Ramblings

Big weekend

2009-07-14T13:36:00.001-04:00

This weekend is Gus Macker. That means babies and corn dogs. It doesn't get much better than that.

I moved my cards.

2009-07-02T20:31:00.002-04:00

Here. Check 'em out. Follow it. Tell people about it.

I'll be slowly adding my inventory over the next few days.

Thanks.

Thanks, life.

2009-07-02T20:27:00.003-04:00

As usual, just when we started to get ahead, everything needs fixed/repaired at the same time.

A couple of days ago I ran over something that obliterated my tire. I have an AWD car which means I have to replace all of my tires at one time. Great.

Klif went to the dentist today to fix a chipped tooth. Turns out he needed an immediate root canal.

It's stuff that I know needed done, so it's not like I'm angry that it had to happen. It just all happens at once!

On a more positive note, I bought that lot of stamps for $90, kept half of them, and resold the rest for $80. So essentially I got 500+ stamps for $10. Nice.

Stamp heaven

2009-06-27T21:23:00.005-04:00

I just scored another awesome deal on craigslist.

For $90 I scored 950+ Stampin' Up! stamps (some of the best quality out there) plus 19 stamp pads, a stamp pad rack, refill ink bottles, and tons of extras.

That's about $.10 per stamp, when these retail anywhere from $5-$20 for a single stamp.

They took up my entire craft room floor just to look at all that I had bought.

Lots of good food.

2009-06-27T21:00:00.003-04:00

Last Thursday I was excited to go home, get a little work done, and head to bed early. Life had other plans. I went home and made some banana bread (this stuff has gone over very well, and is so easy!).

I was just getting ready to head to bed when Klif called and let me know that he had picked up an overnight shift and could I bring him some food. I packed up a lunch bag with odds and ends so that there would be something that would sound good to him, and drove the 20 minutes downtown. Just a little behind my planned schedule, I headed back home to sleep. On the way, I got the text.

From: Jeremiah Cooper
"The baby is making a run for the border!"

I let him know I'd be there shortly. I stopped by home, packed a bag with work clothes for tomorrow, changed into my PJs, and grabbed my banana bread.

As soon as I walked in the door to their hospital room they wheeled her out. Turns out her water had broken the day before and she hadn't dilated at all. On top of that, Nichole was starting to get a temperature, and both her and baby's heart rates were raising. The doctors suggested a c-section to limit risks to either of their health.

About an hour later, Lily was born. Her blood sugar was a bit low, so she couldn't come into the room until about 11:30. I briefly held her, and then we all left so they could get some rest. I had to be at work in an hour and a half anyway, so I drover to work, let the security guards know that I was there, and napped in my car for 45 minutes until time to go in.

That was a rough morning at work. I left very early, and came home and slept until 4pm. Klif and I went back up to the hospital so Klif could see Lily, and then we went to dinner with mom and dad at Fox and Hound Pub.

A little too smoky, but the food was really good.

That night I cooked up some freezer meals for Jeremiah and Nichole so that they could relax a little.

The next morning I got up and headed to Muncie. First to get my haircut (thanks, dad!) and then to grandma's. We ran all over Muncie to different stores. After that it was time to go to mom's to get her my pictures of the baby for her printing needs. As always, that took 5 hours. By that time the storms were coming in really bad, so after having dinner with mom and dad at Taco Bell, we picked up grandma to stay the night with us.

Saturday we ran to some more stores, and then I went to see UP (3-D) (again!) with dad. After that, some putt-putt, and then to grandma's for the night. The next day was church, and then Father's Day lunch with dad, mom, and grandma.

I picked up Josh and Jill's dogs on the way home as they were on their way to Chicago for a couple of days.

Work as usual through the week. Tuesday Klif an I had dinner with an old youth leader of mine and her family. I met her youngest daughter, Hannah. She was adorable and had a great temperament!

I many be needed to watch Lily on Friday night for about an hour. I'm totally stoked.

Meet Lily!

2009-06-27T20:34:00.005-04:00

Meet my new niece.

Lily Sunday Cooper was born Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 6:53 p.m. to my brother and sister-in-law Jeremiah & Nichole. She weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz., was 19 3/4 inches long, and has dark eyes and a full head of hair.

Baking machine.

2009-06-11T16:52:00.004-04:00

The housewarming party was a success, and although I failed to take a single picture, I can assure you one thing. There was plenty of food.

Buffalo chicken dip, black bean/cream cheese dip, and parmesan bites were eaten so fast that I didn't get a chance to try them. As a matter of fact I spent a good amount of time assembling the parmesean bites just to have the whole pan eaten within 2 minutes. Next time I throw a party, I am throwing a parmesean bite party. Seriously.

We also had as amazing desert spread including cookies, brownies, creme puffs, and best of all...the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes.

Yes, you read that right.

And they were amazing.

We had a good turnout, probably about 25 people in and out or so. And the dogs got some sweet gifts. And we got tiki-torches, so that was pretty sweet.

I was really happy with the evening, as the day was really hectic. I stopped on the way home to pick up some baking needs and some frames to cover up the shoddy TV mount job that was done the day before. I immediately started getting food ready. Kyle and Sara helped clean and prepare and Klif did some yard work. My parents even came a bit early to help with prep. I finished up most of the food just as the guests were arriving, and we all seemed to have a good time.

The next week we had the TV installation company send out another guy to fix the first one's mistakes, and are now pretty pleased.

After that it was back to work. About 2 weeks ago they announced 820 jobs were being eliminated, and we just got an email yesterday saying that they were completed. Only about 20 people at our location were laid off (out of about 900)so that was a huge relief.

Tuesday was Klif and I's 2nd anniversary. We celebrated on Monday by going to see UP (3D) (awesome) and then eating at Logan's. The next day, our actual anniversary, we spent cleaning. Hah.

