I love you all.
But, what the heck? What is the obsession with late summer/early fall weddings, births, and house purchases? I can't effectively budget for you all to hold events within the same 6 week span of time!
Within the next 6 weeks, I have...
2 , possibly 3 baby showers
1 wedding that I can't attend, but need to send a gift
1 wedding (on Octoberfest weekend mind you!) that I am in - so not only do I need to buy a gift, but I need to pay to get my hair and nails done, and my dress altered
Plus, everyone is looking to buy houses and move and have housewarming parties.
To be honest, it's not the money that I'm worried about.
I hate sorting through gift registries and trying to find an item that is still available and truly says "This is from Gina." I can't just buy anything you know!?!?!?!
Ok, end of rant. have a nice day.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Dayton Challenge is a challenge
Mostly because I thought that I would list my challange wins and losses here once a week...but by the time that I sit down to write something, I've forgotten my Dayton experience by that point. There was a question on Cash Cab the other day in which the root of the answer had to do with Dayton.
What's new?
I pretty much stay out of my own dining room. Since it's really just the 2 of us, Jerry and I often eat dinner at the small (2-person) kitchen table. Except on mondays when we eat $5 Hot N Ready Little Caesar's in front of the big TV while watching our Monday lineup (Cash Cab, NCIS, and the 7-8 block of "How I met your Mother" on Lifetime - yes, Lifetime) before heading off to win MLTrivia.
What a tangent!
So, I pretty much stay out of the dining room. The DR has a distinct look to it, courtesy of the previous owner. It's very....hmmmm...country. After pulling up the carpet and exposing the hardwood floors, and stashing as much as we can in the room's closet, we decided that we didn't hate the current scheme. However, in the 4 months that we have lived there, I have come to realize that we cannot seem to decorate it!
See why:
What's new?
I pretty much stay out of my own dining room. Since it's really just the 2 of us, Jerry and I often eat dinner at the small (2-person) kitchen table. Except on mondays when we eat $5 Hot N Ready Little Caesar's in front of the big TV while watching our Monday lineup (Cash Cab, NCIS, and the 7-8 block of "How I met your Mother" on Lifetime - yes, Lifetime) before heading off to win MLTrivia.
What a tangent!
So, I pretty much stay out of the dining room. The DR has a distinct look to it, courtesy of the previous owner. It's very....hmmmm...country. After pulling up the carpet and exposing the hardwood floors, and stashing as much as we can in the room's closet, we decided that we didn't hate the current scheme. However, in the 4 months that we have lived there, I have come to realize that we cannot seem to decorate it!
See why:
That's the living room as the former owner had it (that's her furniture and everything). Our dining set is very similar (a little lighter) and we have a side buffet table that's probably just as dark as the one in this picture. We did change out the light fixture to a dark bronze with frosted lamps. The only decorations on the walls are a picture of Jerry's former church and a plate of the same.
I want to paint it a dark color above the chair rail, get rid of the wall paper and paint it white below the chair rail (maybe change out the chair rail), keep the red accents and finish the room with black and white photos.
If Betsy doesn't convince me to keep it as is!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, boring Monday
Slow day so far today.
We are in Day 3 of the anti-Dayton challennge and I am already amending the rules slightly...
The goal is to not encounter anything new from Dayton at least one day a week. The clarification had to come after it was brought to my attention that the following have Dayton connections:
-The electronic car starter
-Freon
-Cash registers
-Jerry
All things I can't seem to escape on a regular basis.
The list of encounters is growing by the minute, I swear. And Jerry is now heavily into researching all things Dayton to attempt to ensure that I don't win the battle. Yesterday brought the following loose connection:
J: Who does your sister live with?
G: Matt
J: and who does Matt look like?
G: AJ Hawk
J: And where is AJ Hawk from?
You can just guess that the answer is Dayton.
We are in Day 3 of the anti-Dayton challennge and I am already amending the rules slightly...
The goal is to not encounter anything new from Dayton at least one day a week. The clarification had to come after it was brought to my attention that the following have Dayton connections:
-The electronic car starter
-Freon
-Cash registers
-Jerry
All things I can't seem to escape on a regular basis.
