Bridget has finally figured out a way into the aquarium. She hasn't killed any fish (I'm guessing that's a matter of time), but she's also taken to drinking the aquarium water.
I also caught her lapping up water from the toilet the other day.
Does she not realize we give her water to go with her food? Or is she just confused about her identity as a cat? With the fetching, following us around the house everywhere, and now drinking out of the toilet, I'm beginning to think she thinks she's a dog.
Which, if she does, then that keeps us from getting a real dog for awhile, so I should keep up that training!
4.26.2009
taking a break, sort of
After spending two straight weeks working on our house -- replacing floors, dealing with all of the drama with the trim, installing and painting new doors, redoing the guest bathroom (including new floors there too) -- I think we decided we'd had it for awhile and needed to take a break. Well, I had already decided that for myself, and I'm glad CJ got to that point too. This week was so nice. CJ spent his days off relaxing, and then I'd come home from work, we'd have dinner, and then we'd spend the rest of the night relaxing.
Yesterday was our big day out, though, and I'm feeling it a little this morning. We started off at the firefighters' conference downtown. It's the third largest conference we have in Indianapolis, and I can tell why. We walked from the Statehouse (I refuse to pay to park downtown when we can park for free and walk) to the convention center, over to Lucas Oil, which was packed with various apparatus and exhibits, back over to the convention center which was overflowing with more exhibits and apparatus. CJ was like a kid in a candy store though, and he loaded up on some firefighter things. His argument was that we can write them off as a tax deduction. It's not like I can put up much of a fight where extra firefighting tools are concerned though, since the whole idea is to make him more safe.
After that, we went to the Stutz Artists Association open house. We didn't come home with any new art, although there was an artist whose work CJ and I both liked -- which is rare. I may have to hunt her down later.
After spending a little bit of time at home, which mostly included us staring at each other and saying things like, "I'm bored" or "You're not entertaining me very well," we ended up at Lowe's (where I swore I'd never visit again) to buy new garden supplies and several tomato plants. Then we spent until 10:00 last night working outside, me in the front tearing out dead flowers around the mailbox and planting new ones, and CJ in the back planting tomatoes. We also got some peppers and some romaine lettuce planted last night. In addition to that, we're also going to plant onions, scallions, cucumbers, cabbage, zucchini, rhubarb, carrots, and green beans. It's quite the ambitious plan we have, especially considering the amount of space available, and the fact that there are only two of us.
Yesterday was our big day out, though, and I'm feeling it a little this morning. We started off at the firefighters' conference downtown. It's the third largest conference we have in Indianapolis, and I can tell why. We walked from the Statehouse (I refuse to pay to park downtown when we can park for free and walk) to the convention center, over to Lucas Oil, which was packed with various apparatus and exhibits, back over to the convention center which was overflowing with more exhibits and apparatus. CJ was like a kid in a candy store though, and he loaded up on some firefighter things. His argument was that we can write them off as a tax deduction. It's not like I can put up much of a fight where extra firefighting tools are concerned though, since the whole idea is to make him more safe.
After that, we went to the Stutz Artists Association open house. We didn't come home with any new art, although there was an artist whose work CJ and I both liked -- which is rare. I may have to hunt her down later.
After spending a little bit of time at home, which mostly included us staring at each other and saying things like, "I'm bored" or "You're not entertaining me very well," we ended up at Lowe's (where I swore I'd never visit again) to buy new garden supplies and several tomato plants. Then we spent until 10:00 last night working outside, me in the front tearing out dead flowers around the mailbox and planting new ones, and CJ in the back planting tomatoes. We also got some peppers and some romaine lettuce planted last night. In addition to that, we're also going to plant onions, scallions, cucumbers, cabbage, zucchini, rhubarb, carrots, and green beans. It's quite the ambitious plan we have, especially considering the amount of space available, and the fact that there are only two of us.
4.20.2009
pollution is bad
My younger cousins spent some time with us this weekend, and as we were driving around Indianapolis, Brandon commented on the factories -- and how they were polluting and they shouldn't.
