merry christmas to all....

...and to all a good night.

we're checking out for the week hopefully I'll be able to blog once more in 2006 when we get back.

and yes i said merry Christmas... if you don't celebrate Christmas don't take offence , but instead spread the joy by wishing me a happy Hanukkah, or really whatever... but even if you don't celebrate i hope you have a nice day anyway... go catch a movie or something

wow i am babbling i should be allowed to blog this late with so little sleep... speaking of which we get up tomorrow at 430..... that's less than 4 hours of sleep if i got into rem right now.

HAPPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy birthday Frank!!!

home again home again...

jiggity jig.

went to cleveland for the weekend. weather held out and we were able to see most of all of the family.

now the real count down begins.... after today i have 3 days of work left and then we leave early saturday morning to head to sint maarten.

can i just say.... yay!

only play if you're smart.....

http://www.geographycup.com/

...we don't need to lower our score anymore.

pics

Was out on michigan the other day.... do you remember when the lions were in the cages?


Bill's favorite holiday treat.... run run run as fast as you can .....

...you can't catch me I'm the stinky cheese man!

Happy Birthday Mary!

Yes, you are now old :)

IDEO-O-O

So I just got an email from HB (my high school for those out of the loop) inviting me back for our school's holiday tradition IDEO Day. That is the day before Christmas break when the juniors would put on a play making fun of the seniors (though now i think it is a variety show as the making fun thing got too personal and too explicit) then the entire school k-12 marches through the halls singing a Christmas carol from the 1500's whose original name was Personent hodie, and the name we called it, ideo, means therefore or for that reason. then the seniors sing another hymn this one a song that used to be sung at barn raisings and house buildings "bless this house" Then the headmaster gave Christmas wishes to the senior class and a gift to the school (early dismissal)

anyway this email just flooded me with memories of this. walking down the hall with alana my freshman year totally freaked out by the odd tradition... planing the play junior year... and singing that increadibly catchy chant one last time Senior year.

So....

On this day earth shall ring

With the song children sing

To the Lord, Christ the King,

Born on earth to save us;

Him the Father gave us.

Ideo -o -o, Ideo -o -o, Ideo, gloria in excelsis Deo.

His the doom, ours the mirth;

When he came down to earth,

Bethlehem saw his birth;

Ox and ass beside him

From the cold would hide him.

Ideo -o -o, Ideo -o -o, Ideo, gloria in excelsis Deo.

God's bright star, o'er his head,

Wisemen three to him led,

Kneeling low by his bed,

Lay their gifts before him,

Praise him and adore him.

Ideo -o -o, Ideo -o -o, Ideo, gloria in excelsis Deo.

On this day angels sing;

With their song earth shall ring,

Praising Christ, heaven's King,

Born on earth to save us.

Peace and love he gave us.

Ideo -o -o, Ideo -o -o, Ideo, gloria in excelsis Deo.

you can't make this stuff up

wow two postings in ten min....

In case you don't believe me:
http://dayoftheninja.com/index2.html

c-c-cold

so it is frakkin' freezing here. I am not talking brrr-it's-cold-outside freezing i am talking wear-3-layers-still-cold-have-to-blow-dry-your-feet-to defrost freezing

that said Bill and I are really looking forward to out trip to a warm tropical climate in 2 weeks and 4 days.

Cupecoy Beach

This is the beach we will look out on while we are there.

Celine

The boat that will take us on our pub crawl cruise

SMX

The airplains landing on - i mean near the beach

world aids day 06

from UNAIDS:
Number of people living with HIV in 2006

Total 39.5 million (34.1–47.1 million)

Adults 37.2 million (32.1–44.5 million)

Women 17.7 million (15.1–20.9 million)

Children under 15 years 2.3 million ( 1.7–3.5 million)

People newly infected with HIV in 2006

Total 4.3 million (3.6–6.6 million)

Adults 3.8 million ( 3.2–5.7 million)

Children under 15 years 530 000 (410 000–660 000)

AIDS deaths in 2006

Total 2.9 million (2.5–3.5 million)

Adults 2.6 million (2.2–3.0 million)

Children under 15 years 380 000 (290 000–500 000)

I can't help laughing

U.S. to North Korean leader: No iPods for you!

