Liz
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Liz" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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04:02 pm
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Grow, tulips, grow!
We have many things coming out of the ground in front of our house. It looks like there will be many tulips. The grape hyacinths are already in bloom and the bleeding hearts will be blooming soon. I love spring!
Nothing too new is going on. I ran to California for a couple days for business this week, but after 11 hours of sleep last night, I'm back to my old self.
We've been playing Rockband 2 a lot, but for some reason, it's been freezing on us lately. We finish a song or 2 in our set and the whole thing locks up and we have to unplug the Wii. So frustrating! How are we ever supposed to make it through the 84 song set!?!
I better get started on some meatloaf and get ready to read at church tonight.
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09:13 am
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Promotion
All in all, this week wasn't so bad. I had a presentation on Monday and another one on Tuesday, but I made it through. My next design review isn't for another week and a half.
The best part of the week was Thursday, when my boss called me in to let me know that I got a promotion. This is my second promotion and I'm super happy about it.
It's that time of year again when all the tulips and bleeding hearts are coming out of the ground. It looks like most of them are returning, which I was pretty worried about. It seems some little critter eats our bulbs each year, but they didn't get to them all. We've had a very chilly winter (or at least that's the excuse the gas/electric company is using for our ridiculously high bills), so I hope the tulips made it through all right. I guess we'll see in a few weeks. The lilies are also starting to surface.
It has been gray outside for a week. So depressing. I'm very ready for spring and even more ready for summer. I hate being cold.
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08:36 pm
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Getting in Shape
I've been randomly signing up for fitness classes at work for a couple years now. In the fall, I was taking Zumba. It just seemed like one class a week wasn't enough, though. So, I signed up for all 3 classes offered at our facility. On Mondays, it's a toning class (hand weights, lunges, etc.). Tuesday is Pilates and Wednesday is Zumba (latin american dance aerobics). I've also been doing workout tapes at home on the weekends. This means I'm always sore. I guess it's a good thing and maybe I'll be in better shape. The only down side is that my knee issues are popping up again. I feel like an old lady trying to get down the stairs in the morning. Maybe getting a house with the bedroom on the 2nd floor wasn't the best idea.
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08:02 pm
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Brochures
I'm so weird. I love planning trips and requesting brochures for whatever adventure we're planning each year. The other day, I got a North Myrtle Beach booklet and today it was an Outer Banks booklet. I haven't looked through the Outer Banks one, but enjoyed looking through the first one. I saw a super sweet resort, but it's slightly pricey and might be further from the action. I also love that every hotel seems to have a lazy river. I can't wait to see what the Outer Banks have to offer.
Is it Spring yet? I'm done with Winter. We had some pretty snow this morning, but it's super cold tonight. Sunday should be warm, but I just know it'll get really cold again afterwards. Brrr.
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08:59 pm
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TV Shows I've Watched
I took this from Matt's journal. Turns out I don't watch too many of these shows.
1. Bold the shows you watch/used to watch.
2. Italic the shows you've seen at least one episode of.
3. Post your answers.
50. Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex & The City
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek
42. Only Food and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life on Mars
39. Monty Python's Flying Circus
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted
35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf
25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office
22. The Shield
21. Angel
20. Blackadder
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who
15. Heroes
14. Firefly
13. Battlestar Galactica
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld
10. Spaced
09. The X-Files
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24
05. Lost
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons
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12:16 pm
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Nothing Exciting
The first few weeks of work have been busy, but nothing too exciting is going on. The end of last year was very rewarding. I received an unexpected bonus and raise. I've only received a bonus once before and I've never been given a raise at the end of the year before. Our company has an annual raise schedule, which is August for me and I just had a decent raise at that time. For the last week at work, it seemed like between Josh and me, we were getting something every day. It's nice to feel appreciated.
Now it's the new year, with new goals and more chances to impress people. It's just a lot of work!
