Okay so my friend Lacy sent me this email- I have NO IDEA who wrote it but nonetheless it was me who was physically covering my mouth trying not to BUST out laughing in the Cornell library with all these smarty pants scholarly kids :) Some were not very appropriate for my blog so I will delete those :)
ENJOY!
1. -I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
2. -More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me. (okay so NOT my thought but I feel like this sometimes when I talk to someone else) :)
3. -Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
5. -Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
7. -I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
8. -Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the “people you may know” feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
9. -Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.
10. -There is a great need for sarcasm font.
11. -Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it. SO TRUE!
12. -I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.
13. -How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? this made me laugh b/c I STILL have trouble with this task! I just fold all the "ugly part" in the inside of the folds so no one can see it :)
14. -I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. T.J. and I both!!!!
16. -The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text. soooo trueeeee
18. - Was learning cursive really necessary?
19. - Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.
20. - I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. my problem exactly...
21. - Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scranton test is absolutely petrifying.
23. - Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.
24. - How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
25. - I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent an idiot from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers! T.J. is very serious about this guys!!!
26. - Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”
27. -What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
28. - While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.
29. - MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
30. - Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
31. - I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
32. -Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. something Troy and T.J. would believe I'm sure!
34. -I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired. except for me b/c I am not working ;)
35. - Bad decisions make good stories
36. -Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do! This made me laugh b/c I can remember this feeling in college!!!!
38. -If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
39. -Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem…. T.J. this is for me- WHYYY OH WHHY!??!?!
40. -You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day. sandridge energy- about 1 o clock friday afternoon :)
41. -Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
42. -There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far. laughed out loud in front of students in library.. sorry but hilarious!
43. -I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
44. - “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.
45. -I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’
46. -I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dangit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
47. - I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
48. -When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
49. -I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
50. -Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…
51. - As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
52. -Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
53. -It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
54. -I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
55. -Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what to do with it.
56. -Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time… hahahahahaha
57. -My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the heck do I respond to that?
58. -It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text. lacy this was us at mjca!!!! :)
59. -I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
60. -I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
61. -I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
Okay I hope you enjoyed at least some of these!!! I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!!! I plan to blog again soon- GASP 2 BLOGS IN A DAY!?!?! oh my goodness!!! :)
Mother's hold their daughters hands for a little while, but their hearts forever.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY T.J.!
Here is the cake I made T.J. for his 24th bday! Yellow cake with funfetti chocolate icing! :) and that is a heart on top of it if you can't tell!T.J. had to go to the Esopus creek on his bday which stinks b/c he was gone all day but in all reality he loves it there (where his project is based) so he had a fun day! We had a yummy dinner (chicken lasagna, red neck potatoes and more!) and of course finished with this yummy cake! We even opened T.J.'s parents present over Skype so they watched him open the awesome photos that Debbie had enlarged and framed from the waterfalls and more.
Right now I am doing the usual! Looking for jobs online, emailing friends, making a list of errands to run and of course I'll go eat lunch with T.J. at Cornell around 11:30 :) I REALLY NEED TO GET A JOB. I'm starting to feel the panic coming. It's hard TURNING DOWN a job when you don't know when the next offer will be. Our landlords offered me a good amount of money to watch their kids from 1-5 M-F and cook 3-4 meals a week, do laundry, etc. As awesome as that sounds- I don't think I will stay sane doing that! I NEED interaction with people and I need to exercise this brain of mine somewhere!! So we're just praying that the Lord will bring something to me and we're staying faithful and hopeful of what's to come!
Last weekend we took the dogs out and here are some pictures- and yes, that is a bloody paw :) Troop SLICED OFF a chunk of his toe pad!!!! We didn't even knoooow until we were leaving and there were bloody footprints! He never complained or anything- you know Jade would've laid down and made us carry her! Troop just ran around like he was never injured! He is so tough!!
So Ace the kitty is crazy! Last night I was watching Mackenzie and Darren (Tony & Jen our landlord's kids) and they started yelling at me to come outside! Okay these kids LOVE Ace, they think he is SO FUN- and he is :) So I go outside to our back deck and lo and behold Ace is next door in our neighbors backyard in his stalking position- dead still and crouched down. So there is a 6 point buck coming near Ace just NOT sure what this little guy is. We then watch the buck walk ALL the way up to Ace- NOSE TO NOSE- Ace then jumps up like he's going to attack him!? I mean Ace just thinks he's invincible obviously!!! The buck JUMPS back and up so you can see his whole belly. Then he comes back and is just basically toying with Ace. The buck ends up leaving so Ace just stalks/plays with the does for the next 30 minutes! I swear that cat thinks he's a deer one minute, a dog the next minute and then a human when he's with us! I LOVE HIM :) Here is a picture of when the buck backed away- (wish I would've caught the thing on film!)
