Patio

I promised pictures of the patio a long time ago. Finally here they are.

The patio used to be 10x10 and now is 14x22.

Just need to add the covered roof now.

Can you believe there used to be a shed here?

The trees need to rebound since they back side was blocked by the shed.

This is really pretty in the summer when the flowers are blooming.

It's Finally Done

Our flooring is finally complete! We still have a of cleaning to do in the other rooms and a few more decorations but for the most part it is done!


I can't believe this is my fireplace. Tony did an amazing job.


The brown walls are starting to grow on me. I need to buy green pillows and get rid of the brown ones.


The dinning room chairs look better against the brown walls.



I love my bedroom rugs from Target. They are so soft. The headboard is from World Market. I might get rid of my Euro Pillows since they cover it.


I have a fireplace that goes under the picture. Still need to put that back in the room.

Tis the Season for Flannel

Yes it is only in the 60’s right now in North Carolina but after living here for over five years now 60 degree weather is cold to me. So much so that on a sunny day of 68 degrees I decided that was the day to get out my flannel PJ’s.

Flannel PJ’s must be a husband’s worst nightmare. There is nothing sexy about them and to make matters worse for Tony he says I look like my mother in him. Hmm…maybe they are the new excuse now for “having a headache”. Now when sex is out of the question I put on my flannel PJ’s and he gets a vision of my mom…total mood killer for him. I don’t have to make any excuses verbally because the PJ’s speak for themselves. I am sure Tony’s favorite flannel PJ’s I own are the pink and purple set with schnauzers all over them. Even I will admit it they make me look like a whacked out mental patient. But hey, they are comfortable and warm in the winter time.

I bought Tony some flannel PJ’s one year envisioning us cozied up on our flannels and watching movies on the couch with hot chocolate in our hands. I’ve never seen him in the shirt. I think there is something about matching tops and bottoms for sleeping in that men do not like. Unless they are completely metro sexual and the PJ’s are made by Ralph Lauren.

House is Starting to Come Together

The hardwood floors are complete in the living room, dinning room, and the main hallway. We just have left the bedroom and another hallway. I can't believe it is all coming together. I think my camera has some water spots in it from when I took it snorkeling. I may have to send it in for warranty work. The stabilizer also does not seem to be working.

Surgery

I am going to have surgery on December 8th for my knee. It will not be for a tear like the doctor's originally thought in the beginning of all of this. I have damaged cartilage in my knee and they are going to scrap it clean. My doctor said in 90% of people this heals on its own but I am that 10% that needs surgery for it to be fixed. No more going back and forth on this anymore. It is finally going to happen. I can’t wait to feel normal again.

Progress

Tony and I went into this past weekend thinking we were going to have our floors fully installed. Boy were we wrong! We did not even get maybe a quarter of the way through. Saturday was an entire day of prep work that included painting, base board installation, and a few other things. Sunday is when we finally started to put down the flooring. Tony was a little glue happy in the beginning so we were fighting the glue coming up between the seams but we were able to get it under control. My body is so sore from all the squatting and bending over. We did not finish the clean up until around 10:30 and then I still needed to wash all of the glue and other garbage off of me. My clean up took over an hour! The clue was caked onto my feet. Never did I think I would use the orange goop as a method to pedicure my feet. I scrubbed for nearly and hour on my feet and they still are not all the way clean. I have a rash on my skin were glue was in contact. I am so glad I wore gloves on my hands. I finally feel asleep around midnight only to get up a few hours later for work. I have no idea how Tony and I are going to even want to put down more flooring tonight. I probably am going to fall asleep as soon as I get home.

Yes that is all we got done in one day.

Making Progress

My builder came yesterday to fix the cracks in my foundation and replace the cracked tiles. We got all new tiles in the laundry room and they replaced the cracked ones in the kitchen. They come back Saturday morning to grout and put the membrane down over the cracks they sealed in the living room and bedroom. Tony finished tiling the fireplace and we just need to hang the mantel. The living room painting is complete. The tile work built up so much dust! I have a lot of cleaning a head of me once this all is over with. Right down to the curtains, windows, and pictures. Tomorrow Tony starts the hardwood floor installation!


New tile in laundry room minus the grout


Our upstairs mess.


Tony's beautiful work on the fireplace

My Messy House!

I can’t wait to get my house back in order. This place is such a disaster. Tony tore up the carpet in our bedroom and we found the worst cracks yet. I am glad we are getting all of this taken care of by the builder. We are sleeping upstairs in our spare bedroom for probably the next week and a half until our new floors are down. It is kind of fun to mix things up a bit in our house but long for the day my life is no longer tossed around.



I can tell the stress of all the things that need to get done is wearing at Tony. Probably more so since football is on. I help out as much as I can but the truth is this shit is a man’s job. I try to want to do everything and be strong woman but this shit is for the men. I was painting base board thinking to myself this would be a great thing to pay the neighbor kid to do. But I know Tony would refuse. Then I thought to myself this would be the perfect job to screw up so he never asks me to help out again. Score for the women. You all know what I am talking about. Men always purposely strew things up so we never ask them to help again. With how they do the laundry, the dishes, vacuum, you name it. Somewhere along the way your man purposely did something so horribly wrong for the purpose of you never asking him to do it again. As tempting as it was to do a crappy paint job on the base board I did not since I would be the one looking at it when it is all done. Although the thought did put a smile on my face.



Tony painted our living room and dining room brown from the green we had. I am not sure I like it. Our furniture is brown, floor is brown, rugs are brown, and the last thing we need is more brown. When I told Tony I do not think our pictures will match he replies with “We can go to Kirkland’s and pick up some new pictures. They have a lot of those with brown tones.” My response: “Just what we need is more brown.” Our plan is to put chair rail up and paint the bottom part white but in the meantime I am not going to like it very much. Especially if we put our pictures down there and they clash horribly. Last thing I want to spend money on right now is new pictures. I do like the color but not sure it is right for our house.

