before" shots because the cell phone camera is crappy as usual:
I have no idea what Nathan is doing, but I love this last pic because of cute Roxie in the window.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Oh what a Sunday....
Nathan is on his way to picking up a large piece of equipment to put togther the french drain aka drain tile in the back yard. He was supposed to work on this project yesterday, but with the weather being questionable we decided aganist it. Then after we slept in wayyyy too late we started looking at the calender and realized if we don't attempt this project this weekend we wouldn't be able to do it for another 3 weeks or so which is no good.
What makes this project super fun is father in law just bailed on helping and while I am more than happy to help Nathan, I can't do too much because of my whole neck thing. So now Nathan is calling a random friend and seeing if he could come over for a couple hours and assist us. I pray to God he can.
More later...
What makes this project super fun is father in law just bailed on helping and while I am more than happy to help Nathan, I can't do too much because of my whole neck thing. So now Nathan is calling a random friend and seeing if he could come over for a couple hours and assist us. I pray to God he can.
More later...
Friday, March 14, 2008
This medicine is messing with me
I don't know what has come over me this week...I am acting not normal and I can't figure it out except maybe it is the muscle relaxers doing something funky. I would think it would be me being really relaxed and lazy, but it isn't I have been a little sleepy, but other than that I am not acting like I probably should be acting.
Strange action #1: I told Nathan I wanted to do some touch up painting this weekend and repaint the french doors going outside. I HATE PAINTING, seriously. So I have no idea why I want to touch up some spots of paint on the ceiling that have been there for 10 months.
Strange action #2: I decided I wanted to get laundry over with tonight. I never do laundry on my own, I always do it with Nathan so I can push most of the work off on him.
Strange action #3: Along with laundry I decided I had to clean (yes, on a Friday night). And not just do dishes and vaccum, I scrubbed scuff marks off doors and attempted to get Roxie nail scratches off walls.
I don't know what is going on with me but these behaviors are not typical. Maybe I need to research the drug a little and see if a side effect is "compulsion to clean and do small house projects". Crazy....
Strange action #1: I told Nathan I wanted to do some touch up painting this weekend and repaint the french doors going outside. I HATE PAINTING, seriously. So I have no idea why I want to touch up some spots of paint on the ceiling that have been there for 10 months.
Strange action #2: I decided I wanted to get laundry over with tonight. I never do laundry on my own, I always do it with Nathan so I can push most of the work off on him.
Strange action #3: Along with laundry I decided I had to clean (yes, on a Friday night). And not just do dishes and vaccum, I scrubbed scuff marks off doors and attempted to get Roxie nail scratches off walls.
I don't know what is going on with me but these behaviors are not typical. Maybe I need to research the drug a little and see if a side effect is "compulsion to clean and do small house projects". Crazy....
All the serious life stuff.....
I have heard a lot of people say you do a lot of growing up your first year of marriage, for me, this really wasn't true. I felt like the first year of marriage, although sometimes being tough wasn't really a huge adjustment. I think the big change came over two years after the wedding when we bought our house. Lately I have been thinking about this change a great deal. It has only been about 9 months since this major life changing event and I think if you put my life pre-house next to my life now, you would see two very different people.
For one, my priorities are totally different. This time last year I was thinking about how amazing it would be to get new furniture and a TV. And while I would still love to get rid of all our heavily used furniture and our TV that takes five minutes to turn on, it is in no way, shape or form on top of the priority list of what we should spend our money. I think the only way we could justify it now is a smaller purchase like buying that used couch that is still in good condition since ours is on our last leg....I would post a pic but it is pretty frightening I feel like we should put more towards our huge debt (house, car, student loans) or get a good chunk into savings then spend money on material stuff.
Another thing is the actual house itself. It is a great house, but when we bought it we kind of considered it just a jumping off point. I told DH living here 5 years would be my max, and I would probably start looking at new houses around year 3. That just seems ridiculous now. First of all, we probably won't have kids by then, so why in the world do we need to move to a bigger house? This house is plenty big for the two of us, the dog, and even a child. We have plenty of room to entertain and we live in a neighborhood we enjoy. Plus, while a bigger house would be awesome, it is just more to clean, up keep, etc. and I seem to spend a ton of time doing this to our current home so I can't imagine the effort I would have to put into a bigger home. If you put into the equation that if we stick to our snowballing debt plan we could own the home in about 10 years, that makes it very tempting to stay as long as possible and then make the most money when we do sell it.
While I have always been very aware of money, I feel like now I am extremely financially aware and I didn't think so long term with money pre-house. When you shell out a ton of cash in 10 months for things like a water heater and a sewer line, you definitely start to think about the importance of a paycheck. What is so crazy is that right out of college when I worked for Red Lobster as a manager I made the same I make now and I felt like that was soooo much money. Nathan and I actually looked at buying a luxury car right before the wedding because I could afford it. I mean my fabulous apartment wasn't that expensive, so we could afford it, right? THANK GOD that didn't happen, since I decided a few months later that I was terribly unhappy working for RL and I would spend three long months without any kind of job to speak of and then right after I found something Nathan lost his job. I pray that never happens again, being jobless sucks.
Speaking of jobs, another recent revelation is that even the most fabulous jobs are going to have a downside, but sometimes you just need to tough it out and put in your time. I love my job now, but definitely didn't 6 months ago. And had I not hung out and tried to make it would have been that much harder to find something steady or a "real job" because I didn't have any long term experience with any one company, I just job hopped after college. I am not saying that everyone should stay at one job forever, but you have to realize and accept there is always going to be at least one idiot, two slackers, and one person that REALLY needs to get a clue at any place you are employed.
So what is the moral of the story? Think really hard before you buy a house because all those blissful "live in the now" emotions will be gone. You will have to start thinking long term and it kind of sucks.
