Sister knows best

Yep. That's right. John Deere Mom was closest with her $650 guess.
Are you ready for this?
I spent $738 on GASOLINE! In ONE MONTH! And I don't drive an 18 wheeler!! Do you know how much fun stuff I could buy for that!! That's like 7 really great Target trips. Or at least a couple really nice purses. Ugh!!
Here is another fun car story that happened during this month of constant driving. I got my oil changed in mid-June. Then one day, driving here in the Fort, my car started beeping at me. My screen said "Oil change recommended." What? I just had my oil changed. So I dug through all the crap in my console and found the note from the dealership- Oil changed 6/13/2008 4, 176 miles. Next oil change 9/13/2008 or 7, 176 miles. Sure enough, in under a month, I put on over 3,000 miles. Sheesh. I guess that explains the $738.

So speaking of all my driving, let me give you a little run down of the cars of my life.

The first one, you all probably saw on my sisters site, the super sweet Oldsmobile Cutless Calais.

After dad and I pulverized a deer in that car, and did about as much damage to the car as the deer, I got a "new" car, a 1986 Honda Accord.

Kinda like this...

I loooooved this car. It took me through high school, college, and into the real world. It persevered through one deer mishap, one rear-ending, and 200,000 miles. I put butterfly stickers in the corners of the windshield, a pink fuzzy steering wheel cover, and a lei on the rear view mirror. However, it did have the minor problem of a leaky sunroof, which would result in a bucket of water gushing on top of my head in the early mornings. Yeah, my baby had to go.

So after lots of soul and dealership searching, I found the car of my dreams. And since I had a real job at this point, I could afford a real car. So I got a 2002 Explorer Sport Trac.

As much as I loved my Honda, I loved this one more. It was cute and tough. It was great for tailgating. I could haul stuff, and still have my backseat full of junk (although I think the purpose is to have a backseat full of people.) My headlights came on automatically, I had a sunroof, and a fun little back window. The steering wheel was perfectly positioned for total knee driving, leaving my hands free for important things like talking on my cell phone, and jotting down notes. Everything a girl needs. This little beauty packed on the miles like a champ. It took me back and forth from South Carolina. It moved me from my apartment to Joe's house. Perfect.

Until one fateful December day. I was going to babysit for these monkeys.

Then the weather folks said there was going to be a winter storm, so I cancelled.

Then it was 5:00 and not doing squat. And it was like 40 degrees.

So I called up the sis and again offered my services.

I got down there no problem and got to babysit for the hooligans. Then Ang and Farm Guy came home, and it was still like 38 degrees and not doing anything. So I decided I could make it home. And I got to about 10 miles from Indy, and it started raining. Then kind of sleeting. And the temperature was dropping, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33.

I was driving very cautiously on the interstate and someone came up behind me in the fast lane. I got over, but on my way, hit a patch of ice on an overpass, careened over to the right, then spun all the way back across the 4 lanes of traffic, then hit the median wall head on, then stopped facing the wrong way on the interstate. Holy crapola. And this is what remained of my baby.

This was the view from the police car after they came to save me. Woah. Super scary. The airbags went off, it was all smoky (and very stinky), but I was okay.

Here's another shot, from the car graveyard.

My poor baby. So I was in the market for a new car. And as much as I loved the sport trac, I thought it would be silly to get a car the exact same as my old one. So I looked an looked and decided I really liked the Honda CR-V.

It was zippy and more sensible than a big truck. So I got one. Brand new. It was very nice. And I liked it a lot, for about a day. Then I pretty much hated the site of it. I felt really awful in it- it felt very wrong. And get this- it's headlights didn't turn on automatically. Seriously. That's really what split us up.

So, I wound up whining and moaning so much about my stupid CR-V that Joe was finally like, why don't you look at a new Sport Trac. OKAY!

Barely three months after I purchased my brand new CR-V, I was in the Ford Dealer getting a brand new Sport Trac. With headlights that come on automatically. And I love it.

Here she is.

Holy Petrol Batman

I am going to post a little challenge to you all. I have been driving A LOT. And I got my credit card bill yesterday.
Guess how much I spent on gas in the last month?
I was on vacation for one week, moved one week, and have had to go to Indy from Fort Wayne a number of times. Throw out some numbers. I'll let you know how close you are tomorrow.

OMG

OMG! I know I set up some pretty strict rules about blogging while I am "working" but I had to share this!!


I have been watching the Hobby Lobby ads to see when their Christmas ornaments would go on sale. (Yes, it's July. Yes, they already have Christmas ornaments out.) (A little background information as to why I am so freakin stoked about Christmas ornaments in July: I am planning on using Christmas ornaments as favors for my wedding. We are going to have a 15 foot monstrosity of a Christmas tree in the entry way to our reception site and it will be decorated with my beautiful ornament favors.)