Election Day

I turn on CNN anxiously awaiting the first poll results to come in.

Tony: “This is just as exciting as the super bowl.”
Me: “I know!”
Tony: “I was kidding.”

Wow am I a political dork.

Praying Mantis

This was only the second praying mantis that I saw since living in NC. Smaller than the last one. He was just sitting still hanging out by my flowers.

Our Labor Intensive Halloween

We started tearing up our hardwood flooring this past weekend. Friday we went to Lowes to pick up supplies and tile for our fireplace. Saturday Tony gave it pretty hard with tearing up the flooring. He worked from about 7:30 AM to 9 PM. I did my grocery shopping that morning and had every intention on helping him when I came home but a flu bug hit me when I was in Walmart. I thought I was not going to make it out of there before throwing up. Perfect timing to get sick. Once I returned home I laid down for a while and slept as best as I could with the noise. I tried helping Tony out as much as I could by throwing wood in the back of the truck, sweeping up small pieces of wood, and scrapping glue but this is a job that really is a man’s job.

The tile that will go on our fire place. Matches our kitchen.

Tony’s back kept locking up and I knew this was not going to be good if he kept doing this on his own. I suggested we hire our dog sitter. Tony wanted nothing to do with that at first. I finally convinced him he needed help so I hired Sean to help on Sunday. Tony reminds me of my dad when he wants to do everything himself and cannot admit he needs help. I learned over the years that whenever Tony takes forever to complete a project or does not want help I just start calling him Bob. He always used to make fun of how my dad never finishes anything when we first were together. Over the years I noticed Tony starting to become just like him so in those cases his name becomes Bob and then he starts to get things done.

Tony hard at work.

I could tell Tony was going to be in incredible pain on Sunday if I did not do something about it. I gave him anti-inflammatory medication and had him sit in the jet tub after he was done working. He said he felt like a kid but I knew he was enjoying the king treatment. Nothing like seeing your man take a bubble bath while reading a Harely Davidson catalog. It worked. The only thing that was sore on him Sunday was his hands from the blisters.

Sunday Sean and Tony worked really hard to get just about the rest flooring ripped up. Now we just have the hallway and part of the dining room left. We still have to scrape up the glue yet which is a pain the butt job. Tony is renting a machine today to help with the rest of the flooring. He was going to get it over the weekend but the place was closed.

Sydney was a pumpkin and Oscar a spider

We took the dogs around the neighborhood for Halloween dressed in their costumes. We did not have any trick or treaters. Next year I am not buying any candy. Lights will be out.

Jack was a bee

My Crazy Life

Our friends from WI, Joe and Kelly were visiting us last Wednesday though Monday. It is so nice to have friends from up north come and visit. Unfortunately I was not able to take any time off of work. My boss is a slave driver and all I do is update spreadsheets and send out follow up emails…boring. But that is a whole other story in itself.

I like when company visits because it give me an opportunity to cook nice meals. Although by Saturday I had enough of cooking. I was exhausted. Tony and I had a party Friday night and invited some of our closest friends over for a couple’s night. I tried out some of my new Tastefully Simple recipes. The crab rangoons were a huge hit.

Tomorrow Tony and I are going to start demoing our flooring. We ended up getting $5442 from insurance towards new flooring. Since Tony and I are doing the labor we have enough money to replace our existing hardwood with bamboo and also put it in our bedroom. I am so excited for my new flooring to be completed. It is going to be beautiful. I already bought the rugs for my bedroom. I saw them at Target last week and then over the weekend they went on sale. Score!

My builder is going to pay for the new tiles they need to install where the flooring cracked. I am glad they came through for us. My carpet was torn up on two walls in my bedroom as part of the washing machine leak for drying out the walls. While it was pulled up I found another crack in my flooring! Frustrating but glad it was caught.

I Road the Bull

Last Saturday my friends and I went out for what we thought was dinner and a movie. It turned into dinner and dancing. It has been a long time since we all hung out since Dave and Misty had Evan. Misty and I road the mechanical bull at City Limits Saloon. They make it look so much easier in the movies. My first time up I fell right off. We were all laughing. We danced the rest of the night and I do not think we go home until some time after 1 AM. We had such a wonderful time. We all felt so old in the dance club but we did not care. It was fun to just let loose for once in a while and not care what any one thinks. I am also very surprised I was able to get my friends into a country bar. I can't even remember the last time the six of us hung out.

The wine I had at dinner was cheapest Pinot Nior on the menu and it was $7.50 a glass. I had two classes. Those assholes at Bone Fish Grill sold me two buck chuck for $7.50 a glass. That shit was terrible and I woke up with a horrible headache. I just felt sick all day but at least I had fun.

Sunday Tony's aunt and uncle surprised us with a visit. They live in Florida and were on their way back down from Washington D.C. after visiting a college campus with their son. It was a nice surprise.

Never Do a Load of Laundry When Away

Friday night I came home to one of the many worst nightmares a home owner could have. I put a load of laundry in the washing machine before I left in the morning. When I came home 10 hours later I found my hose came undone on my washing machine and water poured from my laundry room, down my hallway, and around the corner into my living room. What a mess! The water was already soaked in the hardwood flooring by the time I came home. I cleaned up the mess that was left and called my insurance agent to see what my deductible is. Luckily for me my deductible is only $500 and my rates will not go up with this claim. I waited a day to see if the wood would dry ok before filing. The top of my engineer hardwood was already starting to peel so I called Saturday morning and filed the claim.

