04/09/05 - It has been a long long time. My niece is almost 6 months old now. Kelly has been living with us 3 months. We've had job opportunities come and go. We're both still doing the same things. We don't have a lot of complaints, but we're worrying about a lot of things.
We're trying to figure out our living situation for when we move out in July. We still want to live with Kelly. Sol says he's still interested in getting a house with us. I really want to get locked into something pretty soon. I know its only April.
Brandon has a hernia. It started several weeks back when he had a cold and some really bad coughing. It only started hurting him 3 weeks ago or so. He went to the doctor, and she referred him to a surgeon. We met that guy last week, Dr. Baughman (bof-man), and he said Brandon could wait months to get surgery, unless it got worse. Its up to him. So we're working to save up some money, so B can take 2-3 weeks off work. The sooner we get it done, the more likely it won't affect our moving in July. Oy.
I may actually go back to work at Hubbard and Cravens. The entire management team has changed, and most of the employees. My manager would be vegan. How cool. I also MIGHT get another studio ceramicist gig. Would be cool, but not counting on it. Looking around at work opportunities.
My sister is an Arbonne salesperson! I'm so proud of her. She has what it takes to get far in this business, i believe. Jason is behind her in it too. So cool. OH YEA! They got engaged on Valentine's Day! CONGRATS GUYS!!! Anyway, on the bummer side, Jason is no longer working at Cingular. They aren't too concerned at the moment, and the timing is actually sort of ok, since they have a week-long vacation to Dallas next week.
There are things going on within my family, and any prayers you could send our way would be helpful. Some things to pray for: healing, reconciliation, safe travels, jobs, housing. Thank you.
01/20/05 - I've been off of work for almost 2 whole weeks. Starting to go a little batty. Haven't crocheted more than 5 minutes this week, and I don't know what I do with my time.
Brandon is bouncing back and forth between business opportunities this year. Last week, he and Dave got insurance and made up cards, and now officially have a drywall company: D.A.B. Drywall (Dave And Brandon), "A little DAB will do ya!" Cute. Brandon has played out, 3 of the last 4 Wednesdays, with the guys across the hall. He also played a bar in Mooresville with some other friends on Monday. Very cool, from what I hear! It was originals at an open stage.
So I went into the bank a couple Saturdays ago, and the lady who was helping me loved my hat. I told her I make them, and she ordered one! I took it to her last Friday, and she asked if I could make a scarf to match it, so I'm trying to work on that now. Cool!
Since I've been off work, I've visited my cousin and her kids a few times. I've been able to babysit a couple times too. I love it when I can help out.
The roommate thing is great. Kelly is fun. She went home last weekend for her birthday, and I missed her. Didn't come back til Monday night! Her friend is probably not coming to live with us now. She's still in Australia... good for her! Plus, now that Kelly's used to her room, it would be hard to share. If she comes at all, it might be March.
I've had a couple opportunities to babysit Madalyn, but they've fallen through. :( We could have had her overnight last weekend, but B was having people over to record until after midnight, and it wouldn't have worked out. :( Tonight, Manda and Jason were going to go out, but the weather turned icky, so they decided to stay home. :( Might get to on Saturday morning. Mom agreed to babysit, but forgot she has choir practice from 10 - 1. My gain. :)
After 6 or 7 years, I finally finished cataloguing my Northern Exposure tapes. I even made up new labels for all 10 tapes. If you've never seen an episode of Northern Exposure, I highly recommend it! You can borrow my tapes. :)
We bought a couch! Funny story... We bought it from the thrift store down the street. It was a light couch, so I thought surely I could carry half of it the short distance home. Wrong. We made it across the parking lot before my forearms gave out. I felt so bad; B was less-than-thrilled. We couldn't get ahold of our neighbors to come help, so he told me to get the Metro. I couldn't see this working out at all. Still, we managed to get it turned upside down, placed (perfectly) on the roof of the Metro, and secured with an extension cord. I drove up the street with the hazards on, going 10 - 15mph, and B running beside the car in case it started to fall. Just as we pulled up and started to untangel the thing, Kelly got home. She helped B carry it in. It goes great in our living room, and both the cats love it! Whitey won't leave it for long in fact; he doesn't even sleep with us anymore. :) 01/08/05 - ...and 3 days later, we have a roommate sleeping in the next room. :) Things change. Had a good visiting time last night. Snowed while we were sleeping, so Brandon cleaned off Kelly's car this morning for her. So sweet. :) He's also a little devil though. He started pegging her window with snowballs. Took her several minutes to get the courage to look outside and see it was him. Hahahahaha!!!
Kelly got to meet my mom, both of our sisters and my niece yesterday. Wow! Total immersion indeed! :)
I'm liking this new year so far. I have great lofty goals of paying taxes this year. A friend of mine is going to help me learn how to actually write out and apply a budget. I've read great books, but starting has always seemed so monumental. *sigh* We'll be on the right track soon. No trains coming toward us at full speed, darn it!!!
01/05/2005 - Happy new year!
Brandon has a gig tonight again. This is the 3rd Wednesday gig. At the first one, his p.a. blew. At the second one, they used a mix of amps and the house p.a. This time they're doing the same thing. The only thing that makes me nervous, is that there's an ice storm coming through tonight.
12/29/04 - Wow. What a year. So short.
