how cool...

is this not the neatest? it's a friend thru a friend's cousin. i think we are going to try and make it over there! definitely gonna go if jason and christy go. this is the episode that christy may have had some technical input for since she's a vet and now there's a mcvet. okay, so he maynot be mcvet. but i had to say it!
i remember when we went to hawaii amy spent some time in l.a. with cousin {seriously, that is what they call her. not sure i've known her name before the invitation!! never met her, but still cool as heck!} talked a lot about her new show and how we all had to watch it. soooo exciting! :)

in honor of...

earth day... we planted a tree. well, we did pull the old one out, so does that still count? it's a tina crab. cute. the hibiscus just doesn't like indiana weather, hopefully this one fares better! and i got my first sun of the season! sooo gotta love that!
and productivity rules. feels good to get some stuff done around the house. to make some tentative plans... decks, sheds. to reorganize the garage. love it now! still have got to tackle our closet. it will happen!
kelly, i totally thought of you this week. nick and i bought an almost $300 dollar ladder. i couldn't help but thinking this could be yet another sign of growing up!! i mean, who really considers a ladder a good investment??? grownups!! ;)
nick also got around to trying to balance the checkbook. it's been quite some time. huh, babe? =) totally disgusted at the scrapbooking purchases. totally hankering down even more now that i know the numbers. i emailed gbof to cancel... only have one other kit club besides knk. so i'm hoping to behave myself. totally took the hs pencils out of my cart! and am hitting staples. krystn, you have convinced me i need an easy button and some of the proceeds go to charity. and the buttons are just too darn cute. tried to go today and get one but they were sold out?! oh well, gotta head to staples.com and buy me some crayola pencils and an easy button! oh and maybe some binders for 8.5x11 layouts. crap, i was being good. so i won't. i'll just keep calling the staples by my work to see when the buttons arrive! gotta determine a feasible budget. gasp, i hate that word!!

nesting...

haven't a clue what my deal is... but i'm a total clean freak as of late.
i try to be a tidy person, but we all know how that goes. some days are way better than others. okay, maybe some weeks are way better than others. ;o) but lately, i want everything clean. organizing drawers, cabinets, my scrap stuff {which has grown quite unruly!}
and today at work, since our one doc is on vacation... i redid a jillion drawers, some of the supply room with another coworker. i have crazy spring fever! we are either doing the garage or the master closet this weekend. depends on if we can get some stanley organizers for the garage that nick wants. heck, if that is all it takes to get him to clean the garage, i'm all over it!!
my coworkers think it's hilarious. nick not so much. because i get crabby when the house isn't the way i would like it to be! i think it's contagious. my coworker, the pregnant one, has been on mini cleaning sprees all over the place. i think i just caught that!
and as for the pregnancy issue. i totally didn't mean that nick and i were being pressured. our families know not to press the issue. i mean, we were together ten years before we got married. we do it our way. i think they figured that out. i was kinda implying about some other people who have children hoping to find happiness or to secure a relationship that just wasn't right to begin with...
so thanks. i really appreciate all of your kind words and support.

boy that was long...

sorry about that horribly long winded post. thanks to those of you who read it! ;)

easter was wet and crazy. lotsa traveling. questionable tornado one town over. talked to my side about doing mother's day a week later. since we bought spamalot tickets last year! have yet to breach the topic with nick's family. that's his job!

sooo excited for this. kinda makes it seem more official.

and my stinking rain sensors... well the car has a setting that can sense how hard it is raining. so it speeds up the wipers for you. of course, you can change it to increase or decrease the delay based on your liking, but i think it's freaking neat that my car decides for me!
the windshield is fixed. i have sexy orange tape holding it together now. looks like the car has horns! have had to keep the windows opened too. something about pressure. and it's a good thing because even with the windows being open, the glue smell is insane!

random thoughts.

have lots of stuff jumping around this lil ole brain of mine. thought this might be an easier way to get it out of there!