Today the emergency hardwood restoration people came to my house. They wanted to immediately pull up the flooring to get rid of the moisture since the hardwood cannot be repaired. I refused since our friends are coming on into town on Wednesday and we did not have new hardwood picked out. There is also no way I am going to have my hardwood torn up with the chance of my dogs stepping on splinters. Right now there are high powered fans in my lower level drying out the walls and flooring to stop mold. They even had to rip up the carpeting in my bedroom to dry it out.

Tony and I went to Lumber Liquidators after they left and picked out our new flooring. We are going to buy medium color bamboo flooring and they have it in stock. Now I just have to wait for the money to be transferred from All State to my account. We are going to pay to have the hardwood torn up and then install it in our own to save money. We are going to use the money for the installation to pay for our upgraded flooring. We are hoping there may be a chance there is enough money left to buy new flooring for our bedroom but if not we can do that some other time.

Even though I can see the bright side of this it is all just at a very inconvenient time. I am also in the process of having my tile replaced in my kitchen and laundry room because my slab is in three pieces. We are fighting with the home builder on the cost of the tile. They are willing to pay to repair the crack under warranty but since Tony installed the tile they do not want to pay for the tile. It is not a huge deal for the laundry room but we do not want to rip up our entire kitchen. We put in expensive slate tile. Our home builder thinks it is ok to just replace the cracked tiles but matching the grout is going to be near impossible and the membrane they have to put down will affect height.

I have quite the mess on my hands for the next month or two while all of this is fixed.

Breaking Out of My Shell

I had such a great time at a Tastefully Simple party yesterday. I knew it was going to be a great show when one of the neighbors kept bringing over bottles of wine. The show was only a $245 show but I had the absolute best time. The girls were funny and really helped me relax. During the show I was trying to describe Nana's Apple Cake with the Creamy Caramel Sauce. I blurted out it is better than sex and they all laughed. I stayed after the show with a few girls and enjoyed a glass of wine and chatted. I love how being a consultant is helping me come out of my shell. For my friends that know me very well they know it took a long time to break down my walls so I would let them into my life. It should not be that difficult for me to let people into my life but with everything I have been through it is. Hopefully as I continue to do TS shows it will help me be more outgoing.

NYC Day 4

Our last day in NYC we spent the morning doing some final walking around the city. We did not have to leave for the airport until 1 PM so we had plenty of time. We wanted to go up top on the Empire State Building but they charged $20 a person. I really did not want to pay that much to have the shit scared out of me. We walked down 5th Avenue again and of course there was another fricken parade going on. I really wanted to go into the NY Public Library but every time Tony and I stopped there it was closed.

Outside the NY Public Library

We never made it to lower Manhattan. If we visit NYC again I would like to stay on the lower side rather than Midtown. Times Square really is over rated and I love the beauty of the villages. With all the eating we did I did not put on a pound with all the walking we did. I really do not know how New Yorkers can be fat unless they take a cab or the subway everywhere they go. It was nice to do something different than our usual beach trips. Our next trip is coming up in January to Phoenix to visit Tony’s cousins. I can’t wait to see them.

Bryant Park

Statue outside the NY Public Library

NYC Day 3

Sunday we headed to Central Park. Our hotel was about 20 blocks away so we took the metro knowing we would be going on a long walk. We also did not have a ton of time since our show was at 3:00. Central Park is so incredible. I do not know how anyone can even see everything in there in one day. We did not even make it half way through. Central Park stretches about 50 blocks by 4 city blocks. I love the beauty of central park. There are so many trails off the main paths but you have to be careful for the occasional homeless person.


Tony and Me at the entrance of Central Park

We walked back to our hotel from Central Park. All the way from 76th street to 37th street. On our way down Tony found the Harley Davidson store. Since he saw an ad for it all he talked about was going to this store to get a shirt. After the store we saw a pizza place to go to for lunch. It was some of the most disgusting pizza I’ve ever had in my life. This was not NY pizza. This was shitty imitation. What a disappointment. I can’t even describe the sounds my stomach made after that.


Central Park



Harley Davidson Store

We headed back to our hotel down 5th avenue. Just our luck… a parade was going on and the paths were filled with people. I hate parades. Same shit every time. Marching bands, beauty queens, ugly floats, politicians, and screaming children. After a few blocks we went over one to get away from that mess.

Once we got back to the hotel we freshened up and took off to the show. We saw Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes and Kristen Chenoweth. It was a musical comedy and was very good. I really enjoyed the show. Tony was disappointed we were in the nose bleeds and it was a matinee but those tickets still cost me about $75 a person with all the fees.

After the show we were ready to make sure our last night in NYC was fabulous. We took the train down to the Meat Packing District to find a nice restaurant to eat at. We ended up at Pastis which is one of the best French Restaurants in the city. It was AMAZING! We ate outside on the patio in the back corner next to these very snotty French women. They sent everything they had back because it was not done just right and in the meantime Tony and I are screaming with goodness from all the flavors in the food. I hope the cook spit in their food. Anyway, for our appetizer we had Warm Goat Cheese Petatou which is goat cheese on top of a warm potato salad. This was so incredible. For dinner Tony had the Macaroni Gratin w/Bacon and I had the Homemade Spinach and Herb Ravioli. No one does Mac and Cheese like the French. With drinks and tip the meal was around $110 and worth every penny. We left Pastis and head out of the Meat Packing District, through the West Village, and into Union Square. Union Square seemed like a hangout for young people so we continued from 14th Street back up to our hotel…on 37th. Keep in mind we had just walked Central Park earlier that day. Once we hit about 23rd Tony insisted we talk the Metro back to the hotel even though it was not much further. We did and my feet were thanking me. I was not moving very fast at that point.