For one, my priorities are totally different. This time last year I was thinking about how amazing it would be to get new furniture and a TV. And while I would still love to get rid of all our heavily used furniture and our TV that takes five minutes to turn on, it is in no way, shape or form on top of the priority list of what we should spend our money. I think the only way we could justify it now is a smaller purchase like buying that used couch that is still in good condition since ours is on our last leg....I would post a pic but it is pretty frightening I feel like we should put more towards our huge debt (house, car, student loans) or get a good chunk into savings then spend money on material stuff.
Another thing is the actual house itself. It is a great house, but when we bought it we kind of considered it just a jumping off point. I told DH living here 5 years would be my max, and I would probably start looking at new houses around year 3. That just seems ridiculous now. First of all, we probably won't have kids by then, so why in the world do we need to move to a bigger house? This house is plenty big for the two of us, the dog, and even a child. We have plenty of room to entertain and we live in a neighborhood we enjoy. Plus, while a bigger house would be awesome, it is just more to clean, up keep, etc. and I seem to spend a ton of time doing this to our current home so I can't imagine the effort I would have to put into a bigger home. If you put into the equation that if we stick to our snowballing debt plan we could own the home in about 10 years, that makes it very tempting to stay as long as possible and then make the most money when we do sell it.
While I have always been very aware of money, I feel like now I am extremely financially aware and I didn't think so long term with money pre-house. When you shell out a ton of cash in 10 months for things like a water heater and a sewer line, you definitely start to think about the importance of a paycheck. What is so crazy is that right out of college when I worked for Red Lobster as a manager I made the same I make now and I felt like that was soooo much money. Nathan and I actually looked at buying a luxury car right before the wedding because I could afford it. I mean my fabulous apartment wasn't that expensive, so we could afford it, right? THANK GOD that didn't happen, since I decided a few months later that I was terribly unhappy working for RL and I would spend three long months without any kind of job to speak of and then right after I found something Nathan lost his job. I pray that never happens again, being jobless sucks.
Speaking of jobs, another recent revelation is that even the most fabulous jobs are going to have a downside, but sometimes you just need to tough it out and put in your time. I love my job now, but definitely didn't 6 months ago. And had I not hung out and tried to make it would have been that much harder to find something steady or a "real job" because I didn't have any long term experience with any one company, I just job hopped after college. I am not saying that everyone should stay at one job forever, but you have to realize and accept there is always going to be at least one idiot, two slackers, and one person that REALLY needs to get a clue at any place you are employed.
So what is the moral of the story? Think really hard before you buy a house because all those blissful "live in the now" emotions will be gone. You will have to start thinking long term and it kind of sucks.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Update on my neck
Backstory:
My neck was super sore on Monday for no apparent reason. I do a decent amount of heavy lifting at work, but I rarely pull muscles or do anything to aggravate my body.
I woke up at about 2 am Tuesday in terrible pain. Nathan was still up on the computer and yelled for him. I couldn't believe how much pain I was in. I was actually nauseous from it. I took Ibuprofen and he lathered me up with Icy Hot. At 4:15 I was better, but not much. I couldn't even brush my own hair without sharp shooting pain.
I got dressed and Nathan and I decided that the best thing was for him to drive me to work because I HAD to go and unlock and do a couple things. At 6:30 am when my boss walked in, he could immediately tell something was wrong. I just said, "It's my neck, I have to go to the hospital." Two minutes later I was walking tilted head to the car.
The Urgent care doctor thinks I probably pulled a muscle and it got aggravated with started causing spasms. She gave me muscle relaxers, which take away about 90% of the pain and I can actually turn my head. It hurts today, but I went into work and toughed it out because missing two days in a row really puts me behind and we had a huge catered event today.
I am kind of disappointed in the muscle relaxers. I've never had take them and I thought that would make me feel loose and groovy. Darn.
My neck was super sore on Monday for no apparent reason. I do a decent amount of heavy lifting at work, but I rarely pull muscles or do anything to aggravate my body.
I woke up at about 2 am Tuesday in terrible pain. Nathan was still up on the computer and yelled for him. I couldn't believe how much pain I was in. I was actually nauseous from it. I took Ibuprofen and he lathered me up with Icy Hot. At 4:15 I was better, but not much. I couldn't even brush my own hair without sharp shooting pain.
I got dressed and Nathan and I decided that the best thing was for him to drive me to work because I HAD to go and unlock and do a couple things. At 6:30 am when my boss walked in, he could immediately tell something was wrong. I just said, "It's my neck, I have to go to the hospital." Two minutes later I was walking tilted head to the car.
The Urgent care doctor thinks I probably pulled a muscle and it got aggravated with started causing spasms. She gave me muscle relaxers, which take away about 90% of the pain and I can actually turn my head. It hurts today, but I went into work and toughed it out because missing two days in a row really puts me behind and we had a huge catered event today.
I am kind of disappointed in the muscle relaxers. I've never had take them and I thought that would make me feel loose and groovy. Darn.
update on poo flying
Supposedly our main drain/sewer line is finally fixed. It only took three weeks and about 635 dollars. For those three weeks we were able to run everything water related except the washer, because it let out to much water at once.
The cost breakdown:
$51.70 rental cost from Home Depot as an attempt to snake the drain ourselves
$134.00 first attempt by professional to snake it, but could only get it partially done because of only having access to the floor drain
$271.15 cost of having a professional bring a specialized camera out to try and find out if our entire line needed to be fixed do to it collapsing. This is after a 10% discount.
$119 the second trip out with the camera because Nathan didn't get a copy of the tape to give to the City also discounted.
$60 ish the cost to snake from the outside access that was found the 2nd time the camera went through.
So for those of you that haven't had the experience of going through major plumbing problems here is some good advice:
1. Find out if you have outside access to your main plumbing/sewer line. If we would have found this right away we could have probably saved about $400.
