4.30.2008

misc updates

Steve's step dad seems to be doing better. We saw him on Sunday for just a short time, but he's in good spirits. He needs some other tests done to make sure that he doesn't have problems in other areas, but so far so good.

Charlie really is a monkey! lol! amy has never straped him into his high chair before, he's never needed to be, but the other day she turned around to the sink and then when she turned back around he was on the floor! jumped right out of his chair! He's fine, he was just a little stunned!

He's started talking, little words here and there. He'll answer questions with "yes" and tell you when he's "all done" eating or playing. He has a different animal noise and body part everyday that he likes. He's been on a sheep kick, telling everyone "baa" and pointing out everyone's eyes but poking you in them. The other day we taught him about his belly button. problem now is he knew "button" as in on your shirt, but now "belly button" is confusing. He forgot button all together and just pulls up his shirt and points to his belly. Really cute.

He loves it outside. The other day he was standing at the door looking out and my Mom said "you can't go outside right now, you don't have shoes on" thinking that would work, but he went over and picked up his shoes and brought them to her. He's such a smart kid. lol

Steve and I are still house hunting. I haven't said much about that because we can't make up our minds. Problem is where to live and whether to buy existing or build. Steve would rather build, I'm not so sure we could afford that. We could afford the house/land that we are looking at, but the extras like landscaping and a driveway are added costs. and existing house prices are so low right now and very negotiable, we could get a great deal.

Spent last Friday with my sister. We had a great time. We traveled all over the place, Lodi outlets, Failawn and Wadsworth stores, lunch and then dinner later with Mom, Dad and my little Monkey. It was a great day.

This is going to be a long week, so much due at work this month, but that's ok. That's what keeps my job going! Not much planned for the weekend. Friend of mine taking me to dinner on Friday for my bday next week. Quiet Saturday (which never ends up being the case) and the Steve and I have a 3D archery shoot in Canton (I think) on Sunday morning. That's about it.

Nothing too exciting. Maybe I'll have something more fun later. I need a good topic...

4.22.2008

crazy weekend

well, the weekend was going to be a very relaxing one. I didn't have any plans really other than a pedicure with my Mom and sister scheduled for Saturday morning. I have a few books I wanted to sit and read on our back deck because it was going to be beautiful out.

That didn't work. Usually when I plan to do nothing it doesn't work. But family comes first.

Steve's step-dad, Jim, ended up getting life-flighted in the middle of the night Thursday night to Akron General. They thought it may be heart problems because he just had two stints put in, which was the reason for the flight. Ended up not being the case, but it was really scary.

Non-medically speaking, he has calcium/blood clots surrounding his heart and they moved to 18" of his small intestines. They talked about cutting that section out, but had decided to give him antibiotics and monitor him for 24 hours (this was friday afternoon) which ended up working, luckily. He was actually released yesterday and went back home.

It was a scary time though. I got to General about 4:30am, Steve came from work, both Jim's daughters and their families came up, and Jim's sister and Mom from PA came too. He had a big group of supporters. Rough weekend though. Same hospital my Dad spent time in last summer with his neck so at least I knew my way around, that helped in the middle of the night.

He seems to be on the mend though which is great news.

This weekend, I am taking Friday off to hang out with my sister. Our birthdays are at the beginning of May and she's been bugging me for awhile to take a day off and hang out with her, so I thought this would be a good time. She is going to come here and drop Charlie off with Mom and then we are going to run around for the day. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and we'll have a great day.

Steve is off this weekend, so hopefully we'll have a stress-free weekend.

Hope everyone is well.

4.14.2008

100 things about me

My friend Cheryl thought it would be fun for all of us to do a "100 things" list. I don't know if I can list 100 things about me, but here we go:

1. I am almost 30 and not excited about it.
2. I have been married for about 1-1/2 years.
3. We met through his Mom, which I didn't think would work, but did beautifully.
4. We have a lot in common and are opposite at the same time, it works great.
5. I have one sister.
6. She has a little boy whom I love
7. I also have two wonderful neices through my husband that I wish I could see more of.
8. He has a great family.
9. I'm a Daddy's girl.
10. I used to be a dancer, ballet, tap, jazz.
11. I was on the dance team at Ashland University when I went there, my freshman year. Danced inbetween basketball quarters.
12. Got introduced to crappy college food and beer and gained too much weight.
13. Slowly working now to get it all off. mostly with spinning classes.
14. I love bud light and diet coke. my favorites.
15. I am a Graphic Designer.
16. I love what I do, I wish I could update my skills through school, either learning more programs or web design.
17. I would love to be able to freelance full-time.
18. I run the catalog dept for the company I work for.
19. I have a great team under me. I couldn't do this without them.
20. My husband and I are house hunting. It's really hard.
21. I have a lot of medication allergies.
22. I love Italian food, and chocolate. :)
23. I love my friends, they mean the world to me.
24. I am still friends with the girl I met when I was one year old.
25. My sister and I didn't become friends until she was getting married a few years ago. Now I think she is one of the best people I know.
26. I am truly very thankful for my friends and family everyday.
27. I used to be a great drawer, pretty good at painting and liked ceramics, even though I didn't put enough effort into it. I haven't done these things in a long time.
28. I got a scholarship to Ashland from a drawing of a work boot that I submitted.
29. I am not into scrapbooking. I think it looks really cool when finished, but it is cleaner and faster to do on the computer.
30. I do know how to knit. I don't really like it, but I know how.
31. My favorite flower is the lilac. It's beautiful and it smells good. and A. Bon loved them.
32. I am bad at goodbyes.
33. I hold grudges.
34. I love with all my heart and put my whole self towards my family and friends.
35. I love the beach. the ocean, the smell of it. I love to lay on the beach all day long.
36. I feel better with a suntan.
37. I don't like to talk on the phone unless it's my family.
38. email is easier for me to keep in touch. I'd rather just get together.
39. I am a social person, I'd rather go out with everyone than sit at home some nights.
40. other nights, it's nice to curl up with a book.
41. I like to make Italian food, other than that, I hate cooking.
42. I wish I felt a love of cooking, or at least baking.
43. I love bonfires.
44. I hate bugs. any bugs.
45. I hate birds.
46. I am afraid of the dark.
47. I am claustrophobic.
48. I love swimming.
49. I love watching sports, basketball, baseball, hockey, football, I am not good at these.
50. I really like archery, but wish I was better.
51. I am impatient.
52. Steve and I want a dog someday.
52. I don't like the little "kick me" dogs, I like bigger ones.
53. Not a cat fan.
54. Had a dog, fish and a few ginea pigs when we were little.
55. my sister killed all of my goldfish because she poured the entire bottle of food in the tank. she was little, it was an accident.
56. I just learned how to ride a bike last summer, Steve taught me.
57. I love pilates and yoga.
58. I love a lot of music, but don't know the names of the groups/singers or the song titles of hardly anything.
59. Steve and I went to Maui for our honeymoon. it was the best place i have ever been.
60. our wedding was outside and was beautiful. I couldn't have asked for better.
61. i wish i could win the lottery so my dad could retire and my parents could have medical insurance.
62. i wish steve's sister's and their families lived closer.
63. i am very close to my family, we'd do anything for each other.
64. i go to the dentist every six months, but i hate it. lol
65. i am most comfortable in jeans
66. i have really thick hair. and I like it short.
67. i always wanted to be a dark redhead.
68. I would love to travel. to all the touristy places in the US.
69. I love Old Navy, Walmart and Penneys.
70. I love Taco Bell. lol
71. I love Big Macs (can you see why I'm not skinny!)
72. I love ice cream, not chocolate though. Dad and I used to go get ice cream all the time.
73. I love to walk outside.
74. I hate the cold weather. I am only here because my family is.
75. I love elephants, they are amazing creatures.
76. I rode an elephant once at a circus. it was great.
77. I love the zoo. that was my first date with my husband.
78. I love being outside.
79. I love the color blue.
80. but i also love deep, rich browns and reds together.
81. i first went to college with an Interior Design major.
82. Then i wanted to be a starving artist because I switched to Graphic Design and didn't want to learn the computer!
83. I love the city of Pittsburgh. it is beautiful. I spent a year there for school.
84. I am a huge Cleveland Browns, Cavs and Indians fan though.
85. I love American Idol, So you think you can Dance, Biggest Loser, and Friends.
86. I have almost all the Friends DVDs.
87. I love little kids, but don't really want my own.
88. I miss people terribly when they are gone and wish I could see everyone all the time.
89. I can smell scent on unscented stuff. lol. very sensitive nose.
90. I love the smell of my husband's soap and deoderant.
91. I love the smell of vanilla and coconut and peach.
92. i love mushroom pizza.
93. i love pictures.
94. i love the Impressionist period, especially Monet.
95. I also love Andy Warhol.
96. I wish i would have been a better student.
97. "i wish I knew then what I know now"
98. I like silver better than gold.
99. I love jewelry, but I don't change up what I am wearing.
100. I love blogger, it keeps me in touch.

I did it, but I rambled a lot. Sorry! Hope you like it Cheryl! Amy, your turn!

4.10.2008

microwave...

I just quickly need to throw this out there, goes with one of my earlier posts about the crazy forwards that everyone sends...