I know it is wrong as the situation for the people leaving in and near North Korea is bad, but the headline really made me laugh. bad "Dear Leader" bad.... you go to bed without dinner like the rest of your country.... or at least no iPods for you

T day

Yes thanksgiving was lovely. would have been lovelier had
1. The turkey been cooked all the way when the thermometer read 180 (general consensus at work was bill and i must have hit a bone and that is what made is spike)
B. I could have tasted all the stuff I was making instead of relying on other peoples' tastebuds. (also would have been cool if i hadn't needed a nap midday)
III. We taken some time to really enjoy what a beautiful day it was. perfect day for a walk in the park or around the block, or even some fetch with duffers in the back yard.

Otherwise, dinner was great Bill and I are still eating turkey left overs (though I must say the turkey panini and turkey mac-n-cheese are probably not the "normal" ways of eating left overs)

Things to do again:

*Pre order the turkey fresh -not frozen- for pickup (though i think i would pick up on wednesday morning not thursday)
*Brine the turkey. I really belive this works. (though next year i think i'll be back to my sugar an kosher salt routine -who knew mortons would run out of kosher salt?!?)
*Make as much ahead of time as possible. (though with a functioning oven and less people it is easier to make some things the day of so they don't chill in the fridge)
*Pumpkin pie ice cream. I have the basics down for the making of the sweet treat so i think this is a must do... I think it would be good even in the summer (though i would love to try my hand at cranberry ice cream like they had on tv last night)
*Have mom and duffy-dog there. (though it would be great to get BOTH of my brothers next time)

happy thanksgiving

I hope you and yours have a very happy and safe thanksgiving. Food coma is setting in around here.

even fox can't stoop so low

OJ's book and interview canceled

love a man in tails

from tv guide online:
Box Office: Amazing Feet Bests James Bond
A group of penguins and one guy in an actual tuxedo set a box-office record this weekend. With No. 1 finisher Happy Feet taking in $42.3 million, and Casino Royale following closely with $40.6 mil, it marked the first time that two films have earned $40 mil-plus on a non holiday weekend.

other news from the weekend:

OSU wins (it was really a great game)

faisal is in town

the grocery stores were not busy

gummi bears the tv show has been released, as well as the second collection of duck tails and chip and dale rescue rangers i see a christmas list coming on :)

go bucks!

GO OHIO STATE!

two jokes via my father today:

One day in an elementary school in Ann Arbor Michigan , a teacher asks her class if the Michigan Wolverines are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes except for Little Jimmy.

The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team Jimmy?"

Little Jimmy says, "The Ohio State Buckeyes."

The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?"

Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Buckeye fan, my mom is a Buckeye fan, I guess that makes me a Buckeye fan."
The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was
an idiot what would that make you?"

Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me a Michigan fan."

and

Four college alumni were climbing a mountain one day: an Ohio State grad, a Michigan grad, a Penn State grad, and a Notre Dame grad. Each proclaimed to be the most loyal of all fans at their alma mater. As they climbed higher, they argued as to which one of them was the most loyal of all. They continued to argue all the way up the mountain, and finally as they reached the top, the Notre Dame grad hurled himself off the mountain, shouting "This is for the Fighting Irish!" as he fell to his doom. Not wanting to be out done, the Penn State grad threw himself off the mountain proclaiming, "This is for the Nittany Lions!" Seeing this the OSU grad walked over and shouted "This is for the Buckeyes!" and pushed the Wolverine off the side of the mountain.

Bill liked this one better than the first.

yelling

i don't know where or who but i can hear the echoed yelling of what sounds like a rowdy hide and go seek game. but this yelling has been going on for over an hour... no protest out the window, no march scheduled down my street, yet the yelling continues. i just want some peace and quiet so that this head ache leaves me.

weekend in review

Friday night:
we sloshed our wet selves over to pf changs for connie's b-day party. after waiting for 12 people in our party to appear the seatingnazi allowed us up to our table. food was great service totally not worth the 18% that is tacked on. The waiters know that they are going to get the 18% so they don't pay attention to the table at all. Bill's coke went un-refilled the entire night. The waiter tried to pass over frank in taking orders. And, in general they weren't on the floor if you needed them.

