Laptop Lollygagging

Last week I had to break down and get a new laptop. It's just not working for Joe & I to share custody of the Toshiba. The two of us being in school is causing some creative computer sharing, but as things get more crazy, we really should each have our own. Since I have such a wonderful husband, he is willing to let me have the new one. I was originally going to get a net-book, but I couldn't find anything in the stores that I liked and I didn't want to order one online. I need to see and feel things before I purchase them. We took a detour to Best Buy where I found a great HP laptop on sale. Too bad there were none left in stock. So I had to order it and have it shipped to the store.

I tried to find out online if the order had been delivered to the store, but the website couldn't locate my order number. Peachy. I called today to see if it was in. 1 hour and 20 minutes later some pimply faced Geek Squad member told me it wasn't in and it was "on its way" She couldn't tell me when it would be there. I guess this weekend I will just have to pop down to the store because it will take me less time to get there and back then to sit on the phone waiting for someone to pick the damn thing up.

Ugh! I just want the new laptop in my hands so I can bring it to work at night so that I can get some school stuff done on my break!

Ummm... Where Have We Been?

Ok, maybe some people who read this have been a little disappointed that we haven't posted in months. I do apologize about that. Things have been keeping us busy around here. Nope, no kids or other news like that on the horizon (much to my mom's dismay). Other positive things have happened to us though.

In February Joe turned 27. Finally after hearing him beg for the past couple birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmases, I got him a Playstation 3. I woke him up as soon as I got home from work to give it to him because I wanted him to start his birthday off on a really high note. He was so happy I thought he would pop! The plan for the rest of the day was to go out to lunch with friends and family. I took him out to Alaska Pete's, a local seafood place, to stuff himself full of crab (that he pretended was caught by one of the boats on the Deadliest Catch). As you can tell by the picture, he did exactly that.

Joe has made Dean's List every semester at his college and is now becoming a member of the National Technical Honor Society. I have no clue what that means, but I think there is a secret handshake and some special fruit punch. Seriously, I think they offer all sorts of grants and scholarships for him to continue on with his education. I made the Dean's List as well this semester. I have to admit that I never checked my grades, so it came as a surprise to me. Heck, the honor was pointed out to me by a classmate. I am proud of myself though. I'm going to try to keep it up this semester, but I'm going to be happy as long as I'm passing my classes.

I took a much needed trip to South Carolina at the end of March. It felt good to be back in the south. I miss it so much. I spent most of the time hanging out with my cousins and their families. I have to say that I'm so proud of my cousins and the families that they have been raising. Tony and Shanna have a wonderful son. TJ and Whitney have a beautiful little baby girl. It will be nice to watch the little girl she will grow to become. I also took a detour on the way home to North Carolina to see my cousin, Leslie. I got to meet her fiancee also. What a wonderful guy! I wish them both the best of luck with their impending nuptials.

It rained just about every day I was in SC. The nicest day of the week I took to go to Charleston with Abuelita. My favorite city did not disappoint me! I found a winery, Lost Dog Wines, that names their wines after different dog and cat breeds. Proceeds from the wine sales goes to animal rescue organizations. Check out the website and support them, because the Lord knows, I did! I got a bottle of Lhasa Apso White Zinfandel and I got Cat Nip Merlot for Joe. The wine really is good too. I'm not a fan of Merlot, but I did like this one.

While I was trapped inside more than I would have liked because of the rain, I finally started to read the Twilight series. I know, I too felt my soul being sucked away by Satan. I read 3 of the 4 books while I was there. I begrudgingly admit the books were good. I see how so many people got caught up in the series. The 4th was predictable, though. I have no desire to watch the movies though. I prefer to stick with the images my imagination created.

To date I've lost 22lbs. I didn't set out on a diet. I got a horrible stomach virus 3 times back in December that helped knock off the first 10. Thank you norovirus. The next 12 came off in March when I gave up fast food for Lent. Joe too got the stomach virus in December . Though he was only sick for about 8 hours. I suffered for almost 2 weeks, with 3 of those days being highly acute. I hope I never have to go through that again. It was awful.

My weight has stabilized for now. Which just means I have to work a little harder to keep shrinking my tooshie. If anyone else is interested, I will do my best to keep you up on my progress. In the mean time, I can't think of much else to say now that I've brought everyone up to speed. Keep an eye out for the next update.

White After Christmas

No shock to anyone that read this blog, we're trapped inside. The blizzard that hit the middle of the country moved East. It was supposed to start at 7am yesterday and when I took the dogs for their 5am walk, it had begun. I thought to myself, "Great. We're not going anywhere today." This meant the trek to Joe's grandpa's house was going to be on hold. Then the alarm went off at 9am and Joe got up (shocker!) while I slept for another hour. Low and behold, there were no more snow flurries. The trek was back on!

