great year and happy new year

Tonight is New Years Eve, although I cant believe it because I don't feel as nearly hyped up about it as years past. I am excited nonetheless. 2008 has been good to me, and I am eager with excitement to see what 2009 brings

I have been very blessed this year with more things that i can recount on one post, but of the many here is a short list of the wonderful things that happened in 2008.

• Matt bought his first house (which will soon be OUR house)
• Went on a great beach vacation/cruise with great friends in the summer
• Travelled to Europe with Matt's family
• All friends and family remained over all happy and healthy-- Including a new addition to a close friend's family
• Went to lots of weddings, lots of friends and some family got married
• Got in a little better shape, lost a little weight, continued rowing and improved
• I have done well at work and received another promotion over the summer
• Matt and I got engaged!!

All in all a very prosperous year filled with lots of happy memories, close friends, quality time with family and lots of love. I do consider myself very blessed for all the great people I have in my life, for their health, their support, and their love.

2009 is already looking to be a very memorable year as well.... It is the year I will get married to a wonderful man that I have no doubts in my heart about marrying. I look forward to ringing in the new year with some friends, I look forward to having another year well lived.

10-10!!!! 2009!

Engagement and Christmas Recap

WOW what a week and weekend! It was a week full if visiting friends to celebrate, driving to Cleveland to celebrate, celebrate some more, and then back to cinci to celebrate. And then sprinkle lots of Christmas cheer and TONS of presents in there. Things are wondeful!! We had Christmas eve together at my parents house, then Christmas day we went to my grandmas house, then the day after we had a Christmas party at my parents house with my mom's side, then Saturday morning we have brunch with family friends, then Saturday night we opened a bottle of Dom Perignon and celebrated at Flemings with my parents, and then Sunday we had dinner at the Matt's parents and parties and got more presents and celebrated some more! TONS OF PRESENTS, tons of congratulations, it was a absolutely superb!! I am still astounded by how wonderful and happy it all was.

Now that I am still settling down to reality, today I am worried about getting a church date and a reception date that are both available the same day. And how do we pick it? And what about a band? how do i pick that? OO so much to do!! I just cant wait to have a date!!

I wait until I have more time to post details.... but here are some pics until next time.

Playing the Wii Christmas Eve at my parents house

The engagement!

I GOT ENGAGED!!!

It happened last night, MATT PROPOSED!!!!!

By the Christmas tree, on one knee, the ring is BEAUTIFUL!!!!


I am still in shock, it's almost like it never really happened.... but

IM ENGAGED!!!!!



Where do i even start the planning??!?! I think that will have to wait until after the holidays.... for now, i will enjoy being a fiance:)

Push the negativity down

So I am feeling much more optimistic today, yesterday's post was a much needed vent session, but I didn't want the negativity to linger at the top for too long. Ergo, a new post is necessary. Although I havent worked everything out in my head, I did get the necessary support that really me put things in perspective.... major thanks to S and even Pottamus... I am moving forward and living in the holiday season before it passes.

I took the 'night off'' yesterday and stayed in the whole night. I think that is exactly what I needed. Although I wasnt as productive as I should have been, it was relaxing, moderately productive, and worry-free. I layed down for a little bit, unloaded the massive amount of clean dishes in the dishwasher, put some stuff away, and even wrapped about 50% of my gifts and put them under the tree. That made me feel a lot more organized, and all my Matt gifts that I DONT HAVE TO RETURN are all tucked under the tree so I dont have to worry about wrapping them in a sneaky way. I also ended the night with Biggest Loser Season Finale-- and it ended just the way I wanted it!! I LOVEd Michelle and I am so glad she won! I think she deserved it the most, and she was definitely the most likable!! I am happy my Tuesday nights are freed up a little, i was really hooked on that show this season. I waited all week for that, even though I watched it while pigging out on all my Christmas Candy and cookies... o the irony.

So one more day of work after today, I have friday off and it will be busy. I am getting my hair cut in the morning, hopefully returning Matt's present and finishing EVERYTHING before 12. It might even be nice to find something cute (and possibly on sale?) to wear to the SI holiday party saturday night in Cleveland. This weekend is packed with lots of driving. Then Sunday probably driving back and going to the Naylors. Monday dinner at J's with the old roommates-- but would reeeeeally like to see Seabass because shes in town hanging out that night Ice Skating with everyone, and Also P (from the cruise this summer) is having a birthday bash that night too. Three places i want to be! And then Tuesday night I think I am going to the UD basketball game, and Wednesday is CHRISTMAS EVE!!! WOoah, soooo much to do!! Not to mention i still dont have my car back, which will involve a trip to Fairfield one of these week nights hopefully. O ya, and good will write- offs? OY!

OOO the holidays..... I love thee....but gosh you keep me busy! I will be sad come January when this is all over and I will be sad taking down my tree. But I will not think ahead right now, just day by day... living in the moment.

Happy 7 days before Christmas!

Christmas Spirit is fading?

So I am trying my hardest to remain in the holiday spirit regardless of all the things on my mind and on my To Do list that are stressing me out. It just feels like I have to much to do, somethings never work out quite right, and I just want everything to be stress-free.

I will use this post to vent, although I digress from my positive theme I do try to maintain. First things first; my car is in the shop for who knows how long and for who knows how much. Last week on a very cold night my car wouldnt start for reasons that seemed electrical. I didnt drive it the next day, but had the battery and alternator tested. I had the battery charged up and both tested GOOD and now my car is in the shop for perhaps some wiring or electrical work. FUN! O wait, it doesn't stop there, my wonderful car is about to reach 100,000 mi so i will be having the routine maintenance and that could be close to $1000 dollars when they replace the timing belt. This makes me so happy, especially when I already have a limited cash flow this month, and i HATE being without a car!!!

I still have Christmas shopping to do; I need to buy for my Best Friend, and take back some stuff already! YEs,i need to return some stuff that I realized parts were missing from. O YAY! I cant wait to stand in more lines! Not to mention i havent even BEGUN wrapping presents!! How am i supposed to get through all of this, Christmas is so soon!!

I love Matt so much but i dont think he realized he still has shopping to do, and wrapping to do, and he also is asking me to spend a few hours writing off Goodwill not to mention come to house so help him with stuff there. It's just so much, and I love him and helping him... but it's just another thing I am thinking a bout.