The list of encounters is growing by the minute, I swear. And Jerry is now heavily into researching all things Dayton to attempt to ensure that I don't win the battle. Yesterday brought the following loose connection:
J: Who does your sister live with?
G: Matt
J: and who does Matt look like?
G: AJ Hawk
J: And where is AJ Hawk from?
You can just guess that the answer is Dayton.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Is it all about Dayton?
Jerry maintains that a day doesn't go by that you don't encounter something from Dayton, OH.
I am officially issuing myself a challenge to see if it is all about Dayton? I am thinking that this will be a weekly update to this site. I am attempting to go at least one day each week without encountering something from Dayton (aside from parts that run your car, because I have very little choice there!).
The Challenge starts tomorrow! The first official Challenge Update will be next Friday!
In the mean time, I'm excited about all that will be happening this weekend... Dinosaur Exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center, Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, dinner and a Reds game (all on Saturday) and breakfast at mom and dad's, taking Jerry lunch at work, meeting Christopher and Eddy for Chris's birthday lunch, and working on my B2B Syllabus.
All while attempting to avoid things from Dayton...shoot Chris is from Dayton. Scratch Sunday off the list!
I am officially issuing myself a challenge to see if it is all about Dayton? I am thinking that this will be a weekly update to this site. I am attempting to go at least one day each week without encountering something from Dayton (aside from parts that run your car, because I have very little choice there!).
The Challenge starts tomorrow! The first official Challenge Update will be next Friday!
In the mean time, I'm excited about all that will be happening this weekend... Dinosaur Exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center, Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, dinner and a Reds game (all on Saturday) and breakfast at mom and dad's, taking Jerry lunch at work, meeting Christopher and Eddy for Chris's birthday lunch, and working on my B2B Syllabus.
All while attempting to avoid things from Dayton...shoot Chris is from Dayton. Scratch Sunday off the list!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Dear neighbors' cat
You scare me!
When you climb up in the window and stare into my house....freaky!
I feel like you're staring into my soul.
Stop it!
Isn't there a window on the other side of your house?
Stare at those neighbors!
When you climb up in the window and stare into my house....freaky!
I feel like you're staring into my soul.
Stop it!
Isn't there a window on the other side of your house?
Stare at those neighbors!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday afternoon update
The work day is winding down and I am stuck in limbo on just aobut every project on my desk...waiting for others to respond to emails or drop off files is daunting work!
In any case, it was another boring weekend around the house...
Saturday morning was a rush of laundry, cleaning and getting ready for Christine's bridal shower. I realized that I don't own any kind of non-christmas wrapping paper or gift bags. So off to Deals I went. On my way, I saw an albino squirrel climbing down a tree. It was early so I thought the sun was playing tricks on my eyes. So of course I pulled over to verify, and to definitively determine that albino squirrels are creepy. I came home, wrapped up the BEST gift ever, did a few more things around the house and then convinced Jerry to drive me to the party (well I drove and then he took the car and came back to pick me up - can you believe I let him drive my new car?!?!?!)
So, I am not the only one who thinks that I brought the best gifts ever: ice cube shot glass maker, pineapple easy slicer,a nd of course a pineapple. I thought they were the perfect items to say, "These are from Gina!" Just wait for the actual wedding gift! Chrissy hasn't stopped talking about them since.
After the party, it was off to ma and pa Hoell's in order to check out the new entertainment system in the basement. By the way, a 65" TV is a ridiculous (-ly awesome) investment. But to be honest once you start watching, you lose sight of the size. We watched the beginning of Spaceballs before deciding that Jerry needed food...and we were kinda bored.
Not ready to go home yet, Jerry and I embarked on a furniture shopping expedition. We have been looking for a loveseat to put in the office. We found something that we like at IKEA, but we keep talking ourselves out of it. A vist to American Freight and Value City furniture and I was hungry! Being in the Tri-County area, we decided to go to Chili's. After sitting for nearly 10 minutes with no real service (aside from the incredibly polite and probably well-underpaid host), we decided to skip out, and so did the people who were seated right before us. We ended up at Friday's with the overly-jovial waiter "Tiny." I kid you not, that's how he introduced himself.
