So, how's it goin'?

Its been awhile since I've written anything.  I'm not the type of person to blog on a regular basis, though, I do go through phases.  Generally, if I don't write anything, its mainly because I'm lazy, or, nothing really exciting has happened lately.  Which, I guess is a good thing because that means life is DRAMA-FREE, which is always something to celebrate. 

 

I am however super excited that its the holiday season.  I think November/December is my favorite time of the year.  While, I absolutely LOVE Halloween and October in general, nothing is more satisfying that decorating my house for Christmas.  I've always had good memories of Christmas ever since I was a little whipper snapper and got to be in the Christmas pagents and stuff.  Not to mention, Christmas and Easter were always the two times of the year my mom would make me a super fancy dress to wear to church.  We always went to the Christmas/Easter Eve services, so it was almost like going out to a formal event as a 10 or 11 year old.  In fact, here is a photo of one of the many many dresses my mom made me.  I think I was 12.  I still love royal blue to this day, (and, it was not surprisingly the color of my bridesmaid dresses). 

 

**Side Note: I am posting this blog from work.  Therefore, photo will be scanned and blog will be updated at a later date.  Until then, enjoy this fascinating description of my blue dress:

 

It was long, and royal blue (as previously stated).  I think it was some sort of silky/satin material.  It had the great long poofy bubble sleeves, typical to the late 80s, early 90s.  It was mostly plain in the front with the exception of a lace "V" secion on the front of my (then non-existent) chest.  The back, however, had a huge bow above my butt, and under my butt were 3-4 tiers of lacy ruffles!!

 

While I don't get quite as jazzed up for church at this day and age, there is always the Mainline Christmas formal to look forward to. And, I have yet to find a royal blue dress to wear to this event, though, I its not from lack of trying.  I pretty much love bright colors in general.  Probably why half of our house is either painted red or filled with red furniture.  Our guest bedroom is aqua blue, and, at some point our office will be "Green and Gold" - cheesy enough it will be our "CSU Room," but its mostly to spite all our Seminole fan friends, and to emphasize that CSU is NOT in Boulder, nor are we the Buffalos!!  Seriously, I'm going to start responding to that question with "Is FSU in Gainesville?" or, "FSU...they're the Gators right?"  Yes, it *is* that insulting.

 

Anywhoo....the real reason I'm writing anything is because I'm deathly bored at work.  No surprise there.  Only one more semester until I officially have a graduate degree and can hopefully find a better job where people with higher education actually move UP in the world, instead of ass-kissers and idiots who don't use proper grammar during formal meetings.  While its probably not the ideal time to be looking for a job, hopefully someone out there will realize that intelligence AND experience is worth a damn!

 

 

 

 

