tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45865007424636253592024-03-12T21:41:58.974-04:00Love In DifferenceFinding love in our differencesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-75189424283871824282015-07-14T15:47:00.000-04:002015-07-14T15:47:23.128-04:00Spilling the Beans...<h3>
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We told our families the big news.</div>
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When you find out big information like the fact you’re going to become a father for the first time, you want to tell the world. Unfortunately, it’s become the norm to wait a little while to spill the beans. There is a higher risk of miscarriage in the first 12 weeks or so which makes waiting a safer bet. That waiting is tough, though. </div>
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Telling family, however, is something that we wanted to do sooner. We wanted to wait until we had gotten the first ultrasound, though. This issue we ran into was that we were going to be on vacation with my side of the family on on the week we could schedule the first ultrasound. So, we had to schedule it for the week we got back from vacation. That was terrible because being on vacation with my side of the family would have been the perfect opportunity to tell them. Especially because this would be the first grandkid/great grandkid on my side.</div>
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As the week of vacation went on, Kristi didn’t feel her best. She had to opt out of some things that aren’t as safe for pregnant women and she was tired a lot. We decided that we would go ahead and tell them. This made my week!</div>
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First we told my parents on the beach after a lackluster dinner out. It certainly made up for the mediocre dinner! They were ecstatic and, of course, had a ton of questions. We had a nice walk down the beach with just them after breaking the news and we got to talk all about it. We were going to wait to tell the rest of the family for another couple of days though. That was the hard part… especially for my mom. </div>
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We told my grandparents by saying “you’re really good grandparents. And you’re going to be great grandparents.” They understood immediately and we excited. This would be the first time any of them were going to have a great grandchild so they will have to cope with the title of “Great Grandma” and “Great Grandpa” but I think they’ll do just fine!</div>
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When we got back from vacation, we told Kristi’s mom and she was surprised and excited. She already has two grandkids but, if you saw her reaction, you would realize that she was just as thrilled about this one as she was about her other two. I guess hearing that news never gets old!</div>
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You only get to tell your family that you’re having your first child one time and it is such a joy getting to share that moment with them in person. I am very glad we did it the way we did.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">From the very moment that we found out I was pregnant, we were extremely excited to tell both of our families. While we wanted to tell them immediately, we decided that we would wait until after our first ultrasound appointment at 9 weeks before we told anyone. Well, we soon realized that our vacation with Nolan’s family just so happened to be the week before our first appointment and his entire family would be there. He mentioned wanting to go ahead and tell them, but I was still hesitant. Unfortunately, plans don’t always work out how we want them to, and these weren’t any exception. I was feeling pretty fatigued and foods were very iffy for me. Thank goodness I never got sick, but feeling nauseous was enough torture for me! I didn’t want his family to think I was being a big stick in the mud and we realized that, as our week at the beach went on, it would get harder to conceal our secret. So, we made the decision to tell Nolan’s parents.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Something to note here is that this baby will be a first of many on Nolan’s side of the family; the first grandchild for his parents, and the first great-grandchild on both sides of his family.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, after dinner one night we decided to walk with Nolan’s parents along the beach back to our place and tell them on the walk. I was so nervous! Not because I didn’t know how they would react, but because I get nervous at basically everything, so thank goodness Nolan likes to talk… We took a picture of them and instead of the normal “1,2,3, cheese,” Nolan switched it to “1,2,3, first time grandparents!” The looks on their faces were priceless and their reactions were awesome!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Later in the week, I finally decided I was okay with telling the rest of Nolan’s family. I didn’t want to deprive him of the opportunity to tell them face-to-face. So, Nolan casually slipped it into conversation with his granny and grandma and grandpa (in separate conversations with each). He mentioned how they are pretty good grandparents, but would be GREAT grandparents. I thought this was a rather clever way to spill the beans! Again, they were ecstatic and it was exciting to finally be telling our families.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As soon as we got back in town from vacation we wanted to tell my mom. We brought her back some taffy (since she loves that stuff!) and decided to put it in a bag to give her. On the outside of the bag I wrote “ To: Grandma… From: Baby Collins”. So, we gave her the bag and waited for her to realize what the outside said. As soon as she realized what it meant, she was also very excited and slightly shocked I think. Her baby is having a baby… that has to be a weird feeling! Words can’t express how glad I was to finally tell my mom.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While telling our families didn’t work out exactly how I had envisioned (especially when it came to my siblings), I’m so excited to be able to share this special moment in our lives with all of them.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-81514917562814135782015-07-07T11:33:00.000-04:002015-07-07T11:33:55.953-04:00Finding out the big secret...<h3>
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We found out that we are expecting our first child.</div>
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Ever since we joined a local gym, I have been getting out of bed at the way-to-early hour of 6:30. To some people, this may be a normal time to get out of bed and start the day. Not to me. Normally, I get to the gym a little before 7 and spend an hour or so working out. Then I’ll get home, have a snack and make our lunches that we will take to work. April 27th was different.</div>
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As I was finishing up on the treadmill, Kristi texted me to ask when I was going to head home. This may not seem like a strange question, but sometimes it isn’t common for her to even be out of bed and awake enough to text me. If she is up at that time, she’s busy getting ready for work. So, I thought something was up. I didn’t know what but my mind was working as I drove home.</div>
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We were in our second month of trying to conceive so I thought maybe she’s pregnant! But then I thought that probably wasn’t it. I figured it would take more than two months. When I got home, though, I was in for a wonderful surprise. I gave Kristi a kiss and she told me she got me a card. So I opened it, and as I read it, the message became clear. She also happened to be taking video of the big reveal so you can see it all over my face as the realization hits me. </div>
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Needless to say, I was excited and couldn’t think about much else at work that day. I knew we were in for a big, thrilling journey that would change our lives forever.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The Monday morning in question started out like most others. Nolan got out of bed to go to the gym at a ridiculously early hour (well, technically, anything before 8:00am falls into this category for me) and I stayed in bed so I could get a little bit more rest before the work week was to kick off. On this particular morning I had already told myself I would take a test just for fun… and no, I’m not talking about one of those millions of “tests” or quizzes you can take on Facebook at any given moment… I’m talking about a pregnancy test. Let me tell you how I expected that morning to pan out. I thought I would roll out of bed, take the aforementioned test, and continue to get ready for the morning just as normal because I fully expected it to say “NOT PREGNANT”. Boy was I in for a surprise when a short 3 minutes later that little stick said “PREGNANT”. I thought for a moment that my eyes were deceiving me and I was still in a fog from just waking up. So, I blinked a few times and squinted to make sure I read it correctly. Sure enough, it was there plain as day… PREGNANT. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Moments after I found out the results, I texted Nolan to see when he would be home from the gym as I couldn’t contain my excitement or the news for much longer. By the time he got home I had a card ready for him that would share the good news. I acted pretty nonchalant (if I do say so myself) when he walked in the door and I acted as if I had come across a card that had been stowed away for a while that I wanted to give him. I managed to set up my phone to capture his reaction and it was glorious. You can see the look on his face as he realized what the card was saying… He is going to be a DAD! I will NEVER forget that moment.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now, after the shock of everything began to wear off I started to question the accuracy of the test I had taken. Yes, the company boasts the 99.9% accuracy of its test, but that .01% is what I was honing in on. So, I scheduled an appointment that day for a blood test with my doctor just to make sure I didn’t take the 1 in a million test that was faulty. Just as the doctor and I suspected, the blood test confirmed that I am indeed pregnant. I guess at this point I should admit that I took another home test later in the week because I still didn’t quite believe it. Nolan thought I was insane, but kindly kept all comments to himself… and yes, it still said PREGNANT.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Later that week I set up my OB/GYN appointment to have our first ultrasound. When they told me they like to set up the first appointment for somewhere between 8 and 10 weeks, I was disappointed. So, for a solid month all I had to go on was a home test and a blood test… well, and the occasional nauseous feeling and extreme aversion to certain foods, I guess. But other than that, I was forced to put my faith in the accuracy of those tests.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, my first lesson(s) on this journey of being pregnant are trust and patience. Two things that aren’t always easy for me to embrace, but are proving to be extremely important for my sanity.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Words can’t express how excited Nolan and I are to be on this new journey in life together. To think that by the end of the year (if all goes well) I will be a mom and he will be a dad is something I can’t even begin to comprehend!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-84663927089434289112014-11-21T08:40:00.000-05:002014-11-21T08:40:52.447-05:00Stuffed...<h3>
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We made quinoa stuffed bell peppers - a meatless dish with beans.</div>
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As a man, I need meat to survive. In the hunter-gatherer sense of the word, yes, I “need” it. It’s something that is just born in most men. Bacon, steak, BBQ chicken, lamb chops, ribs, pulled pork, etc. I am a carnivore. Not only is all of this meaty deliciousness simply better tasting than a salad, but it also is packed with protein which is an important part of any diet. So, when Kristi suggested we don’t eat meat for a week, I said that we need protein so we can’t do that. To which she replied “we’ll eat beans.”</div>
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Whoa… hold up… beans? If you know me, you’ll know that I get pegged as a “picky eater” because I don’t like beans. It’s the texture (they are like eating paste) AND the taste which don’t appeal to me. I like guacamole and Kristi says it has the same texture as beans; but guacamole tastes good enough to overlook the texture issues and you dip chips in guacamole so the crunchy element helps rectify the pasty texture. </div>
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With that being said, I agreed to try some new things because I love my wife. I even told her I wouldn’t complain. I would, however, tell her my un-sugarcoated thoughts if she asked. And Kristi didn’t waste any time taking full advantage of my willingness to try some meatless, bean filled dinner options. She made quinoa stuffed bell peppers. This was a decent start to our meatless journey because I liked all the ingredients in it except for the black beans. I also think you could put some ground beef or something in there and it would still taste great. But that’s neither here nor there. When she did put the beans in, she graciously didn’t add as many as she probably would’ve liked to, and I thanked her for that. </div>
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I have to admit that these stuffed peppers looked and smelled good, so I was kind of excited to try them. When they came out of the oven, we popped them onto plates and dug in. The first bite I took had two black beans visible on the spoon staring right at me as if daring me to eat them. Kristi looked over and didn’t see the beans at first and she commented on how my first bite didn’t even have any beans. I showed her the beans, then accepted the challenge and plunged the fork into my mouth, beans and all. I am happy to report that I liked it. I didn’t taste the beans, which is good. Also, I didn’t bite directly into any of the pasty nuggets, so the texture didn’t affect my enjoyment. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QnQHpRFmxYB8lmK0IMiN1B6_uv0dfxRVvsPZDtwxTM4Ry9EdqqcQr2SqK-to4g2LE2OMTbKW-DzR0xqok5HoyBD3FAHxYZ-VjUmbx89zd3QqKfljJvzt0BbU-dPka3MtQvDts9qmL8g/s1600/IMG_2274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QnQHpRFmxYB8lmK0IMiN1B6_uv0dfxRVvsPZDtwxTM4Ry9EdqqcQr2SqK-to4g2LE2OMTbKW-DzR0xqok5HoyBD3FAHxYZ-VjUmbx89zd3QqKfljJvzt0BbU-dPka3MtQvDts9qmL8g/s1600/IMG_2274.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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I ate the whole thing and thought I would be hungry in about an hour because it was a vegetarian dish. Surprisingly, I wasn’t. So, now Kristi has a new dish she can make when she has a bean craving or we want to save some money and not eat meat one night. I’m sure there will be other things I try in the coming weeks but I’m keeping an open mind and trying them out of love for my wonderful wife.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There are two things you should probably know about Nolan and me. I’m not the world’s best cook and Nolan hates beans. Now, when I speak of my cooking abilities, I don’t mean that I can’t cook… I just mean that I cook the same four or five recipes over and over because I know they are good and I do a decent job with them. When I speak of Nolan’s hatred of beans that is no understatement. He really doesn’t like them. In fact, he has been known to pick around them in a meal, gag while attempting to eat them, and of course he makes that face that seems to say “why are you trying to hurt me by putting these beans in perfectly fine food?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In a Pinterest fueled moment, I pinned a plethora of healthy meals that didn’t involve meat. I sat on these recipes for a few days before bringing up the idea of going a week without eating meat to Nolan. Please don’t mistake my attempt at going meatless for a week as a weak attempt at pushing us into a vegetarian-ish lifestyle… that’s simply not the case. I like meat too much. The idea came to me because meat is so stinking expensive. We have a strict grocery budget each month and it seems as if we (more often than I’d like to admit) end up going the tiniest bit over. In an effort to rein that in a little, I wanted to explore the idea of meatless recipes and convince Nolan that you can have a fulfilling and delicious meal without one ounce of meat involved. Just as I suspected, Nolan retorted with a simple, “I’m a man… I need meat to survive.” We volleyed back and forth on this idea and, naturally, I came out the winner.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, that brings me to the newest dish that I’ve added to my repertoire. Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers. YUM! I told Nolan all of the ingredients (which sounded like a great combo) and ended the list with a whisper of “…and beans,” hoping he would somehow miss that tiny addition. He didn’t and I received a little hesitation. Nolan graciously agreed to try out this recipe with me and even promised not to complain (too much) about the addition of beans. Nolan stood by my side as I prepared the meal and, when it came time to add the beans, he requested that I not overload the recipe and I happily obliged. So, without further ado, here it is:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>3 cups cooked quinoa (I cooked mine with chicken bouillon cubes and added mushrooms and onions)</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1(4oz) can green chiles (I left these out since we didn’t have any)</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1 cup corn kernels</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>½ canned black beans, drained and rinsed </i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>½ cup petite diced tomatoes</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>½ cup shredded cheddar cheese</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro leaves (again, we didn’t have any so I left it out)</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1 tsp. cumin</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1 tsp. garlic powder</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>½ tsp. onion powder</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>½ tsp. chili powder</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Salt and pepper to taste</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>6 Bell Peppers, tops cut, stemmed and seeded</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>**We didn’t use the quantities listed here as I didn’t want an overabundance of a meal I wasn’t sure we would like… basically we eyeballed everything**</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>In a large bowl, combine quinoa, green chiles, corn, beans, tomatoes, cheeses, cilantro, cumin, garlic, onion and chili powder, salt and pepper.</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Spoon the filling into each bell pepper cavity. Place in a baking dish, filling side up, and bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through, about 25-30 minutes. (I ended up cranking up the heat and leaving them in a bit longer)</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Even though we didn’t follow the recipe to a tee, it smelled absolutely delicious and I couldn’t wait to dig in. Once we sat down to eat, I awaited Nolan’s response as to how it tasted. Yes, I creepily stared at him and watched as he didn’t pick out the beans and ate them along with the filling. I was shocked and probably had a weird grin creep up on my face. I don’t know if I could go as far as saying he loved it, but he definitely would eat it again (at least that’s what he told me).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I am so excited that I’ve found a meal that is something new and different and something that Nolan enjoyed. So, to all you picky eaters out there: if Nolan can do it, you can, too. You never know what you’ll like until try it!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-52825064760283700542014-11-06T09:25:00.000-05:002014-11-06T09:25:29.331-05:00Reading and Watching...<h3>
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We saw <i>Gone Girl</i>. Kristi had read the book. Nolan hadn’t.</div>
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I don’t read much. I know, as a writer, I should probably read more than I do; however, I want to write movies, so it’s a little different. Still, though, I probably should read more and I might start with reading “Gone Girl”. Kristi read the book and told me it’s very good. And, more importantly, the movie is fantastic.</div>
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I’ve only read the book AND seen the movie for a handful of things. I think the only ones are “Holes,” “Great Expectations,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Grapes of Wrath”, and “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Each of these were books I was required to read for school and most of them are older movies. So it’s not a great sampling to decide if I like comparing books and the movies that they turn into. I hear, though, that reading a book first is a bad plan because the movie never lives up to the book. I feel the opposite. In each of the instances listed above, I liked the movie better except “All Quiet on the Western Front.” That’s partially because that movie was one of the first movies with sound… yea… but it did win best picture… in 1930. I actually did enjoy the book, though.</div>
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As a movie lover, I actually prefer exploring a different kind of adaptation. Book to movie is fine and dandy, but I enjoy watching a foreign film then the American remake. Or an older film and it’s more recent remake. That, to me, is a more interesting look at a film’s relation to its source material but that is coming from a guy who loves movies. </div>
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But, to get back on topic, I enjoyed <i>Gone Girl</i> immensely. You can read my <a href="http://www.redhairingreviews.blogspot.com/2014/11/gone-girl.html" target="_blank">full review</a> on my site, but to sum it up: it’s a tightly wound thriller crafted by the deft hand of a director at the top of his game and will keep you guessing until the bitter end. And it certainly is bitter. I also like that it explores the marriage relationship. So many movies these days are just empty entertainment (which I have no problem with) but exploring social issues give a deeper movie-going experience and makes a movie more satisfying. Also, I have to say that I really did like Tyler Perry in this movie. I never thought I would say that, but I did. He was great. </div>
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<i>Gone Girl</i> is one of my favorite movies I have seen in theaters in a while. And getting to go with Kristi is certainly something that makes the experience even better. It’s not every day that she looks forward to seeing a movie that I am excited to see, so I have to capitalize on those opportunities. We did and we both enjoyed the experience. So maybe, just maybe she will be more likely to go more often with me. Fingers crossed!</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It should come as no surprise when I say that I’m not a huge fan of movies, but more specifically of going to the <a href="http://www.loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/silence-is-golden.html" target="_blank">movie theater</a>. The whole experience is one that I’d be perfectly fine doing without, BUT there are just some things I do for the sake of making Nolan happy… and seeing the occasional movie in the theater is one of them. Lucky for him, this particular movie is one that I actually had a decent amount of interest in seeing. What makes this particular movie any different from the rest? Easy. I read the book. I love reading, and when a co-worker told me about “Gone Girl,” I was intrigued by the premise so I decided to give it a shot.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I hadn’t sat down to read a book in a while even though it’s something I love to do; so I was very excited to start a book that very much seemed like it was up my alley. I began the book and was honestly disappointed at first. It goes back and forth between the two main characters’ points of view and the female main character’s sections were less than thrilling to me. I was finding myself bored and wondering if the book would ever pick up. After all, I knew my coworker would not lie to me about it being a book you literally wouldn’t want to put down… would she?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thankfully, it definitely picked up and I didn’t want to put it down. I easily could have finished the book in a day or two, but Fletcher didn’t like that plan. Every time I would pick up the book he tried to eat it or steal my attention away. Since he can be pretty persuasive (borderline annoying) with his tactics, he won every time. Normally my speed of reading a book is not an issue, except I expressed interest in seeing the movie and wanted to finish the book FIRST… and Nolan was waiting anxiously for us to see it in theaters. So, I finally finished it and was quite pleased. Was it a dark story? Yep, but it had me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the book wondering what would happen next. I can normally guess the general way a book will progress, but I was WAY WRONG with this one… my guesser was off!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Normally movies based on books disappoint the avid reader. The director is at liberty to interpret the book in their own way which is ridiculous considering it’s based on a BOOK, but you can’t tell a director that. So, when I heard that it was pretty spot on with the book’s storyline, I was even more excited. Nolan and I planned a matinee movie date (matinee because we are CHEAP even though it’s still ridiculously expensive to see a movie during the day). We stuffed my purse full of candy and soda for the movie, again because we are too cheap to buy that five dollar drink that contains so much beverage it is practically impossible to drink the entire thing without taking a zillion trips to the restroom (which is crazy since you can’t pause the movie you just paid an arm and a leg to see). Once inside, we got comfy in our seats and waited for the previews to begin.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The movie finally began and I was so excited to see Nolan’s reaction to the movie. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie did indeed follow the book to a tee. I, however, was disappointed with how some of the scenes were delivered. I thought a few scenes should have been more dramatic and shocking (as they were in the book) so that was a slight disappointment for me. My main complaint was the choice for the female lead role in the movie. I don’t know what I didn’t like about her, but she wasn’t exactly what I envisioned for the role. But, if that’s my only complaint, I’d say that’s okay!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In the end, I think this movie was great. I would highly suggest seeing it whether you have read the book or not! It gets two thumbs up in my book… and that’s gotta say something!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-85967792469985371662014-11-02T15:48:00.000-05:002014-11-02T15:48:53.536-05:00Artists for a Night...<h3>