And lastly, I wanted to have all my old college roomates over to my apartment for dinner since it was all nicely decorated and I love it, until one of them said she "preferred to have it at her apartmen.t" So that was kind of a disappointment because I was really looking forward to it, even though I didnt push very hard for it and really havent said anything. But I am let down, and she is making lasagna which i am sick of because I have been eating left over lasagna since saturday night when I made it for Matt's family. I may just be sensitive, i dont know, but one of my roommates doesnt seem to like me very much (for no apparent reason to me) and it stresses me out. I feel like i would have so much more fun if it was at place too, I would feel a lot more comfortable because sometimes i feel like an outsider when she is around. I still haven't figured out why she doesnt like me, but it gives me high blood pressure thinking about it. She doesn't even live in the same state, but she never calls me (or returns my calls), she doesn't really extend any kind of hand my way... in fact i wasn't even a loud to bring a date to her wedding when she got married two years (and I was dating Matt at the time). O the stress and uneasy feeling right now. I need some advice on how to manage everything going through my head right now.

I know, maybe i should close with a little Bah Humbug.... i promise my next post will be much brighter.

Happy 6 days until Christmas!

14 days (two weeks) before Christmas

On my way to get my daily cup of coffee from the coffee lady in the skywalk, I overheard her say she is getting ready for next week, the 'week before Christmas.' This christmas season just went too fast!! I am thrilled and excited Christmas is so close, but also makes me want to slow down because this is a time of year to cherish. A lot of people are in a rush and stressed these days, but the spirit of the season is just the opposite. And we need to be reminded of that, even I forget a lot. The spirit of giving, and helping, and loving. It's the little things that matter; some little things that make a difference:
- leaving a little bigger tip next time you are out to eat
- dropping money in the Salvation Army tins every time you pass one
- Wish the people you meet a happy holiday season (cashiers, waiters, strangers who hold the door for you)
- Donate, donate, donate.
-Send heartfelt Christmas cards. Don't send cards with just a to: and from: labelled inside, be sure to personalize it and make the person receiving it feel good.
- Listen, be open, and take in the season.....

Although some people are adamantly against the decorating and the buying of trees, lights, garland, symbols of Christmas because they think it has nothing to do with the holiday. I see it has everything to do with it, these decorations are reminders of what the season is meant to be. It creates a feeling and a memory for this time of year.

Merry two weeks before Christmas!!!

Winter Rowing?

Last week I decided to join the Rowers Winter Workout Studio. I am in way over my head!! For some ungodly reason I decided to spend way more than I bargained for on a rowing camp that I am totally not fit or prepared!! What was I thinking? Matt persuaded me to go join because he thought it would be motivational. Motivational? I could barely walk up stairs on Saturday!!

The sessions are 4 days a week for approximately 90 minutes. 90 minutes of pure torture!! The first session was Last Wednesday with introductions, stretching and personal lifting goals. I have never weight lifted. ever. So needless to say finding my max was not only challenging, painful, but terribly pitiful because I am by far the weakest in the class.

On Thursday, the first full session, I lifted the first half of the class and erged the second half. I have never felt my muscles feel like such jello in SO long!! It hurt right after, It hurt when i got home, it hurt even MORE on Friday, and Saturday i still couldn't get up and take stairs without wincing in pain. I felt like an old woman, i had to use the handicap hand rail to to the public bathrooms because my leg muscles were so soar! AND I AM PAYING FOR THIS!?!

Well, in the last couple months I have lost a little weight -- unbeknownst to me because I have neither changed my diet or started exercising since the warm weather rowing out on the water. It's actually quite amazing, I couldn't be happier, and Matt somehow convinced me that I am miraculously losing weight and yet now I am paying to be put through torture?

4 days a week; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. Tonight is my fourth session. I hope I can walk tomorrow.

So much going on!

Wow, so much going on right now!! I am feeing SO energized, what a great feeling!!

Firsts, SITSmas was SO awesome!! I have never had that many people visit my blog!! What a cool feeling it was to see the comments just keep coming and coming, SITS deserves mad props for bringing so many people together!

Second this time of year is making me so happy, in conjunction with a lot of positive and new things happening. The two at the top of the list:

1). I am officially getting Lasik eye surgery next year. Actually, in February! I found a great doctor (referred by half of Matt's family) and i am good candidate for the procedure. AND they could have scheduled me as early as this month. I just chickened out too much so i pushed it out to February-- so far I am the only appointment that far out. But what makes it even more official is i just created a Flex account at work so i will pay pre-tax.... I am feeling nervous but excited!! 2009 is already looking up.

2) I actually paid and signed up for the Rowing winter workout studio. Yes, the first class was last night and i am TERRIFIEd! I haven't been rowing since September before it got cold, I NEVER lift weights, and i am not 'hard core' like the rest of the people in the class. But as terrified as I am, i think it will be great. It really helps that Matt is so supportive and positive about me doing this (definitely a huge bonus!). This is a positive thing, and if i lose a few pounds? EVEN BETTER! O and one more thing, there are a few younger girls my age who seemed really nice. One of which lives downtown and worked in Environmental Restoration -- like I do! Who knows, maybe ill have another rower friend next summer to take out doubles. I may even have a new good friend all together!!! I hope so!

It's a good day... and the weekend is looking up. Shopping with matt, seeing friends, sleeping in. I love it. Now time to get some work done!

Merry SITSmas

Merry Christmas. I wish everyone a happy holiday and wonderful new year, filled with lots of warm memories and holiday cheer.

This picture was taken a couple weeks ago when Matt and I were in Amsterdam. The streets were filled with tons of people on the go, they were all getting ready for St. Nick to come on night of December 5th. It fills you up to take in the city and all the giving that goes on at this time of year.

Go to SITS and enter your website, you might win something today as SITS wants to start speading the holiday cheer today through SITMAS cards. Happy Holidays!

Things I am thankful for

Well, I am in the office today and it is as silent as can be. I hear no one but the sounds of florescent lights and the soft hum the building's heating system. Silent. I am surprised the office is even open today with such lack of personnel. I am Acting Div. Director today, ME, ME? Come on now.

So in the spirit of thanksgiving (and inspired by her), I thought Id blog about the things I am thankful for this thanksgiving-- and 2008 as a whole. [ of course, in no particular order]

1). My wonderful family and all their love

2). My perfect boyfriend who adores me and I love more than anyone

3). My friends-- sometimes imperfect but love me the way the know how.

4) Odie-- I look at him every day and ask how did i get so blessed with such an adorable, sweet and loving dog.

5). Matt's family's presence in my life. They are so welcoming and loving, I feel as though they include me and look after me when my family is 200+ miles away.

6). My relationship with my team at work. They are all very bright people and we respect one another. And as the youngest member, I love and appreciate them looking out for me and treating me like a sister. It makes every work day a little better.

7) All the necessities: My functioning car, my beautiful apartment, my stable job, my (still) growing savings/investment accounts, the overall feeling of comfort and happiness I wake up with every day.