We made it back to the hotel and rested for a bit. It was only about 8:30 and this is not how I wanted to end our last night in NYC. We left the hotel and found an Irish pub only a couple of blocks away. Our bartender was an actual Irish man which never happens. We had a few drinks, chocolate cake, and then headed back to the hotel. I stopped at a souvenir store to pick up a few more items. I found some black and white city coasters that will look great in my family room and I picked up Tony’s highlight of the trip. A lighter in the shape of a woman’s body and the boobs and thong light up when you open the lighter. Simple things really make guys happy.


Tony with his new lighter

We stopped at a 24hr convenient store by the hotel to get a few snacks. Tony made a new friend with a statue outside of the store. The shot of Jack Daniels the bartender gave him must have kicked in by this time.


Tony with his new friend

NYC Day 2

Saturday Morning we both were a bit exhausted from all the walking we did. We took the metro down to Little Italy to eat a Lombardi’s Pizza for lunch. We arrive around 10:30 so we walked around some. I thought we were going in the direction of Little Italy but really we covered all of SoHo by the time Tony realized where I was trying to go. We headed back towards Little Italy and it still was a bit too early for lunch so we headed onto China Town. Which China Town is just about all of Little Italy now. Lombardi’s Pizza was AMAZING! I googled them before we went to NYC because I wanted to make sure we had the best pizza in the whole city. They had fresh mozzarella on top of the pizza. Tony had Italian sausage on his side and I just had cheese. Unfortunately they did not offer pineapple as a topping. That is the only thing I like on my pizza. Lombardi’s is the first registered pizzeria in the United States and was registered in 1905 and started in 1897.

Lombardi's Pizza

We took the metro back uptown so we could get ready for the Soprano’s tour. Before the tour we were able to meet Joseph Gannascoli who played Vito on the Soprano’s. We had our picture taken with him, bought his book that is being made into a movie, and Tony bought some cigars. And it only cost us 60 extra fricken dollars. Worth it though. Unfortunately the tour took us to New Jersey. Now I understand all the jokes about Governor Patterson making fun of New Jersey. What a shit hole coming from the New York side. The tour was supposed to be a 4 hour tour but it turned into 5 hours with the NY traffic. We stopped at a few of the places scenes were filmed at even the Bada Bing. Never in my life did I think I would be in a strip club. I do have to say there was a sigh of relief when we went into the club and the girls had tops on and they were not Tony’s type. They looked about 18 years old and there was nothing to them. The A-cups must be the show during the day. If they were curvy girls with big boobs and butt then I probably would have felt a little shelf conscious. I was expecting a scene from Show Girls with Demi Moore and saw anything but that. Not even 15 seconds after I left to go to the bathroom one of the strippers was trying to make conversation with Tony in hopes we would want a lap dance. I saw it happen even before I got into the bathroom. I looked over, laughed to myself, and thought “good luck with that.” I came back during mid conversation. I heard Tony say “my wife and I...” as he put his arm around me. The stripper looked away ignored a question I asked and was gone in seconds onto the next person.

Tony with the Tony Soprano double.

Inside the restaruant were the last scene of the series was filmed.

Me with Vito

For dinner Saturday night we ended up at a small Chinese restaurant near Times Square. Not the dark quiet restaurant I was hoping for but I was starving and it was way too late to venture very far for dinner. The food was mediocre. There is an amazing Asian restaurant where I live and this did not even compare.

Skyway Dinner where Chris was shot at on the Sopranos

Shot of Manhattan from New Jersey. Shithole!

NYC Day 1

We arrived at the hotel at about 9:45 AM on Friday. They let us check in early and we still had enough time for the free breakfast buffet. I had on my skinny jeans, a white button up, and tall boots for our first venture out into the city. Those tall boots did not last very long. For those of you that think New Yorkers really wear fancy high heels to walk around the city you are mistaken. I was mistaken. Maybe if they were my comfortable summer high heels I could have made it but not in boots. I quickly went to sneakers. Not very stylish but my feet were thanking me. About those smoking hot outfits I bought for NYC...didn't even wear them since they involved heels. Jeans and T-shirts were just fine on this trip. In just a short time we managed to walk to Times Square, Broadway, Radio City Music Hall, Late Show with David Letterman, and 5th Avenue. Times Square is overrated. We ate lunch at the brewery inside of the Empire State Building. I actually ordered a beer but a small one. The menu said it had a French toast taste to it so I could not resist and had to try it. I did not taste any French toast but managed to take it down. Probably the first beer I’ve ordered in nearly 6 years.



Tony's beer and my beer


Me outside of Radio City Music Hall


My boots that did not last very long

Now what is a trip to NYC without 5th Avenue shopping. I lost the weight I wanted to before we left. I felt great rocking my size four jeans and then it happens…models appear in the city. I felt like a short fat woman compared to them. Talk about a knock to my self esteem. Inside some of the stores there were skirts that maybe would have fit one of my thighs. When I was in NYC seven years ago I was 30 pounds lighter than what I was this go around.


Lion statue outside the NY Public Library

In the afternoon we did the Sex and the City Tour. I did this tour back in 2003. It was much better then. They changed a lot of the locations up and not to more interesting ones. What I liked most about the Sex and the City tour was going through SoHo, the Meat Packing District, and the West Village. I knew these were places I wanted to come back to later. The only thing that was the same from 2003 was the stop at the Pleasure Chest. Seeing O’Neil’s was pretty neat. That is where Aidan’s bar is on Sex and the City but they call it Scout. The tour lasted for 3.5 hours. About 3.4 hours too long for Tony but he was a good sport about it. For dinner that night we found an Irish pub near the Chrysler Building. One thing I hate about Midtown Manhattan is that it is very hard to find small restaurants off the side streets that are not very expensive and are not chains. I am sure Tony was getting really annoyed with me for all the walking I made him do to find a small restaurant off the path.