I remember going through a green phase myself, probably when I was his age. I don't remember being concerned about the big city factories, so much as I was with the plastic six-pack coke holders that eventually made their way into the ocean, strangling dolphins. So, I'd grab them as soon as we finished a pack, or worse, I'd go through the trash, and I'd snip those plastic holders so that dolphins wouldn't choke.
Okay, so, that's more of a PETA phase than a recycling phase. But whatever. Point is: we recycled.
But back to the discussion in the car. It made me think -- What are our schools teaching our kids? Are they teaching them just that pollution is bad? Are they training them to plant trees, to recycle, to use CFL bulbs, and to use those reusable bags to carry their groceries? Great. But are they teaching them about alternative energy and what would actually work here in Indiana? Clean coal? Ethanol, as unpopular as it is right now? Wind energy, maybe? (The wind is only strong enough in spots in Indiana. DAD -- It's not too late to invest in my future!)
I'm not what you'd call a tree hugger. By far. We don't recycle, mostly because it's a hassle. I've been told by friends who do recycle that whenever they take their cans, newspapers, and cardboard to be recycled, the bins are always full, and then what do you do? I drive a jeep, which doesn't exactly get the best gas mileage.
I do drink out of reusable plastic water bottles at work. That's mostly because those bottles hold a lot of water, limiting my trips to refill. We use CFL bulbs, but I secretly despise those. They're never quite bright enough. The best I probably do is carry those reusable grocery bags. But if I'm being honest, I do that more because they're darn convenient, not because I truly believe I'm saving the environment one plastic grocery bag at a time.
And then here's this conundrum: Do my anti-green practices align with my beliefs as a Christian? Didn't God create this earth to be a beautiful place, and didn't He entrust it to our care? And I here I go, grumbling about our education system and throwing our plastic six-pack coke holders into the oceans for dolphins to choke on...
I remember going through a green phase myself, probably when I was his age. I don't remember being concerned about the big city factories, so much as I was with the plastic six-pack coke holders that eventually made their way into the ocean, strangling dolphins. So, I'd grab them as soon as we finished a pack, or worse, I'd go through the trash, and I'd snip those plastic holders so that dolphins wouldn't choke.
Okay, so, that's more of a PETA phase than a recycling phase. But whatever. Point is: we recycled.
But back to the discussion in the car. It made me think -- What are our schools teaching our kids? Are they teaching them just that pollution is bad? Are they training them to plant trees, to recycle, to use CFL bulbs, and to use those reusable bags to carry their groceries? Great. But are they teaching them about alternative energy and what would actually work here in Indiana? Clean coal? Ethanol, as unpopular as it is right now? Wind energy, maybe? (The wind is only strong enough in spots in Indiana. DAD -- It's not too late to invest in my future!)
I'm not what you'd call a tree hugger. By far. We don't recycle, mostly because it's a hassle. I've been told by friends who do recycle that whenever they take their cans, newspapers, and cardboard to be recycled, the bins are always full, and then what do you do? I drive a jeep, which doesn't exactly get the best gas mileage.
I do drink out of reusable plastic water bottles at work. That's mostly because those bottles hold a lot of water, limiting my trips to refill. We use CFL bulbs, but I secretly despise those. They're never quite bright enough. The best I probably do is carry those reusable grocery bags. But if I'm being honest, I do that more because they're darn convenient, not because I truly believe I'm saving the environment one plastic grocery bag at a time.
And then here's this conundrum: Do my anti-green practices align with my beliefs as a Christian? Didn't God create this earth to be a beautiful place, and didn't He entrust it to our care? And I here I go, grumbling about our education system and throwing our plastic six-pack coke holders into the oceans for dolphins to choke on...
4.16.2009
2.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work." (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
This verse was read at our wedding, and it just popped into my head last night as we continued to finish up home improvements -- or at least get our house back into some sort of appropriate shape for family coming in this weekend.
We've learned many, many lessons these past few weeks, the biggest of which is: don't do home improvements yourself. One project has led to another to another to another... I told CJ tonight that our parents were probably sitting back laughing at us, that they probably wanted us to see for ourselves what can happen when you attempt improvements like ours.
For those of you playing along at home, here's what the past two weeks have looked like:
We decided to replace most of our flooring with hardwood laminate floors. The kitchen, entryway, hallway, and living room were supposed to be completed a week ago. We haven't even touched the living room.
