Chatting about life

Check out my new blog

2010-09-13T17:41:00.001-04:00

I've started a new blog which I might just update more often so check me out over there:

www.sewhealthylife.wordpress.com

Whew, glad it's summer! Oh wait, it's almost over....

2010-08-18T00:12:00.002-04:00

Yep, it's true. The summer is almost over (by the Labor Day deadline that most people go by) and to me I feel as though I finally have some time to enjoy it! I tried to squeeze in the summertime activities of the Ohio State Fair and Irish Fest and now am trying to get in as many pool days as possible!

If I keep up with this blog, be warned I might use it to showcase my photography practice shots. Just a warning....we'll see if i update this more often than I have been! Hope everyone is having a good summer : )

I can do that!

2010-07-15T18:30:00.002-04:00

I've been known to see anything creative and think "Oh, I can do THAT!" Sometimes it's true and other times, well, let's just say buying whatever "that" is would be better than my creation.

A few weeks ago I talked to a real estate agent/sports photographer and got inspired to really make a go at being a photographer. I love taking photos and like sports so of course I could do THAT. In my inspired state I sent off an e-mail to a company looking for a race photographer and what do you know, they e-mailed me back. The big question now is, can I do THAT? We'll see. It's only an e-mail and not a paid gig just yet but we'll see how this goes!

Turn the other cheek....errr door

2010-06-30T10:03:00.002-04:00

I am beginning to think my car is a magnet for accidents. Two years ago my car had so much damage from the wind storm (namely from shingles flying off of a friend's condo development's roofs) that my whole got repainted! Woo Hoo! I thought I had that made. A four or five-year-old car that looks brand new! It was nice while it lasted but perhaps its extra shine has attracted other cars to back into it while its parked! Just as I am about ready to take my car in to get the doors repainted from a nice gentleman in the Wendy's parking backing up into my car while I stood next to it, someone backs into the other side of my car last night! What are the odds.... Here's to another fun adventure of getting quotes on the repair and all that. Maybe I'll get fun rental car to drive!

Book review: After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery

2010-06-22T21:07:00.002-04:00

I finished my latest book for the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze program After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery by R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr. I thought it would be an interesting read but not so much. Interesting yes, but I literally needed to use my dictionary for almost every page! I learned a little history on the conservative movement and an insight into the 2008 election which was cool. Plus, it talked about how the conservative movement has been declared "dead" many times and keeps coming back and sometimes stronger than ever. Another insight was how inaccurate information that is repeated over and over in the media becomes seemingly accurate as the years go on and it isn't corrected.

Learning about the history and insights into modern politics was interesting but I just couldn't get past the high vocabulary. I'm sure Tyrell fans will love the book, but for a "newbie" it's too much effort to pull out the dictionary for literally every page of the book (for example, "Goldberg joined that lugubrious cadre," "there was less bonhomie among conservatives" and "she suffered an abrupt detumescense.")

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze program.

I received a free copy of this book through the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze program.

Kicking it up a notch

2010-05-11T00:08:00.002-04:00

Isn't it funny how we all get inspired to finish home improvement projects when we have guests coming to visit? Or, maybe it's wanting to finish these projects is what invites the guest to come in the first place? Whatever it is, let's just say inspiration struck tonight as I completed round one of painting my entryway. The idea has only been in my head for months and the paint supplies sitting in my family room for a week but tonight was the night! I knocked it out in about 3.5 hours so go me : )

What's the occasion you say? My boyfriend's brother, sister-in-law and two nieces are flying in from Boston for Memorial Day weekend. Thinking it would be fun for them to meet some Columbus friends, I decided "Let's have a cookout! I can host it at my place!" Well, home improvement projects here I come since tonight the cookout became a reality. Next up, ripping out the ugly bushes out back. Oh and listening to the Avett Brothers music so I can be well-versed when I go to the concert that weekend with them (the other reason they are coming to town.)
Lucky for me the complete new album is on-line:
http://myplay.com/audio_player/avettbros/341693/492534/492546?allowBrowsing=0

Maybe I'll post pics someday of my completed home improvement projects.

Thee who give a gift may taketh the gift away....

2010-04-02T10:43:00.002-04:00

Maybe it's just because I'm in one of those moods. You know the mood where everything in life is just bugging you? The dead ends in life, the relationship woes, the post-vacation letdown, the job opportunities that aren't and everything else just makes you want to scream. Whatever it may be, I am feeling the desire to taketh the gift away..... You buy someone a seemingly nice gift to no avail. It just makes you want to go to their house and take it back ; )

Enjoying the second act

2010-03-30T11:57:00.004-04:00

I remember years ago Jane Fonda wrote a book about enjoying the third act of life or something related to her turning 60 and enjoying her next thirty years. As I am now firmly in my thirties, you could call this stage of life from 30 to 60 as the "second act." It's funny because after spending a weekend with thirty of my "closest acquaintances" in a beach house in Holden Beach, NC for a friend's wedding and hearing friends woes of family scenarios I know what this act will be all about. These thirty years are all about letting things go. You realize that few things are that important to make a big fuss over them. The focus comes off of you doing things just for you and instead focuses more on others. It's a nice thought that hopefully gets perfected as the decades of this act continue.

Here are some photos from my weekend at the beach:
Marren and Kelli in the car after the ceremony

Cuter than cute flower girl Emma

Josh's poor nieces and nephews freezing on the beach during the ceremony

Beautiful almost sunrise at the beach

Book Review: Everyone Communicates Few Connect by John C. Maxwell

2010-03-21T19:19:00.002-04:00

I'm starting a new project of reviewing books for Thomas Nelson Publishers and posting my reviews on this blog and on a consumer site. (You might have noticed the "Book Sneeze" ad in my sidebar). So here I go with my first review:

In John C. Maxwell's latest book "Everyone Communicates Few Connect" you see why he is a longtime author---he is great at it! This book focuses on how to not merely just talk to others but to really connect with them and make a difference. It outlines in bullets and story form examples of traits of a good communicator. While the book breaks down "connecting" into three areas of one-on-one, in a group and with an audience, it mainly focuses on public speaking. If you're looking to connect to an audience then this is the book for you. If you want to connect one-on-one then I'd look elsewhere as there's limited information/examples of that. While the writing, stories and quotes from others are good, another reviewer on here is right at saying the prose comes across as a little too polished at times.

All in all, if you want to know how to speak to groups or break down what helps you relate well to others then this book is a good choice.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

"Hip" new nickname

2010-03-01T23:09:00.003-05:00

I took a trip down blog-memory lane the other day and almost cried laughing at sweet Amelia calling me "Kissy" when she first started talking! My most recent nickname that isn't as sweet is my new role as a "maid" in a friend's wedding! Maybe it's one of those hip names that is lost on me but I still think I might send a note saying "just so we're clear, I don't do windows..."

Catching me in the act

2010-02-24T23:42:00.003-05:00

As I look through other people's photos of me from trips I've taken this same pose seems to come up often: me staring at my camera. I could show more of those shots but really this is the most flattering : ) It kind of makes me laugh now because I've finally come to realize that maybe I should focus on photography since obviously it's a theme in my life! We'll see what comes of it as in just a hobby or more in life but one thing is for sure is that they will be more photos of me and my camera....
(In case you are wondering what I'm looking at in all of these shots of me. Well, more than likely it's one of the photos below or any other pretty DOOR I have found along my way.)

What's your name again?

2010-02-21T21:40:00.001-05:00

After watching the Olympics this weekend I had one of those feeling old moments like I can't hear what they are saying. The sportscaster mentioned Bode Miller's daughter's name. I swear it was "Stacey." Someone else thought it was "Kacey." It turns out to be "Dacey." Never would have got that one! haha

The Highlight Reel

2010-02-16T20:50:00.003-05:00

For the past five months or so, I've had the privilege of getting to know the cute curlyhead pictured above. Our usual greetings include him giving me the highlight of his day/week right away: "Hi Kaci! I scored a touchdown at my football game!" "Hi Kaci! I got a DSI for Christmas!" Tonight, however, we turned a corner. "Hi Kaci! I heard you have a SEVEN foot icicle hanging from your house!!!" Wow. I made the highlight reel...

