ringnebula's Journal

Lady Bug, Lady bug fly the hell away from my freaking house!!

Nov 09 2009 10:34

We're infested!! Seriously, we must have sucked up 100+ yesterday from the places we could reach with the vacuum attachment and there were another 35 I could see after we were finished, there must be throusands outside on the house too. I have no idea what attracts them to our house but they get in through window and door cracks because it's warm in there and cold outside and it's like my walls and ceiling have chicken pox. Luckily they don't bite or hurt anything because it's disgusting and I hate them. So my post is red and black in honor of those stupid little things.

Had a productive weekend! Friday night I finally made Shepard's pie for dinner. D had been asking for it for weeks and when his b-day rolled around I asked if that's what he wanted and he surprised me and said no, he wanted something special. Well that was my something special since I never make it! Then he kept complaining the rest of the week that we didn't have time to make it! So finally got that out of the way and it was delish. Built a fire using up the last of the wood from last year.

Got up early Saturday morning and went and got two huge truckloads of wood from up the street because it was cold last week! Stacked that up outside and of course it must have been 75* out! So no fire on Saturday! Then we got cleaned up and called his parents at 11:30 and of course they were just rolling out of bed so we waited a little bit and headed over there with the truck we borrowed and my car to do an oil change. Seconds after we get there his sister comes strolling out of the basement ready to chat and totally dominates the conversation with her mindless dribble she thinks we all care about, I don't. In fact I'd rather gnaw off my left arm than listen to her talk about what her iguanas will and won't eat. So when we got there his mom was baking a pumpkin pie. Then because BIL doesn't like pie, she baked brownies, all while I'm sitting right there which is fine. So the pie comes out and of course needs to cool and congeal and later the brownies pop out. They sit on the couter and sit and sit. D comes in from changing my oil and we all stand around and chat all while eyeing the brownies but of course she doesn't cut them and offer us any! Now that I need brownies, but the offer would be nice. Nope, we leave with no pie and no brownies, D was pissed.

Get home and I decided to bake him cookies since he didn't get brownies and I was in the mood to use my new mixer. Then I got the cooking bug and made homemade bread in my new bread machine, woot!! I made french bread and it turned out really good!! Then I made homemade spaghetti and carbonara sauce (not bad for my first try, need to tweak some things though) and then curled up on the couch to watch The Greatest Game Ever Played with Shia LeBouf about golf. It was disney and based on a true story, cute. Did three loads of laundry during the day too. I also pulled out my new iron and ironing board and ironed our lace tabelcloth. Yay for a real iron and ironing board! I had the mini set for my dorm room years ago and never had the ambition to get a real one or wanted to spend the money.

Sunday morning we got up and I finally got around to organizing my Relay stuff in the basement!!! D did the other half where his tools and crap had piled up so now it's all clean and organzied and pretty! Came up and had left overs for lunch and then I went up and dealt with four more loads of laundry and cleaned the bedroom. I have some new sweaters that I'm afraid will bleed the frist time I wash them so I'm washing them seperately just in case so that's time comsuming. Then D and I sucked up lady bugs and it made me happy for the two mins that we got them all. I went out to dump them in the woods (they're still alive) and there were almost as many by the time I walked back in. We finally gave up. I made beer stew last night to go with the homemade bread and we watched Fast and Furious (the new one) that D got for his b-day. It was ok. Then I got inspired to try and make a key lime pie (or just lime pie, no key limes!). I had fun making it but I don't know if it tured out right because I mis read a step and did things out of order, whatever. D said he'd eat it with a spoon if it didn't congeal like it was supposed too! It looked ok in the end though but it had to cool overnight.

Trying to figure out what to bake tonight! Loving all of my new kitchen gadgets!!