Golden Key and Dishwashers

    Two interesting things have been going on lately.  I'll do the typical "bad news first" - our dishwasher broke.  It hasn't worked since late September.  Luckily, we have a home warranty from when we bought our house.  So, we call, set up an appointment for Tuesday October 7th (anytime between 2 and 4pm - to which they didn't even show up till 4:30pm). Supposedly, we need a new water pump, so they said they'd order it, and it would arrive in a few days, and the next week things would be taken care of...as in, by Tuesday the next week.  The technician even told me they would call by that Thursday to schedule the appointment.  Well, the follow up appointment the next week was never made.  So, I was patient and waited a full week, called, and apparently the part hadn't come in yet, but was due Wednesday the *next* week (October 22nd).  So, frustrated, I accepted that, and made an appointment for them to come out on that day and install the new part.  Well, the 22nd rolls around and around 8am the repair office called me saying that a technician was out sick with strep throat. Fantastic.  I was sligtly miffed, becasue at this point we were going on 2-3 weeks without a dishwasher (ah, our dependence on technology) - but, what could I do - get mad because someone was sick?  Anyway, we rescheduled for Saturday the 25th.  I made sure to have them call us before they came over just in case we were out of the house.  Well, Saturday rolls around, and we stayed home cleaning house all morning.  No call, and no one showed.  Around 4:30 - we got tired of waiting, and, went to Momo's for a late lunch/early dinner.  I call back Monday morning explaining how no one showed up or called, and, she said that the technician said that they knocked on the door, and no one answered...?!?  Why, it is quite possible that they did show up *right* at 4:30 - I was still ticked since I explicitly asked them to call me before they came over.  So, once again, we rescheduled for Wednesday the 29th (yesterday) for the "last call" appointment - meaning, they would be there by 4pm since that's when their office closed.  Well, yesterday they called me at 1:30 asking if I was at home and available.  I told them no, because I was at work, and couldn't take time off until my originally scheduled 4pm appointment.  They acted confused, and just said "ok" and then we hung up.  Well, I left work around 3:30 to be sure that I'm home well before 4pm in case they try to pull a fast one on me and get there early.  So, I hang out.  5:30pm rolls around and no one has shown up.  So, I call the office - and of course its closed, so I left a long message explaining that I've been waiting an hour and a half, no one has shown up, they called earlier asking if I was available and I said no, but they implied they were still going to show up that afternoon.  So, the office gal calls me back this morning giving me new information.  Apparently, someone left the office at 4pm, and told her that they were headed to our house to install the part on our dishwasher.  Now she knows they didn't show - and, its starting to sound as if the incident last Saturday with "no one answered the door" is turing out to be bogus.  So, we're trying again tomorrow, and she said if she had to ride out there herself with the guy to be sure he gets there, she will!

 

    Now, for the "good news" - about a month ago I received an invitation to join the "Golden Key International Honour Society."  I was invited because my performance in grad school put me in the top 15% of my class (to which, I am proud to admit I currently hold a 4.0 more than halfway through my graduate studies).  So, I toyed with the idea for awhile, debating since, I knew I couldn't entirely commit to campus organazations since I'm a full-time employee and a part-time student.  But, I decided to go ahead and join because, its not everyday someone recognizes your academic excellence.  Well, last night was the induction ceremony.  Nothing super crazy or fancy, but, it was really cool to be there and see all these super smart people, and get to meet some distiniguished faculty members too.  Not to mention, I got this sweet certificate (that funny enough looks almost like a diploma or degree) that I want to frame and put in my office.  Its already on my resume, and I found out that the Federal Government will bump you up a pay grade level just for having Golden Key on your resume.  I wonder if I could talk the State into doing the same (haha - fat chance).  Either way, I'm generally fairly modest about my performance in school - mainly because I find my coursework fairly easy due to the fact I have 5 years of experience in my field, but, I decided that it's ok to be proud of my accomplishments whether or not I think they were "easy" - because, when I think about it, there are people in my classes that scored a D or worse on our first exams, so, not everything comes easily to everyone.  Now - if I can just keep my GPA up and make it to graduation with a 4.0, *that* would be sweet!

Its Been Awhile...

And, a lot has happened since my last blog, but, I just haven't found the time or energy to sit down and type it all out.  Here is a condensed version:

 

Cat slashed my face

Finished the floors (still need to touch up)

Finished the guest bedroom (still needs decor)

My mom came for a visit

She bought us a grill & patio set (I'll post photos later)

Celebrated Cinco de Mayo/Friend's birthday

 

Sorry for the lack of details...I'll work on posting more frequently as events arise.  We're going back to CO for a baptism (we're going to be godparents!) so I'll blog about our trip when we get back for sure. :)

Gotta love animals!

Our cats are so funny!