Today I felt ambitious so I came home ans started baking.

Do you know what this is? I bet you wish you do. I'll tell you in a minute.

I also decided to make 12 more cupcakes, since I had leftover filling and icing. Please note that this is all made from scratch. Icing and all. Here are the cupcakes right out of the oven (The cupcakes are a Guinness chocolate batter).

I swear I don't know where the missing cupcake went.

Here they are after I take the lid off of the Jameson bottle and extract holes out of each of them.

Here they are after I fill those holes with made from scratch Jameson chocolate ganache.

And here they are after covering them with a heaping dollop of made from scratch Bailey's Irish Creme butter cream icing.

Stop drooling.

Oh yeah, and that pan full of amazingness I showed you earlier?

Bourbon Banana Bread. Let's just say I already bought more bananas.

I even did all of my dishes afterwards, which means I am exhausted, and now I want to go to bed.

Bueno!

2009-05-28T13:08:00.006-04:00

We've still just been working around the house and working.

We decided to test out our new(to us) grill, once I replaced all of the guts.

We ended up with some pretty tasty burgers.

I also tried to make some homemade ice cream with a maker that my grandma gave me. It was an expensive and time consuming process. It involved cooking the milk, cream, eggs, chocolate, etc. on the stove, cooling it for 3+ hours in the fridge, churning it in the machine for 40 minutes (during which we had to continuously add salt and ice to the bucket), and then packing and freezing it for another 2 hours. Imagine my rage when I found out that something went wrong and it was laced with chunks of egg white. It was disgusting and inedible and we had to throw out all 4 quarts.

On the 16th, I took Klif on a 2 hour road trip to his favorite fast food place: Taco Bueno. One was opened in Jeffersonville a year or two back, and ever since he moved from Texas he has missed it immensely.

He ate so fiercely that he broke a sweat.

Since we had gone all that way, we decided to drive an extra hour and have dinner with friends.

Arrive: Lexington.

We ate at a pretty sweet place called Cheapside.

The patio had a great balcony and atmosphere.

Then Cara got pooped on by a passing bird.

Klif got this amazing meal called the "Downtown Brown". It was toast covered in ham and bacon and tomato and cheese and probably some more delicious stuff.

Then we decided to get some drinks. First off to McCarthy's, where we found a sign quite appropriate for Klif.

Here I was also introduced to the amazingness that is known as a buttery nipple. Perhaps we got too acquainted.

Next off to Horse and Barrel (or something like that) for more drinks and some amazing chips and queso.

Then, off to the fountains that I had wanted to see last time we were here, but didn't get the chance.

Then, back to McCarthy's because I "forgot to get a picture". In reality, we were trying to get the already quite wobbly Klif full fledged drunk for the first time.

Tequila shots should help achieve that.

Then to some bar with the name Molly in it. At that point Klif started to knock over chairs and have trouble getting to the bathroom, so we decided we had achieved our goal. We headed back to the car (I had not had a drink since the first bar many hours before, for your information) and when we stopped by a bathroom Klif proceeded to fall over in the hall.

Then we found Liz Lemon's car.

Three hours later and we were very thankfully home. Mostly me because I was dead tired and Klif was either maniacally lauging or snoring the whole way home.

After that it was back to work. This weekend is our housewarming party, and I just made 100+ meatballs.

Two days to go and I have a ton to do still. Oh well, I work best under pressure.

Back online!

2009-05-08T18:58:00.008-04:00

We finally got our internet hooked up, and I finally got all of the spam and ridiculous forwards from old ladies at work deleted from my inbox. It has been a tremendously busy couple of weeks, and I'll try to catch up as much as possible. I am warning you right now that this is a long long long post. But I want to remember this stuff, so deal with it.

I spent the week after Easter packing like a madman. It was tax deadline week, and I was scheduled to work 60+ hours in addition to closing/moving on Friday and and co-throwing a baby shower on Sunday. I did as much as I could after work while still giving myself enough time to get a good night's sleep so that I wasn't a zombie at the end of the week.

I waited and waited all week to hear from the bank that we would be able to close on Friday. The paperwork had multiple delays throughout the process, including the bank writing up all of my paperwork for the wrong amount the first time around, causing a two week set-back. I called them daily, always hearing "It's still at the underwriter, we hope to have it by Thursday!" Thursday rolled around and they were still waiting. I got really impatient, as I was scheduled to pick up a rental truck that night and also had multiple people coming to help me load the truck.

Finally, at about 2 in the afternoon (3 hours before people were supposed to show up), I got the confirmation call that the paperwork was back.

Dad came in from Muncie, and came a little early to get an early start. We went and picked up the truck, and once Caleb, Megan, Jeremiah, and Nichole showed up, we decided to go out and eat instead. We went to Bub's in the Arts and Design District:

(Oh how I'll miss you, Big Ugly Burger!)

So much for getting an early start.

The guys made some serious progress on the large items, like the couch, dressers, and washer and dryer. Once we got the large items loaded and a nice start on the boxes and small stuff, they headed out for the night and I headed straight to bed so that I could get a good 3 hours before work time.

Friday was ridiculous. Kyle and Klif continued to load the night before, and Klif was left with the task of finishing as much as possible by the time he had to meet me for closing at 1:30. After work, I headed out to the bank to pick up the cashier's check I would need for closing costs. On the way to the bank Aaron, our REA, called and informed me that the title company needed two additional things: new proof of home owner's insurance since the previous fax cut off the provider's name, and proof of receipt of gift funds as documented in our paperwork. I freaked out because
1. It is almost 1pm, and I am on my way to closing, and have no access to my HO paperwork, and
B. I didn't need the full amount of gift money that I originally documented, so I only had my dad send a check for what I needed.

