Don't get me wrong--I'm very glad to be back in Kentucky. Closer to family, closer to some friends, etc. But some times, there are things I miss about "my old life" in Connecticut. Because I'm feeling a little nostalgic, here they are, in no particular order...
1. My friends--Priya, Lauren, Dana, Michelle, Elizabeth, Alicia, etc etc etc.
2. Paul's Pasta--This was one of my favorite restaurants in Connecticut. All the ingredients were made from scratch daily. We would get take out a lot because it was really close to my house. We would eat there, in the restaurant, sometimes...but as my co-workers and I found...the waitresses really weren't that nice! They always seemed like they were "doing us a favor" or something, which really put me off. Oh well. I still miss the delicious food.
3. Rob Rivers Salon & Spa--You want the best eyebrow wax ever? You go here, to Rob Rivers Salon & Spa in Mystic, Connecticut, and you get the hook up with Danielle or Katie. I have yet to have a comparable eyebrow wax. Talk about spoiling me. I might have left there with two red stripes across my face, but there was nary a stray eyebrow. Here? I've yet to receive the same level of service, but perhaps I've yet to find my Danielle or Katie.
4. Valentino's Restaurant in Ledyard, CT--The best pizza, hands down. My co-workers and I went here ALL the time because it was just 5 minutes from our office. They knew my order like they knew their own name. I took my family here once and they LOVED it. In fact, they still talk about it. Mmm, I could go for a slice of Valentino's right about now!
5. A 35-hour work week and a supervisor who really didn't care if I left early on Friday. Need I say more?
Okay that's about it for now. I've got to finish up some schoolwork and call it a night.
If you are my friend on Facebook, you've already seen these photos. But he is cute so you can deal with seeing them again, right? :) Now, who is Will you might ask? Will is the son of Jonathan (my cousin) and his wife April. Will just turned 2 in January, and his older sister is Laurel (whom you might have seen before here on the blog).
A couple weeks ago, TJ and I babysat Will overnight. He fell asleep in the car, but woke up in the process of getting him inside. Here he is when we put him on the bed...
The following morning, Mr. Will had to take a bath...which I thought he might oppose but actually was excited about. He took his diaper off and had his leg up on the side of the tub, trying to get in! He enjoyed his bath, at one point acting like he was swimming. Bath time came to an end when he decided to make yellow water!
Will's clothes were still in the dryer though...for a couple of reasons that aren't worth getting into. Because it is winter and I didn't want him to be cold, I "dressed" him in one of my t-shirts. This is particularly funny because neither of his parents went to (the University of) Kentucky, but another university in our state. Hehehe.
(In this picture, he is standing on steps. Steps that go to our bed. For our dogs. That, for the record, I did not buy. Thank you.)
A little later, TJ decided to watch cartoons with Will while I worked on some homework. Here they are, engrossed in Monsters vs. Aliens.
Later, after we ate at McDonalds and went to Walmart, Will had to go home. He took a little snooze in the car. Notice the balloon...this is what he wanted at Walmart. Could care less about the toys, but wanted the balloon!
I hope you'll excuse the quality of these photos...all were taken with my iPhone. However, I thought they were too cute not to share.
I thought Will might misbehave a little, poop a little, etc...you know, typical baby things...and buy me some time. No. He did not come through for me. He was on his best behavior. He only pooped once (and it was pretty bad/awful/atomic/disgusting/vomit-inducing/etc). He didn't even throw a fit in McDonalds OR Walmart! These are good things, of course, that he was well-behaved...but I tell you all this for a simple reason. Later, after Will is back with his parents? TJ says, "I think I could do this."
In keeping with all the other cool kids in the blog-iverse...I thought it only appropriate to post "a year in pictures." 2009 was a good year, albeit one full of changes.
January 2009
We rang in 2009 at the home of our friends Steve & Alicia. (and I fell in love with their brown leather couch.)
We got a new dog! Taffy, on the right, was transported to us from Tennessee. We found her on Petfinder.com, the same site we used to find Lilly.