Meme: The 5 Things

So, I have apparently "been tagged" by Christina to list "5 Things you May Not Know About Me" - so, here it goes:

5 Things

• I'm a caffiene addict - its gotten to the point where I actually make coffee on weekends. I've just recently started doing this.
• I'm so over working for a living and am really ready to just have kids already so I can give up the 9-5 (or 7-4:30 in my world) life.
• Excited to earn my master's but skeptical if it will even do anything to "get me ahead" in my career (but, please revert to the previous item for futher detail)
• I have a series recording set for "A Haunting" on Discovery Channel - I love watching stuff about ghosts, gouls, spirits. A little jealous I've never encountered one, but, at the same time also very thankful
• I fell in love with at least 10 guys (and I fell hard) between the ages of 18 and 23. Thankfully it was Steve who was the last!

And now, I'm supposed to *tag* 5 other people - well, I'll just tag those that I actually know have a blog: Ange from The Taylor Family, Jenn from Sketches of Thoughts, and Asha of So Cheap and Juicy. Enjoy!

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

Unless the issue is in the front yard...

One day I'm leaving for work, and I notice a huge back-hoe in my neighbor's front yard. Now, keep in mind, he has the corner lot, so, its in the corner of his front yard for the world to see. I also notice a HUGE hole dug out from his yard. That afternoon, Steve went over to go find out what he was up to, and he told Steve that he was putting in a fountain. My first thought was, "A fountain or a swimming pool??"

Then, a few days later I come home, and all of a sudden a mini jungle has sprouted in his yard. TONS of foliage and TONS of flagstone and other rocks had appeared during the work day. Not to mention a DEER on his porch. Now, I'm all for koi ponds and creative landscaping, but, there is a fine line from creating the secret garden vs. a complete gaudy mess. This is what it looked like:

Well, yesterday he finally finished the project - or, at least he says its finished. Hopefully, this is all there is to it. It even includes a lamppost, and a bridge to nowhere!

I guess I just have to be glad that we live uphill & next door to him instead of directly across the street!

So over home improvements...

So, we finally finished all the "public" areas of our house. Now, we're starting on the closets. And, oddly enough, we may end up having to buy another box of wood unless we can attempt to salvage some cut ends somewhere. I can't believe we bought more than the recommended 10% overage and we're still going to come out a little short. Maybe its because we had to cut each start and end piece, whereas some woods come in random lengths (ours were all the same). But, what can ya do. What's another $50 at this point right?

Anyway, because of our never-ending project, I'm missing a BBQ at the pool. While, as much as I really really really really want to be in the sun with a burger and beer, I would rather have this annoying project finished so I never have to lay glue for the rest of my life. So, I'm making up some chili dogs and then going to eat them (maybe on the porch so I can get some fresh air) then its back to the grindstone. At least we maybe have a total of 60 boards to lay maximum, which, in reality is nothing. And just thinking about finishing up the paint gives me a headache!

Is the week over yet?

I'm seriously so tired and frustrated its annoying. Luckily, I'm about to make broccoli cheese soup for dinner (with a salad too of course). At least I have some comfort food to look forward to.

Tired & Unmotivated

Ahh, Monday.  Most people hate Mondays, but today I am loathing it for some reason.  Generally my Mondays aren't too bad since I have class at 2pm and the lectures are usually short.  I'm generally done by 3 or 3:30 depending on whether I stay for the lab session (which, that depends on my mood).  Though today I'm contemplating doing the lab before class, then taking off after the lecture.  I really need to hit the gym today and then also go home and finish the hardwood in the office.  We have about 12 rows left to lay. 

 

Yesterday we were completely worthless.  We got up early to go to church, then took off after communion.  There were SO many people there that we ended up sitting in the side chapel area and got to watch the service via LCD.  An interesting experience to say the least.  Then, we hit up the store to pick up goods for a salad I made for our Easter brunch over at a friend's house.  Now, Steve and I had given up alcohol for the last half of lent.  It was approximately 3 weeks of no-drinking what so ever.  Long time for us!  So, yesterday was the first time we had cracked open a beer in awhile.  Well, 2 beers and a few mimosas later I had a wicked buzz!  After brunch, we went home and I passed out on the couch.  I woke up about an hour later with a killer headache, no doubt from dehydration - but these were just experiences I wasn't used to. Generally I don't feel such ill effects from drinking, but maybe that's because I particpated in it too often?  Its not like I got wasted on a daily basis, but the after work beer was always necessary (especially considering my job and the office where I work, but that's a blog for another day).  So, I dunno, I think I'm going to confine my drinking to happy hours and parties/special events these days and see how it goes.  Or, unless I have a really craptastic day at work.  Now if I can only get over my caffiene addiction things life will be great. :)

Home Improvement!

