Funny halloween dogs

I've seen some of these before, but they still make me laugh. Dogs are just funny. And the things humans come up with to do to them....

This is a new one to me

I think MoveOn.org has outdone itself here. I received this video clip earlier tonight as a way to help remind me (and to pass it on to others to help them remember) to vote. Don't worry MoveOn - I'll vote. But this will definitely keep it fresh in my mind.



If the video doesn't play here - you can also watch it by following this link.

Moving is expensive

I realized this weekend that it's probably a good thing I don't have much of a social life right now, because this move has definitely cost me some mula. Anytime you move somewhere new there are things that need to be purchased and I was lucky enough to have a lot of the basics already covered, but I feel like Lowes and Target have become my second homes. I'm still working on making the place feel "homey", but as I unpack more and more boxes it gets a little closer. I think the main things that are needed right now are drapes and probably a couple of area rugs in the rooms. Hardwood floors are nice, but there's something that just doesn't seem warm and cozy about it. Especially as it gets cooler. Irie is great about sliding all over the floors, but I think she too would be a fan of having a little more rug action.

My major purchase for the weekend was a new mattress. My initial plan was to bring my futon down and use it as a bed until Ryan moved in and brought his mattress. However, my futon is not currently available (it's a long story), so I've been sleeping on my couch for the past two weeks. Now, my couch is comfy, but two weeks of sleeping on it was about to push me over the edge. My back is killing me! So I broke down yesterday and started shopping around. Tomorrow my brand-new queen size mattress will be delivered and I just can't wait! I am soooo looking forward to bed tomorrow night! While I'm happy about the purchase, geez, mattresses are expensive!

Otherwise, life in the new place is moving right along. This was my first weekend in town and it was a relatively busy one. I got in some quality family time with Carl, Kathleen and Lily during their family fall fun on Saturday (and got my laundry done - thanks guys!) And today I got to visit the entertaining atmosphere of New Town where Kathleen's parents live. They were having a cook-off that Kathleen had entered, so I went out to vote early and often. :-) New Town was setting up for the McCain rally being held there tomorrow, so it was a bit crazy. It's quite the little town though. Out in the middle of some corn fields, there's this little enclosed bubble of a community. Kinda reminds me a bit of Pleasantville. Not in a bad way though - just different.

Irie is still loving having a backyard. I have put a little wire fence around the trunk of one of our big trees to keep her from gnawing on the bark (weird habit of hers). Today I purchased some outdoor toys for her so she now is the proud owner of a kid's soccerball and a soft-sided fresbie that she LOVES.

The neighbors have all been pretty nice. I haven't spent a lot of time with any of them, but I've met the people on either side of us and one across the street. All seem friendly.

I'm loving having more time with Lily and am constantly entertained by her imagination and expressiveness. There's never a question of what she's thinking or feeling. The rolling eyes, the sly smile, the shrug of the shoulders.

We were talking about birthdays the other day (a topic of choice these days) and I mentioned that her daddy and I have the same birthday. Her reponse? "Yeah, I know that, Ingrid." with the classic roll of the eyes and slight shake of the head. Well, sooory.

Ryan continues to job search. He amazes me with the number of jobs he can apply for in the course of a day. I guess there are a lot of computer jobs out there, but there's an equally large number of people out there looking for them, I'm guessing. Happily, he'll be coming back out to St. Louis this coming weekend to celebrate his birthday!

Work is going good. Well, except for the fact that the economy sucks and it's never easy in the non-profit world, but it's going as well as it can. It's busy as usual and I'm working hard to cram trainings that have to be done this year into the next few months - still playing a bit of make-up from working part-time for awhile. But some new and exciting things are in the works as well, so I'm trying to focus on that. I am really glad that I'm doing something that the majority of the time, I enjoy.

And I think that's the update for the moment. Once I feel like the place is a little more put together I'll get some pictures up!

A good laugh

I've got a nasty cold and have been feeling pretty terrible these past few days, but I found myself in the midst of a good belly laugh several times tonight watching re-runs of yesterday's Daily Show. The whole show was really good (and I recommend checking it out online), but here are two of my favorite clips.



and

We made it!

It's day #4 in the new place and this is the first night I've felt alert enough to post anything. I've moved before, but I've never moved like this before. It was simply... exhausting.

It started with filling my car to the gills (maybe that analogy doesn't work for cars, I'm not sure) and driving cross-country. I was a little nervous about something sliding out of place and hitting me in the head, but apparently everything was packed in so tightly it really couldn't move. On day one of the move, Irie and I made it from Baltimore to Waterloo, IN and spent the night with Grandma Deetz. The next day we continued on our way to Chicago where we picked up the moving truck, Ryan (from the airport) and my old couch in that order. Then, with me behind the wheel of the truck and Ryan driving my car, we headed out to Freeport to Mom's. We loaded up the truck Saturday morning and made the last leg of the trip down to St. Louis. We arrived in St. Louis around 7pm and were met at the house by our new landlord and two of Ryan's friends from highschool who just happen to live nearby.

His friends were nice enough to bring over dinner, so we all had a quick dinner of pizza and then unloaded the truck. With Ryan's friends, their wives, kids, Carl, Kathleen and Lily and a neighbor - the truck was unloaded in record time!

While there's still some unpacking and organizing to do, the house is looking good and Ryan and I both really like it. (And so does Irie - especially the backyard!) The neighborhood is what I like to refer to as "up and coming" but our immediate neighbors all seem nice and one of Ryan's best friends from highschool actually lives 10 doors down from us. What are the chances of that?

Some of my favorite things about being in St. Louis so far are...

• The proximity of the house to all kinds of good shopping including the Galleria Mall and pretty much every store you could want.
• The fact that you can buy alcohol in grocery stores.
• That our town's city hall is tiny and when we went in to get our occupancy permit there was absolutely no wait.
• The price of pretty much everything being lower.
• Being closer to (pretty much) everyone!

In fact, there's only a few things that I'm not a big fan of - one is that St Louis isn't smoke free yet like Chicago and Baltimore are. Basically this means that people can still smoke in restaurants and bars - so whether or not you're a smoker you smell and feel like one by the end of the night. The other is just the lack of a social network, but I know that will come with time. The meetup groups are a bit less active here, but I'm sure I can do something about that. And then there are those nasty cardinals.... :-)

All in all, everything is moving right along. Ryan even had a preliminary interview today - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something will come up in that area soon! I have to give a facilitator training in Austin on Saturday, so unfortunately I won't have this weekend to just kick back and continue getting acclimated, but maybe by the weekend after I'll be truly settled.