Woe Is Me

I love food, I love to eat, but more importantly, I love chocolate!!! Probably more than anyone I know....

So you will never find me turning down a box of chocolates during the holiday season! I see chocolate and just gravitate towards it, and indulge :)

You can imagine my excitement when I saw a gift from my boss sitting on my desk this morning when I walked into work, and I knew from it's precise size and weight that it was certainly a box of Chocolates :) This is all a little sad, right?! You'd think that I'd have better things to do at work then shake & weigh the wrapped present.

BUT I couldn't wait an entire day to open them, knowing they were waiting for me, so I secretly unwrapped it under my desk, tore off the plastic wrap....

Only to find....

A box full of COCONUT chocolate!!

Oh nooooo...what a way to ruin all the goodness inside :( I hate coconut. More than I hate vegetables. More than I hate Walmart! Boo hoo hooo. What an awful morning. Please mourn with me....

Homeowners

Yes, we are Homeowners, yes indeed! It's official :)

I feel odd though, like we just signed away our life. Well, ok, we pretty much DID sign away our life. Is that a good thing?! O well, I can't wait to start fixing up our ugly house! We'll be getting some plumbing and electrical work done first, and maybe get some estimates on new windows. But after that, let the creative juices flow :) Stay posted over on This House Our Home.

New Blog

Announcing mine & Ross' new blog, documenting all of our home renovation projects:

This House Our Home

We are so excited and eager to start making changes to our house that we thought we'd let you join us for the ride. Or perhaps I'm just going all blog happy and can't get enough blogging! Or talking about myself. Anywho! I hope you check it out. We close on the house in t-minus 5 days!

And please bear with us as we're using Wordpress for our new blog and I feel completely illiterate trying to figure out how to use it! You can thank Ross for making that decision :)

Let the DIY begin!

Christmas Is Coming

The Seibert household is brimming with excitement....excitement for the upcoming holiday and excitement for the closing of our very first house in just 6 days! Now that we're back from vacation, I can get things done and am starting to feel less stressed about my to-do list. Our christmas cards have yet to be sent out (eek!) and I'm quickly working to finish our yearly christmas photo collage. Aside from that, I still have to finish christmas shopping, and as far as I'm concerned, everyone is getting gift cards if they didn't give me a list....mwahahaha. But gift cards aren't so bad, Ross & I are asking for gift cards this year to either Lowe's or Home Depot to let the home renovations begin!

Anyway....Merry Christmas. I promise our Christmas Cards will be coming soon! No worries if you didn't send us one though b/c of the temporary address change! If I were more prepared I would've sent our cards out early so everyone could have our address.... o well. There's always next year :)

Disney World Blues...

I'm in one of the happiest places on Earth, and just don't seem to be feeling the spirit. I'm currently updating my blog at 11:15 am this morning, trying to kill time, because I'm waiting for the hubs to wake up. He has a headache, so he is still sleeping and hoping to get rid of it. But I can't be mad, I passed my sickness off on him. Here I am, finally feeling better after being sick for the first half of vacation, now to only have to hope that Ross gets better in the next, oh, 5 minutes, so we can try to enjoy the last 2 days we have left here in Disney World.

Besides the sickness putting a damper on our vacation, the weather has been REALLY cold! We definitely weren't prepared for it, and had to run to Target Monday night to buy scarves, gloves & hats, which I've worn all week. Sure, it beats Pittsburgh and their highs of 27 degrees, but surely we weren't expecting this for Florida!

Anyway, I could keep going on and on about what's gone wrong with our vacation. It certainly hasn't been the best, but I'm still happy we're here, and that I wasn't so sick that I was bedridden. I enjoyed most of the rides, ate lots of good food, and now, it's finally getting warmer outside! I probably won't have to wear my underarmor today :)

Welp, it's a shame that we finally had a whole week off of work, to only be sick for most of it. O well. I might actually be ready to end this vacation in 2 days.....

Dreams Come True

It's rainy and dark outside in Pittsburgh today. It's just a pure miserable day when you only wish you could stay curled up in bed and stay completely unmotivated ALL day.

But, I'm so lucky to be going to the happiest place on earth in just 4 days, with warmth and sunshine to spare :)

Can you guess where?!


It's the place where all your dreams come true.....






Yup, it's DISNEY WORLD!! I'm so excited! I was there 2 years ago with a few of my girlfriends (which I can't help smiling everytime I reminisce about that trip! Dinosaur ride anyone?! haha) and now Ross & I are going with his family for a whole week. Ross' parents are uber-devoted to Disney World, they have a timeshare and go almost every year to see the different holidays at Disney. Ross & his brother only go every few years, but even that is too much for them. I tell ya, if Ross wasn't so sick of Disney World (yes, I know, it breaks my heart that he would admit such an awful thing!), I woulda asked to go there on our honeymoon and wear matching mickey & minnie ears all week! A girl can dream, right?!

And here's the amazing hotel we're staying at.....


Jealous?! Yup, thanks. It even has an awesome boat that shuttles you to Epcot! It's going to be total bliss to have a full week off of work, but also to be in Disney World in December to see all their Christmas decorations and enjoy weather in the mid-70's. Just a week of pure relaxation :) You know the last time I had a whole week off from work?! 2 years ago, for my wedding & honeymoon! It's certainly been too long.....

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I used to hate Thanksgiving as a kid for the mere fact that I didn't like the food. I'm so happy that I've finally grown up and not as picky as I once was, so now I look foward to the big meal as much as anyone else :) But besides that, Ross & I have so much to be thankful for this year even after we felt defeated time and time again. Here is what I'm most thankful for:

- Ross, who is my best friend and more
- Dakota, she's quite amusing, she makes me laugh everyday
- Our families, for always being there
- Our amazing friends, who also support us through good times & bad
- My job
- On that note, I'm thankful for getting laid off at the beginning of the year from my old job, as hard as it was, it was a blessing in disguise
- Ross' unending determination to succeed in his field
- Ross' & my ability to live frugally, or at least try to, and not be ashamed
- The purchase of our first house!
- As much as I complain about my car not having power windows or locks, I love my car for the mere fact that it is paid off and gets me from point A to point B

Ok, so I can go on and on about what I'm thankful for. I pray everyday that God never let us take for granted for what we DO have. We try to live simply and not beyond our means, and even though we may not be rich, or have everything our heart desires, or even the money to furnish our new home, I'm so thankful for what we DO have, and that's what I focus on. That's what makes me happy. And what's more important in life than being happy?!

Alright, this is all pretty sappy. Sorry. I've always been picked on in my family for the sappy emotions, but sometimes, you need to just sit back and realize how lucky we all are. Even with the struggles we all go through.

And the struggles you get through today will teach you a good lesson for tomorrow :)

Or maybe give you something to laugh about 10 years down the road. I can just picture it now, Ross & I in our new home, with 1 ugly red sofa and 1 coffee table, and 1 tv in our huge new living room, b/c we can't afford to buy any additional furniture to furnish our new house. HA! O dear....

A Surprise Birthday

So it's taken me until THIS weekend to finally post our adventures from last weekend! It's been quite a 'roller-coaster' of a week. So sorry! Anyway, last weekend was absolutely fantastic. Some good times spent with some great friends!

