Friday
Incredibly long and painful day at the office. Rest of the evening was hazy but it involved chick-fil-a and cleaning the house.
Saturday
Up early to finish cleaning, then got stuck in ridiculous traffic trying to get to Raleigh for the niece's first birthday party. Got to catch up with some friends on the way into town and confirm that all of our parents are slowly loosing it. Then lots of good food and baby time. Long drive back home that evening with the in-laws behind us.
Sunday
Up early due to forgetting to get food for the in-law visit. At the last minute they decided they wanted to go to Williamsburg to shop. Quick shower to drive an hour to walk around the outlets for the afternoon. Sent the in-laws back to WV and watched Notting Hill while I ate ice cream for dinner.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Phoebe
Phoebe is our four year old Eskipoo. She just celebrated her fourth birthday (yes, we are THOSE yuppies that buy birthday cakes for their dogs) so I thought I would share a little bit about life with Phoebe.
We bought Phoebe from a pet store in the mall in Columbia, MD. I know, I know, pet stores are the most horrible place to purchase a dog, but we just could not resist. I had just taken my CFP exam and we had decided to celebrate by having a nice quiet evening out at the movie theater. Being as we were in the middle of Columbia on a Saturday evening we should have known better. The movie was sold out. So we decided to go play with the puppies in the pet store. Yeah, we did this often...we like puppies! Little did my wife know, but I was already planning on getting her a puppy for Christmas. So we found a dog similar to one she had been wanting (she wanted a Cockapoo)...and took her to one of the little stalls to play with her for a while. We both fell in love with this tiny little black furball.
While playing with her, she started to twitch and jump backwards. We thought, oh how cute, she's 'special'. At the time she weighed four pounds and easily fit in my palm. We sat in there for an hour discussing the pros and cons of adding a new puppy to our mix. My dog, Billy, was getting old and grumpy. He hated playing with other dogs...so naturally we thought that getting a puppy would help.
My wife is an engineer, so it took some time for her to realize she wanted to commit to taking this little mutt home with us...luckily I can be quite the convincer : ) The poor puppy was scared to death on the car ride home. Billy wanted nothing to do with her for the first few weeks, but eventually she grew on him.
That's when we made the horrifying discovery. Puppies from pet stores cannot be crate trained. They've been pooing in their crates for some time. For months, we would come home from work (at lunchtime too) to her having rolled around in pee or poo. It was DISGUSTING. One on of her trips to the vet, the vet asked us how often we bathed her because she had developed a small cause of dandruff. We calmly explained how when you come home from work and your puppy is covered in its own feces...you know the body parts she couldn't reach to eat it...you tend to want to bath the little bugger. This continued...for months. Then she decided that the snow wasn't fun and really to suite her well for taking care of her business. Many times that winter, I would stand outside in pjs begging the dog to poop. She would sass me (see this post for more on that), come back inside, stare at me and piss on the floor. SO COMPLETELY NERVE RACKING!!
Eventually she grew out of all these fun little poo tricks of hers. So now she's four. Finally out of the puppy stage. Yeah, four and no longer a puppy...it has taken that long. Sure, we had thoughts of giving her back, taking her to some sort of doggie military school, or leaving her in the backyard until one of the neighbors shoots her for barking nonstop until she's allowed back in the house. But she's finally the dog we always wanted (note: Billy is the perfect dog, so we had high expectations from the start). She'll listen to us (for the most part), loves to cuddle with us (on her terms), and is fiercely loyal to us. Best of all, she has got so much personality it amazes us each day. It's been a long four years!
We bought Phoebe from a pet store in the mall in Columbia, MD. I know, I know, pet stores are the most horrible place to purchase a dog, but we just could not resist. I had just taken my CFP exam and we had decided to celebrate by having a nice quiet evening out at the movie theater. Being as we were in the middle of Columbia on a Saturday evening we should have known better. The movie was sold out. So we decided to go play with the puppies in the pet store. Yeah, we did this often...we like puppies! Little did my wife know, but I was already planning on getting her a puppy for Christmas. So we found a dog similar to one she had been wanting (she wanted a Cockapoo)...and took her to one of the little stalls to play with her for a while. We both fell in love with this tiny little black furball.
