Mary Kay Calling!

Two things...
I'm just now dealing with acne... adult acne. It's not fun. I went to the Dermatologist last week, and he put me on a regimen of Differen and a topical antibiotic. My skin will get worse before it gets better because the cleansers will be working out all the yuck from inside.

Secondly, I just went to a friend's Mary Kay "Debut" party. She just started as a consultant, and she did before/after shots and we did a basic skincare routine. I'm half-considering being a consultant, too! I've been thinking about it for years, on and off. I'm SO not a sales-y person, but I think it's something I might like to do. We'll see. I'll let ya know when you can place your orders. (haha!)

Okay, I'm going to post a couple more pics of the house. I hope I didn't bomb everybody's mailboxes when I sent the uber-mail.


I'm signing off now!

just a quick one...

"I thought it'd be great, you know? have some time alone with my thoughts... turns out, I don't have as many thoughts as you'd think.”
-Joey, from Friends

That's what my yesterday was like. When I'm off on a weekend and Gerald sleeps to prepare for working that night, that's how I feel. Hmm... I read some Harry Potter (I'm on HBP again), some Celia Rivenbark (She wrote "Bless Your Heart, Tramp" and "We're Just Like You, Only Prettier" both are hilarious southern ya-ya books!), watched several episodes ofThat 70's Show and What Not To Wear, and I surfed for quite a while, reading up on (yes, I'm a bit of an obsessive nerd) HP on mugglenet.com.

So I'll repeat, "turns out, I don't have as many thoughts as you'd think."

Our Newest Addition...

When did I become a grownup? Was it this afternoon when Gerald and I signed our mortgage application? Yep. You heard me. Our offer on the house was accepted. We close February 15th. Happy Valentines Day, eh? Here's a photo of the house. (pardon me if it doesn't work. it's my first blog-photo-posting. if it works, expect shameless displays of pics from here on out.)

Specs on the house:
4 bedrooms (yes, you'll have your own bedroom when you come visit, and we won't make you sleep on the futon or the air-bed again!), 2 and a half baths, gas fireplace, formal living/dining area, very nice kitchen, back family room area that'll probably be a den/study area, deck, alarm system. SQFT is 1950. It's very nice!!!

God is amazing in how he worked with this situation. Since mid-November, we'd already made 2 offers and both were declined. We saw a nice house this past Sunday afternoon on yet another round of viewings. We thought we might make an offer, but weren't too sure of it. We were becoming a bit weary of the process of finding/buying a house. It looked like we weren't going to find "the one" this time around... we started to lower our expectations, and by that I mean we dropped our price range and started searching with less specs in mind (no garage, no fireplace, possibly dodgy neighborhoods). Gerald scheduled some viewings with Barbara this Monday-past. It so happened that a house had just come onto the market THAT MORNING that was in the same neighborhood as the Sunday-viewing house was (nice 'hood, by the way. not dodgy at all). Apparently, it struck Gerald so much that he called me to see if I could spare an hour from work to see the house. I drove out there and was wowed. Not in a spectacularly blown-away feeling, but in a "I feel like I already live here" kind of way. It's amazing how God can work! We put an offer together that day. They accepted that night. That was Monday. The seller didn't even have time to post pictures of the house. Otherwise, I'd have sent out the link ages ago! (tee hee!)

We have our inspection scheduled for Monday morning, and Gerald will be taking the digital camera along. You can expect some photos soon after, I'm sure.

Anyway, so that's what we've been up to. After a not-so-subtle hint from our Resident Martha, I decided to update my blog and let you in on my little life. I guess I could be doing it a little more often then. I'm a slacker. :-P. Okay. Now I'm going to save this, then read all of YOUR little blogs!

WARNING!!!

Just FYI... when you're PMSing, I would advise you NOT to watch the final episode of Friends by yourself because you'll suddenly miss all your close friends and your husband can't comfort you because he's in FREAKING AMSTERDAM on a business trip. SOBBING-CITY!!! How long has it been since YOUR last big-cry. I'm talking shoulder-shaking sobs... C'mon people... let's share! :-D

I love all of you. If you're reading this, then I mean YOU. You know just how much you mean to me. You know exactly where our own "purple" apartment is, and it was just as hard on us when we had to turn in our metaphorical keys at the end of our last episode. There has never EVER been another group of people who have touched my heart this much.

