'Twas the night before the night before Christmas and all through the Garlands' house, four dogs were playing and wrestling for the toy mouse... Okay, so maybe I'm not such a poet, but I think we all knew that.
So it really is the night before the night before Christmas, and we've been here in Virginia enjoying the beginning of our holidays with Brett's family and friends. Tomorrow, if the weather is a bit more tame, we'll be taking off for Missouri to spend some time with my family.
2008 has been a very different year from what we had planned, but it's been wonderful all the same. This year was the year for me to go back to working in the business/marketing world full-time and us to pay off some debt, take a vacation, etc. Funny how our plans don't always work out the way WE plan for them too. Instead, we bought a house and had a Sophie!
I hope your holiday season is wonderful and that 2009 kicks off to a wonderful start. Merry Christmas and Happy Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
What I did for my summer vacation...
Okay, so I took six months off from the blog. Bad Melanie! Bad! But I'd like to think I have a reasonable set of reasons... So, here's what I did with my summer vacation.
April
We really did manage to buy a house! The house previously posted is now our new home! Since I've never owned a house before, I'm totally digging this. It took the whole month of the April to get the details taken care of, and we didn't actually close until the first weekend in May, but alas, it became ours. I just never had a clue what would be involved in satisfying the mortgage gods and get the loan approved. I spent more than a few days (as did Brett) stopping and dropping everything to keep the mortgage gods moving forward on our approval. At one point we joked about digging out our 1st grade report cards in case they asked for those too -- and that was BEFORE all the financial disasters of the summer/fall. I'd hate to see what they require now.
And, we found out that Rupert was a Lucy! We were supposed to find out sex of munchkin and close on April 30. We knew we'd never have both happen, so it was no surprise that when we found out she was a girl that morning that we got a call postponing closing that afternoon. :)
May
Now what I never realized since I've never done this before is just how much work is associated with a house. I don't think these people ever actually cleaned their house, and their color scheme choices were what we'd call on the dark side. Imagine very dark browns, deep olive greens, and mustard yellows. Please know that I knew the house would have to be repainted inside--that was one of the stipulations of us buying the house. What I didn't realize was just how much work was involved in doing it... :)
We closed on a Friday night and started the painting on Saturday. We primed, and we primed, and we primed some more--just to cover the walls in the living room, entry way, and hall. It took three coatings of high-hiding primer to cover the colors in the house. It was fun at first--and then I got a really really nasty upper respiratory infection from all the dirt and dust in the house. When Brett had the duct cleaners come in, they took out bags and bags of dirt and goo out of the ducts--and that was before they actually used their cleaning machines. SO, much to my disappointment, we hired Toby to come and paint specific parts of the house to get some of the painting done. (By the way, he was completely worth it... he does an awesome job.)
Over the Memorial Day weekend, we (with the help with our parents) managed to move into the new house. I think we managed to convince them that we really do have more than enough stuff and don't really need anything for Christmas. And just so you know, there's going to be a very large yard sale in the spring if we can ever manage to get stuff sorted through, duplicates cleaned out, etc. I don't think we'll EVER manage to get our garage cleaned out.
June
Well, in June we found out that I had developed gestational diabetes. The challenges associated with that turned out to be a bit bigger than I had thought... It took lots of help from some great nurses that I work with, some really good specialists who work with diabetic moms, and my OB, but in the end we managed to have really good outcomes in the end when the munchkin arrived. We also managed to go to Virginia for Holly's 30th birthday (that's Brett's sister) and Missouri for my parents' church's 150th anniversary event. Since I hadn't been to Missouri since Thanksgiving last year, it was a wonderful trip!