It was my best friend's, Ang's, birthday this past week. Her boyfriend, Mike, always tries to surprise her with something on her birthday, however, she's too smart and spoils the surprise every year! So he came up with an idea to have Ross & I come down to their apartment in Bethesda, MD to surprise her (since we ended up canceling last minute for their Halloween Party, this would be our way of making it up to her). It was perfect! Mike was thrilled to have finally surprised her! And luckily, no one spilled the beans the week prior about our planned adventure. She didn't find out the good news, literally, until we showed up at her door :)

Ultimately, it was a great weekend. Ross & I got to their place Friday night, and went out on the town with some of their friends to celebrate a few different birthdays. We were up til 4 am just reminiscing and enjoying ourselves. Saturday, Ang & Mike were our 'tour guides' and took us to D.C. to walk around and see the monuments & check out the Air & Space Museum (which I haven't seen since I was a kid). It was a bea-u-ti-ful day outside, and we were so happy to enjoy one of the last sunny days before the cold weather sets in!Afterward, we ate at '5 Guys,' a delicious burger joint that Ross & I haven't gotten the chance to try yet, even though they finally opened one in Cranberry a few months ago! It was delish! Then we had a few errands to run and the guys had a little too much fun in the "Five Below!"

Next, was my upmost favorite part of the whole trip .....a 2-story TARGET! ...complete with an escalator for your cart!! That's right...I was so excited I got a picture!! ha!

I was even more amazed that this Target had it's own 4-story parking garage...say WHAT!! Crazy-ness is what that is. Ross & Mike were dumbfounded that Ang & I insisted on going to Target, just so I could check out the cart escalator, but not so. Not when there is an escalator solely for your cart! And yes, I was not ashamed to push around my empty cart around the store just to get the full experience!

Saturday night we hung out at the apartment with a group of Ang & Mike's friends. They were all so nice and fun to hang out with! We played a few games, and had a lot of good laughs. I think I ended up crashing before everyone left though due to my lack of sleep the previous night. I knew it would catch up sooner or later.

On Sunday, needless to say, was a 'catch-up on rest' day after our 4-hour drive home. The trip was well worth it. It's taken us forever to get out there to see their place, but I'm so glad we finally made the trip. Ang's face was priceless when we knocked on their door and yelled 'Surprise!!' (ok, so maybe I was the only one who yelled surprise, b/c Ross refused to participate), but still priceless :) Happy Birthday Ang!

TGIF

O Happy Day! This week is finally over! It's just been on of those weeks that feels like it's never going to end.

Our house closing is keeping us busy. One tiny problem after another! I'll be grateful if we make it to closing :) And I can just see the dollar signs adding up, one little problem after another = a sum here & there to get it fixed! joy. I'll be happy if we have any money left in the bank when everything is said and over with!

Other than the house, I'm realizing how quickly Xmas is coming upon us! EEK! I haven't even started to THINK about christmas shopping...and for that, I blame my sister. She normally likes to brag about how she has all her shopping done before Halloween, but she is late this year! Therefore, I am extremely late b/c no one has reminded me that it is November already! I have to start my Xmas letter, buy Xmas cards, think of Xmas presents, make my own gift tags (b/c I'm a dweeb) etc. etc. etc. Christmas is stressful, as much as I love the holiday spirit, all the gift buying and preparation is just a bit too much for me to handle! Can you tell how stressed I am by all the exclamation points I've used!! What a grammatical catastrophe! sorry. PERHAPS I SHOULD JUST TALK IN ALL CAPS....ha, ha, sorry, little inside joke with the fam :)

So tell me, am I the only one who didn't realize that Christmas is only 51 days away!!! That's right! ..... I hope you also experienced a mini-heartattack much like myself :) Happy Holidays!

House Closing Progress

Last Thursday, Ross & I had the Home Inspection on our future abode. It was the most anticipated step of the house closing process, so we're happy it is finally over! It was time for the truth to be told about whether or not we were actually buying a livable home or buying a slum of a home that needed more repairs than it was worth. So we walked into this expecting the "worst-case" scenario.

Overall, the outcome of the inspection was better than we expected (but remember, our expectations were not high to begin with!). We knew we were walking into a house that needed repairs, especially a lot of cosmetic repairs. But we're ok with ugly. Remember how much I dreamed about owning an ugly house to fix-up and make our own?! Ross is even so excited, that he's helping me build a new blog where we can document all the work we do on the house :) (more to come on that later!) After all, we're just 2 normal homebuyers that know zilch about home repairs, so we were braced for any surprises!

The home inspection basically stated that we need to update some electrical work (the breaker box was the original from the house built in 1956, receptacles need to be rewired, etc.), some plumbing issues need to be resolved (a few leaky pipes, bathroom sink and shower don't work, etc.) and a few other issues. Basically, everything Ross & I had already talked about wanting (and needing!) to fix as soon as we get our hands on this house, were in the report, so it came as no surprise.

So now that the most anticipated step is over with, we are ecstatic and still moving forward with the purchase of this house. Hopefully now it's smooth sailing until the December 20th Closing Date :)

Meet my Little Friend....

Do you see him?! Perched between the crevice of my cubicle wall and the countertop? Yup, that there is a stink bug. But since he is in the perfect spot where I am unable to get to him and kill him (or rather ask one of the guys to 'flush' him), I shall call him Harold. :)

I'm electing him as my cubicle mascot! Good ol' Harry just chillaxin' all day like it's his job. No worries. No chores. Just being all awesome up in my cubicle biz-nat.

And you wanna know why I named him Harry? B/c he is not hairy at all...ha... hA! But I like to call him Harold. Much more sophisticated. Dont'cha agree? And I call him a 'he' becuase he is ugly. And ugly girls do NOT exist... at least according to those Dove commericals. All girls are beautiful in their own way :) Therefore, I come to the conclusion that ALL stink bugs must be guys! ta ta til next time...

Out with the Red, In with the New

It's times like this that I wish I knew how to sew! I've been wanting to learn for years now, but have not made the time or space for a sewing machine. You see, my latest pet peeve is mine & Ross' red couch:

If only there were a way to cover the red nicely! Sure, I don't mind it so much in this picture with the white throw and white pillows, but you see, that was just my way of trying to get rid of the red.....8 months ago! Now that we're buying a new house, I give myself an excuse to redecorate, and I'm done with red. OUT. Nada. No More. BUT you see, we don't exactly have money for a new couch, so I have to make do with what we have. My solution was a sofa slipcover:

Awful, right?! Any suggestions? Of course, I think it would help if it weren't so wrinkled! I literally pulled it right out of the package in all my excitement and threw it on the couch. I'm tempted to wash and dry it to get rid of the wrinkles, and if I still hate it, I may still try to return it!

I want to bring greens, yellows & neutrals in the new house, so my other ideas are to buy a green-ish throw to drape over the couch, maybe 2 to break up the white, and some colorful pillows. Do you think that would help?! I'm really at a loss. I guess it's worth a shot to accessorize first and then return it if I still hate it. But sadly, I think I'm willing to work with this, as ugly as it may be, than live with red for any longer. Too bad I couldn't just sew myself a customized slipcover. Now that would be 'snazzy' :)

My suggestion to my future self? Always buy neutral-colored furniture and accessorize with colors. Much cheaper than buying brand new furniture after only a few years of wear & tear.

An Overdue Celebration

Last December, I told Ross I would take him out to dinner once he graduated from IUP with his Master's Degree to celebrate all of his hard work. Little did I know he would choose one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Pittsburgh... Monterey Bay on Mt. Washington! So I jokingly said, "We can't afford that! Why don't we go there once you get a job and we'll celebrate both!" So, 10 months later, he landed a job at NHS Human Services as an HR Generalist (even though it's only part time at the moment, it will turn into full time in a few months) so I finally took him up on my promise! I'm so happy for him and happy to have finally taken him out for a special celebration :) Even if it IS 10 months later!

This is before dinner, before the sun had completely set.

Ross striking a pose with the view of Pittsburgh.

Apparently I'm not nearly as "model-esque" as my hubby,
as this was the 5th photo taken before I got a decent shot! ha

We requested a table by the window so we had the breathtaking view of downtown Pittsburgh at night in all it's 'lit-up' glory :) It was beautiful. Dinner was great too! Ross took advantage of their specialty by ordering anything 'seafood' from the menu while I stuck with crab cakes for dinner (it was either that or a steak since I don't eat fish!). For dessert, we had a Neopolitan Cheesecake (or as I like to call it, "Napoleon" :) It was a great night out, and even though I really don't care to get all dressed up to go out....it was a nice change. But what can I say.... our 1-year Wedding Anniversary was celebrated with Pizza & a pitcher of Beer at one of our favorite pizza places, Sir Pizza :) Now THAT's my kind of celebration!! We are so "high-class"....

