A Merry News Team Christmas!

You can tell I'm on a vacation of sort, because when have I ever posted more than once in a day?!
Scottie and I made our way up to Sidney tonight for the Christmas dinner that I was apprehensive about, and it was great. We laughed, took fun pictures, and Laurel, Kendra, myself and our respective boys even went back to Momma Kathy's down the road for some coffee and dessert. A great time was had by all.

All of us, gathered in the lobby of CJ Highmarks for our first group photo. Here's another cute one from the gathering afterwards:

Have I mentioned that my mom got me a new camera for Christmas? This thing is awesome, people. Expect a TON more pictures of EVERYTHING now. I have my mind set on a slide show of bowl trip pictures, so we'll see if photobucket and I will end up cooperating on that endeavor. Hopefully, once we're (Scottie and I) back in the area, if Kendra and Mike stick around KY, we can make this gathering an annual event. It would be great to host a dinner, or even a game night. Just something where all of us can get together. These are people that I have made family over the past 8 years, and it just seems even more like Christmas if I get to see them, too.

Guitar Hero calls....good night, all!

Merry Christmas to all!

Hope everyone's Christmas was grand! Ours certainly was. It's been great to see family, and tonight we get an opportunity to hang with friends, too, when we see Kendra, Corey, Laurel plus spouses at dinner. Maybe this can become a new Christmas tradition- since the News Team is all about traditions :)

Scottie got me the prettiest right hand ring! (See photo, left)
I feel like such a goof, though- my hands are two different sizes, and he remembered my engagement ring size, and bought this new ring to match...oops. It's 3/4 of a size too small! I'm wearing it on my pinky now, but we'll just have it sized again when we get back to Tennessee. We'll be back on the 28th, only to do laundry, pack again, and be whisked away to Florida for the Tennessee v Wisconsin version of the Outback Bowl. Watch on New Year's Day at 11am (est) for a glimpse of the band (and my husband!)

Bela and Koko are begrudgingly getting along. Again, Bela just wants to play ALL the time, and Koko wants some personal space. She (koko) is also a bit territorial, I think, especially when it comes to us, her people. She has a fit when Bela touches me, and I have to pop her on the nose when she starts snapping about it. I guess we wont' be getting a second dog down the road after all! Who knows what she'll do when we have babies...

Again, very merry Christmas to all, hopefully filled with time with loved ones, and remembering the significance of giving during this season.

As promised, here's koko in the snow!

Disney Honeymoon

There's no place like home...

Scottie and I went up to Ohio this weekend, and I have to say, that was a huge boost for my attitude of late. Seeing friends at the Suddendorf's Annual Christmas party and spending time at home with my family was very good for my chi. I know we'll be back in a week or so, and it was probably not the best idea as far as gas prices are concerned, but it did us a lot of good, truly. We even got to see snow! Real snow, not little crappy flakes like we get here on Rocky Top. Koko got her first romp in the snow, as it was about 5-6 inches deep, and loved it. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get them loaded onto the laptop tonight- it was truly hilarious. She even played with Cooper, the Rottweiler that lives behind my parent's house. He's a big sweet baby, and they get along famously through the fence.
As for how the girls got along (Koko and Bela- as in Bela Fleck- mom's new baby shar pei) that's a different story. Koko is a true terrirer, very protective and territorial, whereas Bela is a big gangly goofy baby. Bela doesn't understand the concept of chilling out for a while- everything is play play play! Finally, on Sunday, after a few nips and employing some of the Dog Whisperer techniques, Koko calmed down on the aggression a bit- just in time for us to leave. I hope things are better at Christmas!
To Recap:
Drive to Ohio: Bad
Being in Ohio with friends and family: Good
Snow Storm while driving: Bad
Snow Period: Good
Koko's first snow: Really Good
Christmas Party: Good
Wrapping Presents for the kids: Good
Leaving for TN again: Bad
Getting back in TN and going to bed last night: Good

Overall- Very very good weekend :)

Short Sleeves in December?!