February 2009
Lilly and Taffy wished the bloggers a Happy Valentine's Day! :)
My hubby surprised me with calla lillies--same as our wedding flowers--and a Red Door Spa gift certificate for Valentine's Day! (I apparently didn't take many pictures this month)
March 2009
After a weekend of really warm temperatures...we got over a foot of snow!
We celebrated hubby's 28th birthday at Mohegan Sun
April 2009
Taffy got caught tearing up her toy
We went to our friends Chris & Priya's house for Chris's birthday (he is standing, 2nd from the left)
With friends Alicia & Priya...miss them *tear*
May 2009
I joined Priya and her Dicey Divas for Bunco...and filmed her "Mini Bar in a Box" video.
Some of my family came to visit! This is my cousin's daughter at the beach in Rhode Island...
...and this is their son! He loved chasing after those birds!
A week after my family left, I went to Kentucky for my cousin Stephanie's wedding! She looked absolutely beautiful!
June 2009
I got to hang out with my friend Elizabeth, a former co-worker who moved to Boston for the Northwestern MBA program. This was shortly after she'd returned from a trip to South America--for school! I don't get to do things like that in my MBA program. Dang!
A wedding shower was held for my friend and co-worker Dana. Her wedding was in mid August and I was unable to attend because of all the back-and-forth traveling :(
July 2009
Well...while I might not have done much, Taffy sure was busy with the flip flops! July marked my last day of work at United Way as I prepared for our upcoming move to Kentucky. I did not do nearly enough to "prepare" in terms of saying goodbye to friends, etc. I'm still sad about that. Time caught up with me. I'm still hoping for a 3 day weekend and a cheap flight...
August 2009
After looking at what felt like a hundred houses...we found it! :)
We also celebrated my mom's birthday. (This photo caused me to realize my hair looked yellow.)
September 2009
Apparently, I took no pictures...?! We closed on our house, had furniture delivered...it was a busy month!
October 2009
I met UK basketball player Perry Stevenson (fyi: he is 6'9...18 inches taller than me!)
I decorated my porch for fall
We went to Midnight Madness, the opening night of UK Basketball
and I met my brother's girlfriend :)
November 2009
I was able to go to my brother's Senior Day and see their performance.
We had my family over for my Dad's birthday
We were also able to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families for the first time since 2004
December 2009
I allowed Ann & her husband John to talk me into eating at the sushi place...but I got chicken! ha!
I dyed my hair back pretty close to my natural color.
I went to my first "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party! This is my old roommate Deborah!
Our new couch was delivered. Five of the 7 pieces were damaged. They were re-ordered but I made them leave what they delivered. It was 3 days before Christmas, family was coming, and my dad had already helped TJ move our other furniture upstairs! Anyway--I still like it :)
We celebrated our five year anniversary! This photo was used on our Christmas cards which I got out way late...and didn't even manage to get them all sent out (sorry!)
Group shot of extended family on my mom's side. My dad would not be in the picture ("I need a haircut.") Turd.
Our "family" Christmas tree with all our ornaments!
-----------------------
Obviously, I'd like to take more pictures in 2010. You're probably thinking "geez, this was a ton of pictures!" but I felt like I didn't have a lot to choose from some months. That is one of my goals for the upcoming year. I'm not huge on "resolutions," but I do think it is important to think about your goals and objectives. I've thought about them, I just need to give some thought to my strategies...but perhaps that is another post for another day.
What are your resolutions, or goals for 2010? Share them with me in the comments below!
Unless I want to get a lump of coal in my stocking, I figured I might ought to share something with you guys here. I've planned to do this at the end of 4 months anyway...and now is that time. Yes, I've been keeping something from you, my readers, for four months. But no, my eggo is not preggo.
My hubby and I have been living apart for the past four months :( But not for the reason you might think. We are not having problems. We were apart due to his new job. When he got out of the Navy, he took a job with a major defense contractor doing computers/network security/etc. He will be primarily working from home with occasional travel to military sites. He is a network engineer and as such works with a lot of other engineers, assistants, tech writers, etc. Because he will work so closely with these other individuals, his boss felt like it wasn't a good idea to start him off working from home. Otherwise, the tech writers and fellow engineers would be like, "Trevor? Trevor who? We don't know no Trevor!"