A very happy thanksgiving to everyone. AND A WONDERFUL START TO THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!!

Thanksgiving 1 of 2

What a tiring week, but a great one too. Yesterday day I think my friends and I started another first annual tradition. Well, at least I hope it turns into a tradition. We had a Thanksgiving dinner at my place for 14. 14!! It was a taste of 'grown-up-hood' as we brought long tables in and folding chairs and put together a HUGE thanksgiving feast in my living room. Everyone brought a dish; we had a HUGE turkey and gravy, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, 2 kinds of sweet potatoes, cranberries, and probably more than I am forgetting. Everyone brought wine and there were like 8 bottles scattered all around the huge table. I think we polished off like 10 bottles all together.We were stuffed!! We even had pumpkin pies, chocolate cake and apple-cinnamon pie for dessert. I lit candles and the room looked unbelievable!!

HUGE success!

And the best part, everyone was FABULOUS and helped me clean up. One people, the MVP (aside from K who baked the turkey, gravy and ham) loaded all the plates and silverware and glasses into the dishwasher PERFECTLY and hand washed the bigger things to my kitchen was SPOTLESS! In fact, after I run a vacuum tonight my apartment will look great. It's all primed and read for me to set up my Christmas decorations on Sunday when I get back from Cleveland:)

Hopefully Matt will want to go pick out a Christmas tree with me on Monday after work!

cant wait to see my family this weekend!

Cant wait to eat thanksgiving food!

Cant wait to shop for Christmas!

Cant wait to bake cookies, and making gingerbread houses!

Cant wait to decorate! And Shop! And eat!

Everything is good.....

Back from Europe!

WHAT AN AMAZING VACATION!!!!

My pictures couldn't do it justice, just not enough time there, not enough time to post about all the great things we saw. Not to mention the wonderfulness and generosity of Matt's parents. O just too much to say. Where do I start?

I took about 155 pictures and the worst part is I am already forgetting some of the reasons I took them, i need to jot them down before I forget even more. Since I haven't got a weeks worth a time to write all about it, I am going to start with some of the highlights of each day:

Day 1: Barcelona: very tired from the red eye but saw the whole city on a bus. Not much to say here (very tiring day)

Day 2: Nice (france) and Monaco-- very beautiful and warm day (lots of sun). We planned for cooler temperatures and we were sweating before we knew it. We walked around Nice and had lunch outisde in a plaza by the open air market. Walked to the riviera and hopped a bus to Monaco where we saw the very famous (and extremely expensive and Chick) Monte Carlos. Didn't spot any famous, rich people, but put 5 euro in a slot and lost it. It was surprisingly quiet in there, but we saw one woman who was lost over 2000 euro in ten minutes we saw her on the slots. wew.

Day 3- Florence. O beautiful. How can it not be? The architecture, the cathedrals, the little cafes and statues out in the plazas. We saw the church where many famous/important people were buried (including Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, Machiavelli and more). Me and the boys walked 450+ steps to the top of the dome in another cathedral. Beautiful.

Day 4- ROMA. Way too little time here, but we saw the Vatican as the number 1 highlight. I learned a lot more with a guided tour, and saw the Sistine chapel (and accidentally took a forbidden picture). It didn't turn out well, i think it was karma.

Day 5- Naples. I remember eating lunch off the tourist path and enjoying everything. We shopped a little, drank cafe (coffee) and enjoyed everything. Shopped a little bit and found the back allies with the balconies and little markets-- so European. We saw Pompeii in the morning (for me, the second time). And loved it again.

Day 6- Sicily. This was the adventure. We rented a car and Mr. Naylor drove the streets with the crazy drivers and scooterists. We got lost a little but saw so many things. The ocean, the countryside, a little town to have a quick lunch, ate some pastries, we laughed a lot.

Day 7- At Sea. RELAX. Matt and I spent some quality time roaming the ship, gambling some more, relaxing. I learned the play video poker next to Mr. Naylor and double my money.
then played it downt to zero.

Day 8: Flight out and Amsterdam. AWESOME CITY! So glad we got to layover the entire day and night. It was happening, lots of people in the streets, xmas decorations up, everyone was getting ready for St. Nick to come in a couple weeks. It snowed that day (a lot) and it was beautiful. We were cold, but i dont remember the cold as much as I love and remember the energy of the city and all the things to look at and see. The food was awesome too. We even walked to the red light district (of course,just to pass by). Just like you imagine. Everything, SO COOL. Iwant to go back.

Day 9: Travelling. Ate lots and lots of snacks in the NW crown room.

Back home. Ill try to post pictures soon!!!!

2 days more!

2 more days.

2 more days of work.

2 more days before I am on a plane for EUROPE!!!!!

Cant believe this vacation is finally here, gosh its seemed like so far away for so long. I am nervous, anxious, excited, and really looking forward to spending a lot of time with Matt's family! I charged up my camera last night and deleted the whole memory card to take lots of pictures! I put a few new song on my Ipod, went to the store to buy some plane ride snacks for Matt and I, I even started packing. I cant wait, I cant wait to for the Italian food and wine, AND COFFEE, I cant wait to relax and explore, It's going to be a great 10 days.

I've been feeling so good lately. I am starting to see Christmas things popping up everywhere and I am getting really excited about coming home to the holiday season. I love Christmas and everything about christmas cant wait to get another Christmas tree with matt, decorating my apartment, making cookies, gingerbread houses, zoolights, buying presents!I am ready for the cold and snow when I return to start feeling like Christmas!

Tonight is the first play of the 2009 Broadway play series and I am really looking forward to some QT with J and A. Tonight is the Wizard of Oz. It wont compare to Wicked, I am still excited. I have a lot more packing to do. I am in charge to figuring out what to do, where to go, and how to get around Nice when we arrive. It's turned into a difficult task.

The boss is out today. It's quite. I love it. Hopefully not major ruffles in this slow week. When i return I am having a bunch of friends over to my apartment for a Thanksgiving Potluck. Just so much to look forward to. I am happy!

This may or may not be the last post until thanksgiving week, we shall see!!

Tagged

So I havent posted at all this week because I keep hoping my Internet will work well enough to send some pics from Halloween weekend over to my email to upload them here. My Internet has been terribly flaky, and the one thing i wanted to post this week was pictures of Sarah and Todd Palin. Hopefully I will still get around to putting them up belatedly.