Okay- I'm off to get ready for the day- and it's 10:43 am- oh dear. I really don't sleep in I promise! I've just run out of things to do!
EXACTLY 3 WEEKS TILL MY MOM AND JAMES GET HERE... yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!! :)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Little Struggle!
So I'm going to be honest! I'm really missing OK!!! I teared up driving yesterday looking at BEAUTIFUL upstate NY and I was honestly wishing I was staring a an ugly ole highway with plains all around!!! LOL More then missing Oklahoma, T.J. and I both are really just missing our "comfort" that we had in OK. With family and friends everywhere it was so easy to just be "comfortable" and not worry about anything or stretch ourselves- BOY IS IT DIFFERENT HERE.
I REALLY miss being with people that LOVE THE LORD- okay I KNOW people love God here in NY :) BUT we don't have those friends yet and let me tell you, developing relationships with people that don't know God and don't believe much of ANYTHING that T.J. and I believe is hard, especially when they are AGAINST it. My heart is tearing for these kids I'm spending time with that might never know Jesus- all I can do is pray that I SOMEHOW sow a seed in them and that they become friends with christian children. THIS is what I struggled a lot with yesterday. That and kind of being dragged into a "debate", and people- I DON'T like debating. That's just that- so maybe the Lord is trying to teach me something!!
So as I'm SO SAD yesterday I come across my friend Amanda's blog. Amanda is GREAT and her blog "It's not about Circumstance" really touched me! You should read it if you have time. Here is the MAIN part I enjoyed- "True joy and lasting contentment does not come from my circumstances, it comes from the only true source, God." I haven't been concentrating on that at all lately! I need to TRUST God completely and rejoice NO MATTER my circumstance.
SO! That was my yesterday. Today I am experiencing my first day of not much to do! Still job searching... I actually got a call back today from a medical billing company that wants to hire me but it was LITERALLY the one interview I had that I thought "okay I DON'T want to work here..." so ... we'll see. I'm going to eat lunch with T.J. at Cornell (they have AMAZING food) :) and then I'm going to run some errands for T.J. HIS BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! I'm excited for him!!! 24!!! WOWSERS!
Oh yes one more thing- I am officially cooking not only for T.J. but my landlords now :) HA! So I've been helping them out with watching their kiddos before school started and I did some cooking for them too. They have offered to pay me AND pay for the groceries that go into at least 4 meals a week (which will provide for me and T.J. too). This is a GREAT deal b/c all I have to do is double the recipe I'm making for T.J.! So funny!!
I'm off! The price is right is on and it's the showcase showdown! Can't miss that! ;)
I REALLY miss being with people that LOVE THE LORD- okay I KNOW people love God here in NY :) BUT we don't have those friends yet and let me tell you, developing relationships with people that don't know God and don't believe much of ANYTHING that T.J. and I believe is hard, especially when they are AGAINST it. My heart is tearing for these kids I'm spending time with that might never know Jesus- all I can do is pray that I SOMEHOW sow a seed in them and that they become friends with christian children. THIS is what I struggled a lot with yesterday. That and kind of being dragged into a "debate", and people- I DON'T like debating. That's just that- so maybe the Lord is trying to teach me something!!
So as I'm SO SAD yesterday I come across my friend Amanda's blog. Amanda is GREAT and her blog "It's not about Circumstance" really touched me! You should read it if you have time. Here is the MAIN part I enjoyed- "True joy and lasting contentment does not come from my circumstances, it comes from the only true source, God." I haven't been concentrating on that at all lately! I need to TRUST God completely and rejoice NO MATTER my circumstance.
SO! That was my yesterday. Today I am experiencing my first day of not much to do! Still job searching... I actually got a call back today from a medical billing company that wants to hire me but it was LITERALLY the one interview I had that I thought "okay I DON'T want to work here..." so ... we'll see. I'm going to eat lunch with T.J. at Cornell (they have AMAZING food) :) and then I'm going to run some errands for T.J. HIS BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! I'm excited for him!!! 24!!! WOWSERS!
Oh yes one more thing- I am officially cooking not only for T.J. but my landlords now :) HA! So I've been helping them out with watching their kiddos before school started and I did some cooking for them too. They have offered to pay me AND pay for the groceries that go into at least 4 meals a week (which will provide for me and T.J. too). This is a GREAT deal b/c all I have to do is double the recipe I'm making for T.J.! So funny!!
I'm off! The price is right is on and it's the showcase showdown! Can't miss that! ;)
Monday, September 7, 2009
SAHW
brothers
this is where I fell- chin first into a rock :) then debbie sliced her toe open
Isn't as tall as the picture makes it look
Of course an album dedicated to all this beauty on facebook :)Stay at home wife- that is my life right now :)
First of all I went to upload my last blog that I had written and somehow I deleted it!!! So frustrating b/c of course it was LONG and about Troy and Debbie being here and our crazy adventures at the waterfalls- falling and all but it is GONE :( so sad.