The weather here in East Tennessee has certainly taken us for a ride while we've been down here. Last year at this time, we'd already had a dusting of snow that caused the silly Southerners to cancel school for fear it was another blizzard. It was at least chilly, and I had a reason to get out my sweaters. Now when I wear them, I'm doing just that! Sweating! It was 75 degrees on Tuesday. I ran errands with no coat. It's DECEMBER, people!! I'm having a hard time understanding how people in the Southern states get in the Christmas spirit when it's not even cold enough to drink hot chocolate. We're really looking forward to getting up to Ohio for the holidays, just to get our "fix" of cold weather, especially since we'll be spending New Years Eve in Tampa during the Outback Bowl (look for pictures, as soon as I can get them onto photobucket after the game) It's sure to be an awesome time, but the most important thing is that I get to spend New Year's Eve with my HUSBAND! Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a big issue, but this will be our first New Year's together in THREE YEARS. So, technically speaking, it's our first New Years as a married couple. Mike and Kendra even have one on us, since they got married on December 30th last year :)

News Team Update:
Assembly '07 went so well, we decided to repeat it. For those that are unaware, I have three girlfriends from college that I see as often as I can, either together or seperately. We've stayed close, united initially by our majors, then our sorority, then by our sense of humor and general abilities for mischief-making. Due to our obsession with the movie Anchorman, we've dubbed ourselves the News Team. Kendra is Ron Burgandy (or Papa Burgandy, since her voice can make a wolverine purr), Laurel is Brik Tamblen for obvious reasons, Corey is Brian Fantana, as she's the stylish one of the group, and I round things out as Champ Kindd, since I'm all about fun. Though it has been difficult for the past few go-rounds, we've made a commitment to get together at least once a year for a weekend and just be girls and have fun. We have been fortunate recently in that three of us have been married, so we've all been together for those occasions, and we spend a few days in Oxford this summer, mainly reminiscing about good days. This winter, we're trying something never been done before:
We're assembling with our husbands/fiance in tow.
I am nervous about this, people. The last time my husband saw me "in action", as he puts it, he spent most of the time pretending he didn't know me/ being embarrassed about my behavior. Though for clarity, I was a little buzzed, and it was only with Kendra and Corey- at Laurel's wedding, so she was occupied and unable to temper our bitchy behavior. Anyway.
My point of anxeity comes from having the boys all together for the first time. I feel like this is a barometer for the future of our friendship- if the boys all get along together, we'll have a very easy time spending a long weekend together as a group in the future. If they don't get along, or they choose to be more quiet than usual, then the Newsteam husbands will have to stay home. At least until we divorce and get new ones that play nicely together. :)

I'm responsible for creating the weekly powerpoint presentation that gets emailed to all the employees in my center for the football pool. So, on Wednesday or Thursday every week, I sit on google images and download action shots for the Tennessee and whoever they're playing game that Saturday to be incorporated into the slideshow, just to make things more interesting. My superiors like it, and now they know I know powerpoint- probably a dubios honor, but I digress.

Thinking good thoughts

As many of you know already, Scottie will be finishing his masters degree as of May 8th, 2008. That should actually read "he will be finished with". Anyway, upon completion, we're up out. No more Rocky Top. This has been a great experience, especially to do this so early in our marriage, but I think we're ready for home, or at least a better place to make our home. Which leads me to the title of my post...

Scottie has his heart set on a job in the Olentangy school system, which is located outside of Columbus. While it's not exactly home home, we will be significantly closer to family and all friends, and we decided a long time ago that Columbus or Cincinnati would be a great settling ground for a family, when it's that time. Olentangy has officially posted the position, even though S already applied through their website and sent in all applicable paperwork. And though it was a fluke, he spoke with the principal of the new high school (Orange). This week, they'll be combing through applicants and narrowing the field for interviews. Please, think good, positive thoughts for him, and hope he gets a phone call. We've come so far and learned so much here, it would be a great new beginning for us, and finally give us a place to put down roots.

And on a much more trivial note, if Tennessee wins on Saturday (SEC championship), I'm going to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl! (If they lose, I'm going to Tampa, Dallas or Orlando- all compliments of the UT athletic department and the Pride of the Southland Band. Really, it's a win-win. You gotta love free vacations!)

I have a few appointments this week that I've been waiting for a long time- Friday is the big one regarding the carpel tunnel testing and surgical consultation. Again, keeping with the theme of the posting, think good thoughts about a quick surgery with low recovery time.