Sooo...given all that, hubby was living in a 400 square foot studio apartment outside of Boston since he started his job in mid-August. We closed on our house September 8th and our stuff was delivered on September 9th, and that is where I've been since. It has been lonely. He has been here some of the time of course (the whole week of our house closing, the whole week of Thanksgiving, plus some weekends), but primarily it has been just me. Hence the reason why I didn't want to post this all over the internet back in August, or anytime since then.
But as of last Friday--December 11th, our 5-year anniversary--he's back, baby! He's got his "home office" all set up and the house is a lot less quiet but more like normal :)
This photo from my work Christmas party last Saturday...
This photo from my old roomie Deborah's Ugly Christmas Sweater party last night...
I've tried to be concientious and not make this totally obvious in my posts here, but needless to say, I'm glad he is back :)
I'm three days into my challenge and I'm 3 for 3! Hooray! I just finished a looong walk with my outta shape dogs (probably 1.5 miles, and they're both passed out on the floor now!). Immediately prior to the walk, I did the SHRED. Needless to say, I am happy with myself for exercising today! I have exercised four days in a row (sat/sun/mon/tues), which doesn't seem like something to be bragging about, but when your exercise habits have been a little...shall I say, scarce...I consider it an accomplishment! :)
So speaking of SHREDding...here's a cute picture I took this morning of my dog Taffy. She likes to "shred" her toys and pull stuffing out of them. She did this while I was upstairs making the bed.
This makes me worry about taking her to my mom's house. Taffy has never been there before, and she kinda likes to chew things up. Mostly just toys, but occasionally flip flops and mouse pads. Well, my mom has Boyd's Bears everywhere. Taffy is going to think she has died and gone to doggie toy heaven! She especially likes to chew the feet and ears off animal toys. My mother has been warned.
Thanks for the encouragement on my workout challenge! Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow! :)
Are you guys big list makers? I am totally a list maker--at home, at work, just in general. It helps keep me in line, as long as I follow it. But obviously I'm not following it since I'm blogging and it isn't on the list. However...so far I've scratched a few things off my list. 30 Day Shred, check; Walk the dogs, check; Take out trash, check! The majority of my list includes MBA work. Bleh.
Anyway, I thought I'd finish up the photos I've been posting!
Hubby and I--Central Park. We did not dress like this on purpose. And for the record, I got dressed first. Just so you know ;)
Laurel and I with our Jamba Juices. I love Jamba Juice, thanks to my friend Andrea who introduced it to me in the summer of 2004 while visiting her in Salt Lake City. The only place I can get it "around here" is in NYC. Any time I go to the city, I get one :)
My cousin Jonathan and his wife April--baby-wrangling on the train ride home. This looks fun dontcha think? haha!
Fast forward a few days to when I was in KY...this is Laurel in her flower girl dress. I know the photo isn't super sharp but I thought she was so cute. I love it!
Laurel and I at the reception. She was really excited about those Skittles!
My cousin Stephanie and her new hubby Chris. Doesn't she look gorgeous? LOVE her dress!
Laurel and I dancing. She really surprised me...she LOVES to dance!
Better view of Steph's dress! I cannot imagine how hot she must have been because I was burning up (as evidenced by my shiny face and ponytail'd hair). Whatever, we had fun!
Just to update you guys--I mentioned that I had an interview while I was in KY. I found out this week that I did not get the job. Naturally I was disappointed, but I was also angry. Not angry about not getting the job, but regarding how I was notified. I got a system-generated form letter EMAIL. It did not even originate from the person who interviewed me face to face, wasn't signed by her, nothing! I'm sorry, but this place is a high-calibre educational institution, and that reflected VERY poorly. I'm not going to mention the particular school because I have more class than that. She knew why I was in town, and I committed basically half a day to that interview. I just don't feel like she could have interviewed that many people personally that it would have been a terrible burden on her time to let me know. Ultimately, the email notification gave me the feeling that my time was not respected.