The week has been full of interesting and noteworthy events; The election would probably take the top of the list. And as much as I hate reading about the election and other people's opinions for all these months-- because I think I have dont a very good job of keeping my opinion to myself ( I can can toot my horn for a second) and it has NOT been easy. Like many Americans out there, I too have my own and very strong and personal opinions about who I think the next president should be(should have been). And as much as I am so proud to see someone of a different race and color stand up to the most important position in our government, it comes with a bit of a heavy heart. I am proud that this day in American History is here, and I am proud to see so many people come together in support of a man with a vision for our country, I am proud to be part of this very important era. But as much as I have enjoyed seeing that masses come together, I cant help but question the motives and the understanding driving this enormous ship. I personally have a vested interested in partisan economic philosophies which firmly plants me by the red elephant, with my own hopes and visions to be successful and to build success for my children's children. In my opinion,is the American dream. It just surprises me (a deeply concerns me) how many people believe that it is OK to take from people who have more than you? To take the hard earned money of those who have put the life into a business to make something of themselves and just give it to those who aren't doing much at all. How is this OK? From a girl who saw her father struggle and worked more than he slept to make his way, there are some fundamental reasons I feel the way I do. I have a hard time casting my beliefs to the side, and I believe monetary policy is an incredibly important reason for casting a vote. But like an American who does love her country, I will hope for the best and will going to stand behind the new president.

Now that I said my piece, I also want to mention how much I have truly enjoyed reading some of my new found friend's blogs. There are a few blogs that I read and check daily, two people who sometimes read mine and comment on here which brightens my day. They some how make me feel included and inspired, and have touched my heart in a lot of ways from their experiences. So with that, this girl (Musings) and this girl (Potimus Where) deserve some recognition. And also in the spirit of the TAG game:

Seven random tidbits about me:
1). I love every condiment, I have yet to meet a condiment that I haven't liked. It sounds weird, I still haven't figured out why I am not 100 lbs heavier.
2). I dont know how to cook, or I should say cook well. I am 25 years old and I hate how non-domesticated I am when I try so hard. I am working on this.
3). I used to play piano for 14 years of my life, I have nothing to show for it.
4). My sister runs marathons, works for a major news network, knows tons of interesting and important people and lives in New York City, I am so proud of her and how glamorous her life seems (even though she has some struggles).
5)My boyfriend has heart problems that he was born with, he has a pacemaker and is the only 25 year old I know that sees a cardiologists twice a year.
6) I find it so weird (an incredibly awkward) that my 80 year old grandma has hit the dating scene and talks about boys like a giddy 13 yr old whenever I see her. She has a boyfriend, he's wonderful, it makes me laugh whenever I talk about my "grandma's boyfriend."
7). I recently re-discovered Bubble Tea (AKA bobba tea). It's amazing, there are "bubbles" of tapioca in tea and it's probably the best drink you will ever try. I drive to very far places to find it, it's turned into a strange obsession in the last 6 months. Everyone should try it.

Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

It's a great day because it's Friday, the week went smoothly, and lots of great things to smile about. To be brief:

1) Matt's HUGE promotion at work!
2) Carving pumpkins last night that look AWESOME
3) Eating bdubs (because it's gotta make the list).
4) Going home this weekend and seeing my best friend
5) Seeing lots of friends this weekend
6) Seeing my family this weekend
8) TRICK OR TREATS!!
9) Halloween in general
and 10) EUROPE IN TWO WEEKS!!!

Everything is great.

Happy Halloween! A couple more hours of work, then off to a great weekend!

Rowing Club 2008

Today I got an email from one of the seasoned rowers in the Cincinnati Rowing Club that today is the last day for 2008 Open Rows. And even though that doesn't necessarily mean I wont row anymore this year, it means that the season is pretty much over. Open rows are for Novices without boat house keys, and although I have a key, daylight, time, and temperature is now a very constraining and limiting factor. It brought a bit of nostalgia to my heart and felt the need to post some pics of the East Fork Chase to commemorate the season. And to remember when the Original Reiky crew raced (The Riekiert was J, A and D original quad) and to conclude the 2008 season on high note. J is unsure if she will pay her dues next year and continue rowing.... it's so sad. We had a great run....

The drive in

The Kaschper International 4x

Walking the boat down to Launch

The Crew before the race



VICTORIOUS!!! Silver Medal!

Celebrating at Octoberfest (Annual Tradition)

Midweek

It is already turning into a much smoother week than last week, it;s already wednesday! It's been busy both at work and after work, and I think this is the latest I have gone without carving my pumpkins. Here we are two days before Halloween and the pumpkins are still sitting by the door with the dirt still on them?

I have one worry this week and one worry only. Will Matt leave work on time Friday to get back to his house for Trick or Treats? I keep expecting him to leave later Monday-Thursday so that he can leave at a reasonable time on friday. SO far, no luck. Monday night we went grocery shopping ,Yesterday went to the store to buy Halloween supplies (i.e. Candy) . We've been eating later and later in the evening. Yesterday I made rutabaga, which might be my new favorite vegetable. They are by far not the easiest to prepare and cook, but might be the most delicious AND NUTRITIOUS vegetables out there. They are packed, and i mean PACKED, with vitamins and good stuff for you- and probably the most tasty too!! I have a hard time finding them, and pealing and preparing them after struggling for 15 minutes hoping to not lose a finger was a task. But It is SO worth it!! Tonight I am taking Odie to the vet and I have an Adult Halloween party in my building tonight that I am excited about. Tomorrow is pumpkin carving night, and FRIDAY NIGHT IS HALLOWEEN!! Where has the time gone? I cant believe it's going to be NOVEMBER!!

What is even stranger this year is that it will still be light outside when it comes time for Trick or Treating. It's weird that we haven't set out clocks back yet, this month seemed extra long. But gosh, I leave for Europe in just a little over two weeks? WOW!! I cant believe it. I keep telling everyone that if BHO gets elected I am going to leave the country... haha.

I have nothing exciting write about but I felt compelled to post. One thing I want to share is this awesome website I recently discovered: http://www.woot.com/. Have you heard of it? If you haven't, prepared to be addicted! It's a website that sells one product a day at a super low price. Usually it's something techie-- the first day i checked it out it was selling a Phillips HDTVs 42" for like $749 or something ridiculous. And every day since there has been some cool stuff up there! It might come in handy for some x-mas shopping. Either way, this website is AWESOME and addicting. Coveat emptor-- to your wallet. The products are great!