On-line Christmas shopping observations

2009-12-07T23:53:00.002-05:00

1. I sat down about three hours ago to check out some Christmas gift ideas on-line. I think the free shipping option isn't so "free" when it takes you three hours to figure out just what to buy to qualify for it.

2. I always laugh when Jay Leno used to start his monologues with "Americans are getting so fat...." well, apparently it's true. You try finding pants for a tall, thin guy and let me know what you find.

Life when you hang around a ten-year-old boy

2009-11-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

"Hey Kaci, watch this!"
Said ten-year-old boy hands me a cell phone video entitled "Mike farting part 1 of 3."

Today's Facebook status

2009-11-05T22:38:00.002-05:00

If I felt the need to share about my day's adventure with 300 of my closest friends, it would go like this:

Kaci Brown got her very first speeding ticket today on her way to a funeral. I know what you're thinking, what's the rush? The guy is dead....

Back to Never, Neverland

2009-10-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

I made it back from my European adventure and now back to work today. I must say when you go back to work after ten days away, you really start to realize why you look forward to vacation. Maybe it's just that I really, really need to find a different career. It could also be the family pooch that came to work today feeling rather gaseous (a pleasant mental image I know....) Or, maybe just depression tends to set in when it's a grey, rainy day in Columbus after perfect weather abroad.

Anyway, as I always say life is never boring (happy, sad, depressed, elated but never, ever is it boring). An old friend from high school messaged me on facebook tonight to say he'd be in town and wanted to get together for dinner so that's exciting. I definitely didn't expect to catch up with someone this week that I haven't seen in ten years. It's always fun to go back to your roots and those who know you well. It's like they have an insight into you that others don't. Granted your newer close friends know WAY more about you now but there's something about those who knew you at age 10 that can bring about what your life-long tendencies have been.

Up next, photos from my trip. Stay tuned.

Bolstering creativity

2009-08-31T22:22:00.003-04:00

I decided to go back to school this fall. Well, let's re-phrase that since my going back to school will not cost me anything or result in any degree or course credit. I decided to sit in on a marketing class at CCAD. Artie Isaac www.artieisaac.com is teaching it and I'm a fan. You can't miss me. I'm the "student" in dress pants who carries a purse and has a blackberry. I can be found next to the girl with the violet and pink backpack with the guitar.

I've always wanted to learn more about marketing so I thought this was my chance. Plus, everyone else is starting school so why not me. Here's some of my fellow friends who are starting their learning journey:

Nate who started kindergarten:

Eva who started a preschool program at the elementary school:

Jackson and Brynlee who started kindergarten (photo stolen from KP's facebook page : ) :

Giddiness dance: the things we say and do

2009-08-28T15:20:00.002-04:00

Over the last few weeks, in an effort to get to know that cute person in the room, I've noticed myself saying winning lines such as "We're both wearing green! We match!" All the while in my mind thinking "Did I just say THAT?!" Yes, yes I did....this getting to know someone thing may be a long road : ) haha

Politics aside...

2009-08-26T23:53:00.002-04:00

I've been glued to the TV tonight watching the coverage of Ted Kennedy. When I interned at the Statehouse our program went to DC for a week and got to briefly meet Sen. Kennedy. It was surreal to be in his office and see all these photos of the Kennedy family and think, to us, these are pics from magazines, but to him these are his relatives. It brought about a reality to the man aside from his public persona. Politics aside, it's remarkable for a man who encountered such public tragedy in his life and dealt with his own personal choices, to be able to continue on and fight for what he believed.

DC and beyond....

2009-08-19T23:10:00.005-04:00

Call it my summer of road trips or more accurately, my July 2009 of road trips: Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Athens, Ohio and the ever popular hike to DC. Here are a few pics of my trip to DC to bring in Carrie's surprise 30th birthday party (our main reason for going). Hopefully I can post other photos soon and get back to blogging more regularly!

Taking a tumble and my version of "priceless"

2009-08-05T00:41:00.000-04:00

I made it to Ultimate Frisbee for the second week in a row tonight. It went something like this:

Cost of wet and wild lipstick to "look cute" $1
Cost of cleats, shorts, t-shirt $40
Plenty of water, snacks $3
Taking a tumble face first and having your sweet twenty-something teammate sit out with you and tell you "uh...you have some grass stuck to your face......" PRICELESS

Question for the day

2009-06-29T17:03:00.001-04:00

I wonder how many people were truly concerned about the environment BEFORE it became trendy to "go green?"

When is lunch again?

2009-06-04T07:44:00.001-04:00

When you wake up at 4:50 a.m. and eat "breakfast" at 5:45 a.m. what time does that make lunch?

I have a feeling this may be a long day ; )

When the going gets tough, the tough get out of town part four

2009-05-28T21:42:00.003-04:00

Continuing on WTGGTTTGOOT tour, I hit the Outer Banks over Memorial Day weekend. It's actually the third annual beach trip for me and "the girls." This time we did a lot of sightseeing, took a lot of pictures and saw a lot of lighthouses. These are just a sampling of the weekend's photo shoot so stay tuned for more. Enjoy the cute photo of Charlie the dog who befriends you long enough to eat your lunch ;)

When the going gets tough, the tough get out of town

2009-05-12T22:12:00.004-04:00

Here are a few photos from my quick road trip to Nashville in April with some good friends from my small group. We happened upon a taping of the show "Can You Duet" which is like a country music version of American Idol. We had such fun! Plus, Naomi Judd was one of the judges so that was cool too. On the way home we saw the Oscar Meyer wienermobile. Nothing says roadtrip like the wienermobile with its "yummy" license plate.

Not wanting to be "that girl"

2009-04-29T22:51:00.003-04:00

I've always thought that I would hate to be the girl who is waiting and waiting for her boyfriend to propose. We've all heard the stories of how every holiday and trip holds the anticipation of the idea that "maybe this is it!"

Recently I've realized that second to not wanting to be "that girl" should be my latest role of being a close friend to the girl who is waiting and waiting for her boyfriend to propose! For the last five months or so every holiday, birthday etc. has been a "potential occasion" and now last night marked their two year anniversary. After a long line of holidays with his birthday, her birthday, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day and now the anniversary, it's been a long road.

The hard part is watching your friend get disappointed and knowing deep down that her boyfriend has NO IDEA that this is her expectation! (I'm learning that just because someone is a communication major doesn't mean they are necessarily good at communicating.... ; ) If only they lived in Columbus so I could share some wisdom with the poor guy! Oh well, we will see what happens.

All roads still lead to Arlington....

2009-04-25T00:07:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos of my trip to DC earlier this month. Sometimes getting away from it all is just what you need!

So funny!

2009-04-01T10:40:00.003-04:00

I've been in need of a good laugh lately and let me tell you that Google definitely helped me out in that department today. I know they tend to have a funny spin on April Fool's Day and this year is no different. Check out the (long) link below to see their latest invention. Let's just say that I am totally on board with CADIE!

https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F%3Fui%3Dhtml%26zy%3Dl&bsv=zpwhtygjntrz&scc=1<mpl=default<mplcache=2

Waiting for the red light to flash

2009-03-20T14:15:00.002-04:00

In the last month or two I have felt somewhat like a teenage girl waiting for the phone to ring. Only replace "teenage" with "30something" and "phone to ring" with "Blackberry to flash."

Yes, it's true. I turned in my older than old cell phone and my dad and I got Blackberries. It's a little crazy but it's true and let me tell you it was love at first sight : ) The only problem is now I'm in that anxiety ridden state of wanting to be in constant contact with my phone just in case the light flashes saying I have an email....It's my new "issue" that I need to work through and I realize that I may have a problem. It's comforting knowing that admitting I have a problem is the first step to recovery!

