A Yankee in the New South

4:26:51 PM CDT
Feeling Happy
Hearing Work noises

I included a few of the 150 pictures from our trip.  We went to London for two days, drove to Scotland, went to the British Open, and spent a day or so in Scotland.  It was a fantastic trip - we saw lots of beautiful sights and the scenery in Scotland was amazing.  Green as far as the eye can see and no McDonald's, Lowe's and Walmarts everywhere... still as unspoiled as hundreds of years ago.  Can't wait to go back.

Sorry so short on the details, but I won't bore those of you who don't want to read 6 pages of my trip.  But enjoy the photos!

 

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4:51:54 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

Wow, it has been forever since I posted.  With vacation and catching up on work I missed when I was gone, life has been hectic.

Got back from Europe - went to London and Scotland.  Loved it!  Had a great time.  Even though we went the week after the first subway bombings and life there was slightly disrupted, we still got to see tons of sights.  I will try to post some pics later this weekend.  Liked Scotland much better than London - it is so beautiful and unspoiled there.  No billboards or strip malls all over the place like there is every ten miles here.  The villages we drove through were so quaint and charming, I can't wait to go back.

Came across this Friday Five and liked it, so I thought I would post:

1. If you could invite five people to dinner from history, living or dead, who would they be?  I would invite Elvis Presley, Jesus, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, and  Hugh Grant.

2. Why have you chosen these five individuals?  Elvis, because he changed music forever and I love his voice.  Jesus, because it would be awesome to meet someone who changed the history of the world more than anyone else.  Jessica and Nick, it sounds corny but I love the two of them together and would love to meet them and find out if all the tabloid rumors that their marriage is in trouble are true.  Hugh Grant, because I love his accent and he seems so charming (other than the whole prostitute thing).  So most of my pics are pretty shallow.

3. What would you serve for dinner?  Not chicken of the sea or buffalo wings!  Probably steak and potatoes, because that is what I like.  And peanut butter and banana sandwiches for Elvis.  And with Jesus there, there would be plenty for everyone.

4. What would you like to ask them?  I wouldn't know where to begin with Jesus.  I think I would be more interested in just seeing where the night went. 

5. Do you think everybody seated at the table would get along? Why or why not?   I don't know what Jesus would think of them all, but I bet Hugh Grant and Elvis would be 100 times more interested in Jessica Simpson than me!  I think it would definitely be an interesting mix!

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2:42:10 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

I realized that almost a month has gone by without posting.  We have been doing a lot of little projectshere and there, but the list is still long.  It's been way too hot to do much the last couple weekends.

Our third anniversary just passed on Wednesday and true to tradition so far, we didn't spend it together.  Kirk was out of town for work.  That's OK, we are celebrating on Saturday night instead.  And we decided no gifts this year for the anniversary, we are going to buy ourselves something nice in Europe next month instead.  Can't believe it has been three years already - feels like yesterday.  And it's been the best three years ever... I love you, Kirk!

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4:50:18 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

Well, we are pretty much moved into our new house.  It went very smoothly.  The in-laws came and helped and we got it done in no time.  It really helped that K and I have been taking stuff over there for a couple weeks before and putting away as much as we could.  On Sunday, we did a lot of little projects - new blinds, hooks and towel bars in the bathroom, new toilet seats (I am grossed out by other people's bums on my toilet!), etc.  It made a big difference to get it all done.  We are very happy and love our new home.  I'll post more pics after we get some painting done this weekend. 

The dogs are happy too.  Daisy has been known to be a little terriorial but because we moved into the new house, she doesn't really have her turf established yet.  So Annie has a chance to stake a claim herself.  They are getting along pretty well so far - a few growls around the food bowl, but nothing major at all. 

It seems we are all happy in our new home!

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4:19:49 PM CDT
Feeling Happy
Hearing Work sounds... can't wait until 5:00 to get out of here!

We have a new addition to the family, Annie.  She is a lab/chow mix and a super sweet dog.  She is about 2 or 3 years old.  I picked her up as a stray and made arrangements to get her to a rescue group that was going to put her up for adoption.  But in the two days she stayed with us, she made a lot of progress – she became less timid and seemed much more interested in us.  So Kirk called me at work and said that we could keep her on the condition that she gets along with Daisy and that she is healthy.  We got her checked out and found out she had heartworm, a eventually fatal disease in a dog if not prevented.  We had to choose whether to keep her and treat her, keep her comfortable in the interim, or put her down.  I thought for sure Kirk would say we had to get rid of her and let one of the rescue groups deal with it, because it is very expensive to treat it.  But he said to do what needed done, we will make it work.  So she went yesterday for her first treatment.  Annie needs to keep still as much as possible over the next six weeks while she is undergoing the treatment to make sure she doesn' t have any problems. 

Annie and Daisy seem to be getting on pretty well so far.  Other than a few minor growls here and there, it seems to be going alright.  I think that Daisy will be happy to have someone to wrestle and rough house with (when Annie gets better and we let them go crazy!) 

So far we learned that she is already spayed, loves the car, walks 100 times better on a leash than Daisy and is housebroken.  Too bad someone dumped such a great dog, but she has a good home now and no more worries!

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TOMORROW WE MOVE INTO THE NEW HOUSE - I CAN'T WAIT!   No more running back and forth between houses, not knowing what house our stuff is at, and Subway for dinner because we don't have any groceries.  I can't wait to be settled!