July & August
Brett has had wrist and arm issues for years. Some of it is carpal tunnel related and some was nerve issues. In July, Brett had surgery on his left arm to get it fixed. Though it was outpatient, it was pretty intense for him. The doctor had to re-route Brett's elbow/funny bone nerve and do the CT release. It took two and a half hours, but it went really well. So well that he scheduled the CT release surgery for the right hand in August. I was a bit concerned that I'd go into labor about the same time he was having his surgery, but alas, it all worked out. Both of his arms work, he doesn't have the numbness in his wrists, hands, and fingers any more, and he can feel his little munchkin when we holds her now. All and all very good. :)
September
Long story short... We're proud of our biggest accomplishment so far... the arrival of our little girl, Sophia Grace. She arrived Friday, September 19 at 9:36 pm. She weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. As you might imagine, that has kept us quite busy around here--even with the help of Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunties.
So, that's what I've managed to do with my summer. I promise to keep my writing up to date now. It may not always be Pulitzer Prize worthy--but I'll try to keep things going. Keep me posted too.
April
We really did manage to buy a house! The house previously posted is now our new home! Since I've never owned a house before, I'm totally digging this. It took the whole month of the April to get the details taken care of, and we didn't actually close until the first weekend in May, but alas, it became ours. I just never had a clue what would be involved in satisfying the mortgage gods and get the loan approved. I spent more than a few days (as did Brett) stopping and dropping everything to keep the mortgage gods moving forward on our approval. At one point we joked about digging out our 1st grade report cards in case they asked for those too -- and that was BEFORE all the financial disasters of the summer/fall. I'd hate to see what they require now.
And, we found out that Rupert was a Lucy! We were supposed to find out sex of munchkin and close on April 30. We knew we'd never have both happen, so it was no surprise that when we found out she was a girl that morning that we got a call postponing closing that afternoon. :)
May
Now what I never realized since I've never done this before is just how much work is associated with a house. I don't think these people ever actually cleaned their house, and their color scheme choices were what we'd call on the dark side. Imagine very dark browns, deep olive greens, and mustard yellows. Please know that I knew the house would have to be repainted inside--that was one of the stipulations of us buying the house. What I didn't realize was just how much work was involved in doing it... :)
We closed on a Friday night and started the painting on Saturday. We primed, and we primed, and we primed some more--just to cover the walls in the living room, entry way, and hall. It took three coatings of high-hiding primer to cover the colors in the house. It was fun at first--and then I got a really really nasty upper respiratory infection from all the dirt and dust in the house. When Brett had the duct cleaners come in, they took out bags and bags of dirt and goo out of the ducts--and that was before they actually used their cleaning machines. SO, much to my disappointment, we hired Toby to come and paint specific parts of the house to get some of the painting done. (By the way, he was completely worth it... he does an awesome job.)
Over the Memorial Day weekend, we (with the help with our parents) managed to move into the new house. I think we managed to convince them that we really do have more than enough stuff and don't really need anything for Christmas. And just so you know, there's going to be a very large yard sale in the spring if we can ever manage to get stuff sorted through, duplicates cleaned out, etc. I don't think we'll EVER manage to get our garage cleaned out.
June
Well, in June we found out that I had developed gestational diabetes. The challenges associated with that turned out to be a bit bigger than I had thought... It took lots of help from some great nurses that I work with, some really good specialists who work with diabetic moms, and my OB, but in the end we managed to have really good outcomes in the end when the munchkin arrived. We also managed to go to Virginia for Holly's 30th birthday (that's Brett's sister) and Missouri for my parents' church's 150th anniversary event. Since I hadn't been to Missouri since Thanksgiving last year, it was a wonderful trip!
July & August
Brett has had wrist and arm issues for years. Some of it is carpal tunnel related and some was nerve issues. In July, Brett had surgery on his left arm to get it fixed. Though it was outpatient, it was pretty intense for him. The doctor had to re-route Brett's elbow/funny bone nerve and do the CT release. It took two and a half hours, but it went really well. So well that he scheduled the CT release surgery for the right hand in August. I was a bit concerned that I'd go into labor about the same time he was having his surgery, but alas, it all worked out. Both of his arms work, he doesn't have the numbness in his wrists, hands, and fingers any more, and he can feel his little munchkin when we holds her now. All and all very good. :)
September
Long story short... We're proud of our biggest accomplishment so far... the arrival of our little girl, Sophia Grace. She arrived Friday, September 19 at 9:36 pm. She weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. As you might imagine, that has kept us quite busy around here--even with the help of Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunties.