So, I saw today that they had some on sale. So I rushed there over lunch to check it out.


Well, the ones on sale were the clear craft kind- not what I wanted. BUT! They did have a gamillion other ornaments there, just not on sale yet. And I think I may have found the PERFECT ones!


To put you in my wedding frame of mind... I am going to be in white (What?! You may ask, given my previous description of "firsts." Ahem, yes, I am innocent and full of wonderment, just ask my dad). Joe will be in some sort of dark tux. My 'maids will be in black. The head table (where all 26 of us will be sitting) will be in all white- white tablecloth, white chair covers, white chair ties, white napkins. The guest tables will have black tablecloths and black chair covers, with either white or bright pink chair ties. So lots of black and white.


So feast your eyes on these little beauties!!!

Can they be more perfect? I think not. And, I have already practiced with a paint pen and you can write on them! Because we (by we I mean my mom) will personalize all 200 of them with something like "Happy Holidays, Joe and Sue December 6, 2008"

I AM SO EXCITED!

My New Gig

Since Joe's residency was only (only?!) 4 years, we knew we would have to make a decision about where to live when he was done.
We looked in California. Which sounds exotic, until you arrive in the tiny little crap town where he interviewed. He looked in the south, but every job supervised nurse anesthetists, rather than him doing the job.
Somehow, we decided on the Fort. Which I'm coming to realize is like a really really big small town, with better shopping options.
So, what I'm getting at is I was going to have to quit my job. I had taken a new job in May 2007. It was still in the same hospital system that I had worked for the last 6 years, but I was doing administrative/office kind of stuff. No direct patient care. (Read: no cleaning up poop) After Joe signed his contract in the Fort, and we started looking for places to live, I figured my boss would find out soon so I wanted to tell her as early as possible.
When I went in to tell her, she wasn't surprised as she knew Joe was going to be done soon, but then she dropped the bomb. "Would you want to work from home?" Huh? Come again? Seriously? Work in my jammies from the Fort? This is an option? My response to her was pretty much just that. She told me there weren't any policies for or against us, but she would run it by the VP, HR, and legal to figure something out.
So today, I type this blog from my "home office." I have been at it for three weeks now and it is going pretty great. My first week felt weird, but part of that was coming off a two week vacation during which time we moved in to this new place. So that took a little adjusting. My second week started a little rough, as there were grumblings from some people as they were finding out I was working from home. What was so annoying about this was that if the people that were complaining hadn't been told I was working from home, they never would have known. My office number is forwarded directly to my Blackberry. I still have my pager. I still see all the VIPs when I come down for meetings. So week two was rough.
By this past week though, I have pretty much found a routine. I am much more effective than I thought I would be; probably more effective than I was from the office. I am definitely getting an extra hour of sleep which is lovely. I am eating better, far away from office chocolate and baked goods. I have had to put very strict guidelines on my blog access during the work day. I will allow myself to check my comments, but not actually write a new post. I'm so strict.
This is all fitting into my master plan of not working at all. I am trying to impress Joe with my cleaning and culinary skills so he sees how important it is to have me at home. So when I get tired of driving 2 hours down and back for a meeting once a week, and after we are hitched so I have insurance, I can transition into a stay at home mom. After that I will work on having the kids.