As promised, here are a few photos of our home improvement efforts. No, we're not finished, but, we have done a ton so far. Just a few more coats of paint and two more rooms to lay floor down, installing some trim/transitions and we're done!

Bedroom Paint Before:

Bedroom Paint After (still needs one more coat):

Time to Rip up the carpet!

Our living room sans flooring:

The wood!!

My dad laying the glue (the stickiest stuff in the world):

Our first rows:

Finished product!!

Anyway, that's it so far! We will definitely need to get some area rugs, and once the guest bedroom is finished, I'll post some photos of that too!

Painting is Fun!

So, we also decided to go ahead and paint over our fug purple wall while we didn't have any "real" floors.  We got a deep red for our master bedroom.  I think its called "Ruby Ring."   And, since it had that dark purple faux finish, we had to get some primer.  The gal at home depot tinted our primer with the shade of red we were going to use to help get better coverage and also help the red look the way its supposed to.  Well, we finished painting it last night, and now our room is temporarily pepto bismol pink!!  Again, once we have our computer up and running at the house again, I'll post all of our "home improvement" photos. 

 

We also got paint for the guest bedroom.  We're going to give that room a typical "Tourist Florida" feel.  Seems like everyone who visits wants it to be as typical beachy semi-tacky Florida as possible.  So, we got a super light aqua (Himalayan Mist) 3 of the walls, and then are going to do the wall the bed is against a darker shade of aqua (Fresh Water). 

 

Anyway, painting is fun!  I can't wait till we delve into the Living Room, but, there is just so much architechural detail going on there its going to be hard to decide how to do it.  And, the way the dining room wall meets up with the kitchen wall is a little awkward, so, we'd have to work something out there as well.  Anyway, guess I had better start doing some work today.  haha.

No More Carpet!!!

So, FINALLY around 11:30 last night (way WAY way past my bedtime) we finished pulling up all our carpet, carpet pads and tack stripping. Now, our house is super ghetto looking.  But, its all temporary.  We'll finally start putting in our floors this weekend.  My dad from VA flies down on Friday afternoon.  We'll probably spend Friday night doing a little more prep work and then hopefully just get our rears up at the buttcrack of dawn on Saturday and then knock a crapload out.  Ideally, I'd like to finish by Sunday or even mid-Monday.  That way, I can take some time to rest before I go to work on Thursday.  So, me, being the idiot I am, agreed to give a presentation on Tuesday.  Well, my dad is still going to be in town.  I should have tried to push it back until Wednesday.  But, oh well.  I'll just go in Tuesday morning, give the presentation then leave when its over. 

 

On another note, we inherited 2 more cats!  Our friend moved down to Miami and doesn't have his own place yet (he's staying with family friends).  Anyway, his lease in Tallahassee was up last weekend, and two people who were supposed to take his cats fell through.  So, his last option was either us, or the shelter.  And, so I think we were a much better option.  Though, we're probably super stressing them out by first being in a new home, meeting two new cats (one who is a super fight picker) and then ripping up all the carpet and moving stuff around in their "safe room."  But, they seem to be pretty well adjusted to our craziness.  Their names are Chubbs (yep, a big fatty long haired orange tabby) and Kitty (the only gal in our house, a gray and white tabby).  I would post pictures, but, seeing as how our computer and internet access are out of commission this week, photos will have to wait.