So I will upload some of the AMAZING pictures that we took, some our with Troy and Debbie and some are from when me and T.J. spent a day going to 2-3 different state parks and hiking our tails off! It started from T.J. wanting to be a hard core hiker at first (with the dogs and a tent) to ... "okaaay this is REALLY hard... maybe not" :) it IS tough- but so enjoyable as well.
My mom and James are coming in less then a month YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY :) so weather permitting hopefully we can show them some of the beautiful falls.
So as I still don't have a job I am living the "stay at home wife" life right now and though it IS NICE at sometimes- I have to keep things on my list to do or I will go crazy. I REALLY do want to find a job for #1 money :) and #2 meeting peolpe and #3 keeping my sanity!!! I can't believe I haven't WORKED in a month now! I did babysit for our landlords last week so that was nice (and will again tomorrow)
T.J. is at school right now and I'm about to go up there to eat lunch with him- yes Cornell has school on Labor Day- NOT COOL, even though we all know T.J. would be up there working on Labor Day anyways.... can't stop thinking about our family and friends today- we wish we were there in OK!!!
Monday, August 31, 2009
T.J.'s first day of school
T.J. at his "office" before we got it all set up! :) "corner office!!!" haha
T.J. at his Ivy League school
Yay!!!I wish I had a picture of T.J. on his way to his first day of graduate school! ;) Let me just tell you that I LOVE that T.J. is completely HIMSELF. He isn’t going to conform to what anyone thinks he should look like, etc! Our landlord was giving T.J. SUCH a hard time for his wranglers and cowboy boots (honestly I didn’t think it would be a big deal up here b/c it’s kind of “country”) but oh no :) Tony told T.J. that he thought people only wear cowboy boots on Halloween and that it looks like his jeans were painted on :) HAHA then he told T.J. that he looked like Woody from The Toy Story! J Hahaha- T.J. I’m laughing WITH you not at you! But this was REALLY making me laugh b/c I agree with Tony- T.J. kind of is like Woody J long legs with tight cowboy jeans and boots ;) Tony thinks its crazy that he wears a camo hat too. SO- T.J. is still sporting the wranglers, boots, camo hat and knife in his back pocket at school! He told me his advisor smiled really big when he saw him like “that’s what I miss seeing here!!”
I went up to Cornell today to eat with T.J. (I mean I don’t have that much on going on right now- w/ no job) ;) today my list of things to do is wait for the cable/phone/internet guy and figure out some dinner plans along with taking pics of the house so I can upload them to my first blog that I can hopefully put out today!!
T.J. has A LOT on his plate… he told me he was a little worried about how much stuff he has to do and how I’m going to have to realize that :) but luckily Dr. Fisher (his advisor) also told T.J. that he needs to make sure not to get to enveloped in the study to and to take time for his family (me) J We STILL say at least once a day I CANNOT BELIEVE WE’RE HERE… this is what we wanted SO BAD and God had it in His plan for us!!!
Alright well I’m off to do some cleaning around the house- Ace is slapping all over the keyboard trying to attack my hands while I type and I have to keep deleting and retyping words so I think it’s time to go ;)
LOVE TO ALL!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
More from NY
Sweet Jade- this was awhile after she was stung
T.J. spraying the hole of ground bees- "Don't mess with my dogs!" :)
Deer in the backyard!
Troop with his TWO shock collars on b/c he likes to run through the underground fence- HA!Okay so let’s see- today is the 25th- we still don’t have the internet but I thought I’d go ahead and get another blog “prepared”! T.J. just took Jade out to the “6 mile creek” across the street and so I have a few minutes before we’ll heat up our sour cream chicken enchiladas (YUMMMMMM- thank you Rose Matlock! And mom for giving it to me!)
Let’s go back in time a little bit… I forgot to tell ya’ll about Jade and her “near death” experience! (At least this is what we thought!!) So the morning after we arrive in NY we wake up to the dogs yelping- Troop won’t stop barking and Jade is WHIIIINING big time- T.J. gets up (it’s about 6:30 AM) to check on them and we keep hearing Troop bark but don’t really think anything about it- we’re probably just assuming T.J.’s hanging out with them and Troops being himself! Come to find out… this is the scene T.J. walked out to: Jade COVERED in bees- from the tip of her snout to her feet, she was rolling around trying to get them off but they had swarmed her and weren’t going anywhere- Jade and Troop were both on long leashes (b/c our fence wasn’t done yet) so Jade didn’t have anywhere to run away from the bees- Troop was trying to help her (although I don’t know how he could’ve! And was barking for our attention and his leash wouldn’t let him get to her) soooooo when T.J. comes out Jade stops rolling around and just sits up staring at T.J. to “help her” (keep in mind HUNDREDS of bees are on her) T.J. just had a split second decision and he has no shoes or a shirt on and he can’t let her die like this! So he goes in- unclips her leash and lets Jade run away from the hive. After she rolled around for a bit T.J. had to flick the remaining 30 or so bees off of her that were stuck in her… sooo (okay this is longer then I wanted) we ended up taking her to the emergency vet b/c she was delirious and had over 300 stings to her sweet little body!! After a couple days she was better (with medicine) but she has a million scabs all over her now!! That was NOT a fun way to start this journey!!