Funny how I'm not anxious for the phone to actually ring, just for it to flash.....technology is a strange, beautiful thing: )

Reliving the Gilmore Girls

2009-01-27T23:11:00.002-05:00

I checked out the whole first season of the Gilmore Girls from the library this weekend. My thought was to send them on to a friend who really needs a pick-me-up. For somewhat illegal reasons that didn't happen, but I have been enjoying watching them myself! I amazed that the cast and storyline stayed true during its whole nine seasons. Of course, watching the episodes make me miss the show being on the air but I figure I have eight more seasons to go so I'm good for awhile!

Another big event on Tuesday....

2009-01-22T23:20:00.004-05:00

My nephew turned 18!!! Wow.....he's an adult now. I feel really old : ) Happy Belated Birthday Joey!

Oh, the times they are a changin'

2009-01-21T23:54:00.003-05:00

I must admit I watched the Inaugural festivities most of the day yesterday. I saw the meeting with the Bushes and Obamas at the White House (way to bring a gift Michelle!), the flubbed oath, the masses of people and the non-stop coverage of America's first BLACK president (no one seemed to highlight the fact his mom wasn't black, but really who am I to point that out...) Honestly, I'm waiting for the day they stop saying Barack Obama, America's first BLACK president and just call him President Obama. All in all, it was a great day for political junkies like me--even one who didn't vote for change. It's inspiring to see many people's excitement for what they believe this new president can bring about in our country. I hope their positive outlook continues because "change" doesn't happen fast.

An unexpected resolution

2009-01-08T18:02:00.002-05:00

'Tis the season of New Year's resolutions! I usually don't make mine public if I make them at all. This year though I sort of stumbled onto a new thing and thought "hey, maybe this can be my resolution!" Of course, if I decide to break it, then it wasn't *really* my resolution.....ha ha

Sunday night I was reading an article in Prevention magazine about the importance of eating natural foods and how much better it is for your body. I thought it was a great article and had a lot of merit. It was a little weird for me when on the way to work on Monday morning I decided maybe I should stop drinking so much pop/soda/coke. Yep, that's all it took. I'm four days sober of my pop addiction and counting......we'll see how it goes.

Winter fun in Ann Arbor

2008-12-23T00:16:00.004-05:00

This weekend we made the trip up to Ann Arbor, Michigan to hang out with Adam, Jess and their three boys under the age of 4.5! Wow, what fun it was! Also, wow, who knew how tired you could get keeping up with three kids! It was kind of funny being in the state up north as we like to call it here in Columbus and telling people you are from Ohio--especially when I told them I am from "that part" of Ohio. I always thought the OSU/Michigan rivalry was slighted toward the OSU fans being crazier about it than the UM fans, but apparently the rivalry is alive and well up north as well!

It's about time....

2008-12-14T01:03:00.003-05:00

for me to post something on my blog! I thought I'd go for photos since I really should be in bed instead of surfing the net!

Here's some pictures from this fall. For some reason, I like to take photos of the rental cars I use. This car is my longest rental yet at the impressive three week mark from when my car got re-painted. I went to a women's event at my friend Amy's church where Candace Cameron Bure spoke and man, look at DJ Tanner now! ; ) The other photos of some highlights of the fall and me embracing the differences between men and women---drilling into a pumpkin?! ha ha

A journey down memory lane

2008-11-12T21:50:00.002-05:00

Tonight I write to my readers from my new Sony laptop. It's been quite a journey to actually buy a new laptop after much, much, did I say much?, research. Anyway, I ended up needing to buy a new computer because I inadvertently ended up LEASING my old laptop--bad idea. Let's just say this new laptop cost me less than it would have cost to purchase my almost three-year-old computer.

As I transfer files from one hard drive to another I can't help but reminisce. I am typing in all of the pages I have bookmarked. Some of the pages bring me back: "When should you replace your mattress?," (ahhh the comfy bed in Chicago--at least I have something positive to remember from that jaunt to the windy city); "Austin's visitor's guide (the trip that never was)," a folder on "Europe Trip" (the trip that was) and then there is the random "Daniel Ng gallery" link--Daniel who?

It's all very funny. I am feeling a little strange about some of the pages that won't make it to my new laptop, but I rest assured knowing new pages will take their place and oh, what memories await : )

Brooklyn?

2008-10-14T10:37:00.002-04:00

It's not everyday that you look for local job opportunities and instead find out about ones in Brooklyn. Really, I know so many people looking to get to the Big Apple and here in the span of 25 minutes, the one job at the creative group I've been eyeing for months is located in Brooklyn....how funny is that. This is their new, not yet announced, location in NYC and what do you know, the only job fit in the company is a position in the four person office in the city that never sleeps. Did I mention, I like sleep?

I didn't quite know what to think going into my informational interview this morning but the idea of moving to NYC wasn't on the radar. Not to worry blog readers because it doesn't sound like I will be going there. There's that thing called relocation package that companies like to avoid! We'll see though as stranger things have happened.

Three Cheers for Hurricane Ike!

2008-10-06T12:37:00.001-04:00

So with the stock market tumbling, the weather turning cold and the political discussions growing more and more annoying by the day, I have some good news to share. Thanks to Hurricane Ike and the $4,249 damage in scratches it did to my car, Grange Insurance is paying to have my car repainted and for me to drive a rental car for the 16 business days it will take to complete! Wow, go insurance! I am feeling a heck of a lot better about those premium payments I've been making all these years.

Congratulations!!!!

2008-07-25T22:55:00.002-04:00

So, I've been a major blogging slacker of late. I don't know what to use as an excuse so instead I'll blog about something more exciting: Ryan and Allison getting engaged!!! How exciting....reading that news sort of woke me up--so much for being well-rested for my bike trip to the Jazz & Ribs Festival tomorrow!

At some point, I'll post some photos of my June that was full of trips.

What not to say in your job interview

2008-06-10T00:36:00.002-04:00

I found this online and I think it's hilarious! A girl was talking about her group interview at the store Anthropologie:

"I once interviewed there and didn't get the job. They did a group interview and asked us all "If you were a raindrop, where would you fall?" My response was, "Are you serious?"

Personally, I would have given her the job with that answer! ; )

Bringing you back down to reality

2008-06-05T12:10:00.002-04:00

You always hear the stars say when they go home, the people closest to them don't really care that they're famous. They still have chores to do and grandma still complains that you don't call her enough.

Today I sort of realized that my family falls into that "bringing you back down to reality" category too. I told my dad about a glowing (fabulous, outstanding) recommendation a friend had received from one of their mentors. After I read it to my dad, he says "Wow that is good. Really though, you wonder if the person deserves all that?"

Nothing like deflating someone's balloon to keep your head out of the clouds.... ; )

Kmart for lunch

2008-05-22T13:51:00.002-04:00

I stopped off at Kmart today to pick up some two liters of pop to feed my soda drinking addiction (I think I gave up on trying to like coffee ; ) Who knew that Little Caesar's pizza was still in Kmart? I ended up getting a medium pizza for $3! Wow! I just asked for two slices of pizza and the lady said, well the whole pizza is only $4 and I'll give it to you for $3 since it's been out of the oven for a few minutes....sounds good to me.

Holy, speedy government and the making of a season finale

2008-05-19T20:34:00.003-04:00

I was anticipating getting my $600 "bonus check" from the government in oh, many weeks from now. Today, I got a letter in the mail saying I should receive it by May 16 (it's already May 19) and wouldn't you know, it showed up in my bank account a few days ago! Who knew speedy would be a word I would use for a government agency! Go IRS or Dept. of the Treasury : )

Since the writer's strike has been over, I've been catching up on the few shows I watch regularly. I tune into the Sunday night ABC lineup of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. A few weeks ago, I watched the season finale for Brothers and Sisters and got caught up in seeing Scottie and Kevin say their vows in their commitment ceremony. The rest of the week, I thought about how ten years ago the whole world viewed gay relationships so differently! When Ellen came out so to speak, her show got canceled and we didn't hear from her for years and now the ceremony is the big event of the year? Wow. To my surprise, I watched the finale of Desperate Housewives to see the season end with yet another commitment ceremony! My goodness, is this the new trend? I can see writer's saying "Okay, yeah, we have the cliff hanger ending, the story wrap up and the commitment ceremony so we're all good. Let's call it a season...."