After filling up, we both decided that we were incredibly tired and would forego any other stops in favor of heading home. And what should we find at home... a Harry Potter marathan. Chamber of Secrets was ending, which meant that up next was Prisoner of Azkaban. The "Dementors" drinking game* reared it's ugly head and I was spent about half way through the movie.
Sunday was equally boring. I went back to my parents' for family breakfast. Jerry began his first Sunday of opening at 9:00 am.
I didn't last long at my parents'. Dad turned Spaceballs on again and I took that as my cue to head home and get work done...which didn't happen because I took a nap instead. Oh and it was a glorious nap.
I lounged around for a bit before deciding to get ready to head off to the Honors-PLUS incoming freshman welcome event. And boy did I feel old when Jeri couldn't even remember how long it had been since I graduated. I'm 10 years older than these babies! It was an enjoyable evening of reminiscing.
While I was attending theat function, Jerry was hanging out with his male posse at a "meat shower." This would be an event where the boys get together, throw a bunch of meat on the grill and gorge themselves with the flavors of the animal kingdom. Gross! From what I hear, many of them were hurting a little today - meat hangover anyone?
*"Dementors" drinking game is played by drinking every time a dementor is seen or spoken of in the movie. It gets pretty rough pretty quickly!
In any case, it was another boring weekend around the house...
Saturday morning was a rush of laundry, cleaning and getting ready for Christine's bridal shower. I realized that I don't own any kind of non-christmas wrapping paper or gift bags. So off to Deals I went. On my way, I saw an albino squirrel climbing down a tree. It was early so I thought the sun was playing tricks on my eyes. So of course I pulled over to verify, and to definitively determine that albino squirrels are creepy. I came home, wrapped up the BEST gift ever, did a few more things around the house and then convinced Jerry to drive me to the party (well I drove and then he took the car and came back to pick me up - can you believe I let him drive my new car?!?!?!)
So, I am not the only one who thinks that I brought the best gifts ever: ice cube shot glass maker, pineapple easy slicer,a nd of course a pineapple. I thought they were the perfect items to say, "These are from Gina!" Just wait for the actual wedding gift! Chrissy hasn't stopped talking about them since.
After the party, it was off to ma and pa Hoell's in order to check out the new entertainment system in the basement. By the way, a 65" TV is a ridiculous (-ly awesome) investment. But to be honest once you start watching, you lose sight of the size. We watched the beginning of Spaceballs before deciding that Jerry needed food...and we were kinda bored.
Not ready to go home yet, Jerry and I embarked on a furniture shopping expedition. We have been looking for a loveseat to put in the office. We found something that we like at IKEA, but we keep talking ourselves out of it. A vist to American Freight and Value City furniture and I was hungry! Being in the Tri-County area, we decided to go to Chili's. After sitting for nearly 10 minutes with no real service (aside from the incredibly polite and probably well-underpaid host), we decided to skip out, and so did the people who were seated right before us. We ended up at Friday's with the overly-jovial waiter "Tiny." I kid you not, that's how he introduced himself.
After filling up, we both decided that we were incredibly tired and would forego any other stops in favor of heading home. And what should we find at home... a Harry Potter marathan. Chamber of Secrets was ending, which meant that up next was Prisoner of Azkaban. The "Dementors" drinking game* reared it's ugly head and I was spent about half way through the movie.
Sunday was equally boring. I went back to my parents' for family breakfast. Jerry began his first Sunday of opening at 9:00 am.
I didn't last long at my parents'. Dad turned Spaceballs on again and I took that as my cue to head home and get work done...which didn't happen because I took a nap instead. Oh and it was a glorious nap.
I lounged around for a bit before deciding to get ready to head off to the Honors-PLUS incoming freshman welcome event. And boy did I feel old when Jeri couldn't even remember how long it had been since I graduated. I'm 10 years older than these babies! It was an enjoyable evening of reminiscing.