Roommate Kelly was supposed to move in this week. HOWEVER... she got a super-cool interview at the Maryland State School for the Deaf and had to go. It'll be 2-3 weeks till she finds out any results. At that point, she will either have a job, or come back to live with us here. Good luck Kelly! :) :) :) :)
(The other roomie may decide not to move here without Kelly.)
We're going up to Michigan City this weekend. Not sure if we're going new years eve or new years day. Belated Christmas with mom. :)
Christmas day was cool! Sis made brunch for us Tribby/Cook/Harsin's, including a vegan quiche!! It was so awesome!!! Manda and Jason tried to have a Christmas night party, to start a new tradition for those of our generation. Unfortunately, Jason's grandma went into the hospital with pneumonia, and no one showed up for the party anyway... except me and B. It was kinda fun anyway. :) We played Cranium.
The next night, I went to the third annual reunion of me and some of my friends from junior high. Violet hosts the party (and won't let anyone else). It was good to see Elica and Kevin again. Kelly couldn't make it; had some family stuff to do.
The snow has been very cool! We got 9 inches just before Christmas. I got some new boots, so I was able to enjoy it. :) I discovered that running through deep snow seems to take less concentration than walking carefully. :) Made me smile too. (Aren't I 29? I felt much younger at that moment.)
I got B the fourth season DVD set of the Simpsons. He got me a new cello bow. I got him some new t-shirts. He got me a Hubbard & Cravens gift card. I got a couple other things, but I'm a bad wife and can't remember right now.
I own pepper spray. *sigh* Got some for mom for Christmas too. There have been 4 rapes in Broad Ripple in the last month or so. One abduction/rape happened a block over. In a way, I'm not really worried. It happens to girls who are out after the bars, walking by themselves. The one nearby was leaving her place to go to a party nearby. I don't go out after dark without Brandon. Haven't in a long time. I have to say... I was less scared of rape before I was married. Does anyone else get that?
We sent out a Christmas CD to people in place of a card this year. If you didn't get one this year, we still love you. Timing was just awful. We planned on making a full-length CD, but ended up with 5 songs. I'm excited to get started on next year's CD already! We're going to try to work on it through the year this time. One song a month would give us 12! :)
11/27/04 - Thanksgiving weekend has been awesome! We have eaten like pigs! Our first Thanks Day meal was hosted by a cousin. She made us vegan stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and had a couple vegan patties for us too!! Mom made us some vegan green bean casserole, and a massive thing of sweet potatoes. We brought chooclate pie and pumpkin pie, but no one ate them. In addition, Grandma made a chocolate pie for us, and no one ate that one either, so we went home with one more pie than we came with. Ha!
Our second Thanks meal was at my aunt and uncle's. He made us vegan stew inside 2 pumpkins! Woah! It may sound strange, but it was awesome! Mom made us more green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. We brought the same chocolate pie and another pumpkin pie. The variety of food was less, but the amount of it was at least equal if not greater.
Brandon and I are trying to decide what to do about our "careers." I still plan to work for the ceramicists, but I could also get a part-time job in the morning or nights. Brandon could get a full-time state job for less money on the hour (using sign language), and supplement with a few hours of drywall work per week. He could also join the union (drywall) and get paid more, but still hate his job. Those are a couple ideas.
Kelly came to visit us and see the apartment. She's the one who is moving in in December sometime. Looking forward to it! We need to get a TV that has closed captioning though, since we will have Deaf people over more often. (My TV has captions, but the remote is long gone, and they can't be accessed without it.)
Looking forward to Christmastime. I bought B's gifts Friday. We're trying to figure out when to go up to B's mom's. We will be playing some music at my church the weekend before Chrsitmas. I have agreed to help with some music on Christmas Eve. Our friend Rink's memorial service is New Year's day in Connecticut. We're trying to decide if we are going or not.
Our apartment has a humidity problem. These things are so old. There isn't a vent in the bathroom, so every shower humidifies the entire apartment. Our bathroom walls and ceiling need regular bleaching due to mildew. It's annoying. Water sometimes condenses on the walls elsewhere, but doesn't form mildew, thank goodness. The window ledges all seem to have mildew since the water condenses there badly. Also highly annoying. I think this is the only complaint I have about the apartment.
11/19/04 - Things have been relatively stable in the last month. November has been much less hectic. Brandon did switch working environments 2-3 weeks ago. It's been a much better scenario.
Madalyn is 4 weeks and 4 days old. She's gained a pound and 2 ounces. Still a little girl! She's already sleeping better. Mom's got her on formula now. Brandon's friend Ty and his wife AJ had their baby at the end of October too. She was born 7 pounds 11 ounces. Looked so big compared to Madalyn! They thought she was so tiny! Adorable though!
Preparing for the holidays. Trying to decide where we want to go and when. Last I knew we were thinking of staying here for T-day, and going up north for Christmas. Have a party in Crawfordsville on the 26th though, so have to be back for that. Looking forward to the holidays!
I had another craft fair on the 6th of November. It went well. It was fun. I sold 2 hats and one picture. Looking forward to participating next year too.
We're getting a roomie next semester I think! A friend of ours may need to come home from school to raise more money before she continues. We're more than happy to help! She's coming to visit later today. Haven't seen her in a few months. Should be fun, short visit!
10/23/04 - Sorry it took so stinking long to get the pics online! It's been a long week.