More photos from my family's visit to CT & NY :) I don't know if you all know this (short of Lauren), but I try to keep up with 2 blogs--this my personal blog, as well as a blog for family. Sometimes it is hard keeping up with both!
This picture is of Laurel when we stopped for lunch on the way to the beach. The deli had a dessert case with delicious cakes. She first chose red-velvet cake, noting that it was pretty. She later changed her mind to chocolate. Can you blame her? Look at this stuff! Who brings that size piece of cake to a little girl!?
Once we arrived at Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and just the right amount of sunshine! This is my Aunt Debbie and her grandson Will (my cousin's little boy). Will and Laurel had never been to the beach before and they weren't quite sure what to make of it!
Laurel, taking it all in! This was probably the most fun the kids had the whole time they were here, and who could blame them? I love the color on this picture! Would you believe it was taken NOT with my 30D but with my Kodak Easy Share point & shoot? No color saturation or anything!
TJ and Laurel "building" a sandcastle. We quickly stopped by Walgreen's to get Laurel and Will some cheap beach toys, which they thoroughly enjoyed!
Making shapes with her toys: Laurel and I
April (my cousin's wife) and her baby Will :) He is about 16 months; Laurel will be 3 in August. April has her hands full but she takes it all in stride. She doesn't get frazzled like I think I would! She loves kids and wanted them for a long time :) I think they will probably try for a 3rd baby sometime in the next couple of years.
Laurel decided to bury my feet to keep them warm! Please ignore my insanely pale legs!
Mr. TeeJ and I :)
Poor Will...he fell in the water and got his shorts soaked! Oh well--I think he was content to just run around in his diaper! Thank goodness he didn't fill'er up while we were there!
Laurel "catching another one" (wave, that is). This water was absolutely FREEZING. However, there were people actually out in the water waist deep. I question their sobriety, however, since upon getting out of the ocean it was evident the girl was wearing only white panties and a t-shirt.
Laurel's grammy buried her in the sand!I think this picture is so funny!
Will chasing the seagulls. He was determined to get them!
I was really glad some of my family got to come visit! We will be moving soon, and this was only the 2nd time anyone from my side of the family had been up to visit. The first time was when my brother came on his spring break a few years back. TJ's parents have been several times, but my parents just aren't that willing to fly...and it isn't exactly an easy trip by car!
I went shopping Friday night, and I purchased the white floral halter/tank/cami from the most recent Fashion Friday post. I tried on another dress at NY&Co, and while the dress was cute, I looked awful. It appeared as if I was trying to hide a) a really fat belly, or b) a pregnancy. I'm really not trying to hide either of those things! I had decided not to make the trek to Black & White; just wasn't feeling up for the journey! As such, I only had a new tank top and was still faced with what to wear to the bridal shower, but I totally saved money.
My friends...ENTER: J.Crew Jacket and the Wal-Mart dress. Honest! I got this $14 jersey sundress in a coral color and paired it with my white Atelier jacket. Totally cute! I got several compliments on the dress, which was a total accident! I went into Walmart (which is practically across the street from my neighborhood) because I needed an oversized giftbag for the shower gifts. I happened to see the dress and thought...I'm gonna try that on (by this time, it was 2 hours before the shower and I still had no idea what I was going to wear). Talk about working out perfectly! No shame in the game my friends! hah :o)
This is a long overdue post, full of photos! Hooray! I just wish Typepad would let me upload more than one photo at a time. Laurel and Will, in the photos below, are my cousin's children. They came up to visit about 2 weeks ago and we had lots of fun!
Laurel with my hand weights. She called them her babies and even wrapped them up in a blanket. They are 3 lbs. each so I imagine they were pretty heavy for her...she is pretty small! Isn't she cute in her pink pajamas?
Laurel and I...self-portrait with the point and shoot! She was pretty fascinated by this method of capturing a photo!
I tried to get Will to color a page of Thomas the Train. He had about zero desire! He just wanted to play with the colored pencils and the plastic bowls. A budding drummer, I tell ya!
