Should Smoking Around Kids Be Illegal?
I stumbled upon this article today and couldn't help but think about all of my wonderfully nicotine addicted family and friends. So yeah, I'm going to take a shot at you guys, possibly below the belt. Oops.
It might suprise you to know that my answer to the question the article poses is "no". But it's not because I respect a smoker's right to parent their children or smoke in their home or car. I don't respect that, at least not in a case when you are knowingly poisoning your children. Such a law wouldn't be resonable on a legal level though - even if it did squeak through the Supreme Court (which it wouldn't, and if it did we're in trouble...then again the Patriot Act is still kickin...) it's not enforcable and I don't see the point in making a law we can't back up. It opens the door to too many other things, like calling child abuse when a kid eats a cheeseburger. They are totally different situations, but not everyone in this country has the brains to figure that out.
The solution? Just ban smoking. If people are too stupid to not smoke around kids, then they shouldn't be allowed to smoke. There are a whole slue of substances in the world that are illegal because of the way they damage the human body. And yet, one of the few legal ones damages not only the body of the user, but the body of everyone around as well. So why should cigarettes be legal? We won't let people smoke pot, which is not addictvie *chemically* and has less harmful (but still harmful) smoke...so why should we let people smoke tobacco? Here's the real bitch of it all - when people smoke pot, they're 10000 time more respectful of those around them, probably because it's illegal. So if we make cigarettes illegal, logic says the same will happen for tobacco, right? I'm an adult, I have the ability and means to choose whether or not I want to put my lungs through a smoky environment (which you may have noticed I don't do very often). But how is a 5 year old supposed to tell you they won't get in the car because you're going to try to kill them on the way to school? They can't, and if they do they're probably going to get punished.
Every single smoker I know smokes around kids, whether it's their own or someone else's. Sure, some of the smokers in this world have make their homes smoke-free, which I applaud, but what about your cars? Why would you make your 800+ sq. ft. home smoke free but then lock your kids up in a 4x4 space and bombard them with toxins? Yeah, go a head and open that window. It fixes everything. You wouldn't lock your child in their bedroom and pump carbon monoxide into the room...but you have no problem pumping their lungs full of it in the car. Brilliant.
Many of my family members have smoke free homes, which again, I applaud. But not one of them has a smoke free car and not one of them is afraid to light up in someone else's house when children are around. I get it, you people are going to smoke until you can stop making excuses and quit, which might never happen. I'm sure you're going to be just as happy with those excuses when (God forbid) one of the children in your lives gets lung cancer. Because there's nothing like looking into a child's eyes and saying "I'm sorry you have cancer Jimmy, but I liked smoking too much to care abour your lungs."
Get a grip.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Back to school...
So today is my first day of school..for the 20 something-ith time in my life. :) I remember when I first started college that I always had my stuff all set and ready to go no less than a week before classes started - books bought, color coded schedule taped to the front of my notebook, three ring binder with sections for each class (listed alphabetically of course!), the works. But now....I have class in 5 hours and I'm not even really sure where my book bag is! Either I've become much more laid back or I've decided that organization is overrated. But let's be honest, organization is never overrated with me, so it probably wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say I just don't have my "poop in a group" (as my Dad would say). That's ok, I've got 5 hours yet. I've always thought procrastination was underrated.
It's rainy and gross here today and I guess it's supposed to be like that for the rest of the week. Since all of my classes are in one building (actually, the entire college is in one building) I could care less if it's raining. Maybe if it's not sunny out I'll find it easier to pay attention in algebra. I find this unlikely, as I despise algebra, but who knows. I also have to go to orientation today (after class?) from 4-7. I was supposed to go to it last week, but I didn't get the memo on account of our mail being forwarded. I must say, I've been a real pain in the ass (duh) for this college in the last week and they've been gracious, friendly, and very helpful. It's like NMU but cuter. And with a dress code - a dress code that is more stringent than the one my high school carried. Interesting.