10/19/04 - Madalyn Suzanne was born yesterday at 3:45pm! I'm an aunt! She weighed 5 lbs. 12 ozs., and measured 19-1/4 inches long. Skinny girl! She got the hang of feeding right away though, so she won't be that way for long. Saw her again tonight, and she looks like she's already gained a couple ounces! Brandon got to hold her. She fussed on me, but fell asleep on him.
I should have a picture of her on here by tomorrow afternoon. Have to get it from mom's camera tomorrow. Bye till then!!!
10/12/04 - My sister is closer to having my niece. The due date is October 26, but a few of us think it will be sooner. No dilation or effacing yet, but she's softening. She's a trooper! She is working just as much as she has been! I don't know if I could do that.
Hmm. Brandon is talking about what he wants to do in school next semester. He may start taking classes in music technology. He's been doing quite a bit of that lately anyway, so this would just provide him with the opportunity to work with better programs. If school were free, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I just still don't see the point of wasting my money, with no goal. 9/30/04 - Hello all! I have been editing the site quite a bit today. Look for subtle changes on the home page. Plus, I changed the "Our Kids" page to "Our Owners"; I'd like to add more to it soon. I added some pictures and such to Highlights. There are a couple more links too, including a link to our new website Vegan Kitchen! (Please pardon the "mess", as it is still being constructed, but I wanted everyone to know it's there!)
I participated in my first ever craft fair last Saturday. It was a good experience, despite only selling 3 items. (I did trade another item for a bracelet. Bartering is great.) I was selling crocheted winter hats, and photos. Three of the photos were from my trip to Kansas City, MO, and the other one was taken in Paris, France. All the photos are over 5 years old. All the hats are new. *wink*
I plan to participate in two more craft fairs this year. November 6, I'll be at Broad Ripple Park craft fair. I haven't registered for the December one yet, but it's Saturday, December 4, at Nora Elementary school. (Will let you know, since this may be a limiting environment, financially.) I'm not sure if, or how much more stuff I want to add to my repertoire. Money is a limiting factor. I spent a lot getting ready for last weekend, without re-couping any. Crocheting is inexpensive, but time consuming, and hurts my wrists after awhile.
Work is good, for me. Brandon has been getting back into music. He just mixed down a CD for these guys across the hall who were planning on submitting a crappy souding item to a record company. Sounds better now, and complete with cover and such. We went and saw some music last night. Another neighbor of ours plays out very often and is putting out his second CD soon. It was fun, especially since we don't really go out to see bands. I was really enjoying a duo called Il Troubadore. They are an operatic tenor/mandolinist and a cellist... wow! It was so cool! They do a few originals, but they seem to enjoy doing covers as well. They covered Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Andrea Bocelli, Seal, and Ricky Martin. I heard him say later that they'd like to add some metal to their repertoire. Haha! (Check out the Favorite Links page for the link to their website!)
I just found out today that our favorite singer/songwriter will be in Kansas City, MO, in November. We have friends there. That would be a great reason to visit, in my opinion. We'll see...
9/07/04 - Car still works. We have a baby seat in the back seat... just waiting for my niece to be born.
Finally got the pictures and story up for our vacation last month! Check it out in Highlights! Some of the pics have no text, and they're just cool stuff we saw. I have a couple more to try and get in there some day. The bulk of it is done though, so I'm not too concerned. *whew*
There's another craft fair in Broad Ripple that I'm going to try to enter. It's not till November 6. Keep an eye out for more updates!
9/01/04 - Okay, I tried to update this a few days ago, but I had so much to type that it actually logged me out before I was done, and I lost everything. Take two...
Our trip to Canada was wonderful!!! I will be adding our travel log when I have more time. Should be over the next few days though. The best time for both of us was Quebec City. We camped at a KOA two nights, and spent all day in Old Quebec during the Festival of New France. It's one of those old-timey festivals kinda like Conner Prairie. They had live actors in the streets and genealogy stuff and vendor "booths" selling old vegetable soaps and furs and such. Very neat. Also ate some French bread; the first time since either of us was in France. Ahhh. More later.
August was a crazy month. While on vacation, I called home, and mom said she talked to our cousin Rink. We stayed with Rink in March 2003 when we were in Colorado. He had had open heart surgery, and was on the road to recovery. A week later, on August 9, he died at home alone. We were heart broken and very sad. Especially since there won't be any kind of memorial service until January. He and mom were very close.
So besides Rink, I found out my uncle's doctors told him he should go into hospice. He has been battling throat cancer for awhile (not sure exactly how long), and they said he has 6 months to live. I hardly know the man, but I'm close with my cousin Grace. She is 18 and just graduated high school this year. I can't imagine how she must feel.
My grandfather has been in and out of the hospital all year, and has alzheimer's disease. Who knows how long he'll continue to fight.
So, for all the sickness and death going around, pregnancy seems to be equally contagious. The number of people I know who're prego, is up to 11. I went to my sister's first baby shower Saturday. It was very fun!, but I left feeling exhausted and nauseous from all the estrogen and cuteness. Amanda and Jason are in their house now, which is gorgeous!
Brandon and I have been in a funk as of late. There's so much going on around us. We're not really satisfied with where we are in life: work, school, Indiana. We're talking over lots of stuff, which gets kind of overwhelming at times.