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We painted Fletcher… well, pictures of Fletcher.</div>
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I consider myself an artist. But, I am an artist with words, not pencil or crayons or markers or paint. With that being said, I do enjoy a good challenge and am always willing to try new things. So, when Kristi suggested we do this wine and design thing, I thought it would be fun. It’s different than our usual date nights and there is an instructor walking you through the painting process, so how hard can it be? I realized just how hard it can be.</div>
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First of all, we wanted to go on a “paint your pet” night because Fletcher is the cutest puppy in the world and the other, regular options for classes weren’t great. After a bunch of phone calls and asking around, Kristi was able to get us in to the paint your pet class even though it was a few days after our Groupon expired and it cost a little bit more than a regular class. Not only does it cost more than a regular class but it is longer and, I found out, much more difficult.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vvCIgX3vToYn4UiWmRQOlCzarKrq8-yL3fBkWDmFN2J9xqRxu3nrqrqBCwYe1HDgt5dZZH9SAn48Ovt719Uj0IG81sa3UBDb1LLsoE3uqbgkWA_wsk4HEvoND_F0IiwZR-h_tluFqWo/s1600/IMG_2051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vvCIgX3vToYn4UiWmRQOlCzarKrq8-yL3fBkWDmFN2J9xqRxu3nrqrqBCwYe1HDgt5dZZH9SAn48Ovt719Uj0IG81sa3UBDb1LLsoE3uqbgkWA_wsk4HEvoND_F0IiwZR-h_tluFqWo/s1600/IMG_2051.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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It seemed easy when I first arrived. We had sent in the pictures of our adorable little guy that we wanted to paint. Then, they blew them up in black and white on the canvas we would paint. So, we were painting over the picture itself. Sounds easy, right? Not really. The instructor had us start with the eyes and nose. Those were easy. I rocked those parts. Then, however, we had to do the rest of the pup… and fur is really hard to get right. Then there’s the whole thing of mixing paint to make the proper colors. The instructor would help mix a good color but she would only mix a tiny bit of it. Once I ran out of that, I was on my own to mix a color that looked similar. It turns out I wasn’t too great at that. Then, of course, there’s the aspect of blending colors and doing highlights and layers of color… all very foreign concepts to me. Even with the instructor’s help, I wasn’t able to really get the picture (pun intended).</div>
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My picture looks interesting. I actually like how it turned out even though the skill level is clearly not the greatest. I say it has a certain amateurish charm to it. It didn’t help that I was next to Kristi who knocked it out of the park. She was, hands down, the best in the class. Her painting looks just like the picture she was basing it on. I was thoroughly impressed. I mean, I knew she could paint because she has made stuff to decorate our house and to give to people for gifts, but it’s never been an actual animal. She’s very good and I’m happy to have her picture hung up in our house. And, I’m just appreciative that she’s willing to hang mine up, too!</div>
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It was a fun experience for sure; I just wish I was better at it. And I’m pretty sure this class was way harder than most of the classes in which everyone is painting the same thing. It’s a tough place to start my career as a painter and it may be where that career ends. I guess I’ll keep my day job and stick to writing.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This is all about a date night that Nolan and I just had. Our date nights are normally spent at home, at a restaurant, or at a movie theater… we apparently lack variety in that aspect of our lives. So, a few months back, I found what I thought to be the perfect outing for Nolan and me (at least in my mind). I was perusing my e-mail that is filled to the brim with subscription based propaganda… I’ll admit I really need to click “unsubscribe” so as not to tempt myself to make impromptu (and unneeded) purchases. Unfortunately, I’m a sucker for Living Social and Groupon. This is NOT because I actually need anything from them, but because they suck me in with the promise of saving money!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Earlier this year I went to a Wine and Design class with my coworkers and it was a blast. So, when I saw a Living Social deal for the same thing, I knew that Nolan and I just had to go! I ran the idea by Nolan and the deal was purchased a few moments later. After going back and forth about what class to attend and after some back and forth dealings with the folks at Wine and Design, we settled on a class entitled “Paint Your Pet.” I know what you’re thinking: “How cruel! Why would they want to paint their pet?!” To put your mind at ease, we didn’t paint Fletcher, but rather a picture of Fletcher.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66wiGxqxMkqTX7Nzv4whUoduSLH7wCR_Xt-vn6fd1cLUlt99-wVb8S1oiG6k99FHcSZXgp_zUnAFxvB_NPZHqxIwafph1CPHC4yeNP1xfQ1pSN52Aa9igfd9yB9IFNJ1j7Cr76yYp8cA/s1600/20141027_213052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66wiGxqxMkqTX7Nzv4whUoduSLH7wCR_Xt-vn6fd1cLUlt99-wVb8S1oiG6k99FHcSZXgp_zUnAFxvB_NPZHqxIwafph1CPHC4yeNP1xfQ1pSN52Aa9igfd9yB9IFNJ1j7Cr76yYp8cA/s1600/20141027_213052.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan chose a picture of Fletcher from right after we got him and I chose one from a photo shoot I made Nolan do a few weeks ago for the purpose of having a “glamour shot” of Fletcher for me to paint.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Neither of us really knew what to expect going into this class. I had more of an idea since I’d gone to a similar class before, but I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to instruct us on painting our own pets since most classes focus on one painting that an instructor paints alongside the class… a very different scenario than what we were embarking on.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was surprised to find that they blew up the photos that we previously e-mailed them of our pets and wrapped the blown up photo around a canvas. I’ll admit that I thought to myself that they had done the hard work for us and of course everyone’s photo would turn out looking great since we didn’t really have to “work” for it. I’ll be the first to admit that my mindset was totally wrong. I’m so thankful that they blew up the pictures because, without that, I’m not sure what Fletcher would have turned out looking like… if I had to guess, I would say an alien.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We had a small class which provided more one on one time with the instructor, making the process so much better. When you have no concept of how a painting is created, it’s easy to get discouraged and think that your creation is going to look nothing like the picture right in front of you. So, we had to put a lot of faith in the instructor and she had to have a decent amount of patience with her skeptical students! The air was full of comments like “this doesn’t look like my dog” and “this doesn’t look like fur at all.” Even though there were only four of us in the class, we were a lively bunch and that definitely added to the experience.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At the end of the night, we had spent nearly three and a half hours obsessing over our paintings and perfecting them to our liking. Each one turned out very different from one another, but perfect for the person who painted it. While I can only speak for myself, I’d bet that Nolan had just as great of a time as I did. We got to spend time together being creative (something we both enjoy, albeit in different capacities) and we ended the night with some wonderful artwork that has already found a place in our home!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometimes spending time together just needs to include something outside of the norm. I got to see an artsy and creative side of Nolan that doesn’t often come out. And while I know that doing crafts will never really be his thing, the fact that he jumped in feet first to this experience (and didn’t complain once) means a lot!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-74722540749315883772014-10-21T09:38:00.001-04:002014-10-21T09:50:39.080-04:00Never Baked, Always Delicious...<h3>
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Kristi made “no bake” cookies.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_-PpJhkZfFMIqhIJ0GLCoO6rcr0CYGVWbBhPxFIwzJRC92Q7KbtpxfqwSdr7D8LMvgYlElsTq7KcHycM56xK7OPOO8QjHNSt9GhSk_M4KKNTC2EJAVEdRNA6G_ngYG8sk1VvE7Q7CWk/s1600/IMG_1969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_-PpJhkZfFMIqhIJ0GLCoO6rcr0CYGVWbBhPxFIwzJRC92Q7KbtpxfqwSdr7D8LMvgYlElsTq7KcHycM56xK7OPOO8QjHNSt9GhSk_M4KKNTC2EJAVEdRNA6G_ngYG8sk1VvE7Q7CWk/s1600/IMG_1969.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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My first ever job was in high school. I was a bakery clerk at a Lowes Foods in Fort Mill, SC. Despite working professionally in a bakery, I did not learn how to bake. Luckily you don’t have to know how to bake to make some delicious treats. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of “no bake” cookies, but they are awesome and, as their name implies, you don’t have to bake them. The other important thing to know about these cookies is that my wife makes them and she makes them very well.</div>
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I came home from work one day and noticed a bunch of rows of cookies sitting out on the counters in our kitchen to cool. I had known she was going to make them because we bought all the stuff at the grocery store a few days prior. What I didn’t know, though, was that she was going to double the recipe. It was A LOT of cookies but I’m okay with that. And so are the people with whom we have shared them.</div>
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Now we have our freezer full of no bake cookies so, if we get a craving for something sweet, we can pull out a couple and munch. Hopefully they last us a while but, if they don’t, we’ll just have to make some more! </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I have an undeniable sweet tooth. Anyone who knows me knows this fact. It should also be noted that my sweet tooth is pretty specific… it ALWAYS wants chocolate. Nolan and I have been trying to eat a little bit better recently and, in line with that effort, we have tried to keep sweets out of the house. Unfortunately, this plan doesn’t usually work in the long term. We do well for about a week, and then I go crazy. “I. Want. Chocolate”… says my sweet tooth. So, I come up with some excuse for needing to go to the grocery store and then manage to swing by an aisle carrying some type of chocolate. I’m not picky, well, as long as it’s not dark chocolate (that’s just nasty).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Recently, in an effort to watch my waist line and be mindful of our budget, I decided that making some sweets and keeping them in the freezer would be a good compromise. That way, if I do get a hankering for something sweet, I don’t have to run to the store and inevitably spend way more than is necessary (and let’s be honest… if it’s a trip for chocolate, none of it is necessary). Also, when making cookies, there is only a finite amount and if they are good enough (and trust me, these are) I would be more inclined to make them last and think twice about stuffing my face with them just because they are there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8VmpFwTXTHdoDxatY42JkDcdiOvHBhWM92tXMJ_R-KDxQLd1Qwnx8uvygHF39771SBit4KA2otXd4NhmZk6sowEiFiS-8zVY4GlIj36Y2cm0YPqO1bPLoiWR-hLUNITIln0QYXlFM-E/s1600/IMG_1962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8VmpFwTXTHdoDxatY42JkDcdiOvHBhWM92tXMJ_R-KDxQLd1Qwnx8uvygHF39771SBit4KA2otXd4NhmZk6sowEiFiS-8zVY4GlIj36Y2cm0YPqO1bPLoiWR-hLUNITIln0QYXlFM-E/s1600/IMG_1962.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I grew up on these cookies; they were a favorite of my dad’s. I also just discovered that my father-in-law loves these cookies… I knew there was a reason I liked him! (haha) Taste them and you will see what the hype is all about. I’m not great at cooking or baking, so a recipe that doesn’t require me to bake and watch for that perfect golden brown top to appear is pretty amazing. Seriously, try these bad boys out… they will not disappoint.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This is how you make them...</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">½ cup cocoa</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">½ cup milk</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">½ stick margarine</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2 cups sugar</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">1 tsp. vanilla</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">½ cup peanut butter</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">3 cups quick oatmeal</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Combine the first 4 ingredients in saucepan. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Bring to a boil over low heat. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Boil for 1 minute. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Remove from heat. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Stir in remaining ingredients. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Drop onto wax paper. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let cool then ENJOY!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It yields approximately 2 dozen. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Let us know what you think of this recipe! We are certain you will love them.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-25571060737183303572014-10-14T10:58:00.000-04:002014-10-14T10:58:25.990-04:00Fletcher's Traumatic Loss...<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Facts</span></h3>
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Fletcher got neutered.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZBTbtaAav_xqDGTEtOdCU1HPnCRYI4Z07ap9AUItcmQYYCWcSTTvWrUH7Vp7hC0SAXs-dWUipsp7OQ9iw-E_YI34ad8UKnD-KIpX8Kc0CHh5PjTQoJyNqzQsRfciQF9YdXdb9KoByoA/s1600/family+photo+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZBTbtaAav_xqDGTEtOdCU1HPnCRYI4Z07ap9AUItcmQYYCWcSTTvWrUH7Vp7hC0SAXs-dWUipsp7OQ9iw-E_YI34ad8UKnD-KIpX8Kc0CHh5PjTQoJyNqzQsRfciQF9YdXdb9KoByoA/s1600/family+photo+2014.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bob Barker may not host “The Price Is Right” anymore, but his effect on our society is still felt every time someone gets their pet spayed or neutered. I never understood why he always encouraged us to do that at the end of each episode until I realized how many animals are without loving homes. We were also required to get Fletcher neutered in accordance with our adoption agreement. I’m not sure what they would do if we didn’t but I didn’t intend to find out. </div>
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The poor guy lost part of his manhood and I thought he would be depressed after such a traumatic loss. It turns out that he isn’t. Over a month later, he is the same hyper, sometimes annoying, fun-loving, needy, but cute-as-a-button pup that he was before he was neutered. Even right after the surgery, he wanted to run around and play. We received strict instructions to not let him jump up on stuff or run around too much in an effort to keep his stitches in place while his incision healed. He made it very difficult to obey those instructions. </div>
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He did, however, have to wear the “cone of shame” as it’s called. Well, we put one on him and he promptly figured out how to get out of it. So we tried this inflatable neck thing that helped keep him from licking. It looked more tolerable on him but he didn’t ever tell me which one he liked better. It stayed on him (except for this one time… he’s stubborn), and his incision healed perfectly. He did, somehow, get his stitches out before his follow-up appointment when the vet was going to take them out. It was okay, though, because he was just fine. At his follow-up visit, they took him to the back for about two minutes and brought him back out. They told us “he looks great, and everyone loves him back there!” He must really put on the charm for them!</div>
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The other thing to note is that we got some pain pills to give him to help with the pain he may experience during healing. The vet told us that they may make him tired, which I would have been cool with. Despite him acting like he had no pain, we gave him the pills because the vet suggested it. They didn’t make him tired. Not at all. All they did was make him use the bathroom a lot… the smelly kind. And it was more smelly than usual on this medicine. Like, remarkably smelly. He had never really had an issue with waking up in the middle of the night until this medicine. And he was waking up to go to the bathroom. When we told the vet this, they said he may be having a slight reaction to the medicine and, if he seemed okay, we could take him off the medicine. Oh, if only we had known this three days before! </div>
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It comes as no surprise to me that Fletcher acts the same now as he did before his surgery but one thing does surprise me… he still humps stuff. He has his favorite towel that we allow him to do with as he pleases and he certainly still does as he pleases with it. I guess I figured that kind of behavior would cease once he was “snipped” but I guess not. His energetic behavior, biting, and scratching must not have had anything to do with his manhood and have everything to do with him being a puppy. Hopefully he will calm down a little as he gets older but, if not, we will love him all the same!</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, our little puppy has grown up so fast. We knew the day would come, but we didn’t think much about it. Yep, he had to get neutered. Even if the shelter from which we adopted him didn’t require such an action to be taken, I assure you we would have done this of our own accord. We scheduled his surgery a month in advance and by the end of that month we were more than ready to take his “manhood” away from him, after all, some his actions were becoming a bit graphic. We dealt with his mannerisms by telling ourselves that once he was neutered he would be a changed dog. It’s the little bit of hope we had left to cling to.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDV4Mxk7IM3Ut6fe7yURaUD8dS1ELES4EidA8iJuGGVHMXrXpqAofh7khTVTKyYuQcSus-Uaj0igw_IRFLG1-SMlzLiwNwtgkzD6Qb9YKXkb444ONkJTeXNJURutoCOFcKAXacU61WiDw/s1600/fletch+laying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDV4Mxk7IM3Ut6fe7yURaUD8dS1ELES4EidA8iJuGGVHMXrXpqAofh7khTVTKyYuQcSus-Uaj0igw_IRFLG1-SMlzLiwNwtgkzD6Qb9YKXkb444ONkJTeXNJURutoCOFcKAXacU61WiDw/s1600/fletch+laying.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Fletcher had to be at the vet bright and early on the morning of his surgery, so we both got up and took him. We were told he wouldn’t be able to go home until that evening, so that they could monitor him after being put under anesthesia. I nervously awaited and finally received the call from his vet that the surgery went well and he was waking up nicely. She mentioned that he might be groggy and may not act like himself for at least a day (something I was, honestly, completely okay with). Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not what happened at all. I picked him up and he literally acted like he had nothing done to him at all. He wanted to jump up and down and run around and play. I tried to discourage his behavior, but there is only so much you can do to keep a dog calm and still… and none of my tactics seemed to work.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As a result of his surgery, Fletcher was bound to the cone of shame. I felt like a horrible pet parent for making him wear it because he looked absolutely pitiful with it on and I can’t imagine it would be very comfortable. Nonetheless, I wasn’t about to have him pop out stitches and have to go back in for another surgery. So, we stuck with it. I’m pretty sure that Fletcher was trying to get back at us for making him have this surgery done because he began to wake up in the middle of the night… at 1:00, then 3:00 and then 5:00. Each time we tried to make sure he wasn’t in pain, and he wasn’t… he just wanted to play. How can such a small puppy be such a big jerk?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, we followed the vet’s orders of keeping him in the cone of shame until we noticed that he had somehow removed both of his stitches. Thankfully he was completely healed at this point, so we didn’t have any trips back to the vet to fix anything.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now, I don’t know if we had just been misinformed all of our lives about what neutering does to a dog… temperamentally speaking (we know what the physical manifestations of it are), but what ensued after he completely healed is not at all what we thought it would be. We thought Fletcher would calm down a bit and not be so graphic with some of his mannerisms. We thought that his energy level might mellow out just a tad. We thought that he might somehow be less naughty and realize that he isn’t allowed to do certain things (well this one is more out of wishful thinking). NONE OF THIS IS TRUE. He is just as hyper as he was before and he absolutely does not act like we had him neutered.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, now that we have let the reality of the situation sink in; that our dog is un-phased by his surgery and that he’s destined to be a hyper puppy for at least another year, we are slowly trying to figure out how to deal with him. There are still days that I would like to give him a doggy chill pill (I’m only halfway joking about this) and we are now awaiting the day that he grows out of his “puppy” stage… if that ever actually happens.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Turns out we might have chosen the most hyperactive dog to call our own but we love him despite his hyperactivity. Some days it’s harder than others, especially when he destroys something that is near and dear to your heart, but at the end of the day he is ours… and that is something I wouldn’t dream of changing.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-53115588650238209532014-10-08T09:56:00.002-04:002014-10-08T09:56:32.474-04:00Comforts of home...<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Facts</span></h2>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We bought a new sectional.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2ct8481lwxjkzPgEqS5Hvh8O2_EjN_xb2z3F2kFqA8FmfFwYKQPnUCIE49Xs9lc6VrctfOi83BzTlsZxG294o5XNwO5Fw2tSasGis6z8kr5LQsUt6QDKds7Pj2OEoN_tmM6vfL-JHlI/s1600/IMG_5494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2ct8481lwxjkzPgEqS5Hvh8O2_EjN_xb2z3F2kFqA8FmfFwYKQPnUCIE49Xs9lc6VrctfOi83BzTlsZxG294o5XNwO5Fw2tSasGis6z8kr5LQsUt6QDKds7Pj2OEoN_tmM6vfL-JHlI/s1600/IMG_5494.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Kristi and I usually differ on our attitudes toward money. I generally take the approach that we make money to spend it. I’m not against saving or anything, I just think that having steady jobs affords you the opportunity to get things you want sometimes; it’s not just about getting the things you need. With Kristi usually taking the opposite approach of saying “well we don’t really need that so why spend the money on it,” I was shocked when she texted me one day and said “we should get a couch.” It shocked me because we have a couch that works just fine. But I’m not one to turn down the prospect of a new couch, so I said “let’s go shopping.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The shopping part took a lot longer than I expected and we saw a lot of comfortable things. It seemed like each place we went had something we liked better than the last place. We eventually finalized the fact that we wanted a sectional with built in recliners. I wanted built in recliners all along, though, because there is something inborn in all men that makes them want to sit in a recliner.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEn8tzUzFnnrbm4_YDxhU-RjfOXsK3f9t-xyO4OAwvxsVQJYoJUakjeEEQs9zRD6GXBE7dbIz3B5SSiJZxefKy52BC4kVp9phkhd5XBYfbk9943ZSuVAzXkZkGLQC4PeRmKV-_a33FvU/s1600/20141004_091332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEn8tzUzFnnrbm4_YDxhU-RjfOXsK3f9t-xyO4OAwvxsVQJYoJUakjeEEQs9zRD6GXBE7dbIz3B5SSiJZxefKy52BC4kVp9phkhd5XBYfbk9943ZSuVAzXkZkGLQC4PeRmKV-_a33FvU/s1600/20141004_091332.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the couch</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We finally found what we wanted and I went into negotiating mode which was more successful than I expected. We got the price we wanted so we signed on the dotted line and ordered the pieces to our sectional.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That week of waiting for our sectional to arrive was bad. I just wanted to lounge on the new couch already! But the day finally arrived and I had confirmed a 2-5pm window for the delivery. That was perfect because my nephew’s first birthday party was that same day and ended at 1pm. While at the party, though (around 11:30am), I got a call saying that the delivery truck would arrive in thirty minutes. That was frustrating, but I left the party, let the delivery guys in to set everything up, then hightailed it back to the party.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY03asu3zF5DP_MC6c6DxO0exKc3TsQnA4v35xuUJmrqEXrxtxSzjr-vf1_FsbCqhNJ8q-MBbbx1X5IihRDNiY3H8516qE7nQJRQJ93CnE1p9pUINXMbCvV5E2u7QNzAemtYMs-MRclqY/s1600/20141004_120324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY03asu3zF5DP_MC6c6DxO0exKc3TsQnA4v35xuUJmrqEXrxtxSzjr-vf1_FsbCqhNJ8q-MBbbx1X5IihRDNiY3H8516qE7nQJRQJ93CnE1p9pUINXMbCvV5E2u7QNzAemtYMs-MRclqY/s1600/20141004_120324.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the couch</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When we got home, though, I realized that I had overlooked a minor flaw in the couch. Two of the pieces don’t fit exactly like they should. Kristi noticed this and I felt like I should have seen it while the guys were there so they could fix it. After some phone calls and getting stern with customer service, they sent a technician out to fix the problem. He was very nice and tried a lot of things, but couldn’t fix it. It seemed that the pieces were just slightly defective.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Luckily, the manager at the store from which we bought the couch has been very helpful and we will be receiving replacement pieces later this month. Hopefully they fit better than these do! In the meantime, we have been thoroughly enjoying our new couch. And so has <a href="http://www.loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/06/brand-new-pet-parents.html" target="_blank">Fletcher</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’ll just come right out and say it… we bought a sofa. It’s not just any sofa, but one that is so comfortable I might be willing to give up sleeping in our beloved <a href="http://www.loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-facts-they-bought-bed-fit-for-king.html" target="_blank">king bed</a> (ok, well not exactly since I LOVE that bed). This sofa is one that puts comfort above all, and I’m ok with that. Now, let me walk you through how we went from being content with our previous sofa to the proud new owners of this brand spanking new sofa. It all happened rather suddenly. In fact, it really came out of nowhere and I’m pretty sure Nolan was blindsided when I casually brought up the idea of a new sofa one day about two weeks ago.