Aaron said just to bring what we had, and everything would work out. At the bank, I got to the teller and gave her my withdrawal slip. We bank with Ball State FCU, which is in Muncie, but has the benefit of being able to deposit and withdrawal through any shared credit union. The lady entered my information and then waited. Then looked up at me and said "I'm sorry, the Ball State server is not responding long enough for me to cut your check." At this point I came unglued. After three more tries, she got it to connect long enough to print my check, and even waived the fee, probably noticing how stressed I was.

On the way from the bank to closing, one of the mortgage loan people called, and began berating me for the whole gift money fiasco.

Her: "What made you think you could change the amount that your dad was giving you? This has to be the exact amount. You will need to get the rest of the money from your dad or we will not be closing today."

Me: "My dad lives over an hour away, I don't know what you want me to do. I wasn't aware that I had to have it to the penny from the application amount. (frustrated) Well then I guess we just won't close today."

We came to the conclusion that we could call my dad and have him wire me the balance. This was an ordeal and lets just say I ended up in the parking lot of the closing offices crying not knowing what was going to happen. Thank goodness dad was available and very sympathetic/helpful.

Into closing.

Things went very smoothly, and in 20 minutes we had received the Reader's Digest version of everything and signed all documents. Dad's wire confirmation was received, but not the funds, so they had to wait on that to cut checks (aka, pay the seller and give us back our closing cost overpayment), but the seller's rep gave us our keys anyway, under the assumption that everything would be smoothed out within hours.

Time to unpack, and so glad that all of the technical stuff was done with. We headed straight to the house, and Klif and I began to unpack before everyone else showed up.

Then, I got the call.

The mortgage lady called, informing me that there was a problem. Dad had wired $200 too much, and that would not fly with our original paperwork. We determined that the best solution was to fill out a new gift letter and fax it to her asap. But we have no computer, no internet, no fax machine, and no dad present. Ugh.

I left Klif to unpack while I drove to Jeremiah's, waited on the email, and then printed, filled it out, signed it, and left it for dad to stop by and sign and fax it to her once he got into town. Back to the house.

Dad called, informed me that everything was done, and I once again was glad that all the bank stuff was done with. More unpacking.

Just a few minutes later, the back calls again. "The letter is great, but we have no confirmation that this money came from your dad's bank account. We need copies of his statements showing the withdrawals." AAAGGGHHH. I caught dad before he left Jeremiah's told him what to do, and he did. Thank goodness. Done with bank stuff, finally.

Everyone else joined us at the house, including some of Klif's work friends, and we knocked out the truck quite quickly. Then, the phone rang. Oh my God, it's the bank again. I almost didn't answer. I mean, I have my keys, what are they going to do, come take them from me (they probably would have)? Turns out dad took the wire money out of a different account than was on his gift letter, and that won't work. But it is 5:30 now and the banks are closed and we will just have to deal with that on Monday. So we are now moving into a house that we do not yet own.

We unpacked all evening, at one point meeting backyard neighbor dogs Peyton and baby chihuahua Pico The Guy-o:

Then some of us sat around while some worked on putting my fridge together (I am way too in love with this fridge):

I also have to include this picture. It speaks for itself:

We made sure we had all of our necessities in place:

At 11:30pm I called and left a message at work, informing the manager that I had been up for 23 hours, wasn't done yet, and would have to be up for work in an hour if I went to bed now, so I would not be in.

Saturday we slept in a bit, and spent most of the day running errands. We had to go to Carmel to get a few more items from the apartment, Menard's to have blinds cut, Mattress store to pick up new bed rails, and other random stops. The closest hardware store to our house is a bit of a drive, so I wanted to get everything out of the way now. Back at home I started on the dryer, by swapping out the pigtail. This was harder that I remember the last time, and took me way too long. On to the washer. As I was hooking it up, I found out a certain piece was too long and I would need a hack saw to cut it. Crap. Back into the car, and to the hardware store. Got back and fixed the issue and continued to hook up the washer. Turned on the water lines. Water started spraying everywhere. CRAP. Need new hoses.

I decided that this time I would drive the opposite way on the main drag, and there would have to be a closer hardware store. Wrong. 20 minutes later I found a Menard's. Back to the house, more unpacking.

Sunday I was off to Kokomo to co-throw a baby shower for Nichole. Everything went well, even making everyone eat baby food.

It was a long day, after an unbelievably long week, and included some family drama. When the time to leave came, I was eager to get home. Home.

I basically had to come home and go to sleep, as it was back to work the next morning. On Monday, I decided that since tax week was over and our work volume was decreasing, I was going to take the rest of the week as vacation days. I love my job.

I spent the whole week unpacking, putting things away, cleaning, washing every piece of cloth we owned before putting it away and washing every dish before we put it away. Klif started on installing blinds and shower curtain rods. After a some trouble and a bit broken off in the wall, I taught him how to use a power drill.

He did a great job with the blinds, except for maybe the vertical blinds, which ended up being about 10 inches off of the ground.

Mom came one day and helped clean and sort, and she came back another day with dad and he fixed the vertical blinds, helped me install the mantle, and helped with other stuff like weeding my "flower beds". They were a huge help and kept buying all kinds of stuff for the house, like my new awesome step stool (which I need to read the top shelf of my kitchen cabinets), cleaning stuff, food, linens, and dishes (as well as a ton of other stuff).

I was so thankful for the week off and also for all of the help.

I went back to work the following week, quite uneventful, and just trying to get back into my sleep schedule after a week of sleeping in. Saturday we celebrated Jeremiah's birthday at his house:

We were warned that this friend of Caleb's was "unique", especially after he had a few. He kept starting sentences, trailing off, and I would just stare at him and say "Are you going to finish that statement?" and he would be totally zoned out.