 

Anyway, I'm in dire need of a manicure (carpet work does nothing for your cuticles) - but that will have to wait until after the floors go down.  So, probably the next time I write, I will hopefully be posting before & after photos of our house!!  All I have to do now is not fall asleep at work today!

I Luuuurrrve Hockey!

So, this year marked our 2 year anniversary. Two years already (yeah yeah so what if you've been married 10+ 2 years is exciting!)

Anyway, to celebrate - aside from stuffing ourselves at the Melting Pot we took a trip down to Tampa to go to a Tampa Bay Lightning game. Steve's new insurance company (that being, his company's new business insurer) offered us tickets last December. So, of course we took up the offer. Row B baby! Here are some photos:

Interesting....

blogger.com isn't filtered - nor is my ability to write a blog, but, my blog itself is filtered under "Blogs & Forums"

interesting.....wacky how these internet filter thingies work!

Gotta love grad school

So, one of our semi-assignments for my GIS in Social Sciences class was to create a webpage. Kind of funny considering I already have this blog (for one), a myspace page and a facebook page. How many pages does one girl need? Anyway, I figure this site could be strictly used for my graduate studies, and a way to build my GIS portfolio. I put a bunch of maps I have published on there. I'm considering putting my research papers on there as well, but before I do I need to be sure to save them as PDFs. I just hope no one tries to plagurize me. Well, at least if they do, I have proof its really mine!

Anyway, here is the site:
http://jes.rogers.googlepages.com/

It really needs some sort of a comment box area....I'll have to look into that

Hippy No Ear!

So, its been literally a month since I last "blogged." I could use the excuses such as, we closed on our house, moved, travelled for Christmas, I'm starting classes again, etc etc. But, the reality is I have plenty of time at work to blog (gotta love the state) but its FILTERED! And, I can't seem to get the "blog from email" feature I signed up for to work. Quite annoying actually because all my best blog ideas come to me when I'm at work. I could write them in a word doc, transfer to my flash drive, then copy them back when I get home, but, seriously, its just a blog. I'm not even going through all that trouble!!

Anyway, yes, we are all moved in. Still have some organizing to do (i.e. file mounds of papers and figure out what to do with all miscellaneous crap that we seem to have). And we have a ton of space to fill it seems. We have an entire empty "guest bedroom." Eventually we would like to get a king sized bed for ourselves, but, hardwood floors are coming first. And, my grandma is coming down the first weekend in February and are we really going to put her on an air matress? I mean, don't get me wrong she's in great shape and can handle it but still. We've been contemplating a futon or a sleeper loveseat in the "Office/Game Room" so maybe we can look into one of those. But, higher up on the list is a media console table (which is currently our stack of surround sound boxes) and a foyer table & coat rack. I refuse to have mail build up in the kitchen!

Some of the other costs of home ownership that we kind of knew about in the back of our heads but, didn't really put much thought into was yard supplies. We spent $200 at home depot the other day, and pretty much came back with a rake, hose, ant killer, general bug killer and a long squeegie so we can clean the jumbo half moon window over our door. Fun stuff! I contemplated going on an ant killing rampage today, but, its been rainy and might rain some more, so, its a bad time to do it. Those lucky little suckers might get another day, or week if the weather continues as such.

So, my agenda for today consists of searching for curtains for the master & guest bedrooms, buying Harry Potter 5 (I'm re-reading all of the books before I read the last, and the only one I don't own is 5), and then sitting around waiting for the mail to come becasue we're expecting a certified letter today - hopefully. Which, that pretty much translates into either me catching up on project runway and grey's anatomy, or, mopping the kitchen floor & vacuuming. It will probably consist of all of the above.

And, for those of you who don't know, "Hippy No Ear!" was something I wrote to my dad when I was about 5 or 6 which is translated from kidspeak into "Happy New Year." Its been a joke among family and friends ever since.