Bedtime now- tomorrow's goal: get rid of the old tv and get photos posted. Let's see if that happens :)

Last Thanksgiving on Rocky Top

A myriad of circumstances left Scottie and I in Tennessee again for Thanksgiving this year. Last year, being a new graduate student in the UT band program, he was, of course, deathly afraid of going home to Ohio and not being able to make it back for the game on Saturday. I cooked an itty-bitty turkey, we had dinner, pie and took a nap. Pretty standard Thanksgiving behavior.
This year, I assumed he would have the same kind of fear that gripped him last year, and I signed up to work the Friday after the holiday. (Stop looking at me like I'm crazy...They were offering two floating holidays! Evil corporations don't usually do that! I took them up on it.) Also, in order to get a Saturday off that I needed earlier in the month, I switched Saturday duty with a co-worker, so I had to be in town for the weekend anyway. Though we wish we could have been home, we sucked it up and had a little dinner by ourselves.

After we made our initial decision this year to stay in town, I went shopping for our dinner supplies. I opted to do a full-grown 14lb turkey so that we would have leftovers (strategic busy cook planning in full effect), mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and of course, pumpkin pie. Last year, my first attempt at pumpkin pie went great. This year, I decided to kick it up and make the pie from SCRATCH. That's right, no canned ingredients. OK, wait. I did use canned spices ('cause I don't have a garden, and I don't think there's such a thing as a "pumpkin-pie-spice-plant". Would that be a tree? A root? Subject for another posting.) I also used evaporated milk from a can, because frankly, trying to evaporate milk on my own sounds like I'd end up with a wholelotta nothing. Moving on.
I used a REAL pumpkin. I baked it, scooped out the mush and beat the crap out of it in my kitchen aid stand mixer (THANK YOU AUNT RETTA!!!) , and viola! (wah-la, not the instrument). It turned out GREAT! (I'll post a picture, but it looks like a normal pie, be warned) I was worried about the consistency, but it was fabulous. More importantly, Scottie stuffed himself crazy.

While I was in the kitchen on Thursday, I started thinking about how I got there. Not necessarily here in Tennessee, but how I ended up in our kitchen, cooking Thanksgiving for two, and not being the least big scared about it. I began to wonder how I wasn't daunted at all by anything related to cooking, and haven't ever been, really. It occurred to me that I come from a long line, both maternal and paternal, of excellent cooks. My grandmothers dominated the field, of course, each having their own specific talents, ie. Grandma Jones' gravy (never ever to be duplicated) and Grandma Berg's turkey (I never noticed a dry piece. Ever. Period.) My mom has Christmas cookies, crock pot cooking and grilling nailed down, and if you want a chimichanga, lasanga, or other specialty food, please see Aunt Retta. These women made me get in the kitchen and cook- I learned a lot of the mechanics of cooking and baking from all of them, and some things that you wouldn't notice until the job was done. These women, though two of them have passed, and my mom and aunt are 2 states away, are always with me when I cook. For instance, whenever I start the oven, I can hear my mom saying "Turn the dial to 375- that's the mark between 350 and 400"- even if I'm not going to that temperature. I can see my aunt laughing and Gramma J laughing and chopping veggies quickly (onions especially to avoid crying). Even my preference for flour-sack towels over terry cloth bar mops harkens back to some tea-towels I saw in my grandma's kitchen, and how they didn't leave little lint pieces on the dishes. I think about how special a gift this part of my life has been, and though he doesn't really mention it a whole lot, how thankful my husband is that I have these skills. I'm part of a fantastic legacy that someday I hope to continue.

Although dinner turned out great, and we of course have a ton of leftovers, I am looking forward to the possibility of moving back closer to our family. That way, I'm only responsible for one or two things for the family dinner. Less work and more fun- if only everything in life were like a family carry-in Thanksgiving dinner.