I guess that's it. I should probably work on that book bag thing, plus I have to vacuum. I've deemed Mondays as vacuum days, but I didn't do it yesterday on account of my chiropractor beating the crap out of me. She's rough, but really cool. I just wish she'd be nicer to my poor spine :(
It's rainy and gross here today and I guess it's supposed to be like that for the rest of the week. Since all of my classes are in one building (actually, the entire college is in one building) I could care less if it's raining. Maybe if it's not sunny out I'll find it easier to pay attention in algebra. I find this unlikely, as I despise algebra, but who knows. I also have to go to orientation today (after class?) from 4-7. I was supposed to go to it last week, but I didn't get the memo on account of our mail being forwarded. I must say, I've been a real pain in the ass (duh) for this college in the last week and they've been gracious, friendly, and very helpful. It's like NMU but cuter. And with a dress code - a dress code that is more stringent than the one my high school carried. Interesting.
I guess that's it. I should probably work on that book bag thing, plus I have to vacuum. I've deemed Mondays as vacuum days, but I didn't do it yesterday on account of my chiropractor beating the crap out of me. She's rough, but really cool. I just wish she'd be nicer to my poor spine :(
Monday, August 18, 2008
Just a little update
It's another beautiful day here in NC. It's strange to wake up and know you're going to wear shorts and a tank/t-shirt everyday instead of watching the forecast to see if it will be warm enough to wear short sleeves. The only problem we're having with this is that none of my shorts fit and Joe only has two pair of shorts. The pair I'm wearing today is staying on my hips only because I've got a couple safety pins taking them in on the sides. I guess we're going to have to go shopping... :)
I get the feeling that the neighborhood we live in is pretty safe. I see a lot of people on the ground floors with bikes and things on their patios and I haven't noticed any of them being locked up. The people at the pool are friendly, the kids are all inside at a decent hour, and everyone seems to respect the quiet hours established by the property managers. The maintenance guys are fast (and cute!) and take the time to pet the cat. They got my newspaper wet when the were power washing the entry ways, but I'll let that slide on account of their cuteness.
On Friday I went to the DMV to get my N.C. driver's license. Thankfully, I'd done my homework and made sure I had all the required documents and had even reviewed some stuff for the exam. But I'll tell you this - all of you Michiganders need to give your clerk a hug next time you go to the Secretary of State. In Michigan I've waited 20 minutes max to do everything from getting a new license (I lose them a lot) to renewing license plates to transferring titles. This is not the case here in N.C. To get your license, you go to the DMV and to get your plates you go to a different office that's across town. Oh, and by the way, you're going to wait 2-3 hours for your number to come up. Yeah, 3 hours, sitting on the floor (there weren't any chairs available when I got there and I was definitely not going to let 60 year old ladies and pregnant women stand) while I waited for my number to be called. And let me tell you, this isn't exactly the kinda place you want to even touch the walls, let alone sit against them. It was dirty, probably hadn't been remodeled since 1970, and was cramped. There was a sign up that said it was unsafe and unlawful to exceed the maximum occupancy of 43 people...but at any given time there were over 60 people there, and that didn't count the ones that were waiting outside. Tomorrow I have to repeat this process to get the jeep's plates transferred and then Joe will have to do both to get his license and transfer the impala. I miss the Sec. of State.
In addition to my experience at the DMV, I've found some other naiveties that have carried over from my small town upbringing. I established a PCP about a week after we got here, mostly because I needed a referral to make my first appointment with a psychiatrist. I knew it would take a little while to get into a psych, so I made sure I got in for the referral right away. All my meds are filled through the first week of September (some longer) so I figured I'd be all set up with a doc by then, three weeks should be long enough, right? Wrong. The first available appointment they had was for October 1st. I hope this long of a wait is only happening because I'm a new patient or I'll be looking for a different office, even if it means going to Charlotte. Thankfully my new PCP is really cool and had already called in refills for all my stuff before we even knew when the psych appointment was, just in case I needed them, which is awesome. But I'd been hoping to see a psychiatrist before my Ambien CR script ran out because I think I'd like to try something different given how much of a headache filling the Ambien has been. I hate the FDA and insurance companies.
I've also come to realize why people complain about WalMart so much. In Marquette the Walmart is clean, fairly organized, and the employees are generally helpful and nice. Sure, there are still some serious annoyances at that store, but nothing like down here. Walmart is always packed, people (both customers and workers) are either completely oblivious to that fact that there may be other people around and/or they are rude. The store is laid out in a way I don't understand (no flow). Oh, and it doesn't help that a little boy was molested in the bathroom there last week. So I've decided that I'm going to go somewhere else, like K-mart (which is less than a mile from here) or Target. I'm sure that keeping my sanity intact is going to be worth the extra money we'll spend.