Insert title here

Nov 05 2009 07:45

Good morning! Last night I left a few mins early to come home and surprise D before my Relay meeting and of course there was an accident on the drive home so I got stuck in traffic and only had like 5 mins with him. So he's all sulky about my meeting and not wanting me to go. I wish he would just get the f over it already. I mean I haven't been to a meeting since August and kept this as quick and on topic as possible. But afterwards everyone wanted to see my pics and talk to me about the wedding and honeymoon etc. Whatever, these are my friends and what would I have been doing at home? Sitting on the couch watching tv.

I'm hungry already today, this is not good.

Burnt out

Nov 04 2009 08:06

D's b-day went pretty well. I bought him a mailbox since someone hit ours while we were gone on the honeymoon and not it doesn't close so when it rains our mail gets wet. Then I attempted to make gnocchi and pomodoro sauce. Neither turned out particularly great but it was fun to try and we filled the rest of the night with chocolate cake from his mom and I made gelato. We watched Transformers II and Heroes so overall a decent night.

Yesterday I took off half a day of work to drive up an hour away to get my new social security card and of course I don't have the correct marriage license, I need a certified copy so the trip was pretty wasted. We did return a few things at Macy's but other than that it was pretty sucky. Came home and had random stuff for dinner and then went to bed early.

It's time to put on the winter comforter. I woke up three times last night cold and threw on another blanket but was still chilly. the heat actually kicked on last night (we have it set at 62 right now which is crazy cold but it hasn't gotten that cold out yet to need it). So on that goes tonight.

Well, there was a candle light vigil for JP our Relayer last night and last I heard he was medicated and sleeping and probably wouldn't wake up. He was surrounded by friends and family the entire time. Cancer sucks.

I got an interesting e-mail from a friend of mine about job openings at her new company that I may see if i'm qualified for. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and my coworkers but we need money right now like nobody's business so this may have come at the right time. I don't know, it's worth looking into.

I'm afraid to get on the scale. We haven't been watching what we eat at all, just whatever sounds good goes in our mouths. We need to get it under control!

Reflective Monday

Nov 02 2009 09:59

Let's start off with the weekend. Friday afternoon we went up to Tyson's Corner VA to the HUGE three story Macy's up there to order the rest of our china and buy a few things they don't have at our Macy's. Then we ate at California Pizza Kitchen which was just eh, nothing to write home about. It was a fun afternoon though!

Saturday we slept in until 8:30 which is odd for D since he's usually up early. Then we got around and went to Waldorf to continue registry shopping, get my ring fixed at Jared (bent a prong), return oddles of stuff to Kohl's and Macy's and print off 300 pics of the wedding. We did get all accomplished but it took hours longer than anticipated because we got sidetracked by Kincaid's 60% off sale and bought a dining room set that we can't afford! But it's beautiful and I need someplace to store all of my china! I really didn't think we were going to buy anything but you know how D is!

Then we went over to his parents where we were supposed to cook dinner but because we were so late we just grabbed pizza and headed over to hand out candy. We got there around 7 and missed most of the kids because no one had done anything to get ready. So we shoved pizza in our face, grabbed the candy and found a candy bowl and then took 20 mins to drag extention cords down their long driveway. It was a mess. D was mad because no one thought to do anything ahead of time and his sister was drunk which just makes her even more annoying. And then of course it was sprinkling on and off the entire time so we were wet. Luckily it wasn't cold. We packed up around 8:30 and headed home to clean.

Yesterday D's family came over for his b-day dinner which we decided to make homemade pasta and al'amatricana sauce for using the new mixer and gadgets. So I finally got my entire kitchen scrubbed and unloaded/reloaded with all our new presents! D was such a huge help too cleaning the rest of the house while I focused on the kitchen! Parents got there around 4:30 and we ate around 6. Then we did the Italy slide show from the camera and had cake and presents and they left. Watched DH while uploadeing the last of my honeymoon pics to FB (which was being a pain in the ass by the way).