So, that's what I've managed to do with my summer. I promise to keep my writing up to date now. It may not always be Pulitzer Prize worthy--but I'll try to keep things going. Keep me posted too.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
For everyone wondering where that $3.xx a gallon goes....
Today, during a couple minutes of browsing, I found what I thought was an interesting article. I thought I'd share. It still doesn't justify the prices in my mind (and Brett still wants to tar and feather them all), but at least it tries to explain in simple English.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/13/news/economy/gas_gallon/index.htm?postversion=2008031910
Happy April Fool's Day! (oh, the two aren't related by the way...)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/13/news/economy/gas_gallon/index.htm?postversion=2008031910
Happy April Fool's Day! (oh, the two aren't related by the way...)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Musings, and Other Out-In-Left-Field Ramblings
Greetings!First and foremost... take a look. This isn't exactly the best picture, but it's the one I have access to on this computer. Home inspection went well, no major issues to worry about! Woohoo!!!!
I've been hard at work for the past two weeks on the data entry for a telecom audit. In English, that means that I am working with two other temps to enter any line item that has a charge associated with it into a database. When we first started, Adrian and I laughed at the concept of three banker boxes even taking us the two weeks they projected. Then we tried to read and tackle the entry for the first bills. Telecom covers cable, internet, networks, circuits, land line telephone, wireless phones, wireless access for computers, etc. Some of the bills have been 600+ pages long. Usually, it's a lot of detail to support the 10 or so pages we need to do our job... but the experiences have left me with some questions...
- Have you ever wondered if there is actually a department in the telephone company whose sole purpose is to make the bills so confusing to read/understand that we just ignore it and pay whatever they bill us?
- Did you know that there are actually line items called "Service Charges for Service Charges on XXX"? I was totally shocked and amazed that they charge service charges on service charges...
- If you've ever looked closely, there just might be a "billing surcharge" listed in the fine print. Now call me silly, but if I want to get money from a client, I usually have to send them a bill--it's just a part of doing business. Amazingly enough, there are routinely "billing surcharges" listed on invoices...
- Have you ever gotten home and realized that you spent the entire day wearing one black shoe and one navy blue one? That was the day that I couldn't find my badge in my purse, but once I did, it didn't matter because it didn't work. Then I had my computer crash twice, and managed to lock myself in the bathroom stall and almost hit panic when it wouldn't let me out... That was just one of those really long "should have covered my head" days... :)
- On the subject of paint colors... who knew there were that many versions of tan. I'm beginning to feel like a boy... Isn't brown brown? ;)
On the friends front...
- I got to see Libbey and her beloved Larry this past weekend. They were driving through to Missouri and stopped for brunch. I was glad to see them. I'm not sure I'd seen her since before our wedding!
- We also got to have lunch with Brett's friends from Memphis--Josh, Kim, & Jacob--a couple of weekends ago. We hadn't seen them in a while either, so that was fun. Feel free to let us know when you might be driving through.
- Riley is sensing spring I guess because he's been jumping up and down and barking at everything in sight. If the wind blows in Africa, Riley lets us know about it. OH, and he's actually lost three of the eight pounds the vet was wanting him to lose. He can't wait to hit the new backyard. We took him to see it last week, and he's already met the next door bog Bogart.
- If you ever want some humor, check out my sister's blog (banditsbeauties.blogspot.com). She's been posting video and pictures of the girly girls. They are growing so fast that Auntie Mel can't keep up!
I guess that's it for tonight. Sleepy time so I can go find new and interesting charges tomorrow.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Random thoughts from Nashville....
Happy Easter!