Installing new floors led to new trim. We hauled a load home, only to discover a day later that it did not match our doors. So, we went back, picked out a new batch of trim and new doors. (I hated it all anyway, so no love lost.) As he cut the trim yesterday, it started to melt on him. So it was back to the drawing board again. We're on our third set of trim now.
Installing new flooring led to replacing our bathroom tile with new tile. That also led to new trim in the bathroom, and it also ended up with me painting our bathroom last night. (I was pretty proud of myself for painting the bathroom and painting doors too.)
And those doors? They were only primed white. We have ten doors in our house total, three of which CJ hasn't touched yet. So I've been painting seven doors this week -- but just the front, because I don't have time to finish them off. Each door requires three coats of paint. So it's really like I've been painting twenty-one doors this week.
What's left? Our new microwave has to be installed, the bathroom tile isn't yet finished, we're short two pieces of trim, the bathroom door still needs two coats of paint on it, and the old trim needs to be put up in places. And the guest bathroom needs a mirror, light fixture, toilet paper holder, and hook installed too. Quarter-round needs to be installed, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen this week. It's my goal to finish painting tonight, leave work a little early, run my errands right after that, and then spend the evening cleaning.
So it's good there are two of us. The work goes much quicker. And, although we've been at each other's throats sometimes (mostly because I can't keep my mouth shut, I'll admit), we're actually turning this house into our home, which is nice.
The paint must be dry by now, so I should probably get back to work...
4.14.2009
croc knock-offs?
For the past few seasons, I've debated buying crocs. I've decided they're really ugly, but a pair would be handy for when I'm lazy and don't want to lace up my shoes, and also for gardening. I'm not going to pay full price for a pair of real crocs, especially since I don't intend to wear them outside of my property line, but now I can't find knock-offs anywhere. Has anyone seen any around? (Don't suggest Walmart. I've also looked at Target and Payless.)
While you're here, you might as well weigh in with your opinion of crocs -- everyone has one.
While you're here, you might as well weigh in with your opinion of crocs -- everyone has one.
4.11.2009
slumdog millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire solidified one thing for us: We're never going to India.
The movie is about a man who won the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and is accused of cheating because he was this average guy -- a slumdog, they kept calling him -- and the first person who won the entire show anyway. While he's being tortured, he recalls different times in his life that showed how he actually knew the answers.
Aside from one quite disturbing scene near the beginning of the movie (it wasn't violent, just the grossest thing I think I've ever seen), we liked it, and would recommend it to anyone else who's looking for a good movie to watch sometime soon.
The movie is about a man who won the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and is accused of cheating because he was this average guy -- a slumdog, they kept calling him -- and the first person who won the entire show anyway. While he's being tortured, he recalls different times in his life that showed how he actually knew the answers.
Aside from one quite disturbing scene near the beginning of the movie (it wasn't violent, just the grossest thing I think I've ever seen), we liked it, and would recommend it to anyone else who's looking for a good movie to watch sometime soon.
4.09.2009
new master bathroom!
I would post before pictures, but since my laptop, which has all of my pictures on it, is about ready to crash (which sounds about right, since it's 5 1/2 years old), we've switched to using CJ's laptop... To give you an idea, the walls were regular off-white, the lights were the standard gold ball lights, there was a white medicine cabinet that didn't fit the space, and worst of all, there was a green/turquoise-ish (there's no good color that describes it) vanity. So, the bottom of the vanity, the toilet, and the bathtub stayed, and everything else is new. Sorry for the darkness, but the walls are actually light blue, not purple.
4.07.2009
water, water everywhere
I'd like to take this time to give a special thanks to the plumber who helped build our house years ago. With these home improvements, it seems we've uncovered poor workmanship in all of our house's plumbing.
First there was the leaky bathroom spout. I knew about it when I bought the house of course, but since it was just a steady, but occasional drip, I let it go. When the steady, occasional drip turned into a constant, keep-me-awake-at-night drip, I convinced CJ to replace the spout and the drain, because if he did it himself, we could do it for the bargain price of $50. As he pulled out the drain, it was so corroded from years of dripping that it crumbled. As he chipped it away, an integral pipe fell through the bathtub. Turns out the plumber didn't actually glue it in there ... just put it in place and went on his merry little way. $800 later...