I've been working for a ceramicist for over a month now. I help out in her home studio. I clean, and help make clay stuff. Its a lot of fun, and Gayle (the ceramicist) is a good influence on me. (She suggested I get booth space at my church's craft fair, so i did.) Other-work-wise, I quit Hubbard and Cravens today. I was scheduled a total of 20 hours over 7 weeks or something like that, with 5 weeks of no hours. I decided it wasn't worth it to fight. I liked the job, but I guess it just got too exhausting to be around my co-workers and managers. I plan to get at least a seasonal job over the next month or two (as holiday shopping season approaches).
September looks pretty busy, especially on the weekends. I'm still co-leading the youth group. We've got a whole bunch more kids, and are trying to get more help. There's a canoe trip coming up, another baby shower or two, an arts competition, the craft fair, some meetings and my parents' birthdays.
About this craft fair: I'm planning on selling winter hats that I've been crocheting. I'm also getting a few photos printed up to sell, and maybe some of my pencil abstracts. Other than that, I'm not sure. It happens on Saturday, September 25, from 9-5, at Broad Ripple United Methodist Church. Hope it won't rain! Hope some of you will come out to support me! :)
I finally re-potted some plants I've been meaning to re-pot for over a year. I may lose one or two. :( It's my own fault though.
We're starting to acquire baby items, so we can babysit our niece without them having to bring everything over. We'd like to get some sort of bassinet or playpen. Mom and I are sharing a car seat.
Oh I almost forgot! We bought a car today. An '88 Honda Accord. It has 115,081 miles on it. We had to empty all our savings, which stinks, but we finally needed another vehicle. It was a good deal. We're getting the plates and all tomorrow morning, so then we'll pick it up, and take it to the shop to have a gasket replaced. Good as new-used.
7/18/04 - Survived the trip to OK City.
The computer is still in the shop. This'll be brief.
Saw my sis's house today! It's not done, but the space is nice! They've got walls and counters, but no flooring, and no heating/cooling. Will be very nice! Makes me want one! But then, we have such a great apartment, we may not bother. Who knows.
Going on vacation, first of the month. Going to Canada! Visiting Niagara Falls, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. We'll have pics I'm sure.
Also, I may eventually get the pics on here of my new hair-do. There are a couple, but it's a matter of having them emailed or printed before I can get them.
I'm crocheting a hat for winter. Yes, winter. It's gonna be pretty. Need a new winter coat to go with it at some point.
I have 2 days off this week from the cafe. However, I am starting a new gig with a ceramicist, just a few hours a week. I get to help in her studio: cleaning, trimming pots, little things... Pretty cool. Pays well enough too. The hours at the cafe are being cut until they can make enough money to support us. What does that mean for you? Come to Hubbard & Cravens, buy stuff! Tell your friends! Support your local roaster! Check out their website sometime: http://www.hubbardandcravens.com
Enjoy your day, I gotta go...
7/10/04 - Well, the computer didn't take itself to the tech, so Brandon is dropping it off today.
I'm going out of town for the weekend with my parents. A family friend died Thursday, and her funeral is in Oklahoma City. I can't say I was that close to her, but I remember her in pictures, and I'm helping my parents drive. That's all for now.
6/27/04 - Yesterday was pretty eventful. We were going to meet up with a couple people from the Vegan Represent website for lunch. I was completely excited to meet more vegans and try out this new place where everything could be vegan! We got there and met Maggie. Our other person didn't show up. Maggie's cool! We had a great lunch, and cool conversation. Then we were accosted by someone off the street. It was probably a reportable offense, but we were all so baffled at the time we couldn't really do anything. We did alert the staff after the fact that they might not want to let the guy in again. We're afraid we may never see Maggie again.
After that we tried to go to AAA to find out what our anniversary vacation will cost, bu they were closed. We've decided to go to Canada! We're going to drive through Ohio-PA-NY to Niagara Falls, on to Toronto, and finally Montreal. From there we'll probably do a day trip to Quebec City.
Later we went to Abby and Bill's to hang out and eat. We had a lot of fun! We chatted and played Euchre... which we beat them at. This is seriously the longest run of beginners luck I've ever heard of! Every time I play I have to be reminded how to play because it is frequently years between games for me. The last time Brandon and I played, we beat a very competetive veterinarian and retired podiatrist. If it hadn't been so late when we finished, they probably would've challenged again, and beat our socks off... or at least tried. ;)
So, the other reason I'm writing today, is to let everyone know that our computer is going into the shop for a week to 10 days, hopefully tomorrow. The writable CD-ROM drive is "cooked." We haven't been able to burn a CD for weeks. The only way we'll be able to check our email is by going to the library or mom & dad's. If you have text message capabilities, you can send a message to either one of us. Later folks!
6/20/04 - Happy Fathers Day!
Danielle left at 6:30 this morning. It was such a cool week. We're very glad she came, and look forward to her visit in August!
We visited Brandon's Dad for a little bit this afternoon. Then we came home for dinner, and went over to my Mom and Dad's. My sister and Jason were there. We ended up having the most bizarre conversation. Hilarious, but it should never be repeated. Oh, and I put another pic of the cutie on the Highlights! (Link below)
Danielle, Brandon and I went to Jazz Fest Friday night. We saw half a set of the Latin Afro Jazz Orchestra (or something like that). Very fun and cool! Then we buzzed over to see Buddy Guy. How fun! We got rained on, but still we stayed. It was so fun!