At about noon time we made it to Grandpa Rizzo's house. Just as Joe's parents and his brother arrive, we see little spurts of white. Ok, Mr. Weatherman, you said we would be safe until 3pm... it's 12:30pm. What's going on? As we all stood around and tried to talk about anything but the weather, it soon be came clear that we were all going to have to dine and dash. And that's exactly what we did as we headed out onto the snowy Pennsylvania roads at 1:30pm.

Our journey is normally about an hour long. But, no, not on the day of the first real snow fall... 2 hours later and after we passed by 10 accidents, (most of which were single vehicles) we made it home. So, now we can take the time to fill everyone in on what goodies we got for Christmas!

Casey's List of Goodies:
- Canon Powershot Camera
- Tiffany & Co. "Crown of Hearts" Ring
- Diamond & Sapphire Necklace
- Cuisinart Food Processor
- "The Blind Side" DVD
- Coach Perfume Set
- Lenox Serving Dishes
- Miscellaneous Stuff (Slippers, gift cards, ornaments, Charlie Brown soup bowl, stuffed cow (not life size), garlic dip w/ pretzel chips and Breath Checker)

Joe's List of Goodies:
Keurig Coffee Maker - My personal favorite gift this year, great for making a cup of joe in the morning, and Casey also got me a package of Donut Shop coffees and a filter to use my own grounds.
- 4-1 Grill/Gridle - Great replacement for my George Foreman grill, this thing does everything, including making waffles.
- DVD/VCR Combo Player - In dire need of this one since my old player was acting crappy, got a Magnavox brand that is similar to my old one, except this one works great.
- Video Games (Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, God of War: Ghost of Sparta) - Already finished Force Unleashed II and God of War thanks to the insane amount of free time I have this week, and already Brotherhood is getting addictive.
- DVDs (Iron Man 2, UFC 108 and 116, Best of Chris Jericho) - UFC 108 was the event I got to see in Las Vegas this year, and 116 was my favorite event of 2010. Iron Man 2 was my favorite movie this year, and Ross got me the Jericho DVD (go figure).
- MMA brand clothing(TapOut, MMA Elite) - Got a couple of cool long-sleeve MMA Elite shirts, as well as a nice TapOut t-shirt and beanie (though it has the Mexican flag on it, even though my mom thought it was the Italian one haha)
- Miscellaneous Stuff (Ornaments, Star Wars calender, Sock Monkey (seriously), gift cards) - Got my usual "marshmallow man" ornament as well as an Eli Manning one (I know the Giants are sucking right now, but you gotta support the team). Got a neat Star Wars day-by-day calendar I'll have to find a spot for, and got a little sock monkey like the one I used have when I was little. We have gift cards from Best Buy, AMC Theaters, and Fratelli's (our favorite Italian restaurant).

Happy Turkey Day

... A day late.

I was so exhausted yesterday that I never managed to get on the computer. Ok, I was on long enough to harvest Farmville. That's it, I swear.

Thanksgiving was down sized this year as we headed up to the wilds of Pine Bush. This year it was just 6 of us having dinner. I have to admit that the smaller holidays get me down. I grew up with these huge, crazy family functions. Insanity is my sanity at the holidays!

Back to my point, it was still a wonderful time, but it was cut short when the freezing rain started in. Since it takes almost 90 minutes to get home on a good day.

Distance Era

I've been casually browsing the MLS again. Just to see what homes are out there, hoping the right one will pop off the computer screen and scream, "BUY ME". I found one that came really, really close. Until I realized that it was going to put Joe an hour away from work. Not a horrible commute, since it is about what he has now. But we agreed that the next house has to put us closer to where he works. So, that house was shot down. I think I'm a bit heartbroken. It was a fully refinished 1855 Victorian style home. It's not normally my taste, but it was so painstakingly renovated and it looked beautiful. I would've lived on ramen noodles again to get us in that house. Damn distance.

*Sigh* Let me know when we've perfected teleportation.

Snow's Frenemy

Snow, you little PITA, sending your friend, freezing rain to pummel me today. How could you after I profess my love for you over your friend. Now I must curl up on my couch and lay amongst my pile of blankets. My pets beside me to provide extra warmth.

It's too soon for this!

Ode to Snow

Snow.

Evil, little 4-letter word. You're possibly going to be landing on the mountains around me this weekend. I do protest! It's far too early for you to start nudging your way into my life. Each year, I spend at least 5 months with you here, cramping my style. Why must we start early this year?

I thank you for not making you're October visit, as you have for the past 2 years. However, anytime prior to Thanksgiving is too early.

Oh snow, before you think I hate you, let me say how much I love you compared to your friends bitter cold and ice. I loathe them. At least snow, you are fluffy, white and can make the world look so peaceful when you're freshly fallen.

But it does not change the fact that you're behaving like an unwanted holiday guest who decided to come up early just for the heck of it. Like unprepared relatives, I cringe at the notion of your early arrival.

Oh snow, what shall we do?