2. Three magic words: Sewer Lateral Program. If our pipes had been collapsed (which it didn't, we had roots) underground in the yard, this program would have paid for most if not all of the cost of digging up our entire yard and replacement. Our municipal (and most in STL) have this program and it is kick ass.
3. Make sure your floor drains are covered.
4. Do maintenance on your pipes by running a snake through every two years or so. You can rent one (from Home Depot) and do it yourself fairly easily if you have the outside access.
No I am not happy about dropping all the money we did, but we definitely learned a lot about our plumbing system. One of the joys of being a homeowner I suppose.
The cost breakdown:
$51.70 rental cost from Home Depot as an attempt to snake the drain ourselves
$134.00 first attempt by professional to snake it, but could only get it partially done because of only having access to the floor drain
$271.15 cost of having a professional bring a specialized camera out to try and find out if our entire line needed to be fixed do to it collapsing. This is after a 10% discount.
$119 the second trip out with the camera because Nathan didn't get a copy of the tape to give to the City also discounted.
$60 ish the cost to snake from the outside access that was found the 2nd time the camera went through.
So for those of you that haven't had the experience of going through major plumbing problems here is some good advice:
1. Find out if you have outside access to your main plumbing/sewer line. If we would have found this right away we could have probably saved about $400.
2. Three magic words: Sewer Lateral Program. If our pipes had been collapsed (which it didn't, we had roots) underground in the yard, this program would have paid for most if not all of the cost of digging up our entire yard and replacement. Our municipal (and most in STL) have this program and it is kick ass.
3. Make sure your floor drains are covered.
4. Do maintenance on your pipes by running a snake through every two years or so. You can rent one (from Home Depot) and do it yourself fairly easily if you have the outside access.
No I am not happy about dropping all the money we did, but we definitely learned a lot about our plumbing system. One of the joys of being a homeowner I suppose.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
I am having neck spasms and my sewer may be fixed soon....
More details to come after digestion of muscle relaxers and the subsiding of poo flinging.....
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Favorite things (part 6 of 83)
Favorite things part 6 of 83 is going to be short and sweet.
I love weekend bloggers!!!! I usually have a few hours quality computer time on Sundays and nothing is better than drinking a cup of coffee and reading some fabulous blogs.
So thank you weekend bloggers!
P.s. If you didn't know this when you write a draft and publish it a week later, it doesn't go to the top of your blog. It stays at the original day you started it. Just thought I would share, I had to do some deleting and re-typing of this post today. I hope it didn't screw up anyone's GR. :)
I love weekend bloggers!!!! I usually have a few hours quality computer time on Sundays and nothing is better than drinking a cup of coffee and reading some fabulous blogs.
So thank you weekend bloggers!
P.s. If you didn't know this when you write a draft and publish it a week later, it doesn't go to the top of your blog. It stays at the original day you started it. Just thought I would share, I had to do some deleting and re-typing of this post today. I hope it didn't screw up anyone's GR. :)
The weekend activities
This weekend was super relaxing for Nathan and I. In fact, yesterday afternoon Nathan had commented that he hadn't felt so relaxed in a very long time.
Friday night was one of the few Fridays that Nathan had off so we decided to make the most of it and go out with some friends we don't see very often. They are on a limited budget for going out and it was one of the few nights they were able to get a family member to babysit overnight so we knew we had to make the night super fun. We ended up going to Bottleworks for a wonderful dinner. Out of the four of us, I was the only one that had been, so the others were pleasantly surprised at the kick ass food and sticky toffee pudding. We were then planning on going to the dueling piano bar The Jive and Wail , but decided to skip the crowds and overpriced drinks and head back to our place and play this kick ass game nicknamed "Aggravation" that thsi particular couple turned us on to several months ago. Now everytime we see them we have to play because it is so much fun. We played three rounds, drank an entire bottle of vodka, and called it a night.
Saturday we ran errands, lazed around the house, and I did a little cooking. We went to see my family Saturday evening and since they love chocolate covered strawberries I made a huge batch. But since several of my family members are trying to lose weight, I also attempted to make a low fat, yummy dessert my mom used to serve in her restaurant (Diet Chocolate Eclairs). I use the word attempted because it didn't turn out perfect. I didn't let the cream cheese get soft enough and when I beat it in it had little chunks all over the place. I normally would have just kept beating until it all became smooth, but I know the rest of the mixture would have gotten watery and ruined. So rather than taking something less than perfect because I would be embarassed, I just left it at home and now Nathan and I can eat the less than desirable dessert.
Today we slept in and it was fabulous. I rarely get to sleep in late, but when I do it is fabulous. The rest of today we are heading over to the in-laws to do landry (yep, still have plumbing problems) and see Nathan's sister, who is home from Spring Break.
All-in-all, a great weekend, made even better by the fact that I get to go into work about 45 minutes later tomorrow! It will feel so good to "sleep in" until 5 am!
Friday night was one of the few Fridays that Nathan had off so we decided to make the most of it and go out with some friends we don't see very often. They are on a limited budget for going out and it was one of the few nights they were able to get a family member to babysit overnight so we knew we had to make the night super fun. We ended up going to Bottleworks for a wonderful dinner. Out of the four of us, I was the only one that had been, so the others were pleasantly surprised at the kick ass food and sticky toffee pudding. We were then planning on going to the dueling piano bar The Jive and Wail , but decided to skip the crowds and overpriced drinks and head back to our place and play this kick ass game nicknamed "Aggravation" that thsi particular couple turned us on to several months ago. Now everytime we see them we have to play because it is so much fun. We played three rounds, drank an entire bottle of vodka, and called it a night.