Joe snagged us a cute little bistro patio set while he was in the U.P. (at Walmart actually...). Patio furniture isn't on clearance here yet...I'm not even sure it ever goes on clearance? It's really cute and sometime I'll post a picture of it but I don't feel like it right now. We spent most of last night sitting on the deck playing cards. The cat likes to come out with us, but wants to go in and out a lot. If we're out and he's not getting our attention to let him out he stretches up and tries to open the sliding door. If he only had thumbs.
My stomach is bugging me again today, which I'm not impressed with. This nausea thing is getting a little old. I can't seem to connect it with anything I do during the day, so I don't know why it comes and goes. And no, I'm not pregnant...why can't a woman be nauseous without everyone thinking she's knocked up? Yeesh. I'm thinking it's anxiety, but I don't feel anxious. I suppose I should see if a xanax helps anyway. I hate taking xanax, but probably not as much as being nauseous. Meh, I'll figure it out. At least I'm not having panic attacks, those really suck.
Jake starts school next week and he seems really excited. He's hoping his friend John that lives in 1304 (he's told me the kid's address like 10 times) will be in his class. John also has a little brother about 3 months older than Sam (but slightly smaller?) and Joe and Sara went over and met them all last night. They're excited to know someone in their neighborhood that speaks English well because they have a hard time understanding their other neighbors. Jonny didn't get accepted for the preschool program Sara was trying to get him into, but I'm sure that she'll appreciate having a break from at least one child everyday. The real cause of her stress is the combo of Jake and Jonny...they do everything they can to piss each other off. I hope they grow out of it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. They like coming to our house because they like our pool more than theirs. Since it's right out our door its not such a production to let them go for a swim and they've decided that the whole reason we have a second bed is for them to stay the night. Jake stayed on Friday and we spent a couple hours "jewel crafting" (that's World of Warcraft speak for beading), which he was beyond excited about. He made two necklaces, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a ring. I use the phrase "he made" very loosely...and I've gotta say I'm impressed with myself on the ring because it was my first time. He had a blast doing it though, so I think I'm probably going to have to get some more kid friendly supplies.
That's all for now. I've got stuff to do this afternoon, like go buy a picture frame, pick up my one hour photos from last week, vacuum (Mondays are vacuum day) and read up on IRAs and such so I can figure out where to roll my investments from Baxter. I guess they don't want to manage my accounts since I'm no longer an employee. Weird.
Toodles!
I get the feeling that the neighborhood we live in is pretty safe. I see a lot of people on the ground floors with bikes and things on their patios and I haven't noticed any of them being locked up. The people at the pool are friendly, the kids are all inside at a decent hour, and everyone seems to respect the quiet hours established by the property managers. The maintenance guys are fast (and cute!) and take the time to pet the cat. They got my newspaper wet when the were power washing the entry ways, but I'll let that slide on account of their cuteness.
On Friday I went to the DMV to get my N.C. driver's license. Thankfully, I'd done my homework and made sure I had all the required documents and had even reviewed some stuff for the exam. But I'll tell you this - all of you Michiganders need to give your clerk a hug next time you go to the Secretary of State. In Michigan I've waited 20 minutes max to do everything from getting a new license (I lose them a lot) to renewing license plates to transferring titles. This is not the case here in N.C. To get your license, you go to the DMV and to get your plates you go to a different office that's across town. Oh, and by the way, you're going to wait 2-3 hours for your number to come up. Yeah, 3 hours, sitting on the floor (there weren't any chairs available when I got there and I was definitely not going to let 60 year old ladies and pregnant women stand) while I waited for my number to be called. And let me tell you, this isn't exactly the kinda place you want to even touch the walls, let alone sit against them. It was dirty, probably hadn't been remodeled since 1970, and was cramped. There was a sign up that said it was unsafe and unlawful to exceed the maximum occupancy of 43 people...but at any given time there were over 60 people there, and that didn't count the ones that were waiting outside. Tomorrow I have to repeat this process to get the jeep's plates transferred and then Joe will have to do both to get his license and transfer the impala. I miss the Sec. of State.