Then I had CJ replace the faucets in our bathrooms. When CJ left for work one morning, he told me the guest bath faucet was dripping and that he shut off its water supply and would take care of it when he got back in the next day. It was fine until I was by myself later that night, when water filled up the bottom of the vanity, spilled over on the bathroom floor, and creeped into the hallway, saturating the carpet too. So that night, I went without water.
The next day, the master bathroom faucet started leaking. That turned out to be an easy fix though, thank goodness.
Now we're up to today. CJ has spent the past two days installing hardwood laminate floors in our kitchen and hallway/entryway. When I got home tonight, I found a gallon bucket underneath my sink. CJ had to pull out the dishwasher to install the flooring. So, even though the water is shut off to both the dishwasher and for the entire house, the pipe that connected our dishwasher still leaks -- a lot. We needed/wanted to replace our dishwasher for a variety of reasons, so CJ's in the kitchen installing the new one as we speak. We've also gone through at least six gallons of hot water so far too.
I bet we're going to get a special Christmas present from the water company this year.
It also makes me wonder -- when did we stop doing projects right to begin with?
(And while I'm at it, if anyone needs a dishwasher, we have one. It still runs well. It's black, and I'm guessing it's probably 8-9 years old.)
First there was the leaky bathroom spout. I knew about it when I bought the house of course, but since it was just a steady, but occasional drip, I let it go. When the steady, occasional drip turned into a constant, keep-me-awake-at-night drip, I convinced CJ to replace the spout and the drain, because if he did it himself, we could do it for the bargain price of $50. As he pulled out the drain, it was so corroded from years of dripping that it crumbled. As he chipped it away, an integral pipe fell through the bathtub. Turns out the plumber didn't actually glue it in there ... just put it in place and went on his merry little way. $800 later...
Then I had CJ replace the faucets in our bathrooms. When CJ left for work one morning, he told me the guest bath faucet was dripping and that he shut off its water supply and would take care of it when he got back in the next day. It was fine until I was by myself later that night, when water filled up the bottom of the vanity, spilled over on the bathroom floor, and creeped into the hallway, saturating the carpet too. So that night, I went without water.
The next day, the master bathroom faucet started leaking. That turned out to be an easy fix though, thank goodness.
Now we're up to today. CJ has spent the past two days installing hardwood laminate floors in our kitchen and hallway/entryway. When I got home tonight, I found a gallon bucket underneath my sink. CJ had to pull out the dishwasher to install the flooring. So, even though the water is shut off to both the dishwasher and for the entire house, the pipe that connected our dishwasher still leaks -- a lot. We needed/wanted to replace our dishwasher for a variety of reasons, so CJ's in the kitchen installing the new one as we speak. We've also gone through at least six gallons of hot water so far too.
I bet we're going to get a special Christmas present from the water company this year.
It also makes me wonder -- when did we stop doing projects right to begin with?
(And while I'm at it, if anyone needs a dishwasher, we have one. It still runs well. It's black, and I'm guessing it's probably 8-9 years old.)
4.04.2009
overdue update
It's probably time again to update everyone on what's going on with us.
We're well into home improvements now. A few weeks ago, my dad and CJ tore up our yard and reseeded it. CJ got some of the landscaping started too. Now we're just waiting for it to warm up. CJ's outside right now fixing a box to put around our new tree so he can plant some hostas around it this afternoon before it storms tomorrow and snows early next week. The master bathroom renovation is nearly complete; I just have to screw in the outlet covers. CJ plans to start ripping up kitchen tile and carpet maybe as early as this afternoon so he can start to put down our new flooring early next week. I'll have pictures up soon.
I got accepted into Indiana Wesleyan's MBA program. I don't want to downplay it, but at the same time, it didn't come as a surprise. For this particular program at least, you just have to send in your $25 application fee, complete the financial aid requirements, have a solid undergrad record, and have two years of "significant" work experience. I don't know when I'll start though. I'll be put into a class of 15-20 people or so, and I'll go through the entire program with those same people. Since they just started the MBA program in March, I imagine it might be awhile -- maybe a year or so -- to get another class filled. But, even if it is a year from now, at least I've taken that step, and it'll also give us some more time to get used to marriage and for CJ to hopefully complete his bachelor's degree.