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuBtNYJ3L3iYAyq8cGfa4F5TLP5B_zalN4fmZlD7qBQDb9sFC-iz5k7XAW0k2glpsauzF_ladZMu0r0F0kBAQIEM8Oqvv-_tYG5EjYyFwKy5uKvVkxwkj_T5-JM3gJttGtNSQo8V1NXI/s1600/IMG_5500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuBtNYJ3L3iYAyq8cGfa4F5TLP5B_zalN4fmZlD7qBQDb9sFC-iz5k7XAW0k2glpsauzF_ladZMu0r0F0kBAQIEM8Oqvv-_tYG5EjYyFwKy5uKvVkxwkj_T5-JM3gJttGtNSQo8V1NXI/s1600/IMG_5500.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan and I have actually been tossing around the idea of getting a new sofa for a while. It’s not that the one we had didn’t suffice, but it simply did not allow us to comfortably have another couple over without feeling like sardines lined up on the sofa. I have always dreamed of having a sectional… and honestly that dream has come from very selfish reasons. I want that corner section all to myself. After all, everyone knows that is the most comfortable spot there has been and ever will be. So, my heart has been set on finding the perfect one. The only problem we have had up until now is that the space we have in which to fit a sectional is rather small. In past times, we have fallen in love with sofas only to find out they were inches and sometimes even feet too large for our room. I thought we would never be able to find the perfect fit.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, when I suggested that we start the search again, we wasted no time. Before we started our search, we made sure to take specific measurements so we would know what we could and could not fall in love with! We went from store to store and found a few that would fit in our space. It seemed that in each store we went we found one we liked better than another at the previous store. After sitting on sofa after sofa we finally found one that we both loved and our wallet wasn’t as unhappy about. If it were up to me, I would have chosen a sofa that was first and foremost aesthetically pleasing and, if it were up to Nolan, comfort would be the key. Well, when we stumbled upon THE sofa, I’m pretty sure we both knew it was the one; it was both stylish and comfortable. It was the right color, we could configure it to fit our space, it was so comfortable, and even though we weren’t even looking at this feature… it had reclining sections. As soon as we sat down we both knew we would have that sofa in our home.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan took some lessons from the agents on <a href="http://www.loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/08/we-all-have-magic-number.html" target="_blank">Million Dollar Listing</a> and did some hard bargaining to get the sofa at our “magic number.” He did great and we left the store with huge smiles on our faces!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now, with every great thing comes some <a href="http://www.loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/unlucky-us.html" target="_blank">hiccups</a> (at least in our household that’s the case). We had to wait a whole week and a few days before we could actually enjoy this new sofa… a definite test of our patience! Once delivered, we discovered that two of the pieces don’t quite fit together like they should, so we are in the process of having new pieces delivered to fix the issue.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New look of the living room</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Even though we purchased only one new piece of furniture, the result was a makeover of three rooms in our house. We were able to rid our living room of a hand-me-down sofa and love seat and put our old sofa in that room. We moved my piano out of Nolan’s office and down the hall and it now has a new home in the living room. Our living room was one that we NEVER used before, but now it’s so inviting that I can see myself wandering out there to play a little piano or maybe just to sit down and read a book! After moving my piano out of Nolan’s office, we were able to move our nice recliner that was previously in the family room into his office (lucky guy) and my stationary bike found a home there as well thanks to Nolan’s generosity in giving up some space!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It feels like we have a new home now, and that’s kind of refreshing. Sometimes you just need to rearrange a few things to have an entirely different outlook on your home. It’s not that I wasn’t excited about our home before, but now I find myself walking through the house with a silly grin on my face.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, if you come over to our house in the next few months, kindly oblige us and go on a brief tour of our “new” home. We’re proud and definitely want others to enjoy it just as much as we do!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-33591611335358097782014-09-10T10:02:00.000-04:002014-09-10T10:02:07.806-04:00Happy Anniversary...<h2>
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We went to Lake Lure, NC for our one year anniversary.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nCj4BZfO2SsMnccQnn4Z_GUc1zeTRAC_791DC-w_XJAkpu6wbq4WVmgRBXJrclFAgJ8mwfq3lZ3e_DB0MXhNO2lNYqQksaSfidYxBdx4MRTAj7BQj2fpP_ekfIMGGR8PoNIyx26TuVM/s1600/IMG_5117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nCj4BZfO2SsMnccQnn4Z_GUc1zeTRAC_791DC-w_XJAkpu6wbq4WVmgRBXJrclFAgJ8mwfq3lZ3e_DB0MXhNO2lNYqQksaSfidYxBdx4MRTAj7BQj2fpP_ekfIMGGR8PoNIyx26TuVM/s1600/IMG_5117.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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One year. Sadly, a lot of marriages don’t even make it that long. That puts us ahead of the curve, I guess! To celebrate that, we took an extended weekend trip to Lake Lure, NC. Why Lake Lure? Because “why not?” It’s secluded, pretty, relaxing, and we could get the hotel for free. Thanks, Mom and Dad! Also it’s not that long of a drive. </div>
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Since check-in wasn’t until later, we decided to have a lazy morning and sleep in. Sleeping in, these days, really just means 8:30 or 9:00, but that’s okay. We had a leisurely morning, dropped Fletcher off at my mother-in-law’s, and hit the road around 1:30 or 2:00. The drive wasn’t so bad to be honest. We just chatted and listened to music. But, when we finally got there, things took a very negative turn.</div>
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Another reason (which I didn’t mention) for choosing Lake Lure is because we could get a king bed and a whirlpool tub. These are two things we did not get on our honeymoon last year, so we wanted to be sure we got them this year. When we checked in and went to our room, though, we found a queen bed and a whirlpool tub. That was unacceptable. Now, before you call us divas, think about how you’d feel if you specifically chose accommodations to have certain things, got excited about those things, confirmed that you had those things TWO DAYS BEFORE CHECK IN, and then didn’t have those things. It’s not a good feeling. Also, the room smelled like a damp, dirty basement. </div>
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Needless to say, we were very discouraged; but, with some phone calls and a good bit of waiting, we got moved to a suite with a king bed and a whirlpool tub. And it was a very, very nice place. We were more than happy with it and excited to finally be able to unpack our stuff and prepare for our dinner reservations that night. </div>
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Dinner was at The Treetops in the Lodge at Lake Lure. Fancy is a good way to describe it. Delicious is another good way to describe it. It is literally the best dining experience I can remember. It helped that the company was great! We had to get to bed at a reasonable time, though, because we had signed up for a ziplining excursion the next day, bright and early. </div>
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You can read more about the <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/09/zip-line.html" target="_blank">ziplining experience</a> in our last post; but, to sum it up: it was a blast! The rest of the day was spent relaxing at the pool and playing some mini-golf as we waited for our scenic boat cruise to take off that night. I love a good boat ride. Being on the water is relaxing and I absolutely love it. Kristi doesn’t share my enthusiasm. It means a lot to me that Kristi was willing to do the cruise, though. She even suggested it! She’s just lovely like that. </div>
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On the cruise we got to see some ridiculously fancy houses on the lake, learn a little about the history of the area, see the alcove where a lot of <i>Dirty Dancing</i> was shot, and see a lovely sunset. I found it very fulfilling and Kristi didn’t hate it. That’s a win! After the cruise, we had a low-key evening relaxing and cooking our own dinner to save some cash. </div>
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The next day we became outdoorsy people (which we aren’t). We had planned to go to a diner my brother-in-law told us about for breakfast, but we were pretty lazy in the morning and didn’t get out of bed early enough to make it to breakfast. We were okay with that. So, instead, we went for lunch. The cool thing about this diner is that it’s on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is a very scenic, winding road. There are a lot of nice overlooks to stop at and it’s just a beautiful drive. The food and service were great, too.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">portions of <i>Dirty Dancing</i> were shot here</td></tr>
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After lunch, we headed to another landmark suggested by my brother-in-law (and some folks on our ziplining trip): Sliding Rock. Here, you wait in line a long time so that you can slide down this super smooth rock into a freezing cold swimming hole. And I mean FREEZING! Doesn’t sound like fun? Well, it is. We only slid down once, but it was worth the trip.</div>
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Once we toweled off and warmed up, we got directions to a state park where we planned to hike to a bunch of waterfalls. It turns out we only hiked to two waterfalls because neither of us are huge hiking fans and it was hot outside. The waterfalls we went to, though, were gorgeous and it was a nice trip; but, both of us were ready to get back to our home base. We had been driving a lot that day and wanted to relax.</div>
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We relaxed with some s’mores on the beach. The place where we were staying had organized a bonfire on the beach and it was the perfect way to finish out our trip. We watched the sun go down over the lake while enjoying some always delicious s’mores and chatting with some fellow vacationers.</div>
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The next day, our blissful trip had to come to an end… sort of. We had to leave Lake Lure, but we still had another day off from work. So Monday was a little “staycation.” We didn’t really do anything which was perfect. Simply not having to work and getting to spend the whole day together was fantastic. Going back to work on Tuesday wasn’t as fantastic, though.</div>
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I couldn’t have asked for a better year with Kristi or a better way to cap off that year than the Lake Lure trip we took. I look forward to many more years with Kristi by my side and many more anniversary trips!</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It seems like just yesterday that Nolan and I were finishing preparations for our quickly approaching wedding. Our wedding day went by way faster than I expected, but I didn’t think that would spill over into the first year. It has flown by! I have now been Mrs. Collins for one whole year… that’s crazy to me, and I certainly wouldn’t change it for the world. A few months back, we started planning an anniversary trip because, after all, I think one year of being married is definitely something to celebrate. As sad as it is to say, there are a lot of folks who don’t make it to the one year mark (I’d presume they didn’t take the sanctity of marriage very seriously). So, we wanted to get away and just celebrate US. We picked a location but had no idea what there was to do there, all we knew is that it was within a reasonable driving distance and would provide some relaxation. Leading up to our trip we talked about what we might like to do but ultimately didn’t commit to anything and decided to be spontaneous the whole time!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our trip destination was in the mountains of North Carolina and, to be more specific, we went to Lake Lure (a super tiny town that you can miss if you blink… no joke). Our reservations began on a Thursday; but, unfortunately, we couldn’t check in until later in the day. So, our morning was spent lazily starting the day (I wish everyday was like that) and slowly packing up Fletcher’s stuff to take to my mom’s since she graciously agreed to watch him while we were gone. Once we finally decided to hit the road, we had to prep ourselves to say goodbye to Fletcher. He’s just a dog, right? WRONG! He’s <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/06/brand-new-pet-parents.html" target="_blank">like our child</a>, so leaving him was a quasi-big deal to us… well, me. But, once we finally said goodbye, we were on our way.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We arrived at our destination and discovered that the room we were given did not check off all of our boxes. We chose a room with a whirlpool tub (because we don’t have one and the tub we do have is basically only comfortable for a small child) and, more importantly, we chose a room with a king bed. What can I say, we like our space! Well, when we opened the door to our suite, we discovered that it did have the whirlpool tub, but did not come with our requested king bed. Also, it smelled like mildew and stale air. So, we weren’t staying there. After a number of calls and complaints, we worked it out and were moved to a two bedroom unit that was MUCH better and I’d even say we loved it!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our first night in Lake Lure, we decided to go out to a fancy dinner. Nolan had done some investigating and found a spot to which he was told he HAD to take me. I’m so glad he did, because it was the most delicious meal with the most amazing views of the lake. By the time we were done with dinner, it was time to get back to our place and relax. Before we could relax, however, we had to decide about our adventures for the next day. We both expressed interest in ziplining, so we looked into places and settled on one that seemed to have the better and more adventurous course (albeit more expensive… go figure). We booked it and paid the fees online and got in bed because our day would have to start ridiculously early so we could make our 8:30 am ziplining adventure!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our zip lining adventure started out rocky, but ended with smiles stretched across our faces. By the time we were done, we were starving… so we started the 30 minute drive back to our place and devoured simple homemade sandwiches as fast as we could. I am fairly confident not a word was spoken between us during that meal… how awkward! Even though our morning was spent outdoors, the weather had been wonderful. Once we got back to our place, the tune had changed a bit and it was HOT. So, we decided that we would take a quick jaunt to the resort pool before getting ready for our evening plans.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">If you know me, you might know that I HATE wearing a swimsuit in public. I’m not model skinny and I definitely have some meat on my bones. I’m not suggesting I’m ashamed of my body, but let’s be honest… we live in a world where women are told they should look a certain way and be a certain size… one I’m certain not even one of my legs would fit into. All of the “good chairs” were taken by those wanting to get some sun, but not too much sun; basically, they took all of the desirable shaded spots. So, we opted for chairs that were closest to the least populated section of the pool. I dropped my stuff, took off my swimsuit cover up and pretty much ran, er, briskly walked to the edge of the pool and got in immediately. The water was brisk but oh so refreshing! We commandeered an unpopulated corner of the pool and did some serious people watching: one of our favorite pastimes!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once pool time was over, we had to get ready for our evening excursion - a scenic boat cruise around Lake Lure. Fun fact about Kristi: I don’t like boats. I don’t like boats for the same reason I don’t like planes. Because I can’t immediately step out at any time and be on solid ground; also, I’m not a fan of waves rocking the boat. It FREAKS me out. Nolan has become accustomed to this, but I assure you he still thinks I’m crazy. Well, the boat ride turned out just fine, although the water got bumpy a few times and I had to squeeze Nolan’s hand to keep my cool. By the end of the boat ride, I didn’t want it to end since the views were gorgeous and the breeze on the water was incredible! But, all good things must come to an end, right?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our final full day in Lake Lure started with a ride up to the Pisgah Inn (a fantastic place to eat with great views) along the Blue Ridge Parkway. My brother suggested we get there for breakfast but, since breakfast is only served until 10:30am and it was about an hour and a half drive to get there, we opted to get up there in time for lunch. The drive up was full of twists and turns, literally… oh and a bunch of tunnels. I guess that’s kind of what you have to do when you build a road in the middle of a mountain range, huh? After our lovely lunch, we decided to go to Sliding Rock where you slide down a HUGE smooth rock into ice cold water. Now, I don’t know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t what we saw and experienced. There were tons of people and an extremely long line to walk up the rock and slide down. Again, I tried to talk myself out of sliding down the rock. I didn’t want to be in a swimsuit in front of people and the thought of ice cold water gave me flashbacks to that time myself and a bunch of cousins and family jumped into the <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/07/down-on-farm.html" target="_blank">canal in Kuna</a>. What I remembered was that it was frigid. Well, I sucked it up and made my way to the top of the rock and like the cute couple we are, Nolan and I opted to slide down the rock hand in hand (I know… how lame, right?) We slid down the rock and the breath was quickly knocked out of each of us upon the realization of how cold that water actually was. Once was enough for both of us… now that’s something we could agree upon.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Next, we decided to do some small hikes and see some gorgeous waterfalls. Again, I wasn’t expecting there to be so many people and I certainly wasn’t expecting to get winded while on our journey to see the waterfalls. The parking lot was packed and we had to “hike” up a long hill, that we admittedly stopped hiking halfway up because we are THAT out of shape.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We took the winding roads back to our place and got cleaned up and ready for a marshmallow roast on the beach at the resort. I love marshmallows so, as soon as I heard about it, I was IN! I was curious as to why only marshmallows were being roasted, but was pleasantly surprised when we got to the beach and discovered we were doing the whole sha-bang. S’MORES! Music was playing and everyone was enjoying the delicious s’mores. What a wonderful way to end our anniversary trip.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This trip has been a conclusion to a wonderful first year of marriage together. I’m thankful for every day that I have spent with Nolan. If you were to ask me a year ago what I thought marriage would be like, I would have no idea what to tell you. It’s a lot harder than I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. I actually consider that a great thing. If it were easy, it would be easy to take for granted. Instead, when you have to work for something you appreciate it much more.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, like our vows said a year ago… Nolan, I STILL promise to encourage you, inspire you, and stand by your side for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health for all the days of my life. I will forever be there to laugh with you, to lift you up when you are down and to love you unconditionally through all of our adventures in life together… and I hope there are many more to come!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-74821698615265602272014-09-04T09:20:00.000-04:002014-09-04T09:20:12.393-04:00Zip the Line...<h2>
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On our anniversary trip, we went ziplining.</div>
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I would consider myself a pretty adventurous guy. Someone without an adventurous spirit doesn’t move all the way across the country leaving everything he’s ever known behind to chase a dream that he knows is nearly impossible to achieve. In case you don’t know what I’m referring to, I did that. The reason I mention that is because Kristi and I recently went on a different kind of adventure: ziplining. I, being the more adventurous type, was very excited about the trip while Kristi was very nervous. She was so nervous that, when I asked her for a mint from her purse on the way up to the venue, all she could muster is a quiet “hold on.” I felt a little bad that Kristi was so nervous about it and I kept trying to reassure her that we would be safe and it would be fun. She didn’t want to talk about it. But, we had already paid, so we were going!</div>
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As we got suited up, our wonderful guides, Jake and Charlotte, reiterated that what we were about to do was inherently dangerous and made us all give a thumbs up if we were still willing to do it. By putting our thumbs in the air, we were telling them that, if we get hurt or killed, it’s on us. Fun… </div>
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After we got suited up, we headed to “ground school” which is really just a short piece of wire to show you how the equipment works and for you to practice the things they have been telling you are important: how you position your body while zipping, how the “zip stop” works, etc. They stressed the importance of staying straight on the line and not coming in at an angle. With how much emphasis they were putting on this aspect, I thought something terrible would happen if I didn’t come in straight. So, on my first zip, I was solely focused on keeping my body straight. It was nerve wracking. As I got more accustomed to the process, though, I realized it’s not as big of a deal as it seemed. So, by the third or fourth line, I felt like a pro and I got to fully experience the joys of ziplining. Those joys mostly involve looking around at the scenery while zipping. There were some fantastic views and, at one point, Jake told is that the “things below us that look like shrubs are actually about 200 foot tall trees.” Looking down was fun as well. </div>
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It got to the point where I was doing some of the fun things they suggested on certain lines. One of the lines had a great photo opportunity so they suggested you turn and strike a pose as you take off. I just did a boring thumbs up, but I would have never turned toward the camera or anything on my first few zips. On the shortest line of the day, they challenged us to see if we could hold our breath the whole way, close our eyes the whole way, or yell the whole way. I closed my eyes AND yelled the whole way. It was exhilarating! </div>
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If you can’t tell, I loved the ziplining part and was thrilled that Kristi was loving it, too. What I didn’t like, though, were the repels. I didn’t realize I was afraid of heights until those moments. It may not be that I am afraid of heights, it may be more about the fact that I was standing on the edge of a platform looking down a huge drop and then the platform moves! It’s unsettling. Then you get hooked up to this pulley system engineered by the Germans and just step off the platform. I put a lot of faith in German engineering that day and I survived. </div>
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You may be thinking about ziplining but don’t think it’s safe. Well, I’ve only experienced this one location, but it was very safe. Our guides were very entertaining and hilarious and kept the entire day fun while still staying very focused on safety. They messed around a lot but not with safety measures. Another piece of advice if you’re thinking of going on a similar journey: don’t do an outing with just a few ziplines. As I mentioned, I only really got comfortable after the first two or three. If you only do two or three, you probably won’t get to experience the full joys of the experience because you will still be getting used to how you position your body and everything.</div>