Totally switching gears-
T.J.’S POSITION
In case you aren’t exactly sure what T.J. is going to do here in NY here it is- he will be pursuing a master’s degree for fisheries and aquatic ecology- in the natural resources department. There is actually a project that T.J. is going to complete and after the project, and a thesis he will receives his masters. This is a paid position which is awesome! T.J. will be in the Esopous Creek in NY tracking trout and their conditions related to certain factors in the environment- if you really have questions you need to ask him J All I know is that I’m really proud of him and this is going to be some 2-3 years!! Although… we did find out after moving here that each summer T.J. will be required to stay at the creek for 2-3 months… yes, that means me alone here in our house… I know… I don’t even know what to think about that yet except I’m PRAYING I’ll have friends here by then J I will get to visit him every other weekend or so if I can take the trip out there (it’s about 3 hrs away). T.J. is really excited about the program- although he is aware that this will be the hardest thing he’s ever done. The professor he’s working under has VERY high expectations and T.J. just wants to make sure he can go above and beyond those expectations- which takes a lot of dedication!!
A JOB FOR ME
Well… I don’t have a job out here yet! It hasn’t been even 2 weeks yet since we’ve arrived so I’m not freaking out yet J although- I’ll just go ahead and tell you that in Ithaca it’s REALLY hard to find a job. There are almost no listings I even want to apply for… so that is something that we will be praying about!! I had thought about nannying (and even interviewed with one family) but after the family I interviewed with went with a “live in” nanny I realized that really wasn’t something that could “get me out there” and help me develop some friendships!! I will keep you updated on this! :) There are 2 jobs right now I have applied for that I’m crossing my fingers on…
So! T.J. starts school on Thursday and Friday I’m going out all day with his advisor’s wife :) Haha!! I’m just glad to have someone to talk to (T.J. can only handle so much from me) ;) Then Friday night we are going to eat with our landlords which I’m sure will be fun too!! Saturday T.J. is going to show me the Esopous Creek I think J Sunday we will try another church- last Sunday we were LITERALLY the only people our age within like 15 years… so we’re hoping to have a little more diversity next week!!
Another thing I found that is different about NY then OK- at the gas pump it is illegal to walk away while pumping and the pumps don’t have a “lock” for your pump- you literally have to stand there and hold the pump the whole time- very annoying… the things OK spoil us with!!! :)
Sorry no really fun stories!!!! T.J. and I are having a lot of fun together up here though. We rented “I love you man” and “17 again” at redbox b/c we don’t have TV yet and we have no idea what to rent :) so we just keep quoting movie quotes back and forth to each other and we haven’t gotten tired of each other yet!! :) I’m sure he’ll get tired of me sooner or later!!
One thing I have realized though is that moving gives you MANY cuts, bruises and scrapes- I literally don’t think I’ve ever felt more “beat up” then after moving!! Especially when Troy, Debbie and me and T.J. went to a creek and I fell face first into a rock wall :) a bruised chin and wet body later we thought we were fine until Debbie slipped and cut open her toe :) Then T.J. took me out to the 6 mile creek and I hop on in after him and what do you know- I slip down to my neck :) SO GREAT- it was a pretty fun laugh though!! Okay- off to go eat!!!!!!
Let’s go back in time a little bit… I forgot to tell ya’ll about Jade and her “near death” experience! (At least this is what we thought!!) So the morning after we arrive in NY we wake up to the dogs yelping- Troop won’t stop barking and Jade is WHIIIINING big time- T.J. gets up (it’s about 6:30 AM) to check on them and we keep hearing Troop bark but don’t really think anything about it- we’re probably just assuming T.J.’s hanging out with them and Troops being himself! Come to find out… this is the scene T.J. walked out to: Jade COVERED in bees- from the tip of her snout to her feet, she was rolling around trying to get them off but they had swarmed her and weren’t going anywhere- Jade and Troop were both on long leashes (b/c our fence wasn’t done yet) so Jade didn’t have anywhere to run away from the bees- Troop was trying to help her (although I don’t know how he could’ve! And was barking for our attention and his leash wouldn’t let him get to her) soooooo when T.J. comes out Jade stops rolling around and just sits up staring at T.J. to “help her” (keep in mind HUNDREDS of bees are on her) T.J. just had a split second decision and he has no shoes or a shirt on and he can’t let her die like this! So he goes in- unclips her leash and lets Jade run away from the hive. After she rolled around for a bit T.J. had to flick the remaining 30 or so bees off of her that were stuck in her… sooo (okay this is longer then I wanted) we ended up taking her to the emergency vet b/c she was delirious and had over 300 stings to her sweet little body!! After a couple days she was better (with medicine) but she has a million scabs all over her now!! That was NOT a fun way to start this journey!!