All is well that ends well

Wow its been a crazy week since the last post, where to even begin? Frankly, so much has happen that my brain can barely decipher the week's events from everything else going on in my mind. I can start with what comes to mind first, my glasses breaking about mid-week last week. Boy was that stressful. First, id like to point out that I don't wear my glasses 100% of the time. I wear the them driving so i can see signs (and cops) from further away, and I wear them at work so I can stare at the computer screen all day and not tire my eyes. When my glasses broke, for some reason, it felt like the world was collapsing. Id also like to mention that they did not break on my default, however the broke by a certain someone pushing a certain four legged creature on to a table where my glasses rested. Inevitably there was a loud crash, things fell to the floor and my glasses broke right in half. Boy did I get angry, so angry that tears came because the thought of finding new glasses that I actually liked was as much fun as pulling all the hair out of my head one stand at a time. agh. Not to mention, it was going to be expensive, I dont have an eye doctor in Cincinnati yet, AND you guessed it- I don't have vision insurance. Luckily, matt and I both took time off work to get me to a doctor and to Lensecrafters to get a vision check, pick out new frames, and get new glasses made all in the same day. And IT WAS stressful. I was very picky, indecisive and hard to please. I had no idea what I was looking for. I wanted to be trendy yet sophisticated. I was pleased to see how patient Matt was, he even picked out a whole bunch of frames for me to try out and was incredibly honest. The whole process probably took close to four hours. I ended up with Corvette red glasses, a huge change from my old plastic black trimmed with light pink frames. They are bold, but I think i hit the look on the head- i've gotten quite a lot of compliments!

The rest of the week remained hectic, but controlled as work was so insanely busy. Today is actually the day I will have my year-end performance appraisal that hopefully will result in a bonus because I've been working so unbelievably hard with year end liability estimates and audit inquiries into our financials. Ugh, so stressful. So we shall see how it goes today at 1:30. Matt had a bad Friday and worked late fixing stuff, he was unhappy to into work today because of how rough friday was. Poor guy. I am optimistic about a good week this week.

Yesterday we went to Matt's parents house for his nephews first birthday party. His nephew is adorable so it was fun playing with him and all the other little rascals running around that day. There were like 4-5 babies to gawk at that day, ugh, so cute. Seeing his brother celebrate the first birthday party is made me so excited to celebrate a birthday party with the kids I hope to have someday. I never see this part of me, for a while i always thought i was missing the mothering gene because I never really craved to have children of my own. I never knew how to handle babies, how to play with them, i never had the instinct. But now, when i see the all the little kids all i wanted to do was pick them up and throw them around and make them giggle. It was a craving for sure.

Since it was so closed to Halloween I brought some things to share to the party. I made Halloween punch in a carved out pumpkin. It was SO good. It was apple cider, honey, pineapple juice, boiled-in Cinnamon sticks and two baked oranges with cloves. Boy did it have a lot of flavor-- I got so many compliments. It felt good! I also made a pea-salad (i dont like peas) and made crouton tomb stones (Rest in Peas) haha I thought it was cute. I really enjoy these kinds of crafty creative things, who knew I ever would? It made me think of how excited I will be to do crafts with my own children.

And, last but not least, one of the highlights of the day was sitting and talking to matt's mom after the party. Gosh I do love her and how included she makes me feel. She was telling me how thankful she was for all the help from matt and I, and she started to tear up when she said that if anything were to ever happen in our future that I would make such a good mom. Gosh, that was a great compliment and so heart felt. Even though she is so cute when she gets skiddish mentioning the possibility of Matt and I getting married; skiddish in the most endearing way.

So all is well that ends well. Monday morning is slow. I am rested and slept all the way through the night last night. Time to start the day!

Great weekend and no TCBY

Another perfectly delightful weekend has come and gone, It's Monday morning and I am so tired! It definitely feels like fall now, and winter ready to make it's entrance since the nights are getting colder and colder. I haven't turned on my heat yet, even though it's dropped down to the lower 40's at night most nights. I like the bite in the air, and as I am winding down at night i like snuggling up under a blanket on my couch, a warm cup of tea and I light candles all the time because I think I subconsciously think that I am warming the room a little bit. I have candles all over my apartment. It feels cozy. I love it.

This weekend was agenda-less and I had a blast. I love weekends were I wake up feel like we can do anything today!! Friday night was so relaxed and low key. After work, Matt and I went up to Teak and got some sushi and Thai food to go, walked over to the store to get a bottle of wine, then came back and just chilled and hung out all night. It was great, we lit candles, drank wine, laughed, had a blast. After we ate, we went swimming and sat in the hot tub for a while then went to bed at a reasonable time. I felt so rested and felt so good on Saturday. The sun was out, I slept in until 10 or so, it was a great morning.

Last year I won an entertainment book and clipped a bunch of coupons i thought would be worth using. This weekend we discover the 90% of the coupons expire on Nov 1st, so needless to say it was a weekend of random activities because we want to get our savings! The book included a free pass to the Newport Aquarium, so guess where we went Saturday morning? How can you pass up a free pass, and it was awesome!! I took some pictures of us petting the sharks, and standing next to huge fish , and being silly playing in the kids area. A great time, and money well spent!! Ill try to post pictures if I can remember.

I clipped another coupon for TCBY-- I LOVE that place. There used to be a store close to my parent's house when I was little and we went there a bunch of times growing up! I LOVE frozen yogurt, and I am pretty sure I haven't been back in, say, 15 years? Well, I had a buy one get one free coupon that said there were like six locations around Cincinnati. We even mapquested two locations. Both of which were out of the way, but figured we'd find a reason up that way to make it worth out while. One was North off 71 near the mall (15-20 min away). And it was CLOSED!!! Then we drove all the way to the west side, and THAT WAS CLOSED TOO!! Why don't they tell anyone this? We drove probably a totally of 2.5 hours round trip to these locations and ended up empty-handed. What a disappointment. Are they closed everywhere now?

The day definitely wasnt a totally wash, though. That night Matt took me out to a very nice dinner at The Reserve. We drank wine, had a three course meal and split a sinfully delicious dessert that I am still salivating over. It was romantic, it was great! We met up with some friends later that night to make the day perfect. And the weekend still wasn't over. Yesterday Matt and I went to church, relaxed a little bit together and watched some of the terrible Bengals game, and went shopping at this place. If you have never been there it is quite an experience. There is nothing you cant get at this store. It's definitely not the place you want to get your milk and eggs for a quick trip, but if you want to experiment in the kitchen, or just find something seasonal or ethnic that would be impossible to find the local grocery, this is the place. We spent a little over 80 bucks there and came home with a bunch of yummy veggies and ingredients to make some great and different dishes for dinner this week.

Great weekend. I am tired this morning. Hope this weekend isn't as stressful as last week.



********************************************************************************
Caveat from my last post. The inspiration of the "non-responsive person" post finally responded. There was a question in an email sent last Monday, the email was finally returned Saturday morning. sigh.