Wedding Update

We have a band!! Whohoo! Well, actually, I am not that terribly excited, but it's still good news.
Before I get into the good news, however, I need to take a moment to talk about my giant wedding countdown clock here on the right. I thought I was totally going to dig it. I had essentially been waiting to blog until I could figure out how to get it up there. And now... It TERRIFIES me!! Do you know how much I have to get done in 133 days, 20 hours, 15 minutes, and 6 seconds!!!! AHH!
But onto the band.
Joe and I had planned on having a DJ, then he got some hair up his derriere (is it hair or hare- like a bunny?) Whatever it was that went up there, he was suddenly longing for a band.
So we scoured the Internet and any live music venue in town for an acceptable band. The first band we wanted was good- young, peppy, played current music and had a horn section. They were booked. Ugh.
The next band we knew was booked, but we went to see them anyway. And they were AWESOME! They totally ruined us. We could never find anyone like them. Ugh.
Then Joe found an '80s band who were so fun, but so '80s! If it were my reunion, perfect. For my pretty formal wedding? I don't think so. Ugh.
So then Joe moved on to another band, that was apparently too inappropriate for a wedding. And if Joe thought so, then they had to be pretty bad. Ugh.
Then we found a band that sounded okay. We got to crash a wedding reception to hear them and they were just okay. Until the 50 year old lead singer tried to sing Hey Ya by Outkast and then it turns out they were pretty awful. Ugh.
So we went ahead and booked a DJ. Fine. Like we originally planned.
Although Joe never lost hope. Today we received our contract for a band called Endless Summer. They play all over, mostly in Indiana, but all around. They even played in the tiny little town in South Carolina we lived in for a year. They sound really good online, although we have yet to hear them in person. We are hoping to crash another wedding reception, but apparently this MOB hasn't given the all clear to let two hooligans like Joe and I in for 20 minutes to hear the freakin band... But I digress.
We can have the 6 members of the band, plus three extra horn players and a DJ! The DJ will play for up to 3 hours (although I think we will just need two), and then the band for up to 4 hours. So, the plan is for the DJ to start at 4:30 for the cocktail hour, where there will be Christmas music played softly. At 5:30, the DJ will do the announcement of the bridal party and the HUSBAND AND WIFE, then we will do our first dance with the DJ followed by dinner, where some light jazzy stuff, with maybe some Norah Jones, will be played softly. Then the party starts around 6:30 or 7:00. Then the band can play until 11:00.
I think my favorite part of the band is they include JTs Sexy Back on their playlist. How awesome is that?

Fart, Fart, and Fart

Since my sister and I are now both bloggers, and you all may see comments she and I write to each other, I think we need to get something out in the open. She and I, plus my best friend, all have the same nickname- Fart. As in, "Hey Fart, what did you do today?" Or, "Hey fart, awesome blog!" And, "Hey fart, did you talk to Fart?" Occasionally, my best friend Fart gets called Little Fart. But usually, there surprisingly little confusion.


This nickname started disturbingly late in life. I could understand if it was when we were seven and thought farting was really funny (wait, I still kind of do). But this started my freshman year of high school. Fart is actually the nickname of a nickname- Little Fart and I started calling each other Fartknocker. Soon that became Fart. And then somehow, my sister wound up as Fart.

I think there may have been a cat named Fartknocker. Or maybe that was Knucklehead. While we earned points in originality, I wouldn't say class was our strong point.

Thursday Thirteen

As this is my first Thursday Thirteen, I thought I could do 13 firsts.
1. My first kiss: Hmm, this isn't starting out so well. My pre-Alzheimer's memory may make this list a little challenging... I think it was with Gary in 5th grade? Gary was my sister's best friend's brother. He was my on and off boyfriend in elementary, middle school and high school. I used to wear a leather bracelet with his name burned into it. So romantic.
2. My first car: Remember this list? I inherited that first little beauty from my sister when I turned 16. I think JD Momma had moved on to her super awesome Cougar and I was left with the Cutless.
3. My first flight: My family went to Hawaii on my dad's frequent flyer miles when I was ten. We flew the 20 minutes to Chicago, then the TEN HOURS to Hawaii. I think I read 15 books.
4. My first time drunk: I was a junior in high school with my best friend. We were drinking vodka and Sunny D (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME) and swimming naked in her Grandpa's pool. I puked in a box that night.
5. My first job: I worked at the cashier's station at the pool.
6. My first apartment: I got an apartment with three other girls my junior year of college. It was actually pretty nice- a three story townhouse.
7. My first hospital visit: I was maybe 8 and I was roller skating in my basement when I fell pretty hard and knocked the wind out of me. I think I must have panicked, the folks panicked, and I would up in the ER in my jammie t-shirt and underpants.
8. My first appearance in a bridal party: I was maybe 7 or 8 and I was the flower girl in my cousin's wedding. It was in the '80s, and I totally had one of those dresses with a hoop in the bottom! I'm thinking of making my bridesmaids wear something similar. I have been in 5 weddings since.
9. My first house: Officially, I haven't had a house yet. The last house I lived in was actually my boyfriend/fiance's and I moved in there after he had been there over a year. I now live in a house, but it's a rental- so it's not really our house.
10. My first embarrassing moment with the future in-laws: I had to get creative with this first, but it's such a great story, I had to share. I had been dating the good Doctor for a couple of months at this point and we went to IU to tailgate. The Doc's extended family has always always tailgated, but his parents hardly ever go. In fact, I think it had been years since his mom, Mimi, had been to a game (I am not sure she has been to one since this event.) So the Doc and I go to one of the local bars to drink a little before. They have something here called the Hairy Bear, which is something like 8,965 shots of random boozes that somehow taste like Kool-aid. Thinking I was a rock star, I keep up with the Doc on this drink, then we head over to the tailgate. At the tail-gate, I keep drinking, drink for drink, with the Doc, and the rest of the story is pieced together by fuzzy memories and eye-witness accounts. I apparently go with the Doc and his folks into the stadium, where we go to a fancy meet and greet inside, then proceed to our seats. Our seats are up in the Alumni section (think wealthy and older.) I am devolving into a large amoeba, and before long I am sitting in between the bleachers with my head in my hands. The Doc looks over, asks if I am okay, and I proceed to vomit all over my shoulder, in between the bleachers, and probably a little on our unsuspecting alumni neighbors. The Doc kind of shields me me from his parents and shepherds me into a bathroom. In the bathroom, I start to freak out because I am so embarrassed (this freak out progresses over the span of about 5 hours and moves from the bathroom, to the parking lot, to the car, to the parent's house). The Doc sends his MOM in with a new shirt for me (since mine is covered in vomit). It’s no wonder that man wants to marry me.
11. My first "real" job: After I graduated college, I started working as a nurse in the Surgical ICU of a large teaching hospital.
12. My first pet: Growing up on 12 acres on the outskirts of town, I know we had various cats, dogs, goats, etc before we had Patches. But Patches is really my first pet. She showed up in our backyard when I was around ten, all scrawny and missing big chunks of hair. She was so sweet then. Once she recovered, she was pretty much all sass, but she was still my baby.
13. My first, ahem, time: I was seventeen and it was in a hotel in St. Louis. It always makes me laugh to think about calling their lost and found and asking if they still have my virginity...