We've been carpooling with Larry pretty consistently this year. It's nice to only drive 2 times a week. The only tough part is that I'm taking fitness classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, so I have to wrap up work early and the guys have to wait around for me to finish. This means I have a hard time putting all my time in for the week and they are working extra. I really enjoy the classes, though. I'm taking a toning class, Pilates, and Zumba. I took Zumba in the fall last year, but I haven't done Pilates since last spring. I feel like work is so demanding and I need to get in the habit of taking time away to be active. Especially since it's too cold to ride my bike or play outside.
I'm thinking about going to my 10 year high school reunion. There are so many people I haven't seen in a very long time, plus it's nice to have a reason to see my parents. We're also trying to visit the White House this year. We set up some possible dates and are waiting to hear back if we've been accepted. Josh pulled together a group of about 25. We're also looking into celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary on a beach in South Carolina this year. I've requested brochures and I can't wait to look them all over. I think I enjoy planning the trip almost as much as going.
Current Mood:  mellow
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01:47 pm
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Christmas and New Year
For Christmas, we took 2 days off of work beforehand and flew to Josh's sister's place in California. We had a nonstop flight, which was great. It was also on the biggest plane we've ever been on. Our flight arrived pretty much on time and we got our luggage without a hitch. Unfortunately, we were supposed to meet Josh's Dad at the airport 2 hours later and his flight was delayed 2 more hours. So, Josh's sister and Mom picked us up and Josh's brother-in-law picked up his Dad much later. Josh's Mom also arrived the night before after a delayed and missed flight.
We had a great time during our break. We went to a family amusement park one evening before Christmas, where they had everything lit up in pretty white lights. We watched the Peanuts characters put on a Christmas show, while we sipped hot chocolate. We also rode some fun rides.
After the Christmas vigil, we decorated sugar cookies for Santa. Christmas morning, we opened all of our gifts, had a great breakfast, and then a wonderful dinner. My niece was especially fun to watch on Christmas as she danced around after she opened each gift.
We also went to the Monterey Aquarium and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., where a Forrest Gump person was sitting on a park bench, talking to people, and handing out candy. The aquarium was really neat and we watched the workers feed a huge tank of tuna, barracuda, and other fish. We saw some otters, jelly fish, and many other interesting water creatures.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was the Jelly Belly Factory Tour. We were able to watch the entire process of making the jelly beans. They were working on lemon ones when we went through and it smelled great. Plus, I've never been in a room with so much sugar before. After the tour, they gave us little bags of jelly beans and I definitely ate all of mine that day. Josh is still working on his bag. If you ever need to learn how to ration food, he is the master.
Besides the fun around the area, we played a lot of games and watched movies. Josh is always the Smarty Pants and Stephanie and I make great Dancing with the Stars partners.
On New Year's Eve, we headed home and had enough time to unpack and watch the TV specials to bring in the New Year.
We had a full 2 weeks off of work, so we had some friends over that last Friday of our break. We played a little more Smarty Pants and our new TV Scene It game.
We've made it through our first week of work and I guess it's going okay. Nothing has slowed down any. I did get Rockband 2 and another guitar for Christmas, so we've been playing that most nights.
Our Tivo receiver has been frizzing out on us lately and it's been really frustrating. It didn't record one of the college football games for Josh and it randomly resets itself and we have to wait 5 minutes for it to reboot. We figured we'd just need to buy a new one, but Josh is working with someone right now to troubleshoot it. I don't know how we'll know it's successful until it fails again, but it'd be nice if it worked again.
Today, we're going to the Adams' to watch the Titans game. They have become Ravens fans, but we warned them we would be rooting for the Titans. We like the Orioles, but I don't think we'll be getting on the Ravens train any time soon.
We don't have any big trips planned this year, but I'm sure it'll end up being exciting anyway. We always find ourselves busier than we planned.