In addition to my experience at the DMV, I've found some other naiveties that have carried over from my small town upbringing. I established a PCP about a week after we got here, mostly because I needed a referral to make my first appointment with a psychiatrist. I knew it would take a little while to get into a psych, so I made sure I got in for the referral right away. All my meds are filled through the first week of September (some longer) so I figured I'd be all set up with a doc by then, three weeks should be long enough, right? Wrong. The first available appointment they had was for October 1st. I hope this long of a wait is only happening because I'm a new patient or I'll be looking for a different office, even if it means going to Charlotte. Thankfully my new PCP is really cool and had already called in refills for all my stuff before we even knew when the psych appointment was, just in case I needed them, which is awesome. But I'd been hoping to see a psychiatrist before my Ambien CR script ran out because I think I'd like to try something different given how much of a headache filling the Ambien has been. I hate the FDA and insurance companies.
I've also come to realize why people complain about WalMart so much. In Marquette the Walmart is clean, fairly organized, and the employees are generally helpful and nice. Sure, there are still some serious annoyances at that store, but nothing like down here. Walmart is always packed, people (both customers and workers) are either completely oblivious to that fact that there may be other people around and/or they are rude. The store is laid out in a way I don't understand (no flow). Oh, and it doesn't help that a little boy was molested in the bathroom there last week. So I've decided that I'm going to go somewhere else, like K-mart (which is less than a mile from here) or Target. I'm sure that keeping my sanity intact is going to be worth the extra money we'll spend.
Joe snagged us a cute little bistro patio set while he was in the U.P. (at Walmart actually...). Patio furniture isn't on clearance here yet...I'm not even sure it ever goes on clearance? It's really cute and sometime I'll post a picture of it but I don't feel like it right now. We spent most of last night sitting on the deck playing cards. The cat likes to come out with us, but wants to go in and out a lot. If we're out and he's not getting our attention to let him out he stretches up and tries to open the sliding door. If he only had thumbs.
My stomach is bugging me again today, which I'm not impressed with. This nausea thing is getting a little old. I can't seem to connect it with anything I do during the day, so I don't know why it comes and goes. And no, I'm not pregnant...why can't a woman be nauseous without everyone thinking she's knocked up? Yeesh. I'm thinking it's anxiety, but I don't feel anxious. I suppose I should see if a xanax helps anyway. I hate taking xanax, but probably not as much as being nauseous. Meh, I'll figure it out. At least I'm not having panic attacks, those really suck.
Jake starts school next week and he seems really excited. He's hoping his friend John that lives in 1304 (he's told me the kid's address like 10 times) will be in his class. John also has a little brother about 3 months older than Sam (but slightly smaller?) and Joe and Sara went over and met them all last night. They're excited to know someone in their neighborhood that speaks English well because they have a hard time understanding their other neighbors. Jonny didn't get accepted for the preschool program Sara was trying to get him into, but I'm sure that she'll appreciate having a break from at least one child everyday. The real cause of her stress is the combo of Jake and Jonny...they do everything they can to piss each other off. I hope they grow out of it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. They like coming to our house because they like our pool more than theirs. Since it's right out our door its not such a production to let them go for a swim and they've decided that the whole reason we have a second bed is for them to stay the night. Jake stayed on Friday and we spent a couple hours "jewel crafting" (that's World of Warcraft speak for beading), which he was beyond excited about. He made two necklaces, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, and a ring. I use the phrase "he made" very loosely...and I've gotta say I'm impressed with myself on the ring because it was my first time. He had a blast doing it though, so I think I'm probably going to have to get some more kid friendly supplies.
That's all for now. I've got stuff to do this afternoon, like go buy a picture frame, pick up my one hour photos from last week, vacuum (Mondays are vacuum day) and read up on IRAs and such so I can figure out where to roll my investments from Baxter. I guess they don't want to manage my accounts since I'm no longer an employee. Weird.