**HOUSE UPDATE**

In case anyone is curious, there always seems to be one more obstacle with the house, but it's all coming along. All utilities are turned on as of yesterday. The bank paid the water company the outstanding charges, so that's squared away. NOW we've found out that we need a plumber to come light the water heater and de-winterize the house (which we were all unaware that the house was winterized to begin with!!). Luckily for us I have a family of plumbers and have them coming out Thursday morning, before the home inspection at 3:00 :) Ross & I are anxious to hear how the inspection goes..... by this point I don't think that there's too much that can take us by surprise! Or I possibly just jinxed ourselves! Adios til next time....

Scaredy-Cat (And no, not our mailbox)

I hate confrontation. Really hate it. I'll do anything to not have to hear yelling, even if I'm not the one getting yelled at. I used to lock myself in my room as child when I heard people fighting. Still do. Although Ross & I NEVER fight...ever....never... Really. ........anywho!....

Here's what happens when people are mean to me on the phone:

"Richland Water, how can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm calling to see if I can get the water turned on, at a house my husband & I are in the process of buying."
"What's the address?"
"6100 ******** Lane"
"Well that house has delinquent charges and we are NOT turning the water on until they are paid."
*I'm all bug-eyed and shocked*
CLICK!

SHE YELLED AT ME! It may not sound mean, but she said that last sentence in a very rude tone. So the best way I can cope is to just hang up! HA.

So now we've found out that there is a Water Lien against our future home, and we're trying to square that away, before the Home Inspection. I guess its just one step at a time.

Here's to still hoping we survive and can reconcile anything that goes wrong along the way :) I REALLY want this house, so I don't want anything to stand in my way.

Home Sweet Ugly Home

Ross & I had an exciting weekend....we looked at our first house! It was the first house we saw with potential .... our first inside tour of a house ..... and now our first accepted offer! That's right, we loved the house, the yard, the inside, everything, and put an offer on it Monday night. Tuesday morning at 10:00 am, Stephanie called to tell us that our offer was accepted :) First time's a charm?!

Before I get ahead of myself, maybe I should brief you on the house a bit. Here's a picture of our future abode (if everything goes according to plan, I'll get to that later!):


Isn't it so Frank Lloyd Wright-ish?! It's so unique, so lovely, so much potential!

And here are a few more pics:

This is another view of the front. That big window to the left would be our "living room."

Kitchen. It's the only updated room in the whole house, very modern-ish, I guess. I like the almost new gas range :)


This room comes off of the entryway when you walk in the front door. I think we'll make this a 'den.' Straight ahead is the kitchen and to the left of this room is the sunk-in living room.



Here's a good view of the living room. You can ignore my weird face :) Again, we have so many projects in mind for this room! Stay tuned...

This is the other side of the living room. Straight ahead is the dining room (with misc. furniture that was left behind that I'll prob. rehab :)

Here is our back-yard. I like to call this the "floating deck!" Even though we have an acre of land, this is pretty much our backyard for the time being. And it's very swampy, so when spring comes, we'll have to figure out how to fix that. I'd love to get rid of the deck and add a brick patio, but we have to figure out the drainage issue first I guess! One project at a time.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...... Our mailbox!!............

HAHHAHAHA. Yup, this is what the owner's left us to work with. After hours of laughter over the mailbox, I'm kind of growing partial to it. Perhaps we shall keep it?! HAHAHA...

*ahem*



But let's go back to how this all began, and the roller coaster it's been and going to be:

I first spotted the house and drove past it last week. After inquiring about it, Stephanie, our Realtor, pointed out that it was a Foreclosure, so then I had to check with our Mortgage Lender to see if we would still qualify. He said 'yes', I said 'yay' and we looked at it with Stephanie on Saturday. Once Ross & I had the walk-through and decided that we liked it, we called in the 'rents to look at it and see if they thought it was also a good investment (as much as want to be all "grown up" and do this on our own, who the wiser than our parents to give us some insight?!). They also loved it, so they were happy for us.

Monday night, we sat down with Stephanie and put our offer in. Since it's a foreclosure, there are a lot of loopholes to get through. Things that normally the seller would help you out with, won't happen, since there is no seller, just a bank, who doesn't care a rat's toot about us! A lot of things are falling on us to handle, BUT we got such a great DEAL from it being in foreclosure that we just couldn't say NO.

Now it's time to pay to turn all the Utilities back ON, and get the home inspection. This is where our real anxiety kicks in, b/c the house is being sold "as-is," anything that they find wrong with it, is up to us to fix or we can exit the contract completely. So keep your fingers crossed nothing major needs fixed. IF we get through all the necessary steps, our closing date will be Dec. 20th. Can anyone say "Merry Christmas to Us!!" :) Until then, I'll keep you posted....

Dakota + Acorn = A Weinerful Time

Perhaps you shouldn't give small objects to little dogs....they tend to try to eat things when they are finished playing with it, almost like children?! Probably better we learn this lesson now before we have kids.....

Dream House

I had a dream last night that Ross & I had found the perfect house for such a steal! It consisted of beautiful vaulted ceilings, nice woodwork & trim, and had so much potential I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! BUT it was filled with clutter left by former owners, and needed a TON of updating. Is it scary that even my subconcious has this need & want to purchase an UGLY home with lots of potential?! Perhaps I should also be careful about what I wish for!

Anyways, I'm trying not to lose my mind thinking about the house-hunt, but it's hard not to. At least I can reassure myself that every month we DON'T find a house, is another month of saved money. So, I know I just have to be patient & our time will come, and Ross & I will find a house we both feel lucky to buy :)

House Hunting = Blah

For those of you that don't know...Ross & I have officially started house hunting. If you ask me how long I've been house hunting...I can easily reply, "3 years!" HA! For years, I've dreamed about being a homeowner and making a home into my own! Instead, God thought it would be funny to make me have to rent for the past 3 years. ha-ha. Ross on the other hand is smart and realized we had no money to buy a house, and therefore had no option but to rent. THAT IS until we moved in next door to all the Pedicone's :) He quickly realized how CRAZY my family is, and that he wants out. tee-hee. I tried to tell him my family is NUTS! So now that we've been able to save money by living practically rent-free, we thought it wouldn't hurt to start looking.

We met with the same agent Stephen & Betsy used to buy their townhouse, and got the ball rolling (we also graduated with her, and thought it would be nice to use someone we knew).

Here are a few things we quickly realized:

1. We're poor & were pre-approved for VERY little
2. We cannot afford to live in Allegheny County
3. We grew up spoiled in dang ol' Pine-Richland....and for this I blame our parents!

So far, we've eliminated the 11 possibilities that matched our "criteria." On a side note, Ross & I ARE looking for a fixer-upper, so we are trying to keep an open mind. An ugly house will not scare us away :) Now we are quickly realizing how long of a process this may be. Even our lowest standards seem to be asking too much. Of course, we weren't expecting to buy a house tomorrow, but now that we've started, I am growing impatient! So let's take a look at a few of the 'options' we were handed!.....

This "beauty" has a ton of things missing that we want. First, it only has 2 bedrooms. Second, it has no garage or even space to build a detached garage. Third, the yard is small! I can keep going, but trust me on this one. It wouldn't even be worth anything for the money we would have to put into it to make it liveable. It's OUT!