I love this picture for so many reasons:

Then we took a family photo.

I had to leave almost immediately afterward, because as I was kneeling down for said family photo, I slid my hand across the deck rail, and ended up with this awesome multiple entry point splinter the size of toothpicks:

It wasn't cooperating with tweezers because some how both ends of both pieces were embedded in skin. How does that happen? Time to go home for some minor surgery.

Then we celebrated Robbie's birthday with a bunch of Klif's work friends by going to a hookah bar and a pub that had great boneless wings. (Yes, we have a friend!)

Really the next week was uneventful as well. More unpacking, working, organizing, etc. I put together my new kitchen island, which I love, maybe as much as my fridge. Today, something amazing happened:

This will be completed tomorrow afternoon. I'm really tired of typing, and this took way too long, so I'm quitting now.

Easter weekend.

2009-04-15T14:21:00.003-04:00

I left work Saturday and went straight to Muncie. Subway lured me in with the infamous $5 foot-long on the way, and I promise I only intended to eat half.

Not much happened that night. Dinner at Applebee's where mom was yelling "PEE PEES" (okay, it was really "PEA PEAS") but all the same, I told her she probably shouldn't be saying that so loud in a public place.

Back at the house, I snooped around.

The baby area is ready to go:

Mom's bathroom looks way better than before (unfortunately there is no before picture):

My piano was still just chilling. Almost, baby...:

Then I found our Easter "baskets":

Then I found Nichole, being pregnant:

Then I settled in to watch some TV and play some Wii. I totally obliterated my mom, just for the record.

At some point in the evening, mom presented me with an early housewarming gift:

So, so awesome. Score one for Target clearance.

Also at some point that night mom set the tables with her finest china:

This was in preparation for our KFC lunch tomorrow, of course.

I finally made it to bed at 11:30, a mere 23 hours after waking up. The next morning it was up and off to church. I enjoyed some free fruit:

Then we listened to my brother talk about Jesus:

Then it was back to the house to get ready for family to join us for lunch. Soon everyone arrived, including Liz and Lora, the Darrocas, and G-ma.

I pestered G-ma, as usual:

And Gertrude was the center of attention, deservingly:

Then Megan fed her some Pop-Rocks, which was pretty awesome:

After eating, the guys just sat around:

And most of the girls sat around "ooh"ing and "aah"ing at baby's Easter basket goodies (Including Gertie):

While the kitchen continued to look like this:

And Gertrude continued to be adorable:

And that pretty much sums up my weekend.

Almost!

2009-04-10T15:32:00.003-04:00

One week and counting. Still waiting on paperwork from the bank.

I rented our moving truck today, and have begun enlisting friends and relatives to help with the move.

Tomorrow I head to Muncie after work; Klif is staying behind for the weekend because of work.

I guess that's it.

Busy busy busy.

2009-04-04T06:40:00.004-04:00

Another busy day! Yesterday after working 10 hours I picked up Klif and we ran some much needed errands. First we stopped by the post office since it seemed that they have already started forwarding our mail even though our request said to start it on the 20th. Awesome. We got that cleared up (hopefully) and headed to Target to pickup a bag and a couple of small gifts for my s-i-l's baby shower #1. We then headed home, where I had enough time to cook dinner (yes at 3pm) and then we were off to pick up the re-worked truck (no issues this time). I got home in time to shower and get into bed.

Now I'm at work, where I will be for another 4 hours, finishing up a break. After that it is off to Muncie so that I can go to the shower and Klif can hang out with dad and Jeremiah. Or sleep.

We will likely sleep in Muncie, waking at 2 so that I can be to work on time Sunday, and then we have to clean the rest of Sunday because of a "pre-move out inspection" (a month before we move out? Really?). I thought weekends were supposed to be relaxing?

Drive shaft

2009-04-02T16:07:00.004-04:00

I was really happy yesterday about the truck being worked on at this specific place that lets us payroll deduct the amount due out of four of Klif's paychecks. So happy, in fact, that since we were running well ahead of schedule this morning when we went to pick it up, I had them go ahead and do the oil change my car so desperately needed and remove a nail from my tire that was causing a horribly annoying extremely slow leak. (I added all of this expense onto the payroll deduct - awesome!)

I had almost made it home when Klif called, on his way to work from the mechanics shop. "I need you to come and pick me up. I'm on the side of the Interstate." Twenty minutes later I found him.

Turns out the mechanics forgot to hook up a pretty important part - the one that connects the drive shaft. Once he reached a high speed, the drive shaft just fell off onto the interstate. Great. So, back to the shop the truck went (the tow and repairs will all be free, of course) and I dropped Klif off at work.

Since I was now on the east side heading home, I decided to stop by the soon house and check out the work that was completed last week. There was a large section of siding missing when we had our inspection, and it had to be completed before our appraisal could be completed. Our agent called last week to tell us that it was confirmed completed and that the appraiser could go back out and ok it. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived this morning, it had re-dismantled, and was flapping in the wind, once again with a large area of exposed house underneath. Great. A quick call to the RE agent and a quick call from him to the listing agent confirmed that it would be fixed within an hour, and we all are hoping that our timing wasn't horrible and the appraiser came back when it was not fixed. I guess we'll find out.

So my 1 hour morning trip turned into a 4 hour one. No big deal though. I finished up my s-i-l's baby shower party gifts and even made a batch of cookies. No packing though. Klif is working a 24 hour shift since he has no vehicle to get home, so I am going to bed now.

Oh boy...

2009-04-01T16:05:00.002-04:00

Oh, blog.

Where to start? I don't even know.

As for the house: none of the previously mentioned houses ended up working out, and we even had to resort to a pretty hasty real estate agent switch, but our first day out with our new agent was successful, and within 2 days an offer we submitted on a new house was accepted. Pictures here.