Toodles!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Bright and Shiny
It's kinda crappy here today...only about 75 and rainy. So no pool for me today, although it's kinda nice to turn off the air and open the windows. The cat's driving me crazy - lays on top of everything I'm trying to use/read/do, is insistent about getting up on the counters, keeps screwing with the blinds, and now he's trying to eat my burrito. Earlier he was so curious about something I was doing that I nearly cut his nose off with the scissors I was using (on accident! that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). I guess he's just back to normal, but I didn't mind it so much when he liked us and was behaving.
I've spent my entire day thus far polishing up all the silver, which has turned out to be a much more time consuming task that I had thought it would be. And, true to my usual self, I've been working on it non-stop, no breaks. There are some that think I'm manic when this happens, but on the contrary it's kind of the opposite of mania - mania does not involve the ability to focus on a single task. It's just my personality. Same concept applies to my 8 hour cleaning session upstairs at camp - when I get in the zone, I gotta finish what I started (as opposed to starting and not finishing about 10 projects, which I've also been known to do).
So aside from the Tarn-x making me gag a million times, I'm pretty proud of my little project. All of the silver is bright and shiny, I polished the cabinet and washed the glass and have begun soaking the silverware (don't worry, I'm not soaking the knives. I just threw those in the dishwasher instead....I'm kidding!). The silverware was actually still wrapped in newspaper. The cabinet has a drawer but doesn't have any dividers in it, so I hadn't quite figured out a way to store the silverware properly. Then it came to me - the answer was the Dynamic Duo.
I should probably explain that last statement, hey? A few years ago my Mom gave me some material scraps from some pajamas and things she's made over the years. One of these "scraps" (about 1.5 yards) was a Batman and Robin fleece print that I think she'd used for p.j.'s for Phil. I've been moving it around with me for about 4 years, never using it. Well, I hate to break it to you folks, but Robin isn't exactly "cool" anymore, so I don't think I could plague any child I know with such a print. But I did put it to good use!
I cut a piece of the fabric and lined the drawer with it, figuring that would be good enough until I found some proper storage solution. Then it dawned on me that I still had a ton of this stuff and that I could make pouches! Seeing how focused I was on finishing this whole project, however, I wasn't about the bust out the sewing machine to craft some temporary pouches, so I did the McGyver thing and whipped out the stapler. Wahlah! 10 individual silverware pouches. My Grandmother's fine silver is now protected by none other than Batman and Robin.
Another interesting tidbit about the silver - for our wedding, Joe's parents gave us a gorgeous silver bowl from a company called Reed and Barton. It's called a Paul Revere bowl as the design was originally crafted by him and it's beautifully engraved "Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pilon September 29th, 2007 (that's our wedding date for those of you that haven't been paying attention for the last year). When I unpacked my Grandmother's silver pieces I noticed a bowl that was oddly more familiar than the other pieces (keep in mind I hadn't seen any of our wedding gifts in 9 months and I had not yet unpacked our silver/crystal, thus our bowl wasn't on the forefront of my mind). Later, when I unpacked our things, I took our bowl out of the box and set it in the cabinet, and that's when it clicked.
My Grandmother's bowl was a smaller version of the bowl we'd been given! I assumed it was simply alike in design and looked for some differences between the two, but when I turned it over I found a blue oval sticker that read "Reed and Barton" just like the sticker on the bottom of our bowl. How neat is that? I know it's a popular design (it's been replicated by a bunch of silver companies) but what are the chances that my Grandparents had the same bowl, made by the same company? I don't know the bowl's history, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a wedding gift to them as well. :) I've been really into family history lately (I'm collecting photos, send 'em if you got 'em) so this was very exciting to me.
One last significant thing about my day - Sam (our 5 months old nephew on the Kirkwood side) had his MRI today to check for neurological abnormalities that might be related to his cross-eyedness and it came back totally clear. He'll see the ophthalmologist again in a few weeks to start exploring ways to correct his eye alignment.
Other than that I don't really have anything exciting to report. It's hot all the time (today being the coldest day by far - like 10+ degrees colder) and it's not supposed to rain again in the next 9 days. I'm digging hanging out by the pool and I'm excited to have found a local farmer's market and a Trader Joe's (it's in Charlotte, but still). It turns out that there are a lot of neato things that you would normally have to travel into the city for right here in Concord on account of Concord Mills (giant mall). Oh, and there's a roller rink about 500 yards from my front door 0 yeah, I said roller rink. I didn't even know they still existed, but this one does and every Tuesday it's dollar night. I'll have a broken arm or head or something in no time!