While I was attending theat function, Jerry was hanging out with his male posse at a "meat shower." This would be an event where the boys get together, throw a bunch of meat on the grill and gorge themselves with the flavors of the animal kingdom. Gross! From what I hear, many of them were hurting a little today - meat hangover anyone?
*"Dementors" drinking game is played by drinking every time a dementor is seen or spoken of in the movie. It gets pretty rough pretty quickly!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
It's been a rough morning.
I'm sure that you will find this entertaining. It's ok to laugh because I am now...in hindsight.
So I got up this morning and took a quick shower. Wrapping myself in a towel, I went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. In the process of grabbing things out of the fridge, I managed to knock over a container of cottage cheese. The lid popped off and half the contents of the container spilled along the edge of the fridge and all over the floor.
Great!
I grabbed a paper towel and a paper plate and began scooping the cheese onto the plate to make it easier to dispose. As I was doing this, I loosened what appeared to be a twig from underneath the fridge. No big deal. I thought that maybe someone had tracked something in from the yard and it just got knocked under the fridge.
So, I pulled on the twig thinking, "Fine, I'll just clean this up too and move on with my morning."
It wasn't a twig...
It was the tail of a mouse. A dead mouse.
Like a little girl, my first instinct was to scream...loudly.
Then there was a split second when I thought 2 things:
1. I just screamed incredibly loudly. Bet I woke up Jerry (and maybe the neighbors - loud I tell you)
2. I have a decision to make... Man up and finish cleaning this up or continue to act like a silly school girl and whine to Jerry to handle this.
As I mentioned before, I screamed loudly and probably woke up Jerry.
I proceeded to climb the stairs. Entering the bedroom, I found Jerry sitting upright in the bed.
"What was that noise?" he asked.
I attempted to tell him what I had found in the kitchen, but the mental image of the dead mouse made it hard to talk without vomiting slightly in mouth with each word.
"Will you please handle this?" I asked. (I apologized for acting like a little girl)
A full 2 hours before he would have to wake up otherwise, Jerry was in the kitchen scooping up dead mouse and cleaning the floor. I continued to get ready for work...far far away from the kitchen.
Needless to say, I never ate breakfast.
So I got up this morning and took a quick shower. Wrapping myself in a towel, I went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. In the process of grabbing things out of the fridge, I managed to knock over a container of cottage cheese. The lid popped off and half the contents of the container spilled along the edge of the fridge and all over the floor.
Great!
I grabbed a paper towel and a paper plate and began scooping the cheese onto the plate to make it easier to dispose. As I was doing this, I loosened what appeared to be a twig from underneath the fridge. No big deal. I thought that maybe someone had tracked something in from the yard and it just got knocked under the fridge.
So, I pulled on the twig thinking, "Fine, I'll just clean this up too and move on with my morning."
It wasn't a twig...
It was the tail of a mouse. A dead mouse.
Like a little girl, my first instinct was to scream...loudly.
Then there was a split second when I thought 2 things:
1. I just screamed incredibly loudly. Bet I woke up Jerry (and maybe the neighbors - loud I tell you)
2. I have a decision to make... Man up and finish cleaning this up or continue to act like a silly school girl and whine to Jerry to handle this.
As I mentioned before, I screamed loudly and probably woke up Jerry.
I proceeded to climb the stairs. Entering the bedroom, I found Jerry sitting upright in the bed.
"What was that noise?" he asked.
I attempted to tell him what I had found in the kitchen, but the mental image of the dead mouse made it hard to talk without vomiting slightly in mouth with each word.
"Will you please handle this?" I asked. (I apologized for acting like a little girl)
A full 2 hours before he would have to wake up otherwise, Jerry was in the kitchen scooping up dead mouse and cleaning the floor. I continued to get ready for work...far far away from the kitchen.
Needless to say, I never ate breakfast.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
That was easy
I'm bragging a little here...