Cool thing... I saw a classmate from HB, actually she saw me. but really cool.

Saturday:
went to costco land of giant containers of food. walked out for under 100$ and that included the second season of lost.

Had lunch at the new rock bottom at yorktown. everyone liked their food. and the service was good.

Went shopping at the oc. that was not good. not good at all.

went to see stranger than fiction. good movie... cool to see the lasalle flowers shop cameo and some other familiar down town sites.

Sunday:
started prepping for the big turkeyfest. bought things that are needed for such festing like stuffing and cranberry jelly and pumpkin pie stuff and frenches onions.

made some ice cream... might have to toss said ice cream and try again.

made yummy pork tenderloin.

died of exhaustion.

cuppa tea?

some calm in the storm.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Have a good one Connie

don't screw it up.

as much as i am happy about a changing of the guard, i just hope something good can come of it.

in local news people are to tight fisted to let kids have a place to swim, people have deluded themselves into thinking that a township can pull the troops out of Iraq, and people have decided to issue more muni bonds to fix up the local forest preserve. Also, mr. rat was re-elected governor, but whatever....

and while more and more states have banned same sex marriage... a subject i believe the state shouldn't have say in (as the issue appears to be religious and therefore should be kept separate), it seems min wage has been increased in the states that it was an issue. perhaps we are on our way to getting closer to a living wage for people?

Have you voted today?

Every one should vote and if they don't then they can't complain about how things are going. That is what I usually believe, but what if both of the candidates disgust you so much you would rather make a statement by supporting neither of them? Well many of the people I know are not voting this time around as the big race around here is for governor and it is a rat vs a shrew. not a very exciting thing. As I am a mostly liberal thinking person and I live in Dupage County land of wealthy whites ages 45-65 i doubt anyone cares what I think about our rep. and the race for treasurer is pretty filthy too. However i must go and vote for the new pool. esp since i will most likely not be paying the tax levied, but i do believe that if children have public pool access they have a much higher chance of learning how to swim.

in other news lost has its final episode of this mini season tomorrow. how exciting! Heroes is getting good and interesting. is radioactive man good or bad? what is the little boy's powers? and how does saving the cheerleader save the world?

fun

this weekend was overall a great one (cept for the ending, but we'll get there later)

friday night i finally converted bill into a merrell wearer.

saturday...

lunch with the uc crew at
it was fun and i think we over stayed our welcome.....

yes this is was we highly educated twenty-somethings do when let to dine a a nice place....


Later that night we went and saw Borat with a subsection of the lunchers.


Yesterday my good friend Carolyn was passing through chicago on her way to her favorite airport with bf Chris. It was nice to see here and good to finally meet Chris. we ate at orange on harrison and it was a pretty yummy experience.

Unfortunately, mr. bill some how injured his back at some point in the morning and is now in tons of pain. {{goodvibe}} get well soon mr. bill.

wannabe

so i wanna be like rj and post the random pics that i take....

This is a picture of Bill's office from my office. I take this picture often and send it to bill. In it you can also see my plant that i cannot kill and has grown too big for its pot.

So to keep up with the visitors program, Carolyn and her bf are going to be out here for the ND game and we are going to have brunch with them on sunday. and LJ is back in town this weekend so we will see her and the UC crew on saturday.

upcoming visitors..... mom and bobby for thanksgiving, and maybe i can get my newly relocated uncle chris to visit some time soon.

happy halloween!

Happy Halloween all you party people.

Nanny the nano has dressed up in this faboo sock, what did you dress up as?

weak-end

another weekend over and a new week just begun.... I just received an email telling me that as tomorrow is Halloween that our office must dress up like consultants..... that means no jeans, but can i still wear my black top with orange vest? i have been looking forward to that all month.

Bill and I went to look as houses again this weekend. the weather was nice, and it is a good idea to see these neighborhoods before they are buried underneath snow. (which is how they will be in January and February when we are really looking.)

We saw Marie Antoinette on Saturday. I liked it... not sure if i liked it as much as virgin suicides, but it was very neat... and I have decided i want her shoes, all of them.... so many cool shoes :)

we need children....