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It was an amazingly fun experience and I would go again! A little added bonus, though, was getting to tell Kristi “I told you so!” when she loved it. </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our ziplining adventure started off on a bit of a precarious foot. I wanted to back out. I was nervous and uncertain and was starting to think it wasn’t the best of ideas. As usual, Nolan has this endearing way of convincing me everything will be okay. Also, he reminded me that we had already paid for the excursion… and money talks. So, out the door we went. By this time, my nerves were on a roller coaster ride of their own. I was contemplating the safety of what we were about to do. Should we call our parents and let them know? You know, in case something goes wrong and we get injured… or worse. I’ll admit that my nervousness manifested itself in mild nausea. Nolan kept trying to talk to me and all I could manage was sticking my hand out as to signify that now was not a good time to converse. At one point he asked for a mint from my purse and all I managed was to mutter “not right now, give me a minute.” I’m pretty sure he knew something was up at that point. I managed to control my nerves and was even able to drag myself out of the car when we got to our destination. I had succumbed to the fact that there was no backing out because we had already paid for it and this was something that Nolan was really looking forward to doing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We donned our gear and headed to “Ground School,” which wasn’t a school at all; but we did learn the basics necessary for a safe and fun trip. There were a total of seven of us zipping and we had two instructors to help us along the way. I made some nervous chatter with a few of the other adventure goers, which ultimately served to get my mind off of the impending… fun I was going to have. Yep, I said it: FUN. As soon as I was hooked up to the course and it was my turn on deck, I got excited. The only part I was leery about was taking the first step off of the platform to ride the line… with only a forest of trees beneath me to break my fall (or my legs if we’re being realistic).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s probably a good time to mention that the zipline tour we chose boasted to be the steepest and fastest in the country. It had eleven ziplines, three rappels, and a sky bridge all jammed into a three and a half hour time window. Our guides were Charlotte and Jake and they were a hoot! They made sure we had fun, but were certain to make sure all safety protocols were followed as well. The repeated phrase of the day was “Zip check, Jake” and a reply from Jake of “Zip stop set, Charlotte”. Occasionally they would get fancy and say something like “Zippity stoppity checkity, Jakety”… yea, they liked to have fun.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIbrwRhJivL714PxUP-lyyLLUBVctvO-tSZXbFSnhi7MQWENoQmHSPvrVvDYCs6No2ZyNd1CZP2AxW9eYDYbOyceYmKPyWhP6NyohAaMRKbXxjVozQ4YnDDo1suUbGToUghYMZFfqrak/s1600/P8220044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIbrwRhJivL714PxUP-lyyLLUBVctvO-tSZXbFSnhi7MQWENoQmHSPvrVvDYCs6No2ZyNd1CZP2AxW9eYDYbOyceYmKPyWhP6NyohAaMRKbXxjVozQ4YnDDo1suUbGToUghYMZFfqrak/s1600/P8220044.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The views from the trees (which is where we were zipping, rappelling, and crossing a sky bridge) were breathtaking! We did encounter a large number of spiders on our adventure and they were sizeable. Some people even kept trying to mess with them, which is something I wasn’t fond of. I think I might have threatened one of the other zipliners that if he messed with the spider I would throw him off of the platform which was approximately two hundred feet in the air. Oh, don’t worry it wouldn’t have worked because we were all tethered safely to the tree. And then there was the SNAKE, oh my… the snake. At our first rappel of the day, our guide Jake went down first to help us as we descended. Before he made it to the platform I heard a surprised sounding noise come from below and he confirmed there was a snake waiting for him near the platform. No joke, I considered aborting this whole ziplining mission at that point. I didn’t sign up to play with or be near snakes. Well, he moved the snake out of the way and I told Nolan that, if we encountered the snake, he would be giving me a piggy back ride. Thankfully no piggy back ride had to be given. Phew!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We finished out our three and a half our adventure and I was a bit sad when it was over. Since ziplining is only effective when done going downhill, they were kind enough to have a van waiting for us at the bottom so we didn’t have to hike back up. Thanks, guys!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This adventure was definitely something that got me out of my comfort zone and, for that, I’m thankful! Life is more fun when you live on the edge a little (and within certain boundaries). Well maybe when you live within a slightly larger “box” than what you’re used to. So, if you’re looking for an exhilarating, invigorating adventure to do, I would highly recommend ziplining!!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-77440946604396629682014-08-27T09:57:00.000-04:002014-08-27T09:57:06.500-04:00Getting (Pop) Cultured...<h2>
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We watched the MTV Video Music Awards together.</div>
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I think we can all agree that most music played on pop radio today isn’t very good. Auto-tune allows mediocre singers to get record deals, lyrics don’t make any sense most of the time, and a lot of songs have really bad messages for today’s youth to absorb. It’s kind of a shame. With that being said, on Sunday night, Kristi and I watched this year’s Video Music Awards. We like watching <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/03/and-oscar-goes-to.html" target="_blank">award shows</a> because it’s entertaining to see what people are wearing and what’s going on in pop culture. While we watch, however, we tend to make sarcastic remarks about things and enjoy poking fun at the whole thing. Just check out our <a href="https://twitter.com/LoveNDifference" target="_blank">Twitter feed</a> from Sunday night and you’ll see what I’m talking about. </div>
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I am not really into the red carpet fashion stuff at any awards show but Kristi likes it so we watch it. This red carpet coverage, however, had something I had never seen before: performances. That’s right, two musical acts (both of whom were up for the “Artist to Watch” award) had performances on the red carpet! 5th Harmony (a girl group that tries really hard to be the Pussycat Dolls but can’t even live up to that low standard) lip synced their way through their simple choreography (which they couldn’t even perform in any kind of unison) to give a lackluster performance. And, fast forward to later in the show, they won “Artist to Watch”! What?! From what I could tell, they weren’t up against much in the way of strong competition, but they were up against Sam Smith who can SING his heart out. At least <span style="text-decoration: underline;">he</span> has some talent. But that category was voted on by the “fans” so it wasn’t really a competition of which act had more talent; it was about who has a bigger, mindless fan base willing to click “like” or vote with hashtags or whatever.</div>
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The biggest thing I noticed about the red carpet coverage is how shoddy it was. You’d think that MTV (which stands for Music Television but produces tons of programming having nothing to do with music) would have solid coverage of a music event. If you thought that, you’d be wrong. They had fans send in videos to ask questions to certain celebrities and then Sway (one of MTV’s best known correspondents) would completely ignore the question that just was asked by the fan and ask his own. At one point, he even mentioned how it was hard to hear the question, so he asked his own. If you’re going to do fan questions, do it correctly, you know? Also, there was an extended, random shot from inside the venue (while everyone was out on the red carpet); but, during the shot, the audio was of Austin Mahone’s (a taller Justin Bieber) grand entrance with a marching band. Once they finally cut to the proper shot, we missed the entrance and just saw Mahone (in one of the more ridiculous outfits of the night) talking to Sway. </div>
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The technical mishaps didn’t stop at the red carpet, though. The first presenters (Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani) were telling each other how awesome they were before they ever even thought about presenting the first award. During this weird exchange, you could hear someone checking microphones for an upcoming performance. It was strange. After that, though, it seems like they got it under control, or I stopped paying attention, because I didn’t notice any other missteps in the production.</div>
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As you can imagine, a music awards show is full of musical performances. I could go on and on about these performances but I will just give a brief overview for the sake of time and your sanity. Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj went first and each did part of a song of their own, then premiered some new song they have together. It was basically just gyrating, singing, and rapping in a jumbled mess of about a thousand background dancers with a pretty light show. You can’t understand a word Grande sings and any Minaj performance should be rated TV-MA; but, at least Jessie J can sing. Taylor Swift (after her recent break away from the Country Music Association) sang her new song and made a lame joke about stage diving. The crowd gave her a courtesy laugh and suffered through the boring song. I liked her better when she was country/pop fusion and didn’t try to dance like younger, shorter, less awkward pop stars. The new rap sensation Iggy Azalea did her new song with Rita Ora and it wasn’t bad. But it’s weird to know that Azalea is a white, British girl but sounds like a black American girl when she raps. Maroon 5 played and reminded everyone that there are more members to the band than just Adam Levine (their singer who basically gets all the credit) and they always put on a decent show. It was weird, though, because they were at some off-site location and it was just a live feed at the show. Not sure why it was done that way. Nicki Minaj hit the stage again with Usher and that was a sight… another TV-MA performance. I was actually a little excited to see Usher perform because he is a born performer. He can dance his heart out and has a good voice. Unfortunately, he only danced a little in this performance and his singing was a bit off. What a shame. Then there is Sam Smith (whom I mentioned earlier). His performance was the most low key and the most enjoyable. It was mostly just him and a piano player and he owned the place. I was definitely impressed. I almost forgot 5 Seconds of Summer (it was a forgettable performance) who look like what One Direction would look like if they actually played instruments. They aren’t bad but they aren’t good. </div>
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The big one was Beyonce. It was talked about all night and it was this epic mash-up of a bunch of her songs which went on and on for fifteen minutes or so. She was the main performance because she won the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. First of all, Michael Jackson reinvented music video as an art form; so, putting Beyonce up there on his level is sad. Secondly, Beyonce can sing, but her dance moves aren’t that impressive and (most importantly) the majority of her songs don’t make a bit of sense lyrically. She gets a little too much credit, in my mind. And I would have much rather seen her do one or two songs in their entirety instead of a frantic, nonsensical mash-up. It was as if someone put in her album, listened to a song for a minute or so, didn’t like it, then skipped to the next one, didn’t like that one, switched to the next, didn’t like that one… you get the idea. </div>
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The last thing I’ll say is that Jay Pharaoh (current SNL cast member and one of the best impressionists I have ever seen) stole the show. He popped up a few times to remind everyone to vote for the “Artist to Watch” award but he popped up as different people. His Jay-Z and Drake impressions were hysterical. The next time, he was Kanye West and it wasn’t as good, but it was amazing watching him make fun of Kanye while they kept cutting back to Kanye’s new wife, Kim Kardashion West. Top notch stuff. </div>
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Also, you may notice that I didn’t mention many of the awards… that’s because the VMAs are not really about the awards. Anytime Lorde wins best Rock Video for a song like “Royals,” then you can’t take any of the other awards very seriously either. But, the important thing is that Kristi and I had fun relaxing and watching this celebration of pop culture because we could just turn our brains off and enjoy each others’ company while Fletcher actually stayed calm. It was a lovely evening. </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan and I rounded out our anniversary trip by a tacking on a two day staycation. This staycation was brought in with a bang by watching the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). Nolan and I watch them for very different reasons, but it’s always an interesting show to watch. It’s funny because last year, when we were on our honeymoon and were to the end of a long day, we crashed on the couch in our lovely hotel room. As we were flipping through the channels, we happened upon the VMAs. So, now it might be a kind of tradition we have started… yippee!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As Fletcher and I settled into the couch and Nolan settled into the chair, we turned on the red carpet coverage. Normally this is one of my favorite times of the show. I get to see stars draped in the most ridiculous clothing. That certainly did not disappoint; but, what also didn’t disappoint, was the sad production of the whole thing. MTV really didn’t have a handle on what they were doing. Their red carpet “hosts” stumbled all over their words and shots were cut way too soon (while an interview was still happening) or they would cut to a new shot way before anything worth seeing was happening. We watched a few atrocious performances on the red carpet of some “bands” I had never heard of… and they proved there was a reason for that: they were terrible.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Then came the actual awards show. Is it bad that my favorite part had nothing to do with a winner or even anyone who presented an award? Hands down, my favorite part was when Jay Pharaoh came on stage about three times and did his impressions of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Drake. He was spot on and hilarious… as a matter of fact, I could have just watched him the whole night.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since we actually HAD to watch the awards show, it’s probably a good time to note that things got weird a few times. For instance, Miley sent her “homeless friend” up to accept her award for Best Music Video (or something like that). It was an awkward acceptance… not because the kid was nervous (even though it was extremely obvious he was) but because the camera kept focusing on Miley sitting on a half wall fake crying during his speech. She was obviously doing that for the cameras. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad her way of getting our attention this year was a complete 180 from last year’s bumping and grinding on Robin Thicke.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nevertheless, the show wasn’t about Miley but was definitely all about “Queen Bey”… oh you don’t know who that is? You didn’t know we had royalty amongst the Rock/Pop genre? Yea, I must have missed that “crowning” as well. Although I presume it was a self crowning situation. I am, of course, talking about the one and only Beyonce. I don’t think anyone can deny that the woman can sing and perform, but I don’t think she NEEDED a set that lasted fifteen or so minutes with a mash-up of a ton of her songs.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The show ended awkwardly when Jay-Z and Blu Ivy (their daughter) came up on stage to present some big award to Beyonce. There were some hugs and a smooch (which was awkward amongst the divorce rumors that have been milling around) and then the screen went black. I thought there was a camera malfunction, but was quickly reminded that it was the poor production of the entire event as the show immediately came back on… from the beginning. Nice segue, guys… NOT.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-81567333911321032452014-08-20T09:46:00.003-04:002014-08-20T09:46:55.383-04:00Fun (not) in the Sun...<h2>
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We spent a very quick weekend at the beach.</div>
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I’m pale. There’s no sugarcoating it. I sunburn easily and have to cake on the sunscreen if I’m going to be out in the sun for extended periods of time. With that, I am not one of these people that likes to spend all day at the beach hanging out, tanning, frolicking in the ocean (where sharks can eat you), and making sand castles. I do, however, enjoy “going to the beach.” I put that in quotation marks because “going to the beach” can also mean traveling to a location that is located near an ocean. Those locations are usually pretty nice to visit. Recently we “went to the beach” for a lightening quick weekend vacation with my dad’s side of the family.</div>
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We both left work Friday at 5:30pm and, as quickly as possible, took Fletcher over to my mother-in-law’s house so she could watch him for a few days. Then we scarfed down some food and hit the road. Three hours later, we were in Myrtle Beach hugging family members and relaxing. Those three hours were good and bad. They went by rather quickly because Kristi and I jammed to some music on my iPod and, once she was tired of my music, her iPod. It was fun but that drive is horrible. If you’ve ever driven from Columbia to Myrtle Beach, you know what I’m talking about. There are a bunch of back roads that have stop lights and only one lane going each way. It’s not a fun drive. </div>
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We went to sleep in the king bed our room had (you know we love that) and woke up the next day at 8 or so to start our only full day of vacation. After getting some food in us, we headed to this go kart place with six different tracks. It was pretty cool but, after experiencing only two of the tracks, the rain started. And, when it started… it REALLY started. Out of nowhere it was a torrential downpour. That kind of weather isn’t very conducive to whipping around a go kart track and our tickets were good all day, so we decided to come back later. What did we do for the time being? Shop! My favorite! </div>
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Tanger Outlets are like a woman’s Mecca. I don’t see the allure, but I don’t have to. I just have to go. I do have to say, though, that shopping with Kristi isn’t so bad. When we do shop, it’s reasonably quick. If nothing strikes her fancy, then we move on. There isn’t a lot of lingering. Also, this particular Tanger location had a Jared Vault which I had never heard of (I work for Sterling which owns Jared). So I wanted to check it out. We had checked everything out we wanted to within an hour or so. But we stayed at the outlets for four more hours. Why? Because of poor <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/06/customer-disservice.html" target="_blank">customer service</a> and a big debacle that got me a bit heated (and I don’t anger easily). I don’t really want to go into much detail but what really upset me is that, because of poor customer service, we waited around for almost four hours when we should have been spending that time with family. My parents were with us, so at least we got to spend some time with them (even though it was frustrated, angry time).</div>
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Once we finally left, we had a nice dinner with everyone which was wonderful. We even went down to the beach as the sun was setting. We didn’t stay long but at least we actually went! Then we played some games (my family is very competitive) and got to bed because we had to leave early the next morning to drive some more. Yay!</div>
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We headed to Charleston the next day (another two and half hours in the car) because my brother had a white coat ceremony (he started med school on Monday) and we were going to meet up with Kristi’s cousin. We got there just in time for the ceremony and it didn’t last as long as it could have. That was nice because we were wanting to get back and take Fletcher off of my mother-in-law’s hands. Meeting up with Kristi’s cousin was nice, too. We had seen her <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/07/down-on-farm.html" target="_blank">in Idaho</a> not too long before, but getting a chance to see family is always nice. It was ridiculous to find parking in Charleston on King Street, but it worked out just fine because the coffee shop where we met Kristi’s cousin was two blocks from where we were meeting my family for lunch! Lunch was tasty but, for the price, they didn’t give you very much food. It was good food, but it seemed like you should get more for your money. Unfortunately, though, after lunch we couldn’t join them for dessert at a local chocolatier because it was getting late and we had to get ready for our work week. Which means… you guessed it… more driving! This drive wasn’t as long but it seemed to go by so much more slowly because we were just ready to be home. </div>
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It was hectic and way too fast, but it was still a fun weekend and we were very glad we got to spend time with family. Now, we only have a short week and it’s time for a longer, less hectic vacation for our anniversary. We can’t wait!</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Kristi + Beach = not a great mix.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s not that I don’t enjoy the breeze from the ocean or the laid back atmosphere that comes with being at the beach. I don’t like the sun because I burn at the first ray of sun that touches my porcelain skin. Normally, the whole point of going to the beach is to bask in the glorious sun until you can’t stand it any longer. Thankfully, our weekend trip to the beach was pretty much the opposite. Nolan and I left for Myrtle Beach as soon as we got off work, ate dinner, packed up the car, and took <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/06/brand-new-pet-parents.html" target="_blank">Fletcher</a> to my mom’s house.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While neither of us care to be in a car for extended periods of time (especially when back roads are involved), it was tolerable because we had fun listening to music and chatting. We had some interesting sights on our way to the beach and were so glad to see family once we finally made it! We did some quick catching up with the family that was awake and then decided to call it a night and retreat to our KING BED! If you know anything about us, you know we <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-facts-they-bought-bed-fit-for-king.html" target="_blank">LOVE a king bed</a>; so it was a great surprise that we got to sleep in one on our short jaunt to the beach.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Saturday was to be our only full day of vacation, so we woke up early to get ready for whatever the day was to entail. It just so happened that there was a Grand Prix style go-cart track not too far from where we were staying; so we all packed up and got ready to race. We got our tickets and made our way to the “slick track,” which wasn’t all that fun since it just went around in circles. Although I don’t think that one was meant to be fun, but merely serve the purpose of getting you used to the way the go carts handled.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">If you know anything about Nolan, you know that he’s super competitive. So I was ecstatic when I PASSED him on this track. I threw my fist up in the air to celebrate my victory and a huge grin washed over my face. If you ask Nolan, he would say he wasn’t trying to keep me from passing him… I think he’s just saying that to make the fact that his wife passed him not hurt so much.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After the slick track, we made our way to the first “real” track of the day which ended up being the ONLY real track we rode on. I chose my car out methodically… actually I didn’t. I chose it because I like the color blue. As we began the race, I had nothing but obliterating the competition on my mind. I was cognizant of the turns and that someone was likely on my tail, so I took the shortest route around each one and would use my peripheral vision to decide if I need a quick move to the right or left. I’m happy to report that not a soul passed me that entire race, but I definitely left some people in the dust… one of those people happened to be my husband. Yep, I beat him again! Sweet victory! As we made our way to the next track, the sky let loose and we were powerless against Mother Nature. Knowing that it would be a while before the track would be able to open back up, we decided to spend the time shopping at the Tanger Outlets (a place that Nolan simply loves… NOT).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once there, we walked in and out of stores and ate some not so healthy but oh so delicious Chinese food. We honestly weren’t intending on spending a ton of time shopping, but things don’t always work out how we plan. So, for reasons outside of our control and because when your mother-in-law lights up when she sees the perfect item she has been looking for for years (not an exaggeration), you want to make it happen at any cost. Even if that means time spent aimlessly wandering around an outdoor mall on a super hot and humid South Carolina day, you do it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once done at the Tanger Outlets, and since more time had passed than originally planned, we went straight back to our place for dinner instead of back to the go carts to finish out our day of racing. Dinner was delicious and time spent with family was even better. Our only full day of the beach weekend sped by and before we knew it we were curled up in bed.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The next day we were in the car yet again and off to Charleston to see my brother-in-law at his White Coat Ceremony for MUSC (Congrats, Justin!) The ceremony was nice and was greatly anticipated by all of those in attendance, but as soon as it was over Nolan and I snuck out to meet up with my cousin, Ellen, in downtown Charleston. We had a lovely time catching up with her at a local coffee spot and, before we knew it, our late lunch time had arrived. So, we met up with Nolan’s family again. Funny story here… We were meeting Ellen right off of King Street and knew that the place we would be meeting for lunch was on King Street as well but had no idea where they were in relation to one another. When driving into town to meet my cousin, we decided to grab the first parking spot we could find (which is a hard find and hot commodity down there). Little did we know that we parked two blocks away from the coffee shop and one store front away from the restaurant… I love it when things work out like that!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Lunch was great and conversation was plentiful, but it was nearly late afternoon and Nolan and I needed to get home to our precious Fletcher. So, we said our goodbyes and left for Columbia. Even though the drive from Charleston to Columbia is the shortest out of all of the ones we took that weekend, it was the most painful one by far. Perhaps it’s because we wanted to get home and get ready for the week ahead, or perhaps we were just over being in the car… either way it wasn’t fun.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Spending time with family is always fun and I’m so thankful that we both have families that we LOVE being around.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-55782939299246783762014-08-14T21:29:00.000-04:002014-08-14T21:29:02.014-04:00We All Have a Magic Number...<h2>
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We like watching “Million Dollar Listing Miami.” Its first season just ended.</div>
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Reality TV is to scripted TV as documentary film is to narrative film. With that being said, I am not a fan of documentaries or reality TV. Most of you already know, however, that my wife enjoys reality TV. So, I watch it on occasion. While I can’t stand that reality TV is taking over, I can sort of see why… some of the shows are interesting. Most of them are not, but I can tolerate some. I even enjoy watching some. </div>