This morning I woke up and had a missed call and a text from my friend at work A saying that one of my co-workers had died. All last week he was complaining he didn't feel well (he has diabetes pretty badly and doesn't take care of himself because he's a work-aholic) and his foot was hurting and the meds the dr gave him made him sick. So he wasn't eating properly (or at all we're guessing). So people kept trying to call him and take him to the dr's and he stopped answering and finally they called the sherrif to open his apt door and found him. Sad. He was 37 and didn't really have anyone except his work people. He was just so stubborn and refused to take care of himself and there was no need for this to happen. I'm mad at him right now. His family is in SC and they weren't really close so we're not sure what to do. I'm guessing they'll have the funeral down in SC.

So after reeling from that stuff I sit down to read my e-mail and find out that one of our young Relayers's cancer is back and they gave him 2 weeks. He's 18 and in 2008 was diagnosed with brain cancer. It was a miracle but he actually beat it and was in remission until this past weekend when they found it spread to his spine, liver and the lining of his brain and there's nothing they can do for him.

So, crappy Monday and today is D's b-day! So I'm trying to put all of that junk aside and make today as special for him as I can. Too bad I have no vacation and have to work all day!

Midterm day, ugh

Oct 30 2009 07:36

My midterm is from 1pm-2:30, what crappy time is that? Oh well, at least it will get it over with. Then heading up the road to Tyson's Corner to visit the big Macy's and get a few registry items we know we can't find at our Macy's. Then I'm sure dinner out and head home.

Saturday we're going to our Macy's since I know it like the back of my hand now! And also to Kohl's to finish getting stuff off the registry and spend our gift cards and return items we got multiple of. Then we're going to straight to his parents house to make them an Italian dinner with the kitchen aide mixer they bought me. I'll make fresh linguini and D will make the al'amatricana sauce like we did the other day and the meatballs. Then it should be time for trick or treaters! We don't get any at our house so we go over to his parent's house because they live in a development.

Sunday will hopefully be relaxing in the morning and then hella cleaning in the afternoon! I have to finish laundry, get presents put away, finish rearranging my kitchen and getting new stuff in my cupboards, go to the dump and get rid of the million boxes and packing peanuts I have now and then dust and vacuum up the little styrofoam balls that are all over! Then off to dinner for D's b-day which is Monday.

So a busy weekend once again! Here's to keeping my eating under control, this week hasn't been so great!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Another long day

Oct 29 2009 08:22

So I worked a long day again yesterday and then met a classmate to go over some stuff before the midterm tomorrow. We actually figured out a lot together which made me feel a lot better but still not great about the test. I will do my best.

Got home around 8:30 and had taco soup waiting for me :P. We watched a little tv and then went to bed around 10:30 which is later than I like to go to bed.

But I did drag my butt out of bed early again this morning for a morning flight only to find it cancelled again. But whatever, now when I stay for the flight tonight I 'll have even more overtime and use less vacation this time period. So yay for that!

Um, not much else to day today, life is kinda boring right now! Good boring though!

I have a lunch meeting where they're ordering pizza and left over taco soup for an afternoon snack (if it makes it that long!).

I need a vacation :P

Oct 28 2009 08:11

Got home last night and cleaned the kitchen because we thought a friend was stopping by and then she never did, no biggie. So yay for clean kitchen and dishes washed and put away. Well then I was on a roll and decided to get some of the thousands of boxes out of the dining room from wedding presents which led me into a frenzy of sorting through gifts and starting to get stuff out and put away in it's new home which meant I had to put the old stuff it's replacing somewhere which lead to cleaning the cupboards which lead to an even bigger mess in my kitchen!! Finally got the majority at least under control and then went upstairs to do damage control on the bedroom which was being overrun with clean laundry and suitcases (empty). Put the suitcases away and then worked on the laundry issue and got the bedroom at least organized. Still a mess, but now an organized mess.

Then down to veg on the couch with D where we were both falling asleep and went to bed at 9:30 and promptly fell asleep!

Today is taco soup in my new crockpot, woot! It's much bigger so I can put that extra can of black beans in there that we always want. but I think I put in too much chicken stock so it may be a little runny, oops! Whatever, we'll survive!