I'm a bit bummed that we aren't getting to spend it with my parents, sister, Allison & Emily. I was looking forward to decorating Easter eggs and then hunting them (yes, I'm a child in a 37-year-old body...). But alas, the folks up north haven't been feeling up to par, and I'm not ready to get sick again, so we decided to phone our appearances in each day...
Thankfulness..
I know Easter is a solemn occasion for many, but this year I feel so much like doing a grateful dance that I find it hard to contain myself. I have a wonderful husband who does a fantastic job of taking care of me (even when I don't actually cooperate), a close and loving family who checks on us frequently just to say "HI! how was your day today?", great friends who love me in spite of my failings, and of course, I have a Riley Dog who shows everlasting love no matter what the occasion. This year isn't that far along, and we're having a banner year. Brett has a job at a great company that is filled with friendly, welcoming people who have made our transition here much easier. We're going to have a munchkin--which is definitely an unexpected but exciting adventure... And we're finally going to have a house. Apartment life isn't bad, but we just have really missed stretching out and getting comfortable. I get to work some--maybe not quite as much as I'd like, but considering the economy, I can't complain. I honestly am not sure that life can get much better for us. So thank you for being a part of our wonderful life.
On a lighter train of thought...
We've been watching a lot of NCAA since Thursday, and I have an observation. I am finally over the age of the commercial demographic for most commercials. I look at Brett and frequently say "was that actually supposed to be funny?" or "okay, I guess I missed the meaning of that one all together..." I can't decide if I'm getting old or just have absolutely no sense of humor. I always thought of myself as somewhat witty, but maybe not!
Basketball thoughts... I didn't fill out the bracket this year, but if I had I would have already had several bracket busters. I would have picked both Nashville teams--Belmont and Vanderbilt--neither of which won. That said, Belmont should have won, and I was happy to root for WVA in the game against Duke. Of course, there's still TN and Memphis (that's Brett's favorite to root for it appears). I guess I'll root for TN and the rest of the Big 12 (minus Kansas of course Natalie... I don't want war in the family.) Anyway... it's been a fun weekend of entertainment!
Paint colors... Who knew there were so many colors of paint in the world... It always looks so easy on DIY and HGTV. :) Wish us luck as we start THAT adventure. :)
I guess that's about it for now. It's time for the TN vs. Butler game. Gotta go practice wearing Orange and singing the Rockytop song...
Happy Easter All!
I'm a bit bummed that we aren't getting to spend it with my parents, sister, Allison & Emily. I was looking forward to decorating Easter eggs and then hunting them (yes, I'm a child in a 37-year-old body...). But alas, the folks up north haven't been feeling up to par, and I'm not ready to get sick again, so we decided to phone our appearances in each day...
Thankfulness..
I know Easter is a solemn occasion for many, but this year I feel so much like doing a grateful dance that I find it hard to contain myself. I have a wonderful husband who does a fantastic job of taking care of me (even when I don't actually cooperate), a close and loving family who checks on us frequently just to say "HI! how was your day today?", great friends who love me in spite of my failings, and of course, I have a Riley Dog who shows everlasting love no matter what the occasion. This year isn't that far along, and we're having a banner year. Brett has a job at a great company that is filled with friendly, welcoming people who have made our transition here much easier. We're going to have a munchkin--which is definitely an unexpected but exciting adventure... And we're finally going to have a house. Apartment life isn't bad, but we just have really missed stretching out and getting comfortable. I get to work some--maybe not quite as much as I'd like, but considering the economy, I can't complain. I honestly am not sure that life can get much better for us. So thank you for being a part of our wonderful life.
On a lighter train of thought...
We've been watching a lot of NCAA since Thursday, and I have an observation. I am finally over the age of the commercial demographic for most commercials. I look at Brett and frequently say "was that actually supposed to be funny?" or "okay, I guess I missed the meaning of that one all together..." I can't decide if I'm getting old or just have absolutely no sense of humor. I always thought of myself as somewhat witty, but maybe not!