Totally switching gears-
T.J.’S POSITION
In case you aren’t exactly sure what T.J. is going to do here in NY here it is- he will be pursuing a master’s degree for fisheries and aquatic ecology- in the natural resources department. There is actually a project that T.J. is going to complete and after the project, and a thesis he will receives his masters. This is a paid position which is awesome! T.J. will be in the Esopous Creek in NY tracking trout and their conditions related to certain factors in the environment- if you really have questions you need to ask him J All I know is that I’m really proud of him and this is going to be some 2-3 years!! Although… we did find out after moving here that each summer T.J. will be required to stay at the creek for 2-3 months… yes, that means me alone here in our house… I know… I don’t even know what to think about that yet except I’m PRAYING I’ll have friends here by then J I will get to visit him every other weekend or so if I can take the trip out there (it’s about 3 hrs away). T.J. is really excited about the program- although he is aware that this will be the hardest thing he’s ever done. The professor he’s working under has VERY high expectations and T.J. just wants to make sure he can go above and beyond those expectations- which takes a lot of dedication!!
A JOB FOR ME
Well… I don’t have a job out here yet! It hasn’t been even 2 weeks yet since we’ve arrived so I’m not freaking out yet J although- I’ll just go ahead and tell you that in Ithaca it’s REALLY hard to find a job. There are almost no listings I even want to apply for… so that is something that we will be praying about!! I had thought about nannying (and even interviewed with one family) but after the family I interviewed with went with a “live in” nanny I realized that really wasn’t something that could “get me out there” and help me develop some friendships!! I will keep you updated on this! :) There are 2 jobs right now I have applied for that I’m crossing my fingers on…
So! T.J. starts school on Thursday and Friday I’m going out all day with his advisor’s wife :) Haha!! I’m just glad to have someone to talk to (T.J. can only handle so much from me) ;) Then Friday night we are going to eat with our landlords which I’m sure will be fun too!! Saturday T.J. is going to show me the Esopous Creek I think J Sunday we will try another church- last Sunday we were LITERALLY the only people our age within like 15 years… so we’re hoping to have a little more diversity next week!!
Another thing I found that is different about NY then OK- at the gas pump it is illegal to walk away while pumping and the pumps don’t have a “lock” for your pump- you literally have to stand there and hold the pump the whole time- very annoying… the things OK spoil us with!!! :)
Sorry no really fun stories!!!! T.J. and I are having a lot of fun together up here though. We rented “I love you man” and “17 again” at redbox b/c we don’t have TV yet and we have no idea what to rent :) so we just keep quoting movie quotes back and forth to each other and we haven’t gotten tired of each other yet!! :) I’m sure he’ll get tired of me sooner or later!!
One thing I have realized though is that moving gives you MANY cuts, bruises and scrapes- I literally don’t think I’ve ever felt more “beat up” then after moving!! Especially when Troy, Debbie and me and T.J. went to a creek and I fell face first into a rock wall :) a bruised chin and wet body later we thought we were fine until Debbie slipped and cut open her toe :) Then T.J. took me out to the 6 mile creek and I hop on in after him and what do you know- I slip down to my neck :) SO GREAT- it was a pretty fun laugh though!! Okay- off to go eat!!!!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
NY Newbies!!
part of the backyard....
some of the kitchen...
more backyard-
1/2 of our room
living room
living area
our house ;)okay-
Where do I start?! (First let me say I am POSTING this the 28th but wrote this awhile ago- these are A COUPLE pictures of the house but a whole album of our house is on facebook) - if you don't have a facebook account email me at kellyross13@gmail.com and I'll send you the link to the pics- there are about 80 of them! ;)
Okay so we don’t have the internet until the 27th but I do have my computer up and running so I decided to go ahead and try to write at least a little bit so come the 27th a blog will be posted! My family is ready for this!!! I will try to write a couple different blogs, that way it won’t seem like a novel!
Today is Friday, the 21st- exactly a week ago at THIS TIME we were stopping for dinner and about 2 hours away from our home here in Ithaca- wait- technically Brooktondale, NY.