Aside from random trips to my parents' house last Sunday and down to Linton today to see our friends Amy and Lennon, nothing else new is going on here. Hope everyone is doing well. :)
We're well into home improvements now. A few weeks ago, my dad and CJ tore up our yard and reseeded it. CJ got some of the landscaping started too. Now we're just waiting for it to warm up. CJ's outside right now fixing a box to put around our new tree so he can plant some hostas around it this afternoon before it storms tomorrow and snows early next week. The master bathroom renovation is nearly complete; I just have to screw in the outlet covers. CJ plans to start ripping up kitchen tile and carpet maybe as early as this afternoon so he can start to put down our new flooring early next week. I'll have pictures up soon.
I got accepted into Indiana Wesleyan's MBA program. I don't want to downplay it, but at the same time, it didn't come as a surprise. For this particular program at least, you just have to send in your $25 application fee, complete the financial aid requirements, have a solid undergrad record, and have two years of "significant" work experience. I don't know when I'll start though. I'll be put into a class of 15-20 people or so, and I'll go through the entire program with those same people. Since they just started the MBA program in March, I imagine it might be awhile -- maybe a year or so -- to get another class filled. But, even if it is a year from now, at least I've taken that step, and it'll also give us some more time to get used to marriage and for CJ to hopefully complete his bachelor's degree.
Aside from random trips to my parents' house last Sunday and down to Linton today to see our friends Amy and Lennon, nothing else new is going on here. Hope everyone is doing well. :)
4.02.2009
it's all about diversification
This -- http://www.goshennews.com/local/local_story_091102014.html -- is my second favorite story of the week (see below, re: Obama and the iPod). This company supplied quilts, pillows, etc. for RVs, an industry that has hit rock bottom. So, as you will read in the story, with over a million dollars worth of fabric, the company started making bags.
The thing is, a lot of people still expect their old manufacturing jobs will be there when the economy is on the upside again. And some of them very well may get their jobs back. But for the most part, I don't believe those jobs are coming back. I really respect those people who are now unemployed who have decided to go back to school, or to get a certification, or whatever it is ... something that will help them become more marketable in the future. And, I really respect this company for diversifying. Yes, maybe the RV industry will rebound someday and they can go back to the usual, but maybe they'll find this will hit an entirely different demographic and will be even more profitable.
I can't make a three-hour trip north for a bag, so I'm hoping the company will start to sell online. I think some of the bags are cute, and besides, I'd pay a little bit more for an Indiana product. That's how I justify my Vera Bradley purchases.
Speaking of, does Vera Bradley have to come out with new patterns all the time? Just when I find one I like and start to collect, I find three new patterns I love even more. We really ought to put a line item in our budget...
The thing is, a lot of people still expect their old manufacturing jobs will be there when the economy is on the upside again. And some of them very well may get their jobs back. But for the most part, I don't believe those jobs are coming back. I really respect those people who are now unemployed who have decided to go back to school, or to get a certification, or whatever it is ... something that will help them become more marketable in the future. And, I really respect this company for diversifying. Yes, maybe the RV industry will rebound someday and they can go back to the usual, but maybe they'll find this will hit an entirely different demographic and will be even more profitable.
I can't make a three-hour trip north for a bag, so I'm hoping the company will start to sell online. I think some of the bags are cute, and besides, I'd pay a little bit more for an Indiana product. That's how I justify my Vera Bradley purchases.
Speaking of, does Vera Bradley have to come out with new patterns all the time? Just when I find one I like and start to collect, I find three new patterns I love even more. We really ought to put a line item in our budget...
an ipod? really?
This is one of my favorite stories of the week: that the president met the Queen of England and gave her an iPod. Come on. I realize the president thinks he's really awesome, mixing it up with his town hall meetings and Leno appearance, but giving the queen an iPod? Giving the queen an iPod with showtunes and Obama speeches pre-installed? Even better.
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