Another option. This one literally sat right on 228, a busy highway. I can just picture Dakota running RIGHT into the street, even WITH an electric fence. And there was no backyard. I think finding a yard I like will be my greatest challenge! I can't help it when I grew up with TONS of privacy :)

Lastly, I have a HUGE pet peeve with realtor's who can't even update the listing pic when the seasons change....aka Snow vs. No-Snow. I'm not asking for much. And obviously if this has been on the market since last winter, there's something wrong with it. We did a drive-by just in case, and it's also right on a main highway, and the road is at the same level as the roof of the house! It was an awful drop-off.

So there you have it! A clear explanation of why house hunting can be more frustrating than fun. And how we've easily eliminated our few options thus far. I know we aren't looking for a beauty, but c'mon, we need something we can work with!

How to Disturb your Brother In One Easy Conversation

I went to lunch today with mom & stephen. Stephen offered to give me a ride back to work after lunch, as mom went on her way to run errands in Cranberry, and this is how it all went down :) ........

In Stephen's truck
Stephen's cell phone starts to ring
Stephen looks at his phone...."Oh, it's mom"
(answers phone)

Stephen: "Hello?"

Mom: "Hey, I forgot to ask Kristin when we were together at lunch, but does she need anything from Costco's? I'm running there right now."

Stephen to Kristin: "Do you need anything from Costco's?"

Me: "TAMPONS!"

Stephen to mom: "Ew, gross, I guess she needs Tampons." *laughing*

Mom: *laughing*

Mom to Stephen: "Gee Steve, do you need any tampons?!"

Stephen to Mom: "No, no, I'm fine. But apparently Kristin does." (still disgusted yet laughing at the awkward situation happening in his "manly" truck)

Kristin: "HAHAHAHAHAHA"

Stephen to Kristin: "I thought maybe you were kidding and just saying that to gross me out."

Kristin: "Nope, nope, I'm serious. I really do need tampons."

Stephen to Mom: "I'm just going to assume you know which brand b/c this conversation has already been disturbing enough."

Mom: *still laughing* "Yeah, I'm good. I know which ones. Thanks Stephen!"

(hangs up phone)

Stephen to Me: "Alright then ....*pause*...... lunch was fun, I think it's time for you to be dropped off."
(pulls up to my work)

Kristin: *HAHAHA* "BYE!!"

*hops out of truck*

***THE END***

Jury Duty & Other Fun Happenings...

What's been going on in my life? Too much and not too much all at the same time.

I was called in for Jury Duty last Tuesday, and to my dissapointment, was selected for a trial. So I was downtown Wed. and Thursday as well. Luckily, all of my bosses understood, and were happy I did justice & put a bad guy in jail :) Let's just say this guy was a CREEP! I had all good intentions, and did NOT want to put anybody in jail....but once we gave our 'Guily' verdict (after concluding the DNA evidence was too hard to ignore), we were given some extra information that we were not allowed to know about beforehand, and apparently this was his 3rd conviction!! For the same thing! So I count myself as being productive last week :)

Saturday, Ross & I headed out to the Pirate's game with my friends Ang & Mike, who had Box Seats, thanks to Mike's parents who had won the tickets :) I felt very spoiled. Especially since our box had a flat screen tv, and we were able to watch the preseason Pen's game while trying to also pay attention to the Pirate's game. Nothing like multi-tasking! After the game, O.A.R. performed. I was loving it!!! I've only recently begun listening to them, but Ross has always been a huge fan. And we didn't even know they were performing until a few days prior, so it made going to the game that much more fun! Aside from the chilly weather, and Ross not thinking to bring a jacket, we had a great night!

Sunday was a nice Pedicone cousin outing! HA. We all "watched" the Steeler's win and enjoyed a ton of great food. I like football purely for the social fun of it. But I am excited more for the Penguins :) :) :) and my boy Malkin to be back!!

Anyways, my plans for this weekend are up-in-the-air. Should I go camping myself with a few friends since Ross is all "camped-out?" Or stay home and hang out with Ross and avoid driving 2.5 hrs. each way (by myself) to the campground? I've asked Ross what he would do to convince me to stay home, and he said "Olive Garden." Hmmm....tough life choices, HA! What to do?! what to do?!

Camping Extravaganza

I had to use the title since our "Camping Extravaganza" organizer, Ang, decided to call it that on the Facebook invite :) ha. Anyway, this past weekend for camping was absolutely beautiful. No rain, just enough sunshine to warm up during the day, and enough to cool off at night in order to enjoy a nice campfire. I love this time of year! And I'm glad Ross convinced me to pass Dakota off to the in-laws this weekend b/c I don't think she would've enjoyed the cold nights as much.

As for our camping trip, we had quite a few people that were able to make it. Other than our good friends Ang & Mike, our friend Kris, and her new b/f, Josh (who we got to grill just a bit, j/k!) were able to make it, Ang's brother and his wife (first-time campers....I hope they enjoyed themselves and join us again in the future!), and a few other friends of Ang & Mike's who Ross & I got to meet for the first time that were really fun to hang out with. I think we had a total of about 12 people?! It was a great group and I look forward to camping with everyone again ...hopefully we didn't scare away any of the newbies :)

As for organizing the trip...thanks Ang!! It always ends up being more work than you think it will be, so I really appreciate all the time and effort she put into this...especially since she's back-to-school and working 10+ hour days!

Ah....time to reminisce. Hopefully we can get out one more time, but I'm not sure Ross is willing. He was already "camped out" a month ago, and I was lucky he enjoyed himself this weekend. So we'll see. I just may have to go stag :)

Finance Conference

Today has been a catch-up day at work since I've been gone all week at our Global Finance Conference at Lakeview Resort in Morgantown, WV. I was reluctant about attending the conference ever since I began helping to plan it almost 3 months ago. I really didn't want to go, I was reserved about not knowing anyone, being the youngest attendee there (since most of the invited attendees were managers, controllers, etc.) and just hoped that I could manage to mingle enough to survive. All in all, the conference went really well, and I even enjoyed myself for the most part :) (I guess the free Pedicure didn't hurt!). I hope to get some good feedback from people, but me and the other 2 ladies that planned it have already been voted to be the "conference planners" again next year...so we must've done something right!

I was excited to finally meet a lot of the people that I already correspond with. It always nice to put a face to a name. And it was great to meet some of our Global Controllers from all over the world, a few from Sweden, Japan, China, Germany, Spain, etc. Too bad our dept. won't allow us to plan the Conference in Europe next year :P Now THAT would be awesome, ha.

Anyways, I got home yesterday afternoon after a nasty drive in the pouring down rain, unpacked, did my laundry, and packed again (3rd time in the past 2 weeks! *sigh*) for camping this weekend with a few friends. So far, it looks like no chance of rain all weekend, and beautiful autumn weather!! I love Fall! It's certainly the best time to go camping :) Especially when it cools down at night, and we can hover around a nice campfire, and then snuggle into a sleeping bag. Ah...I'm so excited. Even though I'm not looking forward to another long car ride, it'll still be worth it.

Crazy Week

This past weekend/week at work have been absolutely crazy! I haven't even HAD time to surf the web in the past week...how DID I survive?! ha...

I've been wanting to update everyone on my weekend at VA Beach with mom and the girls, but alas, this is the first time I've been on here for quite some time. Anyways, I had a great time. Sorry, I don't have any pics to share. I've gotten so lazy when it comes to taking pictures. I was a little hesitant about going on the trip, it seemed like such a far drive for only 4 days, but in the end, it was worth it. I enjoyed just chilling by the pool (that did NOT have an ocean view....boo), getting some sun (but not too much, I LOVE my new HUGE beach hat :) :) :), and enjoying the great weather we lucked out on (boo-boo-pa-too to you Hurricane Earl)(HA! you just wait, my new phrase is going to catch on soon to everything!). And now I'm extrememly thankful I got some relaxation time in before this crazy work week had begun.