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I was first introduced to the “Million Dollar Listing” shows via the Los Angeles edition. It was entertaining and I enjoyed seeing the expensive houses, etc. Also, the agents are so competitive and sometimes very petty which makes for some nice mindless entertainment. Then, “Million Dollar Listing New York” started and Kristi had told me that those guys were even more entertaining. She was right. With this one, I started even getting more invested in the agents as people. It wasn’t just about the pricey condos and breathtaking views anymore.</div>
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Then we saw a commercial for the newest addition to the “Million Dollar Listing” shows: Miami. They are starting to spread as quickly as the “Real Housewives.” I was hesitant at first about the agents in “Million Dollar Listing Miami” because they didn’t seem very personable. Chad just seemed like a dumb beefcake with a superficial girlfriend. Sam seemed like a whiney, wanna-be super broker. And Chris seemed like a stuck up rich guy who cares WAY too much about his looks. As I got to know them through the show, though, my opinions softened. </div>
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I realized that Chad takes great pride in what he does and cares so much about getting his clients what they want that it’s quite endearing. And, it turns out that his girlfriend isn’t superficial at all. She helps him with business and helps him be a better person. He has some anger issues but she helps soften those. They work well together so I see why he bought her a 127,000 dollar ring… yea… it’s huge.</div>
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I also found out that Sam has a lot of fight in her. She is the underdog in Miami and is right on the cusp of being where she wants to be; but her drive is impressive. Running her own company and doing everything herself must be tough, but her passion for what she does makes me want to root for her. She’s the first female broker on a “Million Dollar Listing” show and she was a good choice. Also, I’m glad she didn’t join a bigger company. Staying independent is her thing and she should keep it that way (I realize that last bit doesn’t make any sense unless you watch the show… sorry).</div>
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Then there is Chris. He seems to make the biggest deals and have the quirkiest personality of the Miami agents. While I can’t get behind his obsession with Botox and other superficial treatments, he seems to treat everyone with respect and get his job done to the best of his ability. And he’s super competitive (all of them are, but he especially is) which I can relate to.</div>
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I know I always bash reality TV and how it’s everything that’s wrong with TV these days. But it’s tolerable, I guess, if you pick the right show. None of the “Million Dollar Listing” shows help with the idea we talked about in a previous post, though: don’t look at houses out of your price range or you will not be satisfied with what you’ve got. Yea, well, a man can dream, right?</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan and I differ greatly on what we consider entertainment. For me, shows like “The Real Housewives,” “Say Yes to the Dress,” and well, pretty much any show on Bravo fall under entertainment. For Nolan, he’s entertained by sports and… well that’s the main one. So, when we find something that we both enjoy, we watch it religiously. “Million Dollar Listing Miami” (MDLMIA) is the most recent show that we’ve found we both love (although we do love the New York and Los Angeles versions just as well).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Recently, the first season of MDLMIA came to a conclusion, so it’s only right that I attempt to sum up this entertainment experience. At first, both of us were extremely skeptical of the show. I got Nolan turned onto the Los Angeles version last year and then we both found that the New York version was way better (thanks to our favorite… Luis). So, when yet another version came out, neither of us thought it would be any good… but we still gave it a wholehearted shot.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As the season progressed, I began to enjoy it more and more. The folks in Miami have a different way of wheeling and dealing than the folks in New York or LA… and it is fantastic! Let’s be honest, there is just something mesmerizing about seeing a deal close for a few million dollars and realizing that the agent just made a sweet hundred thousand dollars on it. Let me just go ahead and say I’d do that… but I would probably sell one and be done for the year. Mostly because that kind of money is something I can only dream of at this point in my life. It’s interesting, however, to see them act so nonchalant about the amount of money they just accrued. I understand that they invest more time in selling a property than what they can show on television… but even then it’s still a great pay off.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The most expensive listing we saw this season was a penthouse suite going for a cool $13,995,000. Selling at this price would mean breaking major records in the area. As the deal was going down, it was as if they were talking about pennies and dimes. The potential buyer didn’t like the European style kitchen and wanted the massive master bedroom closet to have see-through closets instead of closed in cabinet styles… a pretty understandable request if you’re forking over that kind of money. Well, the selling agents thought that an overhaul of the kitchen and master bedroom were ridiculous to even discuss because (and I quote) “those are only minor cosmetic changes.” Uh, more like cosmetic changes that would cost more than I make in a year… Sheesh, people!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, we record and watch the show every week and now I’m kind of sad that it’s over. Good thing is that “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” starts a new season next week. Only, now we have to get used to the LA style of selling ridiculously expensive homes again… what a struggle.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-18103036659460459642014-08-13T09:32:00.002-04:002014-08-13T09:32:42.983-04:00Cutting it Close (Puppy Edition)...<h2>
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Fletcher had never been groomed. He got groomed.</div>
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Having a puppy is like having a baby… so I’m told. I’ve never had a baby, so I just have to take everyone’s word for it. With that being said, “firsts” are a big deal. The first time he jumps up on the couch by himself (he’s been doing that a lot recently). The first time he goes to the vet. His first shots. And, more recently, his first trip to the groomer. We set up the appointment for 7:00am because they said it would take three to four hours to complete the grooming. That seems like a long time for how little our puppy is. But, with that time frame in mind, we had to set it up as early as possible so I could pick him up before I headed into work. As most of you know, Kristi is not a morning person. But, like a worrisome mother, she wanted to go with Fletcher to drop him off at the groomer. Just to drop him off… but I’m glad she cares enough to get up that early and go with him. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the way</td></tr>
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So, we went together and dropped the little guy off. Unfortunately, he had gotten a few mats and tangles so they said they might have to shave him. I was nervous that he would look like a rat if they had to shave him. But, if that’s what had to be done, we would do it. His hair would grow back in no time, I’m sure. We left him and got back in bed. It was nice not having a whining dog annoy us as we went back to bed to catch a little extra shuteye. </div>
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They called us less than two hours later (so much for three to four hours) and told us he was ready. I had a meeting to go to at that time so Kristi went to pick him up. After my meeting, I was anxious to get home and see our newly groomed puppy. When I got in, I couldn’t help but laugh. He just looked so different! Luckily they didn’t have to shave him all the way down so he still has a little bit of fur. And, I must say, he looks rather dapper. If we took him to a dog park, he’d get a lot of attention from the lady dogs, I’m sure!</div>
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He may look a little different but he certainly doesn’t act any differently. He still has more energy than we can handle sometimes and is still just as curious and mischievous as ever. Another little perk is that his fur is so soft! We love him and are so happy that he has proven to be the cutest puppy in the universe even with much, much shorter hair.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, Fletcher is pretty much the cutest dog ever (no offense to anyone who thinks their dog is indeed the cutest… we all can’t win, right?) Even though Fletcher was perfectly adorable like he was, it was time for him to get groomed. He loves running around outside and, with that, comes a certain amount of tangles in his fur and a distinct musk. We do bathe our dog, but there is just a certain cleanliness that comes from having a professional do it. We were ready about a month ago to have it done, but apparently they couldn’t groom him until he had his rabies shot or something… wimps. Seriously, though, I’m kidding. I get it, it’s for their protection.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, on the day that he got his rabies shot we went to set up his grooming appointment. Fletcher goes to the vet in Petsmart (they have been great so far) so we decided to give the groomers in Petsmart a shot as well… and it didn’t hurt that we had a coupon for his first session! We decided to take him to get groomed on a day that Nolan goes into work late in the hopes that dropping him off and picking him up could be done all before Nolan headed to work. So, Nolan chose the ungodly hour of 7:00 on a Monday morning to drop off our beloved puppy to get groomed.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2niu9Qiaj0NmOXOe3Ycxq-r3Bkq6Tux3fDjUQDGUWz2pIXUfnnOIhwEGfK3EPbn1EIISwMvwqF9Xkhl-Y5JGQr6VyWxVuaAVfb6YoLXHrrggIAa8Sn7XJ5ApDut3R4ydeZht5qJeZLYg/s1600/fletcher+after.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2niu9Qiaj0NmOXOe3Ycxq-r3Bkq6Tux3fDjUQDGUWz2pIXUfnnOIhwEGfK3EPbn1EIISwMvwqF9Xkhl-Y5JGQr6VyWxVuaAVfb6YoLXHrrggIAa8Sn7XJ5ApDut3R4ydeZht5qJeZLYg/s1600/fletcher+after.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See, still cute!</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since we are “those” pet parents, I decided since it was Fletcher’s first time getting groomed that his mommy and daddy should take him together. This choice pretty much solidified what I’ve known all along… I’m not a morning person. The alarms went off and Nolan and I had determined the drop dead last minute we would need to leave our house by in order to arrive to Fletcher’s appointment in a timely fashion. Nolan jumped out of bed at the sound of the alarm, but I just wanted five more minutes. Oops! No need to fear, I did throw myself out of bed and was able to put myself together enough to be seen in public.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was worried that Fletcher wouldn’t do well with being groomed since he isn’t a huge fan of his bath time at home. But, it was something that needed done. So, Nolan and I left him in the care of the groomer and sped home to enjoy some Fletcher free time in the morning. Now, don’t get me wrong, we LOVE Fletcher and we may or may not treat him more like a baby than a dog. BUT, he constantly wants to be right next to us and sometimes we just want a break. It’s not a break from Fletcher himself that we want, it’s a break from his annoying habits… like scratching, biting, licking (the furniture) and his affinity for stealing the most comfy spot on the couch. So, we enjoyed a little bit of Fletcher-free time (but please don’t tell him).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When I picked him up, he didn’t seem distressed and he was definitely happy to see me! I had prepared myself for him to possibly not be as cute since I knew they might need to shave him (because of some tangles and mats). But let me tell you, even shaved… that dog is the cutest thing ever. He went from looking fluffy to sleek, black to grey, like a little baby to a young man… all from one session at the groomers.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our little Fletcher is growing up so fast! But, then again, I guess that’s what they are supposed to do, right?</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-31678598910012865292014-08-10T18:00:00.000-04:002014-08-10T18:00:51.173-04:00Cutting it Close...<h2>
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Nolan needed a haircut. Kristi cut it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFtZz0AS04dCWfVqieK5Y8RslQraBvKpYgIgXLJD0KMw73wxb9KW8fFllLB5_GxBYzuwBxNsNue3DqqysKY_TuYqyIHeE1ybTs4h8kVVefSZlnq83dPMK2WBl8Jq52TCx2cAEOTsvIz0/s1600/edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFtZz0AS04dCWfVqieK5Y8RslQraBvKpYgIgXLJD0KMw73wxb9KW8fFllLB5_GxBYzuwBxNsNue3DqqysKY_TuYqyIHeE1ybTs4h8kVVefSZlnq83dPMK2WBl8Jq52TCx2cAEOTsvIz0/s1600/edited.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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I don’t put too much care into my hair. Before I was 24 I had only put any product in my hair twice (once was in high school, trying to fit in and the other was for this weird stage play thing). When I was dating Kristi and working toward marrying Kristi, I wanted to change it up. I had always gotten my hair buzz cut. It’s easy, low maintenance, and it was free (my mom did it). As people tend to do when they are in love, they want to look their best. So, I decided I wanted to get my hair cut and styled. To do this, I went to a fancy salon and let them do with my hair as they pleased. I liked the result. I even bought some wax (like a less hardening version of gel) so I could style my hair on occasion. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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For a while, I went with that hair style. Kristi liked it and I liked it. But, I went from styling my hair almost every day to just styling it when I was going out or going to church. Then, I started styling it less and less. It was just a lot of work. It got to where I was only styling it probably once or twice a month. I decided it was time to go back to the low maintenance buzz cut. This is something my wife offered to do for me. I thanked her but told her I’d let the professionals handle it. But, as she mentioned it a few more times, I figured I would give her a shot. </div>
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She thinks I was more nervous than I actually was. I knew she couldn’t mess it up too badly. And, if she did and I ended up kind of ugly, it’s her fault so she couldn’t complain about it. The clippers she used weren’t great, though. The first set we tried did more yanking on my hair than cutting it. That wasn’t fun. The second set worked fine, but still yanked a little. Maybe it wasn’t the machine’s fault, though, because as Kristi continued to cut, it yanked less and less… so it could have been user error that got worked out with experience. All that matters is it didn’t pull all my hair out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzjNx_tjTanh2V-o34EsVRPgxAfz_I3QmBNy546hHO66Ow-r1Jd_3bNnDgHg397mSLD-CMv6Evmbp11ZdvUd_jddg2ntvHCLBAon0bDJfKkuaZoM6g9nA7xsY56MH61t9xt271KdbvRM/s1600/photo+2+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzjNx_tjTanh2V-o34EsVRPgxAfz_I3QmBNy546hHO66Ow-r1Jd_3bNnDgHg397mSLD-CMv6Evmbp11ZdvUd_jddg2ntvHCLBAon0bDJfKkuaZoM6g9nA7xsY56MH61t9xt271KdbvRM/s1600/photo+2+copy.JPG" height="200" width="185" /></a></div>
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As we did it, Kristi was giddy. I don’t know why she loved it so much, but I’m just glad she had fun. It took her a little longer than it would have a professional, but it also cost 13 dollars less. I’m down with that. And, by the end, Kristi kept telling me how good I looked. Whether that was her bragging about the great job she did on my hair or her just complimenting me, I don’t care. It’s always nice to hear that your wife thinks you look good! </div>
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So, no matter what others say or think about my hair cut, I don’t care because I only really care about looking good for one person; and she likes the new hairdo. </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, I’m pretty much a hairstylist now. No, I didn’t decide to secretly go to hair school and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But I DID cut my husband’s hair! Since we try to save money in any way that we can, I have suggested a few times to Nolan that he let me take a stab (not indicative of what might happen) at cutting his hair. He’s had the more fashionable haircuts before, but he has recently been going for the more minimalistic look of getting it buzzed.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’ve tried to tell him that I can do it countless times; but, each time, he is hesitant. I can understand the hesitation to a certain degree, but what’s the worst that could happen? Technically the worst that could happen is that we end up having to shave his head completely and, while it might not be ideal, it’ll definitely grow back, right?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, he shocked me by agreeing to let me cut his precious locks. I cannot express to you how excited I was at this opportunity. He was agreeing and cautious, but definitely NOT excited. As I got the clippers out and attached the appropriately numbered guard, I could see the skepticism creep onto his face. I can only imagine what he was thinking. Perhaps it was something like, “have I lost my marbles?” or “Please tell me this is a dream.” No marbles have been lost and it definitely wasn’t a dream.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJD2XSdr7d_kBQ8Jn8pgJHKv4LGVMJtOXqVHQJVS64BuXeCR43jVxb8IEQ_pcEFmL6fpoCkHlzWglY8UGVWS2n3_E63kI5v0kDpfSXYHeDjtb07HJeakRHiLBcu8dDGd8Qw909lOTvyto/s1600/photo+3+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJD2XSdr7d_kBQ8Jn8pgJHKv4LGVMJtOXqVHQJVS64BuXeCR43jVxb8IEQ_pcEFmL6fpoCkHlzWglY8UGVWS2n3_E63kI5v0kDpfSXYHeDjtb07HJeakRHiLBcu8dDGd8Qw909lOTvyto/s1600/photo+3+copy.JPG" height="200" width="135" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I had two sets of clippers to choose from. I opened the first box and chose those. So begins attempt #1… I let Nolan take a few deep breaths to prepare himself and then I was off... sort of. I don’t want to say that his hair had grown to an unruly length, but we definitely could have tackled this haircut a week or two sooner if you know what I mean. The clippers felt the same way. I began and they made a horrid noise. One that made Nolan shudder and request that I stop. We decided it would be best for me to try out the second set of clippers. It turned out to be a great decision as they were up to the task of chopping through his fiery locks.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I began on the right side of his head and continued around to the left side. I had to take a few photos along the way to document this monumental occasion! He was less than thrilled at the documentation. After the Macklemore-esque haircut and photo, I finished out the cut. I cannot tell you how much fun I had hearing those clippers cut the hair and seeing the fruits of my labor… does that make me weird? No need to answer, I know where I fall on the ‘weirdometer’.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw5EsbldQ5QFVSS_2lpPpcKY5SYPkR7ouTy6DbWyyTReG753xPKXwNNcMnt_dhdWU-JpMnWsz6GdOYuQSEg20YziGROIzKkX8tKGfULO1jVkFhS4YCDkALPNdF-JI4sl3H5Bd_ciXjsk/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw5EsbldQ5QFVSS_2lpPpcKY5SYPkR7ouTy6DbWyyTReG753xPKXwNNcMnt_dhdWU-JpMnWsz6GdOYuQSEg20YziGROIzKkX8tKGfULO1jVkFhS4YCDkALPNdF-JI4sl3H5Bd_ciXjsk/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="200" width="177" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The last step to finishing his haircut was to clean up around the ears and trim up around the base of his neck. He was extremely concerned about my ability to do both, but I’m pretty sure I shocked him with my awesome skills. I even asked him if he wanted the hair at the base of his neck squared or rounded (just like I always hear the professionals ask him when we go to a legit place to get his hair cut). Even though he quickly retorted with an answer, I went with my gut and did a cross between the two. That would give him the best of both worlds, right?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, the moral of this story is to completely trust those you love. Nolan did, and now he has an amazing haircut to show for it. Plus, I think he likes that I keep stopping him to tell him “Man, you look good”… whether to tout my awesome newfound skill or to simply let him know I think he’s a good looking man, I don’t think he minds one bit!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-50354601954004421572014-08-07T09:10:00.000-04:002014-08-07T09:10:01.053-04:00A Hole Lotta Work...<h2>
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Our neighbors had to get some work done. Our driveway got cut into.</div>
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Most of the time, when you see something hanging on your front door, it’s some advertisement from a local painting service or lawn service. Sometimes, though, it’s much more annoying than that. Before we went on our trip to Idaho, we got a door hanger from SCE&G telling us of an upcoming event: them cutting into our yard or driveway. Our neighbors across the street were having some service done and, lucky for us, the access point is within our property line. They weren’t exactly sure where it was, but they knew they were either going to have to cut into our yard or driveway to reach the access point. But, they would fix whatever damage they did within two weeks… we’d see if that was true.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3f8WReA-8UzOvo0nURmSVVRdYbub8VGZJyieg2wFuiAF7IYOI6KMAbsPD_if8aN1V1QNCKT8A6lxH-X93NFsHKlERPNXfRLf1ydZLJfu7k7ntVso3QS94c3E9Wtmb1m678I0VWpN9hhQ/s1600/IMG952628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3f8WReA-8UzOvo0nURmSVVRdYbub8VGZJyieg2wFuiAF7IYOI6KMAbsPD_if8aN1V1QNCKT8A6lxH-X93NFsHKlERPNXfRLf1ydZLJfu7k7ntVso3QS94c3E9Wtmb1m678I0VWpN9hhQ/s1600/IMG952628.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we were on vacation, we got the call that they were going to be doing the work and have to cut into our driveway. We were thrilled… not. My parents were staying at the house to watch Fletcher and house-sit for us, so we made sure to inform them of what was going on and we went on relaxing during our vacation. When they were done with the work and patched the driveway where they cut, we got my parents to send us a picture. It looked awful. I’m not sure how they thought the job they did was acceptable, but we were not happy with it at all. It was sunken in compared to the rest of the driveway, it had cracks all around it, and they didn’t even fill in all of the cuts they made in the driveway. </div>
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I called our contact with SCE&G and expressed my displeasure with the job as it was performed and he, of course, told me there was nothing he could do about it. I was mad until he told me that he would refer me to the claims department. When I finally got the call from them, they sent a guy out to look at it. I didn’t expect much out of this visit, to be honest. He looked at it and told me that he’s seen worse. The means literally nothing to me, though, because I don’t care what other people’s driveways look like. I care what mine looks like and it didn’t look good. Surprisingly, though, he told me they would cut it all the way across the driveway and fill it in. Wow. That’s actually what we wanted so I was shocked. He told me I’d get a call from the people that were going to do it and they’d set up a time with me.</div>
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We waited over a week and hadn’t heard from anyone about our driveway. So I called the guy who told me I’d get a call. He got an attitude with me when I was simply calling to check in and make sure that everything was still in place to get our driveway fixed. There’s no need for an attitude. I wasn’t being mean, I was just following up. The very next day we got a call at 7:30am saying that they are on their way to fix our driveway. There was no planning or anything. Just a call saying they’re on their way. What if we had been busy? Or that day wasn’t good? They didn’t seem to care. Luckily, the guys that came to fix the garage door had come the day before. If not, they wouldn’t have been able to get on the driveway to fix our garage door. </div>
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So yea, it was a long road to get our driveway looking decent again (even though it still doesn’t look very good). At least we can drive on it and it isn’t as much of an eye-sore as it was before. It’s good to look on the bright side even though, sometimes, no side looks very bright. </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As you know (if you’ve been reading more than just this post), we’ve done some work in our yard to spruce it up a bit. Our side yard looks great and our front yard is a shade of brilliant green it has never been before… never mind the green might be credited to the superfluous amount of weeds present. Even so, we are quite pleased with the curb appeal of our home. So, it is just up to us to maintain it… easy enough! Well, when we were informed that a four foot by four foot hole would be dug up in our yard or driveway for gas line purposes for our neighbor, I was greatly disappointed (especially in light of our recent accomplishments on our yard). The gentleman at SCE&G who had the pleasure of informing us of this work assured us that, whether in the yard or driveway, they would fill the hole in and it would be as good as new.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIL5CJY5zYcoXrRLS7PbmEPVUzxTVxhNRqFd25h7LLwzzma0VDZPWQIn3fSJcgmfx9OXpiNj2EZU569VhlsvJwQS9k5gFzy1-j8OtEiEGyz6wX8Wn7xn_DgnIVbLHH0jqXlShKu3PqmE0/s1600/20140724_082741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIL5CJY5zYcoXrRLS7PbmEPVUzxTVxhNRqFd25h7LLwzzma0VDZPWQIn3fSJcgmfx9OXpiNj2EZU569VhlsvJwQS9k5gFzy1-j8OtEiEGyz6wX8Wn7xn_DgnIVbLHH0jqXlShKu3PqmE0/s1600/20140724_082741.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’m a pretty skeptical person by nature and I immediately knew that their “patch job” wouldn’t be up to our standards. It’s not that our standards are very high, because they aren’t. They fall under the “attainable” category. So, when we were informed that the work would start while we were on vacation, I knew we would be coming back to something we wouldn’t be pleased with.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since we are so very lucky (note the sarcasm), we got to have a hole dug up and patched in the worst place possible: the driveway! Since we were on vacation when all of this went down, Nolan’s parents sent us a picture and we were immediately unhappy with the results. But we waited until we arrived home from vacation to fully pass judgment on their “repair” perhaps in the hopes that the picture just didn’t do it justice.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, the picture did do it justice and it wasn’t good. Nolan had the lovely task of expressing our displeasure and getting them to fix it. His task was much easier and went way better than I ever thought it would. So, we went from an awful four foot by four foot patch in the middle of the end of our driveway to a patch that extends the width of the driveway. While it still isn’t ideal, I’m very thankful that the nice folks at the SCE&G claims department dealt with our unhappiness in the way they did.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The take-away from this is that you should never be afraid to inform a company of your unhappiness or issue with something they have done. As long as you do it in a respectful manner, you’d be surprised at what they are willing to do.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRaGggF3wUFqq4ZGjtMEu27XALSndvAcs8i0emynl_6wyMdu7v4yhgxVN2CHgvF2kzkXic5RrR70gYOUIU1rfyV12ikIcrszwSAcQtx70sMZl4s5QQ-P2y4-PErLspDMdI4Uuv4zeyQY/s1600/20140807_083130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRaGggF3wUFqq4ZGjtMEu27XALSndvAcs8i0emynl_6wyMdu7v4yhgxVN2CHgvF2kzkXic5RrR70gYOUIU1rfyV12ikIcrszwSAcQtx70sMZl4s5QQ-P2y4-PErLspDMdI4Uuv4zeyQY/s1600/20140807_083130.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-47512723685427837882014-07-30T22:40:00.002-04:002014-07-30T22:40:40.992-04:00Broken Home...<h2>
