Goodbye Jetta, Hello Civic

It is with mixed feelings I say goodbye to my 1996 VW Jetta. It wasn't anything fancy, but I loved the way this car drove, especially on the highway. I will miss the ghetto rims, my cd player I have had for almost 10 years, and just the feeling I had owning a VW. I will not miss the slow pickup from a stop, the bad speaker wiring, the a/c leaking water into the passenger side floor, and no storage space for cd's etc. Goodbye Jetta!


Hello 2006 Civic! Today I bought my first new car, I am very excited since I have never owned a car that was made in the same decade that I was living in. It also feels great to spend my heard earned money on something I will use every day, I know that sounds weird, but that's how I feel. Hello Civic!

College Loans

After reading the headline of this CNN news article, "Most college graduates in debt", my first response was "No shit." I feel that my loan is this huge weight hanging over my life. I am grateful for that money since I would not have been able to afford college without it, but I also feel like I will never be able to pay it off. Very frustrating.

Feeling better

I am feeling much better than I was a few days ago, but now I have strep throat. Well kind of, I went to urgent care this morning and the strep test came back negative, but the doctor said it looks like I have it anyway. Gave me some antibiotics so hopefully my throat will feel better soon.

B.J. and I saw X Men 3 yesterday, I liked it, but it was not as good as X Men 2. I can see why some of the critics didn't like it, there was more action than character development and humor this time. But it was a nice way to spend a few hours.

Went to White Allen Honda yesterday and bought a 2006 Civic LX. I don't have it yet, they are looking for my preferred Royal Blue exterior with Ivory interior. If they can't find a blue one, I will get Silver with grey interior. Hopefully they find one by Wednesday so I can get the special 4.9% interest rate. I will post pictures whenever I can.

I am at work now so I am going to get out of here. Hope everybody has a nice holiday weekend!

Sick

Today is day 3 of missing work because of a stupid stomach virus. I finally went to urgent care to get some meds so hopefully I will feel better soon. The constant nausea is getting old. The only good thing about being home is that I get to spend plenty of time with Flanagan.

Such a bummer to feel so bad since the weather is beautiful and I have a full weekend planned. Even though monday is a holiday, I will probably still go to work for at least a half day since I missed 3 days and there are some important deadlines on June 1st. This weekend I am going to:

Clean out my car
See X-Men III
Go to at least one Honda dealership to inquire about buying a Civic.
Do yard work
Take Flanagan to the park

Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better. My medication is making me tired, so I am going to nap now. Hope everybody is having a better week than I am.

Vacation Day 3

I woke up Monday May 15th one year older, I can't believe I am 29 years old. Anyway, our last day of vacation we got up early to catch the 9:00 ferry back to Catawba Island where our car was parked. Luckily we got a lift from the B&B owner since it was raining. The ferry ride was pretty uneventful, just us, a girl who fell asleep, and a few Russians who were very loud. We get back to the mainland, find our car and head to Dearborn, MI to meet Pablo and Katty for lunch at La Shish. We meet them around noon for a delicious lunch of Middle Eastern food. Katty and Pablo discover that its my birthday and ask the waiter to bring me a cake. So we are just sitting and talking when over the loudspeaker a middle eastern version of Happy Birthday starts playing and all the waiters come over with a cake to sing to me. It was funny yet kind of embarrassing since the music was so loud. Pablo has some great pictures of this, I am sure he will post them.

After lunch we follow Pablo to the Henry Ford estate on the Univ of Michigan-Dearborn campus. GO BUCKEYES!!!! Ok, sorry, I had to get that out. The estate was awesome! The house and grounds were beautiful. Thank you Pablo!




Next on our journey we headed south to my parents house in the lovely town of Piqua, Ohio...Where Vision Becomes Reality. At least that what the bilboard says as you come into town. We stop at my parents to say hello, pick up my birthday gift, and drop off a mother's day gift. We hang out and chat with my family then head home, very excited to see Flanagan. I really missed my puppy.


It was a fun little vacation, I got to relax, look at awesome geological features, and hang out with my husband. That all I really want out of a vacation.

Vacation Day 2

The second day of our vacation we decided to visit Perry's Cave, Heineman's Winery, and the Crystal Cave. The weather in the morning was cold and rainy, it sucked, but thanks to my new Columbia rain coat I was nice and dry. We set out for Perry's Cave, it was about a 10 minute walk from the B & B, when we arrive we are the only people there. So we look around the gift shop and then finally some other people show up. Tickets to see the cave cost $7 each so I was hoping that it would be awesome. It wasn't. The girl giving the tour had no knowledge about caves, I could have given a better tour. After 15 minutes of walking around a cave with no cool formations we are done and get a "free souvenir". It was a sticker that said Perry's Cave. Lame. The whole experience was so disappointing I didn't take any pictures. Basically we were pissed for paying $14 to walk in a big hole in the ground and not see anything interesting.

After that disaster we got some lunch since the winery wasn't open yet. We ate at some Italian place which was really good. We walk back to the Heineman's Winery and the Crystal Cave. Luckily this experience was great. We took a tour of the winery then the Crystal Cave which is the world's largest geode. The entire cave is filled with blue Celestite crystals, it was awesome! The tour guide and I talked about nerdy geology stuff while B.J. and some other kid looked on kind of bored.


We then cashed in our free wine tasting tokens and had some delicious wines. The tour guide from the cave was also the guy giving us wine samples, which was awesome since he gave us free samples of almost all the wines. In Ohio you have to pay for wine tasting. B.J. thought he was hitting on me, but I don't think so. That trip totally redeemed the day. Here are a few more pictures:

The winery

Cool old cars

This one is just funny


Vacation Day 3 coming soon.