THE GOODBYES
Wow… that was NOT fun, I knew I probably wouldn’t break down until the goodbye with my mom and I was somewhat right :) While T.J.’s sweet grandpa Ross was praying over our dinner I started crying and my mom had to hold me for a minute… after that I was okay until I really had to say bye that night and I kind of broke down!!! Sorry- I just have the best mom in the universe and saying goodbye for 2-3 years is just really tough!! T.J. helped me through it after they left- so thankful we have each other throughout this journey!! We had SO MUCH of our family come out to tell us goodbye and it meant SO MUCH to us. The next morning wasn’t much easier with the goodbyes to Mike, T.J.’s dad and gradparents… tears everywhere. Luckily Troy, T.J.’s brother, and Debbie, T.J.’s mom were going to take this 24 hour journey with us!! :) So no goodbyes to them.
THE DRIVE
Okay honestly- the drive REALLY wasn’t that bad!!! We had the huge Budget truck that only T.J. and Debbie could drive (which towed T.J.’s truck) and then my car with a small uhaul thingy on the back :)- we all switched around, slept, read (just me- & Troy mainly ate- which meant a bathroom stop for Troy every 2 hrs!!!) haha :) and even though we drove around 12 hours each day it just was easier then we thought- God had his angels surrounding us for sure!! No close calls- hit traffic ONCE, and no car problems. Troy and I both did a fair share of sleeping :) The dogs did SO GOOD while we drove and Ace our kitty was in T.J.’s truck that was being towed b/c we didn’t feel like hearing him meow the whole time. :)
PULLING UP TO THE HOUSE
We actually pulled up to the WRONG house (289) b/c that is what we were TOLD but really it’s 283!!! :) So everyone our address is really 283 Brooktondale Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817. Our landlords were there to meet us and direct us to our house :) WE LOVE THE HOUSE. Hopefully when I upload this blog I can upload pictures of the house as well!! There is SO MUCH WOODS around us!!! Literally it’s a gorgeous view from every one of our windows- UGH love it!! (Except the bees… I’ll get to that later!) The house plan is a lot nicer then the house we had in Guthrie (sorry sweet old house) hard wood floors everywhere, lots of storage space- 3 rooms- couldn’t like it anymore!! ALSO :) In case you didn’t know- we sort of have a roommate- not really a roommate at all but there is a small apartment in our basement that a SWEET older lady lives in- her name is Pam and she is awesome :) lol we weren’t sure what we were getting into with having an apartment in the house but we honestly wouldn’t have it any other way- for instance… (this is crazy) but we get a knock on our door this evening and Pam has made us homemade mixed berry muffins with chocolate- who does that!? SO SWEET. Pam usually pays whoever is in the house for using the laundry machines and T.J. wouldn’t have that- so he mentioned “just make me some cookies every now and then” well she was really serious and did! :) and as crazy as it is she goes to a Southern Baptist Church here in Ithaca (we attended the same in Guthrie) we will visit the church but she did tell us there were about 10 members…. :) We know we have been blessed by her- b/c we wouldn’t have been able to get this house unless there WAS an apartment in in b/c it lowers the rent for us… and with it being double then it was in OK we needed all the help we could get! She has her own entrance to her house and everything. Okay... on to something else!
GETTING SETTLED IN
Let me start off by saying we COULD NOT have made this move without all the help we received, thank you to the whole Ross family and my mom and James!! Oops I can’t forget Dennis Hewitt either!!! :) Troy and Debbie helped us SO MUCH here in NY. I mean I’m sitting in a house practically all decorated and ready to live in!! If they wouldn’t have helped us I’d still be unpacking the kitchen!! We had SO MUCH FUN with Troy and Debbie here. We are still getting used to them not being here as they left on Tuesday. We felt like they were supposed to live here with us! Debbie and Troy are troopers and worked around the clock!! We had MANY laughing fits and Debbie would clean our feet for us in the bathtub every time we “went out” b/c they’d be BLACK from working so hard outside/inside. I won’t forget our first night here- we brought in a mattress and plopped it on the living room floor for Debbie and Troy and T.J. and I were on the floor on some mattress pads- Troy rolled off the mattress on top of me and we couldn’t stop laughing for a LONG time- Troy why would we get so giddy at night time!? Lol. We played boxers or briefs (a board game, and yes Sara I still have this game of yours!!! Lol) and had some hilarious times then too!!! Saying goodbye to them was really tough- they left us with some letters that had us both crying in my car after we left them at the airport. They are such givers.
Okay this went on A LOT longer then I thought I was going to write and I have SO MUCH MORE to say so I’m going to end this blog right here and hope I can add some pictures to it- I will make an album on facebook too of the house if you want to look there as well. I’ll blog more about T.J.’s position at Cornell, job opportunities for me, and lots of other stuff… I’ll try and leave you with some differences we have found from OK to NY :)
*We aren’t allowed to talk on our phones while driving (unless we have a hands free device- which weirds me out!!)