On Sunday, Jerry and I took inventory of the food that we have in the house that just isn't getting eaten. We then planned out all our meals this week to eat up all this food and found that we have absolutely no reason to go to the grocery store (score!).
Then, I started to look at what we had planned out and what I was really eating (calories/protein/fat/carbs/fiber) based on a diet that someone proposed for me. I plugged in the numbers for the foods that I already knew we were going to eat and filled in the blanks with other food to which I have access here in Crestview Hills. And to my shock and amazement, I was well below the proposed counts in each category! Although, I really think it might be bad to be so far below the protein count, but that's ok.
What's the point? Well, in just 2 days of not necessarily eating healthy, but just paying attention to what I am eating, I have lost 2 pounds (double score!).
I'm considering adopting the Mindy Ross diet: one 12 oz. beer a day!
On Sunday, Jerry and I took inventory of the food that we have in the house that just isn't getting eaten. We then planned out all our meals this week to eat up all this food and found that we have absolutely no reason to go to the grocery store (score!).
Then, I started to look at what we had planned out and what I was really eating (calories/protein/fat/carbs/fiber) based on a diet that someone proposed for me. I plugged in the numbers for the foods that I already knew we were going to eat and filled in the blanks with other food to which I have access here in Crestview Hills. And to my shock and amazement, I was well below the proposed counts in each category! Although, I really think it might be bad to be so far below the protein count, but that's ok.
What's the point? Well, in just 2 days of not necessarily eating healthy, but just paying attention to what I am eating, I have lost 2 pounds (double score!).
I'm considering adopting the Mindy Ross diet: one 12 oz. beer a day!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A month??? Oops
Just saw that the last update on here was my birthday. I really thought that I was doing better than that. oh my goodness, so much has happened in the last month...
We got a kegerator - still trying to empty the keg. Help is always appreciated! (Jerry is getting sick of Miller Lite)
We had a housewarming party. Thank you to everyone who came out. And thank you all for the gifts which were very much appreciated yet completely unnecessary. I am still trying incredibly hard to not kill the plant from Kelly!
We got a 2nd refrigerator that lives in the garage - slightly scratched with a little dent in the bottom - for $50. No complaints here.
I selected my book for the course that I am teaching at UC. And now comes the daunting task of sitting down and creating the curriculum! Yikes! First day of class is September 24. (Kelly please plan your child's birth accordingly!)
Wow, we lead a terribly (sarcastically) exciting life in the D-ville. This is the most boring thing that I have ever written. I am falling asleep reading it back to myself.
Work has been VERY busy for me...lots of rpojects - creating new collateral, trying to convince people that it makes perfect sense to change the address of a building, listening to my boss praise my co-worker who has made 2 kinda huge mistakes in as many days and yet managed to relocate blame onto others. (Who are you calling bitter?) Very busy!
I am going to work harder to update this here blog with all the goings-on around the Hoell/McWhorter house, so I guess we should probably start doing more exciting things...
We got a kegerator - still trying to empty the keg. Help is always appreciated! (Jerry is getting sick of Miller Lite)
We had a housewarming party. Thank you to everyone who came out. And thank you all for the gifts which were very much appreciated yet completely unnecessary. I am still trying incredibly hard to not kill the plant from Kelly!
We got a 2nd refrigerator that lives in the garage - slightly scratched with a little dent in the bottom - for $50. No complaints here.
I selected my book for the course that I am teaching at UC. And now comes the daunting task of sitting down and creating the curriculum! Yikes! First day of class is September 24. (Kelly please plan your child's birth accordingly!)
Wow, we lead a terribly (sarcastically) exciting life in the D-ville. This is the most boring thing that I have ever written. I am falling asleep reading it back to myself.
Work has been VERY busy for me...lots of rpojects - creating new collateral, trying to convince people that it makes perfect sense to change the address of a building, listening to my boss praise my co-worker who has made 2 kinda huge mistakes in as many days and yet managed to relocate blame onto others. (Who are you calling bitter?) Very busy!
I am going to work harder to update this here blog with all the goings-on around the Hoell/McWhorter house, so I guess we should probably start doing more exciting things...
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