I've been helping plan a Finance Conference at Lakeview Resort in Morgantown, West Virginia since June, and it's coming up next week!!! So last minute details have been taking over my life at work, hence the reason my week has been so hectic. I even SKIPPED my lunch yesterday, eek! As much as I've been enjoying being an "event planner" for this conference, I think it's earned me a few gray hairs. The conference is next week, Monday through Thursday, which I will also be attending to make sure it all runs smoothly. Let's just say, I hope the week goes by fast. I am not one to mingle. Or make new friends. No thanks. I actually enjoy silence, thank-you-very-much. So for me to have to mingle with about 70+ people I've never met (even a few from out of the country....did I mention how AWFUL I am with accents?!?!?), will certainly be a challenge.

Lastly, at least I will have a camping trip coming up the weekend after the conference that will surely get me through the week. I can't wait to see all my friends :) And surely Ross will miss me after I'm gone for 4 days?! ...*ahem*....maybe. Did I mention how much he enjoyed me being gone over Labor Day weekend?! just kidding. Although it WAS nice to have some time apart ....and even nicer to come home to a CLEAN apartment! *gasp*

My Typical Workday

Here's a little preview of what a typical workday looks like for me:

8:30 am: Get into work
8:45 am: Read through new emails
9:00 am: Asked to schedule various meetings w/ 15+ people throughout the end of the year
9:30 am: Send out meeting requests to people for various dates
10:00 am: Realize I scheduled the first mtg. during a weeklong conference that I am indeed attending, but completely forgot about
10:14 am: Re-send meeting request
10:15: Apologize to the 8 emails I received in all of 3 seconds reminding me about the conf. and why I would schedule a mtg. for such date
10:30: Dilemna solved, everyone likes the new date
10:40: Try scheduling another meeting
10:45: Realize there's not ONE SINGLE Conference room available in this entire HUMUNGOUS building during my time slot
10:50: search for new time & date
11:00: Finally find a conf. room I can use
11:05 ADHD kicks in, and I stare at the Facilities guys removing ceiling tiles above my head, to feed a wire down to the other end of the building
11:10: still watching, la dee da
11:20: what is that white foamey stuff in the ceiling?? dust or fire-proof preventatives?? hmm...
11:30: Where did the Facilities guys go, the ceiling tiles are still outta wack
11:45: lunch lunch lunch, food food, num num num...
12:00: Go to lunch w/ Mom since she's shopping in Cranberry today :)
1:00: attempt to work while counting down the hours to my weekend!

yup, a day in the life of me is never boring. Unless it's yesterday, now THAT was a boring day...

Twilight Fever

After having some doubts about being left home alone this weekend, and what I would do with myself, I surprisingly kept very busy and had a great weekend!

Friday night I got the chance to see 4 of my girlfriends, at an impromptu dinner at the Olive Garden :) It was a great start to my weekend! Afterwards, I decided to rent "Remember Me" with Robert Pattinson. You see, I'm a lil' obsessed with him lately, since Michelle's gotten me hooked on the whole 'Twilight' series, and since Redbox was not carrying either of the Twilight movies, I had to make due with what I could. The movie was pretty good, it was a little intense at parts, with a sad ending. But I'm a sucker for "drama" chick flicks.

Saturday I went out to lunch with another friend, did some shopping for fun (aka Target), and then stopped by my dad's birthday clam bake at his friends house to hit up some free food for dinner :) I left just after it started to pour down raining, in order to start my 'Twilight' marathon! I rented the first Twilight, which I saw a few years ago after it just came out. But back then, I didn't know what all the hype was about, and thought the movie was awful. So I decided to re-watch it now that I've read the book, and enjoyed the movie much more. I also rented New Moon, which I had yet to see. It also did not dissapoint, and worth staying up until 1:00 a.m. (yes, I know...I'm old, I have a 'strict' 10:00 pm bedtime during the week and more often than not do I still fall asleep at the same time on weekends! HA!)

Anyway, I'm halfway through Eclipse, and completely and unwillingly obsessed with this series. I don't even like "sci-fi" but I can't put the book down. I can't wait to see how the story ends! If you already know...please don't spoil it!

As for Ross, he had a great time camping with his friends. It's not often that they all get to hang out, so they made the most of it. And they even ended up with good weather. Apparently for now on he is blaming me on when it rains when we go camping. Thanks hun!

All in all...it was great to be home alone and not feel guilty about watching chick flicks all weekend! But I am happy to have my best friend home :)

"Best Wife of the Year" Award

I've often liked to acknowledge that I should be awarded "Best Wife of the Year." Last year, for example, when I 'allowed' my husband to buy a motorcycle without giving him much of a fight. THAT in and of itself should've won me the award :)

This year, I so kindly planned a camping trip for my husband and all of HIS friends. You see, it started out with all of us wanting to do a camping trip again (like we did 2 years ago). In the end, any of the 'few and far between' girls in his group weren't able to commit, which would leave me alone with 5 guys...camping. So you can understand when I opted out, and insisted they have a "guys" weekend. In the end, I had done all the planning and nagging to get enough people to come, and now I don't even get to enjoy all the effort it was worth. You'd think this was just some kind of ploy to get Ross out of the house for the weekend! Not really, although now I'm wondering if this was somehow a result of my subconcious. But after being sad that I won't be able to enjoy a weekend of camping, I'm kind of looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing :) And having Ross gone for a few days will allow me to take advantage of catching up on all the chick flicks I've missed in the past year! SO...I guess it won't be such a bad weekend after all.

AND I'm *again* awarding myself "Best Wife of the Year" award :)

It's a win-win situation!

Now if only I could get him to take the dog too ...it would be completely and utterly delightful....




AH. who am I kidding?! I love that stinkin' cute weiner dog....

Happy Anniversary

Ross and I celebrated our 2-year anniversary this weekend at The Melting Pot in Station Square. We've heard so many good things about it, so we finally decided to give it a try for our special night out. It was exciting to try somewhere new, and somewhere unique, where all of your courses contain some type of fondue (for those of you who have never heard of the restaurant).

Our watress was nice enough to take a few photos. You can see by our

food that this was the end of our meal...chocolate fondue!

We went all out and ordered the "4-course dinner for 2," which we were told was the way to go, if eating there. It was great to try every course that they offered! Our first course was a Spinach & Artichoke Cheese Fondue, served with bread for dipping, apple slices and veggies. I was a bit confused how apple slices and cheese fondue go together, which was not one of my favorite combos, but Ross surprised us both by how much he liked it!


Our entree contained a ton of food, like sirloin, chicken, pork, tuna, shrimp, and lobster tail. Sadly, I didn't really enjoy the entree that much. It was a little disheartening since I don't like seafood, so Ross got the majority of that dish! At least the sirloin was good :) My other favorite part of the meal...dessert! We ordered the milk chocolate fondue, which came with pieces of brownie, pound cake, cheesecake, strawberries and bananas. Simply put....it was delicious.

Lastly, our waitress knew that we were celebrating our anniversary (which was funny when she asked, b/c when we told her, she assumed that we were still dating, since she started to go on about how her and her boyfriend's 1-yr. anniversary was coming up soon!), so she offered us a free celebratory toast of champagne. I wanted to do an *awesome* pic of us linking our arms together and drinking, but Ross would not cooperate. O well...just trying to recreate our wedding toast ....loser.... *ahem* Anywho, moving on..... here is our *un-awesome* toast pic....

...which was caught in the middle of dessert, so you can imagine my eagerness to get back to the chocolate fondue.

Even though we decided that we will probably not eat there again, we had a great night out and a great experience! I DO want to note though that we decided to forgo gifts this year in order to do a "nicer" dinner, in case any of you were wondering how we could splurge on a more expensive restaurant. Unlike last year, where we celebrated at Sir Pizza :) .....now THAT, is the way to girl's heart!