Saturday we ran errands, lazed around the house, and I did a little cooking. We went to see my family Saturday evening and since they love chocolate covered strawberries I made a huge batch. But since several of my family members are trying to lose weight, I also attempted to make a low fat, yummy dessert my mom used to serve in her restaurant (Diet Chocolate Eclairs). I use the word attempted because it didn't turn out perfect. I didn't let the cream cheese get soft enough and when I beat it in it had little chunks all over the place. I normally would have just kept beating until it all became smooth, but I know the rest of the mixture would have gotten watery and ruined. So rather than taking something less than perfect because I would be embarassed, I just left it at home and now Nathan and I can eat the less than desirable dessert.
Today we slept in and it was fabulous. I rarely get to sleep in late, but when I do it is fabulous. The rest of today we are heading over to the in-laws to do landry (yep, still have plumbing problems) and see Nathan's sister, who is home from Spring Break.
All-in-all, a great weekend, made even better by the fact that I get to go into work about 45 minutes later tomorrow! It will feel so good to "sleep in" until 5 am!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
This job would be so cool
Do you ever randomly find yourself on Careerbuilder, Monster, or your job search engine of choice, and stumble upon one of those wayyyyy cool jobs that you knew existed but never seemed within reach?
I totally found one of mine yesterday:
Culinary Professional-Taste of Home Cooking School /Company: Reiman Media Group, Inc.
Description
We are recruiting for the following two territories; the successful candidate may live anywhere within the territory:- KS, IL, MO- CO, NE, WY, ND, SD, MTWe are looking for a dynamic stage personality to represent the Taste of Home brand to the public and media, while also representing our consumer-brand sponsors on-stage. The Culinary Specialist role with the Taste of Home Cooking Schools is responsible for a territory covering several states, managing the scheduling, promoting, and conducting of the cooking demonstrations. This culinary professional is also responsible for planning the seasonal cooking school calendar, with increased attendance as a major goal. Additional responsibilities include database maintenance of all contacts and show information, testing of recipes and the national sponsors’ recipe strategy and techniques prior to show season. You will also organize volunteers and media to set up the cooking school on show day, and direct the tear-down of the stage and packing of equipment.
Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Consumer Science (Home Economics) or related field.
• Minimum of 2 years experience in home economics or related field including food demonstration.
• Enthusiastic and positive stage presence with ability to present to large groups.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively in assigned territory, up to 60% travel during cyclical periods. May require multiple weekends on the road.
• Strong communication skills to effectively work with media personnel, staff and volunteers.
• Self-motivated and self-directed. Able to perform responsibilities and meet deadlines autonomously with limited supervision from Administrative staff.
• Sales/marketing and public relations experience helpful.
•Solid computer skills including MS Word, Outlook, and ACT database.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Physical agility to lift up to 50 pounds.
I totally found one of mine yesterday:
Culinary Professional-Taste of Home Cooking School /Company: Reiman Media Group, Inc.
Description
We are recruiting for the following two territories; the successful candidate may live anywhere within the territory:- KS, IL, MO- CO, NE, WY, ND, SD, MTWe are looking for a dynamic stage personality to represent the Taste of Home brand to the public and media, while also representing our consumer-brand sponsors on-stage. The Culinary Specialist role with the Taste of Home Cooking Schools is responsible for a territory covering several states, managing the scheduling, promoting, and conducting of the cooking demonstrations. This culinary professional is also responsible for planning the seasonal cooking school calendar, with increased attendance as a major goal. Additional responsibilities include database maintenance of all contacts and show information, testing of recipes and the national sponsors’ recipe strategy and techniques prior to show season. You will also organize volunteers and media to set up the cooking school on show day, and direct the tear-down of the stage and packing of equipment.
Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Bachelor’s Degree in Family and Consumer Science (Home Economics) or related field.
• Minimum of 2 years experience in home economics or related field including food demonstration.
• Enthusiastic and positive stage presence with ability to present to large groups.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively in assigned territory, up to 60% travel during cyclical periods. May require multiple weekends on the road.
• Strong communication skills to effectively work with media personnel, staff and volunteers.
• Self-motivated and self-directed. Able to perform responsibilities and meet deadlines autonomously with limited supervision from Administrative staff.
• Sales/marketing and public relations experience helpful.
•Solid computer skills including MS Word, Outlook, and ACT database.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Physical agility to lift up to 50 pounds.
How cool would that be? It excites me that I am semi-qualified for the postition. I say semi because I have done food demonstration over the past couple years, but not consistently at any point and I have no idea about this ACT database. My Bachelor's is in Food Managment and I would consider that a related field.
I need to do some work on my resume and write a kick ass cover letter, but I thinking about applying. I definately won't get my hopes up, but still, what a cool job!!!
Why being a vending manager is no good.
Day in and day out I get my booty out of bed and drive to work in an hour that most people don't know exist. Each day I am faced with a challenge. No, not meeting budgets or dealing with less than perfect employees (although I do that), the don't-eat-that-candy challenge.
I am surrounded by candy all day long. Snickers, Reese's, Milky Way, Twix, M&Ms, you name it I probably have it within reach of me. It sucks. All I want to do is eat chocolate everyday, I really don't think eating one candy bar a day is good by any means.
Well, maybe only during Aunty Flo visits.
On another note, for two days I've had Ok go's "Here it Goes Again" in my head. I changed it to the song on my myspace profile just so I could list to it over and over again. Now I suddenly have an urge to jump around on 4 treadmills. Hmmm, I guess that would work off a couple candy bars.
I am surrounded by candy all day long. Snickers, Reese's, Milky Way, Twix, M&Ms, you name it I probably have it within reach of me. It sucks. All I want to do is eat chocolate everyday, I really don't think eating one candy bar a day is good by any means.
Well, maybe only during Aunty Flo visits.
