Nosey Neighbor

I am a ridiculously nosey person. I'm not just nosey, I'm perceptive too. I love it. As a fair warning: if you're talking to some one else and I'm around, I'm probably listening in -- even when you think I have my ear buds in. I'll turn off my ipod just to eavesdrop.

I'm also a judger. When people say "don't worry about it. no one is watching/judging". I am. I judge constantly. At the gym, on the trail, in the mall, at a game... I'm there. watching and judging. Oh, and eavesdropping.

My old (very young) downstairs neighbor moved out about 2 months ago. I toasted her leaving. She had the tendency to throw ridiculous parties that shook the entire building. I'm not scared to say that I called the cops on her once and the complex management several times (they encouraged me to call the cops). So, now I have a new neighbor.

My new neighbor moved in about a month ago and I still haven't seen them (him/her). This bothers me. Immensely. I haven't seen them come or go. I have no idea what car they drive. *sigh* I'm not even sure it is a "them". My guess is single male. But I have heard a female voice laugh when passing by the door... yeah... I'm that bad. I do draw the line at running to the window when I hear a door or a voice, because I know that if I can see them they can see me too. But it may resort to that... :)

Eron tells me that I'm ridiculous and I should just be happy that I seem to have a quiet neighbor. So I will.

Eron and I are gearing up for some sushi with friends tonight and then a low key Super Bowl tomorrow. I think it'll be a chip and dip extravaganza - hopefully with some homemade guacamole. Hope you are all enjoying a nice relaxing weekend and gearing up for a fun Super Bowl. Later kiddies.

Thank You for NOT Talking

Not enough can be said about silent travel companions on airplanes! And I was lucky enough to score 4 of them - one of each leg of my travels. This past weekend I traveled to Fowler, Kansas by way of Wichita, Kansas to celebrate my great-uncle's 100th birthday! It is quite a milestone and I was glad I went. I was able to meet about 3 dozen 2nd cousins... or that was just the best answer when I asked how I was related to them. "Oh, I'm your father's cousin's daughter's son." Seriously? The relational ties were absolutely mind boggling. But I was finally able to put some faces to the names in some of my grandmother's stories.

Uncle Ira (birthday boy), me, dad, Jackie, and Aunt Alice

We ate an exorbitant amount of food at the party, went to check in at our bed and breakfast (out in the boonies...), and then back to uncle Ira's to eat leftovers. I also dipped into my cousin Scott's homemade strawberry wine - delicious.

I can not forget to mention Grasshopper - the dog at the bed and breakfast. Grasshopper is a VERY skittish stray that made home at the B&B, getting his name because he ate only grasshoppers when he first arrived. Grasshopper had the most adorable little face and of course I wanted him to b my new BFF. It didn't happen. Grasshopper wanted NOTHING to do with me! Even after I fed him pieces of sausage and bacon which he accepted very begrudgingly, coming only as close as he absolutely had to. It broke my heart.

Grasshopper running away from me after taking some sausage from me and hiding under the chair.

We also took the required spins by the Salmon family land and homestead which is always fun to me. I have a soft spot for old farm houses (see below). I was able to poke around on the first floor of the Salmon homestead and wonder what stories those walls could tell - it was just a tad bit spooky.

The Salmon homestead

Hmm... The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. I came back on Monday just in time for the winter weather today! Governor Bev Perdue declared a state of emergency for North Carolina due to all the winter weather. Durham had about 5 inches of snow fall. There wasn't any better way to ease back into the work week then being by a fire, eating yummy breakfast, drinking wonderful coffee, watching the inauguration, and making s'mores.

Now I'm off to bed. I have to get up early if Iwant to beat all the cazies on the road. Night kiddies!

Happy for Happy People

New Year's resolutions? I think I had some pretty lofty resolutions pre-NYE and then as the first days of the new year rolled in reality set in. I'm not going to turn in to this super wonderful, amazing person over night. I mean... more wonderful and amazing then I already am

2007 was a... transitional year - a lot of personal adjustments and firsts. In 2008 I bucked up a bit and started taking a little more responsibility with my finances - investing in my 401k, starting a Roth IRA, making larger payments on my credit card, becoming more aware of when my money was going vs. where I wanted and needed it to go.

So 2009 is poised to be a pretty good year. Those lofty resolutions are out the window and replaced with more realistic and less daunting goals. I plan on paying off my car - finally. For such a silly amount that I paid for it it sure has taken along time to pay off. I'm also paying off my mattress - mostly because I don't want to be dinged with the 30% interest that will kick in at the end of this year. My mattress is by far the best purchases I made in 2008, the second best would be my Roomba. Then once I pay off my car and mattress I'm throwing what I was paying on those towards my credit card. I want my credit card down to half by 2010. I have promised myself a brand new couch in 2010 if my credit card is down to half.

Enough on finances! It seriously makes my head spin. In the middle of November I joined a gym - in preparation of the new year (and because the scale has been very mean lately). I have a pretty bad track record when it comes to gyms but I feel pretty good about it this time around. For two reasons - 1. Eron. He and I are both members of the gym so we can (and do) go together and he's a great source of encouragement. 2. I signed up for a personal trainer!! Once a month I meet with Jeff. So not only do I have my one personal drive (which can be lacking on some days), the encouragement from Eron, but also the weight of being accountable for getting in there to be prepared for my next session. But if I stick with it I'll be in the "best shape of my life"... by April. Hey, these times take time...

I also want to take a vacation. An entire week with out any work stress and completely drama free. Preferably some place warm... maybe in the month of May. I am also bound and determined to learn to drive stick. Eron has tried a couple times but I don't ever get very far and I have yet to leave a parking lot.

Not too lofty, right? I think they're pretty reasonable... I'm off to bed. Night kiddies.

Blog Probation

Lindsey just notified me that I am "quite possibly the worst blogger EVAR" and am currently on "blog probation". If I don't update on at least a weekly basis then I'm off the Ingram sidebar. *gasp* So here's the blog I was in the middle of writing when she sent me the message:

Do you have a morning routine? A specific order of events that must be preformed in a ritualistic manner in order to start your day on the right foot? I do. Every weekday morning (after I hit the snooze a couple times) I roll out of bed, try not to trip over Chloe as she follows/leads me to the bathroom, put my contacts in, brush my teeth, jump in shower - I do have a showering ritual but I won't share. Immediately after my shower I clean my ears, lotion up - face lotion first then the rest of me because I can't put regular body lotion on my face but not because it irritates my skin because I think regular lotion will some how damage my complexion and cause premature wrinkles. Don't question my logic - this is what I think pre-coffee. After lotion I wander a little, fed the cat and look at my closet, or check the weather because I have to let the lotion on my hands dry before I touch my hair. I can't have lotion in my hair! It'll be greasy! Again, pre-coffee logic. I do my hair, then make-up, fight with my closet about what to wear that day, grab my purse and laptop bag and I'm out the door. Depending on how much I dawdle I'm out the door in an hour.

If I skip a step or go in a different order then normal I'll feel off. Sure, I'll be able to preform my job and all but it sets the tone for the whole day. How do I manage to skip a step or do something out of order that I do the same way 5 days a week!?!! I may be a little bit of a weirdo or so I'm told.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and haven't kicked any of your new years resolutions yet! Later kiddies.