Basically it is in move in condition, and we move in in like two and a half weeks. If the bank gets its butt in gear. As for our apartment, we have until May 6th to pack up and get out. Our roomate will be staying here until we are moved into the house.

The week we move is a busy one. I work Monday through Saturday and then I am co-throwing a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Because of this, I have been taking advantage of my abundant days off in March and already got a decent start on packing. Our apartment is a mess in most places and empty in the rest:

Thank goodness for a workplace that has used boxes to take home. On a related note, I am very thankful for Klif's employment for yet another reason. The owner of his ambulance company also owns an automobile service center. Both of our vehicles have been in need of some work recently (perfect timing, eh?) and we took Klif's truck in yesterday and the amount due will be deducted over a period of 4 paychecks. That's like a 2 month interest free loan. Sweet.

As an update to one of my most recent posts (though really, not recent at all), Phillip's "tumor" seems to have vanished completely, since I know that you were all having trouble sleeping because of it.

We are still doing the angel food things, and I think we seem to be cooking a bit more, and getting more used to cooking at home. I think it will also help when we don't have a hallway for a kitchen.

Klif and had lunch yesterday at a new (to us) place called the Brockway Public House. It was really good, and I am sort of bummed that we are just trying it before we move. The atmosphere of the place was excellent as was the food.

I think that's it for now. Maybe I'll update again soon (hah!)

New Cards

2009-01-19T19:10:00.001-05:00

Check 'em out!

Poor Phillip

2009-01-17T21:05:00.002-05:00

Thursday I did my usual American funds to Hobby Lobby routine. I was only there an hour before they let me know they were letting go of seasonal help, which I was actually really excited about.

I called and got Phillip a last minute vet appointment to look at a knot/sore that had been bothering him and progressing over the last 3 days. I left T behind an heard him screaming even as we got into the car.

At the vet, they had an assistant holding down P's head, me holding down his rear legs, and the vet had an arm on his body while she prodded his wrist with a large needle. I almost passed out.

She came back and said it was mostly infection, but also that there were masses of white blood cells - a tumor. We don't know yet if it will be problematic or not.

So that sucks.

Other than that, no response yet on the house.

Dead Battery

2009-01-14T14:05:00.002-05:00

Walking .8 miles is not fun. Walking .8 miles in drifting snow is not fun. Walking .8 miles when it is 14 degrees outside is not fun. You know what is even less fun?

All of the above while carrying a 60 POUND car battery.

Oh what we'll do to save a towing fee.

Another house!

2009-01-12T17:40:00.002-05:00

Okay, back at it. We ended up finding another house in the same neighborhood. It is about 5 grand more, needs carpets cleaned and walls painted, but other than that is just like the last one. It was built in 2003, another 4 bed 2.5 bath, and has a wood burning fireplace. We really ended up liking this one better (especially the layout!). So losing the last one didn't end up being so bad.

We officially have an offer in, there are no other offers on the house, and we are just waiting for the counter offer to come back to us. Then all the fun stuff like inspections and assessments and insuring and all of that good stuff starts. Yay.

Nevermind.

2009-01-09T10:47:00.003-05:00

Scratch that house thing. Apparently an offer was accepted on the house the day we viewed it. We didn't even have a chance.

To assist me in my misery, Kroger had a cart full of candy bars for $.10.

Oh, life.

A House!

2009-01-08T19:36:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we are putting an offer on this house:

We found a great deal. It is a bank owned home and it is about 4 minutes from 2 of my brothers (and wives). It isn't where we live now, which kind of sucks, but we just couldn't pass this one up. It was built in 2000, has no visible problems (next up, inspection), and is HUGE. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. Oh, and cheap. That was the kicker.

I'll keep you updated.

Free food!

2009-01-04T20:08:00.003-05:00

One of our roomate's dads works at Hostess. When she visits him, he send back lots of sweet stuff. As is evidenced by the following pictures of our deep freezer:

Other bonuses include a bag full of 100 calorie cake and icing things, Lots of boboli pizza crusts and sauce, and doughnuts!

Sweet!

Stupid Camera

2009-01-03T13:28:00.001-05:00

Also, my camera broke. My flash stopped working and every picture is dark and blurry. Fail.

Catch up!

2009-01-03T13:17:00.004-05:00

Basically the only update I have is that I'm working 70+ hours a week, rarely see my husband, and sometimes find time to sleep. On a positive note, I still really like my job, and we are finally saving some money (while still paying off debts).

We are in the process of "looking at" a house, if that's what you shall call it. I might see if we can head to the bank Tuesday, as they invited us in to talk mortgages. Who knows if we'll get it. I know we can afford it, but I know the banks are really picky right now.

We finally broke down and got a storage unit, and it is very relieving. Yes, instead of getting rid of all of the crap we have no room for, we are going to pay to put it somewhere else. It is mostly fabric >.< and seasonal items, though (Christmas stuff, golf clubs, etc.). We already took one load and I have the car partially loaded with another. I am going to be able to get our deep freezer out of our TV room (although it is headed for the bedroom!) and I will no longer have my hallway walls lined with storage totes and other random crap. Yay!

I hope to be able to jump back into cards soon, I got some great stamps for Christmas. So keep an eye on klifandjordan.etsy.com. I really need to list all of my leftover Christmas cards (a little late, no?).

Okay, seriously. Now I'm just rambling. That's it.

Oh yeah.

2009-01-01T17:46:00.002-05:00

Oops. More to come soon. Maybe.

Infection

2008-11-10T14:50:00.002-05:00

Wednesday I came home from my usual 10 hour shift with no issues, business as usual. I worked in the kitchen on some craft stuff for a while, and then decided I needed to shave. I drew some water into the tub and while shaving, noticed that having my right foot submersed in the water was making my big toe really ache. I didn't think much of it, but noticed that the tip of my big toe and all around the nail was deep red, or almost purple.