Happy 2 Years Ross :)

All Work, No Play

In case you haven't noticed the trend of my blog lately, you'll see that I only update on Monday's. I guess you can blame that on the fact that nothing interesting happens during my work week, hence nothing to blog about, and then the weekend finally arrives and flies by, and I'm eagerly counting down til Friday again! Well, heck, at least I have two days out of the week to look forward to :) Anyway, this past weekend was no exception. It was great, and there's nothing better to perk up the Monday Blues by reminiscing.

This weekend, we got out again with my friend Ang and her boyfriend Mike, to a new campground along the Maryland/PA border. Since they reside in Bethesda, MD, we were trying to find a campground at the halfway point, and I think this particular campground was the best we could find. It was called Hidden Springs Campground, right by Rocky Gap State Park, which was beautiful, and nestled in the PA mountains. It took us about 2 1/2 hrs. to get there (a bit too far if it were just me & Ross) but perfect for meeting in the middle. The campground itself was nice, once Ang & Mike explored and found a good site.

They got there a few hrs. before me & Ross, so they were in charge of checking out our site to see if A) it was wooded and shaded, B) if it was private (to avoid Dakota's insistent barking at ppl) and C) away from all the noisy RV's! ha. Well, they were ready to call it a weekend as soon as they got there! To their horror (and ours), our (original) site was located directly across from all the seasonal RV's (aka fake green grass carpet, and an overabundance of tacky lawn ornaments), provided only a few trees for shade (not nearly enough when they were calling for 105 degree weather!) and the sites were very crammed, sitting one on top of the other (I'm sure Dakota would've enjoyed it!). So after making a quick U-turn back to the campground store to inquire about some other sites, they found a perfect site located in the "Tent Area", which by the way, was the only area in the woods. Again, we're not sure why we weren't originally placed there after Ang specifically asked for privacy, woods, shade, lots of room for 2 TENTS, etc. Out of about 15 tent sites, only 2 were already reserved, so they were lucky to have their pick. I was relieved to show up and see that we had everything we had wanted. So after the initial reaction, we loved our site and the campground.

The only con of the whole weekend (besides the heat) were the rules of Rocky Gap State Park. We had anticipated on going swimming at their "beaches" in the lake, but they didn't allow dogs in any of the areas. We had to do a little of our own exploring on the trails to find a spot to get into the water with Dakota, but nothing was sandy except for what they had reserved as the swimming beaches. It's always dissapointing to not be allowed pets, especially when it's such a family-oriented place, and who doesn't treat their dogs like family anymore these days?! So we didn't spend as much time there as we would've liked. Normally, I don't mind putting her in her crate, but in that kind of heat, I didn't want to take the chance.

So overall, we had a great weekend! We can't wait to go back and try out another site that was even better than ours (but already taken). And hopefully next time the heat won't be so bad. After this weekend, I've finally found a flaw with our tent.... it allows NO air circulation! HA. But I still love it.

On a side note.... Happy 2-Year Anniversary to my hubby :) (wow! can't believe it's been 2 yrs. already!!)

Relaxin'

As much as I love camping, it's nice to have a weekend at home too. I almost think it's necessary to have at least one weekend in between camping trips, just to get the house and chores back in order before being gone for another weekend. And it makes me think that staying home isn't all that bad anyway.

Friday night we got together with the whole fam as an excuse to celebrate Michelle's birthday. Did I get a family cookout for my birthday?! NO. But then again, I'm not the queen of the family. ha...just kidding. Ross at least treats me like the princess I am, on my birthday :)

Saturday was nice to be home to get some errands done. I had a few to run with mom, and of course, that always means lunch is included, which I always enjoy! That night, I went out with 2 of my girlfriends to the Pirate's game (which also was Skyblast night!). It was great to get out for an all-girls night, which hasn't happened in ages, and was long overdue. We also enjoyed the fireworks since none of us bothered to see any for 4th of July, so it was a good ending to a great night!

I'm declaring Sunday my laziest day of the week, every week. Every Sunday seems to be exhausting, even if it means doing nothing all day, but just being lazy, like yesterday. Ross & I forced ourselves to go grocery shopping (like we normally do on Sundays) but we were both so tired, and boy, did it seem like a chore. Luckily, we had a great dinner to look forward to when we got home. Betsy had recommended a great way of cooking Ribs, so we were anxious to try it out. We bought some Baby Back Ribs, put them in the oven, at 275 degrees for a total of 2 hours. During the last hour, we intermittingly spread on our favorite BBQ sauce. They were delicious!! By far, one of our best dinners yet :) We also lounged around and watched a few movies, one of which was 'Avatar.' Ross saw it in theatres with the 3D effects, but I was still curious about all the hype and wanted to see it for myself, even if I didn't get the effects. But I have to admit, it was actually pretty good, after procrastinating to watch it for so long, but was a bit long. Maybe just b/c it ran past my 10:00 bedtime! So needless to say, I am tired today, ha!

So, the weekend was great, with good weather too. Let's hope we can have another sunny weekend since we'll be camping next weekend again. Nothing like camping in the rain when it's calling for scattered thunderstorms all week :( Finger's crossed!

Cooper's Lake Campground

Well, now that we've tried Cooper's Lake Campground, I can say that we're never going back. Maybe it was just us, but it didn't help that the weekend started off badly. Luckily, it ended on a good note....

Friday I got out of work at 4:00 in anticipation of Ross already being home from work, and having the car packed and ready to go by the time I got home. Well, didn't we jinx ourselves. Not only did Ross not get home until I did, but it also started to pour as soon as we were getting ready to pack the car. It was raining pretty badly all day, but it seemed like it would rain for 10 min.'s, then stop, then start again, etc. So I decided we should just try to wait it out again rather than packing the car in the rainstorm and rushing to get to the campground only to sit in the rain some more. Surely it would stop. WRONG! 5:00 rolls by, still pouring (and I remind you, this was not just a drizzle). 6:00 rolls by, Ross falls asleep on the couch, and I finally turn the tv on since staring out the window doesn't seem to be doing any good. Finally, 7:00 rolls by and I wake Ross up. We need to make a decision - either we go now, or don't go at all, b/c by the time we pack and get up there, we're going to be setting up in the dark. We decide to finally pack up the car, in the rain, and get on the road (after changing into dry clothes!). I was checking the weather religously and it looked like the storm would be stopping soon up north, so hopefully it'll be done raining by the time we get there.

Luckily, the campground was only 30 min.'s north of Cranberry, so it was a short drive. We stopped at Burger King for dinner so we wouldn't have to worry about making a fire if it was still raining. We got to the campground around 8:15 pm, with the rain having finally stopped, which, only minutes prior, I was freaking out b/c I thought I rememberd hearing that the office closed at 8:00 pm, and since they didn't take reservations, we would have no way of checking-in. Well, lo and behold, they were open til 9:00 pm, *relief*, so we checked in. We wanted to drive around first to check out the campground, but the lady assured me there were plenty of spots, and to just drive around until we find an area we liked, and camp there, so I went ahead and paid. Well, we drove around. And drove. And drove. One area was complete mud from the rain. No thanks. We drove to another area, but were confused b/c we couldn't tell where the sites were (since they weren't marked). We'd find, what we thought would be a site, but would be missing a picnic table. Then we'd find another nice site, but it's missing a fire ring. Again, and again. What's the deal?! So after driving around the entire campground twice, we had to make the call. Stay or leave? Well, I said, let's drive around one more time. Surely, there has to be *somewhere!* that has a nice spot with both a fire ring AND a picnic table! And I felt bad that I already made the decision to pay and probably couldn't get our money back. So by this point, we just wanted to find a spot, ANY spot. Finally, in the very back of the campground, we found a site. Now it was 8:48 pm and getting dark, especially since we're camping in the woods. AND, we still have to buy firewood if we wanted to build a fire that night, before the store closed at 9:00! So we unloaded the trunk at our site, literally throwing things on the picnic table, trusting it to be safe while we ran to the store (it was, but you can imagine me freaking out the whole time, b/c really, what else could go wrong). We got to the store at 8:58 pm, and luckily, were just in time to buy wood.

