So I have recently made a mistake. Here's how the conversation went: (A=Andy, C=me) (the day after the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee once again delayed discussing pay raises for our dismally-paid pastors)
A: Yeah, you know how Pastor Pam's tv wasn't plugged in? It's broken.
C: Oh really? Why don't they get a new one?
A: I think they can't afford it. They can't afford internet service either.
C: That's a shame, they have such a huge DVD collection and I know they're movie buffs.
A: Yeah, it sucks for them.
C: Well gosh, I wonder it would be nice of us to give them our tv? We can buy a new one.
A: We don't need a new one.
C: Yeah, I know, but we can afford it and it does look really small in that huge entertainment center. It would be nice to have a bigger one. And we sit so far back from it in our living room.
A: Do you think they would want our old tv?
C: Yeah, I imagine they would, it's a nice tv. And if we got a new one, we could ask them if they would like to take it off our hands, so it wouldn't look like charity.
A: Meh.
C: Meh.
So at that point, I thought, "oh, moot point, we are not going to do anything." But in REALITY, the hubby was trying to contain his glee as he hustled off to pick out his new tv online!! He called his Dad, he checked the sales, he measured the entertainment center for how "big we could go," and when I tried to put the brakes on, he said,
"This is not a conversation between you and me now. You said we could get one, I heard you, you said it. Now it is a conversation between me and my friendly Best Buy salesman. Or Circuit City, I haven't decided."
So we may have a new tv. I'm not super-duper excited about it but ehhhhhhhh. If I let him get it, he'll probably let me paint anything in the house the way I want instead of arguing with me. And I'm sure there will be other perks. That would definitely be his Christmas present though!!!! I was not planning on spending that amount of money this year except on improvements to the house.
In other money news, it looks like my company is going to pay for my parking (210/mo) in exchange for my loading/unloading the dishwashers in the two small kitchens and wiping down the counters every day. Pretty sweet, right? Since we are not pregnant yet I am trying to gather as much money as I can. Sometimes it's tough because I just want to stay home already to SEE my husband, but I know this isn't forever.
One thing that really bothers me--besides never seeing my husband and commuting two hours a day--is the fact that our nutrition is awful. We continually eat "out" or eat take-out. It's terrible. And I eat out at lunch probably four days out of five. My only healthy meal every day is breakfast. And since my butt sits in that seat from 8 am to 6 pm, I'm hungry about 3 and want a snack, so I go to the Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I can feel my jeans getting tighter, and I don't like it. And eating out so much isn't economical either.
I've also been having a LOT of frustration at work--came home the other day in tears. My immediate superior is great, but another person in the dept who is higher than I am has become extremely bossy and patronizing. I hate having to deal with that kind of crap. It's so stupid--why not just be nice about it? Really, what's the point of being a witch to other people? Perhaps my feathers are ruffled because I'm prideful. I may not be the highest-ranking person in the company, but I'm just as intrinsically good as anyone else and deserving of respect. We all are.
I hate being talked down to, I really do. It's one of my pet peeves. But Andy and I talked about it and my plan is to wait until I get pregnant, and then if I'm really sick during the pregnancy, I'll just quit. If I find it pretty tolerable, I'll stick it out until I'm 8ish months along. It's not necessarily a bad place to work--just one particular frustration with one person. I like everybody else, and I even like this person when she's not trying to throw her weight around.
Andy wants me to quit right now because he never sees me and there's so much to do on the house and the dog is always alone and I'm always exhausted from being gone 12 hours a day. But I don't know--I'm afraid that would 1) look poorly on my resume, and 2) make me feel like I weren't doing anything. Right now I am earning good money for the hours I work, and I am really hoping we'll either be able to enjoy the money or save it.
Andy's in the shower getting ready for church. We are slowly getting the smell out of this place; the more dust we remove, the better it smells. And this house is going to be so great when we are finished with it! Zillow has it currently listed as worth 75k more than we paid for it, and that does not include improvements like adding square footage (next project) by finishing the front porch and finishing the back porch to turn it into a bedroom. We are really hoping we'll be able to make back what we put into this house. We don't know much about home improvement so we're just plugging away and hiring people when we need help.