I promise. I'm not the weepy, lovey drunk guy. :-D I love you, man!! I'm just little ol' me. Missing little ol' you. Lots.

I'm back

Hello there! If you haven't noticed, IT'S FALL!!! We've been busy. We went to Minnesota last weekend, and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to link up some pics. That'll be good for those of you who haven't seen me in a while... which is pretty equally all of you! :-D (The Smurfs, most recently, of course... my parents don't read my blog-no computer and all-... and I don't know if my NY peeps know of my blog!)

So Gerald and I finally made our "Famous People" list. I was always very star struck when I'd see someone, and realize I'd just seen them the day before on tv! Here it is, and it's probably not complete. I think I'm missing some people.

Lawrence Fishburne (west side)
Mike Myers (china town)
Steve Martin (UES)
Victor Garber (bway)
Michael McKean & Anette O'Toole (restaurant on bway)
Will Farrell (uws)
Christopher Meloni (uws)
Elisabeth Rohm (SOHO)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Docks' on Bway)
Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgewick (twice, UWS)
Caroline Rhea (UWS)
Chris Kattan (66th st. Subway exit, I followed him about 2 blocks!)
J.K. Simmons (elevator at Gerald's work)
Jesse L. Martin and Dennis Farina (filming a scene for Law & Order)

Journey Ppl:
Matt Metzger (one life to live's "Duke Buchanan"
Jeremy Caleb (Johnson's Intern, Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch" and soon to be in a McDonald's commercial.)
John Passavant (worlds top 5 male models... NOT KIDDING!)
Merle Dandridge (Joanne, Rent)

Several of our Journey people were background extras in movies. It figures. In a church where the visual and theatrical arts are featured, you're bound to run into someone who's been on a screen or stage.

Yuck. It sounds like I was name-dropping. Know that I'm not! (Granted, if you know me, you know I'm NOT about that!) Gerald and I really wanted to get this info down on paper before we started to forget it.

Oh how I miss you people! I'll be coming in for Christmas this year. Since I don't have to work the week between the holidays, I'll be in LA the whole time! Gerald's schedule will be a little screwy, and we're still not sure exactly when he'll be down there.

Can't wait until Christmas! The Joneses are driving in YAY! Even the in-laws may come in! Granted, she said the plane tickets were too much, and dad-in-law isn't up for driving. We'll see! It might be a Norman Rockwell thanksgiving after all!

A bit of trivia for ya.... Jingle Bells was originally written as a Thanksgiving Song! Think about it... nothing Christmas-y about the lyrics. Lots of implied snow and stuff, which I've never even SEEN for Thanksgiving, but whatever!

Okay... been talking WAY too much... I'll give you a chance to talk. GO AHEAD! :-D

I'm Back in the Saddle Again...

Out where a friend is a friend.... ;-) Now that's going to be stuck in my head as I try and sleep tonight. ACK!

I started my "new" job today at Sylvan. I'm soooo glad I don't have to go through training on any of the "meat" of what I do. The only thing I'll have to get used to is the systems they use for scheduling appointments, etc. All of the internal workings that ALWAYS vary from center to center. The folks at the center are all quite nice! I'm apparently the enthusiastic and energetic one of the bunch... That's what the owner says. Since when have I been enthusiastic? Maybe because I'm enthusiastic because I know what Sylvan can do and how the programs can literally change students' lives? Maybe I'm energetic when students are around? I dunno, but I'm interested in seeing how these directors interact with the kids.... I love being big and loud and energetic when it comes to learning. It gets their attention! :-) Granted, that's probably what we needed to do with the NY kids... ya gotta entertain them or they're not interested.

Anyway, I'll keep posting updates on my progress in assimilating to the new center.