Got in early for flights this morning only to find they're cancelled and am meeting a classmate tonight at Panera to study for the midterm that is Friday afternoon and starting to freak me out.

I just need a full day at home to pick up the house so I can do some serious cleaning before I'll feel better about my house again!

Back to reality

Oct 27 2009 10:34

I survived my first day back to work! I'd much rather be home cleaning my house though. I did seven loads of laundry on Sunday and only one got folded and put away. Oh!! I'm SO excited because I got the Kitchen Aide stand mixer for my wedding and various attachments!!!!!!! I've wanted one for years and finally got it! So last night D wanted to try and make an authentic Italian meal so I busted it out and the pasta attachments and made fresh fettuchini and spaghetti to go with it! We had linguini al'amatricana which is basically a tomato pomodoro sauce with bacon (panchetta) and white wine and homemade meatballs, YUM! The pasta was awesome! I need to tweak the recipe just a little bit and then remember cut it in half because it made SO much pasta! It made like two BOXES of pasta! So that was fun!

Then we watched Basic Instinct, wow. Just, wow. That's all I have to say about that.

Then we watched Heroes and headed to bed. Around 2am I woke up in a coughing fit and went in the other bedroom for a while so I didn't wake up D and back to bed around 3am. So uber tired this morning which means I'm back on East coast time again. Goodbye jetlag.

Ok so here's the quick recap of Italy:

After three very long flights (12 hours total with layovers and whatnot) we finally got into Rome and found out that our bags got sent to Barcelona Spain, yay! We did get one of the three we checked with some of my clothes but no clothes for D or toiletries for either of us and of course, the good camera. Luckily I didn't check my little hand held Nikon one so we at least got SOME pics! They proceeded to tell us our bags were "on the way" which in Italy time frame means THREE DAYS! So for two days D wore the same shirt until it was time to break down and buy deoderant. First of all, it's very hard to find over there, secondly it's crazy expensive ($10!!!!) and third, it's weird! It's like a pump spray and we had to reapply like three times a day. We did break down and buy D a street vendor shirt because his was just done. And I had to buy new socks, I can't stand dirty socks!

Rome (three days): went to the Vatican into the catherdral and then into the sistein chapel. Walked to Trevi fountain (actually we got lost and ended up there!) and then the panthanon. Then off to the colluseum, Palestine hill and the Roman forum and the capital building. We ate TONS of pasta and "roman" dishes recommended in our tourist book. We had the BEST pizza I've ever had in my life on the second night and it was all we could think about the rest of the trip!!

Tuscany: We then rented a car to drive from Rome to Tuscany. Should have been a simple 2.5 hour drive but of course it was rush hour traffic and then there was a big accident and it took us 4 hours. So we got to the castle (aka our hotel!) two hours late and missed dinner in the castle (we were SO sad). Drove around Tuscany (amazing views!) stopping at castles to tour and wine taste at and then to Sienna for the evening.

Pisa/Florence: Drove to Pisa which should have taken about 1.5 hours and hit traffic after traffic and then a huge carnival which made our drive about 3 hours. Finally got to the leaning tower, got lost in Pisa, couldn't find a parking space to save our lives, made our own spot, ran (literally) up to the top of the tower as the sun was setting, grabbed a piece of pizza and then back to the car and drove to Florence. No trouble actually driving to Florence but we couldn't find our hotel and stopped somewhere for directions. Turns out you can't actually drive in Florence, it's pedestrian streets where our hotel is located. Ok, so we found Avis to drop off the rental car but of course they were closed. So we called the hotel, almost in tears and then said to just drive in and they'd get us a police escort to the hotel and he'd take care of the car. Well we never found the cops but did find the hotel with little trouble and had to park the car for $45 for the night!!!!!! Up early to return the stupid car to Avis and then walked around Florence. Duomo, basillica, the David, shopping, GREAT food!!