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06:22 pm
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Thanksgiving and Visitors
This year, we spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Alabama. We had a full week (Monday to Monday) there. We went for walks, ate lots of good food, and played many games. Dad, Jake, Josh, and I went to the theater to watch Quantum of Solace. Mom and Dad showed us a couple homes they like as they got ready to put their house on the market. After Thanksgiving, we spent the next few days putting up the Christmas tree and some decorations. We also braved the crowds on Black Friday (later in the day) to do some Christmas shopping. For the first time in my life, I won croquet when we played with my parents. I also won a round of video poker. I'm a pretty reckless player when it's not for real money and I usually lose. As always, we had a really good time and love spending time with my parents.
In mid-December, Matt and Missy came out to visit us and the area. The first day we they were here, Josh and I took the day off and went down to D.C. We walked around the monuments (WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, and Lincoln), went to the newly renovated American History museum, and wandered by the Pageant of Peace (Christmas trees). We had to work the rest of the week since I had a class project due that Wednesday and work can be very busy at the end of the year. Tuesday evening, we just relaxed at home, played Rockband, and played Chocolate Trivial Pursuit that Matt and Missy bought for us. Wednesday, we went to a crab place for crab cakes. We celebrated Matt's upcoming birthday with some cake. Thursday, we did more relaxing, finishing off the Trivial Pursuit game. They left Friday, but it was very nice having them here.
We finished off our last few weeks of work for the year and spent Friday and Saturday evening with the Macejkas and Adams. We got to meet Larry and Ashley's dog, Einstein. He was getting over pneumonia, so wasn't too playful, but is a very nice dog.
We are halfway through our break. I'm happy we have another week off, but, of course, it is going by very quickly. We have been doing a lot of game playing and movie watching, but I'll have to go into more detail later.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and hope you have a Happy New Year!
Current Mood: relaxed
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11:52 am
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Almost There
I have one more hectic week and then the rest of the year, hopefully, will be smooth sailing. I have a customer presentation next Wednesday, but I'm thinking it won't be too bad. The preparation leading up to it is the hard part. And then there's another customer presentation to help someone else prepare for on Thursday. It may be a long week, but knowing that Thanksgiving break is around the corner makes all the difference.
So much has happened in the last two months:
- Josh and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary
- We met up with my parents, Josh's parents, and some of my extended family for our college's homecoming
- We watched the original Star Wars trilogy with Larry and Ashley (over 3 weeks)
- I traveled to the west coast for business
- We went to a pumpkin patch with Charley, Amanda, and Scarlette
- We went to pumpkin festivals with Mike, Sarah, and Ethan
- We carved pumpkins with Larry and Ashley
- We celebrated Halloween with Mike, Sarah, Dragon Ethan, Charley, Amanda, and Yellow Jacket Scarlette
- We had a Rockband party with Larry, Ashley, and Charley
- I cut Josh's hair for the first time (although I plan on a do-over sometime this weekend)
- Josh and I beat Lego Indiana Jones
- We went to my company group picnic
- I got a couple bonuses and a raise at work
- We saw an advanced screening of Madagascar 2
I'm sure there are many things I forgot, but that's all I can remember for now.
Now for a great weekend with no real commitments.
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06:12 pm
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Birthday
Yea! Today's my birthday.
A lot has happened between Rockband and my birthday. From the frequency of me posting, I'm sure you think that all I've been doing is Rockband. That's not completely true (although would be if life were perfect). We went to California for July 4th to visit Josh's family. I had a business trip in August. Immediately after landing, Josh and I drove to Williamsburg, Virginia. We enjoyed Busch Gardens and Water Country. My parents came in to town for a couple weeks. We went to the Maryland State Fair and enjoyed other local entertainment. Last weekend, we went to a friend's wedding, which was beautiful and fun. This weekend, we're celebrating my birthday.
I noticed in the local paper yesterday that IKEA was celebrating 20 years in Baltimore. I looked at the events and they said they'd be passing out birthday cake to everyone on the 14th. If that's not enough to get me to go to IKEA, they also had a promotion that they'd give a $10 gift card to anyone who was born on September 14th. Hey, my birthday's on the 14th! So, we went to IKEA, I got my $10 gift card and we walked around and found the party cake (which was really good).