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Things break. Sometimes all at once.</div>
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As you’ve discovered through reading this blog, I’m not much a Mr. Fix-It, but I am learning. I have installed a <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-storm-door-is-coming.html" target="_blank">storm door</a>, put together an <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-we-diy.html" target="_blank">entertainment center</a>, hung a TV <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-bumpy-road-to-flat-screen.html" target="_blank">on the wall</a>, installed a fence, revamped a <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/doin-little-work-on-side-yard.html" target="_blank">side-yard</a>, and even done some minor <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/unlucky-us.html" target="_blank">garage door</a> repair work. I had never worked on a washing machine, though… until now. But I’ll get to that.</div>
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As you know, we’ve been having some garage door issues. First, we had a bracket break because the door was out of square. After fixing that )with some help), it broke again and we fixed it. Then it broke again and we put a whole new cable on there (which apparently was very dangerous as we found out later). We figured it was time to have the professionals check it out. </div>
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The professional, however, looked at it and told us the bad news: we needed a whole new system. Kristi dealt with them more than I did but, from what I understand, we had an old system and it would eventually stop working all together. So we had to remedy that.</div>
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During all that garage door stuff, we also found out that our washing machine was leaking and possibly ruining the wood floors underneath it. Kristi and her mom took the machine apart and got the replacement piece. I was working that Saturday or I would have helped, too. My only part in it was helping get the washing machine put back together once the new part was on. We couldn’t really get it back on the proper way, but it worked just fine. </div>
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With a working, washer, we turned our attention back to the garage door and shelled out too much money to get it fixed. Normally, we are willing to fix stuff ourselves, but we let the professionals handle that one. The garage door is now in proper working order and we are content… well, we were until the washing machine started leaking again. It seemed like nothing could go right! So we took it apart again, and found another loose piece to replace. This piece only cost 30 cents or so, so it didn’t break the bank, but it was still quite annoying to have to deal with it again. </div>
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When we tried to put the washing machine back together this time, though, it still didn’t quite work right. So we used the best thing you can use in a situation such as that… duct tape. Our washing machine may look ghetto, but it washes our clothes and keeps the floor dry for now. So, we’re fine with it. </div>
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Sometimes being a homeowner is awful. Things keep breaking and it seems like nothing is going right. Sometimes it makes you envy the days you used to rent and were able to call maintenance when something broke. But, having a place to call your own is ultimately worth it and dealing with the issues that arise make you a stronger person and a stronger couple. </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Murphy’s Law. It’s a real thing. It states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And it certainly felt that way in our home recently.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let’s start with the biggest thing first. Our garage door. I know, you’re probably thinking “why haven’t you guys figured that stinkin’ thing out yet?!” Those are my thoughts exactly. In our defense, we thought we had it all figured out until one day when it came to a screeching halt. The day started off a little outside of the norm. Not because we didn’t get up at the regular time, or some big part of our morning routine was off… it was because upon waking up and walking to the kitchen, I discovered our garage door had been open all night. This is something that is worthy of a slight freak out for me because I’m all about safety. So, naturally, Nolan took it upon himself to check out our entire house for any unwanted guests without any prompting from me (he’s a pretty great guy). I figured that we had accidentally forgotten to put it down the night before and assured myself it wouldn’t happen again.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Fast forward to later that same day. I came home at lunch to let Fletcher out of his crate. As I approached the driveway, I pushed the magic button to raise the garage door. It began to rise, but I immediately knew something was wrong. The cable came off of the track and I’m honestly not sure how the door made it all the way up without that key component functioning. It hit me, THAT’S why our garage door had mysteriously been open the night before… it was malfunctioning. Great! So, over the next couple of days, we did some do-it-yourself minor repairs (or, should I say, Nolan and my brother tackled those). After the main issue was fixed, we thought we were in the clear; but, of course, it’s never that easy. This time, it’s like we were having to coax the garage door so that it would even open. Sometimes it took six tries to open that thing. It got increasingly frustrating and we decided to call in the professionals to see if they could diagnose the problem.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The garage door repairman was set to come check out what the problem was. I met him at the house and, wouldn’t you know it, the garage door didn’t act up a bit. It was like an out of line child getting it together as soon as their parents approach. It felt a bit like a slap in the face… Ok, you’re going to act right as soon as the person who can fix you gets close to you? I see how it is. All the repairman could say was that the door looked fine, it was plumb and he didn’t see anything wrong with it. He did mention that we would eventually have to replace the whole system since it was rather old and it would only be a matter of time before it just decided to quit working. Nolan and I weren’t willing to risk that happening, so we immediately set up an appointment to get that baby fixed.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now that we had the garage door in working condition, it would only make sense that our washing machine would spring a leak. To be honest, when I first noticed a suspicious liquid near the washing machine my immediate response was to get mad at <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/06/brand-new-pet-parents.html" target="_blank">the dog</a>. After all he hasn’t quite mastered the whole using the potty in designated locations thing. Once I realized the dog was not to blame, I knew we needed to act quickly since a pool of water and hardwood floors are NOT a great mix. We took the “cabinet” off of the washing machine base and quickly found the culprit… a dry rotted hose. That was easy, right?! At least we didn’t have to search for long to find the cause. Something to note here is that if you have a hose on your washing machine break on the weekend, chances are you are out of luck at finding a part until the beginning of the week. We found that one out the hard way. After going to a few hardware and appliance stores we were told our dilemma wouldn’t be rectified until Monday.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once Monday rolled around, we got the part and replaced it. Easy. What wasn’t easy was putting the stinkin’ cabinet back onto the washing machine. It was more complicated by the fact that we purchased a tray for the machine to sit on in case it decided to spring any more leaks, the wood floors would not be ruined. My mom came over to lend a hand at getting the washing machine back together. It would have been impossible for just Nolan and I to do. We tried the cautious approach, but that wasn’t working so we ended up beating the thing into submission and eventually into place… sort of.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After fixing the washing machine, I was paranoid it would begin to leak again. Each load we put in I’d check every few minutes to see if any water had broken free. It hadn’t… until a few days ago. I saw standing water and wanted to scream. Not again! Nolan and I quickly took the cabinet off so we could see where water was coming from. This will be a shocker: there were no drips or runs of water - simply a lone pool of water sitting there.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The culprit, in the case of the runaway water, was a clamp on the new hose that we installed. It just wasn’t cutting it, so we had to get a new one. Thank goodness it seems as if that was the fix and it’s back in working order.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">And, as if that wasn’t enough stuff that was going wrong, our doorbell got possessed. I don’t actually think our doorbell was possessed, but it sure felt like that for a brief moment. Imagine this… I got home after a long day at work. We had just dealt with the garage door, washing machine, and our lovely puppy who sometimes does things he’s not supposed to. I walk down the hallway to hear a strange humming noise coming from the gadget that projects the doorbell sound. I had encountered a similar situation a while back and knew the wire would need tweaked in order to fix the annoying noise. I walked back to the bedroom and the doorbell slowly began to ring. Now that I think about it, it was actually something right out of a <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/conjuring-up-some-scares.html" target="_blank">horror movie</a>. At first, it was one chime (indicating a guest at our back door). I knew this wasn’t possible since I had shut the garage door, but I decided to walk toward the back door just to be sure. As I approached the door, the doorbell switched it up and began a two tone ring (indicating I was being summoned to the front door). Now, I don’t know if the chiming got faster or if I was just imagining it, but it suddenly stopped and no one was to be found at the door. Creepy, right? Thankfully it didn’t do that again and I was able to tighten the wires to stop the humming noise.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, if you have a garage door that needs repaired… we have a guy to call. If you have a washing machine that has a leaky hose, we are pretty much experts in that area. And if you have a possessed doorbell, uh… I suggest you get out of the house!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-48738304002290293742014-07-24T09:42:00.005-04:002014-07-24T09:42:36.592-04:00In The Mooooood For Food...<h2>
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We dressed up as cows. We got free food.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I may not be the most stylish guy in the world, but I know a little. I know you don’t wear navy blue or brown with black. If you wear brown shoes you’d better have a brown belt on. Socks with flip-flops is a no-no unless you’re over 60. And if you’re gonna tape cow spots on your shirt for free food at Chick-Fil-A, you have to wear a white shirt. Okay, so that last one may not be an everyday thing you should know, but it came in handy recently.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When Kristi told me that we could dress up like cows to get free food at Chick-Fil-A, I figured that purchasing the accoutrement to dress like a cow would make the free meal meaningless. But she told me that Chick-Fil-A provides a downloadable and printable cowification kit (I know cowification isn’t a word and I’m okay with it). With the free option of dressing up, I was 100% down with the idea. I learned in college to never turn down free food. It’s a scientific fact that food tastes better when it’s free.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As you can imagine, we looked ridiculous in our cow getups. But, I have never been one to care too much about what total strangers think of me. Kristi, however, was nervous. “I don’t wanna do it!” she proclaimed as we were about to get out of the car. Then her fears were alleviated because there were a lot of people dressed up. We would have looked out of place if we WEREN’T dressed up. Some people got pretty serious about it, too. My favorite was a guy with an inflated surgical glove sticking out from his belly to look like udders… free food makes people crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We got our food, took some pictures, and immediately took off the annoying paper print outs. The short 10 minutes or so that we were dressed up was more than enough. We got free, delicious food and an interesting story out of it. That’s a win in my book.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I love food. I also love saving money. So, if I can combine those two with minimal effort on my part, it’s a win! Let me preface this by saying that Nolan and I have been trying to cut back on eating out. We aren’t doing it for the health benefits (although, I assure you that we should). We are doing it for the sheer fact that we want to save money. It’s crazy how much money you can spend in a month just on going out to eat… and not because you don’t have food to eat- simply because you’re too lazy to cook any of it (at least that’s generally the case for us). So, when a co-worker (thanks, Morgan) alerted me to Cow Appreciation Day, I was all over it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In case you have never heard of Cow Appreciation Day, it’s put on by the always lovely and delicious Chick-Fil-A. It’s pretty simple: you dress up like a cow and you get free food. To be more specific, you get an entire meal free. When I heard about this, I knew we had to do it. I quickly texted Nolan of our new Friday dinner plans. When he realized we get a whole meal free, he, too, was on board. So, I prepared our “costumes” and we talked about it for the rest of the week. I was pumped. All we had to do was print out the “costume” pieces that they posted on their website, affix them to one another, and BAM we would be on our way.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Before we left the house for Chick-Fil-A, I asked Nolan which one he wanted to go to… our normal one, or the one slightly farther away since it might be less crowded. He opted for our normal one. This is going to sound ridiculous, but here it goes: I was nervous to dress up like a cow. What would people think of me? Would they laugh? I would feel crazy walking into an eating establishment donning bovine threads. I fessed up to Nolan that I asked which one we would go to because, secretly, I wanted to go to the one we didn’t frequent. I mean, they wouldn’t recognize our faces and surely I wouldn’t see anyone I know there. After chuckling at the ridiculousness of that statement, we pulled into the parking lot.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">At this point, I wanted out. I was doing that awkward laugh while taping each component onto my clothing. Then, I saw other people dressed up and I felt a million times better (no exaggeration here). As we opened the doors, I realized some of the other patrons took this cow thing to a totally different level… they were serious. I felt normal, like I was supposed to be a cow. Here I was worried about what people would think of me, only to realize that anyone not dressed up as a cow would be the ones getting the weird glances… I mean, why would you come in on Cow Appreciation Day without the appropriate garb?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I left Chick-Fil-A with food in hand a proud woman. I was proud that I just got a free, delicious meal, but I was more proud that I stepped outside of my comfort zone. So, while you’ll probably never see me dressed like a cow again, this was a baby step toward expanding my horizons. Don’t worry about what others think of you. If you are comfortable with your decision, own it… just like I did. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Side Note: this is the only instance where Nolan allowed me to call myself a cow and he agreed. Not that I call myself a cow often, but we all have our days… Moooo.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-85330120119994823302014-07-19T21:13:00.002-04:002014-07-19T21:20:43.513-04:00Down on the Farm...<h2>
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We went to Idaho. We stayed on a farm.</div>
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Kristi’s dad grew up on a dairy farm. I had never been to a dairy farm… until now. We had been planning a trip out to the family farm in Kuna, ID for a while. I was excited about it because I would get to learn a little more about Kristi’s family (which has become my family). Also, I would get the chance to see a state I’ve never seen before which I have heard is beautiful.</div>
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We were staying at Kristi’s Aunt and Uncle’s house on the farm (a house which he built from floor to ceiling). Also on the farm lives her grandma and grandpa and another uncle. The house her grandma and grandpa live in is the house her grandpa grew up in… then raised his 8 kids in… and still lives in today. It is so cool to be in a house with so much history. It also has a scary basement, but that’s beside the point. Just walking around the farm and seeing all the old cars, historical farm equipment, silos, and old barns is neat. I just think about what used to happen in those barns and how it was a budding center of activity at it’s peak of milk production. </div>
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Behind the farm is a canal. It has it’s own history including some skinny dipping (scandalous). But it is a beautiful spot. I fished (I’m not much of a fisherman) and almost caught a rainbow trout. I had him on the line, but the hook didn’t catch and he escaped right before I reeled him in. I was determined to not get defeated again. But I didn’t catch a fish the whole time. I did, however, gut and clean one, then cook it and eat it. It was rather tasty! My inner hunter-gatherer was pleased. </div>
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The canal also was the spot where we held a touching tribute to Kristi’s dad. It was one of his favorite spots on the farm and he wanted some of his ashes sprinkled there. Over 20 of his relatives make the trek down to the canal and shared fun memories and touching thoughts about her dad and how important he was to them. It was a somber occasion but it reminded me how loved he was and how much he meant to everyone there. Also, hearing all the stories all week helped me get to know him better since I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing him for a long time. </div>
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On the Fourth of July, the canal became a swimming spot. Many of the cousins and aunts and uncles took to jumping into the freezing cold canal. I didn’t join them because I was taking action shots of all the crazy jumpers. Kristi waded in at first, then decided she should jump in. She says that the cold water took her breath away both times. I probably should have jumped because it was so hot outside! But I was okay with staying dry, especially because I only had one more clean pair of shorts for the ride home!</div>
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Another important part of the farm is the back porch which became a sort of gathering place. The view is nice back there, it’s shaded for the most part, and there is room for lots of people to sit around and chat. I even played pinochle with some of Kristi’s cousins and uncle on the porch one night. I grew up on card games with my grandparents but hadn’t played pinochle in a long, long time. It was fun (and my team won, so that helps).</div>
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The biggest farm event was, by far, the July 4th picnic. Apparently they do this every year and Eichelbergers from all across the country travel to it. It’s basically a huge potluck with games for the kids, good conversation, these water rocket things, and more. Everyone there was related in some way but Kristi didn’t even know some of them. That’s how huge the Eichelberger family is. I come from a small family so it was foreign to me to see this large gathering of extended family but it was neat.</div>
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It wasn’t all sitting around the farm with family, though. We checked out the Kuna Cave, Snake River Canyon, the city of Boise, and more. I had never been in a cave before so I was excited about the Kuna Cave. It’s basically just a large lava bubble, but it’s pretty cool. Snake River Canyon is amazing as well. You drive for miles on flat, dry land then, all of the sudden… BOOM… there’s a big ravine leading down to a river. It’s strange how that happens but it’s beautiful.</div>
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We went into Boise a couple of times and I like it. It’s a college town much like Columbia and is even comparable in size to Columbia. We saw the famous blue field of the Boise State Broncos, ate at a really cool distillery place, checked out some souvenir stores, and more. I even went into the Jared there in Boise. Call me a loser if you want, but I enjoyed seeing another repair shop and talking to my fellow Sterling employees (Sterling is the overarching company that owns Jared, Zale’s, Kay, and more). Once I told them I’m a jeweler at the Jared in Columbia, SC, they tried to steal me away! I think I’ll stick around Columbia for now but, hey, maybe I’ll manage their shop one day down the road. </div>
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Also in Boise, we went to Julia Davis Park where there is a tree under which Kristi’s dad proposed to her mom. Since then, every time they have gone to Idaho, they get a picture at that tree. It was a tough trip to the tree this time, though, since Kristi’s dad wasn’t there. But, we went to get some family pictures. We also gave her mom a family tree necklace with birthstones. There are plenty of spaces to add birthstones as grandkids come along, as well (she just so happens to know a jeweler, so putting new stones in isn’t a problem). It was an emotional experience, but everyone was glad we did it.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Kuna, Idaho is a small town. If you go downtown, there is only one stop sign, and if you blink you might miss seeing the whole town. Kuna holds a special place in my heart because my dad was born and raised there on Eichelberger Lane on the family farm. As long as I can remember, my family has taken trips out west to the farm to see my dad’s side of the family. As young kids, we would go scavenging through all of my grandpa’s “junk,” although he would never call it that. We would spend hours outside enjoying the nice weather and ample space to run and play with cousins. As I’ve grown older, the trips have changed slightly. I began to grow out of the scavenging and running and have grown into sitting and enjoying the farm. This trip, a little more had changed from all previous times out west. This time, my dad wasn’t with us.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Dad always had a blast telling us what he did by that grain silo over there, at the canal at the back of the farm, or at the various places we passed on our drives to and from different locations. While they were vacations, they were always ripe with history… history of my dad. He would get the grin on his face and twinkle in his eye every time we would get to the farm. He couldn’t wait to snap photos or tell a new story about his childhood that had presumably never left his lips before.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While in Kuna, we took Nolan to a few of the staple places all tourists must go. We went to the Kuna Cave. It’s not so much a cave as a really big hole in the ground… a hole that I wasn’t willing to explore. We also took Nolan to the Snake River. It’s probably one of my favorite things to see. It’s amazing how you can go from dry, flat land for miles to suddenly a huge canyon. It comes out of nowhere and it is amazing to see.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One thing you should know about the Eichelbergers is that they tend to be creatures of habit. So, as usual, they put on the annual 4th of July picnic on my grandma and grandpa’s lawn. Around 90 people showed up to the shindig… all related (although I’ve always been convinced that we might have had some folks just show up that aren’t related because they saw a line of cars driving down Eichelberger Lane). We ate tons of food, talked with tons of people, and even celebrated my grandma’s 90th birthday! I don’t think Nolan believed me when I said there would be a ton of people at the picnic, so he sure was shocked with the turnout. That evening a group of us sat on the back porch of Uncle Steve and Aunt Meg’s house and had a glorious fireworks show with wonderful music playing in the background… thanks to my cousins Amy, Mo, and Andrew!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We made a trip to Julia Davis Park, the place that my dad proposed to my mom many years ago. My brothers and I set up to have family photos taken at the very tree at which my parents’ relationship began. My cousin, Ben, met us there for the photo session (I am so thankful it was him who was able to take the photos). As we walked through the park toward “the tree,” we approached what we thought was the one. Upon arrival, we noticed a swarm of bees… one even flew into Mom’s hair. I’ll admit that my heart dropped at the site of the bees because I thought that our whole plan would be ruined… we couldn’t get pictures at just any tree, it had to be THE tree. But, just as we were all starting to walk away, my mom realized that we were at the wrong tree! Hallelujah! So, as we walked over to the new tree, we realized it was bee free and were all relieved. I’d like to think that those bees were my dad’s way of pointing us to the correct tree. Thanks, Dad! After our photos, we gave my mom a family tree necklace with all of our birthstones, Mom’s, Dad’s, and room for plenty more (as grandkids come along). After all, if it weren’t for that tree, none of our family would be what it is today.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The hardest thing about the trip, and the real reason we traveled out west was to spread my dad’s ashes. He wanted to go back to the farm, and that’s just where we took him. We had a small ceremony with family on the deck my uncle Steve built at the edge of the canal at the back of farm… a place where my dad had tons of childhood memories (most of which he probably wouldn’t want me to repeat… and I’m sure there are some stories he just never told). I couldn’t have picked a better place myself. It was a tough thing to do as it’s a final goodbye in a certain sense. Being able to share this special moment of spreading his ashes with his siblings and other extended family that meant so much to him was nice. Dad certainly was loved and still is loved.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since this trip was very different from all others because Dad wasn’t with us, I knew it would be a tough one. I found myself thinking about what dad would have said about that sunset, or how he would have told Nolan about the mountain that looks like an Indian lying down, or even how he would have been taking pictures of all of the wildlife. Things I would have been embarrassed or annoyed at, I now longed for… It was Nolan’s first time visiting the farm and Idaho, Dean Lucas’s first time traveling by plane, a record setting number for the July 4th picnic, and we were missing one important person. But, as I’ve always said, even though he wasn’t physically there, Dad was still with us… I’m sure of it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This trip was all about family, and that’s what I loved about it.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-86797406861451594042014-07-13T21:45:00.000-04:002014-07-13T21:45:23.652-04:00One Fish, Two Fish, Redfish Lake...<h2>