I'm registered for classes but am waiting to get accepted to Cabarrus College of Health Sciences so I can declare myself as a degree seeking student instead of a non-degree seeking student. It's a financial aid thing, and don't even get me started on the application process. Apparently it's necessary for a person with a bachelor's degree to write an essay, submit HS transcripts, college transcripts, ACT scores, and two letters of reference to get into a community college. Whatever. If all goes well I'll attend UNCC in January (I opted to go to CCHS this fall because it's cheaper, closer, and transfers). I'm nervous about applying for the nursing program because my grades from NMU aren't exactly stellar, but I'm hoping my experience working in the healthcare field will make up for that. They give extra consideration for people who have worked (volunteer or paid) 50 hours or more in a healthcare setting...I think I got that covered.
Joe's in Marquette right now closing up the call center up there, so I've been flying solo and will continue to do so until Sunday. I recently discovered that we can get 9 channels via bunny ears, so I've been able to watch the Olympics and the news. Tomorrow I think I'm going to venture to Charlotte and check some stuff out...tour UNCC, visit Trader Joe's, see what other kind of trouble I can get into. Driving in the city will be a little nerve racking given the crappy brakes on the Jeep, but I'm sure I'll survive. Joe's bringing back the parts from Pat this weekend and some guy Pat knows down here (that's a mechanic) is going to put them on for us, so we're getting cheap parts and labor. I swear, Pat knows "some guy" everywhere.
At that I'm going to wrap it up - I need to shower to get all the silver polish out of my pores. Until next time...
I've spent my entire day thus far polishing up all the silver, which has turned out to be a much more time consuming task that I had thought it would be. And, true to my usual self, I've been working on it non-stop, no breaks. There are some that think I'm manic when this happens, but on the contrary it's kind of the opposite of mania - mania does not involve the ability to focus on a single task. It's just my personality. Same concept applies to my 8 hour cleaning session upstairs at camp - when I get in the zone, I gotta finish what I started (as opposed to starting and not finishing about 10 projects, which I've also been known to do).
So aside from the Tarn-x making me gag a million times, I'm pretty proud of my little project. All of the silver is bright and shiny, I polished the cabinet and washed the glass and have begun soaking the silverware (don't worry, I'm not soaking the knives. I just threw those in the dishwasher instead....I'm kidding!). The silverware was actually still wrapped in newspaper. The cabinet has a drawer but doesn't have any dividers in it, so I hadn't quite figured out a way to store the silverware properly. Then it came to me - the answer was the Dynamic Duo.
I should probably explain that last statement, hey? A few years ago my Mom gave me some material scraps from some pajamas and things she's made over the years. One of these "scraps" (about 1.5 yards) was a Batman and Robin fleece print that I think she'd used for p.j.'s for Phil. I've been moving it around with me for about 4 years, never using it. Well, I hate to break it to you folks, but Robin isn't exactly "cool" anymore, so I don't think I could plague any child I know with such a print. But I did put it to good use!
I cut a piece of the fabric and lined the drawer with it, figuring that would be good enough until I found some proper storage solution. Then it dawned on me that I still had a ton of this stuff and that I could make pouches! Seeing how focused I was on finishing this whole project, however, I wasn't about the bust out the sewing machine to craft some temporary pouches, so I did the McGyver thing and whipped out the stapler. Wahlah! 10 individual silverware pouches. My Grandmother's fine silver is now protected by none other than Batman and Robin.
Another interesting tidbit about the silver - for our wedding, Joe's parents gave us a gorgeous silver bowl from a company called Reed and Barton. It's called a Paul Revere bowl as the design was originally crafted by him and it's beautifully engraved "Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pilon September 29th, 2007 (that's our wedding date for those of you that haven't been paying attention for the last year). When I unpacked my Grandmother's silver pieces I noticed a bowl that was oddly more familiar than the other pieces (keep in mind I hadn't seen any of our wedding gifts in 9 months and I had not yet unpacked our silver/crystal, thus our bowl wasn't on the forefront of my mind). Later, when I unpacked our things, I took our bowl out of the box and set it in the cabinet, and that's when it clicked.