I guess that is about it for now. The sun has come out and it's gorgeous today--maybe I'll go take some video of our lake and post it? I think I am going to purchase the "Audio Tools" that go with the the video software so that I can create music videos. Would anybody else enjoy that?
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Saturday Update
Andy's coming home! He just called. WOOHOO! Apparently he finished up at dawn this morning. For those of you who are familiar with Boy Scouts, he had to go away because he was getting the top honor in the Order of the Arrow. Order of the Arrow is like a secret honor society in Scouts, and this top honor is a really big deal. They have to set up committees and do all sorts of preparation for months beforehand, then the person getting initiated has to go through a bunch of tasks before the ceremony happens. And apparently my husband blazed through them so he could come on home to me! (He has been a little bit in the doghouse these past few weeks because I'm *sick* of his being gone...but he won't have anywhere to go for quite awhile now.)
I know he'll sleep this morning and day as he hasn't slept since the night before last. But he's going to come up to Renee and Leigh's and we'll do pumpkins and watch movies and such. I'm sure he'll get tired and pass out but since we're staying the night, that's fine.
We got the hardwood floor wood already and it's stacked up in the living room. I can't help but feel that this will singlehandedly be the biggest improvement to this house. I keep meaning to take pictures but I really prefer taking them when a room is officially "done," and I doubt *anything* will be really done until we're ready to sell this place.
Incidentally, two things are coming up: my birthday and Christmas. I know you all don't know me but I'm batty about both holidays. We are currently in Birthday Month and within a couple of weeks we'll be in Birthday Week, which means cookies and cupcakes for everybody. On my birthday I always wear a big button that says, "Birthday girl" and force everyone to celebrate by giving them more cake. I know, I know, am I pushy or what?? I LOVE BIRTHDAYS! I mean really--one year gone by. That's something to celebrate. I have friends who haven't made it this far in life and I staunchly feel that every year survived and lived is an accomplishment. So eat that cookie for me! :) My coworkers are a little curious about this--I've already invited all of them to accompany me to the California Pizza Kitchen for a birthday lunch, and I'll be bringing pastries all week. Luckily, another guy in the office has the same birthday (down to the year, but I'm a few hours older) so I am going to promote his birthday as well.
And thennnnnnnnnnnnnn, it's CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!!!!!! Oh heavens, I can't get enough of that Christmas music and the decorations and the snow and the good feelings all around. I get teary-eyed every step of the way. I am seriously like Christmas with the Kranks--and my husband is too, because he doesn't really like it (but humors me). I'm going to go to the Christmas Tree Shops and buy a houseful of decorations. I love Christmas because:
1. The food
2. The wonderful music
3. The smells (this year will be my first real Christmas tree ever, as my mom and brother are allergic to pine)
4. The way we all stomp around in snow boots and zip-zop snow pants
5. The decorations--both in my house and throughout the city (bows! bows!)
6. The reminder of the imporance of family
7. The sense of community. For ONCE, people look each other in the eye and nod. For ONCE, we see the less fortunate--not just see them as "those poor people" as Bostonians tend to do, but see them as PEOPLE. We give each other dignity back.
8. The reminder--all too important--of what Christianity is all about. Jesus' arrival as a baby in a manger really hits home with me--his lowly birth, his sweetness, his need for humanity to love him back, his Grace. Sometimes during Easter I feel a sense of shame because I know he died for me in *that* awful way. I feel that it's a debt I could never repay, and I don't even know where to start. But on Christmas...well, I know how to change a diaper, I know how to coo and rock, and I know how to snuggle a baby to sleep. I feel like Christmas--or rather, the way Jesus chose to come into this world--is a gift for me because it makes me feel so much closer to him, so loved, and so quietly honest. Babies don't hold a record of wrongs, and neither does Jesus.