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During our trip to Idaho, we spent a few days at Redfish Lake Lodge.<br />
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During our <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/07/leavin-on-jet-plane.html" target="_blank">trip to Idaho</a>, we spent a good portion of our time at the Eichelberger family farm in Kuna, but took a three night trip to the gorgeous Redfish Lake near Stanley. I had heard a lot of things about the journey from the farm to Redfish Lake. Mostly, I heard that the “Idaho City Route” was long, windy, and treacherous. So, we decided to take the other route through Horseshoe Bend. As Kristi and I loaded up in my brother-in-law’s car (the car without the baby), he cranked up the GPS and we took off. On the way, I posted a status to Facebook and sent out a Tweet explaining to everyone how I would be “off the grid” because I had been told there was no cell phone service at Redfish. That’s not something I was thrilled about, but I didn’t complain or mind too much. There are worse things than not being able to check your fantasy baseball team or being able to keep up with entertainment news on Twitter for a few days. </div>
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As the GPS led us on our journey, we ended up following a sign toward Idaho City. Kristi expressed her concern that we were going the wrong way but my brother-in-law was convinced it was fine. It turns out both of them were correct. Kristi was right that we were going the Idaho City route when we planned to go the Horseshoe Bend route, but my brother-in-law was right because it was fine. I actually liked it. That route winds you through some very scenic mountains and didn’t seem very treacherous to me. And, of course, I took some pictures.</div>
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Once we got to Redfish Lake, we checked in and got our stuff unpacked in our rustic cabin… rustic is relative, though. We had a stove, oven, electricity, hot shower, plumbing, etc. That’s roughing it, right? We did lose electricity for a few hours at one point, though, because of a small tree falling into some power lines. Those few hours felt a little more like roughing it because it was nighttime and we had to do things by candlelight.</div>
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The thing about Redfish Lake is that it is GORGEOUS. It’s a good sized lake nestled in the Sawtooth Mountains. I am reasonably well travelled and have seen a lot of things, but that ranks right up there near the top. Serene is a good way to describe it. I apparently didn’t have a strong enough reaction to everything, though, because Kristi thought I didn’t like it or wasn’t amazed by it. I kept telling her I was, but she wasn’t sure because I didn’t show it. I did, however, show it when we experienced the most awe-inspiring view of the entire trip: the stars.</div>
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There isn’t a town (other than Stanley which boasts a population of 63) within 60 miles of the lodge. What that means is that there is very little light pollution. Light pollution is what most places have that prevents you from seeing all the stars that grace the night sky each evening. One night, after spending a great time around the campfire with a large group of Kristi’s cousins, we were walking back to our cabin and we looked up. I didn’t know there were that many stars. I saw the Milky Way. I know what you’re thinking: “How can you see the Milky Way when we are in the Milky Way?” That’s what I was thinking and I don’t know how to explain it unless you’ve seen it. </div>
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It wasn’t just seeing sights and taking pictures in Redfish, though. We also hung out with family. There were around 30 family members there spread between cabins and camp sites. The first two nights were spent with everyone at a camp site making s’mores and cooking exorbitant amounts of meat on the campfire. Two of Kristi’s cousins had been vegetarians and decided it was time to come back to the good side (the carnivorous side). And when they came back, they came back in a big way. For the camping trip to Redfish, they bought a huge stack of spareribs, a pork shoulder, three or so pounds of bacon, and more. It was delicious, too. I ate so many spareribs one night that I ended up feeling sick. It turned out fine, though. </div>
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We also took a trip to Sun Valley and Ketchum (two of the closest towns). Ketchum was cool because they had some boutique art galleries with some stunning photography. And Sun Valley (a ski-resort town) featured some shops and such. One shop had a pair of pants on the CLEARANCE RACK for ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. This is a place Kristi’s relatives mentioned seeing Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, and more. We didn’t see any celebrities, but that’s okay. It was still a nice jaunt.</div>
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Highlights of the Redfish Lake trip included made-from-scratch buckwheat pancakes two mornings, a paddle boat ride on the lake (which Kristi stepped out of her comfort zone to do with me), a trip to a cool ghost town, and the most serene view I’ve seen in a long, long time. That spot was a spot you get to by stopping on the side of the road, walking through some trees, and sitting on the small stone bench in front of a smaller lake near Redfish. There aren’t boats on it, the water is still, and the Sawtooths tower over it showing their reflection in the glasslike surface of the water. </div>
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It was a great piece of the trip and I would go back in an instant. It turns out, though, that I did have cell phone service. Kristi wasn’t thrilled about that but it did turn out to be good because the few of us that did have service could get in touch with each other when needed. I guess Verizon isn’t kidding when they say they have the largest 4G network in the nation. I only had 3G most of the time, but that’s pretty good. I would have been more than okay without cell service, though. It’s a gorgeous place and I would recommend it to anyone.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There is something satisfying about being alone with nature and the ones you love. That’s what I LOVE about Redfish Lake… for the most part. In every other excursion to Redfish Lake in the past, there was no such thing as cell phone service. If you wanted it you would drive into the closest town about 10 or so minutes away. But why would you need your cell phone when part of God’s beautiful creation is at your fingertips to admire and enjoy?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This year was slightly different as those with a particular cell phone carrier had coverage in the breathtaking Sawtooth Mountains. I suppose it’s a good thing on some level that a select few had access to their phones at any time since long gone are the days of making plans to meet up at 2 o’clock somewhere. Now it’s an age of “I’ll text you the time and place.” Nevertheless, the almost technology free trip to Redfish Lake was wonderful. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We recreated one of our favorite family trips by renting the same big cabin and having an open door policy with all Eichelberger’s staying at Redfish (nearly 30). We had meals, toasted marshmallows, and sat around enjoying one another’s company. Not to be redundant, but it was wonderful.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was especially excited to take Nolan to Redfish Lake because there is such a breathtaking ride and view up to it. While Nolan certainly found the beauty I have been telling him about for months, it wasn’t as awe inspiring to him as I had hoped (but I’ll chalk that up to the fact he’s traveled around the world a bit). What did take his breath away were the stars. That might sound weird, but they were amazing. Once the sun finally set around 10:30pm, the sky lit up with stars and the walk from a cousin’s campsite to our cabin was spent with necks bent to the sky. Millions and millions of stars… the Milky Way… gorgeous.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While at Redfish, we took a few little excursions. We went to a ghost town called Custer. It was an 1890s mining town and</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> full of history and neat artifacts. Not to mention it was down a super, super long dirt road. On said dirt road, we thought we might be encountering the likes of the Walking Dead (no joke…it was creepy) and we were ready to use the van as a bowling ball of sorts and take those suckers out. It turns out the “walkers” were merely a group of folks practicing scuba diving… honest mistake, right?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We went into Sun Valley (yes, the same one that boasts of having great ski slopes), which is a fair distance away from Redfish but well worth the side trip. Sun Valley is a town that I felt I wasn’t rich enough to even step foot in. When you walk past a sale rack and hear someone exclaiming how great a deal a sweater is…. at a mere $600, you know you’re a bit out of place. Nonetheless, it was a great little town to explore and its neighboring town of Ketchum had tons of neat shops and art displays (something that sucked Nolan in immediately).</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This trip to Redfish made me realize that we tend to spend too much time dealing with the hustle and bustle of life. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and just be. Just be content with nature and all it brings. Just be at peace with wherever you are in your life. Just be with family and the ones you love.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-19202837233434187342014-07-09T22:46:00.002-04:002014-07-13T18:35:24.240-04:00Leavin' on a Jet Plane...<h2>
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We went to Idaho on a family vacation.</div>
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If you like traveling, you’re crazy. What I mean by “traveling” is the actual act of getting from one place to another. I love going and seeing other places that I’ve never seen, but getting to those places is awful. I can’t even choose a preferred method of travel because they are all terrible. Planes are quicker but very uncomfortable and way too expensive. Driving is cramped and takes forever but is cheaper and you can set your own pace. I think if I had to choose a preferred method of travel, I’d pick boat. I have only travelled by boat once and I had no complaints. Unfortunately that isn’t a feasible option most of the time. And, when you’re traveling almost 2500 miles, driving isn’t really feasible either. So, when Kristi and I were heading out to Idaho for our latest vacation, we were forced to fly.</div>
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In order to get the cheapest flights possible, we ended up with a three leg journey to and from Boise, ID. We also ended up with lengthy layovers (3 hours in Dallas and almost 4 in Seattle). Why we went to Seattle while en route to Boise is beyond me. They should’ve just given us parachutes and we could’ve jumped out as we passed over Boise… we have always wanted to skydive, so we could’ve killed two birds with one stone. The layovers weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be but the whole day of traveling took its toll. Fortunately, the third and final leg of the trip (Seattle to Boise) was the best leg; so we ended on a positive note. It was with Alaskan Air (which doesn’t only offer service to and from Alaska… weird). The flight attendants were very nice, there was a good bit of space (but we all know that’s relative when it comes to planes), and they actually offer a small snack like every airline used to back in the day. It’s just a little pack of pretzels but it’s the little things that count. Not only were we finally not going to be in a plane anymore, but the Boise airport has Police Trainer (the greatest arcade game ever which is also practically impossible to find anywhere) in a game room near baggage claim. I'm checking a bag every time I head to Boise!</div>
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Everyone knows the worst part of air travel is the other people you must share a plane with. Everyone dreads being stuck next to a large person who takes all of their seat and part of yours, the armrest hog who never lets you use the shared armrest, or the smelly person who doesn’t think it’s important to wear deodorant on a travel day. Luckily we didn’t have to experience the first two, but we did encounter some interesting smells. One guy passed gas about three times on the plane and it wasn’t pretty. I needed a gas mask. That’s not cool when you’re on a crowded plane… wait until you’re outside or something! And, while in the airport, a woman sat next to us in the terminal that smelled strongly of urine. It’s not like a dog peed a little on her leg… it’s like she bathed in it. It was rough. I’m not sure how she didn’t notice because everyone around her did. Luckily she wasn’t on our flight. We did get a nice view of Mt. Rainier poking up through the clouds, though so that almost made up for the noxious gasses we had to endure.</div>
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All of those unfortunate odorous incidents occurred on our trip to Boise. The trip back was reasonably uneventful in the annoying passenger department, but it was an even rougher set of flights. We left at 9:00pm on Saturday and arrived home at 11:15am Sunday. That’s especially rough when you have to change planes multiple times. If it was a direct flight, I could just doze the whole time and arrive home sort of fully rested. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got home. The rest of Sunday was spent with Kristi lying on the couch while I kicked back in the recliner and we fell asleep while watching TV and hoping Fletcher would stay calm. </div>
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Traveling is rough but the places you get to see make it all worth it. And, when flying with your best friend, it becomes so much more bearable and… dare I say… even enjoyable.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When traveling on a budget, sometimes you’ll have to make concessions… and that’s just what we had to do. No, I’m not talking about flying coach instead of first class or boarding in group 1 instead of priority access. I’m talking about having LONG travel days, 3 stops to your final destination, and even a little flying overnight. Since we are relatively young (although some days I think we are already to the old married couple category) we decided to opt for this method of traveling. We would do (almost) anything to save a few bucks!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, we set out to travel west at the ridiculously early time of 4:30am. No, our plane wasn’t leaving at this hour, but I’m a stickler for getting to the airport in plenty of time to go through security and not have to run to your gate… even at the airport in Columbia… that I’m pretty sure no one ever goes to. That means we spent a good 45 minutes sitting around and waiting before we could even dream of getting on the small puddle jumper of a plane that would take us to Dallas. From this point on, the travel day only got more interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once in Dallas, we realized that the airport is HUGE (as in the airplane taxied OVER a freeway… that’s ridiculous), and that in order to make our way around this huge airport we would have to navigate the cavernous halls to get to a shuttle to then take us to the appropriate terminal if we had any hope of getting to our plane on time. Once seated on the plane to Seattle, we realized a few things. First, someone sitting in close proximity clearly didn’t believe in bathing and presumably that same person felt that passing gas was no big deal. Now, this was no ordinary gas… it was the kind that permeated everything and seemed to suck the oxygen out of the already thinning air. That kind soul let out gas not once, but approximately three times. Something to note here would be some airplane etiquette (not many people have it). If you feel the need to let out some gas, I understand, it’s a natural thing, but beware (especially in a vessel that is enclosed at 37,000 feet in the air). If it smells the first time, please hold it in or kindly walk to the back of the plane where the flight attendants have pointed out the lavatories.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After dealing with that stench the entire ride from Dallas to Seattle, I thought we were in the clear. We were not. While we experienced quite a few things in this airport, the most noteworthy was the woman who smelled as if she had bathed in urine. No, I’m not exaggerating… that’s exactly what it smelled like. She sat down next to me and I immediately gagged, as that’s not a pleasant smell to have wafting in your general direction. Now, I don’t know if she was afraid to fly and let a little leak out or if she had a legitimate problem with holding her bladder; but, in either case, she needed to get that in check. The final straw for me was when she got up to... surprise, surprise… go to the bathroom. There was a little puddle of liquid left on the seat. Now, I didn’t get close enough to see if my theory was correct but, based on all context clues, I was right on the money.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In case you were wondering, she did not end up on our flight. Thank goodness.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our trip home to Columbia was much less eventful. The only thing noteworthy is the fact that we flew red eye from Seattle to Dallas (something I wasn’t too fond of). I tend to like a window seat. Perhaps it’s because I like the scenery, but more likely it’s because I want to be abreast of what’s going on. If I see ground coming closer to me at a fast pace… we’re going down. If I see water below us, then I know to be on edge until dry land has appears. Basically, I just want to be aware… and I’m a little weird about it. However, unlike on our honeymoon, we were granted the privilege to sit next to each other on each leg of the flight, which was glorious. Nolan sure does make a great pillow!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once we made it back to Columbia, the oppressive heat and humidity hit me like a brick wall. Home sweet home.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When traveling, I’ve found it’s best to do it with someone you can tolerate and, better yet, someone you actually like to be around. So, I’d say Nolan is a pretty good traveling partner, after all!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-26830510708843980722014-06-27T08:07:00.000-04:002014-06-27T08:07:10.036-04:00Customer Disservice...<h2>
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We went to the movies. They wouldn’t accept our gift cards.</div>
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The only thing better than seeing a good movie in the theater is seeing a good movie in the theater for free. It’s nice when someone else pays for it, but that’s not really free. I’m talking really free. Let me tell you how that happened recently.</div>
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We invited another couple over for cheese fondue then planned to head to the theater and see <a href="http://www.monochromehippo.com/MonochromeHippoProductions/Film_Reviews/Entries/2014/6/27_22_Jump_Street.html" target="_blank"><i>22 Jump Street</i> </a>(a film I had been looking forward to for a while). The only reason Kristi and I were willing to go to the theater at night, after matinee prices were far from over, was because we had gift cards. As a side note, if you are ever stumped as to what to get me for a birthday or Christmas, gift cards to the movies are always a solid choice. </div>
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Anyway, we get to the theater and go to pay. We get carded for the rated-R film (which made me feel young again) and we got out our trusty gift cards. Without making a big deal out of it… as if it was just fine… like there would be no problem… the teller told us that their gift card system is down so they can’t accept gift cards because it freezes up their system for a couple of minutes. What? I don’t care if it freezes up the system as long as I get to pay using my gift card. I’ll wait a couple of minutes as their system thaws (after being frozen… get it?). But the teller kindly asked me if I had another form of payment. I had cash, credit card, debit card… but I just told them that this is the form of payment I planned to use and the teller directed me to the customer service desk which is ironic because what we received could barely be called customer service.</div>
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Once we got there, not a worker was in sight. We waited until a lady in a suit (the suit means she’s some sort of management) came up to us and asked what the problem was. When we told her, she said that the system is down and asked if there was another form of payment. Deja Vu all over again. We told her we would not be paying with by some other method and, with a bad attitude, she offered to sign us in as her guests which she made sure to tell us she wasn’t supposed to do about 15 times. Well, you aren’t supposed to not accept gift cards either…</div>
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While we were getting signed in as her guests, another couple came to the customer service desk with the same issue. She told them that she wasn’t supposed to do it (big surprise) but she would sign them in as her guests, too. That couple got a little more of an attitude with the manager prompting her to tell them (rudely) that a call has been made to reset the system… as if that was going to help us at that precise moment. But, we got signed in and headed for the concession counter to get a drink. When we asked about the system being down and paying with a gift card, that worker had no clue about any gift card problems. It seems like that should have been a piece of info passed down the line at some point.</div>
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So, we dealt with a little annoyance but got to see the movie for free. That’s a win in my book. We did end up paying for the drink with real money; however, a 6 dollar drink is a small price to pay when you think about how we didn’t have to pay 21.50 of the gift card in order to see the film. That means we get to go see another movie with that gift card money! Kristi will be thrilled about that because you know how much she loves going to the theater. </div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">By now, you should know how I feel about movies… and more specifically <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/silence-is-golden.html" target="_blank">movie theaters</a>. But, in case you don’t, I’ll sum it up for you quickly: movie theaters are terrible. Well, this fact was solidified even more for me the other day. Surprisingly, it all happened before we even stepped foot into the theater in which our movie was playing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan and I were getting together with another couple for dinner and a movie. So, we ate dinner at our house and made our way to the movie theater. We walked up to purchase our tickets and when we presented them with our gift cards, they casually said that their system for gift cards was down and we wouldn’t be able to use it… so, we needed to give them another form of payment. Hold up… No, I’m not doing that. We try to spend our money wisely and wouldn’t have gone out to a movie if we didn’t have gift cards for the outing. So, we kindly said that wouldn’t work for us and the lady at the register directed us inside to “guest services” where she claimed we would be helped.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Well, we walked in and no one was actually at the infamous guest services desk, so we had to wait for a few minutes (which was slightly annoying because we didn’t have all night… after all we were trying to see a movie that started at a SPECIFIC time). So, a few moments later, a lady appeared from nowhere to “help” us. We explained the situation and she said that she would try it again, but the systems had been down so she couldn’t guarantee anything. When the gift card still wouldn’t go through in their systems (something that is NOT my problem) she began to get a bit rude. We insisted that we weren’t going to use any other form of payment because, well, we shouldn’t have to. At that point she begrudgingly said she would check us in as her “guest” even though she isn’t “technically supposed” to allow us to do that. She made a point to tell us that multiple times. Ok, we get it lady… you’re a rule breaker.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Last time I checked, when you work in customer service (which I did for a few years) you don’t make the customer feel like they have done something wrong (especially when they haven’t). As a line from one of my favorite movies, <i>I Am Sam</i>, proclaims… “The customer is always right.” Perhaps she was having a bad day or perhaps she just isn’t cut out for a customer service related job. Whatever the reason, I hope she realizes that interacting with us in the manner she did didn’t exactly leave us feeling all warm and tingly.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, as if Nolan didn’t already have a hard time getting me to go to the movies with him… this is just another reason on my list of why I don’t like going.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-91548158348490307722014-06-23T10:18:00.000-04:002014-06-23T11:31:47.889-04:00Brand New (pet) Parents...<h2>