Tony outside of O'Neil's

Sneaky

The bank I work at is very conservative...so much so the TV's are on Fox News. When no one is looking I change the channel to CNN. HAHA!

Up Coming Travels

I am so excited about my trip to New York City. I already put together some great outfits from clothes already in my closet plush a few new items I bought a few weeks back. I am going to look like a New Yorker. I was doing a fashion show for Tony yesterday. I think the part he enjoyed the most was catching me stuck in a dress with it above my head and nothing on below. I bought booties which are the latest fashion trend but I just cannot seem to find the right outfit to wear them with. I am also really short and they make legs look even shorter. I am going to bring them with to NYC and maybe I will find something to go with them or get the confidence to wear them with of my dresses.

Yesterday was Tony’s birthday. We celebrated on Saturday with dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant, Red Bowl. I wore one of my new dresses for NYC. It is a short dress with ¾ length sleeves that is white, green, and black. I had on some funky Michael Kors shoes I bought from TJ Maxx. Tony said I looked like a super model and then he said when we get home I am going to change into my white running shorts. We both laughed. They are not attractive at all but they are comfortable. For his gifts he ordered a new seat and handle bars for his Harley. I bought him a nice Jack Daniels zippo for when he has cigar night with the guys. I still made him dinner last night. We did not do a cake since we both want to keep our weight off for NYC but I did find Dove Chocolate wrappers in the garbage so he must have still had something sweet for his birthday. This is the first year we did not have a cake for his birthday.

Yesterday I bought plane tickets to Arizona for January. I love having mini vacation planned out every few months. It gives us something to look forward to. Our trip to Arizona will be cheap. We are staying with Tony’s cousin and the tickets only cost us $86 each after we used some travel vouchers.

Sunday I had a Tastefully Simple party and had nearly $800 in sales! I am so glad this business is taking off. I still am not very comfortable meeting new people but I am getting there.

Surgery

I tried so hard for my knee to heal on its own. My doctor confirmed yesterday I will need to have surgery on my knee. I am going to put it off until the end of November when things slow down at work. I have to be out of work for two weeks while it heals. It is my driving leg so I can’t drive either during that time. Not going to be a fun time.

Thought for the Day

I love it on the weekends when I can put my make up on with natural sunlight in the background. The only downfall is I realize how bad my crow’s feet are for only being 28.

Bike Fest

Saturday I started writing down weight watcher points again. I failed at losing any weight the last three weeks by attempting to do it on my own. It is amazing how well Weight Watchers works for me. I already dropped 2 pounds. Now only one more to go for my happy weight. Three if I want to fit into my skinny jeans.



Friday and Saturday was Capital City Bike Fest. It is neat to see a lot of motorcycles in the center of the city. Tony and I went downtown Friday night and Saturday after his work party. Saturday was miserably hot for a bike fest filled with thousands of people. It was probably near 100 degrees, 20 degrees above our normal temperatures for the year. It was cute on Friday. Tony took the day off to enjoy bike fest. He called me before noon wondering what time I was going to get off of work and then around 3:30 came to see me at work. I could tell he really wanted to spend the day with me. We ate dinner at Mecca Diner in downtown Raleigh. I wanted to eat there for a few years but they are cash only. Finally I had cash on me. The diner has been in business for over 80 years. Original tile is still in the door way and on the floor. The booths are half the size compared to today’s booths. Certainly could not be overweight and eat there. It feels like you are stepping back into the 1940’s. Good food and neat experience.





Tony has been on a cigar kick. I hate it. Stinks and I am sure will cause health problems for him later even with it being a few a month.


I see the doctor on Wednesday for my knee follow up. I can tell the shot is wearing off. My knee is starting to hurt again. I hope one more shot will do the trick.

Karate

Here are some pictures from my promotion ceremony the other week. Sorry no action photos. Tony only comes to watch me once every few months and he does not have the camera. The next promotion ceremony will be for my black belt!


I am moving up in the line!


Me with Mr. O. He is my main instructor and is a 9th degree black belt. Very few people ever reach that ranking.

Crack Heads

We have not had a decent rainfall in Raleigh for a very long time. Finally for the next few days there will be rain. It was very nice driving to work this morning since there were no beggars off the sides of the road on and off ramps on my drive to work. Or should I say crack heads.

There is a difference between a homeless person and a crack head. Homeless people I view as those who had it really rough with a job loss, then losing their home, no family to rely on, and then found themselves in the streets. They use the proper resources to get into shelters and try their best to find programs to get back to work. These are the people I feel bad for and wish I could help.

Crack heads are the ones off the sides of the streets that consider begging for money their job and they use the generous donations from people to buy crack or exchange food and clothing people give them for crack. Crack heads beg on the off ramp on my way to work and they sit by the on ramp on my way home. These people are scary. They cover their faces with their sign so you don’t see their stoned face and their scabs from the crack. This one guy I see in the morning stares at you through your car window. Even worse is I am stopped at a stop light so they are only a few feet away.

Some crack heads can be very entertaining. One guy near the Southpoint mall had the best crack head sign I’ve ever seen. “To stupid to steal. Too ugly to prostitute.” He only had shorts on with his fat belly hanging over them. I wish I had my camera on me because that was priceless. I was impressed he spelled prostitute correctly. Most of these crack heads hold ups signs saying they are a Vietnam Vet. Some of them are too young to be a Vietnam vet so that just pisses me off. One guy I passed a few years ago spit on vehicles as people drove by and did not give him money. The worst is seeing them go to the bathroom on the side of the road… one and two. Sorry buddy – that bush is not covering you all the way.