So Friday night was definitely not what we had in mind. Camping is supposed to be relaxing, not stressful, and not fun when setting up in the dark. At least on Saturday we had the perfect weather! We had some great food, I got to enjoy some time reading and we just relaxed. We brought Dakota along, which drove us crazy. Normally, I like having her around (unlike Ross, who could do without a dog for a weekend), but this time, she just barked at people, ALL DAY, since people were constantly going by our site. I need to get a handle on her, and why she can't just "give up." So besides her, it was a nice weekend. We won't be going back though, b/c the chances of finding the one spot we mildly liked, is slim, since they don't take reservations. We're moving on.

Maybe next weekend we can drive around to a few campgrounds and check them out, now that we have some suggestions from people. Or at the very least, we have Scarlett Knob as our back-up until we find somewhere better :)

The Search is on...

It seems so hard to find and decide on trying out a new campground. If you haven't noticed, campground websites are terrible! Rarely do they show pictures of what their sites look like, so you're left to wonder if you'll be out in an open field or in a nice wooded, shady spot. Anyways, Ross & I are going to go camping this weekend, just the 2 of us, and we wanted to try going north for a change. Our first choice is Cooper's Lake Campground. My family used to go there when we were kids, but as I was looking at their website, it says they don't take reservations if it's not a holiday weekend. WHAT?! You want me to drive an hour only to find out you have no spots left?! Well....we'll see about that. Other than that, mom & dad have found a few nice campgrounds, Shenango Lake Campground and Tionesta Lake Campground, which are both associated with US Army Corps of Engineers?! Mom and dad got to drive through them and know that they are nice, but their websites are confusing. They show tent sites, but don't indicate how to reserve one, and are left with a 1-800 number to call. Confusing. Anyways, I'll prob. call around tomorrow (nothing like leaving it to the last minute!). Ross may or may not have to work Saturday, so we need to know for sure before making any plans.

Anyways, if you know of some nice campgrounds for tenting, please share! Me & Ross are willing to try something new, but alas, it's too hard to find campgrounds through web surfing. We love being in the woods with very primitive sites (aka no RV's blasting their a/c's and tv's), hence the reason we love Scarlett Knob Campground (but would like to try somewhere new). So, the search is on...

Ross vs. Dakota

They always have a constant battle going. It's exhausting really. You see, when we brought Dakota home, she apparently chose me as her 'one-and-only' favorite person. Apparently, it's a dachshund thing....they attach to one owner, and ignore the rest. So you can see why Ross feels left out in the cold. I don't blame him...we wanted a dog we could both enjoy, and instead, we got a dog that I LOVE, and he basically just accepts, lol. Which puts me in the middle of their ongoing battles....

Let me explain. Dakota has one VERY annoying habit. One that Ross & I both hate. One that I always end up giving into...every...time. For whatever reason, Dakota LOVES to "accidentally" throw her toys down a staircase. Now, for the first 1 & 1/2 yrs. of her life, she didn't know how to go down steps (only up, but that's ANOTHER story), so she would have no way to retreive her toy, until me or Ross finally got it. Well, there's a really long staircase in our apt. that leads down to the garage with a door at the bottom, that she refuses to go down. I don't blame her, it's a very long staircase, especially for a weiner dog. BUT, she must enjoy it in some way b/c it's perfect for throwing her toys down. It was funny...the first time ....and even the 2nd ....but not the 3rd. The funniest was her tennis ball, you'd see her playing with it at the edge of the staircase (her own fault) and then you'd hear, bum-bump bump bump bum-bump. ha!

So this is where Ross comes in. He finally put his foot down. He has ordered me to not save her toys this time so she can learn a lesson! (Should I remind him again that we're talking about a dog, and not a child?!) So far, at the bottom of our staircase, we have a tennis ball, a stuffed porcupine, and a stuffed bullet (thanks to Ross' brother, haha). SO....I guess we're going to count how many toys Dakota can get down there until the battle is won. I'm not sure how Ross win's...I guess until she runs out of toys....surely THEN I can carry them back up!

But I swear, I get in the middle of more of their fights then anyone else in my entire life. Our house is quite the amusement...

My Hot Dog can Swim...

So I promised on Facebook that I would supply pics of Dakota taking her first swim, and instead of posting them to the whole world, I thought I would share them on here instead :) We went camping this past weekend with the whole family and were located right beside a river. On Saturday, a few of us decided to go kayaking, hence the reason we were in the water, and Ross was anxious to see if his dog could swim (after all she is unusually long for a weiner dog) but I knew she could do it....I mean, really...her paws are huge! She's got weird webbed duck feet....

Anywho! Let's take a look....

Ross is still holding her here, getting her prepared for the water....

At this point, Ross is bent over from laughing so hard. He was still holding her, about 2" above the water, and her instincts must've kicked in, b/c her paws just started paddling in the air! Our dog was ready to go! It really was hysterical.... Her first swim complete! Of course, she swam right to me, begging to be saved....

That was fun! Let's do it again....

pssss - Did anyone notice Ross' extreme farmer's tan?!?! HA! Too bad you couldn't see his legs, those are the whitest.

Anyways, it was hysterical seeing her paddle through that water. I couldn't believe how well she did (of course, she couldn't go long distance or anything like that). But best of all...she dried in about 40 minutes. Did I mention how much I love having a short-haired dog?! Of course, I'm sure it helped when I put her on my lap and she shook it all off on me. O well...I was wet before anyhow :)

Kristin's Working Out? Says who?!?!

Yup...you read it right. For the first time in my life, I'm actually considering joining a gym. I think it's official that I've finally hit that age where my metabolism has slowed quite dramatically, or maybe I'm just eating too many cheese fries and greasy pizza (*yum*).

Alas, don't be worried though, that was not my main reason for thinking about joining the gym here at Westinghouse. I'm actually desperate....desperate for something to do during my lunch break! As most of you know, I work with colleagues who like to take "working lunches" almost everyday, and eat at their desks. THIS is not ok with me.... I'm going stir-crazy sitting at my desk 8.5 hrs. everyday. I used to enjoy reading a book during my lunch break, at my last job, but here...it's different. There's nowhere I can really go to not feel like a social outcast by sitting alone on my lunchbreak....ha! So, I've been dragged down to taking a "working lunch" as well. BUT NO MORE! Not me! I need to get away for a bit!

So why not join the gym and try out a few of their classes they offer during lunchtime?! Why, that's not a bad idea. Of course, the pure thought of even being present in a gym scares the bigeesus outta me. But I need to get over that fear....especially since I can't even fit in my wedding dress from only 2 years ago! Eek! Of course, Ross had to point out that I'll be all stinky and sweaty after working out, but their locker room is very nice. Nice showers, supplied with shampoo, soap, and even towels. SO, I think I'll face that fear too and get a quick shower after working out. Unless I'm only mildly stinky...then maybe I can opt out :P

Anyways, tomorrow is my first day of my week-free trial basis. After that, I can get the rest of June for free if I sign up for 6 months...quite a commitment! So, wish me luck. Tomorrow is Spinning class.....geesh, just kill me now....

3-Days Too Little

Welp, since I'm sitting here at work, on a rainy, miserable Tuesday back from an enjoyable 3-day weekend, I might as well update this blog a little and reminisce about how wonderful my weekend was.

This past weekend was mine & Ross' camping trip with my 2 closest girlfiends and their boyfriends, at a campground near Ohiopyle, which we've all been to before. First off, the weather was nothing short of PERFECT! Nice & sunny, upper 70's/low 80's (but cooler since we camp in the shaded woods), and not a single drop of rain (even though it was calling for thunderstorms Friday night, it somehow missed us). So I guess for scoring such a great weekend, I won't be allowed to complain if we get one rainy weekend of camping later in the season, I guess it's a fair trade?!