Annnnnd, here is the video I took last week on our hike. I can't figure out how to add audio but I had planned to add Nickel Creek to it.
I know he'll sleep this morning and day as he hasn't slept since the night before last. But he's going to come up to Renee and Leigh's and we'll do pumpkins and watch movies and such. I'm sure he'll get tired and pass out but since we're staying the night, that's fine.
We got the hardwood floor wood already and it's stacked up in the living room. I can't help but feel that this will singlehandedly be the biggest improvement to this house. I keep meaning to take pictures but I really prefer taking them when a room is officially "done," and I doubt *anything* will be really done until we're ready to sell this place.
Incidentally, two things are coming up: my birthday and Christmas. I know you all don't know me but I'm batty about both holidays. We are currently in Birthday Month and within a couple of weeks we'll be in Birthday Week, which means cookies and cupcakes for everybody. On my birthday I always wear a big button that says, "Birthday girl" and force everyone to celebrate by giving them more cake. I know, I know, am I pushy or what?? I LOVE BIRTHDAYS! I mean really--one year gone by. That's something to celebrate. I have friends who haven't made it this far in life and I staunchly feel that every year survived and lived is an accomplishment. So eat that cookie for me! :) My coworkers are a little curious about this--I've already invited all of them to accompany me to the California Pizza Kitchen for a birthday lunch, and I'll be bringing pastries all week. Luckily, another guy in the office has the same birthday (down to the year, but I'm a few hours older) so I am going to promote his birthday as well.
And thennnnnnnnnnnnnn, it's CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!!!!!! Oh heavens, I can't get enough of that Christmas music and the decorations and the snow and the good feelings all around. I get teary-eyed every step of the way. I am seriously like Christmas with the Kranks--and my husband is too, because he doesn't really like it (but humors me). I'm going to go to the Christmas Tree Shops and buy a houseful of decorations. I love Christmas because:
1. The food
2. The wonderful music
3. The smells (this year will be my first real Christmas tree ever, as my mom and brother are allergic to pine)
4. The way we all stomp around in snow boots and zip-zop snow pants
5. The decorations--both in my house and throughout the city (bows! bows!)
6. The reminder of the imporance of family
7. The sense of community. For ONCE, people look each other in the eye and nod. For ONCE, we see the less fortunate--not just see them as "those poor people" as Bostonians tend to do, but see them as PEOPLE. We give each other dignity back.
8. The reminder--all too important--of what Christianity is all about. Jesus' arrival as a baby in a manger really hits home with me--his lowly birth, his sweetness, his need for humanity to love him back, his Grace. Sometimes during Easter I feel a sense of shame because I know he died for me in *that* awful way. I feel that it's a debt I could never repay, and I don't even know where to start. But on Christmas...well, I know how to change a diaper, I know how to coo and rock, and I know how to snuggle a baby to sleep. I feel like Christmas--or rather, the way Jesus chose to come into this world--is a gift for me because it makes me feel so much closer to him, so loved, and so quietly honest. Babies don't hold a record of wrongs, and neither does Jesus.
Annnnnd, here is the video I took last week on our hike. I can't figure out how to add audio but I had planned to add Nickel Creek to it.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Go buy the book!
Have you bought it yet? Get thee to a bookstore!
Visit Nancy's website.
Read an interview with Nancy.
Have you read it yet? What did you think? Comment away!
Visit Nancy's website.
Read an interview with Nancy.
Have you read it yet? What did you think? Comment away!
No News is Good News
I've been asked to update, so here goes:
This past weekend we took our annual romantic weekend getaway to New Hampshire. It was lovely! On Saturday we drove up to the Mulburn Inn (same place we went last year) and on the way we stopped at Franconia National Park. We hiked up to the lost lake, which was absolutely gorgeous. Apparently a couple of guys lived there for years, just hiking and fishing in the lake. I wonder, what kind of courage would one have to have to take an adventure like that? Was there more of a desire to GO to a beautiful place or to leave a grungy place? Were they excited about something better or were they just content to leave the junk behind?