"Sorry Mr. President, I'm going to have to call you back...."

2008-05-13T12:59:00.004-04:00

We've been having some computer problems at work lately and we finally decided to spend the money to get them fixed. Of course, they are not the "call the free Realtor tech hot line" type problems but specific issues with our specialized property management software. Basically the program that keeps ALL of our financial files and tends to be something we'd like to keep working.

I laugh because at the rate of $200 an hour, I find NOTHING more important than my phone call with tech support.

I am woman, here me roar

2008-05-08T11:07:00.003-04:00

About every five years, my family has the same heated discussion about family businesses sharing the same space. I mean it's like clockwork. Once again, we're in the midst of this "discussion." My view is two unrelated businesses should not be sharing the same space. Family businesses are hard enough let alone co-mingling unrelated entities and difficult personalities. The other entity, who would be the one having office space rent FREE, begs to differ.

I thought everything would come to a head yesterday but apparently I was a day off. Today an individual related to me said that I told someone in the other office to "F?*& off!" Yeah right. Anyone that knows me, knows that I doubt those words would ever come out of my mouth. With that kind of accusation, I find yet another reason NOT to co-mingle offices! This should be an adventure....Stay tuned.

It doesn't get much better than this

2008-05-05T12:39:00.003-04:00

Being a journalism major in college, I've always been around the literary types. They all dream of writing the award-winning novel and coming up with the best story. I tend to think the best story is one that isn't written but lived. This whole Ohio Attorney General story proves my point. With all due respect, this whole scandal is HILARIOUS! It doesn't get much better than this. Defiant politician mixing business and pleasure, having his cronies work in his office, having young co-workers frequent his condo, one crony asks an attorney to lie under oath and another is unbuttoning some girls pants not to mention driving under the influence in his state owned vehicle! Who could come up with this stuff!

Now the plot thickens as every Democratic official in Ohio is asking for said politician to step down and he is in essence screaming "Hell no, I won't go!!" I mean, who can blame him pulling in his high powered state paycheck and having all this fun?! (I'm being sarcastic here.) Granted, I'm sure his party wants to save face before the elections in November but how many people actually defy their party officials so publicly! This is FANTASTIC!

Here's the link to the Dispatch article for your reading pleasure:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/05/dann.html?sid=101

Vindicated

2008-05-02T11:05:00.005-04:00

For the last few weeks, I have followed the scandal brewing in the Ohio Attorney General's office with a smirk--and I'm not one to smirk. It's not everyday that the most vocal opponent of the Ohio Republican party has his day to shine. Funny how his shining moment involves young co-workers spending the night in his condo and other shenanigans from his longtime friends and now top officials.

I applaud former state senator Ben Espy for staying true to his job in the Attorney General's office and investigating his fellow co-workers and fellow Democrats in this case. There's great individuals on both sides of the aisle and I'm glad to have worked with Senator Espy.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/02/dannnew.html?sid=101

Jumping on the bandwagon

2008-04-29T22:44:00.004-04:00

I was telling some friends how I went to see the movie Juno over the weekend. I thought it was pretty good--maybe not the best movie to see with your mom, but nonetheless an interesting story. I was a little surprised to hear people say they weren't going to see it because they didn't want to support teen pregnancy. Hmm.....really? By going to see this movie, I'm encouraging teen pregnancy? Interesting. I guess it's all in the way you view things. Personally, I thought I was just going to see a movie, but apparently people think there's more to it than that.....I'll have to remember to tell people when they go see violent movies, that I really don't appreciate them encouraging violence in our society....haha (It's a MOVIE people, a MOVIE : )

More photos from the road--too bad the Pope and I didn't schedule our time in DC better...

2008-04-18T10:34:00.007-04:00

Well, the Pope and I need to get on a better travel schedule! We missed each other in Washington, DC by exactly two months : ) The photo above comes from a co-worker of my friend who lives there. The cool thing is, the NY Times ran a similar photo to this one only a little closer so it looks like they had great seats for the welcome event!

Anyway, I made my way over to DC a few months back and took in some of the famous sights. I love paying tribute to Albert Einstein when I go, but unfortunately, I never seen to get there during the day so here's my blurry nighttime shot of him.

Having fun taking photos inside the National Cathedral:

Paying homage to another DC landmark:

Life lessons you learn in kindergarten

2008-04-07T15:48:00.003-04:00

This weekend I went to a cookout up in Powell. My friends are house sitting there so they decided to have some friends over. Our group consisted of five adults and four kids under the age of five. Let me tell you, we had a fun time! If the kids didn't wake up every morning at 6:30 a.m., I might have taken them home with me.

When everyone got ready to go home, the kids put on their pajamas for the half hour trip home. As one boy, who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent, pulled off his jeans, he also pulled off his underwear and then ran off to the bathroom since he "had to go." As his dad put both his underwear and his pajamas back on him, he imparted a life lesson to his son which many adults could learn from. "Son, when we're at someone else's house, we need to keep our underwear ON..." Ahh...the things you learn when you're three : )

Being the friend you want to have

2008-04-04T00:06:00.003-04:00

We all hear about the saying about if you want a certain quality in a friend, spouse, co-worker, you first need to work to have that quality in yourself. These last few days, I'm proud to say I feel like I've been the friend I would want to have. When a good friend needed help which involved a last minute road trip and many hours in the car, I said "Sure, I can go." I didn't know many details at the time, but I knew it was important to have someone be with my friend. There really wasn't a question on if I would go or not if I was able.

As I think back to the past few days, I realize my thoughts and decision probably came from the good friends I've been blessed to have in my life. I mean, really, you don't learn to be a good friend in a bubble! My old roommate and her college friends were such good "friend examples." When their friend's father was dying, they pulled together their small after college salaries to buy a plane ticket for her to come home to see her dad. Wow....talk about an example I will remember for the rest of my life and more than likely made me a better friend for it.

My bags and I went to Europe and I brought back some great photos...

2008-03-23T15:35:00.030-04:00

This blog entry is about six months behind schedule but I thought I'd post some photos from my trip to Eastern Europe in September. We had an AMAZING time and I'm not one to say that lightly. We started off in Vienna, Austria and made our way to Budapest, Hungary, Prague, Czech Republic and Berlin, Germany. We had some lunch stops along the way stopping in Bratislava which is the capital of Slovakia (since my mom's family is "Slovak" this was a pretty cool place to see) and a few stops in Germany including visiting Dresden where my good friend Patrick is from and where he and Claudia spent a year before they got married.

My favorite city by far was Budapest, pronounced Buda-pesht, which is actually two cities, Buda and Pest (remember it's "pesht"). Buda is the hilly part known as the hills of Buda and the Pest side is flat. It's a beautiful city on the Danube River that is "illuminated" beautifully at night. Wendy and I got to know the city well after an adventurous "quiet evening" in which we tried to find a place for dinner---needless to say four hours later we finally made our way back home.

Berlin was a second favorite although it might have been that by the end of nine days (eleven overall) on the road, any city that more resembled home was fantastic. Plus, it was nice that we knew more about the recent history that occurred in Berlin.

The trip ended back in Vienna and we had a farewell dinner with what we called our North American contingent made up of a couple from Los Angeles and two men from Canada. It was quite funny that of all the 44 people on the tour there were only FOUR people from the U.S.! The rest of the group hailed from Australia, New Zealand, a few more Canadians, a lady from Ireland, a number of people from South Africa, a mother and daughter from Singapore and an extended family from Malaysia.

Here is our trip in photos (be thankful you don't have to sit through all 300 of them ; )

A protest on our first day in Vienna. We think it has something to do with carbon emissions but I just thought the blue people were so cute! Later on in the trip, Wendy and I would be protesting the fact that the U.S. dollar was at its lowest point, to date, against the Euro---a $5 coke anyone?