Pet Peeve

Although this will be a digression from my attempts to maintain a fairly positive blog spot, I have to mention something that continues to get on my nerves. Especially certain incidences recently that make this one of my biggest pet peeves (besides dealing with stupid people), NON-RESPONSIVE people!

First, since we are all well versed with Internet communication (email, chat, instant messages, and the like) and almost all of us have cell phones, getting in touch with people has never been easier. Almost everyone I know who has a cell phone carries it with them everywhere they go. Personally, I feel naked with out my cell/blackberry or some form or communication device with me. And I know I have been known to not always pick up when my phone rings, however, I make it a point to ALWAYS return phone calls. Much like 'the ol' days" where you left messages for people on their telephone answering machines, the dialed person would return the message at his/her earliest convenience. Just the same as it would be very rude to leave a message and get no return phone call back.

Well, now and days it seems far too easy for someone 'not too get the message.' In fact, many have PDAs and phones that receive data to get emails/texts/phone calls INSTANTLY! So the question of someone not receiving the message for 'x' amount of time (out of town, working late, or generally NOT AT HOME) is no longer and excuse for anyone. ANYONE. Heck, I've even seen bums on the street with cell phones in their hands!! Now, there is two faces to this coin; I know that because we can now receive these communication messages all the time now it increases the opportunities for these messages to be screened. I know i dont want to talk on the phone or send an email when i am talking to someone, out to dinner, or doing other things I just don't feel like being bothered. I am definitely OK with leaving messages and waiting for a response. The pet peeve is the not responding. For me, when i know i am busy and cant get back to an email I will send a quick one back to say i am busy, thanks, and ill get back to you as soon as I can. Phone calls, ill send a quick text back saying thanks, ill call you back later.

Now, what is an acceptable amount of time to return the message?
I have no idea? 6 hours? One day? two days? three days is definitely pushing it. When is it acceptable to feel like you are getting blown off?

It bothers me so much, and I cant explain why it gets under my skin as much as it does. It's very possible that I take it too personally; I just imagine someone reading/hearing my message shortly after they receive it and saying to themselves ' o it's donna, this is unimportant to me, ill ignore it.'

Maybe they don't say that.... BUT WHY CANT YOU RESPOND TO ME!?! Am I really asking for that much? SOme of my friends have a free pass when I am just calling to chit-chat and I know they are super busy (and we generally dont talk on a regular basis anyway). Sometime I dont call people back for a few days because I know I want to block out a decent chunk of time for them. But what if I asked you to make plans? or have a simple questions, or require a simple response? What is your excuse??

I wonder about the future, this high speed communication pathway makes it easier in a lot of ways. But do we ever know if the message got delivered? Too often you hear that they never got the message as the excuse. What if there really was a problem with the connection? I just have a hard time believing it because I dont think Ive missed very many messages (that i know of)

Awesome website

www.zappos.com.

AWESOME!! How did I not discover this before? Dangerously awesome!!

Halloween Ideas?

Thank GOSH the week is almost over! It was a short week for me and it seemed longer than most! The length of the week directly correlated to the stress level this week, which I can attribute a good portion to some staff accountants which shall remain nameless. Thank gosh tomorrow is Friday!

I have very few plans for the remainder of the month and it is so nice. This past weekend was the last wedding of 2008 (and that feels nice too!) and EUROPEAN VACATION is just under a month away.... that feels extra nice. The only thing on my mind outside of work is Halloween. What will I be? I have two parties this month; the first of which is Dave's Halloween party with some of my rowing friends and a lot of their gay friends. I have a feeling the only straight people at the party with me myself, J and A, and possibly Matt if he joins me. It should be hilarious! For that party J and A mentioned going as Rock Stars together.... crimping our hair, wearing mini skirts and boots, bright colors, get an inflatable guitar and microphone. It could be really fun! I have another party up in Cleveland the day after Halloween which will be much less rambunctious and I dont know what I want to be for that either. I could always fall back on my Mustard Costume (last year Matt and I were Ketchup and Mustard). I know, cute, huh? I also considered dressing up like Sara Palin because multiple, MULTIPLE people have stopped me and already told me I look like her. The only problem with that is i dont know how worth it is to stir that pot when engaging in any kind of political discourse with ANYONE these days just makes me more and more cynical and bitter as every day passes.

However, outside political and work universe, I am quite quite content these days. Matt and I have been having tons of fun with each other every day after work recently. Just this week we have been using up tons of veggies I bought and made some great meals together. We've been playing around with each other, going for walks, swimming in the pool downstairs, going out for ice cream, having a blast. Maybe he has just been in extra good moods, but we have been laughing A LOT and it's so refreshing to balance out the high degree of stress i have 7-5 every day. Yesterday while i was cooking in the kitchen, he picked me, flipped me upside down and had all the blood rush to my head and I was laughing uncontrollably. my eyes started watering because i was right next the onions i was about to cook. It;'s like we are kids again playing together. No matter how old you are, you are never too old to run around, and play like kids. Laughter put years onto your life.

Great Idea

Such a great idea to discover new blogs and find more ways to waste away the day! haha! I loved getting comments, I thought no one read this ramble. Maybe ill start proof-reading and spell checking before I post from now on!

Chicago weekend and Shopping

Finally back at work after a long, but good, weekend. Last week was just CRAZY busy at work, I ended up working 6 hours of overtime on Friday because HQ told me they were working over the weekend and so were the auditors so I need all year-end stuff submitted. So I busted my ass, brought my blackberry and charger with me to Chicago, and was fully prepared to get questions thought the weekend because HQ made is ABUNDANTLY clear we have no excuse to miss the deadline. Well, no email or calls Saturday, none Sunday, and NONE yesterday too-- and I know the auditors work on Monday because Columbus day is only a federal and bank holiday. NOTHING! I am a little disgruntled about that. At the same time, however, it feels nice not to have any outstanding items lingering over the long-weekend, nor was it annoying to get phone calls when i am out of town this weekend. So, i guess it worked out. Hopefully the trend continues the week.

My weekend was pretty good, I went to Chicago this weekend to celebrate one of my college friend's wedding. It was great to see him and his wife so happy, no less party with some of the old college crew. It's getting more and more rare that a big group of us can get together these days. We all had a great time, except for the 6 hours of open bar, Matt wanting to go to bed, and a huge after party in our hotel room. Matt was so tired and I felt bad that SO many people were in our room, but how cool were we that the bride and groom were in OUR room. Funny how some of the grooms college friends ended up in hotel room 666. Coincidence?