At exactly the wrong time, I'm hit with a strong desire to simplify my life. I want crap OUT of my house and I want everything organized. I want things to be clear and predictable. Are they? Not at all! Not even a little bit. I've got things here and there and everywhere. Andy and I were talking about it in the car on the way to NH--do we ever think we'll simplify our lives? We were both raised to be packrats but we can't stand it! I hope within the next year or so we'll be able to get rid of stuff and have a simplified lifestyle. My goal is to have the house organized by the time we leave in a little under 2 years. Andy wants to get it done before we have a baby because babies mean loads of presents from the new grandparents. So that cuts our time down a bit! I don't know if it's possible. We really need to be on Clean Sweep or something.
Oh, anyway, back to my weekend. Saturday night we had a nice dinner (sore! but nice) and Sunday we had a lovely homecooked breakfast followed by a drive through the Presidential Mountain chain. Silly me, I didn't realize we had driven through it--I was watching for someone's face in the mountain! I had confused the Old Man in the Mountain with Mt Rushmore with the Presidential Mountain chain. Then we went to the outlet malls in North Conway (didn't buy anything, just browsed) and drove past lake Winipekasee (sp?). I hear the Romneys have a place there. Then we came back to the house, walked the dog, and had a lovely evening of TWO home movies.
Next week we get the hardwood floors put in, so we are going to try to organize some tonight (ha ha ha, as if). Andy's waiting for his car to be finished and as soon as that happens, he's going to buy a canoe with his birthday money. Oh, how I look forward to floating around in our lake with a good book! (Maybe Nancy's book?)
So, there it is! I'm tired and disorganized but everything's fine. No news is good news, right?
This past weekend we took our annual romantic weekend getaway to New Hampshire. It was lovely! On Saturday we drove up to the Mulburn Inn (same place we went last year) and on the way we stopped at Franconia National Park. We hiked up to the lost lake, which was absolutely gorgeous. Apparently a couple of guys lived there for years, just hiking and fishing in the lake. I wonder, what kind of courage would one have to have to take an adventure like that? Was there more of a desire to GO to a beautiful place or to leave a grungy place? Were they excited about something better or were they just content to leave the junk behind?
At exactly the wrong time, I'm hit with a strong desire to simplify my life. I want crap OUT of my house and I want everything organized. I want things to be clear and predictable. Are they? Not at all! Not even a little bit. I've got things here and there and everywhere. Andy and I were talking about it in the car on the way to NH--do we ever think we'll simplify our lives? We were both raised to be packrats but we can't stand it! I hope within the next year or so we'll be able to get rid of stuff and have a simplified lifestyle. My goal is to have the house organized by the time we leave in a little under 2 years. Andy wants to get it done before we have a baby because babies mean loads of presents from the new grandparents. So that cuts our time down a bit! I don't know if it's possible. We really need to be on Clean Sweep or something.
Oh, anyway, back to my weekend. Saturday night we had a nice dinner (sore! but nice) and Sunday we had a lovely homecooked breakfast followed by a drive through the Presidential Mountain chain. Silly me, I didn't realize we had driven through it--I was watching for someone's face in the mountain! I had confused the Old Man in the Mountain with Mt Rushmore with the Presidential Mountain chain. Then we went to the outlet malls in North Conway (didn't buy anything, just browsed) and drove past lake Winipekasee (sp?). I hear the Romneys have a place there. Then we came back to the house, walked the dog, and had a lovely evening of TWO home movies.
Next week we get the hardwood floors put in, so we are going to try to organize some tonight (ha ha ha, as if). Andy's waiting for his car to be finished and as soon as that happens, he's going to buy a canoe with his birthday money. Oh, how I look forward to floating around in our lake with a good book! (Maybe Nancy's book?)
So, there it is! I'm tired and disorganized but everything's fine. No news is good news, right?
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
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