Vacation Day 1

On Saturday (5/13) we left for Put-In-Bay, it was kind of a sad time since we were leaving Flanagan, but I was excited to get out of town. The drive up was uneventful, it was kind of boring since northern Ohio is mostly farmland. We get to Catawba Island (not an island) where we are going to take the ferry over to South Bass Island where Put-In-Bay is. The weather is overcast, rainy, and kind of cold. The ferry ride took about 20 minutes which seemed longer since there were very loud kids on the boat. One of them had a whistle, it was annoying. We couldn't see much from the ferry since it was so overcast.



When we arrive at Put-In-Bay we take a $2.00 bus ride to The Niagra Guest House, the bed and breakfast where we are staying.



We meet the guy who runs the place then head out to see what there is to do. Middle Bass Island is only around 3 miles long by 1 mile wide so we walk everywhere. We could have rented a golf cart, but didn't feel like spending $30 for that. It wasn't raining so we walked around town and went to Perry's Monument which is a memorial to Oliver Hazzard Perry's win over the British in the war of 1812.




The weather was getting very windy and colder so we headed over to the Put-In-Bay Brewing Company for a beer. We hung out there and watched the beginning of the Cavs game (LeBron is awesome) then went to Tipper's for dinner. B.J. had steak, I had Walleye, it was delicious. We then went to a bar to finish watching the Cavs game, the place was called Mr. Ed's and was kind of annoying. Put-In-Bay is probably 75% bars and it felt like we were in college again. After Mr. Ed's we went to the Boathouse had a few more beers and watched the band that was playing. The band wasn't very good, but they were playing some good songs. The rest of the night is a little hazy for me, we left at some point, walked back to the B&B and passed out.

Vacation day 2 coming soon.

Vacation!!!

We are off to Put-In-Bay today, I am excited to get out of town for a few days. I will miss Flanagan, it's so hard to leave him. The weather is going to be cold and rainy, but who cares, I am just happy to take a few days off of work. Have a great weekend everyone!

He-Man

I found this artile on Slate today, ahhh nostalgia.

BMV

Today I went to the BMV to renew my drivers license since it expires on Monday. Round trip it took me a total of 30 minutes. I was amazed, it must be some kind of world record! Last time I went to the BMV to get a new license after I got married it took over an hour and was a scary experience. Here is a summary of that experience: Watching a mother screaming at her 4 year old to "Get your fucking ass back here"; 5 Mexicans in line in front of me trying to get a drivers license without social security cards; some dude talking about Jesus to some other dude in a loud voice; and a very creepy guy standing outside looking through the window. Just a typical day in East Dayton.

Thankfully this week is almost over, then B.J. and I are off to Put-In-Bay for the weekend. Hopefully it won't rain the whole time, but even if it does, it will still be nice to get away for a few days.

Congratulations Anne!

Yesterday my sister Anne graduated from Bowling Green with a B.S. in Environmental Science. We went to the ceremony, then back to her apartment for a party with her roommate Kim. There were alot of family and friends present to celebrate the day.

Where's Anne?


Anne and Parents


Delicious cake provided by the most awesome sister ever.

Stupid Browns

I can't believe the Browns traded vetren backup quarterback Trent Dilfer for Ken Dorsey. He sucks. My favorite Dorsey moment is when he cried in the 2002 National Championship after being sacked for the hundreth time by the awesome OSU Buckeyes. It doesn't make sense to have a 2nd year quarterback (Charlie Frye) and then a mediocre back up.

In other news, the seminar (How to deal with difficult employees) on Tuesday was pretty good. Work has been crazy and I am starting to freak out a bit about how busy we are. This weekend we are going to Bowling Green for Anne's graduation. I am sure the ceremony will be boring, but there will be food, cake, and beer after so I am looking forward to that. I will make sure to take pictures and post them this weekend.

Have a good weekend!

From another blog

I copied this entry from the Bark magazine blog. It's something I think is important, and finally the government in Ohio is taking the lead in something good.

Ohio Bill Would Ban Puppy Mills
Pretty Girl's Bill—named for a dog found barely hanging on to life after being abandoned by her owners when she could no longer breed—was unveiled yesterday in Ohio. If passed, the bill would mandate random inspections of dog breeding sites and liscensing for commercial breeders.

Legislation is needed, of course, to enforce standards and monitor the actions of anyone breeding and selling animals. But I suspect it's consumers who ultimately will have the biggest influence on the continuation or discontinuation of puppy mills. The key is education. Make sure everyone you know is aware of the horrors of puppy mills. If you're going to purchase a specific breed, do your research! Never buy from a pet store, and find a reputable breeder before making a purchase. (Check out HSUS's tips on How to Find a Good Dog Breeder.) Or, better yet, adopt a dog from a breed-specific rescue group. But never forget that mutts and mixed-breed dogs make extraordinary pets, and shelters all over the world are bursting at the seams with very special animals.

If you live in Ohio, be sure you let your legislators know that you support this bill.

Crazy Monday

I am definately having a case of the Mondays. This morning work was so stressful that I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Things are better now at 5:10pm since almost everyone has left.

I will be out of the office tomorrow at a seminar, "How to Deal With Difficult Employees", hopefully it doesn't suck.

The weekend was pretty good. Friday B.J. and I had a typical old people night, we went to dinner at Panera, then to Lowe's, then to Krogers. At least we bought beer. Saturday morning we were very productive and did yard work. I put down grass seed and turf builder after B.J. mowed. Then we watched the draft. I didn't watch all of it, that's boring, but I was pleased with Cleveland's selections. Go Browns!!

Ok, I am finally going to leave work, I will make sure to let you all know how tomorrows seminar goes. I am sure you all are on the edge of your seats.

Have a good week everybody!