I can't accurately calculate your paycheck, but I'll let you wear a coconut bra to work....eh?! (August 16th, 2007)

So, a while back...why, close to a year ago, actually, I posted an entry regarding the job that I had procured during the first month of our residency in Tennessee. Not knowing that it was going to be a complete hassle and take WAY too long to get paid (we were in near-dire straits, here), I opted to take a job in the corporate sector instead of the original plan of substitute teaching here. (Apparently, after all the paperwork I filled out ahead of time to feel smart about the whole thing, they had a waiting list until NOVEMBER to watch a video that made you certified to teach in a classroom. Then, you had to pound the pavement and ask for schools to hire you on a daily basis. I'm not above working for what you want, but sheesh. I'm supposed to guess when a teacher is sick? AND do it while sounding "like a Yankee"?! Try again.)I digress.The blog stated that I was happy to get the job because my compensation would be more than enough money to not only live on, pay off debt and put a hefty chunk in our student loan defecit, all of which was fulfilled. The enviorment seemed cool enough, and I got on with my boss ok....I did however, make a joke in said blog regarding "Hawaiian Shirt Day" ala Office Space (one of the greatest movies ever. EVER.)The prophecy has come true, and I didn't even have to go to the Ministry to get it.Tomorrow, my friends, is indeed HAWAIIAN SHIRT DAY. They are having a LUAU. To me, this is nothing more than appeasement. Apparently, this is to offset the fact that they shorted my bonus check from this month by about 100 dollars. And I'm not supposed to catch these things... (there have been apologies made and a promise of fulfillment on September's bonus. I'm not holding my breath.) Oh, I forgot that we're allowed to wear shorts, too. Good thing, as the building is kept at a balmy -27 at all times to accomodate the large number of computers and overweight employees' constant sweating. (How's that on-site gym treating everyone? What? The treadmills are broken!)All things being equal, my days go pretty quickly now because I'm busy there, (mostly between babysitting Vic, trying not to kill Johnny and occasionally selling insurance), and for the most part, I'm happy. As I said on my facebook profile, I'm feeling slightly unfulfilled of late, like I need a hobby, other than the 3 or so times a week I make it down to UT to exercise (which has helped immensely.) Hobby Farm? Hydroponics? Needlepoint? oh...TAXIDERMY!Is there a holiday that celebrates parentheses? I feel I would gladly celebrate. Actually, all punctuation in general deserves a great big "thank you!" from people like me who use it properly. Except for, perhaps, my overuse of parentheses. ()Again with the digression...Ziggie, seriously. This is why it takes me 3 weeks to get a thought out to you.In short, I have to be festive tomorrow. Bill Lumburg said I could wear a Hawaiian shirt if I wanted to. Coconut Bra, anyone?

Oh, Goodness... (August 9, 2007)

I'm obliging a few requests to post something here, as there are a few people who find my ramblings entertaining. I'm flattered, truly.I came to a starting realization about how old I am vs. how old I feel recently. I was on the phone with my good friend Corey, and noticed that our conversation took a turn into the subject area of fiber, joint supplements and how much sleep we had/hadn't been getting. And just for clarification, the lack of sleep of course isn't due to any raucous partying or crazy all-night whatsits...at least on my end. I'm twenty six years old, and I feel WAY older than I probably should. Things click when I move. I groan when I get out of bed in the morning. I can't drink for distance anymore, and I certainly can't hold my own in a sprint. I look at a bottle of wine, or vodka and instead of thinking about how ridiculous the night could get, I get flashes of myself on the bathroom floor, and think about the impending headache that will be the next day. This, while sad, is the existence that I'm forced to reckon with. Case number two regarding how old I feel: I got a strangely cryptic phone message from my 14 year old cousin last night, desperately wanting me to call her back. Here I am thinking that this is some life or death panicky "I'm going to start high school and I don't know if I can do it" kind of pep talk that I'm about to give...but alas. As it turns out, she wants to know whether or not I think that Zach Ephron *sp?* is gay. I think this person is one of her friends, and I ask her all the right questions, of course, like "Does it really matter?" and "Will you like him less if he is?" and "Why is this important to you?" when I am informed by my cousin that the person in question is NOT a personal friend, but the actor in a horrendous, yet popular movie. (Anyone hear of "High School Musical"? Yeah. That guy.) *Sigh* I'm out of touch. Drastically.I'd say more, but at this point, it's 10:30. I have to take my metamucil and lay down on a heating pad now. Talk to me at the early bird dinner...I hear it's pureed steak day.