On another note, for two days I've had Ok go's "Here it Goes Again" in my head. I changed it to the song on my myspace profile just so I could list to it over and over again. Now I suddenly have an urge to jump around on 4 treadmills. Hmmm, I guess that would work off a couple candy bars.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Game day attitude
If you haven't read my "tagged" post, skip down and read it first. I promised to elaborate on #10, my board game competitive streak. This myspace blog from about a year ago really sums it all up well. I also posted the comments at the bottom, but I removed my comments back and the names to protect the innocent:
Monday, January 29, 2007
You could say I am a little competitive..... Category: Games
Or you could say I am very competitive. One could even go as far as to say I am super competitive.
Anyway you slice it, that is me. I acknowledge the fact that this is what I am, and it usually takes someone playing a game with me for about an hour to acknowledge it as well.
For instance, a lovely couple that knows my husband and I well, as well as good friends with my in laws, invites all of us over for dinner and games last weekend. We begin by playing "Curses" a brand new game to all of us which is hilarious. I consider myself pretty well behaved during this part of the game night. Sure, I am the one that is calling people on their mistakes more than all the other players combined, but that is the object of the game, and I even kind of refrianed from a few just so I wouldn't seem too bitchy.
Then another couple that I had never met joined us. As we wrap "Curses" the game "Catch Phrase" is suggested. I agree semi reluctuantly, but I save my father in law the priveledge of reminding me (and annoucing to everyone of course) of my embarrsing moment during our last game of "Catch phrase" by bringing it up myself and making a joke out of it. Father in law stated he didn't remember it until I just brought it up. Yeah, right.
So we start the game, things go smoothly at first, girls vs guys is proving to be enough of a challenge for the group. And then it happens, I am passed the stupid wheel thing and get the phrase, "Hail Mary Pass" WTF?!?
Let me first say, I have never pretended to know a lot about football, so of course, I don't realize this is a football term. Normally I would have probably figured it out in a couple seconds, but with the pressure of the game, I am not totally thinking clearly. So with quick thinking I tell my team it is three words, they get hail pretty quickly, and when I tell them the second word is mother ___ they actually get mary quickly, so when I am trying to coax them to put the two words together, they just keep saying mother mary. This goes on for about five seconds, while the little timer just keeps getting faster and faster, so I start screaming, "no, that is the second word! No! Just the second word!" Then I start pounding my hand on the table in frustration. The timer stops and we lose. Then I realize Nathan has grabbed my hand and is shhhing me. Then father in law starts doing this as well. Then they start patting me the back to calm me down. Well that pisses me off which of course makes it worse as I am trying to explain that I didn't know it was a football term, and like any of the women on my team would either.
On that note, let me digress a moment. I realize that was a sexist/sterotype comment to think that women wouldn't know a football term. But I stand by my sexist/sterotype comment because football is one of the few sports that women do not play or usually follow that much. I would not have made that statement had it been a baseball/softball, basketball, tennis, golf, etc. As it turns out, one of the women on my team did know it. To return to the story........
I finally get free of the back patting and sssshhhing because it makes me feel as if I am being made fun of. The game continues and ends (we lost by the way) and as I try and make a break for the door, the group insists upon one more game. I think, oh whatever, I am already pissed (for being patted not for losing) but oh well. The teams are switched up and we continue.
Things start out fine again, I was doing well with my clues and answers, but then the stupid wheel thing comes to me again with little time left. The phrase, "Be prepared" is shown. I think oh hell that is easy! I smile knowing that the timer will stop on the next person and quickly say, "The Boy Scout motto!" I get dumbfounded looks and yell, "THE BOY SCOUT MOTTTO!" Still dumb looks. A split second before the timer runs out, my father in law raises his hand because he knows it and knows he can steal the point once the timer runs out. "I look at him and yell, "YOU"RE ON MY TEAM!!!!!" The timer then stops and I yell again, "YOU WERE ON MY TEAM!!!!" He, of course, had gotten confused in the team swicthing even though we had played the entire game and this was the winning point for the other team.
Sadly, this is a pretty normal occurence, I yell, pound my fists, piss people off and have even made someone cry during a heated moment of a simple board game.
So this is where I get defensive about the whole thing. First off, I don't try to be like this. I don't want to piss people off or make people cry. I do like getting into games, because I think that is what makes them fun, but I don't like where it ends up going ulitmately. Secondly, I don't even realize what is happening until it has already blown up. In fact, seeing it all now in type makes me really think about how riduculous I have gotten before. I know this sounds strange, but it is almost like I am a drug addict that gets high and does things they wouldn't ever do, and when they step back and see what they did, they really can't believe it. Third, people pointing it out makes me really ashamed. Not to the point of never playing a game ever again, but I guess more when I think people think that I am this way on purpose. I honestly try not to be but the behavior just seems to slip out.
Usually I try to make a moral to the story at the end of my blogs, but this one is freakin long for me so I will just end it here.....plus I am thinking this one may get a lot of comments.
The comments:
*I always cry when you come over and we play games teresa. But that is after you leave, because I already miss you ; p
My opinion is, people can get the fuck over it, or not play games with you. I know when I am playing with you that we are playing for keeps.
*Well, Teresa, this does not come as a suprise to me. I vividly remember the terror of game nights at Becky's. You should play a game with Tyler sometime-now that would be interesting. Now I will anlayze you. Maybe you should spend some time thinking about why you act the way you do. What do you get out of it? It sounds like there are some negative things (patting, being treated like a child), but maybe there are some positive things as well. Think about it.
I would think that all the attention you get when you are in full manic episode might be rewarding. I mean, not that you like to be the center of attention or anything...
*WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!! Sounds like my kind of game night!!! Pack up the Pictionary and come on over any time!!!! Now that I know the strategy, that is.....when you start to win, I'll just pat you on the back and shhhh you a little until you lose your cool and then I'LL BE THE WINNER!!!! Hee hee.....I say anybody who gets mad can't take it. Be you. Own it. We are all different and if that doesn't do it for ya, think about how many times you have shrugged your shoulders at something somebody else did that you didn't get. That's why Baskin Robbins has done so well---we are all different!!!