Laurel and Will...Laurel was using a little ladybug stamp and a multi-colored ink pad. She used every color and each time she stamped, she would say "I make a ladybug!" At first she was game for coloring but after I showed her the stamps, she had no interest in the colored pencils! See the Wet Wipes in the floor? Those were necessary for Will's hands and feet that he kept putting in the ink!
Laurel with my dog Lilly. Notice her pajamas: "Make it pink or I'll raise a stink." Haha!
Laurel and I, waiting for the train into Grand Central Station. She had the giggles!
TJ playing with Laurel...he will be a good daddy. Someday (but not today)!
Laurel with her doll at American Girl Place. This store is crazy! I wish I were the brains behind this concept...I would be filthy rich!
Rockefeller Center
I let Laurel borrow my sunglasses on the ride back. After I took this photo (and shared it w/her), she giggled and said "That's funny!" I have to agree...they are bigger than her face!
Since their visit, I've actually been to Kentucky for a wedding AND an interview, and am now back in CT. Needless to say, I have lots of updates! But for the moment, I don't have a ton of time. Summer session started yesterday, so for the next 8 weeks I will be pretty busy with Management Information Systems and Business & Legal Transactions! Fun fun fun!
Talk to you soon bloggies!
PS--I hope to get back on the Shred Wagon soon. I fell off...yeah. We'll leave it at that.
It is April 14th, and to that I say...are you kidding me?! seriously! I hope you've got your taxes done peeps, and I sincerely hope you do not owe cash-ola to a state which you do not even like. As you can assume, I did, but fortunately it was only $17. I realized, after mailing my return, that I forgot to include my state copy of the W-2. Oops. I'm hoping they'll just take my money and call it a day.
In other news of the state of Connecticut taking my money, today I had to get my first ever Emissions check in order to renew my vehicle registration. I was 4 days late. Apparently I have serious problems with deadlines revolving around vehicle registration, because if you will recall from this post and this post, I previously drove around with expired tags for about 6 months.
I just finished my Economics homework. Can I just say I'm so *over* this class? This subject completely? Cause I totally am.
Enough complaining. How about some photos?
Priya and I...she's one of my besties
Brent, Chris (the birthday boy and Pri's hubby), Mike, Nick, and my hubby TJ
TJ and Me (oh and Spencer in the background, on tv)
Chris & his birthday cake
He was pretty hungry for the cake!
Alicia, Priya, and I
Priya and her baby, Colby
My Taffy has no idea what happened to this horsey!
My girls are so tired!
Okay. Gotta run. I just realized my cleaning lady is coming tomorrow and there is stuff everywhere...books, binders, notebooks, calculators, journal article print-outs, etc. TJ thinks that picking this stuff up is ridiculous since "we pay her to clean" but I disagree with him. Our views on "cleaning" do vary. Maybe I shall blog about that one day...
Happy Wednesday, everyone! My apologies for missing last week's Way Back Wednesday. I was kind of crazy last week getting ready for my Economics test (on which I scored a 90%, hooray), and writing my paper for Marketing (score unknown thus far). Anyway, here we go...
Jill and Vanessa--September 2004
This was a grrrreat weekend. It was Labor Day weekend, and this photo was taken at a Tim McGraw concert. A concert to which we bought tickets for just $20 with our UK student IDs! Gotta tell ya...I've never had better seats at a concert! If we look tan, it is because we'd been hanging out by the pool all day (either that day or the day before, I don't remember).
Vanessa and I met during my freshman year. We actually met at a party...and kept seeing one another at parties after that. We became good friends...we went on a Spring Break trip together to Panama City FL, and lots of other fun stuff! We were both in the Elementary Education program at UK and thought we had a plan. Little did we know!
This photo was actually taken during what was the last semester at UK for both Vanessa and I. Neither of us did what we thought we were going to do. Both of us went down different paths than we'd planned, but I know I'm happy with where I ended up (and I think she is, too). I last saw her about 2.5 yrs ago when she flew up to NYC (she works for an airline). I miss seeing her and talking to her regularly.
Oh and PS--my hair color in this photo? It is natural. Just thought I'd throw that in there, since it has been awhile since I've sported that color ;)
Recent Comments