Movie Mayhem (June 25th 2007)

It's been a little while since I've posted anything, and I just figured out why! I seem to only be inspired (read: bored enough) to post anything when my favorite half is either dead asleep or out of town. Today's circumstances happen to fall under the latter of the categories.So, I mentioned to S the other day that I hadn't seen Clockwork Orange. He reacted with such shock that it was immediately necessary to drive to the Blockbuster West of our home (we can't go back to the one on the East side...they have my picture up behind the register for repeat late return offenders) and procure a copy. Fifteen minutes and five dollars later I was sitting on the couch, in the dark, wondering why there were so many breasts on the screen. I've already returned it, but in hindsight, I'd like to do a count. Maybe Kubrick was trying to say something with a number there. We finish the movie (albeit a day later due to my early rising for work at AFI) and I turn and look at him as soon as the final scene closes. I was expecting him to spout some sort of diatribe that would explain all of my questions and give me a good reason as to why we had to watch 2 hours of breasts, blood and British Slang. What he says instead: "Some kind of social commentary on religion and the criminal justice system. I have no idea." I'm never taking that man's recommendation for a movie again. Or at least for a while.Last night, we went to see Ocean's 13. It's an owner. Not as many twists as the first or second one, but still a very enjoyable evening. (George is SOOOO pretty. Matty D too.)And lastly, the great Harry Potter. I just finished catching up on the series by re-reading books 5 and 6 so that I am ready for 5's movie and the arrival of book 7 (which I have pre-ordered on Amazon and would highly suggest the rest of you to do too. The price has dropped once already, and they're shipping it for free SAME DAY. Commercial over). This evening I went three different places and decided finally on good ol' Blockbuster (west) to retrieve a copy. I'm debating on whether or not to return it and just pay for it, as I couldn't seem to find a copy anywhere in the immediate area (haven't checked Borders or one of our million used book stores just yet; it was an immediate requirement that I have it TONIGHT.), I may just decide it looks nice on the DVD shelf next to #3 and let good ol' Capital One pick up the automatic tab.Brief Commercial: Help me out and let me sell you an insurance policy for your cars. Nearly guaranteed to beat your current price with better coverage. I represent 12 companies in Ohio & KY (Progressive, AIG, Hartford, Travelers, Allstate, Esurance, etc.) I'm not commissioned (seriously) and it will keep my boss off my back. If you have a DUI, please disregard. And regardless of what you think, if you rent, you DO need renter's insurance. I can help with that as well. Thank you.Being as I'm the only one in town to care for our spaz of a dog, I'm going to get to bed early tonight. If you're in the Cincinnati area, please call Scottie. He's up there and would love to see friends this week. (And mention changing Meredith Suddendorf's diaper to him. He's never done it, and I don't want OUR kid to be the first.) And tell him I miss him. I'm not going to know what to do with a whole bed to myself...OHH!! And everyone needs to check out the comedic genius that is Shirley Q Liquor.Just find her on whatever file sharing site you use.

Being a Grown-Up. (April 14th, 2007)

Being a grown-up. Current mood: excited Category: Friends
I have 5 absolutely fabulous girlfriends that I could not live without. Each one of them serves a very specific purpose in my life, completing who I think I've become, and in some cases, keeping me from becoming something else...in a good way. It was only recently that I realized, that though I've known most of these people for YEARS and have been through a ridiculous amount of growth with all of them, that we have suddenly become grown-ups. This was not communicated to any of us, I believe, and frankly, I feel a little insecure in regard to the promotion. I'm sure it had to happen one day, but now? Really? Where is the evidence? For starters, all of us have jobs that we either love or have to be doing for the moment because we realize that we have greater responsibilities that need to be addressed, such as husbands or savings accounts or house payments or money for graduate school. See? That right there. Husbands. Savings Accounts. Mortgages. Graduate School. Those are grown-up things. Well, ok, maybe not graduate school for everyone, but the point is that people worry about different things when they have a master's degree. Secondly, with those jobs comes money. Though we may be on budgets, we're making money like grown-up people because we have grown-up jobs. Third, our lifestyles. It used to be ok to buy a bookshelf at Wal-Mart because it was just going to get dinged, scratched or thrown-up on, but now, I think we all find ourselves looking at nice furniture...made of real wood. This alone is an accomplishment. The desk at which I am typing this blog was my very first "on my own" kind of desk for my first residence off-campus at school. It has a matching bookcase and printer cart. I used to love it. It is in the same condition that it was when I first got it, but now it looks like it belongs in the room of a 12 year old. Point Three-B that I would like to add to the lifestyle factor is that we like to spend our money on clothing that will not wear out after 3 washings...even though it may cost a touch more. We like boutique shopping, organic food restaurants and fried macaroni and cheese, and we're not afraid to order dessert. Because we can pay for it with our grown up job money, or split it, if the aforementioned responsibilities restrict our budget from having our own portions. Lastly, our conversations have become grown-up, too. Where we used to talk about boyfriends, clothing, and generally who is doing what to who and where and how, we now talk about...wait. That's the same. Just replace boyfriends with husbands for some of us, and it's all the same stuff. I suppose this all had to happen eventually, and it's good that I'm able to share these strange transition years with wonderful people like my friends. I got to spend a fabulous weekend with my talky friend, who can carry on two conversations with me simultaneously, and who says it's ok to drink 2 cups of coffee in one's pajamas every morning. I haven't seen my extraordinarily fabulous friend who is living the performer's dream in a while, but just when I start thinking about how cool she is, she manages to leave a goofy comment on this myspace page. I think she's telepathic.My brain twin who-can-look-at-me-and-know-exactly-what-I'm-thinking-because-she's-my-brain twin-friend, my cynical realist see-through-the-bullshit-friend, and my look-on-the-bright-side of-everything-friend and I are long overdue for our annual get-together and photo session. We're slated to appear in Oxford this summer, but sorry Miamigirls...Only grown-ups allowed on this trip.