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We adopted a dog. He’s adorable. His name is Fletcher.</div>
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The idea of having an animal live in your house with you just for fun had to be a crazy notion whenever the first person decided to do it. Now, though, if you don’t have a pet, you may be the minority. I grew up with pets. We had a cat named Honeysuckle who ended up meeting her demise via the sliding door of a van (horrific accident and very traumatic to a child no older than 5 at the time). We had a female cat named Jasper (named after one of the bad guys in “101 Dalmatians”) who, while we were living in an apartment complex, ran away and came back a few days later pregnant… like a rebellious teenage girl. Then, we kept one of her kids and named him J-Bear (it’s a long story as to why he was named that). He was an outside cat while we kept Jasper inside. His shining moment was when we watched him leap up and take down a bird IN MID-AIR via a claw to the stomach. It was impressive. Being the immoral creatures that cats are, Jasper and J-Bear ended up getting together… which led (not surprisingly) to a litter of one. This little guy was all black with just a white tip on his tail. So we named him Tippy. He also kind of tipped over when he walked. He had problems (presumably because of his family tree not branching out too far). He ran away, or go eaten, or something… but once J-Bear and Jasper passed away, we were done with cats for a little while. Until we rescued Kiwi from the beach. Kiwi looked gaunt and disheveled so we would give her food while we were on vacation at Edisto Beach, SC one summer. Like a college kid does to free food, Kiwi kept coming around. We started to really like her so we convinced my dad to take her home. We got her checked up, got her shots, got her fixed, and she has found a loving home with my parents.</div>
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I say all that to say I have always been a cat person. I know I could have said it more succinctly, but what’s the fun in that, right? So, being a cat person, naturally I would marry a woman who is allergic to cats. It’s not horrible allergies, but it’s more than she would want to deal with on a day-to-day basis. So, we were not going to get a cat and she isn’t willing to get anything out of the ordinary like a rabbit, lizard, scorpion, or gerbil… so we decided we wanted a dog. I had a bad experience with a big dog when I was very little so I am not a fan of big dogs. The one dog we had growing up was named Hobo and he stayed chained up in the back yard. He was bigger than me and all he would do is bark and scare the living daylights out of me (at least that’s how I remember it). Also, big dogs could just snap one day and eat your face… so that’s not cool. We really need a completely fenced in back yard before we get a dog, but you can’t control when fate puts the dog you want in front of you. </div>
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One night, Kristi was telling me how it doesn’t make financial sense to get a dog right now. The next day, Kristi was looking at dogs… naturally. And she found the cutest little puppy ever. A black and tan Yorkie that was 10 weeks old. His picture was to die for so we just had to see him. We discussed everything and decided that we could get a dog right now so we drove an hour to meet him. As soon as the lady brought him out and Kristi saw him, I knew I was going to be writing a check. Okay, so I couldn’t say no either. He was adorable. The problem, though, was that we were going on vacation in 2 weeks and we didn’t want to take him home, then leave him for a week. The lady said we could leave him with her until we get back then come get him. That’s what we had to do (we thought). It was so hard, though, to leave without him.</div>
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My parents, who were with us, could tell how badly we wanted to be able to bring him home, so they offered to house sit/dog sit for us while on vacation. It meant so much to us that they were willing to do that and, of course, we took them up on it. So we drove an hour again to go get him. The hour home was rough on him, though. He had never ridden in a car before and an hour is a long first ride. The combination of nerves and carsickness led to him puking… three times… twice on Kristi. We got him home, though, and he has been adjusting well. It took us forever to name him but, after going around and around, we chose Fletcher. He just looks like a Fletcher!</div>
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We are working on paper-training Fletcher so he doesn’t just pee and poop wherever he pleases. That’s going to be a long road but he does well sleeping in his crate. He only whines a little, then passes out. And, of course, he’s the most adorable little puppy you’ve ever seen. He’s very playful and loving. He even plays extremely well with my brother-in-law’s dogs. We have a lot of years of fun with him to look forward to!</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When Nolan and I began dating, I knew instantly I would have to change one thing about him… I would have to convert him from a cat person to a dog person. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like cats. In fact, we had one when I was growing up. My problem is that over the years I have grown allergic to most cats. Also, the most recent family pet we have had is a dog, so I’m partial. If any of you know the family dog, Winston, then you know he’s probably not the best dog to use as an example of why you should like dogs more than cats. Winston is 10 years old and with that age has come a much more ornery, stubborn, and sometimes antisocial personality. Despite Winston sometimes being mean, I somehow convinced Nolan that, if we were to get a pet, it should definitely be a dog.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So, this is how the story of our new puppy goes…</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtfa-MXNHYoyAScyj_JCW_HxUzquOzyRjytl1qfiVxgYfWLv9zWiAcp8EtTDjn0m6_IDzFUs_oJtmWk4TjdfrvXsnYYLihPyBAw7ePOREZA0AgtsBWP3BsCFpmMYtBE3qbGhyQZ19SJc/s1600/her+and+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtfa-MXNHYoyAScyj_JCW_HxUzquOzyRjytl1qfiVxgYfWLv9zWiAcp8EtTDjn0m6_IDzFUs_oJtmWk4TjdfrvXsnYYLihPyBAw7ePOREZA0AgtsBWP3BsCFpmMYtBE3qbGhyQZ19SJc/s1600/her+and+dog.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One night the other week Nolan and I were having a discussion about getting a pet. He was all for it and I was actually trying to talk him out of it. I mentioned how expensive pets are and how they tie you down a bit more. Despite all of this talk, Nolan still seemed convinced we should get a dog (I surmise it might have something to do with biding himself some time before we delve into having a kid… this would be practice, if you will). Previously, we had perused the internet in search of a cute dog, but nothing quite ticked off everything on our checklist. We even took a trip to Pawmetto Lifeline (a local shelter) to check out the dogs available for adoption. Still, none of them tugged at our heartstrings.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Naturally, the day after trying to convince Nolan we didn’t need a dog, I searched for one and found the perfect one while browsing the internet. He was small (something we both wanted), he was a puppy (something that was a must for Nolan), he was a breed that doesn’t tend to shed much (something that I desperately wanted… I didn’t want to have pet hair all over me constantly), and his little face stole our hearts immediately. The little guy was located in North Augusta, which is a quick hour trip from our home. There was not one thing about him that either of us had reservations about. So, I quickly e-mailed the rescue organization that had him to make sure he was still available and we rushed our application through. We initially saw him online on Wednesday and were set to meet the little guy three days later on Saturday.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nolan and I had some long talks about what would be deciding factors on whether or not we adopt the puppy. I was proud of us because it seemed like we were thinking of all possible factors and questions and were taking the process extremely seriously… after all a dog it a lifetime commitment. As we drove to North Augusta on that Saturday, I know both of us had silly grins on our faces. I can’t speak for Nolan, but I definitely had some butterflies in my stomach, too. I would almost equate it to going on a date for the first time. Questions fluttered through my head: “Is he going to like us?” “Will we like him?” “Is he going to be everything we thought he would be?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We arrived at our destination to meet this little puppy that may or may not become part of our family. The lady who had him is a foster mother to a ton of dogs (that’s not even an exaggeration; she had at least 15 dogs that came running out of the house when we got there). As the dogs ran out, I kept looking for the beloved puppy and the smallest dog that came running out wasn’t quite what we had in mind… I was concerned. Then the lady walked out and asked which puppy we came to see and she went back inside to get him. As she walked out the door with him in her arms, Nolan and I were immediately in love. He was so tiny and he almost looked like a stuffed animal. He is exactly what we have been wanting. We tried to contain our excitement and ask questions about him and his care (you know, so we could seem like responsible pet parents); but, inside, we both knew he was meant to be ours without any further questions.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The only problem was our vacation that is coming up. I had already cleared it with the lady fostering him and she agreed to keep him for 3 weeks until we got back from vacation since it would be better to have consistency for him rather than uproot him for 2 weeks and then have to uproot him while we are on vacation as well. So, we went through with the adoption and went on our way, leaving our sweet puppy behind. That night, Nolan and I were lying in bed and both agreed that it broke our hearts to not have our puppy with us. I think Nolan’s parents (who were in town) could tell that we desperately wanted to bring the puppy home, because they so graciously offered to fix our vacation issue. They offered to house/dog sit while we are on vacation! What a blessing! So, the day after we adopted him, we drove back to North Augusta to pick up our precious pup.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We were ecstatic and our puppy seemed excited to be with us. Now, I don’t know if it’s because he hasn’t been in a car much or if the excitement of the day got to him; but, when our journey home was almost complete, he threw up down the front of my dress… and threw up on me again as we pulled into our driveway. It’s funny because that sort of thing would have completely grossed me out before but I took it so graciously and even told him that I couldn’t be mad at him for it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since we weren’t prepared to bring a puppy home that weekend, we had to rush around to get the appropriate accoutrement and quickly began our search for the perfect name! After much discussion and many suggestions, we settled on the name Fletcher. It is the perfect name for our perfect little dog.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We have had him for just over a week, and we are already enamored. We decided even before we got a dog that one would never sleep in the bed with us, so we have been crating him at night. I was very skeptical of this process since I had gone through it with Winston and it lasted for only a night or two. But, I am elated to say that little Fletcher has slept great in his crate. He might whimper for a minute or two and then he’s out like a light! Our next big thing is to get him to potty where he is supposed to and not all over our floors. But, he’s a puppy so we just have to be consistent with him.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So far, I can tell you that Fletcher LOVES attention and affection. He also loves chewing on things… especially things he isn’t supposed to chew on (we’re working on that). He loves playing with my brother’s dogs and he loves playing with Winston (my mom’s dog… although the feeling isn’t quite mutual). He’s an energetic little fellow which I’ll admit I’m quite envious of.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s a great feeling to walk into a room and see him run toward you with such excitement! Although I’ve never had a child of the human variety, I can’t help but notice how much having a puppy seems to be like having a child. You have a love for them that you can’t explain and you can’t say “no” to their cute little faces (if only that would work for me with Nolan… haha). Having another living being relying on you to survive is quite a task, but I’m so glad that Nolan and I have entered this wonderful adventure together. We have found ourselves just sitting on the couch watching Fletcher play or sleep and it’s better than any television program we could dream of watching. Go ahead and make fun of us if you want, but when you stare into Fletcher’s little puppy eyes I think you’ll understand how and why we’ve turned to mush over him!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-39879993017884041352014-06-16T09:21:00.000-04:002014-06-16T09:23:38.432-04:00Can't Get The Picture...<h2>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We inherited a camera. It malfunctioned. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nolcollins/" target="_blank">I like photography</a>. I have a Canon T3i Rebel and it’s nice. The Canon 40D is nicer, though. We inherited one and I still haven’t really taken the time to figure it all out because I got used to the Rebel and became complacent. I plan to figure out how to use the 40D a little better, though. I would have started on that quest already but, when we pulled it out the other day to take a picture for this blog, it wouldn’t work. A mysterious message popped up telling us to format the memory card (there’s a fancy name for it, but it’s really just a memory card). When we obeyed the camera’s command and tried to format the card, it wouldn’t let us. We were getting mixed messages from a machine and it wasn’t fun.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We figured it had to be a problem with the card so we bought a new card. It didn’t work. The same mixed messages had us stumped because it was a brand new card! Kristi was very upset over this. Not just because our camera was broken but because of the camera that it is. Her dad was an avid amateur photographer but had some professional quality work. He was good. And this particular camera was something we inherited from him. When we called Canon, they said one option is to trade in our broken camera for a discounted, newer version, but Kristi’s dad didn’t shoot on a newer version. He shot on this exact camera. You can’t put a price on sentimental value.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My initial thought was to go to some of my colleagues to ask them because I know some cinematographers that have shot on everything from RED (very high end digital video camera) to Canon DSLRs (like the 40D). I figured that if anyone could help us, they could. Because of the sentimental value of the camera, though, we wanted the professionals to handle the problem… so we went straight to the source: Canon. To fix our issue, we had to ship them the camera, they would send us an estimate, we would approve the estimate, they would fix the problem, then ship it back to us (and we were told they would pay the shipping back to us). </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Kristi was wary about shipping the camera but I told her there is nothing to worry about because FedEx does this for a living and they wouldn’t be in business if they continuously broke things or lost them in shipping. So, we packaged it up and sent it out. It arrived there right when we expected it to and everything was fine… just like I said. The estimate wasn’t even as bad as we thought it would be (though they are charging us for shipping). It turns out there was a bent pin in the car reader slot. I jokingly asked if we could just get some pliers and fix it ourselves, but that’s not a good idea.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So they are supposedly fixing it as we speak and we should get it back well before we leave for Idaho. Which is good because we will certainly be taking some pictures out there!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/unlucky-us.html" target="_blank">Things break</a>. That’s a fact of life. Sometimes they can’t be repaired and sometimes the object that broke didn’t mean much to you. Other times, the object has so much sentimental value that not only is the object broken, but you are broken as well. Normally I try to have a positive outlook on things when something goes awry. This time, that wasn’t so easy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2qGmtZ5KFzAMkErDbqeS3WCltxKz0NKTdlzPqDzLsnkg7YaWSxoY4vG_TlvXJS1C2vDlg5Fq5tm4KzvHZHFhfPDjZBihC9B9RWwXyK95Qyioi7SuAA-7euxheXvA0kn-5veGfLqSdvU/s1600/dad+with+camera.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2qGmtZ5KFzAMkErDbqeS3WCltxKz0NKTdlzPqDzLsnkg7YaWSxoY4vG_TlvXJS1C2vDlg5Fq5tm4KzvHZHFhfPDjZBihC9B9RWwXyK95Qyioi7SuAA-7euxheXvA0kn-5veGfLqSdvU/s1600/dad+with+camera.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/04/its-not-goodbye-its-see-you-later.html" target="_blank">My dad</a> had a huge passion for photography. He did it as a hobby and almost anything could turn into a photo shoot for him. With the hobby came some nice equipment. Before my dad passed away, he decided that he wanted to keep the camera equipment in the family and split it up among myself and my two brothers. So, that’s just what we did. I’ve always wanted to get more into photography, and to have a camera that was my dad’s is very special to me. I have used it on several occasions to take photos here and there. I recently pulled the camera out to take some photos for our blog and discovered that it wasn’t working. Since Nolan and I don’t know the workings of these complicated cameras, I asked my brother what he thought the problem might be. We settled on purchasing a new Compact Flash card for the camera in hopes that the one I had was just faulty. So, Nolan and I purchased one off of Amazon and I eagerly awaited its arrival. Sadly, its arrival was quite anticlimactic as that didn’t fix our problem. All I could think is how irresponsible I must have been to somehow break a camera that was so precious to my dad and that was now in my care. As I tend to do, I overanalyzed the situation and figured that the problem must have come from when Nolan and I took pictures during the recent snowfall in Columbia. Could some itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny snowflake have caused this damage? Was I not careful enough to clean the moisture off of the camera before I stored it away?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Once I realized that there was nothing that Nolan or I or anyone else close to us could do to fix the camera, I BROKE down. Crying over a camera may seem silly, but that’s just what I did. I cried and wished the camera back to working condition. Neither tears nor wishing would fix it, I know… but it’s all I could bear to do. We eventually called the camera company to see what could be done and they retorted with “Oh, just ship it to us and we will check it out!” Normally those would be fantastic words to hear, but I couldn’t imagine shipping THIS camera to someone I don’t know, who doesn’t know the history behind it, who doesn’t appreciate what it means to me. What happens if it gets damaged in the mail, or worse… LOST? My mom and husband eventually talked sense into me and convinced me that the only way to get this camera working was to send it away. So, that’s what we did and think I’ll be anxious up until the moment it arrives back in my arms.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometimes you don’t realize just how important a material item is to you until you teeter on the edge of losing it. Just because something is physically with you doesn’t mean everything is good on the inside. So, take the time to check up on it once in a while. Appearances aren’t always what they seem. (Oh yea, and this applies to the people around you too!)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586500742463625359.post-69991227064981377942014-06-11T09:58:00.000-04:002014-06-11T09:58:31.846-04:00Maybe We Shouldn't Talk About It...<h2>
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The first and second rules are to not talk about it. We’re going to talk about it.</div>
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If you ask me what my favorite movie is, I cannot answer. It’s too hard to select just one. I can, however, give you a list of some of my favorites. And, as of now, I’d say I could give you a top 3 (It’s quickly getting to where I can’t even do that anymore). But, for now, my top three would be as follows (in no particular order): “<a href="http://www.experts123.com/a/The-Departed-Snitches-Get-Stitches.html" target="_blank">The Departed</a>” (amazing cast, supremely quotable, funny, dramatic, action-packed), “<a href="http://www.experts123.com/a/Dumb-and-Dumber-More-Than-Just-Stupid.html" target="_blank">Dumb and Dumber</a>” (one of the best, most underrated comedies of all time and I can quote the whole thing), and “<a href="http://www.experts123.com/a/Fight-Club-Dark-and-Hilarious.html" target="_blank">Fight Club</a>”. I am well aware of the rules as listed in the movie, but I’m going to talk about it anyway.</div>
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Since “Fight Club” is one of my all time favorite films, Kristi wanted to indulge me and watch it. It’s longer than she might like, but she knows how much it means to me. So, she sat down to watch it with me. Somehow, through all the years since 1999 (when the film was released) and despite the popularity of the film, she had never heard any spoilers in reference to the big twist at the end. That is amazing to me. So, I was excited for her because there is nothing quite like the first time you watch “Fight Club” and that twist hits you full on. I found out, though, it may be a bit ruined for some people now because everyone has heard there is a big twist. Even if you don’t know what the twist is, expecting a twist makes it less effective than if you don’t have any expectations. I had a great first time because I didn’t have any expectations at all. I didn’t know there was going to be some kind of twist or anything so I was BLOWN AWAY when it hit. </div>
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Apart from having one of the best executed twists in film history ("<a href="http://www.experts123.com/a/The-Sixth-Sense-Shyamalans-Best-Twist.html" target="_blank">The Sixth Sense</a>” is up there, too), it is also simply a great film on so many other levels. From the epic journey through the inner workings of the human body shown in the opening credits (provided by some great graphic artists and David Fincher’s vision), it draws you in and sets you up for a visceral, in-your-face experience. The acting is superb as well. Edward Norton nails it. Nobody can do the perfectly monotone, sarcastically witty, bleak and glum voiceovers like him. These voiceovers so perfectly capture the mood of the film and the protagonist’s outlook. Then, of course, there’s Brad Pitt’s portrayal of mayhem incarnate, Tyler Durden. He is electric in this performance. Did you know he’s only won one Oscar… AS A PRODUCER?! He’s never won an Oscar for his acting. I’m not the biggest fan of his, but the scene in “Fight Club” where he tries to convince the owner of the bar to let them continue to have their fight club in the basement… it’s stellar.</div>
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The best thing about the film is that you pick up on something new every time you watch it. That’s what I look for in a movie that might be a contender to make it on my “top films of all time” list. If I could watch the movie every day and still enjoy it on the 100th day as much as I did on the 1st day… that’s a contender. I would put “Fight Club” up as one of the best movies of all time and I would back it up to anyone who contested it. It’s not on the American Film Institute’s top 100 but it is number 10 (as rated by IMDB users) out of all the movies on IMDB. So yea… it’s pretty great.</div>
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It means a lot to me that Kristi was willing to not concern herself with run-time of the film and watch “Fight Club” with me because I like it so much. I’m going to have to talk with her about her time limit she’s imposed on movies, though, because movies are getting longer and, let’s face it, no movie worth watching is an hour and a half or shorter. “Buried” is close at 95 minutes and it’s great. You probably hadn’t heard of that film until now but, find it and see it. You’ll thank me. </div>
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I’m also very glad that Kristi enjoyed the “Fight Club”. It’s always a treat for me when I successfully select a movie that she enjoys. The more I pick that she enjoys, the more willing she will be to have movie nights with me. So it’s a touch selfish, I guess.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I recently did something that I’ve never considered doing before. In my book, it should be considered illegal… so I guess that makes me a law breaker of my own rules. I willingly sat down and <a href="http://loveindifference.blogspot.com/2014/05/silence-is-golden.html" target="_blank">watched a movie</a> that exceeded the strict time limit I’ve imposed on movie watching experiences. I watched the 2 hour and 19 minute long (not that I was counting) thriller known as “Fight Club”. This is a movie that my husband has wanted me to watch with him from day one since it’s on his list of all-time favorites.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Let the record show that I suggested we have a movie night… he was shocked at my suggestion but quickly took me up on the offer before I came to my senses and snapped out of whatever trance I must have been under (which is clearly the only reason I would suggest such a thing, right?). I also feel the need to point out that I didn’t moan, groan, or hesitate when he suggested we watch “Fight Club”. I knew it far surpassed my time limit… why else would I be putting it off for so long?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The movie was nothing like what I expected, although I’m honestly not quite sure what I expected… but it certainly wasn’t what I saw. I didn’t hate the movie and might actually say I liked it. Although, by the end of the movie I was getting a bit restless as was indicated by the constant movement of my legs and shifting back and forth on the couch.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This experience was all about filling up my hubby’s love bank. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and did something with Nolan that is such a huge part of his life and is a true passion of his. I like making him happy, what can I say?</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">With that said, I’m still in shock that I actually sat through a movie that long… willingly. I think I need to go lie down and re-evaluate my life.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’m kidding. Sort of.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05614093654280393167noreply@blogger.com1