The one about the cancer update, no plastic containers in the microwave, no plastic water bottles in the freezer, no plastic wrap in the microwave etc etc because it lets out a dioxen chemical that causes cancer....

I don't want this email anymore!!!!!! :)
Someone sent me this update, and I should forward this to everyone (lol) but I won't.
Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

Just don't worry about it!

That's my rant for today, I'll go for more entertainment later.

4.09.2008

the weekend

ok, so Cheryl brought it to my attention that I'm a slacker and haven't had a new post in awhile, sorry!!!!

Spent the weekend in Ashland with my old sorority alumni girls, we had sooooooo much fun. That campus is amazing, they have done so much to it, it's beautiful.

Lizzy (my roommate from school) met me at the hotel friday night. we went and got dinner and then went the the bar at the hotel for the alumni night. free appetizers and cash bar. Calmer evening. saw a bunch of girls there that weren't going to make it to the next day. We pretty crazy to see everyone.

Saturday we chose to sleep through the signing in and stuff in the morning, but we went and ate lunch at the school (didn't like it when i went there, but it's pretty damn good now!!) and then toured campus on our own. The art building is the same, but they have a new business building and education building. Also, they built a rec center that is enormous!!! pool with diving boards, basketball courts, tennis, rock climbing, aerobic classes etc. so big, i'm so jealous! we kept saying that if they let us come back we'd be in shape and actually go to class this time!!! lol

then we went up to the suite to meet everyone. IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE!!!! the hall was full of all my old friends!! I miss the girls in Charlotte terribly!!! Hung out there for awhile, then went back to the hotel, turns out Lizzy and my friend Kim had a room right next to ours (she didn't come in until Saturday morning) drank some rum and cokes for awhile, 10 of us jumped back and forth between rooms, Lizzy had her ipod playing. It was so fun.

Dressed up and went out for a formal dinner with everyone. it was nice, catered, and they showed a power point presentation of "through the years" craziness.

Afterwards, we went back and changed and decided we were going out. 10 of us. it was so fun. and we all stuck together in a giant group of 10 too. I'll post pics tomorrow, but the bar we went to had a dance floor and they were dropping bubbles/foam from the ceiling, Lisa and Lizzy were soaked by the time we left. Kim and I stood back and took pictures and laughed at them.

Lizzy and I went to lunch on Sunday before we left. It was so fun to hang out with everyone and act like young girls. lol. I miss those girls so much. Hopefully we will stay in touch better. some of them do live around here. We need to do better.

4.02.2008

email again

Got this from a friend, some are funny, some are so true, some are just dumb :)

Zen Sarcasm

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before the dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of your car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything..

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

4.01.2008

Charlie's Birthday and Easter --- Again

I posted some pictures yesterday but didn't have much time to write about it. We had a great weekend. I went to Amy's on Friday night to make all the food for Charlie's party. She ordered sandwich rings from Walmart and got potato/macaroni salads. Cut cheese cubes and homemade sausage from Scott's family. We made these little lunch meat rolls that were great! Walmart sells them by the tray but we figured we could make them cheaper. You just buy tortillas, lunch meat, lettuce and cheese, lay it out on half the torilla, roll it up and put it in saran wrap overnight. In the morning, just cut each tortilla into 6 little rolls. Good stuff. We used five different meats and two cheeses, so good.

Anyway, the party on Saturday went well. 50 people or so. Charlie was a trooper. He really only wanted Grandma to hold him, he's particular, but he seemed to have fun. He loved the helium balloons that Amy had hanging. He got a ton of presents, but of course he didn't open any of them, Mommy did it for him. Well, Mommie and two other little kids that decided they were helping. That was my only complaint. I know kids get excited about that stuff, but this little girl, probably about 5 years old was in Amy's face the whole time. At one point she was opening the stuff before Amy got to it. And her Mom kept calling her name but that was it. The little girl wasn't answering to her name. I just don't think that's right.

She put him in his high chair in front of everyone and gave him his little "smasher" cake. He kept looking at it and looking at her like "am i really allowed to do this???" and after a few minutes really dug into it. He was so funny, he had frosting everywhere.

Easter went well. That was the next day at my Mom's. We had one of my Aunts and Uncles and cousins over. My cousin Kelly and Doug brought Chase who we hadn't met yet, he's 3 months old. It was fun. Lots of food all weekend. Charlie was a little concerned with Chase there, he couldn't understand why Chase had a pacifer and thought it was his.

He sat on Uncle Steve and my lap on and off all day to read books. That kid loves books. He'll sit for an hour and look at the same book. When you get to the end he says "all done" and he flips it back over to the beginning. Hopefully that sticks with him.

That's about it. We really had a fun weekend. and the little monkey is a year old!