Look at the crosswalk signs in Vienna. The people are so dressed up to cross the street.

Wendy showcasing our lovely "narrow half pillow" in Budapest. The joke was on us though as two more hotels had the "half pillow."

Beautiful shots of Budapest. They even have a castle district!

Old Town Square in Prague at night

Prague in the daytime. If you visit, you will see the famed Astronomical Clock which chimes every hour.

I could show photos from Dresden and one of a church that money from Columbus helped restore, but really the most intriguing part of our lunchtime there was this sign for "fish hotdogs" in the mall.... ;)

Our ultra-modern hotel in Berlin. Thank GOD for bigger pillows! This hotel had an interesting set up as the sink and shower were right in the middle of the room and the shower had a clear glass door on it. It made for a couple of interesting mornings...

Here is an inside shot of the dome on Berlin's Reichstag Building which houses the German Parliament.

Here are some of our tour friends in front of the last remaining section of the Berlin Wall. Ian and John are from Canada and Alice is from Ireland.

Buy a Mercedes....buy a Mercedes. This was the view from our hotel window of this rotating Mercedes sign.

Cool museum on the history of West and East Berlin. I got to play soccer inside the museum with a native. It's cool how sports transcend the language barrier.

The most maddening part of the whole trip was having to go past about SIX IKEAs on our way and not being able to stop in any of them! Granted getting up at 5 a.m. and going to bed at 9:30 p.m. wasn't much fun either ;)

This is a photo you have all probably seen before. Picture this area full of people with the German flags on either side of the podium and Hitler speaking. This is Hitler's rally grounds which was sort of an eerie place to see.

A photo from the bus of the German countryside on our road trip back to Vienna.

Our own farewell dinner with half of the North American contingent.

The real question....

2008-03-10T16:11:00.002-04:00

I've read a lot of articles and blogs today asking everyone "What did you do during the blizzard of '08?" That's an interesting thought but really, did anyone do anything different than anyone else? If I could guess, most people's responses would be this: I stayed inside, I played in the snow, I talked to my neighbor. (Really, if you ask me, this is the REAL story--since when do people actually talk to their neighbors? I mean we IM people we've never met who live in Tokyo, but we never talk to the person who lives down the street who could actually help us in case of emergency).

Anyway, it made me think about a real question that should garner a more interesting response. What did you do during the writer's strike? We all talk about this grand idea of getting TV out of our lives and ALL the free time we would have but did we really do that? I know for me, I caught up on the movies I hadn't seen along with maybe getting to bed at reasonable time a few more nights than usual. So, what did you do during the writer's strike?

Countdown to IKEA!!!!

2008-03-10T12:40:00.004-04:00

I'm a big IKEA fan so it goes without saying that I am more than EXCITED that the store in West Chester (less than two hours from here) is opening on Wednesday!!! After reading this article in the local Dispatch, I think these fans exceed even my level of excitement...camping out two days ahead of time? Taking two days off work? Starting your own "IKEA come to Ohio" website? Wow....all I can say, is after Wednesday, let the roadtrips begin : )

www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/03/09/IKEA.ART_ART_03-09-08_D1_EI9ILDI.html?sid=101

Talk about repetitive

2008-03-06T19:15:00.002-05:00

With all this election coverage and being sick on Ohio's primary day which meant I had all day to indulge in the 24 hour non-stop news, I have politics on the brain. Today, I had a thought. If Hillary Clinton should win the general election and become our next president, we potentially could have a Clinton or Bush in the White House for almost three decades--consecutively.....WOW!!! Granted, it would be 28 years at the most unless of course, another Bush runs for president after Hillary's potential eight year run.

Wishing you....

2008-02-14T17:12:00.001-05:00

a Happy Valentine's Day!

Kind of amazing

2008-02-13T16:51:00.004-05:00

I know that we are all so used to technology and the wonders of the Internet that we don't think much about how amazing it really is.

Today the amazement sort of hit me. We were dealing with one of our owners who has a home in Worthington that we manage while he and his wife are in the Netherlands for three years. I mean, how cool is that? Someone referred this couple to us a few weeks before they left and they entrusted us with taking care of their house. We rent their home, deposit the money in their account and correspond with them via email about questions while they enjoy their time overseas. All of this definitely wouldn't have been possible or maybe not as easy without the help of technology---pretty cool : )

World champions?

2008-02-06T17:11:00.000-05:00

As I watched the SuperBowl on Sunday night (thanks to Yoho and Dean hosting two fun parties!), I found it funny that the winner was declared the "World Champion." I mean, the last time I checked, I thought only other U.S. teams where in the National Football League. I mean doesn't even the name NFL suggest that only one nation's football league is playing for the title? Kind of funny....

OU Grad Gives BIG

2008-02-01T14:24:00.001-05:00

From my years as a tour guide at Ohio University, I got to learn about all the interesting alumni who called OU their alma mater. One of the most interesting was finding out Nancy Cartwright AKA the voice of Bart Simpson went to school in Athens. Today, I find out that she just donated $10 million dollars to the Church of Scientology! Wow....it's good to know that other former OU students are doing so well : )

A week of babies...

2008-01-25T10:37:00.000-05:00

This will be the last baby photo for awhile--I promise! This one was too cute to not post about though. I helped Jason and Kellie buy their first condo a few years back and now they are a family of four--wow! (Plus, doesn't Kellie look FANTASTIC for just having had a baby!)

Hearing from former "clients/buyers" is one of things I like about my job. When I help people realize one of their life goals of buying a home, they tend to keep me in the loop of their other lifelong accomplishments too--kind of like you are immediately put on the family friend list....forever...or at least, you hope so : )

It's a girl...

2008-01-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

I have a new second cousin (and one that is close enough to see on a regular basis!) Alana Marie who was born yesterday! It was an exciting day for my aunt who has two boys and two grandsons so now she has a grandDAUGHTER! I love the photo above of my cousin's stepdaughter holding her new sister. The photo is very similar to a photo of my own sister holding me when she was 13 and thinking "Geez....I'm 13....I wanted a little sister YEARS ago NOT NOW!"

Sleeping like a champ

2008-01-22T15:16:00.000-05:00

After watching little Jonah (see photos from last entry) log an impressive 14 hours of continuous sleep this weekend, I thought "Man, I wish I could do that!" Apparently, I can. I went to bed at an early (for me) 10:30 p.m. and woke up at 9:45 a.m. today and I probably could have slept longer....I think I'm warding off getting sick but hey, it's good to know I can still log some good sleep : )

Jonah turns one and more photos

2008-01-20T23:19:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend visiting family up in Northeast Ohio so I was able to help Marsha and John celebrate little Jonah's first birthday! The day started off with his prep time of bathing for the occasion (notice the photo of him being modest) and then seeing some good cake action : ) Let's just say, this kid LOVES his cake!

A shout also goes out to my nephew Joey (known as "Joe" now) who turned 17 today!!! Wow....my nephew is 17....did I mention my sister is 13 years older than me ; )

It feels like Christmas!

2008-01-16T13:30:00.001-05:00

I just signed up for my free one month trial with Blockbuster and let tell you, it feels like Christmas! I'm not even a huge movie fan, but it is fun to get things in the mail : ) Winter tends to be my time to catch up on all the movies I thought about seeing but didn't because the weather was too nice. Now that the weather isn't so nice and work takes over in the winter, I thought it was a good time to have some fun sent directly to me!

I'm definitely a fan so far so we'll see if I get time to watch the movies. In the "queue" this week is "The Queen," "The Breakup" (currently Vince Vaughn is showing me around Chicago in the bonus features) and an Amanda Bynes movie. We'll see if Christmas continues....stay tuned : )

Being creative

2008-01-09T19:18:00.001-05:00

Lately, I've had the yearning to be creative. I've added photographers' websites to my list of daily internet surfing and I've definitely been inspired. So much in fact that I might also participate in the 365 Photo Project where you take a photo a day for a year. I don't have too much hope that I'll make it for a whole year but maybe at least a month. More than anything it gives me a reason to get to know my new digital camera (I LOVE IT!!!) Above is my first photo op for '08.