I have decided that will be probably the only thing that stops our gadget spending.

meet my new Ipod... nanny the 8gb nano

ugly betty and other tv musings

I am really lovin this show. expecially since her super adorable nephew visited... yesterday's episode was great except for the end... that walter character is awful.

anyway i think i have found replacements for the shows i have los along the way, and now thanks to abc family i have everwood every night. ... now if only i could get them out of the dvdr and onto a dvd.

---

maria antoinette comes out today really want to see it. the costumes and makeup look fabulous.

also on my list of things to see soon:

3d nightmare before christmas
flag of our fathers... though i have read some really disappointing reviews
running with scissors
babel
fast food nation
blood diamond

heroes

yeah I'm addicted...

so long farewell....

Brian Christy and Mary were all out here this weekend.

Highlights include:

What will most likely be our last bbq of the year

Seeing man of the year with B, B&C

Going to the auboritum with M (and getting some free wine, because nothing says nature like a
good red.)

Seeing the Pirate Queen with B & M while B&C went to see Wicked

Tapas at Iberco with everyone

Wandering OC with M & B and getting some fantastic lunch

Mimi and Giddo arrive on wednesday -no rest for the weary.

SNOW!!!!!

There is a cloud of white puffy things floating outside my window just at this second. Little happy flurries whose whole existance is to make life difficult.

BALLS.

an athlete i am not...

...but i did play with a basket ball tonight. notice i didn't say I played basketball, because panting on the court and heaving balls towards the net isn't considered "playing"

and if anyone else is laughing at the combination of play, balls and panting, congrats you are four... just like me.

pics

Here are some past due pics from E&B's visit....

penguins!!!!!

Mr. Lizard

In the lizards mouth.

back

so I am back from SF and in one piece. I have decided I don't like long flights and that business travel stinks.

apparently google/blogger regret to inform me that i can only post comments on other beta blogs as they are still working on the backwards working interface. I would have hoped that they could have fixed that before conning me into upgrading. and it's not like they warn you about that before you switch or that you can go back once switched.

but enough about me. how are you doing my faitful readers? are you being bogged down but the depression of colder weather, work, and fatigue that seems to be going around?

maybe if i am not too busy with grey's and betty tonight i might post a picture or two from my brief trip into san fran from oakland where we were working/staying.

ding ding ding...

goes the trolley...

I am headed to SF, CA for the next few days for work. I have never been to CA and never seen the Pacific coast. Let's hope I might be able to see more of CA than its airport. I am also testing the new "relaxed rules" today. I have my 1 qt clear baggie stuffed with makeup and toiletries. lucky for me I am not craving pudding, or trying to take my gummy Flintsone vitamins, however if i want to cut or stab things you can take on board small pointy scissors and small tools like screw drivers.

GRRRRR!!!!!

As you may have noticed i have spruced up my blog. in doing so i changed my blog over to the new bta, but apparently my blogger login has been "upgraded" and now i can't comment under my name any more on non-beta pages I will continue to try otherwise its is super lame.

good luck carolyn

Carolyn is starting a new job today - good luck!

So this week Bill and I have tried to improve our health by exercise... maybe because my pants are tight, maybe because we are going to the beach for christmas, or maybe just because we were inspired by that ok go video... I have tried the eliptical, treadmill, and stationary bike, and i can now say that exercise sucks. it just isn't natural. of course neither is sitting in an office for 9 hours a day.... but such is life.

as bill mentioned at the bottom of his rant we have a new tv and we finally have more than 5 tv stations... so this week when not exercising we watched shows like passport to europe, ace of cakes, bobby flay, south park, and kim possible (i love that kick ass cheerleader)

have a nice weekend.

happy birthday!

*<[:-D


to Erin, Alana, and, ME!

ARRRRR!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/translator.html

'tis Talk Like a Swashbuckler tide swabbies. so abandon yer normal speech an' talk like captain jack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKCkbWDGwE (a how-to video)

look who i'v added to my blogging universe....

yup SWA just emailed me in my rapid rewards update saying they have their own blog... welcome to the blogging world SWA.

pics...

so i finally loaded pics from our older camera onto the computer... (from july 4 onward)
here's a taste of what has gone on this summer...

Morgan finally convinced Erin to "unseal" her wedding gown and let the girls try it on.