Gerald and I met with a realtor today. He'd met Barbara when he came down for the interview in late July. We gave her some specs on our ideal (for now) home, and she's going to work with us in finding the best place. I'm SOOO new to the whole home-buying thing, I even bought "Home Buying for Dummies".... did I say that already? I feel like I typed it already. Sheesh!
Anyway, Barbara is very sweet, and she's going to email some homes to us (well, pics and specs on the houses) so we can look through and possibly visit some this Saturday. Gerald was planning on talking to our bank about home loans, etc today, but since it was Columbus Day, all the banks were closed. ACK! Hopefully he'll get a chance to do that tomorrow while he's still flipping his days.

Let's see.... he woke up at 2am this morning, and went to bed about 4:15 or so this afternoon. He'll wake up at midnight tonight, then go to bed at 2pm Tuesday, then wake up at 10pm Tuesday, stay up all night, go to bed at probably 10am Wednesday. That's when his shifts begin at work from 10pm-9am. I hope this is going to work out. LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH! ;-)

Oh... fyi.... if you use Crest WhiteStrips, they're NOT KIDDING about tooth sensitivity, starting around the 2nd day. OWIEEEE! My mama always said "suffer to be beautiful!"

Later, gators!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Lots has happened since I last posted. (and to think... I wanted to blog to keep everyone up-to-date on my thoughts and things.... turns out I had less thoughts than I thought!)

The visit with mom and dad was AMAZING! The Biltmore Estate was unlike anything I've ever seen. Any place that takes 3 hours to tour, and that's not the whole house, is unbelievable! Just the approach road, or driveway, is 3 miles long! Check out the website and do a virtual tour. I'd love to make that an annual trip, really!

The Melting Pot was an amazing dining experience. Ya hear "fondue", ya think "cheese and chocolate." This blew all my preconceived expectations out of the water! Yes, the requisite cheese and chocolate were there, but they existed only to bookend a FANTASTIC dinner course. Fresh lobster, shrimp, and filet, skewered in a rolling, boiling broth (coq au vin or some Caribbean jerk concoction). DELICIOUS! I can't wait to go back. Granted, when visitors come, we'll have baloney sandwiches at home, then hit The Melting Pot for DESSERT! (to save the moolah, of course)

What's changed the most is going on right now. I've got a job at Sylvan, starting tomorrow morning at 11:00. WOO HOO! I'm exited and not really nervous, because it's all familiar territory for me. I've been at it for HOW many years?!? I'm glad I get to be part of a new center with new systems. I like learning and adapting to the new systems with the same ol' backbone. It's my stability, really.

Gerald begins his 3rd-shift on Wednesday. He'll be working 10pm-9am Wednesdays thru Saturday/Sundays (off at 9 on Sunday morning). I think we'll be able to work out when we'll see each other. It won't be too much of an issue. The issue is "now" though...In order to flip his days and nights, he's having to go to bed much earlier (6:00 tonight) and wake up in the middle of the night (2:00 am) for several consecutive days. That means we'll be together tomorrow morning for breakfast (another story in and of itself) but he'll be out cold asleep by the time I get home from my first day of work. We're both a bit sad about the prospect of me coming home all-excited, and him not being able to hear about my day. I'll probably want to wake him up just to talk about it, but he'll need his sleep. Tuesday Morning will prove interesting, because that's the next time I'll be able to hang out with him.

So, tomorrow for breakfast, we're meeting with a realtor to talk about how to go about purchasing a home. I bought "Home Buying for Dummies" and, boy do I feel like one! I'm a bit intimidated at the prospect of what has to be done, seeing how we've got a 6 month lease that has 5 months left. Can we do this in 5 months? Can we save up enough for a down-payment? We crapped away alot of money when we were in NYC, just paying rent and SMACKING down our CC debt and loans (truck, etc). So, we really don't have a savings now. We've worked our finances enough to know we can live off of his paycheck, so we'll put my check aside for the DP for a house. But will that be enough? I've got so many uncertainties... Y'know.... it's enough of a God-thing that He's got us here this far. I'm sure He'll take care of us. I KNOW He'll take care of us with this whole house-thing.

I just pray that while Gerald and I are just ships passing in the night (or on the highway) we'll be able to communicate this to each other. Keep us in prayers!

LOVE to all! (Best o' luck to the new WM family... hope the move went well and nothing was broken. Hugs to the new kid in the classroom on her first day at the new school!)