While playing with her, she started to twitch and jump backwards. We thought, oh how cute, she's 'special'. At the time she weighed four pounds and easily fit in my palm. We sat in there for an hour discussing the pros and cons of adding a new puppy to our mix. My dog, Billy, was getting old and grumpy. He hated playing with other dogs...so naturally we thought that getting a puppy would help.
My wife is an engineer, so it took some time for her to realize she wanted to commit to taking this little mutt home with us...luckily I can be quite the convincer : ) The poor puppy was scared to death on the car ride home. Billy wanted nothing to do with her for the first few weeks, but eventually she grew on him.
That's when we made the horrifying discovery. Puppies from pet stores cannot be crate trained. They've been pooing in their crates for some time. For months, we would come home from work (at lunchtime too) to her having rolled around in pee or poo. It was DISGUSTING. One on of her trips to the vet, the vet asked us how often we bathed her because she had developed a small cause of dandruff. We calmly explained how when you come home from work and your puppy is covered in its own feces...you know the body parts she couldn't reach to eat it...you tend to want to bath the little bugger. This continued...for months. Then she decided that the snow wasn't fun and really to suite her well for taking care of her business. Many times that winter, I would stand outside in pjs begging the dog to poop. She would sass me (see this post for more on that), come back inside, stare at me and piss on the floor. SO COMPLETELY NERVE RACKING!!
Eventually she grew out of all these fun little poo tricks of hers. So now she's four. Finally out of the puppy stage. Yeah, four and no longer a puppy...it has taken that long. Sure, we had thoughts of giving her back, taking her to some sort of doggie military school, or leaving her in the backyard until one of the neighbors shoots her for barking nonstop until she's allowed back in the house. But she's finally the dog we always wanted (note: Billy is the perfect dog, so we had high expectations from the start). She'll listen to us (for the most part), loves to cuddle with us (on her terms), and is fiercely loyal to us. Best of all, she has got so much personality it amazes us each day. It's been a long four years!
On the subject of Politics
Let's start with this. I dislike politics. The main reason for this? Cause I think I'm right and am unlikely to waiver in my opinion. But I also don't like to get into (what I deem to be silly) discussions over one canidates choice on one topic...because in most cases a) the canidate will not actually do anything about that topic once elected or b) will change their position at some point in time to suite themselves.
The one thing I really don't understand and really grates my nerves is why is it national news when a celebrity chooses a side? Is America that obsessed with celebrity status that we actually care what these people (who CLEARLY are not like a typical American) think about politics? Seriously people, CNN does NOT need to post an article on their website about Lindsey Lohan's dislike for Palin. Especially when a few months ago it was a headline about her latest run-in with the law and stint in re-hab. Although, I guess I shouldn't complain too much because in reality that sort of gives me an inclination to vote for McCain!
The one thing I really don't understand and really grates my nerves is why is it national news when a celebrity chooses a side? Is America that obsessed with celebrity status that we actually care what these people (who CLEARLY are not like a typical American) think about politics? Seriously people, CNN does NOT need to post an article on their website about Lindsey Lohan's dislike for Palin. Especially when a few months ago it was a headline about her latest run-in with the law and stint in re-hab. Although, I guess I shouldn't complain too much because in reality that sort of gives me an inclination to vote for McCain!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Weekend Update
Friday
Another uneventful day at the office, but I thanks to a good friend, we secured tickets to two VT games! Watched The Great Debaters with the wife and went to bed early. Excellent movie, btw.
Saturday
Up early to pull two large trash bags worth of weeds out of the flower beds. Washed the truck then off to go shopping. Home just in time to watch the Hokie game. Ate a quick bite then off to play poker with some friends. Up way too late watching the little lady try and win me some money.
Sunday
Overslept due to poker. Cleaned the house. Off to Blockbuster and Sam's Club (my favorite place in the west end) to buy lots and lots of food. Ran out to Stony Point because it was Phoebe's birthday and we've become 'those people' that treat their dogs like children. Spent an hour walking around the mall with our spoiled little yuppy dog. She didn't want people to touch her, but wanted to sniff everyone...and she refused to drink water out of the bowls (it's a dog friendly mall) instead drank straight from the faucet after I turned it on. And yes we bought her a little doggie cake from Three Dog Bakery. Cut the grass and then watched Miss Pettigrew.