Angela held a smashing 4th party and we got to see Mr. JJ (so cute!)

Bill and I celebrated our one year anniversary

We got our wedding present from Kara and have hung it in our living room - isn't it beautiful?

hmmm

time to go home.... and not to westmont, but that great state "the heart of it all" ohio. Bill will spend the weekend helping move stuff to a storage place while i just try to not injure myself in the process.

Happy Birthday to you....

while RJ can't score me lemon meringue pies as an afternoon snack at work for his birthday (Like one of my bosses did today) he still deserves a shout out. so have a happy birthday jimmy. and here is your present, a bit of advice: pack everything for your trip... it will save you hassle and the gov't embarrassment... no one want one of the govt's OWN to be caught sneaking on evian or hand cream, though according to the TSA's latest you are allowed up to 4 oz of eye drops and KY jelly. Have an exciting trip agent wang.

....and many more.

*sigh*

i am feeling much better today and am happy to say i am at work and on the mend. now if only i could not be so tired.

I watched one of my favorite musical movies yesterday - my fair lady. I just love the costumes, especially the hats.

ok people that's it for this installment.

crickity-crickity-crack

so the dr was able to realign my neck, vertebrae and put my rib back in... but he told me that it would"hurt like hell" for the next day or so. he told me to take it easy and if i could afford to say home and rest. so here i am ... again with no cable and needing to stay bed/couch bound as much as possible with the ice.

bored stiff

actually i was stiff before i got bored today, but with no cable and limited mobility i needed to find some diversion... so i watched the first two godfathers.... i still have never seen the third one, but by the time i thought about it it was 850.... and i don't know if i can stay up that late.

otherwise still in pain still annoyed with my gimpy self and currently going a little stir crazy.

back from the doc's

no mountain climbing for me this weekend... my doctor tried to fix my rib/ vertebrae problem but i am in too much pain and there is too much swelling so I am icing for 20 min of every hour and taking celebrex, tylonal 3, and my favorite skelaxin (or as i call it skeletor). Hopefully by monday I will be ok to go to work and then go to the doc's and have him pop the rib back and realign my back.

thanks for the well wishing... i just wish we had cable... i have watched a lot of bad tv today, and i think tomorrow is a lather rinse repeat type of day, except no driving

Pain in the neck/back

so yesterday i was waiting for bill to come home and watching a simpsons episode on tv. I had to get up for some reason and as I did I heard this very loud snap/pop in my right shoulder/back area. Crap i thought, not this rib again.... but then the pain subsided and I thought maybe it was popping the rib back in place. by bed time though, I knew that couldn't be... pain radiated down my arm, i couldn't turn my head, and even laying flat hurt. then the storm came.

yesterday there were some aweful storms in indiana that spawned a few tornados.... so when i thought i heard the alarm go off (in retorspect it could have been a loud truck engine) I made bill go down stairs with me and see what the tv said. tv just showed a ton of lightening but no tornados so at 615 bill and i tried to go back to bed. *note to self... NEVER get a house with a sky light in the bedroom/attached bathroom* of course by then the pain was worse and i was exhausted. So now i await my dr. appointment this afternoon while i try to remain very still.

lovely, frickin beautiful.

Movin down the road...

It seems that many people I know are moving...
My cousin Malesa and her husband Phillip are on the move to NYC
... and will end up not too far from where Scott and Suzanne have moved
Mary and Jared are awaiting the close of their home in Texas
Megan and Jed are settling in in DC
RJ has some swanky new place with a pool
Neil is doing home improvements on his not-so-new place
My mom is hoping to relocate to AZ and has sold our home
My uncle Chris has relocated back to the states for the moment

With all this moving and shaking i feel left out... I want to move! no i don't want to haul boxes or worry about change of address notifications... i just want change. This might go along with my large craving to be going back to school.... i just want to be doing something different than i currently am.

In other news ... I was watching Primetime last night and they had some news program on about the white power movement and they were focusing on these twins.... andway a real winner of a clip "like i think like if we were like being brainwashed we would like know cause we have the opportunity to leave." mmmm yes because people know when the are brainwashed...