The biggest puzzler for me was the homeless guy with the ruby red electric wheel chair. How does that happen? Who paid for that and shouldn’t he have a home to go back to with that expensive wheel chair? He was parked at the top of a hill on an off ramp. I prayed he did not go into reverse too far or it would have been a long way down.

Now for those of you not living in a city that are gasping at the stuff I am writing you really have to see this to believe it. When I first moved to Raleigh I felt bad for these people. One morning on my way into work I only had a yogurt with me. I gave it to the guy and he threw it.

Now to the biggest crack head of them all…or at least in this case the biggest drunken pervert…my neighbor down the street. I don’t know all the details but he did some horrible things with underage kids and likes teenage Asian women and he is in his 40’s. He goes from job to job and has his mom pay his mortgage. Yes…drunken pervert is one of those beggars you hear about that has a home in the suburbs and begs for money. He went about 5 miles away from our subdivision and begged off the highway. My friend’s mom and my neighbor caught him. It was not a mistake because they saw his car parked just a few blocks away. I am not sure how long he did it for or if he still does.

Lesson for the day: Don’t enable the beggars! If you really want to make a difference in these people’s lives donate to the shelters and not handouts on the streets.

Being Satisfied with what I have

Over the last few years Tony and I have been very undecided about what to do with our house. Do we move? Do we stay put? We finally decided after over five years of living in our home we are going to stay put for a long time. Right now we are locked into a 30 year mortgage at 5.875%. Today we sign application papers at BB&T to refinance our mortgage to 15 years at 3.75%! Our payments will be a little more than they are right now but not by much. If we stay at our house for 15 years I will have the house paid off by the time I am 43. Now I do doubt we will be there a full 15 years but we will have a nice down payment on the next house.

After a lot of thinking we decided with the location of our house and how much work we put into it we really would just like to sit back and enjoy what we accomplished. Still more to do with completing the patio and getting new carpet but everything else feels complete. Our house is large enough for the two of us if not too big and we have a great back yard. Sucks being off a busy road but when it is not rush hour it is really not that bad.

It seems like as Tony and I get older we realize having the latest and greatest things are not worth it. I would love a bigger home and a new car and we can afford it but at some point we stepped back and decided to be satisfied with what we have. Maybe that is what more people need to do. Stop trying to get the nicer car, the nicer house, the newest TV and just be happy with what you have. Having extra money for his motorcycle and traveling are more important to us. I am looking to our future now and we both do not want to work forever. I just read in a magazine the other day to spend money on experiences, not things. If I try to keep up with the latest I am going to miss out on experiences.

Now a bit of therapy I need. Stop filling my closet full of new clothes and be happy with what I have. Maybe the next time I get the urge to go shopping I start making new outfits out of the clothes I already have.

Then about the new car since you all know I really want one. I gave up on it. I am good with what I have. Although Tony does not seem to believe since I have always gone back and forth. The difference is whenever I wanted a new car I went out and bought it without even thinking twice. This last year I keep going back and forth and can’t even decide on what type of car. That tells me I am just not ready for a change and need to be satisfied with the car I have. Tony’s job is bringing me back to reality if I start talking about a new car again. He can put his foot down and say I don’t think so. Even though I could get a cheaper payment than what I have now the bigger picture is having less than two years left on my car loan and only having $9,000 more to pay off. Just like with the mortgage. We were just fine with our payments going up and having to pay the refinance fees since our home will be paid down at a much quicker rate. It is about the future and not the present.

Lesson on Why Men Always Need to Listen to Their Wives

Tony had a valuable lesson the other day on why he should always listen to his wife. Our dialog went something like this.

Tuesday Morning – Issue – Tony’s Harley is low on brake fluid

Laura: “Are you taking the bike today?”
Tony: “Yes, I take the back roads to work so I should be OK.”
Laura: “But you are low on brake fluid. You should take your truck.”
Tony: “I will be fine.”

4:30 PM – Tony calls Laura

Tony: “Did you go to Harley during your lunch and pick up brake fluid?”
Laura: “No I did not have time. Why?”
Tony: “I almost T-boned some lady that pulled out in front of me.”
Laura: “Are you OK?”
Tony: “Physically yes; emotionally no. I had to put the bike in the ditch.”
Laura: “Would you have been able to stop in time if you had all your brake fluid?”
Tony: “Probably.”
Laura: “I told you not to take the bike.”
Tony: “I’m going to Bikers Boulevard right now to buy brake fluid.”

5 PM – Tony gets home

Laura: “I am calling Aflac for a quote!”
Tony: “Don’t you have enough insurance out on me already?”
Laura: “Not for added protection above short term disability.”
Tony proceeds to put brake fluid in his bike.
Tony: “I almost kissed a deer last week too; I don’t think I told you that.”
Laura: “You almost hit a deer…on the “safe” country roads?”

Now I am thankful Tony was not injured and his bike is OK but had he listened to me that morning this would not have happened. Or the lady would have been t-boned by his big F150. We do not know why the lady pulled out into traffic and took up both lanes. There was no reason for it. All she did was say “I’m, sorry. I did not see you.” As Tony was calling her a f’ing bitch. He feels bad for that now but honestly how do you expect a biker to react after some lady almost took him out. The lady took off and someone that saw it happen helped Tony get the bike out of the ditch. Tony had is angels out there watching him and was very lucky. If something had happened to him I do not know what I would have done.

My Boca Burger Diet

In an attempt to lose weight I am going to go on a Boca Burger diet. I ate them all the time when I first started Weight Watchers. They are only one point a burger and are a pretty good size. They are very filling but yet taste like something the cat vomited up. I ate one tonight and had to choke it down. At least it is helping me control my hunger for the rest of the evening. I hope to eat at least one four days a week. I am sure it will help me keep my weight down for as long as I can stand it. Now I have to figure out what to do about my snacking.