Venice: Took a train from Florence to Venice which was awesome! Scenery was pretty good when we were above ground and the train was so much fun! Wandered around Venice that evening and found San Marco Square. Went to Rialto market (HUGE farmers market with fish, veggies, meat etc) then pretty much walked in a big circle around the islands. I started getting a cold so early to bed. It started raining that evening and rained all night and all morning the next day. We went to Murano island which is famous for glass blowing and watching them in facination for a while and then off to Burano which is famous for lacework. Watched a little old lady sew lace for a while and bought a georgous table cloth for our dining room. Both islands were completely flooded because of the rain so we waded through shin deep water and were soaked! Back to the hotel to change and finally the rain stopped. Took a sunset gondola ride (very romantic! - and expensive!) and then back to pack up!

Flight home was looooong but fine until the last leg from philly - dc which was horrible with turbulence and made the little boy in front of us throw up the whole time which was miserable. But finally got home on Friday around 11pm and fell into bed!

Saturday we were awake at 4am (10am Italy time) and started unpacking and went to his Grandparents house because his family was having a b-day party for his great aunt and hung out with his family and shared the pics we had with them.

I'm working on getting Italy pics in my FB account but it's going to take a while!

We ate SO much food in Italy but it was SO good!! I actually lost .5 lbs and was 184.5 when I got home but I lost lots of muscle because my pants don't fit and I feel bloated and squishy. So after I finally kick this stupid cold it's back to some sort of workout. Not sure if it will be P90X or not, but something for sure!!

HELLO!!!!!

Oct 26 2009 08:55

Hello everyone!!! I'm back and I miss you all so much! Everything was just amazing!! The wedding went SO smoothly it was scary but everything was just perfect and the honeymoon was amazing!! I have so much to share with you all but have SO much work staring at me I can't delve into it right now! See fb for lots of pics, I don't have many right now but I will try and upload a new photo when I get home, I can't do it at work for some reason.

Well I hope everything is well with all of you and I will try and catch up on journals and the thread soon!!!!

Good morning Moon

Oct 06 2009 07:18

I would like to thank the practically full moon for guiding me to the car this morning as it was pitch dark when I left the house! Ususally the sun is at least starting to wake up but not today, guess it really is fall now! I was awake at 4:30 and should have just gotten up then but I fell back asleep until my alarm at 5:30. But I did get up instead of hitting snooze 4-6 times and got in the shower. Into work early again to get more hours and today is my last day of work!!!!!! Woot! At least until after the honeymoon that is:P We can't afford for me not to work, probably ever!

We had homemade chicken cordon blue last night. I slit the chicken breasts and stuffed them with swiss cheese and ham and then dredged the chicken in egg whites and bread crumbs. Ok, so anyone know how to keep the bottom of your breadcrumb chicken crispy in the oven without it getting mushy? I have no idea. I wish I'd used different cheese with the swiss but it was all we had and we're in the eat-your-fridge/cupboards mode before leaving. So we made due with what we have. Overall it was pretty good but needs some tweaking. The breading needed garlic salt or just salt, it was pretty bland.

Then we vegged and watched My Name is Earl while I wrote more thank you cards and got them all stamped and addressed and got D to sign them so the first batch is ready to go after the wedding. Now they just better show up because I wrote them all a thank you for coming to share our special day ty card :P.

Today is a montage of food. Cheerios for breakfast (and a powdered doughnut), stromboli for lunch and who knows for dinner. Probably pizza so I don't have to cook and keep my kitchen clean. Final night for packing before we leave tomorrow!!!!

So I probably won't be on again until the 26th ish. We get back on the 23rd and that Monday is my first day back. Let me tell you, I'm going to miss you all! This site has become so much more than just a place to count calories and get encouragement for weight loss. I have made some true friends here that I miss when I don't get to talk to you for a while! I'll be sitting somewhere and start composing my journal in my head and then realize I have no internet access or whatever and get sad! I hope you all have a wonderful few weeks and I'll be back soon a married woman!!!!!!