*Okay Woman...I give you LOTS of shit about playing games...however, I have a little secret that i should probably let you in on. I am one of the most competitive people on the planet. I have pissed off my husband while playing monopoly to the point of us going to bed without speaking because I cannot just WIN the game...but I must WIN the game and then throw in a nice loud BOOYAH and possibly a little booty dance just to rub it ALL the way in. I have also played Street Basketball and Street Football on PS2 with Shawn to the point of absolute gleeful screaming and throwing the controller when I defeated him while his otherwise powerful sense of manliness diminished nearly to the point of pouting. I'm not proud of this. I too feel as though I may have a problem. So let me just be the first to light my candle and admit...My name is Becky...................and I'm a competitiveness-aholic. *SOB* I feel so much better now....mostly because i was the first one to admit it....which means I WIN!!!
*Okay, I'm thinking that you, me and this Mrs. Rebecca Long person all fuel up the Monte and head to Tunica. IF we win, we will be rich. IF not, we will be the most obnoxious losers EVER!!! But, I'll bet we have some fun. Let me know when to pencil it in......
*Gee you don't get that from your older sister or anything.
*Teresa, I love you!!! This so made me laugh, I'm that way too. Don't ever change for anyone!
*I personally, am not very competitive, because to "conflict-phobes" like myself, competitiveness can lead to fights. Just writing the word "fight" makes me uncomfortable. God, that's fucked up.
But anyhoo, as long as no one is crying by the end of the game, usually the competitiveness doesn't bother me. After all, it's a board game. But if you Teresa, really get into the game, that's fine with me. I mean as long as the guns in the house are safely locked up, and their aren't any blunt objects within reach I don't see what the problem is......
Just kidding. Teresa don't worry about it. It's part of your charm, seriously. If everybody reacted the same way to every situation, how boring would life be? You're just adding a little spice to a dull board game. Perhaps the fellow players should just take the time to thank you while they're cowering behind the couch.....
Love ya!
Ps. Patting and shhing would piss me off too. I'd probably would have left.
Monday, January 29, 2007
You could say I am a little competitive..... Category: Games
Or you could say I am very competitive. One could even go as far as to say I am super competitive.
Anyway you slice it, that is me. I acknowledge the fact that this is what I am, and it usually takes someone playing a game with me for about an hour to acknowledge it as well.
For instance, a lovely couple that knows my husband and I well, as well as good friends with my in laws, invites all of us over for dinner and games last weekend. We begin by playing "Curses" a brand new game to all of us which is hilarious. I consider myself pretty well behaved during this part of the game night. Sure, I am the one that is calling people on their mistakes more than all the other players combined, but that is the object of the game, and I even kind of refrianed from a few just so I wouldn't seem too bitchy.
Then another couple that I had never met joined us. As we wrap "Curses" the game "Catch Phrase" is suggested. I agree semi reluctuantly, but I save my father in law the priveledge of reminding me (and annoucing to everyone of course) of my embarrsing moment during our last game of "Catch phrase" by bringing it up myself and making a joke out of it. Father in law stated he didn't remember it until I just brought it up. Yeah, right.
So we start the game, things go smoothly at first, girls vs guys is proving to be enough of a challenge for the group. And then it happens, I am passed the stupid wheel thing and get the phrase, "Hail Mary Pass" WTF?!?
Let me first say, I have never pretended to know a lot about football, so of course, I don't realize this is a football term. Normally I would have probably figured it out in a couple seconds, but with the pressure of the game, I am not totally thinking clearly. So with quick thinking I tell my team it is three words, they get hail pretty quickly, and when I tell them the second word is mother ___ they actually get mary quickly, so when I am trying to coax them to put the two words together, they just keep saying mother mary. This goes on for about five seconds, while the little timer just keeps getting faster and faster, so I start screaming, "no, that is the second word! No! Just the second word!" Then I start pounding my hand on the table in frustration. The timer stops and we lose. Then I realize Nathan has grabbed my hand and is shhhing me. Then father in law starts doing this as well. Then they start patting me the back to calm me down. Well that pisses me off which of course makes it worse as I am trying to explain that I didn't know it was a football term, and like any of the women on my team would either.
On that note, let me digress a moment. I realize that was a sexist/sterotype comment to think that women wouldn't know a football term. But I stand by my sexist/sterotype comment because football is one of the few sports that women do not play or usually follow that much. I would not have made that statement had it been a baseball/softball, basketball, tennis, golf, etc. As it turns out, one of the women on my team did know it. To return to the story........
I finally get free of the back patting and sssshhhing because it makes me feel as if I am being made fun of. The game continues and ends (we lost by the way) and as I try and make a break for the door, the group insists upon one more game. I think, oh whatever, I am already pissed (for being patted not for losing) but oh well. The teams are switched up and we continue.
Things start out fine again, I was doing well with my clues and answers, but then the stupid wheel thing comes to me again with little time left. The phrase, "Be prepared" is shown. I think oh hell that is easy! I smile knowing that the timer will stop on the next person and quickly say, "The Boy Scout motto!" I get dumbfounded looks and yell, "THE BOY SCOUT MOTTTO!" Still dumb looks. A split second before the timer runs out, my father in law raises his hand because he knows it and knows he can steal the point once the timer runs out. "I look at him and yell, "YOU"RE ON MY TEAM!!!!!" The timer then stops and I yell again, "YOU WERE ON MY TEAM!!!!" He, of course, had gotten confused in the team swicthing even though we had played the entire game and this was the winning point for the other team.