After IKEA, we went to the Orioles game. They have an all-you-can-eat left field club at Camden Yards and I've been wanting to try it out. What better time than on my birthday? So, we spent the extra money and were ushered up to the air-conditioned club level. We found our seats and then went to get our hand-stamped for food. It's all you can eat hot dogs, sodas, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, and ice cream sandwiches. We started off with hot dogs and drinks, and had a couple baskets of nachos, popcorn, and some ice cream sandwiches. I had 3 drinks plus a bottle of water I brought. It was a toasty 95?. The club level with concessions and bathrooms are air-conditioned, but the seating is not. It was nice to take a break from the heat every now and then. It was also nice to go into a non-crowded, higher scale bathroom throughout the game. I'm glad we did it once. And I think I got my money's worth in sodas. Plus, the O's won and Liz pitched 8 of the 9 innings. Maybe now they'll start making Liz jerseys.
We will be enjoying brownies instead of cake this year. My Mom made me a fantastic red velvet cake while she was out here, so I didn't think we should have another cake.
Here's to another exciting year!
Current Mood: cheerful
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06:37 am
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Rockband
We now have Wii Rockband!! Woo!!!!
Current Mood: Stoked
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08:33 am
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Cruise and Work
The last week of May, Josh and I went on a cruise. We left out of New York, stopped in Port Canaveral (Florida), Nassau (Bahamas), and Freeport (Bahamas). We spent a day on Cocoa Beach in Florida, a day walking through the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, and a day biking through Freeport. When we returned to New York City, we walked over to Rockefeller Center, hung out at the Nintendo store, and ate lunch under 30 Rock.
After our full week of vacation, we returned to work on Monday. It was hectic, as expected. Yesterday, there was a ceremony honoring those hitting milestone anniversaries at work. Josh and I have been with Northrop for 5 years, so we went, got a certificate, some cookies and brownies, and a hand shake from our President and other executives. It was nice and good to feel appreciated. I guess we'll get a catalog soon for our gift.
It looks like I'm moving on to a new program this month. I've been on the same major program for at least a year, so now I'll be on a new major program. I'll still be supporting the old program (along with minor ones), but it's going to be a big change. It could easily transition me into a leadership position, which I'm not quite sure about yet, but I guess it's good to have those opportunities available to me.
Today, our community is having an ice cream social with Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Yum!
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07:02 pm
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Wii Fit
I have Wii Fit!!! Woo!!
Current Mood:  excited
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10:49 am
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Flowers and Games
We have this guy who is the main guru in our group. He's been with Northrop for over 40 years and knows everything, and not just about engineering stuff. He's also very nice and easy to talk to. Every year, he brings all the ladies in the group some flowers from his home. This year, he brought in red azaleas and they were beautiful. I have them on our foyer table and they're still holding strong.
I've started to play Zelda on the Wii (Twilight Princess). Josh has been playing it for a while, and I thought I would give it a shot. I've made it through the first stage, but it was very frustrating and Josh had to help me. He promised that it gets better, but we'll see. It is hard to learn all the new controls. So many buttons! I've been used to playing Dancing with the Stars, which only uses one button. I'm sure I'll get into it eventually.
It looks like I'll be moving onto a different project soon at work. I guess it'll be nice to mix things up again.
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08:13 pm
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Another Week Down
We have tomorrow off, which is fantastic! The weather will be beautiful, so I plan to wash my car and maybe Josh's, if I'm feeling generous. Maybe we'll ride bikes and just sit outside and read. I'm so excited about this weekend and I'm very ready for summer.
Saturday, we're going to a huge yard sale near Sarah. Afterwards, we're going to visit with Mike, Sarah, and Ethan. It's been a while since we've been down there. Ethan is bigger every time we see him and I hear he tells stories now. It should be a lot of fun. He's almost 22 months old.
We don't have any plans for Sunday yet. It's like a free day, so we'll probably just hang out at home during the day and at night, I spend my time complaining about the long week to come.