Another uneventful day at the office, but I thanks to a good friend, we secured tickets to two VT games! Watched The Great Debaters with the wife and went to bed early. Excellent movie, btw.
Saturday
Up early to pull two large trash bags worth of weeds out of the flower beds. Washed the truck then off to go shopping. Home just in time to watch the Hokie game. Ate a quick bite then off to play poker with some friends. Up way too late watching the little lady try and win me some money.
Sunday
Overslept due to poker. Cleaned the house. Off to Blockbuster and Sam's Club (my favorite place in the west end) to buy lots and lots of food. Ran out to Stony Point because it was Phoebe's birthday and we've become 'those people' that treat their dogs like children. Spent an hour walking around the mall with our spoiled little yuppy dog. She didn't want people to touch her, but wanted to sniff everyone...and she refused to drink water out of the bowls (it's a dog friendly mall) instead drank straight from the faucet after I turned it on. And yes we bought her a little doggie cake from Three Dog Bakery. Cut the grass and then watched Miss Pettigrew.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Weekend Update
It's Tuesday. I know my three loyal readers are wondering what we did this past weekend. So here ya go...
Friday
Watched and thoroughly enjoyed What Happens in Vegas. I'm not a fan of Cameron Diaz...at all. But she was less annoying in this movie and most scenes were stolen by Ashton Kutcher. This is the first movie in a long time that had me crying from laughing so hard.
Saturday
Watched the rain for hours. Cleaned the house some...why do two people and two dogs need three toilets?? We need some kids so I can give my half of the chores away : ) Then we sat around and listened to the Tech game on lame AM radio. Next year we'll have Xm in the house. Silly tropical storm was kind of a let down...so we went window shopping. Then we watched 21. Why is Kevin Spacey always so creepy. The movie was definitely entertaining and worth a Blockbuster rental (only if you have their online service, seriously people, why have you not signed up for that yet?).
Sunday
Up to run to Kroger so we could have some food. Then off to Race Day at RIR! My dad drove down from podunk MD to see the race. We used to always go to Bud's Creek growing up to watch the Friday night drag strip crowd. Sadly, RIR is a step above that. The people watching was awesome as always. The race was even pretty good too. Don't ask me who my driver is, I'm not THAT into Nascar. I like to go the race, I can't stand watching races on TV (or really any sport other then Hokie Football). But it was confirmed that Lowe's is better then Home Depot...
Friday
Watched and thoroughly enjoyed What Happens in Vegas. I'm not a fan of Cameron Diaz...at all. But she was less annoying in this movie and most scenes were stolen by Ashton Kutcher. This is the first movie in a long time that had me crying from laughing so hard.
Saturday
Watched the rain for hours. Cleaned the house some...why do two people and two dogs need three toilets?? We need some kids so I can give my half of the chores away : ) Then we sat around and listened to the Tech game on lame AM radio. Next year we'll have Xm in the house. Silly tropical storm was kind of a let down...so we went window shopping. Then we watched 21. Why is Kevin Spacey always so creepy. The movie was definitely entertaining and worth a Blockbuster rental (only if you have their online service, seriously people, why have you not signed up for that yet?).
Sunday
Up to run to Kroger so we could have some food. Then off to Race Day at RIR! My dad drove down from podunk MD to see the race. We used to always go to Bud's Creek growing up to watch the Friday night drag strip crowd. Sadly, RIR is a step above that. The people watching was awesome as always. The race was even pretty good too. Don't ask me who my driver is, I'm not THAT into Nascar. I like to go the race, I can't stand watching races on TV (or really any sport other then Hokie Football). But it was confirmed that Lowe's is better then Home Depot...
August $ Update
It will be nice when I can report that our accounts actually made money during the month! Thankfully, everything is still at least positive...but only because of our contributions. I have to figure out a better way of reporting this stuff. Anyway, our net worth is up about 1.5% for the month again all of that is from contributions.