Sadly, this is a pretty normal occurence, I yell, pound my fists, piss people off and have even made someone cry during a heated moment of a simple board game.
So this is where I get defensive about the whole thing. First off, I don't try to be like this. I don't want to piss people off or make people cry. I do like getting into games, because I think that is what makes them fun, but I don't like where it ends up going ulitmately. Secondly, I don't even realize what is happening until it has already blown up. In fact, seeing it all now in type makes me really think about how riduculous I have gotten before. I know this sounds strange, but it is almost like I am a drug addict that gets high and does things they wouldn't ever do, and when they step back and see what they did, they really can't believe it. Third, people pointing it out makes me really ashamed. Not to the point of never playing a game ever again, but I guess more when I think people think that I am this way on purpose. I honestly try not to be but the behavior just seems to slip out.
Usually I try to make a moral to the story at the end of my blogs, but this one is freakin long for me so I will just end it here.....plus I am thinking this one may get a lot of comments.
The comments:
*I always cry when you come over and we play games teresa. But that is after you leave, because I already miss you ; p
My opinion is, people can get the fuck over it, or not play games with you. I know when I am playing with you that we are playing for keeps.
*Well, Teresa, this does not come as a suprise to me. I vividly remember the terror of game nights at Becky's. You should play a game with Tyler sometime-now that would be interesting. Now I will anlayze you. Maybe you should spend some time thinking about why you act the way you do. What do you get out of it? It sounds like there are some negative things (patting, being treated like a child), but maybe there are some positive things as well. Think about it.
I would think that all the attention you get when you are in full manic episode might be rewarding. I mean, not that you like to be the center of attention or anything...
*WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!! Sounds like my kind of game night!!! Pack up the Pictionary and come on over any time!!!! Now that I know the strategy, that is.....when you start to win, I'll just pat you on the back and shhhh you a little until you lose your cool and then I'LL BE THE WINNER!!!! Hee hee.....I say anybody who gets mad can't take it. Be you. Own it. We are all different and if that doesn't do it for ya, think about how many times you have shrugged your shoulders at something somebody else did that you didn't get. That's why Baskin Robbins has done so well---we are all different!!!
*Okay Woman...I give you LOTS of shit about playing games...however, I have a little secret that i should probably let you in on. I am one of the most competitive people on the planet. I have pissed off my husband while playing monopoly to the point of us going to bed without speaking because I cannot just WIN the game...but I must WIN the game and then throw in a nice loud BOOYAH and possibly a little booty dance just to rub it ALL the way in. I have also played Street Basketball and Street Football on PS2 with Shawn to the point of absolute gleeful screaming and throwing the controller when I defeated him while his otherwise powerful sense of manliness diminished nearly to the point of pouting. I'm not proud of this. I too feel as though I may have a problem. So let me just be the first to light my candle and admit...My name is Becky...................and I'm a competitiveness-aholic. *SOB* I feel so much better now....mostly because i was the first one to admit it....which means I WIN!!!
*Okay, I'm thinking that you, me and this Mrs. Rebecca Long person all fuel up the Monte and head to Tunica. IF we win, we will be rich. IF not, we will be the most obnoxious losers EVER!!! But, I'll bet we have some fun. Let me know when to pencil it in......
*Gee you don't get that from your older sister or anything.
*Teresa, I love you!!! This so made me laugh, I'm that way too. Don't ever change for anyone!
*I personally, am not very competitive, because to "conflict-phobes" like myself, competitiveness can lead to fights. Just writing the word "fight" makes me uncomfortable. God, that's fucked up.
But anyhoo, as long as no one is crying by the end of the game, usually the competitiveness doesn't bother me. After all, it's a board game. But if you Teresa, really get into the game, that's fine with me. I mean as long as the guns in the house are safely locked up, and their aren't any blunt objects within reach I don't see what the problem is......
Just kidding. Teresa don't worry about it. It's part of your charm, seriously. If everybody reacted the same way to every situation, how boring would life be? You're just adding a little spice to a dull board game. Perhaps the fellow players should just take the time to thank you while they're cowering behind the couch.....
Love ya!
Ps. Patting and shhing would piss me off too. I'd probably would have left.
I was tagged!
Ok, I was tagged twice, once by Juila (http://julia-transition.blogspot.com/) and once by Aimee (http://aimeeheartsparis.blogspot.com/), so in honor of that I am going to do 14 things. Oh and here are the obligatory rules:
The rules:Link to the person who tagged you.Post the rules on your blog.Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.
1. Being tagged makes me feel super special and happy. Embarrassing? Yes. Pretty much true though? Yes.
2. I am terrible with important dates. I even forgot if Nathan's birthday was on May 11 or 12 the first year we were married, and sometimes I still can't remember. I even forget my own sister's birthdays from time to time. And don't even ask me when my good friend's Becky's birthday is, I am pretty sure it is in mid October but I could be totally wrong.
3. This kind of goes along with #2, but I also constantly forget if I am 24 or 25. In fact, as I was sitting here I had to do the math in my head and double check that I am actually 25.
4. I am pretty sure #2 and #3 make me a dumb ass. That's considered random/weird right?
5. I am cheap. REALLY cheap. The only time I don't consider myself cheap is when Nathan and I are out with friends or throwing some kind of get together. Other than that I do some pretty crazy stuff to save money. I wash and reuse Ziploc bags, I buy 90% of my groceries from Aldi, I keep the thermostat at 68 and would probably keep it lower if Nathan would let me, I keep underwear and bras until they have so many holes I feel naked, and so on.
6. I have recently become a very positive person and it pretty much happened overnight and with little effort. It was like one day I just decided that life was going to happen and getting upset about what comes my way is just a waste of my already precious time. Yep, the sewer backs up and causes lots of money lost and headache, you have to pay 1300 instead of getting a tax return, but seriously, what can you do about it? It is just life, and yeah it sucks for the moment but 99% of it isn't going to impact my life for long.