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10:52 am
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Spring is Here!
As always, work has been busy. There are customer reviews coming up, and while I don't have to present this time (whew!), I have to help make the slides. It's not that difficult, just time consuming. And, it wasn't in my plan for getting my real work done. So, I'm about 3 days behind on answering people's questions. And it's not like the questions ever stop. I'm sure I'll catch up at some point. I did leave at 4:30 yesterday, so that was nice.
The weather is finally getting pretty. I love warm weather. I can stand maybe a week of winter and then I'm done. Maybe one good 3 inch snow is all I need. Our tulips, hyacinths, and bleeding hearts are up and blooming beautifully. Today has been a very rainforest day. The sun has been shining and we've been getting rain, all at the same time. It's very humid out, but I'm ready for it. It's only 70 degrees out, so it's not hot and humid yet. Also, the pollen is blowing around like crazy.
Josh and I just went for a bike ride. It was sprinkling in the beginning, but then it stopped. We rode around the nearby park and there were guys working on the baseball field. There were also young teens in baseball uniforms, watching the dads work and fetching stuff for them. Just like my childhood. In the words of my father, the field is looking mighty fine. We also noticed a new building near our church, so we rode over to check it out. It was just another condo building for the neighborhood on the water. We then rode through the neighborhood and along the water a little. It was a very peaceful morning. There were people working on their landscaping and washing their cars.
We don't have any real plans this weekend. Probably just recover from last week.
Last weekend, I went to Ashley's bridal shower. It was pretty fun and the food was good. I'm really looking forward to their wedding in May. I'm sure it'll be a perfect wedding. Ashley is so organized and ahead of the game. We'll also get to see some people from Rose again.
Josh is playing Zelda on the Wii now, so it gives me more time on the computer. Maybe I'll write more in my journal (yeah, right.).
Current Mood: relaxed
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10:14 am
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Applied Power Electronics Conference
A couple weeks ago, I went to a conference down in Austin, Texas. It was the longest I've been away from Josh since we've been married. I left on Saturday afternoon and came back Thursday evening. The conference started Sunday, so it was a full trip. Saturday, we checked into our great hotel (a Residence Inn, so it was a huge room with a full kitchen) and then went out for a nice dinner. Sunday was taken up with seminars. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny an in the mid to upper 70's when we arrived. Monday, we had a seminar in the morning, but we walked to a spring in the afternoon. The high was in the upper 80's and again, very sunny. We were pretty warm by the time we got to the spring. I didn't bring my bathing suit, but I put my feet in the cool water. We just relaxed, which was very nice after the long day on Sunday. That evening, we checked out vendor exhibits at the conference and got some free pens and goodies. A cold front came through Monday night and the high was around 60 the rest of the week. Still very sunny, so it was pretty nice. Tuesday and Wednesday were full with presentations, but we had some nice meals in the evenings. Wednesday night was the social event and dinner for the conference. It was held at the Texas State History Museum. We had a nice buffet dinner and enjoyed an IMAX showing of U2 in 3D. It was pretty neat and the music was really good. Thursday morning, we had time for another set of presentations and then we left for the airport. It was a good conference and a fun week. I did manage to make it to work on Friday, but I was tired. I was happy the weekend was coming up. It was also great to have that extra time with Josh when I came home. Our schedules didn't match up at all and we didn't get to talk on the phone much while I was away.
I made it through last week okay, although I was very busy playing catch-up. I'm hoping things will be back to normal this week. I'd say I'll be less tired, but probably not with daylight savings time.
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08:16 pm
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Perfect Day
Last Friday was fantastic. Josh had bought me tickets to see Matchbox Twenty. I have 3 of their CDs and have always enjoyed their music. It was great in high school and college and I'm so happy they're touring. I had a chance to see them just down the street in college, but had a previous commitment and had to miss out. Josh had to listen to me complain about it for a while. So, they were coming to the area and Josh got me the tickets for Christmas (I didn't even know they were touring).