I don't know what started it, as I wore the same shoes I wear to work nearly every day, and I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I sat around the rest of the afternoon, as the pain and soreness began to get to a point where it was unbearable. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't walk, I was miserable. We called the nearest Urgent Care Center and off we went.

It only took the nurse one look to start cringing (oh, great) and she slipped me a name of a podiatrist before the doctor came in, prescribed me antibiotics, pain pills, and epsom salt soaks, and told me that I would have to see a podiatrist to get it dealt with.

We stopped by CVS and filled the prescriptions on the way home. I slept well with the Darvocet, and even made sure to wake Klif up in the middle of the night to get me one when the time had come.

The next morning I called the podiatrist's office, who said they could get me in in an hour, and got ready to go. Klif headed off to work, and I hadn't taked a pain pill since the middle of the night, so I choked down a half of a chicken patty and drove to the doctor's office.

Once there, the doctor basically started giving me options, like removing anything ingrown, anti-fungal persriptions to lessen the pressure, etc etc. He said the most drastic would be to remove the nail. I told him that I had been through all of the other options, and that I didn't want to deal with this stuff anymore, so we all agreed that removal was the only option. 4 numbing shots in the toe and 15 minutes later, I was toenailless. I started to feel a bit queasy while in the chair. Probably a mix of adrenaline and the fact that the pain pill I took in the middle of the night was taken on an empty stomach.

The nurses got me all ready to go, and I headed out to my car, only decided that I wasn't about to drive home. I called Klif at work and he headed out to pick me up. I headed back into the office to ask if it was okay to leave my car since Klif was coming, and they said that was fine, and then proceeded to make the waiting room into my own personal comfort chamber. They had me lay on the couch, propped up my foot, brought me a trash can (in case!), brought a fan from another room, placed a cold rag on my head, and gave me the remote. For a second I thought about calling Klif and telling him to take his time.

I made it about 5 minutes in the car before I got sick. 6 times, even. Poor Klif, having to watch...and smell. That chicken patty looked and smelled a lot worse the second time. I spent the next day a half in bed, which really didn't help my craft fair inventory for Saturday, but oh well.

The morning after, I went to change the gauze as expected, and foud that the original gaze pad that the doctor had used was now fused with the raw flesh of my nail bed. I have never known pain like this. I still have some to remove, but have been making little bits of progress with antibiotic ointment and patience.

Angel Food

2008-11-10T14:40:00.002-05:00

We recently tried for the first time Angel Food Ministries (www.angelfoodministries.com). Basically, you find a host site near you, cut them a check for $30 before the due date, and then at the end of the month you pick up a box full of food. There are no income guidelines or stipulations, no qualifying, everyone can use it. Our first box included:

4 ribeye steaks
4 pork chops
1 meatloaf in gravy
1 lb. meatballs
1 lb. chicken fajita chunks
1 lb. spaghetti noodles
1 large can of spaghetti sauce
4.5 lbs. chicken breast
1 lb. california blend vegetables
1 doz. eggs
1 quart shelf stable milk
12 corn tortillas
1 box oatmeal cookies

I'm sure there was more, but we've already eaten most of it. Save for the meatloaf, which was really nothing special (but edible!) the food has all been really good. I have never had pork chops so good!

The menu changes every month, and there are also add-on boxes that you can but if you purchase a regular box. Definitely something worth trying if you are even the slightest bit interested. Next month we're having ribs, steaks, and more!

The Ramen Diet

2008-10-08T18:23:00.002-04:00

The Ramen Diet is going pretty well. What is the Ramen Diet you may ask.

That's the diet you go on after you take an expensive 2 week international vacation and when you come home you have enough grocery money each week for a case of ramen, a loaf of bread, and a gallon of milk. Tonight we got crazy and heated up a can of green beans as a side. I know, I know, a bit overboard.

Last night I made makeshift sweet potatoes. I had a can in the cupboard that I think I've had for 2 years. It was set to expire next month so I put it in a small pyrex dish and added some butter, brown sugar, and near the end some mini marshmallows. Man, we ate like kings. The best part was when klif was almost done he said "HEY! I thought I didn't like sweet potatoes!"

Other than Ramen dieting we are doing pretty good. Back into the flow of work and sleep and work and sleep with an occasional chance to stop and breathe. I am doing two craft fairs in the upcoming months so that just adds more to my to-do list.

Speaking of which (ready for another tangent?), I ventured into the world of candy making recently. Chocolates to be exact. And I've been getting rave reviews. So watch out.

New Cards!

2008-10-01T16:07:00.001-04:00

New cards up at klifandjordan.etsy.com. Check them out!

2008-09-08T03:39:00.002-04:00

It's 8:30am here in Ireland. Just thought I'd do a quick update.

Went to Cory's wedding at Manhattan Beach in California Saturday.

The next day we got on a plane, rode through the night 10 hours, got on another plane for another 45 minutes, and then drove 45 minutes to where we are staying: Adare Manor.

And here is Klif - driving on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road.

Preparations

2008-08-28T13:05:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I bought two round trip plane tickets for Klif and I to go to Dublin for two days while we are in Ireland. Both tickets, including all taxes and fees cost us $87.

The gas over there is double what it is here, yet they can offer <$45 round trip flights?

We are doing something wrong.

More 101 Amazingness...

2008-08-23T12:48:00.003-04:00

We experimented again with our new kitchen gadget, and it was amazing. There is a recipe in the book for corn dogs, but I decided to take it to a new level. I put some cornbread better on the bottom, cut my hot dog in half and placed it on the batter, and instead of just putting more batter on top, I first filled the space with chili and shredded cheddar cheese!