• spring cleaning. it's lovely. hated it when i lived with the parents. and haven't really gotten into since we've moved out. um, yes. it has been almost 3 years! but yesterday was gorgeous. high 70s. so we were able to pull some weeds, fertilize the trees, talk about building our patio. then i came in and used quite possibly my favorite cleaning tool. the magic eraser. how flipping cool is that little thing. i attacked all my walls. so long scuff marks. even tackled the hallway that was mutilated when our furniture was delivered. and i love the smell of bleach. oh so clean and so fresh. the joy of being able to open up the windows, light some candles, and just relax and smell the air! so great.
• money. oy. why is it when it rains it pours? in less than one month, we have shelled out some serious cash on random stuff. nick's car had to be fixed. i needed new glasses. how is it that someone who works in the healthcare field can have no dental/vision insurance? then i get a crack in my windshield. yes, the rain sensor feature is nice but i would loved to have paid less thn $500 for a new windshield.
• happiness. why can't people stop trying to fit someone else's definition of happiness? we all have different thoughts, dreams, goals. so stop worrying what people think and live for yourself. for instance, the american dream may be to be married, live in a wonderful house in a lovely community, have children, and pets and be oh so happy. having all of those things doesn't equal happiness. take nick and i for example. we don't have children and are happy as clams. we are okay with that. with who we are. we realize that our plans and ideals may change and we will adjust for that. but just because people think that we should have children doesn't mean we are gonna run out and pop out a couple of kiddos.
• holidays. stress. trying to fit in seeing everyone. i think i'm going to try and institute a different day of celebration. it is just getting out of control. hmmm.. or maybe i can plan a vacation around every holiday! ; )
• pictures. i have not developed any yet this year?! what the heck is that all about? i need to get on that. now it's gonna take a zillion years to upload them to the developing sites. i think the majority are on imagestation since you can share photo albums that way. maybe i will just go that route. also must back them up onto dvds. nick's gotta show me how to do that... i already forgot!
• cooking. the foodnetwork obsession is in full swing. been loving the search for the next food celebrity or whatever the heck it's called! love top chef! and don't let me get started on iron chef again. darn reruns!
• brothers. love him. such a great guy. cracks me up. just says the silliest, randomist stuff. hung out with him a bit last night. good to be seeing him more. thank goodness school is almost out for the semester. he had been going into hiding for a while! and so thankful that he's good with cars. gonna save nick and i some moola. he's gonna redo his breaks. gotta love that! and the free car washes. good times!
• scrapbooking. i have a boatload of crap. haven't gone shopping since cku girls were in town! woohoo. i did buy some extras for the kit clubs i belong too. but other than that, i'm trying to behave. might needs ome adhesive. hopefully, i can be strong and make it til the end of the month before i go shopping. i think it could be timed quite well with all of the national scrapbooking day sales that should be taking place that first week of may!

enough blabbering. gots to get ready for some easter festivities. happy easter everyone!

nashville star.

so not a country girl. well, music wise that is.
but nicole jamrose is from my neck of the woods. schererville is one of st. john's boardering towns. we've seen her play at a few bars and she is all over billboards and signs at businesses here! i'm a horrible region rat (that is what we affectionately call ourselves...) i should totally be watching her. supporting her. i mean, it's not everyday you see someone from your neck of the woods on national television. that you could say her mom was your teacher... yada, yada, yada.
so if you watch that show... vote nicole. hopefully, i'll remember to do the same!

netflix.

nick and i are usually horrible at sitting down to watch a movie. well, at least i used to think that. i've come to the conclusion that we just dislike driving to the movie store to look for the latest and greatest {which are usually sold out}. we aren't the busiest people in the world. but could come close to laziest couple. if given a choice between nothing and something. 90% of the time nothing wins! so taking the time to drive to the store to pick out some movies then drive back there to return it... doesn't rank high on our to do list.
a few months ago we signed up for netflix. was totally leary. i mean, could this really work? can it be that easy? so we bit the bullet and signed up. {can't beat a free trial!}
we are beyond pleased. sometimes there are delays in getting your movies. that whole lawsuit thing can sometime ring true. but really is it the end of the world if i get a movie a day later than anticipated. i mean, seriously, we don't watch all three movies in a sitting! and they do have great customer service. both times i have had scratched, unplayable dvds, i have received replacements in 1-2 business days....
oh and i love that i can save movies to my queue that aren't out on video yet. that nick and i can sit here and look at what is out at the threaters and save them, that way when they are released i can move them to the top of my list and not forget about them! so much easier than the $20 for tickets and popcorn!
gosh enough of the free advertising, huh?
the post started with me talking about some good movies we have seen lately. derailed. crash. i haven't seen brokeback mountain, and i'm not sure that i will... darn nick. but seriously, i can see why crash won the oscar for best picture. ranks right up there with american history x. love that movie. not just cuz ed norton's a hottie. truly great movie. we made my brother watch it and feel that it something that everyone should see...
anyone got some good movie suggestions? i would love to hear your favorites! silly, serious, whatever. and can i say, honestly... wedding crashers could be my new favorite funny movie. it just gets better with each viewing. :)
oh and krystn. i'm not a reader learner either. come on down and i'll teach ya!!

the 411 on double solitaire.