Our white-water rafting trip on Saturday was a lot of fun. The best part?! Me NOT falling out of the raft. We all had a great time, and our guide even called us an athletic bunch :) I'll group myself into that category since I was there, even though I'm the least athletic person you'll ever meet! I have so many great stories and memories from that trip, it was so exciting to try something new. Our guide was also perfect for us, he was about our age, and had a ton of experience, so we got a lot of individual rafting time rather than being grouped in with the other 8 rafts who all stuck together. We were also always first into the rapid, or last, depending on whether our guide had to help guide the other rafts through (giving us time to relax on shore and watch the other rafts go through the rapids).

Sunday we explored and walked around the little town of Ohiopyle, checked out the natural waterslide and relaxed on the riverbank. I actually managed to get a little sun on my shoulders....look at me catching up to my Mexican-colored husband!! (haha)

Other than that, we played a little cornhole, phase 10 and Skipp-o, drank a little beer, and ate a LOT of great food. It was the perfect way to relax on a long weekend, and I wouldn't have had it any other way :) I can't wait til our next outing, that has yet to be planned.

But for now, Ross & I have our next camping trip to look forward to in 2 weeks, with Stephen & Betsy, Michelle & Mike, and mom & dad. We're trying out a new campground, about 30 min.'s from Ohiopyle, where we get to tent along the river. Should be great! Or maybe that's when mother nature will make me pay my dues for last weekend's sunny weather....

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I have a TON of errands to run today, and it's raining :( I hate running errands in the rain, in case running errands isn't bad enough, now its wet out, and people are dumb when it comes to driving in the rain. O well....I'll gladly let it rain this weekend if that means it'll be nice next weekend for our camping trip with friends :) Hence the reason I have so many things to do....just trying to get ready for our first camping trip of the season and getting things done that can't be done next weekend. I can't wait for next weekend! It's gonna be a blast :) Now I just gotta get through my to-do list for today, and hopefully not be a total wreck at the end of the day. Who knows, if I have any time or energy left, Ross said he would take me to see Shrek Forever After!! I lurv Shrek! I read a few bad reviews, but what do those critics know anyways?! I don't think I'll be too disappointed (just give me a bag of popcorn and this girl is happy!). But don't I just have the sweetest husband that will take me to a movie he could careless to see just b/c I want to go?! I know.. I think he's pretty awesome too :)

Weekend blabbering

So week 2 of work is over, and I would say that it's def. getting better everyday. I'm finally learning my way around, asking a ton of ?'s and having an idea of who to go to for help, and basically feeling more comfortable w/ the job as time goes on. It's been a hectic 2 weeks, but it's only getting better. I went to happy hour after work w/ some co-workers yesterday, which was fun. I ended up staying a lot longer than I had planned, but that was ok. I needed to get to know the people I work with, so it was a perfect excuse. Their all really friendly, and I think I'll really enjoy this job in the long run.

Other than work keeping me busy, Ross & I are looking forward to camping in a few weeks w/ some of our closest friends. We're taking advantage of memorial day weekend to camp, and we're going to try out white-water rafting for the first time.... I can't wait! It's def. the one thing I can look forward to that's getting me through my 1st month of work! So that should be fun and hopefully we have nice weather. Oh...and if anyone has suggestions about what is best to wear for white-water rafting, please do tell! I'm kind of at a loss....

Besides that, no new updates. Everything is calm and back to normal at the Seibert household, now that I'm back to work and Ross is keeping busy landscaping. Of course, he's back on the job hunt after taking a break for awhile, so hopefully he hears something soon. I know he's anxious to be out of the heat all day and have his back feeling normal again!

5 days down...Infinite to go...

I just finished up my first week at Westinghouse, and let me tell you, it has been a roller coaster! Monday I had to sit through an 8-hr. orientation w/ a classroom of other new hires, to learn all about the history and future of Westinghouse. It was a long day, but was very well organized and executed. Maybe they've done this more than once, huh?!

Tuesday was a different story. It was my first official day in my job. I was shown my workspace, met a few of my coworkers, and then thrown to the wolves. Literally. The conversation went a little like this:

me: "So who exactly will be training me?"
manager: "oh, funny you should ask. We actually don't have anyone to train you."
me: *speechless* *dumbfounded* *shocked* "ummmm....ok"

So .....the rest of the day was basically a blur of trying to get settled in, yet having no clue what I should be doing, what I might be doing in the future, etc. Wednesday was basically the same story, but with work actually given to me. I think I had 3 panic attacks, and 2 hours of being on the verge of tears. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.

Thursday, I guess they finally decided they needed someone to help me out (since I only mentioned it a few hundred times!). One of the admin.'s from another floor came up to help me get started...I mean, the security at this place is so ridiculous, I couldn't even DO work if I had wanted. I had no clue how to get any of my usernames, passwords, etc., etc., etc. And every time I tried asking for help, they'd tell me to call the helpdesk, who would reply "oh, just contact your admin...she should know." I AM THE ADMIN.!!! ugh. this was going no where. Once I met with the admin. on Thursday morning, things were going a lot smoother. For one thing, I could finally log into the xerox machine to make a copy! Wahoo...progress. Friday was also a surprisingly good day. I got some work, had a lot of questions (but at least I knew who to go to for help) and got a few things accomplished. I even had a 'group' lunch with a few people in my department.

Overall, I'm ecstatic for the first week to be over with. It's always the worst, even if you try to prepare for it, you can't. So my motto for now, which is proving to be true so far, "every day will be better than the last." Maybe that's why I liked my old job so much, b/c I was there for so long, I knew what I was doing. I liked knowing the answer when someone would ask me a question. So I know that if I give Westinghouse a chance, I'll probably like it just as much.

Farewell Old Friend...

Even though we technically moved 2 weeks ago, it was only yesterday that we finally turned in the keys to the old apartment. It was a bittersweet moment. That apartment was a first for many things, and looking back on it, I can't believe how much has changed since first moving in there. I lived there for 3 years, and Ross, 2 years. It was my first taste of independence, my first taste of adulthood. I never really had the "college" experience, so the first year of living alone really allowed me to learn a lot about myself. I held my first "real world" job while living there. I transferred to GVA Oxford only months after moving in there, and got laid off from GVA months before moving out, so I really relate that apartment to my time spent at a job I enjoyed that also helped carve a path for my future.

Ross & I got engaged while living there and married the next year:
We brought home Dakota to that apartment. She was my first dog (aside from family pets, that don't count) that I had to beg and beg Ross to allow me to get. Of course, I had wanted a pug all along, but we had compromised & settled on a miniature dachshund. Now I could officially call us a "family."


We also hosted our very first party with all of our friends on New Year's Eve 2008. It was a blast and one to remember :)
A lot has changed for Ross as well since moving in. This apartment was his first time not living at home with his parents anymore. He always commuted to college, so he also did not have the "college" experience. Aside from that, he's now a married man :) He also graduated from Robert Morris, and then IUP with his master's. He was studying hard in those days, and now finally has time to relax. He also purchased his first bike (after nicely calling me @ work one day to ask for permission, I'll never forget that phone call!) What a good husband :)

In case you're wondering, he's moved on already to a newer and better bike, for no cost, don't ask how but I guess my husband's a hustler! Don't worry if you can't see a difference, b/c I couldn't either and he was offended, ha!

Even though 3 years may not sound like a lot of time, it's amazing how much has changed! I can't wait to see what the next 3 years holds for us. We hope to own our first house in the next 3 years, and I hope to see us both working full-time jobs that we love and in the careers we had seen for ourselves. Maybe that is asking too much, but you can't have what you don't strive for. So here's a toast to the future and remembering old times :)