Homemade chili cheese corn dogs! Amazing!

EDIT: Picture!

Free dinner! (Thanks, Dad!)

2008-08-23T12:41:00.003-04:00

Tuesday night was a lot of fun. We had decided earlier in the week to take grandma to dinner that night at Don Pablo's (her favorite) in Carmel. I drove to Kokomo after work, started some laundry at her house, and then we ran some errands before heading back to Carmel to meet Klif. Or so she thought!

It just so happened that the night before I had decided to call Caleb and Jeremiah to see if they wanted to go since they were both in the Indy area as well. They both gave me "I think I can go, but I will let you know." Later that night, I decided that since they were going, I would also call Josh, on the off chance that he would be able to make the drive from Muncie. To my surprise he said they would be able to make it!

Well, the day of the planned dinner, Jeremiah called me and told me they would be there since he and my dad had an appointment in the area just prior. Then I got to thinking, I had better let mom know in case she wants to ride with Josh and Jill. Turns out, a dinner for 3 turned into a dinner for 11. That's not easy to do! And grandma was so surprised!

We went to Best Buy right afterward and my parents got a digital video camera since their old analog one crapped out on them. Just in time for Ireland!

So hungry...

2008-08-17T10:02:00.002-04:00

See, I told you no promises. Anyway, I would like to let you know about an amazing little machine we bought. I'm sure you've seen the infomercials. If you are anything like me, you watched them intently. It's this little gadget called the GT Xpress 101. You should look it up. I've wanted to buy one for so long, but wouldn't give in to the infomercial shipping policy (buy one item get a second item free, but you had to pay $25 shipping on each one).

Well, Target came to my rescue. I purchased one without even thinking about it, even though we had only come to look for a tortilla press (which are nearly impossible to find, let me add).

Well, on our way home from our Slipknot, Disturbed, etc. concert (yes seriously - I was given free VIP tickets through my work, probably because no one else wanted them, so Klif and I decided to go make fun of people for an hour or so before giving away our third row tickets to some old guy and his kid) we stopped by Marsh and Joe's to stock up on ingredients for two of the recipes from the book.

As soon as we got home we started cooking! I made Chiken Cordon Bleu on one side of the well, and started it right away since it had to cook longer. It took me whole 2 minutes to prepare, slicing open the chicken, folding together some ham and provolone (no swiss plz) and shoving it inside, and rolling the chicken in italian break crumbs. While that cooked I started on the other side. It was a thin sliced top round sanwhich steak which I layed flat on the cutting board and covered with this sort of paste that I made out of water, italian bread crumbs, mushroom, and onion. I then topped it off with some parmesean and mozzarella cheese, rolled it up like a jellyroll, and threw it in the other well. In seven minutes diner wass ready!

Let me tell you, that was the best chicken breast I have ever had in my life. It was perfectly cooked, jucy, and just all around delicious.

We've made quite a few things since then. A breakfast biscuit like creation with bacon an cheese, and my favorite - perfectly poached eggs!

I'll keep you updated as we experiment more (p.s. - don't you love the 60's stoneware?).

Beautiful Day

2008-08-10T11:30:00.002-04:00

Klif and I went on a 15 mile spur-of-the-moment bike ride yesterday. It was the perfect day, warm but plenty of clouds in the sky so that there was never really direct sunlight on us. We really had no agenda, and ended up south of 465 before we headed back north.

My rear is seriously sore.

ChaCha!

2008-08-04T13:09:00.003-04:00

I'm officially a ChaCha guide. So if you feel you have random information needs that you need filled, feel free to text ChaCha (242242) and ask. Maybe I'll get your question. Probably not.

Corndogs!

2008-08-02T13:24:00.003-04:00

Heading to Muncie for the weekend so that we can pay Corndog Lady a visit.

Day Off

2008-08-01T11:16:00.001-04:00

Meant to wake up at 6. I guess 10:30 will do...

No Rest

2008-07-30T07:06:00.002-04:00

Do your dreams ever tire you out? Last night I dreamt that Klif and I were in this contest of sorts, and we were running through this mall-like place, going from store to store looking for clues and asking the cashier's for these keys. I don't know what the keys did, but we got a few. Anyway, the dream seemed to go on forever and this morning I feel worn out.

I know that in high school when I worked at McDonald's every once in a while I would dream I was working. It was horrible. I would wake up through the night and think to myself "you've got to dream something different!" but I couldn't help it. I would fall back asleep and be right back putting the ketchup and mustard on the burger.

Sunshine (No Sandwich)

2008-07-29T09:17:00.000-04:00

Do you know what one of the great perks of my job is?

Seeing the sunrise every day.

I hope it never gets old.

Sunshine Sandwich

2008-07-29T09:11:00.002-04:00

Klif was recently reminded of the amazingness known as "Sunshine Sandwich" (though it also goes by a million other names). He loves them, and makes them well.

Yesterday before work I decided to make one. They are quick, filling, and hearty...the perfect breakfast for a long day.

Well, I failed.

I cooked the egg too long and instead of ending up with a nice toasty bread with a delicious runny yolk to soak it in, I basically ended up with a hard boiled egg in a piece of bread.

I guess I'll just have to wake Klif up every morning at 1am to make me one.

Milk Tea!

2008-07-29T02:59:00.004-04:00

Okay, so obviously I can't handle posting daily.

Ate lunch with my mom and aunt yesterday after 10 hours of work and 2.5 hours sleep the night before. I left work with a worsening migrane hoping the medicine I took would help. No luck. Now to the best part.

We ate in Castleton, an area of Indy where I used to work but don't frequent any more. I wanted to stop by Asia Mart to pick up some 3:15 Milk Tea. Mom and Liz decided to go with me.