My Grandmother's bowl was a smaller version of the bowl we'd been given! I assumed it was simply alike in design and looked for some differences between the two, but when I turned it over I found a blue oval sticker that read "Reed and Barton" just like the sticker on the bottom of our bowl. How neat is that? I know it's a popular design (it's been replicated by a bunch of silver companies) but what are the chances that my Grandparents had the same bowl, made by the same company? I don't know the bowl's history, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a wedding gift to them as well. :) I've been really into family history lately (I'm collecting photos, send 'em if you got 'em) so this was very exciting to me.
One last significant thing about my day - Sam (our 5 months old nephew on the Kirkwood side) had his MRI today to check for neurological abnormalities that might be related to his cross-eyedness and it came back totally clear. He'll see the ophthalmologist again in a few weeks to start exploring ways to correct his eye alignment.
Other than that I don't really have anything exciting to report. It's hot all the time (today being the coldest day by far - like 10+ degrees colder) and it's not supposed to rain again in the next 9 days. I'm digging hanging out by the pool and I'm excited to have found a local farmer's market and a Trader Joe's (it's in Charlotte, but still). It turns out that there are a lot of neato things that you would normally have to travel into the city for right here in Concord on account of Concord Mills (giant mall). Oh, and there's a roller rink about 500 yards from my front door 0 yeah, I said roller rink. I didn't even know they still existed, but this one does and every Tuesday it's dollar night. I'll have a broken arm or head or something in no time!
I'm registered for classes but am waiting to get accepted to Cabarrus College of Health Sciences so I can declare myself as a degree seeking student instead of a non-degree seeking student. It's a financial aid thing, and don't even get me started on the application process. Apparently it's necessary for a person with a bachelor's degree to write an essay, submit HS transcripts, college transcripts, ACT scores, and two letters of reference to get into a community college. Whatever. If all goes well I'll attend UNCC in January (I opted to go to CCHS this fall because it's cheaper, closer, and transfers). I'm nervous about applying for the nursing program because my grades from NMU aren't exactly stellar, but I'm hoping my experience working in the healthcare field will make up for that. They give extra consideration for people who have worked (volunteer or paid) 50 hours or more in a healthcare setting...I think I got that covered.
Joe's in Marquette right now closing up the call center up there, so I've been flying solo and will continue to do so until Sunday. I recently discovered that we can get 9 channels via bunny ears, so I've been able to watch the Olympics and the news. Tomorrow I think I'm going to venture to Charlotte and check some stuff out...tour UNCC, visit Trader Joe's, see what other kind of trouble I can get into. Driving in the city will be a little nerve racking given the crappy brakes on the Jeep, but I'm sure I'll survive. Joe's bringing back the parts from Pat this weekend and some guy Pat knows down here (that's a mechanic) is going to put them on for us, so we're getting cheap parts and labor. I swear, Pat knows "some guy" everywhere.
At that I'm going to wrap it up - I need to shower to get all the silver polish out of my pores. Until next time...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Today we officially finished moving in. All of the boxes are empty, all of the pictures are on the wall, and all of our stuff is in it's permanent place. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it feels to finally be settled, especially since I am completely in love with our apartment. It's the first time I've moved into a place and actually had the resources and time to unpack and decorate properly, and I'm very proud of the cute little apartment we've set up. Here are some pictures:
Our dining room - we haven't seen anything in this room (not one item!) in over 6 months. We never really got the chance to use our table at our old apartment...we've actually only used it for a total of 4 months since we bought it in 2006! The runner on the wall and the place mats were a wedding gift from Joe's Aunt Sue (she made them) and the contents of the china cabinet includes wedding gifts we never got to take out of the box and my Grandma Kirkwood's crystal and silver.
The Kitchen
The Kitchen
Our living room, complete with a cat skin rug. :) The pink chairs were my Grandmother's, and we found a gorgeous table to go with them at a going out of business sale. It was originally $200 but we got it for $40!! Joe is slowly turning our place into a greenhouse as he becomes more and more obsessed with the plants, but they do look nice so I'll let it slide. The only thing I could possibly think of to add to this room is a coffee table, but we're not sure we want one. We like open spaces. We'll see.