A side of coffee

2008-01-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

After all of my numerous years of being a diet soda (I call it pop) drinker, I'm branching out in new ways to get my caffeine. Namely coffee...or shall I say some non-fat dairy creamer and sugar with a side of coffee.... It's my version of Starbucks at a fraction of the price : )

I still love my diet pop but after numerous conversations about not knowing exactly what is in soda and the fact that it can erode away quarters, I thought it best to go with something a little more natural--and less erosive. We will begin our discussion about the non-natural ingredients in the non-fat creamer at a later date! Until then, here's to coffee---er, I mean a side of coffee!

Merry Christmas!!!

2007-12-25T02:03:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas blog readers!! I hope you have a great holiday. Thanks for tuning in to read my blog : ) I appreciate you!

Putting the "U" and "I" back in communication

2007-12-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

The United States gets a bad rap for its depressing low marital statistic of at least half, if not two thirds, of marriages that end in divorce. This makes most of us worry about the likelihood of our own odds of having a successful union someday. Frankly, it probably makes a lot of people just throw out the whole marriage idea altogether--I mean why try, if it's not going to work anyway....

Then you get to talking to different people about their own relationships and you start to make better sense of the low success rate. I get the idea that a lot of couples really don't talk all that much--at least not to EACH OTHER! It's funny the things you can ask people "Well, did you tell so and so how that makes you feel?" "No." "Did you talk about this aspect of that situation?" "No." "Have your ever brought up your expectations of what is happening?" "No." Geez people, what on earth are you talking to each other about?!?! Have a conversation or two and maybe some of these issues would really no longer be issues when you realize "Oh, that's what you meant by that! I was angry for nothing!" C'mon now, let's communicate!!! It would help out everyone!

Not his brightest moment....

2007-12-19T15:58:00.000-05:00

My longtime friend's boyfriend is a great gift giver. He's done the flower thing, he's sent her brownies while she was on a business trip, he's had chocolates sent to her apartment, he's ordered some of her favorite soft drink to be shipped to her for no apparent reason, he's bought a DVD off of eBay of a movie she talked about wanting, etc., etc. In general, he's done a good job in the gift department---almost to the point of making her friend's boyfriends really wish the guy would STOP because he's making them look bad!

Well, as with everything in life, at some point, all good things have to come to an end. This year the end was Christmas. His gift might have had less of a negative impact if he hadn't billed as it "coming from a store that has an armed guard there!" Most women would immediately think this has to be jewelry, yet it wasn't--it wasn't even close to being jewelry. What was this gift that had an armed guard at the door, you might ask. It was a car washing kit.....apparently the Advanced Auto Parts store in Maryland has an armed guard there, who would have guessed. The kicker is, she would NEVER hand wash her car! Like I said, not the guy's brightest moment ; )

It takes all kinds....

2007-12-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

Growing up I think most of us think the rest of the world is similar to us. We're all basically the same then as we get older we realize we do have differences and then one day you just accept the fact that some people beat to a totally different drummer than you do. Yesterday was one of those days.

First, I met the home owner who sort of embellished the details of his home to his agent. He listed his home with the details of "what could be" instead of what "is."

Then to end my day, I tried out a new gym class. The class was fantastic yet the instructor definitely danced to a different beat. Before class I was washing my hands in the locker room. The next thing I know the instructor came over to me and wiped powder off the back of my shorts! I mean this lady who never had officially met me is wiping something off my butt! It makes you wonder what she would feel comfortable doing if she knew me.....

(x-y) + [(qr-z) - d]=National Championship game

2007-11-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

After two straight weekends of hearing all the possibilities of how OSU could still make it to the National Championship game, I'm starting to get a headache.... : )

All I know is it's some big mathematical equation hinging on other teams losing and that all I need to do is say, GO OKLAHOMA!!!

Playing the alphabet game

2007-11-19T17:56:00.000-05:00

Today I had to turn on some utilities for one of our vacant properties. As is common, you have to spell out the street name. Some letters are easy, you know right away to say "A as in Apple, B as in Boy or E as in Edward." The letter "I" however, proved a little trickier for me. What starts with "I?" What did I come up with you ask? "Icky." "I as in Icky."

Zack-o-rama!

2007-11-15T00:07:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I finally got to meet Zack! I made my way up to suburban Detroit to spend the weekend "Griffin style" with Liz, Ryan and their five-month-old son Zack. Talk about a cute, happy baby! If they don't move back to Columbus soon, I'm sure I'll be visiting again in the near future : )

The world of social networking

2007-11-14T17:44:00.000-05:00

The biggest thing to change our age is the ease of keeping in touch with others. With email, instant messenger, cell phones and the abundance of social networking sites, there's really no reason to not have some contact with people you knew way back when.

With all that in mind, it still makes me laugh that my people I knew in high school (some well, some not that well) are now all connected. It's almost like it's this big tree that keeps growing. I get in touch with Alvin who is connected to Michael who found Sonia on there who still talks to Joy who has a message on there from Javine who knew Linda who talks to Colin etc. etc. All of who (whom? it's been awhile since grammar class!) are now connected to each other.

It's funny to get random insights from these people "So, how is the paint in your family room looking now?" This is from a girl who I didn't really know in high school but ended up living on the same floor in my dorm in college. Then there's my comment about how "Paul McCartney should get a prenuptial agreement with his next wife." This spurred the always insightful (and sarcastic) Colin to comment on how HE should marry Paul next and live the good life....if only both of them liked men ; )

All of these connections make me feel good. There's something about keeping up with people who knew you that is nice. Plus, it will make it a whole lot easier for me to recruit people to come to our high school reunion in a few years! haha

The wonder of the Internet

2007-11-05T13:20:00.000-05:00

With that advent of the Internet and all of the home information you can find on here about potential houses, it's definitely changed the real estate industry. You find your buyers have done their research when looking for the homes they might want to buy which is good. Sometimes, however, you worry that they have done TOO MUCH research....

A few weeks back, I took one of my favorite buying couples, Katie and Josh, out to see some houses. We walk in the door and Katie tells me what she has found out about the house.....and its owner.... "She bought the house in 2003 for $183,000, she just bought a home in Bexley for $400,000, she works at Abercrombie and Fitch and she runs marathons...."

Making up for lost time

2007-11-01T10:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't been to Chicago in years--closing in on a decade even. It's not that I haven't wanted to go, it just never seemed to work out quite right.

So when the opportunity to visit the windy city came up, I took it. Booked the flight on Southwest and was ready to go pack it all in to a weekend trip to make up for lost time.

Today I get a road trip email from some girlfriends about going somewhere next month. Guess where we're headed to in December.....Chicago.... : )

Southwest Airlines.....the non-commital way to fly

2007-10-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

Just adding to the reasons why Southwest Airlines is cool. You gotta LUV that (that's Southwest airline speak for "love" ; )

Remember when....

2007-10-26T20:30:00.000-04:00

I truly believe that each stage of life can be fun. I'm not a believer in this "college was the best years of my life" mentality. I mean college was fun and all, but if that was really "the best" then why keep moving ahead in life? Why not, just end there? Why keep on going for another 50 to 60 or 70 years?

Each stage of life should be fun. It may be vastly different from your life a few years or even a few decades before but fun nonetheless. It's all about your shift in priorities and sometimes you look back with better memories than you had going through that stage in your life. It's the "before" we're going through now without knowing what the "after" will be.

Tonight I had one of those nights. Nothing spectacular but funny on its own merit. I wouldn't consider this my normal routine but maybe something I'd only do at this stage of my life. I might even remember this in the future as part of the "before." Kind of like "Remember when I worked late on a Friday showing houses in what could be considered the ghetto? And that lady knocked on the door and asked us for money and I drove home and stopped at Target of all places for dinner?" Yep, those were good times...

Around the world and back again

2007-10-09T16:01:00.001-04:00

After trotting the globe and having a week in which I was in Paris, Boston, New York City and Columbus all via plane, I'm home now. The plan is to be here for awhile but we'll see. I'm learning that this year is all about craziness so anything is possible and really I'm starting to expect the unexpected.