Oops... I Slipped Up.

I am really trying to drop a few pounds since putting 9 back on from my diet. Three would be nice…five would be awesome. I managed to get one pound off. The one thing that is nice when I am a bit heavier is I have a great behind. That sports reporter in the news recently about being harassed…I am proud to say with a nice pair of jeans on my rear rates the same if not better. However, when I put on a nice fitting dress I have to put Spanx over my Spanx. Or at least buy a slip to hide the cellulite giggle that has taken over my rear. Now I finally understand the purpose of slips. They are more than just protecting from static electricity.

I slipped up and went shopping on Saturday. It had been nearly 4 weeks since I was out shopping…a record for me. I really wanted a new dress for NYC. I need to look fabulous on the Sex and the City tour. I had it in my mind to just buy one dress and ended up with two dresses, two pairs of shoes, belt, purse, and a sweater. Ok….I went a bit over board but I am going to look fabulous. I can also wear the items to work so it is not a complete waste of money. The purse I bought is not the most fashionable but it is going to be great for using in NYC. It is a purse that I can adjust to go across my body leaving my hands free to take pictures and so on. At least it is made by The Sak. One of the dresses I bought was only $13 and it is so cute! I can either wear it with my new fabulous pair of gladiator inspired shoes or tall boots depending on the weather in NYC. Since I bought new clothes for the trip I am not going to spend any money on clothes in NYC. The purpose was to buy clothes to look fabulous there and not buy clothes there to look fabulous in Raleigh. My new goal is to make it two months without shopping and if I have to shop it will only be for Christmas gifts. I do like to get a head start on buying presents so it fits in the budget better. Two months may be very difficult but I am confident I will be able to do it. With my husband reading my blog I give him permission to make me return anything new I buy if I slip up.

Slow Cooker Drama

I did something completely stupid. I received a letter from Kohl’s stating my slow cooker I purchase is on a recall list. I follow the instructions to receive my refund which involved cutting the cord off the slow cooker and mailing it in with the form. I cut the cord off and placed the model number sticker from the bottom of my slow cooker onto the form. Mother F*CK*R! The month the model of my slow cooker was made is not on the recall list. Just ruined a really nice slow cooker. Note to self: Double check before cutting the cord.

Stuffed Chicken with Prosciutto, Gruyere, and Arugula

Friday night rather than going out on our normal date night Tony and I decided to stay in. I found a recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook that looked interesting. It is chicken stuffed with prosciutto, gruyere cheese, and arugula with caramelized shallot sauce. I already had the chicken, prosciutto, and gruyere so I only needed to pick up a few items from the store for the rest of the meal. I started cooking a little after 5. The longest part of this meal is the preparation. You have to put the chicken between plastic wrap and beat it down to about a quarter inch thick. I never did this before and the first one I smashed a bit too hard and put a hole through it. The direction say so only layer the cheese, prosciutto, and arugula to just before the edge of the chicken. I was a little lazy and went over the edge but to make up for it I used toothpicks to seal the edges. I finally am getting ready to put the chicken in the pan when I look over at the clock and it is 7:00 already. Cooking Light way underestimated the time on this one. All I can think to myself is this better be one of the best meals of my life for how long this took. I could not find shallots at the store so I used a red onion instead. It turned out just fine. As I am going through all this hard work Tony tells me Mac and Cheese with hot dogs cut up into is one of his favorite meals. Nice! Thanks for not telling me this two hours ago. The meal turned out perfect. Tony loved it. The taste of the gruyere between the prosciutto and the chicken was amazing.

Recipe: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=344095

Our patio extension was last week. They did an OK job. There is an area that collects water and they splashed concrete on the siding. Tony has to call them back to fix those issues. We also finished the courtyard with patio block we moved. Well, it is half done. We still need to put the pergola over the courtyard, do a roof over the new patio, and tile the new patio. URG! Lots of money to spend in this area. We are just going to have to do it a bit at a time. One the bright side slate tile has gone down a lot since we tiled our kitchen. We plan on using slate over the patio. I still need to take pictures of the patios.

Advancing in Karate!

I am so excited! I passed all but two items on my list to get my first degree brown belt for this month. I should be able to get my last two items passed next week. That means my next belt is BLACK!! There is a deputy black belt in between the first brown and black but technically it is still a first degree brown belt. They give you the new belt when you are halfway through your requirements. After I get my first degree brown belt I will officially be training for my black belt for probably the next six to nine months. It is going to be some grueling training. In Tuesday’s class we were practicing Shan Shin which is a breathing kata. The goal is to focus on your breathing and movements while the instructor breaks boards over you when you least expect it and you have to keep going through the kata without screwing up. For those of you not familiar with karate I think the best way to describe katas are martial arts dances. You have specific movements and technique that represent fighting off attackers. Tuesday rather than breaking boards Mr. O punched and kicked us. I would rather have a board broken over me than to receive one of his punches. Wednesday I could not figure out if my nausea was from my mini migraine or the punch. Yesterday in jujitsu class I wrestled with a 14 year old girl. Nothing like a shot to the ego when you get your ass kicked by a teenager. Mr. O is training her to be a ruthless fighter and national champion. She can take on most of the grown men in our classes. That makes me feel a bit better. She has been training since she was three years old. I did find her weakness by tickling her. Not legal in the sport but it got her the heck off of me.

Labor Day Weekend

It was nice to have a three day weekend without being on the run. Normally Tony and I always plan a mini vacation somewhere during these times but it was so relaxing to just stay home. Friday night Tony and I went to a neighbor’s house for a cul-du-sac party. It was pretty fun. I brought the Tastefully Simple crab cheese ball with and people loved it! I had a great time hanging out with my neighbors. I do not know most of them that well so it was nice get out of my comfort zone and hang out with other people.