The concert was west of DC, at George Mason University. We didn't want to get caught in Friday evening traffic in DC, so we left in the early afternoon. Josh looked up a nice Italian restaurant for dinner, but we knew we'd get there too early, so we planned to just hang out in the area. The restaurant was in a shopping complex. We first saw the Kohl's. I know this sounds stupid, but our closest Kohl's is 15 miles away and this was right there, so we went in. I found some nice cargo pants and dress socks on sale. I was thrilled. Plus, it helps to go shopping at Kohl's in the middle of the day on a weekday, when the hooligans have yet to ransack the place. Then, we walked over to a Game Stop. I played a little Mario Galaxy. They had a Wii in stock and I got to listen to a funny conversation between some teenage guys about the Wii. "We could buy the Wii." "Yeah, but it's $250!" "It's actually closer to $300." "Oh, well." So sad. Then, we walked the rest of the length of the shopping center. We went into the grocery store. It's going to sound like we don't get out much, but we live within walking distance of a grocery store and we're at the mercy of what they decide to carry. We fell in love with Italian rolls called Bread Du Jour, but our store doesn't carry it. Josh also has a favorite honey mustard dressing we don't have at our store. So, we went in and both were there and the bread was on super sale! So, we bought 2 packs of bread and some dressing. It shouldn't make me that happy, but it did. Then, we went to the restaurant and had a nice meal. The place had just opened for the day, so we had the restaurant to ourselves at first. Afterwards, we went over to Friendly's and shared a cookies 'n cream sundae. Yum!
The concert wasn't until 7:30 and they weren't opening the doors until 6:30, so we had time to kill. We arrived at George Mason University a bit before 6. The parking was free and we had a great spot, really close to the Patriot Center (where the concert was). We decided to roam around the campus. We walked by the tour buses, where groups of girls were hanging out and being told to move along by the security guards. Then, we followed some random college students to try to find a student union or someplace to get warm. The campus is really pretty and very new. We walked into this building and were blown away. It was definitely the main student hangout. It was about 4 floors high. First was the radio station. Behind it was a dance studio. I looked for a bathroom and found a small movie theater. On the 2nd floor, there was a library, news center (with TVs, posted info, and students on laptops), a large food court with a Taco Bell (what more could you need?), and a bookstore, which was closed at the time. In the middle was a huge information desk with computers. It all looked very modern. We sat in the food court for a while and I watched Josh try to pretend like he was still a college student. Man, we're old. He wanted to whip out his cell phone and pretend like he was texting someone (that's what everyone else was doing), but he didn't. Instead he just said college-like things. It was amusing for a while, but we eventually decided to go to the concert.
We went in and had to wait a little before they let us go to our seats. Up until 7:20, the place was pretty empty. The first band was Mute Math. They were okay, but random, at times. When the lights came on again after them, the place was pretty full. We had seats straight ahead from the stage. So, we couldn't see the people on stage too well, but we didn't have to twist our necks. Then, Alanis Morissette performed. She sure can belt it out. We were upset that she didn't even sing our 2 favorite songs of hers (Hands Clean and Head over Feet), but she did play a lot of her classics. When the lights came on again, the place was packed.
Then, Matchbox Twenty came on and they were really good. They started with Disease, played Long Day, 3 AM, Back 2 Good, Real World, Push, Bent, Unwell, Bright Lights, All I Need, Downfall, Hand Me Down, and The Difference. They also played about 6 or so songs I didn't recognize. I didn't buy their latest album because it's mostly greatest hits, which I already have. Maybe I can just download their new songs individually. Anyway, it was pretty enjoyable. Apparently they give out USB wristbands with the night's performance at the end of the show, but the line for that was miles long and it was already past my bedtime. It's a really cool idea and I may have done it if we didn't have a one and a half hour drive home ahead of us.
So, that was my perfect day. It was a great Christmas gift and a nice retreat from our normal lives.