Saturday we rollerbladed some. Then we went for an 8 mile bike ride. Wow! Then we ate Ethiopian for dinner. We were so stuffed!! Danielle liked it too. We're going back when she comes to visit again. 6/16/04 - Hello again! And so soon! My sister got another ultrasound on Tuesday, and they found out they're having a girl! Sis brought me a picture at work today, and I scanned it, and put it in the Highlights section of the website. (You can use the link above.)
Danielle got back tonight from her trip to Wisconsin. Our visit has been a lot of fun so far. (She was here Sunday evening and Monday as well.) We stayed up very late Monday night and had girl talk and drank wine. I had too much, and was feeling foggy at work Tuesday.
Today stunk. I walked to work in the pouring rain, under a small umbrella. My backpack got drenched, but did keep my shoes mostly dry. The shoes I was wearing were beyond drenched, as was the back of my pants. I was less than thrilled. I spent 15 minutes drying off, which basically meant I was late. Found out my application to get on Brandon's insurance was closed. They needed some info I couldn't easily access, and so they gave up. This is only days after finding out I'm not getting my cool new cell phone/internet thingy. I didn't feel very productive most of the day, plus there was a general vibe from those around me that their lives aren't going well either. I finally broke down in the bathroom. My boss told me I could go in late tomorrow. I'm grateful, but if I wake up in time, I'll just go to work. It's nothing one morning is going to help.
Despite my bad day, my evening was good. Mom came into work as I was getting ready to leave, so she brought me home and visited a bit. (Dad's out of town again.) We were going to go to the Marina and see a band, but Brandon paged me and asked if we wanted to go to dinner. The 3 of us had a nice dinner. B and I stuffed ourselves with salad bar. After that, we went to the music store and bought me a djembe (drum). I have wanted a djembe for a few years, so I'm very happy! Mom dropped us off and I got to play the drum for a little bit before it was too late (10pm). Danielle got back and we talked for a short while. Glad she had a good trip.
We're all going to Jazz Fest this weekend. Looking forward to it. Hope the weather is good since its all outside. Trying to decide if we're going Frdiay evening or all-day Saturday.
Time for bed. G'night.
6/12/04 - Hello all! Its been a crazy time lately! Busy as heck! Brandon has been working around 12 hours a day most days. My workplace has had a management change, and subsequently, work schedule change. I'm working 6 hours a day Monday thru Friday now. I'm up to 30 hours, which MAY qualify me for benefits, but maybe not. Keep you posted.
My wonderful friend Danielle is coming to Indy from Delaware tomorrow! She's going to stay for about a week. She's buzzing up to Wisconsin for a couple days to visit someone.
Aunt Mary is in town! We've had a super duper visit! There's a party for her tomorrow night, and then she leaves within a day or two.
My pregnant sister has "that glow" about her. She's about halfway done now. End of October is her due time.
I want a djembe (drum)! Mom and Dad and I were out bumming around today while Brandon's working, and we ended up at a music store. I felt not-so-inhibited, and tried out the 12", 14" and 16" djembes. So cool! Remo makes the only ones that don't have animal skins on them. They are so very cool! I suppose if I had to pick, I'd get the 16", but the 14" would be nice too. The 12" just doesn't seem to have enough hand room, in my opinion.
I recently made my first 5 eBay purchases. It really is addictive. I'm collecting toys. I bought a lot of Lincoln (and other) Logs and some little kid Legos. In one of the boxes there were a few Tinkertoys. I really wanted some Tinkertoys, but I continually got outbid. Oh well. I also bought some baby clothes. They are mostly girl-baby clothes, but Amanda could still be having a girl. She gets THAT ultrasound soon... maybe this week?
Brandon had a dream this week that we had a little girl named Rebecca. That coincides with the vision (not dream) I had early in our relationship that our first child would be a girl. This brings us to another important point...
I'm working on the premise that where there's a will, there's a way. We are in our current lease for another year. After that, I want us to find a place we can stay for cheap or free. Why? So Brandon can go to school full-time and finish his degree in ASL/English Interpreting. I don't have a problem with his working in drywall, and neither does he. However, we both know it hurts him physically, and he wants to be interpreting. And, since he's the one with the definitive goal in mind, he gets priority in education (as far as I'm concerned). I even say take more loans, as long as he gets through school. (I refuse to use loans for school anymore.) So that's it. We have to find a way for Brandon to finish school.
5/17/04 - Wow. Didn't think I'd let it go this long without an update. Oh well.
Needless to say, we've moved. The apartment is great! We got moved in over the weekend of April 23rd. The following Tuesday morning I woke up with a screaming case of vertigo. I barely lifted my head to look at kitty in the window, and everything spun. Panic! I went to the doctor the next morning, and she didn't have any better advice than to not climb ladders and take Dramamine; it should go away on its own in a week. I went back the following week, and she decided on 5 days of anti-biotics for possible inner/middle ear infection. It was over a week before I stopped taking the Dramamine, but as of last Friday, I'm fine. Whew!
Now we have to finish unpacking. I have some curtains to make.
This weekend is going to be incredibly busy! Friday night I go to a women's group at a local church. Saturday morning the youth group and I are participating in Relay for Life. It's a 24-hour event for the American Cancer Society, where a member of you team has to be on the track during the 24-hours, "because cancer never sleeps." I'm walking for my uncle Greg. :)
After that's over, we're going to church, and then to Broad Ripple Art Fair. Hooray! I haven't been there in 2 years! Brandon's mom is also coming down this weekend, and that will be the only time I get to see her. Should be fun! :)
Oh, and we're not going to Hawaii. We'll go somewhere neat sometime.