Basketball thoughts... I didn't fill out the bracket this year, but if I had I would have already had several bracket busters. I would have picked both Nashville teams--Belmont and Vanderbilt--neither of which won. That said, Belmont should have won, and I was happy to root for WVA in the game against Duke. Of course, there's still TN and Memphis (that's Brett's favorite to root for it appears). I guess I'll root for TN and the rest of the Big 12 (minus Kansas of course Natalie... I don't want war in the family.) Anyway... it's been a fun weekend of entertainment!
Paint colors... Who knew there were so many colors of paint in the world... It always looks so easy on DIY and HGTV. :) Wish us luck as we start THAT adventure. :)
I guess that's about it for now. It's time for the TN vs. Butler game. Gotta go practice wearing Orange and singing the Rockytop song...
Happy Easter All!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Rupert PASSED!
For all of you who have emailed, called, etc. we received word today that Rupert has passed his first test! What does that mean exactly? Well, as accurately as science can predict without invasive techniques (i.e. CVS or amneo) Rupert is free of chromosomal disorders or abnormalities. For me, it means that unless we just want to be obsessive, I don't have to be poked and stabbed in very uncomfortable tests that might cause a miscarriage. For that, I'm quite grateful.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Talk about excitement...
Please forgive my tardiness in posting, but we've just been really really darn busy here. After a month or so of looking, one failed contract offer, lots of driving and driving and driving, and one very patient saint-material real estate agent named Brady, we have FINALLY found a house and have a signed contract. So, in theory, if the home inspection works out and the mortgage guy was honest about his preapproval, WE WILL HAVE A HOUSE ON APRIL 30!!!!
I never realized just how intense and draining the whole house hunting project can be. This was almost harder than lots and lots of blind dating...! but alas, we think we've found one. The basic details: 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 2616 sq ft. all brick (very important to Brett) on 1.26 acres (also very very important to Brett). It's all on one level except the 616 sq ft bonus room above the 2-car garage. It's 12 years old, has only had one family live there, and they are moving because of a job transfer. It's in a neighborhood of about 30 houses (in what I call) in the middle of no where, but hey, to get the house that's all brick and on at least an acre for a reasonable price you've got to trade off something! (If you want to look on the map, look for 59 Colonial Drive, Lebannon, TN--it has already been removed from the MLS system here).
Truthfully, we're 15 minutes from "everywhere"--Mt. Juliet, Lebannon, and Gallatin. We're about 45 minutes (with traffic)/30 minutes (without traffic) from downtown. So while I'm pouting about leaving Cool Springs where literally every store I could ever want or need is less than 5 minutes away, I'll adapt. :)
Our home inspection is Tuesday... so wish us luck. Pictures will come after that... :)
Now it's time to get really used to going to Lowe's... joy joy! :)
I never realized just how intense and draining the whole house hunting project can be. This was almost harder than lots and lots of blind dating...! but alas, we think we've found one. The basic details: 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 2616 sq ft. all brick (very important to Brett) on 1.26 acres (also very very important to Brett). It's all on one level except the 616 sq ft bonus room above the 2-car garage. It's 12 years old, has only had one family live there, and they are moving because of a job transfer. It's in a neighborhood of about 30 houses (in what I call) in the middle of no where, but hey, to get the house that's all brick and on at least an acre for a reasonable price you've got to trade off something! (If you want to look on the map, look for 59 Colonial Drive, Lebannon, TN--it has already been removed from the MLS system here).
Truthfully, we're 15 minutes from "everywhere"--Mt. Juliet, Lebannon, and Gallatin. We're about 45 minutes (with traffic)/30 minutes (without traffic) from downtown. So while I'm pouting about leaving Cool Springs where literally every store I could ever want or need is less than 5 minutes away, I'll adapt. :)
Our home inspection is Tuesday... so wish us luck. Pictures will come after that... :)
Now it's time to get really used to going to Lowe's... joy joy! :)
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