7. Going along with #6, I no longer stress about my weight. Sure I want to be healthy, but I used to get super stressed about my size and it just isn't worth it. I refuse to make myself miserable because I would like to be lots thinner.
8. I used to have a crazy scary tolerance for alcohol. I really only started drinking at about 20, but by my 22nd birthday I could really take some drinks down without getting sick. 9 or 10 mixed drinks with different kinds of alcohol wouldn't make me sick, which is definitely not the case now, and thank God, because no one should binge drink like I did.
9. I am obsessed with my cell phone. I have an AT&T tilt and it is super cool. I love being able to use the Wi-fi capabilities. Plus, I just got off the phone with Nathan and he informed me that he was able to get me a Bluetooth stereo headset and a carrying case. Score!
10. I am a board game fanatic. I get super competitive and don't even realize it. Not to sound conceited but my friends die laughing at me everytime we play a game because I just get so crazy. I try and hold back when playing with people that don't know me as well, but it is crazy hard. I will elaborate more in a separate post so this tagged thing doesn't become a novel.
11. While I love spending alone time with Nathan, one of my favorite things is being out with a big group of friends. Some of my best memories are of my friends and I at a restaurant, winery, camping, or just over at someone's house.
12. The three compliments that I love:
a) "You are hilarious!" I love hearing people laugh.
b) "This tastes wonderful." Seriously, food compliments are the best.
c) "Thanks for listening." I really make a strong effort to be someone/a friend that truly listens and gives comfort.
13. For a really long time I wanted to be a writer. I wrote the better part of a couple novels, but never finished them because I decided they were crappy. Later I kind of fell into the cooking world out of necessity and grew to love that as much as writing. If I could do one thing and live a comfortable life I would write cookbooks. The funny thing is, for a couple years I actually thought this dream was within reach. I was going to pitch a cooking with beer cookbook to Anheuser Busch. I cook with beer a lot because it adds a ton of great, concentrated flavor. What was going to be so cool is I was going to feature all the different AB beers (including the seasonal ones) in a wide variety of really user friendly recipes. But guess what happened?
I saw this book in Borders and cried and I am really not much of a crier. I am sure it is great, but I don't think I will ever be able to pick it up.
14. Coming up with random/weird things was super easy for me, what does that mean?
I am going to break the rules and not tag 7 people, because all of the people that I would tag already were tagged prior to me. If you haven't been, then tag your it!!!!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Snow = Stress
I, like so many other residents of the great St. Louis, are totally sick of this weather, especially after the gorgeous weekend. But I think that I maybe one of the most tired of it. Snow is a HUGE source of stress for me.
With the exception of MoDot workers, and people that HAVE to be at their jobs (aka doctors, nurses, police, etc.) I think when it snows I have one of the biggest headaches.
Part of my new job is running a school foodservice. The foodservice is ran out of a community college kitchen and then delivered to two schools. In one day, my staff makes and delivers about 600 meals, which from day to day is stressful in itself. But when you add snow into the mix watch out!
First of all, if for some reason the college is closed and the school we deliver to is open, technically I am supposed to call the school and tell them we can't deliver. In order to get all this info the college has to cancel classes before my school makes the call. Luckily, most of the time the college makes the decision earlier than my school program. But regardless, it is stressful. I usually go to bed between 8 or 9 and get up at 4:15/4:30am to be at work by 5:15am. On days it could possibly snow it is not so easy. My current alarms are set for 12:15 am, 3:45 am, and 4:30 am. 12:15 is usually when the college posts online if they are closed. 3:45 is about the time that I have to check and see if the school program is closed and if it isn't I have to make the decision of if we can deliver because I should notify the Principal by 4. 4:30 is when I will get up and get ready for work. I also usually get about 3 phone calls through the course of the evening. My main cook calling to see if she has to come in, the principal calling me on the phone tree, my boss calling to see if I have any updates, etc.
On top of all that is the normal stress of driving in bad weather. But honestly, with everything else going on that is usually the least of my problems even though if the college is closed and so is the school program I should really go in and catch up on paperwork.
Oh, and I was tagged by Julia, and I fully intend to share my 7 things, but I think it would be better to do it when I am not so stressed.
With the exception of MoDot workers, and people that HAVE to be at their jobs (aka doctors, nurses, police, etc.) I think when it snows I have one of the biggest headaches.
Part of my new job is running a school foodservice. The foodservice is ran out of a community college kitchen and then delivered to two schools. In one day, my staff makes and delivers about 600 meals, which from day to day is stressful in itself. But when you add snow into the mix watch out!
First of all, if for some reason the college is closed and the school we deliver to is open, technically I am supposed to call the school and tell them we can't deliver. In order to get all this info the college has to cancel classes before my school makes the call. Luckily, most of the time the college makes the decision earlier than my school program. But regardless, it is stressful. I usually go to bed between 8 or 9 and get up at 4:15/4:30am to be at work by 5:15am. On days it could possibly snow it is not so easy. My current alarms are set for 12:15 am, 3:45 am, and 4:30 am. 12:15 is usually when the college posts online if they are closed. 3:45 is about the time that I have to check and see if the school program is closed and if it isn't I have to make the decision of if we can deliver because I should notify the Principal by 4. 4:30 is when I will get up and get ready for work. I also usually get about 3 phone calls through the course of the evening. My main cook calling to see if she has to come in, the principal calling me on the phone tree, my boss calling to see if I have any updates, etc.
On top of all that is the normal stress of driving in bad weather. But honestly, with everything else going on that is usually the least of my problems even though if the college is closed and so is the school program I should really go in and catch up on paperwork.
Oh, and I was tagged by Julia, and I fully intend to share my 7 things, but I think it would be better to do it when I am not so stressed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