For more Thursday Thirteens, go here.

Operation: Wedding Arms

Today is day 2 of operation: wedding arms. I can't call it a full scale war- I'm not ready to invest the time, money and various other resources to call it a war. How about a minor conflict? The reason for the "conflict?" I have a wedding coming up in under 150 days and the arms are a bit too flabby. Now, you may be wondering, wow, that's not so bad if she only has to worry about her arms. However, let me introduce you to my logic.

Here's THE DRESS.

Now, as you can see, like with many wedding dresses, there is actually very little skin visable. So rather than working on my flabby thighs, ever widenening rear-end, my expanding pooch, or anywhere in between- I have focused my efforts on those ever visable arms. My plan is to get these...

to turn into these...

I am really confused why my "fit arms" woman is sideways. Please forgive me. Day two in the blog world is still a little early to be able to figure this stuff out.

So, wish me luck. If I can figure out how to get my fiance's camera to upload it pics onto my computer, I may even shock you with real life pics of my own flabby arms.

I have to leave you with this, when I did a Google image search for "fit arms," this is what I got. Don't ask me how.

Introducing the Mrs.

Well hello! I don't really know how to blog, but I guess I'll just start.
I'm banking on my sister's popularity to get me a few readers!
So there are 143 days until my wedding. And as much as I am trying not to let this whole wedding thing define me right now, it is pretty much consuming me. Here's what I know so far...
My fiance had already booked the church and the reception hall before he asked me to marry him, so that's taken care of.
We will have a full Catholic ceremony that starts at 2:00. It should last about an hour to an hour and a half. I like that about Catholic ceremonies, I don't want my year of planning to be over in 7 minutes. (Seriously, one of my friend's wedding lasted 7 minutes.) I haven't picked any readings or songs yet. I need to get on that.
The reception site includes the booze, food, linens, and cake. So while I still have to decide on the details of all that, at least it's all in one place. For booze, let's just say no one will be thirsty. Or sober. We will have not one, not three, not five, but six hours of open bar. Yeeowza! Not to mention the served wine during dinner. I assume there will be non-alcoholic drinks but I haven't really asked about that. For the food, first there will be passed hor derves (how the heck do you spell that!) and then a served salad. Then we are going to do serving stations, which I am pretty sure it's a buffet line with a fancy name. We will have some some sort of chicken, some sort of carved beef, some type of fish, and a pasta station for my two vegetarian friends- and my carb loving sister.
My florist is wonderful and I am not quite believing what all we are doing with the "flowers." And by flowers I mean a 15 foot Christmas tree in the entry way (did I mention I am getting married in December?), two ten foot Chrsitams trees by the stage, three different types of centerpieces, big drapey things for over the wall sconces, and who knows what else. Oh yea, there is a "complimentary" bathroom arrangement. That's pretty big of them, considering the gamillions I am going to be forking over for everything else!
The photographer is taken care of. He is a lovely guy who takes nice looking pictures. That's about all I know at this point.
My dress is stunning (of course) and not here yet. I ordered it in March or April and they told me up to 5 months.
Okay, I must have more done than I thought, because this is getting a little long and I still have lots to tell you! I'll save it for later, since I am not sure what else to blog about.