The Debut that Never Was... (Feb 23rd, 2007)

So, pat on the back to my hubby, who had his collegiate conducting debut last night! He went out, bought a new vest and tie for his tux (classic black satin, very sharp), shaved his head again, double checked the baton he was planning on using (as he's broken 2 in the past month)...and was left off the program.
No biggie. Kind of funny, when you think about it, actually. At least someone pushed "record" like they were supposed to on his video camera that was set up in the percussion section, so he'd have a video record of his first performance.
Wait...that didn't happen either.
So, essentially, if he says anything about his performance on Thursday, February 22nd, conducting the University of Tennessee Concert Band, tell him he's full of shit and ask him to prove it.

He can't. :)

...But he was great. And I'm a VERY proud wife. Very.

John Meyers (Tuesday, Feb 22nd, 2007)

(If you "get" the subject line, you know that it's a joke from the once-aired episode of "John Mayer has a TV Show". Basically, he spent most of the time dressed up in a bear outfit wandering around the parking lots of his shows before hand, talking to people that were firing up for the concert. He started most of the conversations by saying "Are you here to see John Meyers?" When the girls would correct him, he would usually say something derrogatory about himself...while in the cover of the large bear costume.)
So, I'll probably post more later, but tonight was the long-awaited Crimmus present from my husband: TICKETS TO THE JOHN MAYER CONCERT!!
It was fantastic. I've decided that I want to be John Mayer's guitar when I grow up, just so he'll hold me like that. DAMN that man can play.
Some things said during the concert by the man himself:
"It's too early for talky-talky" (after the first tune)
"Heh. I always play that song (a warm-up riff). It sounds like science film-strip music. *plays riff* And what else can we learn while we explore the sea? *plays riff again* Let us continue our journey to discover the molecule"
"I'd like to dedicate this song to me, 'cause nobody ever does that" (Waiting on the World to Change)
"I guess you'll have to meet the horn section later..." (after they wandered off during a song)
"Looking out into the crowd, I see nice people. You guys are all nice, good people, I can feel it. I don't have assholes for fans. You guys put assholes in their place!"
"I wrote this song with all sincerity, and I ain't got no problem with that" (Your Body is a Wonderland)
He also dropped in a few jokes about Richard Dawson, and put some teenagers and their signs into check. Very well done.
Fantastic concert overall, and I know this by the rockin' headache/earache/throatache I'm sportin'. My husband rules. Good thing I'm off tomorrow...

"It's not that we don't care, we just know that the fight ain't fair..."

Heads Up

I used to blog on myspace. Myspace spams. I have now located my blog to this site, inspired by my aunt who blogs like crazy :)

I'll be cutting and pasting my blog information from my old myspace blogs for all to enjoy on the new platform, with new ones to come.

Please comment, but be nice. I am. Except to Johnny Chang.