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01:59 pm
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2008
Christmas was very nice and relaxing. Josh and I went to my family's house down in Alabama. Matt and Missy came up and we spent a good deal of time with Jake as well. We flew up on the Sunday before Christmas and went home the Sunday after. We played a lot of Wii (we bought my parents a Wii for Christmas), played a yard game called Blongo Ball or Hillbilly Golf, watched movies at home and in the theater, and helped my parents pick out a car. Of course, they didn't buy that car or anything like it, but test driving is always fun. Instead, they bought a Nissan Maxima, which I'm sure is also very nice.
New Year's Eve, we had Larry, Ashley, Mike, Sarah, and Ethan (18 months) over. We ate, talked, played Wii, and watched the countdown. It was great to hang out with them.
This is year, I'm sure, will be just as hectic as last. Work is back to its normal, barely tolerable, rapid pace and we have begun discussing our vacationing plans for the year. We're thinking a cruise, but we'll see. For the first time ever, I'm going to a technical conference for work. It's the big one that our group goes to every year, but I've never been asked to go. This year, they are taking 10 people and I get to be one of them. It's in February and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be gone from Saturday to Thursday, so Josh will have the house to himself. I went to a SWE (Society of Women Engineers) conference a couple years ago, but that's the last time Josh and I have been separated by a few states.
After the conference, my Dad might be coming to visit us for a day or two. I hope he can make it! It also sounds like Mom and Dad might be up sometime in August. I'm glad Dad has business trips up here so we can see them more often.
Other than my conference, we don't have any airline tickets for anything. The beginning of the year is always slow for us, travel-wise. Last year, the flights began Memorial Day weekend. We flew to Michigan that weekend, Alabama in June, Michigan in July, Jamaica in September, Florida in October, Michigan in October, and Alabama in December. I always say we're going to travel less each year, but I think we've flown over 6 flights a year since moving out here. Maybe this year will be different. If we take a cruise from the area, that will be one less flight!
I better get to some laundry. Today has been housework day and I'm not nearly done (if there is such a thing).
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09:33 pm
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Christmas Time
One more day of work this week! Yea!!! I have 4 hours of vacation that needs to be used by the end of the year and I saved up another extra 4 hours, so I won't be going into work on Friday. Instead, I guess Josh and I will be running errands and getting ready for Christmas. I'm definitely ready for the break.
Last weekend, Josh and I went up to New York City with our friends Charley and Amanda. We drove up on Saturday, spent the night in the Holiday Inn on 57th Street in Midtown, and drove home Sunday afternoon. We walked to Times Square, bought tickets for A Chorus Line, went over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree, walked back on 5th Avenue, ate dinner at Trump Tower, returned to our hotel, changed, and walked back to Times Square to see A Chorus Line. Sunday morning, we ate breakfast at our hotel, took the subway down to the financial district, visited the World Trade Center Site, walked on Wall Street to the New York Stock Exchange, saw the bull statue, walked over to Battery Park and barely saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, took the subway to Macy's and walked to the Empire State Building, took the subway to Central Park and walked back to our hotel. It was a full two days and a great deal of fun. I would definitely recommend New York City around Christmas.
I've been in Christmas mode and I've made 3 batches of cookies. I made the oatmeal fudge cookies and a couple dozen sugar cookies last week. We ran out of cookies yesterday, so I made another couple dozen sugar cookies tonight. There is no shortage of cookies, but I'm out of powdered sugar, shortening, and red and green food coloring.
Santa drove by this evening. He comes through our neighborhood every year, with his entourage of fire trucks. The first year we lived here, we heard tons of sirens and they kept coming closer. We were a little concerned, but it did mostly sound like a parade. The second year, we were prepared for Santa. The kids in the neighborhood do seem to poke their heads out the door (just like me) when he rides by. There were also about 30 carolers outside our house earlier in the evening. They were actually singing to the family across the street, but I did enjoy it. It's very Christmas-y tonight.
Hope everyone has happy and safe holidays!
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