Some how we managed to be way under budget this month. It helps that my wife had some overtime and an extra paycheck in August. Our gas bill (for the cars) went down a bunch thanks to the recent price drop at the pump. Don't get me wrong, I'm still for higher gas prices, but I won't complain when I've got extra cash.
This is especially true now that it seems every other bill is going through the roof. Last week I paid our Verizon bill which went up 17% in one month. We didn't add any extras or have any sort of limited time offer that expired. I have not called to complain or at least find an answer to the increased cost, but I will be soon. The only reason I haven't is because I love our Verizon service...and they just added a bunch of HD channels for me : ) I probably should cancel the cable all together, but for now I can afford it and there's just nothing that beats coming home to watch Barefoot Contessa in HD!!
Some how we managed to be way under budget this month. It helps that my wife had some overtime and an extra paycheck in August. Our gas bill (for the cars) went down a bunch thanks to the recent price drop at the pump. Don't get me wrong, I'm still for higher gas prices, but I won't complain when I've got extra cash.
This is especially true now that it seems every other bill is going through the roof. Last week I paid our Verizon bill which went up 17% in one month. We didn't add any extras or have any sort of limited time offer that expired. I have not called to complain or at least find an answer to the increased cost, but I will be soon. The only reason I haven't is because I love our Verizon service...and they just added a bunch of HD channels for me : ) I probably should cancel the cable all together, but for now I can afford it and there's just nothing that beats coming home to watch Barefoot Contessa in HD!!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Weekend Update...Special Edition
Last weekend started on Wednesday...which is really how I prefer to roll...
Wednesday
Drove the wife's hot new car to Cville so Em could pick me up to start our road trip. Got to Blacksburg and had dinner with my old advisor and her husband...munched on yumminess at The Cellar (which btw the food is still amazing and service disgustingly slow). Packed up the Prius and to bed late.
Thursday
Up early to sit in the Prius. Drove through Southwest VA...and realized I missed those crazy rednecks down there. Spent 30 minutes looking for a Chick-fil-a in Tennessee because the bill board wasn't clear on the directions and our GPS was old school and hadn't been updated. Drove to Russellville, Arkansas to a pleasantly cheap yet not sketchy motel.
Friday
Up early to have more bonding time with the Prius. Fun little lunch in downtown Oklahoma City. Witnessed some crazy rain storms in Northern Texas...seriously...we could tell it was raining a mile before we got into it...and rain drops so large it looked like it was snowing!! Everything really is bigger in Texas. Bored to tears in Eastern New Mexico. Slept in Albuquerque...which seemed like a nice little mountain town
Saturday
Up early again...to a surprising chill in the air. Why had I assumed that New Mexico would be blazing hot in late August?? Was amazed at a) the beauty of western New Mexico and b) the insanely long trains that we kept seeing over and over...I also had no idea we used trains as much as we do to transport stuff still. Spent the afternoon driving in the Mojave desert...and was incredibly thankful the car didn't leave us there...seriously people...an hour and a half went by without seeing a house, cow, anything alive. Saw some more crazy rain storms, but seemed to skirt around most of them. In Pasadena at 5ish. Unpacked the car at the new place. Dealt with much crying, worried mothers, and drugged up friends.
Sunday
No sleep. Like literally...no sleep. Cranky and hungry...thankfully I packed pop tarts and we found coffee quickly. Off to the craziest experience at a Home Depot...ever. 50 or so hispanics hanging out in the parking lot...assuming they were looking for work? Two preppy white kids in the Prius apparently looked like they needed help. Much cleaning, fixing, hanging curtain rods, etc. Off to the airport to realize I booked my flight home on THE WRONG DAY. Very tired and very frustrated. Had to get picked up at the airport...more on this later.