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4:07:28 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

You may have noticed that I have not recently written anything about WW or losing weight.  Well, I went on a two week binge - started in Daytona Beach when I went away with my girlfriends and subsisted on oatmeal cream pies, cheese popcorn and beer for three days.  I gained 2.5 pounds that week at WW weigh-in and then 2 more pounds the week after!  Well, I got back on track this week and lost 4.8 pounds this week bringing me to my highest weight loss total to date... 61.4 pounds lost.  Only 13.6 more to go until my goal weight!  I wanted to lose it by the time I go to England in six weeks, but not sure if I can lose that much in that time, but I am going to do my best. 

Want to know the secret of my success?  Actually following the WW program and (gasp) excercising!  Why I sabotage myself is beyond me but I really want to get back on track and down to a size 10 or even a size 8 for the first time since junior high! 

Good thing moving burns so many calories, lots more to do this weekend.  Check back tomorrow or the next day to see a picture of a exciting new edition to the family.

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4:34:46 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

First of all, I feel bad complaining about the weather.  It is SO hot!  It is over 85 degrees and so humid.  Being a Northerner by birth, I wanted to move south - I hated the cold winter and snow.  I feel like I don't have any right to complain, but I have been sweating all day.  85 is okay, but the humidity is killing me!

Anyway, we have started moving into our new house, little by little.  We've moved a carload or two every day since we closed last Monday, and have gotten most of it put away too!  It will make moving a cinch when we rent the U-Haul to move the furniture.  And then the projects begin....  Actually, they already have.  We spent over $120 on plants last weekend at Lowe's and that was probably the cheapest we will get out of there in the coming months.  And new capeting installed on Monday, can't wait for that!

Kirk's parents are coming to help us move next weekend and he and his dad will start working on some of our projects while his mom and I get unpacked and organized.  Can't wait to really start making it our own!!

I'll add before and after pictures of each room as we work on them.  Thanks for all the comments so far!

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4:50:00 PM CDT
Feeling Chillin'

Back to the real world after three days of old college days... too much to drink, laying around all day and staying up too late.  Girls' weekend (or GW05) was great. 

Flew to Orlando on Thurday night and stayed with my friend with Colleen.  got up and ran around getting plenty of drinks and snacks. Laid around on rafts in the pool in Orlando and left for Daytona Beach by dinnertime.  Went out for dinner and many drinks!!  Met some new friends in the hotel bar from Sarasota and ended up spending 4 hours with them. 

Saturday brought hours by the sun, more time with our new friends from Sarasota, went on the longest walk ever to dinner and then couple hours dancing in the club.  I had to be the Mom, all the girls were much drunker than I (one spent the night on the cold tile floor of the bathroom).  Flew home Sunday.

Had tons of fun, my stomach hurt from eating too much and laughing.  Got to reconnect with my friends.  As much as we acted like our old dorky selves, we also had serious conversations about home interest rates, children, 401Ks and other adult stuff as well, mixed in with gossip, old drunken stories and catty comments about others! As much as life changes, it also stays the same. 

I included a picture of the view from our room with our flip flops that I bought for all the girls.  They loved them!

And plans are already underway for GW06!

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8:37:40 AM CDT
Feeling Ecstatic

Daytona Beach... here we come!  I leave this evening to fly down to Orlando and meet my college roommates for girls' weekend, the 2005 edition.  We started going away for a long weekend for Lori's bachelorette weekend in Myrtle Beach.  We had so much fun we decided to make it an annual event.  This year, we are going back to the scene of much Spring Break craziness (in 1998) to have some fun, get some sun, and have a couple drinks.

This has become on of the things I look most forward to each year.  It's a weekend to gossip and catch up, get away from work, hubbies and kids, get a sunburn and a hangover.  It helps me (and all of us) maintain our sanity and relive all the fun we had in the past. 

This year, there will only be 4 of us.  We are missing at least 4 others due to other commitments, new babies, etc.  It will be different with less of us, but we will still have fun. 

I'll post details and pics when I get back on Monday.

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4:53:18 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

Not really much to post today.  I have decided to change from the Saturday Six to the Friday Five from another webiste.  The questions seem to be a little more light-hearted and less political.  Not that I don't care about the issues, but this journal is supposed to be a fun outlet for me, so I thought I would keep it on a lighter note.

So here goes:

1. What is the first record/tape/CD that you bought?

I think the first tape I bought was either Tears for Fears (the one with Everybody wants to Rule the World) or Mr. Mister.  How funny is that!  My musical taste was slightly warped at age 11.

2. Who is your favorite all time band/singer?

Easy, hands down, Jimmy Buffett.  I don't have any tattoos of other singers' logos on my back.

3. What have you been listening to lately?

Mostly the radio.  I don't have a CD player in my car, so mostly I listen to sports talk radio and country music when I am driving around.

4. What is your favorite radio station, what do they play, and where do they broadcast?

Ooops, I guess I jumped ahead of myself.  Mostly I listen to 1370 am out of Clarksville, TN which is ESPN radio.  I really like Dan Patrick.

5. Can you recommend a good song or CD that everyone should listen to?

Listen to Jimmy Buffett.  It always puts me in a good mood, gets me ready for summer and vacation.  Everyone knows all the standards - Margaritaville, Cheeseburger in Paradise, but listen to some of the others.  They are just as great, but lesser know.

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One other quick note, they moved up the closing on our house and we close now on Monday at 2:00.  I can't wait to get those keys in my hands and to start moving!  I am so excited.  Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well and no last minute problems crop up!

 

 

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