Anyway, I spent my time in New York in Manhattan meeting up with high school friends and watching Brian and Liz get married on Long Island (photo above). It was a big Italian wedding so at moments you felt like you were on the set of the Sorpanos complete with an Uncle Ralph. There was plenty of food, plenty of drink and plenty of dancing and a little bit of sneaking off to catch the OSU game's score ; ) Here are some photos of my New York adventure:

My cousin Andrew (the best man) and his wife Yeda after the ceremony.

Gary and Jean (parents of the groom) looking fabulous in their black tie attire.

There's something about getting a "present" in a ring size box complete with a bow(notice bottom left) that sort of makes your heart stop by a feeling somewhere in between fear and excitement....

Look, it's $20 worth of beer! I guess the tab is higher on beer when you're drinking it at Tavern on the Green in the middle of Central Park (shh...don't tell anyone I don't really drink beer...)

After walking around New York City at night, we all ventured back to the hotel ready for some SLEEP! Unfortunately, we rode the elevator up to our rooms with some man that was on his cell phone. He kept talking about the body and how it wasn't decomposing and how someone needed to go get the *?#>#>$? right now!!! I couldn't help but think that I would not be alive in the morning if this man was in my hotel worrying about some "body." My cousin decided to call me to express his concern over he and Yeda's fate as well so needless to say I slept for 5.5 hours that night and woke up in time to make it to the TODAY show which was almost worth being scared to death.....

Here is Ann Curry posing in the crowd looking even more beautiful than she does on television.

Heading over to watch them tape the TODAY show must be an Ohio thing. Look at the other Ohioans in line on the plaza!

Part of the family

2007-10-04T16:55:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I head off to New York for our family friend Brian's wedding. Brian and my cousin Andrew have been inseparable best friends since they were five. I mean these guys are closer than most brothers and have remained this way even though they live 3,000 miles apart. With Andrew and Brian being such good friends, our two families have become like extended families to each other.

When you know someone this well, it's fun to look back on the days gone by leading up to their big day. Having Brian help me with Macroeconomics in college (I got an A- by the way and he went on to be a professor), learning about this thing called email and digital cameras and having him GRIND coffee beans at 7 a.m. in my cousin's apartment in San Francisco so Andrew would wake up for work--he failed to realize this would wake up me and their other friend as well. And that time we took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of a dirt bike race in California--good times ; )

Now it's time to welcome Liz to our extended family as well. It's funny because when you think of getting married, you never realize how not only do you gain relatives through your spouse, but you gain these people who act like your relatives! People you don't even know but who know ALL about you and are blogging about you. Welcome to the family Liz!

Welcome home Hannah!

2007-09-13T13:22:00.000-04:00

For the last two weeks I have been constantly reading my friend Amie's blog of their journey to bring their daughter Hannah home from China. My good friend Patti (in the yellow top) is her sister so that was my pass to get on the "invited list" to read the blog! What a privilege it has been to hear about Amie's husband and mother-in-law's journey to China and Amie's adventures at home with their other five children!

Last night Hannah finally touched down in Columbus and the WHOLE family came out to meet her at the airport!!! How great is the above photo with everyone in it! Good thing Hannah (on the far left in the yellow and white striped top) is a people person and loves to entertain! Thanks for letting me read about your journey Amie and the gang!!! : )

All roads lead to Arlington

2007-08-29T13:34:00.001-04:00

Since I haven't posted in awhile I thought I'd share some photos from my weekend trip to Washington, DC or more specifically Arlington, Virginia which now is home to THREE of my good friends. I'm beginning to think something is wrong when three good friends live within a mile of each other and I live seven hours away....The highlight of the trip was hanging out with my friends Friday night. I got to meet two of their other DC friends who were there for the night and got a warm welcome from my favorite two-year-old. After Amelia welcomed home Claudia with "Mommy's home! Mommy's home!" she excitedly told Claudia that "Kaci's here! Kaci's here!" Hearing those words are the things that make the trip worthwhile!

Now for the trip in pictures! Here's Amelia playing in her "sandbox" near her new school. Funny how she is perturbed when people are out here playing volleyball in her sandbox! : )

A photo from their friend "Q" (Daquan) as Amelia jumps on the couch. She offered to let the rest of us jump but we thought we were too big....the joys of getting older.

Getting smarter at the Smithsonian. Aren't these photos cool? There were four hanging on the wall but it was too packed to get all four in the photo. Malcolm X is on the left and Billy Graham is on the right. Ahh....the Wright brothers were so intelligent.....

Finally the much anticipated meeting Aaron dinner....definitely the MOST talked about portion of my trip ; )

Amusing myself on the way home to Columbus after a morning trip to IKEA with Patrick. Glad to know someone else spends as much time in the store as I do!

Wait.....I thought "celadon" was a shade of green....The truck driver did honk at me as I took his photo which made me laugh!

Difference between men and women

2007-08-09T15:36:00.000-04:00

Difference between men and women or just between introverts and extroverts:

Male/introvert: (Speaking to their friend) "Hey, look, that guy has an Iowa hat!"

Female/extrovert: (Speaking directly to the person with the hat) "Oh my gosh! Are you from Iowa? I grew up in Iowa! How cool! What part of Iowa are you from? Do you like it here? Have you been back to Iowa lately? I'm going there next week for a wedding! I'm so excited......blah, blah, blah....

The modern day mold detector

2007-08-08T17:01:00.000-04:00

After three hours of testing and EIGHTY "pokes" later, it is official, I'm allergic to mold. So I can be your own personal mold detector! : ) How fun is that? Okay, not fun at all, but at least I know. What does this mean? Even more things to squirt up my nose--this is becoming my new thing......haha If you ever think you have allergies, I highly recommend Dr. Abner Bagenstose. He's great and he even gives you coupons for the products he prescribes! (Gotta love that!) As he says "The $25 coupon plus the $10 coupon plus the $3 coupon, REALLY adds up over the course of the year!" Yes, Dr. B, it does! (Of course, I'm begining to wonder how much the stuff that offers the $25 coupon costs!)

In other non-medical news, I have been quite the music fan lately! Making it to the Irish Festival and Picnic with the Pops this past weekend and the Nickel Creek & Fiona Apple concert last night. Despite the heat, it was a fun time! Here's some cool photos of the concert from the Dispatch:

http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/multimedia/audio_slideshows/nickel_creek/index.html

Oh, my eyes, my eyes!

2007-08-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

That old Friends episode with Phoebe seeing the naked couple across the street in their window and her exclaiming "Oh, my eyes! My eyes!" seems to be my mantra the last few weeks. Luckily for me, it's not because I'm seeing my naked neighbors in their window but equally as bad is from my newly diagnosed allergies. Wow, who knew allergies could be so bad! I always saw people around talking about their allergies being bad but they seemed perfectly fine to me so I thought "what's the big deal?" Yeah, bad thing to think because that almost certainly guarantees that you will get whatever you thought "wasn't that bad!"

I've already gone to the doctor and got my fore mentioned "spray" and some eye drops but I must be in the severe range because I still can't see! I mean Friday night, I step outside and immediately my eyes start watering, itching, all that good stuff. Yesterday, it happened again and I even pulled out my glasses to wear out in public---that hasn't happened in years, if not over a decade.

The whole thing has made me realize how older adults always talk about their medical ailments. You never want to be "that" person (which I realize I am by writing about this!) but I see where they are coming from (when I can see that is ; ) When you have these symptoms and you have no idea how to get better, that tends to preoccupy you and you want to talk about it! A friend recommended a doctor to go to so I'm thinking me and Dr. Abner B. are going to be great friends! Plus, he just has a cool name ; ) Until then, happy ragweeed and pollen season to you! ; ) haha

Opposite day....