I had Monday off so even though the car ride was long, i knew I had all of yesterday to get stuff done. And stuff done I did get. I was supposed to row in the morning, but my rower-friend stood me up. So i got to sleep in, clean a little bit and enjoy the 80 degree morning with a walk with Odie. My plan for the day included checking up on email (which was quick since i had none), going shopping for fun ( I needed a new pair of jeans and some winter shoes), go grocery shopping, do some laundry, make dinner for matt, and RELAX. I got all of it accomplished, except I ended up not finding anything I set out to find at the Mall. I probably tried on a total of 30 pairs of jeans and didn't find any of them particular cute and worth spending over 60 bucks. The one pair of cute jeans I found at express here. LOOOOVEd them! they made me look super skinny, they weren't too tight, and they flared out the perfect amount ( I don't like it when they look too flare-ey). BUT THEY WERE SOOO LONG!!!! like TOOO long. I like longer jeans because 85% of my shoes have a heal, but even on my very tipy-tip toes they were still dragging the ground. ugh! Huge disappointment. And because they have a cute little hem line on the bottom, it wouldn't be worth trying to sew them up to not be as long. So, I was 0-1 in the jean department.

I also set out to buy a pair of 'all around' shoes that I can wear with jeans, also to work with some outfits, and I want them to be pretty trendy. This is becoming more important because A; it's getting colder and I need to retire some of my open-toes shoes and sandals I've still been wearing and B: I am going to need something comfortable and cute to wear in Europe next month when I do lots of walking. It's especially difficult because they need to have 1-2 ' heal (at a minimum) so my pants don't drag but they need to be COMFORTABLE. The lowest heal I own right now to wear with jeans are my my boots I got at Aldo last winter, but I dont think ill want to walk around in boots in Europe. What would be cute? And comfortable and stylish.... help!

So here I am Tuesday morning, with over $150 dollars in the hole of extra clothes i DIDNT need with out achieving any of my shopping goals. I did get some super cute fall/winter stuff at Ann Taylor Loft... so many cute stuff there right now. I LOVE the loft!!! I even had two- $25 dollar off cards so I left with some good bargain buys!

OK, enough shopping-talk. Time to get some work done....

P.s. I made spaghetti squash last night- it was AWESOME I made it and topped it off with vegan meatballs, and a concoction of kale, spinach (collard greens), broccoli, and pine nuts cooked in vegetable stock with 3 garlic cloves minced into the vegetable stock that evaporated as I cooked the greens. It turned out DELISH! And totally healthy!! YUM! The only problem I ran into was 'forking' out the squash, when I was done it didnt look very spaghetti like. But it was still yummy!

Some pics from this weekend

I sent a few pictures of my parents from this weekend- the very fall-like weekend I had with picture perfect weather. Last year when we picked out our pumpkins i was wearing long sleeves, a jacket, and I think I even wore Matt's sweatshirt too since I was so cold. This year- jeans and short sleeve. Matt even wore shorts!! I am loving this, the longer is stays warm the shorter winter is.

Another busy week at work with probably not much time to post..

On a side note, I don't have cable yet and at dinner with the girls last night there was much excitement around a bunch of On Demand shows they watch. Most of them I have never heard of. They don't watch any of the TV I watch (which it very little apparently comparatively) and that is all they watch. They don't watch any prime-time shows that I watch. Desperate Housewives? How can you NOT watch that!! I have mixed feelings about the whole thing, and the conversation in general. I don't think I need cable (even though i have an awesome TV). I get some digital channels, I get more than i used to, and I don't need another reason to stay inside and watch more TV. I can think of a lot more things I can do with $70/month. That is 1.5 dinners at Teak a month!

adjusting expecations and a good weekend

So what an interesting weekend it was, and again a lesson re-learned about failed expectations. I have been fully aware of my major fault of getting angry when the expectation I have in my head are not realized. I need help working on this, seriously, my poor boyfriend needs me to work on this.

So this weekend was supposed to be a relaxing weekend with some apple picking and down time with Matt's family, some good dinners, and lots of sleep. I need it since next weekend will be stressful (but fun) travelling to Chicago and all. Well, Matt had a bad day at work last week and some how he ended up coming down with the flu. And for some reason my bitchy self could not swallow the fact that he was actually sick and not just feeling bad for himself because he hates his job. On top of this, i proceeded to get angry at him because he was too sick to go pick apples with my Saturday afternoon-- something I had been looking forward to for two weeks. He was sick, I was bitchy. What kind of girlfriend am i? I know this is because my expectations in my head were not met, I need to work on this.

Luckily, even though the start to the weekend was a little rocky, it all turned out quite nicely. With EXCELLENT weather to ice the cake! So instead of going to Lynd Farm on Saturday, I went to the Soap Box Derby with J and A and some other rowers and friends of theirs. It was something unique and different and the weather was perfect for this! It all turned out so nice, and I am really glad i got to spend the afternoon with a couple of great friends anyway. That night was just as relaxing, Matt started to feel better (and I was started to feel better about the prospects of Apple Picking on Sunday) and we spent a great night together. We went over to Matt's house for a little bit, then went to Target and Circuit city to find an HD cable for the wii and Sammy, and then ordered some pizza to have a good night at home. Yummy pizza and we even bought a couple new games for the wii that we can play together. The wii is AWESOME on my TV! The best part, i went to bed a fairly decent time and slept all the through the night!! Gosh, what a great feeling it is to wake up pretty early, wake up naturally and WELL rested, and see sunshine and an entire day to whatever we wanted.

It was PERFECT day for a columbus trip!

We left later in the morning, stopped at Matt's parents house, found a little place to have Bubble Tea near OSU (a place we discovered last year and HAD to go back!!) and then found our way to lynd farm. We picked out two awesome pumpkins, got 20lbs of apples, and even picked up some jelly, squash and some other veggies for dinners this week. IT was perfect day and we had a blast together. Ill have to post some pictures we took of me sitting on Matt's shoulders reaching for the high apples.

I am feeling rested today, i am ready to take on the week....

New addition to my family, Samsung

Yesterday was a rough but exciting day.... It was one of those days that everything that happened to me, happened in a very difficult manner. It all started when I got home from work on Tuesday and my TV did not turn on, it was completely broken. Yes, this was my old crappy, TV I got for free from a friend's ex-boyfriend when I first moved to the city. And no it is not fancy by any means and barely worked when i first got it 2+ years ago. But it was free, how could I complain? As crappy as it was I never thought about getting a new one because it worked. Key word, it worked-- it turned on, it turned off, it showed me a couple channels, it never talked back, it worked.

So that night it died to told my boyfriend that this was the straw that broke the camels back, this is the last thing that will push me over the technology edge and get a big girl tv. And I was doing it tomorrow! Matt thought i was hasty but moderately supportive and did a little looking online that night and the night was over with visions of HDTVs dancing in our head.