*By law we have to recycle- don’t get me wrong I’m totally down for this!! But it’s a little more complicated then you think, everyone is composting some of their trash or turning it in for money or saving it for designated pick up days- I have a lot to learn!! Oh! And it costs $1 for each bag of trash you want to throw away! And you pay for your trash service… not sure if we did that in OK or not?! :)
*GREEN GREEN GREEN- NY is definitely A LOT more aware of being green, which is awesome! It will be fun to learn more ways I can help out the environment.
*If I had to put a label on the sort of people out here I would say a majority of the people are “hippyish” not everyone of course but I mean I never saw people in OK like I do here.. you know the whole girls not shaving and stuff… sorry not a fan! :) The people here are just a lot FASTER- I literally feel so overwhelmed and out of place in the grocery store and stuff, I know that sounds strange but I feel like I’m annoying people or something!! Also the drivers ARE NOT friendly- and even the guy at the bank that was born and raised here in NY will admit that!! He said there are FEW nice drivers here… T.J. has gotten frustrated a couple of times ;) Don’t get me wrong we have met some really nice people… they just aren’t OKIES!!!
*The road system isn’t on the “grid system” like most cities- that is SO CONFUSING and frustrating, we have taken SO MANY wrong turns- it’s really just a maze out here!!
*Obviously things are pricier up here as well.
*Not very many franchises, which is great for the small businesses
*The accents!! :)
*Farmer’s markets and fresh picked produce on so many corners!! This will be something I will definitely be taken advantage of!!
We were expecting more of the NYC feel when really Ithaca- and especially Brooktondale is kind of country!!! A lot better then we expected!
ALRIGHT that is it for know- love you all and remember my cell is still free to call!! ;) BUT we do have HORRIBLE/NO service here in Brooktondale so I usually get all my voicemails/texts when I go into the city.
Off to go hang out with T.J. :)
Where do I start?! (First let me say I am POSTING this the 28th but wrote this awhile ago- these are A COUPLE pictures of the house but a whole album of our house is on facebook) - if you don't have a facebook account email me at kellyross13@gmail.com and I'll send you the link to the pics- there are about 80 of them! ;)
Okay so we don’t have the internet until the 27th but I do have my computer up and running so I decided to go ahead and try to write at least a little bit so come the 27th a blog will be posted! My family is ready for this!!! I will try to write a couple different blogs, that way it won’t seem like a novel!
Today is Friday, the 21st- exactly a week ago at THIS TIME we were stopping for dinner and about 2 hours away from our home here in Ithaca- wait- technically Brooktondale, NY.
THE GOODBYES
Wow… that was NOT fun, I knew I probably wouldn’t break down until the goodbye with my mom and I was somewhat right :) While T.J.’s sweet grandpa Ross was praying over our dinner I started crying and my mom had to hold me for a minute… after that I was okay until I really had to say bye that night and I kind of broke down!!! Sorry- I just have the best mom in the universe and saying goodbye for 2-3 years is just really tough!! T.J. helped me through it after they left- so thankful we have each other throughout this journey!! We had SO MUCH of our family come out to tell us goodbye and it meant SO MUCH to us. The next morning wasn’t much easier with the goodbyes to Mike, T.J.’s dad and gradparents… tears everywhere. Luckily Troy, T.J.’s brother, and Debbie, T.J.’s mom were going to take this 24 hour journey with us!! :) So no goodbyes to them.
THE DRIVE
Okay honestly- the drive REALLY wasn’t that bad!!! We had the huge Budget truck that only T.J. and Debbie could drive (which towed T.J.’s truck) and then my car with a small uhaul thingy on the back :)- we all switched around, slept, read (just me- & Troy mainly ate- which meant a bathroom stop for Troy every 2 hrs!!!) haha :) and even though we drove around 12 hours each day it just was easier then we thought- God had his angels surrounding us for sure!! No close calls- hit traffic ONCE, and no car problems. Troy and I both did a fair share of sleeping :) The dogs did SO GOOD while we drove and Ace our kitty was in T.J.’s truck that was being towed b/c we didn’t feel like hearing him meow the whole time. :)
PULLING UP TO THE HOUSE
We actually pulled up to the WRONG house (289) b/c that is what we were TOLD but really it’s 283!!! :) So everyone our address is really 283 Brooktondale Road, Brooktondale, NY 14817. Our landlords were there to meet us and direct us to our house :) WE LOVE THE HOUSE. Hopefully when I upload this blog I can upload pictures of the house as well!! There is SO MUCH WOODS around us!!! Literally it’s a gorgeous view from every one of our windows- UGH love it!! (Except the bees… I’ll get to that later!) The house plan is a lot nicer then the house we had in Guthrie (sorry sweet old house) hard wood floors everywhere, lots of storage space- 3 rooms- couldn’t like it anymore!! ALSO :) In case you didn’t know- we sort of have a roommate- not really a roommate at all but there is a small apartment in our basement that a SWEET older lady lives in- her name is Pam and she is awesome :) lol we weren’t sure what we were getting into with having an apartment in the house but we honestly wouldn’t have it any other way- for instance… (this is crazy) but we get a knock on our door this evening and Pam has made us homemade mixed berry muffins with chocolate- who does that!? SO SWEET. Pam usually pays whoever is in the house for using the laundry machines and T.J. wouldn’t have that- so he mentioned “just make me some cookies every now and then” well she was really serious and did! :) and as crazy as it is she goes to a Southern Baptist Church here in Ithaca (we attended the same in Guthrie) we will visit the church but she did tell us there were about 10 members…. :) We know we have been blessed by her- b/c we wouldn’t have been able to get this house unless there WAS an apartment in in b/c it lowers the rent for us… and with it being double then it was in OK we needed all the help we could get! She has her own entrance to her house and everything. Okay... on to something else!