2007-07-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to think age 31 really is a reversion to age 13 kind of like "opposite day." I didn't just turn 31 (which sounds really old by the way) I turned back the clock to age 13. While I honestly don't remember much about age 13, I'm sure it had something to do with people with pink phones, unlikely neighbors and squirting things up my nose. All of which are part of my life now ; )

Of course, at age 13, pink phones were more of a cool accessory than cause for concern; you didn't worry much about your neighbors and squirting (okay "spraying") things up your nose was probably just a teenage antic--now it's called "medicine" although I can't help but think this should be illegal....but it's not...it really is opposite day.

Why we like Gee

2007-07-13T13:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in Gordon Gee's first sentence of his "acceptance speech" on being OSU's next president, I realized why he is so loved here in Columbus. The guy is funny in an intelligent way. He says to the standing crowd who is applauding him "Oh, it's so nice to have a standing ovation. I haven't had one of those since I turned in my resignation letter at Brown University!" (His short two year presidential stint at the small Ivy League university).

It's kind of like the old show Cheers, you want to go where everyone knows your name. You also want to work where people like you and you like them. OSU definitely likes Dr. Gee and it seems like he likes us as well since he got choked up saying he was so glad to be "home again."

Funny to think that the main people at OSU never leave Columbus, Ohio. The university fires its football coaches and they still live here--they even move away and then come back. It's funny how that is so I guess it's not too strange to have two former presidents sign on to be take their old job back. Okay, back to non-OSU stuff!

How sweet it is....

2007-07-11T16:19:00.001-04:00

Having Gordon Gee come back to be OSU's next president almost makes up for not doing so well in the National Championship games this year! Welcome back Dr. Gee! I remember it like yesterday when you handed out our school's honor awards in high school : ) Glad to have you back!

(photo from the Cols. Dispatch)

You're only as young as you feel

2007-06-18T11:55:00.000-04:00

As I debate whether or not to get an iPod (actually the debate is more of which one to get) so I can add some more "fun" into my life, I find out my 71-year-old Uncle bought himself a Harley! Wow! He is more than excited--over the moon would be a better term for it. He and my Aunt even went out to "Bike Night" at Quaker Steak and Lube! How funny. These are my very practical, very scheduled, former school teacher and library worker relatives and now they own a Harley! Can't wait to hear how my cousin and Sue react when they come out to visit in July!

Here are some photo updates on some of the little people I know:

Jonas and Andrew traveling by train to another city in China.

Betsy's nephew Jaedon looking cute for Dad's camera

Welcome Baby Griffin!

2007-06-12T10:57:00.001-04:00

Zachary Thomas Griffin made his first photo debut on Saturday, June 9! My friends Liz and Ryan are the proud parents. They are also the famous friends who helped me pick out my new furniture AND helped me put it together! Did I mention they drove it to me from Detroit? Everything is going well although I think we need to come to a consensus on whether Zachary will be Zach or Zack!

The power of the Internet

2007-06-06T12:03:00.000-04:00

After you write on these blogs for awhile you start to wonder "Is anyone out there really reading this?" Then you get a random instant message from a friend I haven't talked to in awhile asking me "Hey, what kind of TV did you get?"

TV? How did you know I bought a new TV? Does anyone we know in that group of people know I bought a new TV? Has anyone even seen my new TV? Ahh...the power of the Internet....or the gossip network, I don't know which : )

Success

2007-05-30T22:24:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to blog about the idea of success for a long time now. For some reason I didn't feel what I was thinking about it was worthwhile enough to write out for the whole world to see. Through the wonders of the Internet, I stumbled across someone else's philosophical look on success that I must say sums it up pretty well (although I would add a line or two about saying at some points in your life success is just getting up in the morning and moving forward):

"The point is, we're not defined by our failures or successes, but by how we respond to them. We're defined by how we behave AFTER. Your life is not just one potential best outcome that you're either given or denied. Your life is a multitude of possibilities, of which you choose to make the best of them or not."

Word of mouth

2007-05-30T16:33:00.000-04:00

I posted earlier this year about how we had become the preferred agent of a specific dorm floor. Well, it looks like we may have become the preferred agent for one group of friends on the OSU football team! We had four players come in today to sign up for apts. (unfortunately or fortunately for us we might be out of apts. to rent in that complex.) Let's just say the one guy is equally known for his football athleticism as he is for his hair.... :)

Hoping for the small envelope

2007-05-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

I remember after applying for colleges, everyone talked about hoping to get the thick big envelope from the college of their choice which signified "acceptance" without even having to open the package.

Lately, I've been checking my bank account in hopes of the small envelope called my tax return to be deposited in my account. Unfortunately, no luck. Tonight as I got the mail, I got a big envelope from the IRS (just the person I was hoping to hear from! ; ) Dread fills my head as I'm sure the four dollar difference between the estimated vs. actual amount on this form I had to file is coming back to haunt me. That's the problem when you are the person LEAST likely to cause trouble because deep down you know, you are the one person the authorities are hoping to nail to make you an example for the scam artists in the world.

I opened the big envelope to see a note attached to my tax return saying "please sign....." Oh, I guess that's not so bad.....

In other news, I made it through the marathon of weddings, showers and baby showers! Two weddings, two baby showers and two wedding showers in five weekends. Whew, so excited to be done (for now) but guess what? Today the girl down the hall told me she got engaged last night! : ) Make that wedding number two for next spring....(Congrats to Tommy and Diane who got married this weekend and to Sylvia and Mitch for getting engaged last night!)

New category at the gym

2007-05-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

I can now add "local TV personality" to the categories of people I see at the gym. I kept thinking "that guy looks so familiar." Ahhh....he's on TV!!

Being memorable

2007-05-14T16:12:00.000-04:00

For the most part, I have a pretty good memory. If I've had a conversation with you, I'll probably remember it or at least you'll look familiar to me.

This weekend, I met some neighbors who were finishing up their new brick patio. I introduced myself and said "Oh, I don't think we've met." The husband agreed but the wife said "Oh, I've seen you at the gym!" Really? I don't recognize her which makes me wonder what makes me so memorable at the gym?

The people I remember from the gym fall into a few categories: the "Oh, he's cute!" one, the "What the heck is he/she doing over there and calling it exercise?" one or the "Oh, he/she looks familiar/friendly/I like her outfit" category. I'm really wondering which one I fall into in Anna Maria's mind. I'm hoping it's not the second category! haha ; )

Color me celadon

2007-05-08T11:35:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos of the much talked about "clover" colored bridesmaid dress (actually called celadon) and my bright, white shoes. The cute shoes are the ones I wore for my cousin's wedding a few years back. The other shoes are the ones I get to wear with the bridesmaid dress--they're not bad just I don't see too many sparkling white pumps around anymore!

This just in, my fashion forward friend Allison has spoken and we have confirmation: "there is no getting around it. The white shoes are just bad...."

It's a small world after all...

2007-05-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

In the teenage world there's millions of things that can be embarrassing or mortifying. You try to do everything you can to keep looking and being cool. Then small world events happen that you just can't stop. Like your aunt and math teacher being at the same table at a wedding AND the two of them deciding to take a photo together to "mortify" you with ; ) So, here's me and "Mr. Hunt" together in print to help motivate my nephew to do his homework....or the rest of the class will see the photo. haha

I'll email out the other photos from this weekend.

Weekend O'photos

2007-05-01T12:57:00.000-04:00

I finally took some pictures this weekend! I think my camera has been in hibernation for a while now.

Friday night we all took Ryan out on the town for one last night in Columbus with the gang before he makes his way to Colorado. I even drank a Coors Light in his honor (for anyone who knows me, this is a big thing since I'm not a beer fan). Here's one photo from the night's festivities (the others may need to be censored!).

We'll miss you Ryan! Oh wait, I'll see you this weekend....I'll miss you after that : )

Then on Saturday, my other photo opportunities were at my friend's baby shower where I got to catch up with my "sorority sisters." Aren't they cute? I'm definitely framing this picture to put in my new entertainment center! Sorry boys, they're all taken! ; ) Funny to think as you get older you start going to cute little places for lunch instead of meeting up at fraternity parties haha