Well, yesterday was just a rough day in general. I dont know if it was a full moon, i was just cranky, my brain was half functioning, i don't know, but everything was NOT easy yesterday. I met Matt at lunch to discuss some of his thoughts about my new tv and the research I had been doing that day at work. That research including price comparing at different stores, reading customer reviews, reading consumer report articles, using C-Net, lots of research. Matt met me with nothing but contention. All I wanted him to do was support me and help me make this big purchase because it would really need a second opinion. Not a dissenting opinion. SO not only was lunch full of bickering, we parted ways in a fit of rage (on my part) operating under the assumption that my boyfriend only wants to call the shots, doesnt think I am smart enough to buy a TV on my own, and acts crazy without putting any thought into my decisions.

Perhaps he wasn't thinking exactly what i was interpreting, but that is SURE how i felt!!! Luckily, a few minutes after lunch we both calmed down and he called me to tell me he would come with me to buy this TV tonight. I took his word expecting his help during the process.

So we get to Best Buy and Matt does NOT help at all. I am asking all the questions, there are like 3 million TVs on the wall for me to look at and they all look pretty close to the same. Help! I don't know what I want! I know relatively how much I want to spend, I want something that will last with changing technology, not too big- not too small. WHICH TV!?! I am started to get angry again, Matt's mom calls him to ask us if we want to go to Costco right away, I am feeling pressured because I just got here, now Matt's mom is involved, i cant make a decisions, I am frustrated now AND stressed.

The hardship continues for probably another hour or so perusing the isles, asking more questions of each other, getting more help from a sales rep, and finally matt engages himself a little more. After continues bickering of course. Well, i pick out a tv we both are in agreement with. After all, it's not worth getting a TV that I am going to be hearing about how unhappy he is with it for the next 10 years. And personally, i think i get the best tv there is for it's size and price out there right now. I pack up and check out....

Good: I purchases a new TV!!
Bad: I cant fit in my car without the trunk flopping on it
Good: A best buy person helps pack it up
Bad: Best Buy doesn't have anything to help me hold down my trunk
Good: Dick's Sporting Goods is just down the way
Bad: I am so embarrassed to ask 4 sales associates standing around doing nothing for twine
Good: They are SOOO nice and give me a huge roll and scissors and tell me to use however much I want
Bad: I lose my car keys in the process of typing up the trunk
Good: Matt is nice to help me look for them
Bad: I am too embarrassed to going back into Dick's a third time looking for my Keys
Good: I found them IN my trunk
Bad: I start hearing my car make some weird noises
Good: My dad affirms me it's not that serious once i diagnose it

-pause- more Good: We pick up Teak for dinner!
Bad: I break a glass all over my kitchen trying to reach for a plate
Good: We set up my AWESOME TV and start watching some digital channels in HIGH DEF!
Bad: I spill an entire container of soy sauce on my white carpet trying to clean-up.

OY. I made it though, i went to bed and woke up happy again when I walked into my living room to say good morning to my new TV:) I LOOOOOVE this TV!! It looks awesome in my room, the color and sound are SO incredible, I am just happy as a clam right now. I want to have all my friends over to watch my tv so they can see how great it is!! O wait, I can see the VP debate in HD tonight!! Sometimes the greatest rewards are the toughest to get, but it all worked out. I love my new addition to my family:)

Last day of September

SO yesterday was a weird day for the economy.... the Dow fell the most points (not percentage) EVER and my personal bank closed 63% down. Scary. The House Bill to bail out the banks failed and everyone is wondering what is going to to happen next. Things really are starting to get eerie.... the waiting game continues.

Work is starting to get a little hectic since today is our fiscal year end, tomorrow is the start of the new year. My job starts to lose it's luster. I will get through it.

We are getting into the final weeks of the rowing season. The sun is setting earlier and earlier. Today I am hoping to get the boat house early because the sun is supposed to set around 7:20. Then 7:10, 7:07, 7:02, 6:59.... and so on. Pretty soon the sun is going to be down when I get home from work.... those winter months are around the corner. It's sad when the season ends, but the ending is also the prettiest because there are less boats on the river because it's cooler and the leaves change colors making the trip down the river so peaceful.

Last night before I went to bed I decided to pull out some of my fall decorations. I put skeletons and witches on my sliding doors and had cardboard pumpkins i place on my door and around my apartment. This weekend Matt and I are going up to Lynd Farm for our second annual apple picking tradition and to pick out our pumpkins for the year. Last year we picked out 2 HUGE pumpkins and some little ones to place around my apartment (and baby ones for our desks at work). I want to get a scare-crow to put in Matt's front yard, too!! I love the decorating, i love the season!!

Nothing major to report on here, no news is good news right now. Everything is going swimmingly.

Me on Finance and Investing

Well, I in no stretch of the imagination would considered myself well versed in the mechanics of economic policy, macro trends, and/or understanding exactly what the heck is going on when everyone is saying we are amidst an "economic crisis." I am an MBA so i can walk the walk and talk the talk with the best of them, but WHAT IS GOING ON!?! I cant seem to get my ahead around the fact that maybe we all should be gravely concerned; maybe this is just another cyclical downturn..... with a slightly lower bottom?

I watched the president's address to the nation about the status of the economy last night. From a luke-warm Bush supporter, I was impressed with his delivery. He apparently had a good set of hands helping him write that speech. But what did he mean when he said "our economy is not functioning properly?" What a lot of people tend to overlook is the amount of psychology in play-- consumer confidence is a big, BIG factor in the health of our economy and this needs to be addressed foremost. How do you do? I am not a policy maker, but any avid, capitalistic market economist would think government policy is not the desired helping hand. In fact regulation will have worse and lasting long term negative impacts. I do acknowledge that banks may need to be bailed out and the government is the only able body to do it, but I have to state my trepidation the policy makers on the hill walk a fine line when dealing with government expenditures and influencing free enterprise. What IS going on?

Part of my wants to start investing right now. These are the times where well see some of the lowest prices of securities for a long time. I just applied for margin trading and would like to start buying options. But are the trading companies/banks doing the exchanges going to fail too? It seems like the story of the chicken and the egg-- if no one invests they are not making money. But if people are losing their money they are not investing. But as more people pull out of the market more people lose money. Which hand is driving the other hand? Are we really that close to severe recession? Do you think maybe Bush used the words "recession" because the word "depression" is too scary for us to hear?

Again, I am not expert here, I pick and choose which articles I read about the economy. I am still not certain there is a clear-cut root cause. But I do know a thing or two about the macroeconomics and the severe inflationary risks we face, and the value margin of our our assets. I guess I just have to hope for the best... because this optimism is good for the economy after all.