4/6/04 - 17 days till we move! :) Yes I'm counting.
We're debating a vacation opportunity to Hawaii this summer. We did not take a honeymoon, so we're trying to use that for justification. We had a cheaper option when the opportunity came to go to Mexico awhile back, but we didn't do that either. This time we'd have to pay airfare, plus $100 for accomodations, plus spending money. That's easily over $1000. But we're still investigating options...
My sister is doing well. It occurred to me that I've been sending people this updated website who "aren't supposed to know yet." Oops. I laughed when I realised this. Still, the basic information that she is pregnant, has been around for almost a month. I know her plan is to get an ultrasound first, and find out how far along she is, and that everything is ok, before she tells everyone. She is not far enough along to show yet, and she's the only one who can tell a difference in her body. (I won't believe what the ultrasound technician says anyway.) I'm personally guessing October.
Not sure if this will take pressure off of us to have a baby, or bring on more questions of when we'll have one. Hmm. The topic is in congress now, which means it could get slated till next term. Procrastinators...
We got the CD from our wedding reception. It's cool.
Packing sucks. I'll survive. I feel bad for Brandon tho, since he has a project to get together the week before, then he's got a 5-8 page paper to write for his "final" over the weekend that we move. Yuck.
3/21/04 - I was so nervous yesterday about the spaghetti dinner!!! Turns out I needn't have worried. We got so much help! It went so well, and we raised a good amount of money, half of which goes to a fund for our music director. (He had a heart infection and open heart surgery a couple months ago, with no insurance. He's 29.) Our contribution will probably hardly make a dent, but it's the thought, right?
Anyway, we had some spaghetti and sauce (no meat). We had garlic bread and salad. We had desserts. mmm, desserts. Last time there was a spag dinner, they used disposable stuff, but I'm like "That's going in a landfill!!!" So I decided we'd use the real dishes at the church. It went just fine.
We have some leftovers of spaghetti... yea, like a pound and a half uncooked!! Maybe we'll make a spag dinner for those who help us move. Apply within. :) LOL!!!
We also had quite a bit of salad, but we'll have to eat that all the remaining days until we move... 33 days. :)
3/17/04 - Happy St. Patrick's Day. 37 days till we move!
I'm going to be an aunt later this year! My sister is pregnant. No other specific information yet. I'll post as info is available.
Brandon has played a couple Singer/Songwriter Nights at the coffee shop where I work. It's fun. We're trying to get more people we know involved.
My youth group is having a spaghetti dinner this Sunday. I'm amazed how much there is to do! I got offers of desserts this evening. Some people are going to make cookies and stuff. Another person suggested that I try to get breadsticks donated from a pizza place. Good idea!
I think I mentioned that the mama cat was going to have kittens again. Well, she had them a week or two ago. There are two black ones, and two black/white ones. They sound adorable! I'm hoping to get a picture of them! :) They should be ready for homes in mid-May... hint, hint. ;)
2/28/04 - We got that apartment! We're moving starting Friday, April 23rd, through the 30th. We'd be happy to start moving tomorrow!
Saw The Passion of Christ this morning. We were talking with mom and dad and our friend Dan afterward thinking, "Okay, we started our day with this, now what??" Very powerful movie. I'd heard about some things I didn't want to see, so I averted my eyes a lot. I think all of my youth group was there except a couple of the girls. I was kinda surprised. I really didn't know how to feel afterward. I didn't really want to talk to anyone, I just wanted to get back to "normal life" ASAP.
It's a beautiful day today. Hi near 60. B wants to go to Eagle Creek. We're going to go out with some friends tonight and eat Ethiopian food. GOOD STUFF!! Glad that Spring seems to be getting a foothold. We couldn't take much more winter.
2/15/04 - Uh, happy new year! We bought ourselves a new computer for valentines day, so we have no more excuses for not updating the website... uh-oh!
Anyway, my job is going great. Brandon is thinking about some career options that have recently presented themselves. I'll let him tell you about that, since he now has no excuse for not doing his corner of the webpage! :)
Mom and Dad decided to have compassion on the mama cat and kittens. They decided to keep the calico, and named her Heidi. Mama cat was gonna stay as an outdoor cat, but when mom's cousin met her, she took her to live in Michigan. I've since learned that she is pregnant again, since she barely had time to get her spayed before she went into a heat again. It's amazing how female cats find their way outdoors. So, in another 3-4 months there should be another litter of kittens to place. The only hope is that her litter will be as small as this one was. Oh, my sister took the other 2 kittens (Heidi's bro and sis) and named them Frank and something.
We are looking at a new apartment this evening. It is a place I have lived before, and I am desperately hoping that the deal she told Brandon is true. If so, we should be moving in April. We would like to buy a house eventually, and I have a friend who is in real estate. Anything in that arena would be preliminary, as we are not quite prepared to put it all on the line for a house just yet. Hopefully by next year things will be in order though! Prayers will be of use, as always!
We plan to get some more pics online as soon as we have some to put. As a bragging point, our printer also has a scanner/copier in it. So glad not to have to pay a million dollars to get a picture disc or have one made at Kinko's anymore!!!!