Monday
Up at 3:45am to call Delta to try and get on an early flight. To the airport to catch a 7:45am flight. So tired I was almost in tears. I'm big (6'5") so there was no way I could sleep on the plane. Spent four hours being incredibly uncomfortable...usually I steal leg room from my lovely wife cause she's small and can sleep standing up...but no wife on this trip : ( Banged my head on the STUPID tv screen trying to get off the flight. Turned around to the heckles...which stopped after people realized I could turn this into a fun little domino effect for the ENTIRE PLANE. Caught my connecting flight and was able to score an exit row seat with legroom!! So excited until a large former football player sat next to me. Don't ask who, I don't know. Something about college ball and the Redskins. Two night of no sleep and a sore back left me not giving a rip who was around me as long as they didn't slow down the process of getting back to Richmond. Got back home to a wife who needed attention (not like that!!!). Tried my best to not be cranky and fall asleep while sitting on the couch.
ps
will get pics as soon as i get them...no room in my one small back pack to fit a camera!
Wednesday
Drove the wife's hot new car to Cville so Em could pick me up to start our road trip. Got to Blacksburg and had dinner with my old advisor and her husband...munched on yumminess at The Cellar (which btw the food is still amazing and service disgustingly slow). Packed up the Prius and to bed late.
Thursday
Up early to sit in the Prius. Drove through Southwest VA...and realized I missed those crazy rednecks down there. Spent 30 minutes looking for a Chick-fil-a in Tennessee because the bill board wasn't clear on the directions and our GPS was old school and hadn't been updated. Drove to Russellville, Arkansas to a pleasantly cheap yet not sketchy motel.
Friday
Up early to have more bonding time with the Prius. Fun little lunch in downtown Oklahoma City. Witnessed some crazy rain storms in Northern Texas...seriously...we could tell it was raining a mile before we got into it...and rain drops so large it looked like it was snowing!! Everything really is bigger in Texas. Bored to tears in Eastern New Mexico. Slept in Albuquerque...which seemed like a nice little mountain town
Saturday
Up early again...to a surprising chill in the air. Why had I assumed that New Mexico would be blazing hot in late August?? Was amazed at a) the beauty of western New Mexico and b) the insanely long trains that we kept seeing over and over...I also had no idea we used trains as much as we do to transport stuff still. Spent the afternoon driving in the Mojave desert...and was incredibly thankful the car didn't leave us there...seriously people...an hour and a half went by without seeing a house, cow, anything alive. Saw some more crazy rain storms, but seemed to skirt around most of them. In Pasadena at 5ish. Unpacked the car at the new place. Dealt with much crying, worried mothers, and drugged up friends.
Sunday
No sleep. Like literally...no sleep. Cranky and hungry...thankfully I packed pop tarts and we found coffee quickly. Off to the craziest experience at a Home Depot...ever. 50 or so hispanics hanging out in the parking lot...assuming they were looking for work? Two preppy white kids in the Prius apparently looked like they needed help. Much cleaning, fixing, hanging curtain rods, etc. Off to the airport to realize I booked my flight home on THE WRONG DAY. Very tired and very frustrated. Had to get picked up at the airport...more on this later.
Monday
Up at 3:45am to call Delta to try and get on an early flight. To the airport to catch a 7:45am flight. So tired I was almost in tears. I'm big (6'5") so there was no way I could sleep on the plane. Spent four hours being incredibly uncomfortable...usually I steal leg room from my lovely wife cause she's small and can sleep standing up...but no wife on this trip : ( Banged my head on the STUPID tv screen trying to get off the flight. Turned around to the heckles...which stopped after people realized I could turn this into a fun little domino effect for the ENTIRE PLANE. Caught my connecting flight and was able to score an exit row seat with legroom!! So excited until a large former football player sat next to me. Don't ask who, I don't know. Something about college ball and the Redskins. Two night of no sleep and a sore back left me not giving a rip who was around me as long as they didn't slow down the process of getting back to Richmond. Got back home to a wife who needed attention (not like that!!!). Tried my best to not be cranky and fall asleep while sitting on the couch.
ps
will get pics as soon as i get them...no room in my one small back pack to fit a camera!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I'm back!
More details to come, but I'm back in Richmond after a very long few days. We made it out to LA just fine and the Prius held up well (even though I hate it). I've been struggling all day today at the office though!
ps
You know you dislike your job when you would rather drive 2,600 miles in three days then be in your office for two.
ps
You know you dislike your job when you would rather drive 2,600 miles in three days then be in your office for two.
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