I get my eating habits from my mother. All she eats is cheeseburgers, pizza, and chicken fingers. So we proceeded to walk through Asia Mart while my aunt laghed at everything and my mom gagged at everything. The packaged spicy chicken feet, the massive live carp packed into a very small, dirty tank, and things like peanut milk soup.

I immediately went home, walked the dogs,took a shower, and passed out until this morning. At least I got my milk tea.

Craigslist Score

2008-07-27T15:53:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while a really great deal pops up on Craigslist. Today was one of those days.

Nearly 200 rolls of mostly unopened ribbon - $28.00. The lady estimated it was a retail of nearly $400, which is probably conservative at best (most ribbon is $2-3 new).

Maybe this will motivate me to make some new cards? I've made quite a few recently, but haven't decided if I will list them or not before I leave for vacation. I don't want to be in the position of selling some and someone getting mad because maybe they didn't read the note on my page that says they won't be shipped for two weeks.

I don't know.

Oh, by the way - Shameless Plug.

Nocturnal

2008-07-27T03:46:00.002-04:00

I meant to post yesterday. Really. I did.

After more than 5 months at my new job, my schedule has affected my weekend sleep for the first time. I laid down yesterday for a nap at 5pm (which is when I typically go to bed) and when Klif attempted to wake me at 8, it just didn't fly. My body is so used to getting 8 hours at that time. So here it is now, 3:48am. I have 8+ hours of sleep racked up and I just can't seem to sleep anymore. Usually I can sleep 14 hours until morning, but a charlie horse woke me up.

Maybe I'll try to be productive. Doubt it.

Productivity

2008-07-25T16:28:00.007-04:00

I was so distraught by baggage fee fiasco this morning that I had talked myself out of doing anything. No groceries, no putting gas in the volvo, no making dinner (I had decided Klif would just have to fend for himself...again), and definitely no cleaning. I just really wanted to go home and nap.

Well, I would just like to announce to the world that I did almost everything I originally intended to. I talked myself into stopping at the gas station and the butcher shop on the way home. I stopped the fuel pump at exactly my budgeted amount and only went over $.08 at Joe's because of tax. Then, I told the dogs they couldn't go out until I started dinner (slow cooked chicken in mushroom sauce). After our long walk, including a swim in the creek (for them) I packed up my canvas bags, list, and calculator, and headed off to Meijer.

I was greeted by free samples of Klondike bars (mmmm). I actually spent under my budget (thanks to thinking the wrong things being on sale) and due to a coupon expiring I now have enough toilet paper to last me well into 2009 (If you think I'm kidding, think again). I ended up the trip with a free sample of Meijer Organics Bread with Meijer Organics Peanut Butter and Meijer Organics Rasberry Jelly. What a great free snack!

When I came home I actually put all of the groceries away, started the dishwasher, washed all of the leftover dishes, and cleaned a bit more.

Now dinner is almost done, Klif is getting cleaned up from work, the dogs are content, and it's almost bed time! (I love love love my schedule)

Phillip chews

2008-07-25T16:04:00.002-04:00

*Phillip chewing*

"What are you chewing on Phillip?!"

*Cease chewing*

(15 minutes later)

*More chewing*
*Digging in Phillip's mouth*

*Pulls out a quilting needle*

D:

Set it off

2008-07-25T13:43:00.001-04:00

Okay. So "blogging" really isn't my thing. But a few things have happened recently that have persuaded me to do this. Scratch that. Attempt this. I make no promises.

Anyway, I have frequented a site for nearly 8 years now that many, many of my friends also contributed to. Over the past 3 years years or so, however, I have been slowly losing interest in it as my good friends have been leaving one by one and what is left is mostly nonsense. I really don't hang around there much, if at all, anymore. The dilemma is that I now have nowhere to post my random babbling so that everyone and their brother can see. So became this.

So I start off day one with a rant. I don't rant much, but let me tell you, I'm pissed.

Klif (my husband for those of you who may be reading this who may not know...why are you reading this, anyways?) and I leave for a two week vacation in early September. Being that we have never really had a nice vacation together, and that our honeymoon was cut short by my previously held sorry excuse for a job, we are going all out.

We are flying to California to attend my cousin's wedding and then meeting up with Klif's brother, wife, and kids. The next day we are all flying out to Ireland for two weeks. We have little to nothing planned while we are there - exactly how we want it.

Now for the rant.

Today I purchased our tickets to get us from Indianapolis to Identity Crisis airport, as well as the return flight. We bought the Northwest Airlines tickets through Orbitz.com, and the prices we equivalent to that of many other carriers. I happened to pick this flight because the schedule worked well and it there was not a "Less than 75% on time" warning on the listing. I received my itinerary e-mail, and was greeted with the following note:

"Please note: At least one airline in this trip charges an additional fee for checked baggage. This fee is not included in your total trip cost. See details"

I've heard about this. I've read about it. I was not happy about it then. But now, it has affected me directly and I am furious! I check the prices and it is $15 to check our FIRST bag. Each way! We are going on a two week vacation! Not to mention that second bags are an additional $25. This is a minimum $60 additional cost to our trip. $160 if we both take two bags. If you know me well, you know that I plan things down to the dollar, and we have been stashing very small amounts of cash into savings over the last several months (as we are able) just so that we would have some cash to take with us.

But the thing that gets me is that Orbitz did very little to let me know that this fee would be incurred. I went back through the booking process and had to search to see if they even warned me! They did, but it was a single line on the page that showed all of the itinerary details.

I could have booked a flight for the same price with another carrier that had an almost identical schedule, and not had to pay these fees. That would have been $60 (minimum) of our hard earned money that would not have been wasted on nothing.

Moral of the story - If you thought you were getting a souvenir from Ireland, you can direct your complaint letters to Northwest Airlines.