If I am correct, we aren't planning to move anywhere out of state for awhile. While it's true that we're not tied down by careers and kids, we finally admitted to ourselves that most of the places we would like to live are just too expensive. Someday we will be able to travel to those places more. That's an exciting thought! :)
11/09/03 - Finally got some pictures up here! Although, something is wrong, and I can't tell if they worked or not. Will have to rely on others reports, or try looking up the website from an outside computer. Finished up the cats page, got some wedding pics, and updated some text.
I got a job Wednesday with a local coffee company! It's the first job I've had in 3 years. I'm becoming familiar with running a cash register again. Not that hard, but remembering the change combinations will take a small bit. I have tons of information to assimilate about my new workplace. I received this huge stack of papers to read about coffee. Anything you might never want to know, just ask.
Mom and Dad have a stray kitty around their yard who had some babies a few weeks ago. They are incredibly adorable. The mama is black and white, as is the only suspected male of the litter. The girls are both calicos, though one is muted in color. Life is cruel, as I've wanted another calico cat since before I had my first one. Alas, I could never give up one of my current babies in favor of a new kitten. Hope I can find them homes. I really wanna get mama spayed. Mom and Dad are more than happy to keep her around the yard, as she's already killed a chipmunk. They couldn't bring her in, due to cat urine staining. Fellow cat owners can sympathize. That and Little Bit needs to be an only child.
I'm hoping to go visit my cousin E and the kids today. I haven't seen them since before Halloween. I miss them all. My new job doesn't give me much time to see them at all. It sucks too, because it happens to coincide with the fact that they can't afford to pay me to help out anymore. But it was mostly while I was unemployed anyway. If I had a car, I would try to get over there a couple mornings a week though!
10/15/03 - I've begun working for my cousin E. She's the one who had twins back in April. It's just twice a week, while her husband is working 12 hour shifts. I am looking for additional employment as well. I'm waiting to hear if I will get a closing position at a coffee shop in Broad Ripple. I would love that. Brandon is working under a new contractor, which hopefully means no more time off. We are in a bit of a money crunch as a result of my lack of work, and his bad luck. We will come out of it though. We're also still hoping to get some musical gigs around town!
As usual the change of season is presenting Brandon with challenges. He hates winter, and is having a hard time seeing the beauty in the wonderful crisp temps of autumn. Pity. *sigh*
We are looking forward to getting into classes in the spring. Being out this fall has really sucked.
Brandon was happy to see the Dalai Lama on Sept. 7. He was in Bloomington for the dedication of the Chamtse Ling Temple at the Tibetan Cultural Center. Kind of an interfaith thing, as Muhammed Ali was there, and some other religious leaders. It sounded neat!
That's about it for now. More later! :)
9/1/03 - The party was a blast! The food was great! It was so cool to meet some of the rest Brandon's family. Didn't have a whole lot of time to visit with everybody, but I tried to give each person/family at least a hello and good-bye. Got to sing and hear good music.
I was very happy to visit with Danielle from Delaware. She stayed with us from Friday to Sunday. She and B got along just awesome, not that I was really nervous or anything. We're hoping to get out to Delaware to see her too. :)
Other than that, we've just been dealing with some health issues of some family members. Prayers are requested for my grandpa Kobe and uncle Greg, as well as Brandon's mom.
Yea we got tons of gifts. It's been a fun process doing gift registries and then receiving the gifts. It was a great place to start. We got some cool extra gifts too. Maybe I should add a Wedding page to this website. :) (Don't hold your breath!) ;)
8/7/03 - Um, we're married. The ceremony was adorable. Everyone was beautiful. Tears were shed. We're married!
I can't believe I didn't even panic when my dress didn't fit the night before. I didn't bother trying it the day of. I basically wore a cute little cotton nightgown with a slip. You'll see the pics when we get them.
7/31/03 - So after printing and giving out 150 invitations to our wedding reception/going away party... We're not moving... yet.
Our plans changed when our summer place became "work house." The owner decided to put it on the market, which left us to deal with cleaning, painters, carpet cleaners, and showings. So much for a quiet summer.
We are now planning on moving to Denver on or near May 1, 2004. Tuesday we moved into Brandon's same exact loft that he used to live in when we first started dating! Talk about coincidences. We signed a 9-month lease, which takes us through the end of April.
We're very happy to be living with the kitties again! Miep remembered the place within minutes, and hasn't yet stopped racing up and down the spiral stairs. :) Whitey is getting used to them. They are definitely more playful together, despite having less room than the old apartment. It will be nice to fully unpack...
Wedding in 2 days!!! Wow. Still finalizing preparations. And we're both very excited about the party on August 23rd! (RSVP now if you haven't already!!! We need to know for food!) We are going to have lots of music, and we're even going to record some of it and make a CD!! How cool!!! I'm absolutely thrilled to say my friend Danielle is flying in from Delaware too! Haven't seen her since 2001. :)
7/10/03 - I'm wrapping up the party invitations today, waiting on final "approval" from B tonite. The marriage license should be obtained tomorrow. The officiant has been found. The wedding itself, and the party, have official locations. We got moved ok. We miss kitties. :(
We have 3 gift registries: Target, Kohl's, and L.S. Ayres. Check out the Links Page for those. There are 2 different showers being thrown for me: 1 church friends, 1 other friends and family. This should be fun!
6/29/03 - The party will be on August 23, late afternoon. I've been busy since Thursday figuring out what invitations will say, food or no, gift registries or no, etc. This week will be busy with more: gathering birth certificates & social security cards for the marriage license; finalizing the officiant for our wedding; and last but not least, PACKING AND MOVING. I will survive. I thank God that I have the ability (and help) to do these things!