Welcome to the blogging world

ms. Carolyn now has her own blog. check out her sexy hat.

little fluffies gone very wrong

must get this book.

why don't we have this for game cube??

bill and i played against each other yesterday on our DS lites .... as my shy guy pitched a red shell at Bill's yoshi i wondered why we hadn't gotten the kart for our cube. oh well we would probably waste way too much time if we had it.

happy birthday Jared!

I know you don't read this, but I hope Mary will pass along my birthday wishes.

what was in the water?

Happy birthday Giddo! 08/10
Happy birthday Mary Madison! 08/11
Happy birthday Lily! 08/12
Happy birthday Brian! 08/12

four birthdays in three days. Brian has a big one this year, but let's hope it can remember some of it, and remeber Brian don't drink and fish, you'll end up with a hook in your eye or something nasty like that.

I must say i feel abandoned by my fellow blogers... first connie leaves us for good then frank, megan, and jed all take hiatus-es at the same time, and Bill RJ and Mary have never been regular anyway.

Ok, back to work.

mickey ears.

a year ago right now bill and I were checking into out hotel for our honeymoon. we then walked over to the magic kingdom wearing out special ears of matrimony and happily wandered the park.

this year i sit here in my over airconditioned office wondering how work survived without me for a whole two weeks. I didn't even call to check in.

anyway i am making my way through rereading harry potter a favored past time of more than a few people i know this summer. I think snape has to die. I think good or bad he is going to kick it in the next book, basically because either the OoP will kaptuz him (eye for an eye) because he is an evil SoB... OR he will sacrafice himself to save Harry and peeps proving that he was goo all along. One thing that mugglenet was reporting is that there is some significance to Harry having his mother's eyes and another thing is that there is more to Aunt Petunia than we know and we will find it out. For me, the list of things that we need to find out is pretty darn long at this point.

Anyway, Mary feel better and don't eat any more sketchy food on the road. RJ if you want a list of books I recently read email me.... or if you ask I can just box up some you might like.

Tonight we dine with the "jolly Bengali" Oh, and if you know how to fix my TiVo please contact Bill; my sad 8 channels just got sadder now that I can pause rewind and fast forward them.

One year

one down a life time to go. I am posting this now because, well, I will probably forget to this weekend. This year has gone by fast. I can't believe that a year ago I was running around getting last min things, writing names on place"cds" and generally acting crazy. Looking back I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Also a congrats to M&J who are getting there stuff in moving trucks today and to a different M&J who are headed back east. I hope your moves will make you all happy.

Rain rain rain

Complain complain complain.

Yes it has been nasty raining since about 7pm last night. right now it is just drizzling out there but at about 5am Bill and I woke up to the LOUDEST RAIN EVER. yes it sounded like the sheer force of the rain itself was going to break the windows in the bedroom. then there was the lightning what with the booms that kept shaking the house.

Now I grew up in a family that took a bit too much precaution with the tornado warnings... camping in the basement when ever a warning was issued for our area. And, therefore, I sat up for about 75% of last night waiting to hear the warning sounds and wondering if a sheet would protect me from shards of glass when either the rain broke the window or the wind did.

Then to top off my restless sleep our train was about 30 min late today. So, today I will complain about the rain and the train. (and yes the rain in Spain falls mainly on the unlucky s.o.b.s that don't have umbrellas)

Not all of us can be winners...

...some of us have to lose.

I have lost at my fair share of things, sports, video games, and now... the CFA exam.

Well I guess you can't call it losing in a technical sense of the word, but as the loser I think I can call it what every the hell I want. I think the most amusing thing to me is the girl who had a hard time with stat and an easy time in econ, failed econ and passed quant (stats). I am also a very ethical person, having my highest category in ethics.... fun stuff!!!

Anyway, I know I shouldn't be bitter and upset, but as I clicked on the get results link I couldn't help but get my hopes up. But let us not dwell on that.... after all things happen for a reason, and maybe i should start pursuing a masters instead of a silly designation.

So much for a raise.

Approval.