ignore the reflections on the table. and if you have any questions PLEASE ask. i suck at directions! ;)

so you will need two decks of cards. each deck needs to have different backings. this has to do with scoring which i will explain a wee bit later.
the above picture shows what your set up should look like.
first, each side will deal out four stacks. regular solitaire has seven. after you have your four stacks, count thirteen cards off of the top of the pile left in your hand and flip the top card face up. you will then have a left over pile of cards. these piles can be seen in the picture above.
now, you will play just like a regular game, except the aces are community property. anyone can play off of anyone else's aces. so in between the two set-ups.. leave room for 8 aces. see blank area in above picture. think speed.
the large pile that you are left with, is the stack that you will flip thru three at a time like normal. the pile of thirteen can be played anywhere: aces or your stacks. and you do NOT need a king to play in an open space. ANY card can be placed in that spot, as long as you do not have more than four openings.
if play is stopped because you or your opponent no longer has any moves. you will preform what is called a burn. you take the top card off of your stack that you are flipping thru by threes and place it on the bottom of that stack. you have a total of three burns for each game. after the three burns are used, you take the top card on your stack of thirteen and place that on the bottom and then flip the next card up.
the game ends when there are no more moves after all of the burns or someone plays their entire pile of thirteen. whoever does this needs to yell 'out' and the game is over.
scoring: the cards at the top, the aces and the ones played on those aces are your positive points (this is why you need two different colored decks. to tell whose points are whose). the remaining cards in your thirteen pile are your negative points. add up your total and the first to one hundred wins.
now there are variations on the number of people who can play. you can play with two people using two decks. or you can play with four people and two decks. when playing this way, one person is in charge of the thirteen pile while the other person flips the piles of three. after each round, rotate who has which job. you can also play three people with three decks or six people with three decks. let me warn you, it does get out of control. lots to watch and lots of flailing arms! just make sure that each deck is different so you can determine the point totals.
gosh, i hope i explained this properly. feel free to ask questions!

public service announcement...

because i love you all...
and i'm not saying that any of you have a mustache...

so today at work, i have a patient, younger patient, and she has screaming blue eye shadow on. i mean, like mimi from the drew carey show blue. so as i'm drawn to this crazy, one inch thick eye make up i notice she has a mustache. now i know some people have a light hairline above their lip. but this was serious! like young boy i can finally grow some hair on my lip thin line mustache...
i'm not sure if she was trying to distract me from looking at the mustache by painting her lids with baby blue paint but it just drew my attention to her entire face leading to the mustache.
and you can't tell me that she didn't know she had a mustache. i mean, if you are paying that much attention while applying 30 minutes of eyeshadow to EACH lid, you know you darn well look at your entire face. so i know you see that mustache!

my psa:one may think that bright blue eyeshadow would divert attention away from one's mustache... that i would be sucked into the craziness and not be able to focus on anything but. well, i'm here to assure you it doesn't. that crazy blueness just makes me want to examine your entire face. to see what other crazy makeup you have going on. so i am going to find and notice your mustache. so if you do have a mustache. maybe try something a little more subtle. :0)

i promise a detailed post is soon to come on double solitaire. i am going to have a tutorial with pictures. i would love to share a video. we shall see...

pinochle

learned a new game last night. actually, i was told i was taught it once before. i honestly don't remember. but that is usually how it goes when i'm being stubborn. i just block it out of my mind!
jas and chris came over after they and nick played soccer. it was cold and i'm not a big fan of running! :) we had some schoops and watched chicken little. it was cute. jas made us rewind a few times. so did nick. they have a tendency to do that on the funny parts! not what i expected, but good nonetheless.
then it was on to double solitaire. gosh, i do love that game. i will have to post the rules so you kids can give it a go. after three rounds of that, jas decided we should play pinochle. boys vs girls of course. kinda fun. i have to admit i was a wee bit tired but it was really fun to play. i'm thinking that is going to move up on our list of favorite card games: boston, spades, pinochle, double solitaire. and that listing was in no particular order. if nick is reading this, i totally need a disclaimer!
went to bed way late. darn time change it was past 3 am. woke up to a lazy rainy day. nick and i have just been hanging out: playing games, watching shows we had tivo'd, did laundry, and now he's making dinner.
ah, i love lazy days.

murphy's law #2985

order lens doctor as seen on a late night infomerical in january. contact the company in february since you still don't have the kit. let your dad and brother wax your glasses in march... making them totally worthless. go to the eye doctor and order new glasses. get the lens doctor in the mail yesterday and the call from the doctor's office today saying your new glasses are in.
come on. what are the odds? does the lens doctor people know when you are going to the doctor? do they wait for your name to be entered into some conspiracy database and then release the scratch repair kit?! no, i really don't think that... but the coicidence factor is just way too weird!
gonna play around with the camera timer and share some new glasses pictures soon!