Saturday I did my normal routine of cleaning the house and doing my grocery shopping. Tony did a lot of the house work that day so it gave me more time to do my shopping and take Jack to his yearly vet appointment. My friend Melissa brought her dog over to play with my dogs. We are still working out Jack’s aggression issues with other dogs and he did pretty well. Saturday night we went to Charlie Goodnight’s Comedy Club to see Tracy Morgan. He is a little fatter in real life than what you see on TV. This dude is just raunchy. He was funny but I am not sure if you can get more disgusting than him.

Sunday Tony and I worked on moving the patio block over to where the shed used to be. It is great to see the courtyard starting to come to life. We went for a Harley ride later in the day. I was having a fat moment when getting ready to ride. OK…I put on 9 of the 15 pounds I lost. I am not very happy with myself. I knew the weight I got down to was a little hard to manage but now I am just pissed none of the jeans I bought fit me. I need to drop at least 4 or 5 of those pounds which I know I can do if I try really hard. I just do not want to go back to tracking Weight Watcher points. Now that my knee is getting better with the cortisone shot I can start getting back on my treadmill and it should help me out with getting those pounds off. I can’t stand how all my weight gain goes directly to my thighs and butt. I want to look great when Tony and I go to NYC. I did make BBQ by using the Tangy Tennessee BBQ sauce from Tastefully Simple and it was so good. I used a lean piece of beef and then shredded it after it cooked for 7 hours in the slow cooker. This one is a huge hit. I need to buy more of the sauce.

Monday I met Melissa at a park to practice my katas for karate. She really helped me learn a kata I have been struggling with. She also wore me out. I wanted to take the dogs to the park for a hike but I came home and crashed. I was feeling out of shape when I was working out with her. I must be picking up some type of bug since my energy level was so low today and I was exhausted for no reason. I spent the rest of the day on the couch or in bed. Just wonderful for my goal of losing 5 pounds but at least I worked out earlier in the day. Since Tim’s wedding I have been really missing my brother Bill. Life just is not the same without him around. I am sure that sadness has been part of my weight gain and just not caring that much anymore about what I am eating or sometimes even my appearance lately. I will pick myself back up in a while.

Earlier last week Tony received an email from Tanya. She wants to make up with us and realizes now that Tony and I were only trying to look out for her when I spoke out about her drinking. I am still undecided about what to do. I have not responded to her email yet. It would have been easy to forgive her and move on if the argument was only about our disagreement on the subject. Since it became personal with attacks from her and her friend about my unemployment it is hard to move on. I don’t know how you forgive someone that made such harsh attacks. I know I was not the nicest either in our fight but I only stuck to the issue at hand. I do miss her friendship and there were times something happened when I just wanted to pick up the phone can call her. I just need more time to think about this.

Headed to NYC!

I just bought my plane tickets to NYC for Tony and me. I can’t wait. We are going to take a four day weekend in October and visit. We used the American Airline vouchers from the trip to Curacao so we only ended up paying $34 for both of us after the vouchers. Hotels in NYC are not cheap. The average hotel is $500 a night and you have to watch out for the really cheap ones… you may share a bathroom with your neighbor. I chose the Fairfield near Fifth Avenue for $309 a night. One of the nights is paid for using my Marriott points so we only have to pay for the two nights. Sweet! I think the only planned tour we are going to do is the Sopranos tour. The rest of it we probably will just walk the streets and see Central Park, 5th Avenue, Broadway, and Time Square. It has been 8 years since I visited NYC and I loved it. Great place to visit but not to live.

I want a new car

Tony and I went car shopping a few weeks back. I really want a new car but have had a difficult time figuring out what to buy. We stopped at a few dealerships and nothing really stuck out to me. I like foreign cars but also do not want to pay an ass load for the luxury cars. I have a 2003 Jaguar right now. Sounds like luxury but is far from. I have 68,000 miles on it now and only owe about $9,000 with two years left on my loan. Some days it does not sound bad at all to just stick it out and pay the sucker off. Then there are days I would love a cheaper car payment since mine is $420 a month.

We did end up test driving one car. Of course it was not a cheap car. I got talked into test driving a Mercedes C class. The guy drives us off the car lot into a parking lot to show us how the car turns around in circles in such a tight radius. I wanted to vomit. Very neat turning radius but I do not know many people that want to spin around in parking lots. Maybe he should show that feature to teenage boys. Then he proceeds to tell us how he has worked for Mercedes Benz for some 15 years and never lost a person in a car accident. Many people may oh and aw at that statement but I am thinking…that you know of. I doubt someone will walk away from a Mercedes if a dump truck smashes into the front of the car. What an idiotic statement.

I get in the driver’s seat to start my test drive and the seat is not power. Are you f’ing kidding me? This may be a lower end Mercedes but it is still a Mercedes and I expect everything to be power. I test drive the car for about 20 minutes. It is OK but I am not overly impressed. The car was a 2006 with 40,000 miles on it and they still wanted $25,000. Hell NO! Many foreign auto dealers tack on another $4000 just to make the vehicle certified. Basically this means they put on new tires and brakes and charge you $4,000. We did not buy the car. Way more money and miles that what I want. I do have to say driving that car made me appreciate my Jaguar. Even though it is old I would have to spend $16,000 to get a Mercedes with not as many features, only 26k less miles, and only three years newer. Yeah paying off my car sounds even better.

One vehicle I am very interested in is the new Hyundai Tucson. It is a small SUV that gets 30 MPG and is pretty sweet looking for a Hyundai. I like the new model but will have to wait for a year or so to buy it. We will see how many times I change my mind between now and then.