So this weekend I started a new book... anyplace i can hang my hat. it was ok. not the best book ever but interesting story about family and belonging. Today i am reading a memoir caled glass castle very interesting and sad so far.

the reason i didn't read too much was that bill and i spend part of this weekend starting a home search... we went and got apporved for a loan, the amount of which explains the question "how can people afford these homes?!?" the answer being "they put less than 5% down." we looked at a condo being built next to the train station, and then we drove down south and looked at some older 2-3 br homes that we could posisbly afford (obviously not what the bank says we could afford... because if we did that we would be paying out the nose forwever). anyway i forsee many weekend similar to that... driving through windy streets with no map and stopping at open houses where the basments smell like the walls were paved with cat litter. hopefully though it will not be in vain. and some time (sooner rather than later) i will be hosting a house/townhome/condo warming party.

Lied to

I was excited to get harry potter yesterday, only to find out that I was lied to by the advert in the paper two weekends a go for the grocery story. the paper back doesn't come out until the 25th according to amazon. of course when I asked the uninformed person at BAM he told me that the book wouldn't be out until october.... maybe he had it confused with a series of unfortunate events which comes out on friday the 13th in october... either way the double lie still leaves me with no harry.

I did get some books to read, mostly by authors i had never read before... the memory keepers daughter, the glass castle, the alchemist, emma and me, and any place i hang my hat. They all sounded interesting to me, though in reading reviews on line some are much better liked than others... we'll see.

Today is a rain rainy day. It's been raining since yesterday... and things are pretty wet out there now. As i type lightening is cracking through the sky... and the only other thing i hear is the ssssshh of cars on the street... lovely.

Books!

Lately I have been reading a lot. Some times silly dumb things (girls in pants, everyone worth knowing, three cocktail club, undomesticated goddess) sometimes moving stories (zorro, light on snow) and many by an author Jodi Picoult. I like most of what she writes, though i wasn't as impressed by the pact, I really enjoyed plain truth and vanishing acts. The book that brought me to her was my sister's keeper. Maybe it's my love of the law and order type shows that attracts me to these as they all have cases in them, maybe it's the multiple point of view writing that i enjoy... but either way they're pretty good books.

I really enjoyed Isabel Allende's Zorro. Allende wrote Daughter of Fortune, but before that she had written House of the Spirits and Eva Luna and after Portrait in Sepia and Zorro. I wish my grasp of Spanish was better, as then I could try my hand at the originals.

I didn't like Everyone worth knowing... Devil wears Prada was just more exciting and you feel something for the character...

This is the second time I read undomesticated goddess, and it makes me want to go out and get can you keep a secret as i think i would enjoy re-reading that one as well. I actually enjoy Sophie Kinsella's (Madeleine Wickham) stand alone books better, and I would be interested in reading more of Madeleine Wickham's books, as the three cocktail club was pretty good. Since the genre is similar i wonder why she has switched to the pen name.

ok well today i am reading in the company of cheerful ladies which will mean the only new book i have left is the biography of Ben Franklin... lucky for me i think i might pick up the paper back of harry potter and the half blood prince and re-read that.

oh and as a public service announcement the first animaniacs dvd the first pinky and the brain dvd from their respective tv shows are coming out this coming tuesday. fun stuff!

United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama...

blah blah blah

so I tried to post this weekend with a few pictures from the fourth... Bill with a rummy drink enjoying the pool.... children in flippers children with fish... but the evil blogger posting engine hated me. so now you get sarah's sour Monday morning post.

over all this weekend was lovely... saw the baby gorillas at Brookfield zoo (and brette and jason as well) washed the car watched the incredibles.... i also went though my "save" box that i brought back from Cleveland... I am missing my Disney autograph book, most anything from high school and may baby doll... i found my journals from kindergarten (which i dictated to someone to write for me and i am so surprised people thought of me as "gifted") my iowa basic scores and many dumb religion projects that I seemed to have done very well on.

hopefully this work will move swiftly and soon it will be Friday and the start of the Nordstrom anniversary sale. now even with everything on sale I can't afford much more that socks from the store, but I love looking at all of the shoes, and they always get their fall shoes right before the sale, which means boots!!!

the program i need to re run is still running, but I have run out of things to talk about so TTFN...

high in the middle...

and round on the ends....

yes thats right we will be leaving for Ohio for the fourth of July. We have BIG goals for this trip like: eat at YT, and see Dad. Usually when I go home every min is planned, so we are trying to leave our schedule loose. Of course, this has created its own set of problems: "I guess we could get together on Saturday, unless I won't be there or unless it would work better some other time. Or we could do it on Sunday, unless what I was thinking about doing on monday might be better suited for sunday, what with the weather and all..." this conversation is something I have had with all of my immediate family. I know I will see almost every one on the 4th, but seeing everyone is like seeing no one at all.
It is great to feel loved, I just wish I had more time when I went home.