6/18/03 - We finally set a date! We decided to get married on my birthday, August 2. :) Very excited! Just going to be a small affair with parents, grandparents and siblings. Not sure exactly where yet. A big party will follow on another Saturday in August. For those out of town who might be interested in coming to the party, let me know when you'll be available, as you will get top date priority! That includes people such as Aunt Mary, Dandelion, Kelly C., and Kevin F. I know a lot more people from out of town, so don't think this doesn't mean you. Email me ASAP!!! :)
6/7/03 - My allergies have gone absolutely haywire. If I go off my medication for more than a couple days, I end up with cold symptoms, sometimes with a fever. I'm starting to wonder if I haven't been masking a sinus infection this whole time. Hmm.
We have our place for the summer! Mom's boss is leaving town July 5th, and would love for us to basically house-sit till the end of August. Woohoo! We'll be getting a P.O. Box, and I'm not sure about phone service, other than my cell. May just be email or something till we move. More details to come.
I got the idea to try and put some pics of my ceramics projects on here. Of course, first I have to finish the class, take the pics, get them developed, scan 'em, and then put 'em up here. Don't hold your collective breath!
I'm going to see my friend Violet today. Tomorrow's her birthday. She's OLDER than me!!! Haha! (Okay, only 2 months.) Gotta go get ready. :)
6/1/03 - Sorry to take so long! It's been a very messed up week!
Memorial Day weekend was awesome! Friday we went to Brandon's Dad's traditional bash, and camped overnight. It was fun!
Saturday we headed up north to Michigan City for Brandon's Grandma's 70th birthday. We stayed overnight with his Mom and Joel, and did the party on Sunday. Fun again! Stef and I did this little kid song called "Grey Squirrel" for everyone. It was so goofy!! Then Brandon and Stef did the song Brandon wrote for his Grandma. People cried. :)
Monday Brandon planned on working, but we ended up staying home. We began packing for our move in SEPTEMBER. Little did we know...
Wednesday, I went to the office to check on whether our summer lease had been typed up for us to sign. Not only hadn't it, but the property manager doesn't work any longer, and we lost our good deal. Grrr.
Saturday we turned in our 30-day notice. We will be moving out of this crummy AIMCO property on July 5th, and into the home of a family friend who will be out of town for 2 months. God is good.
Then Friday, a good friend of my family, my Dad's best friend in fact, died suddenly. He was supposed to take his mom to hospice that day because she has terminal lymphoma, but no one could get ahold of him. His wife arrived home and found him. He was 51.
He was like an uncle to me and my sister, and we remember all the Superbowl Sundays we spent at their house as kids. He will be greatly missed by many people, as I found out that he was pretty well known in the AA and Hepatitis communities. He was quite the advocate. (He is survived by his wife and son)
Embrace life everyone... Love you.
4/29/03 - We may have found a place finally. We're either going to room with some friends in a 5 bedroom house, or get a cheap cramped studio downtown for the summer. I think the house would be a lot of fun, because the people are fun. :)
Finals have begun. Brandon completed his group project last week, and has another final today. My first one is Thursday. We know we'll survive, so we're not too stressed out. Our biggest problem lately is sleep deprivation.
Speaking of which, my cousin E had twins on 4/21! Iris Lucia was born first: 6 pounds, breech (folded in half). Her brother Thomas Arthur was second: 8 pounds 11 ounces, difficult to push out. Her midwives later told her that it was amazing he came out, since babies who present that way (brow) usually end up being c-section, or other icky stuff. So this week I've been helping out by keeping her 18-month-old occupied. Her 7-year-old is in school during the week. Full house!!! :)
4/22/03 - Okay, thought we had a place, but we didn't get it. We're still looking. Getting a little desperate, as our lease expires in less than a month. Oy!
My transcripts came thru at school, but now I don't know what I'll take. Options were limited by time. grrr. Oh well.
I'm also in the process of changing some of the info in the More About Me section. Stay tuned!
4/7/03 - I got my hair chopped off for Locks of Love (check Links page) on Friday. It's about chin-length now. Very cute! :)
Still waiting to sign up for summer school. My transcripts have to come thru before I can. That's annoying.
3/27/03 - I still don't have a job. I've been going through all my old boxes at mom and dad's, and throwing out stuff. I'm also trying to help out my cousin E, who is due to have twins in the next couple weeks. Also went back to school today. I got A's on both my midterms! It hardly seems like we were in CO 2 weeks ago. Back to normal. Still trying to figure out where we're going to live this summer. Wish us luck/Pray for us! :)
3/15/03 - Well, after visiting the glory of the Rockies, we simply must do everything in our powers to move there! We'll be extending our lease for a month, until May 19, so that we won't be moving while we should be studying for finals. After that, we'll see where we end up.
3/5/03 - Brandon and I are going on spring break in Denver, Colorado. We've had thoughts of moving there this summer, but decided that next year might be better. Why? Well, we got the "idea" because our friend Katie is visiting and moving as well. We thought it would be easier to move with her and share a house, but that isn't going to work out. Besides, Colorado is a cool place for people like us who love the outdoors. The view also makes life bearable. :)
Anyway, we will be staying with a cousin of mine, and visiting some old friends, as well as seeing the place in winter and scoping out areas of town |