GETTING SETTLED IN
Let me start off by saying we COULD NOT have made this move without all the help we received, thank you to the whole Ross family and my mom and James!! Oops I can’t forget Dennis Hewitt either!!! :) Troy and Debbie helped us SO MUCH here in NY. I mean I’m sitting in a house practically all decorated and ready to live in!! If they wouldn’t have helped us I’d still be unpacking the kitchen!! We had SO MUCH FUN with Troy and Debbie here. We are still getting used to them not being here as they left on Tuesday. We felt like they were supposed to live here with us! Debbie and Troy are troopers and worked around the clock!! We had MANY laughing fits and Debbie would clean our feet for us in the bathtub every time we “went out” b/c they’d be BLACK from working so hard outside/inside. I won’t forget our first night here- we brought in a mattress and plopped it on the living room floor for Debbie and Troy and T.J. and I were on the floor on some mattress pads- Troy rolled off the mattress on top of me and we couldn’t stop laughing for a LONG time- Troy why would we get so giddy at night time!? Lol. We played boxers or briefs (a board game, and yes Sara I still have this game of yours!!! Lol) and had some hilarious times then too!!! Saying goodbye to them was really tough- they left us with some letters that had us both crying in my car after we left them at the airport. They are such givers.
Okay this went on A LOT longer then I thought I was going to write and I have SO MUCH MORE to say so I’m going to end this blog right here and hope I can add some pictures to it- I will make an album on facebook too of the house if you want to look there as well. I’ll blog more about T.J.’s position at Cornell, job opportunities for me, and lots of other stuff… I’ll try and leave you with some differences we have found from OK to NY :)
*We aren’t allowed to talk on our phones while driving (unless we have a hands free device- which weirds me out!!)
*By law we have to recycle- don’t get me wrong I’m totally down for this!! But it’s a little more complicated then you think, everyone is composting some of their trash or turning it in for money or saving it for designated pick up days- I have a lot to learn!! Oh! And it costs $1 for each bag of trash you want to throw away! And you pay for your trash service… not sure if we did that in OK or not?! :)
*GREEN GREEN GREEN- NY is definitely A LOT more aware of being green, which is awesome! It will be fun to learn more ways I can help out the environment.
*If I had to put a label on the sort of people out here I would say a majority of the people are “hippyish” not everyone of course but I mean I never saw people in OK like I do here.. you know the whole girls not shaving and stuff… sorry not a fan! :) The people here are just a lot FASTER- I literally feel so overwhelmed and out of place in the grocery store and stuff, I know that sounds strange but I feel like I’m annoying people or something!! Also the drivers ARE NOT friendly- and even the guy at the bank that was born and raised here in NY will admit that!! He said there are FEW nice drivers here… T.J. has gotten frustrated a couple of times ;) Don’t get me wrong we have met some really nice people… they just aren’t OKIES!!!
*The road system isn’t on the “grid system” like most cities- that is SO CONFUSING and frustrating, we have taken SO MANY wrong turns- it’s really just a maze out here!!
*Obviously things are pricier up here as well.
*Not very many franchises, which is great for the small businesses
*The accents!! :)
*Farmer’s markets and fresh picked produce on so many corners!! This will be something I will definitely be taken advantage of!!
We were expecting more of the NYC feel when really Ithaca- and especially Brooktondale is kind of country!!! A lot better then we expected!
ALRIGHT that is it for know- love you all and remember my cell is still free to call!! ;) BUT we do have HORRIBLE/NO service here in Brooktondale so I usually get all my voicemails/texts when I go into the city.
Off to go hang out with T.J. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)