Today I have to get my teeth drilled again... you know I never had a cavity until I started going to this dentist... which begs the question is it my old dentist who was lacking or is this one drill happy?

Enjoy the fourth of July... I'll be back on Wednesday, hopefully with some cute baby pictures.

6 in '06?

Retired hurricane names
2002:Isidore, Lili
2003:Fabian, Isabel, Juan
2004:Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne
2005:Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma

For the sake of our coastlines you have to hope the trend stops there.

********


In other news the beautiful canyon drive that Bill and I took less than 2 weeks ago is closed and beeing threatened by wildfire.

We can only hope that the firefighters can hold the line of this fire that is only 5% contatined and was started by humans.

First Weekend Home

So this is my first free weekend I have had since I started studying (right after New Years). On friday, I watched about 8 or nine episodes of Gilmore girls staying up to 4am --because I could. :) I finished watching GG season 5 yesterday inbetween sleeping in til noon, going out to the outlet mall and seeing MI III at the "dollar" theater (that costs $3). Today I got to sleep in til noon again. We had a fathers day lunch with the in-laws, and then I cleaned up my study area... all the flash cards books notebooks pencils calculator batteries etc. Bill is grilling right now and we will soon have yummy beer brats and kabobs.

I hope if you are a father you have a great day nd if you have a father that you wished him a happy day.

still sad...

While we continue to mourn Mandy I promised pictures from the rest of the trip.

see bill's blog for some other photos and a recap to boot.


Oak Creek Canyon




Windy and windy mountain road


baby grand... redux


Sun setting...


the canyon...

pretty sunset.

desert museum

RIP

Mandy you were a smart, good, loyal dog. You will be missed.

bad day

you know that song "bad day" that they play on the radio a bunch... that was yesterday....

but enought about me you want to see pictures....

Sedona....















Sedona at sunset...









Baby grand canyon (it is call the Little Colorado)












I'll post more later today I hope.

off and away

we'll be back on monday with pictures....

all done

yup.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

cracking under pressure... or is it the humidity.

I am so glad that other friends read my alumni magazines... mary pointed out my picture in the HB one and Mr. Wang is lucky to have posted on a night when not much else had been through out (yes I had to dig through the trash to find the brief mention of Bill's and my nuptials)

Bill had fun in Vegas... speaking of which have any of you seen the recent "what happens in Vegas..." ads? the one with the landscaper and the home owner? it's funny.

Bill brought me back Alana's CD and a tee-shirt from the nine fine irishmen pub. I guess that is the next best thing to seeing her play. Al-- I will get out there sometime soon I promise. Maybe Mrs. Mary the world traveler will go with.

Ok back to ethics econ and portfolio mgmt... my study focus for the night.

Quoth the raven

nevermore.

Yes I have Mr. Poe's lovely lyrics in my head currently.

Bill is leaving tomorrow and I hope he breaks even, but we all know that the odds are not even in favor of that. Sweetie, why don't you read bringing down the house one more time....

I will spend this weekend studying. hmmm the only thing to look forward to is the chance that i might be allowed to eat papa johns pizza for breakfast (cold) lunch (hot) dinner (hot) and snack time (cold).

I have been looking at some super zoom cameras. anyone with opinions on the canon S3 IS (or S2 since they are basically the same) or the panasonic DMC FZ7 please send them this way.

Megan I guess a Happy Day was needed, my google calendar says so... too bad it doesn't remind me like RJs super cool friendster /facebook/thingy

To Mary

With love.

Lyrics borrowed from the piano man of Kinsale: Mr. Walls.




OOOOOH It never rains in Ireland.

It never rains at all.

In such a green land, I don't understand...

...How it never rains at all.

.

And nobody drinks in Ireland!

Nobody drinks at all!

Where ever you are, yah won't find a bar...

...'cause nobody drinks at all!

I hope you have as much fun as we did over this time period!!