This is the guest room y-all be staying in when you come visit. :)
This is our bedroom. I'm super excited to have the bed on an actual frame (the frame had to be stored before) and even though it's too hot to put my down comforter/duvet on the bed, I like the way it looks.
This is Joe's man bathroom, which he is just tickled about.
This is my chick bathroom - I'm also very excited.
And finally, this is our patio/balcony. You can also see our pool in the background.
Joe and I also have our own walk-in closets, which totally rocks (although I think he's more excited than I am...he has more clothes than I do and just as many shoes!).
When we haven't been unpacking we've been venturing out to find things like Walmart and grocery stores. I was surprised to find that groceries are generally more expensive down here, which doesn't make any sense to me. Wouldn't it cost more to ship stuff all the way to the U.P.? I was pleasantly surprised to find Leinenkugel's in the beer isle - we didn't think we would find the Wisconsin based beer we love down here.
We don't live very far from Joe and Sara or Joe's work and thus far we're finding our neighborhood to be pleasant. Most of our neighbors (especially all the kids) have said hi to us and we even had a girl come ask us to borrow a cup of sugar! I didn't even know people actually still did that. So most things are going really well. The thing I'm struggling with the most is the weather. It's hot and humid, which in itself is ok, but we aren't used to hydrating like this place requires. Also, since it's always so nice I'm constantly wearing sandals, which means my feet are constantly getting dirty....I'm not dealing well with that. I wash them a lot.
That's about it for now. Tomorrow Joe goes in for his first day at work in NC, which means I'll be at home with the cat (!). I'll probably venture out and try to find stuff like the DMV and the Post Office and maybe visit Sara and the kids. This weekend Jonny is having his birthday party at Chucky Cheese, and I'm looking forward to the bad pizza and screaming kids (for real). I'll try to remember to take some good pictures to post. :)
Ciao!
When we haven't been unpacking we've been venturing out to find things like Walmart and grocery stores. I was surprised to find that groceries are generally more expensive down here, which doesn't make any sense to me. Wouldn't it cost more to ship stuff all the way to the U.P.? I was pleasantly surprised to find Leinenkugel's in the beer isle - we didn't think we would find the Wisconsin based beer we love down here.
We don't live very far from Joe and Sara or Joe's work and thus far we're finding our neighborhood to be pleasant. Most of our neighbors (especially all the kids) have said hi to us and we even had a girl come ask us to borrow a cup of sugar! I didn't even know people actually still did that. So most things are going really well. The thing I'm struggling with the most is the weather. It's hot and humid, which in itself is ok, but we aren't used to hydrating like this place requires. Also, since it's always so nice I'm constantly wearing sandals, which means my feet are constantly getting dirty....I'm not dealing well with that. I wash them a lot.
That's about it for now. Tomorrow Joe goes in for his first day at work in NC, which means I'll be at home with the cat (!). I'll probably venture out and try to find stuff like the DMV and the Post Office and maybe visit Sara and the kids. This weekend Jonny is having his birthday party at Chucky Cheese, and I'm looking forward to the bad pizza and screaming kids (for real). I'll try to remember to take some good pictures to post. :)
Ciao!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
the big move
So, after months and months of waiting, weeks and weeks of packing, and days and days of driving, we've finally made it to North Carolina. And now we have boxes and boxes of stuff to unpack! Yay! Truthfully, unpacking hasn't been bad. We haven't seen most of our stuff in over 6 months and we've never even used half of it (some of our wedding presents didn't have the chance to get out of the box) so unpacking is a little like Christmas here at the Pilon house...every box has something to get excited about in it.
We had some uhaul issues getting down here - first u-haul wanted us to drive to Wisconsin to pick up our u-haul (Joe promptly told them where to shove it) but they finally magicked one up for us in Gladstone. Sill too far, but whatever. We got the truck and Joe, Mike, Troy, and Aaron had it packed up in an hour flat. Then we had to put the Jeep on the back. There's some big long explanation about a drive shaft and transfer case or something, but basically the Jeep wasn't attached to the tow dolly correctly and every time we stopped Joe found that the straps holding the Jeep onto the dolly had slipped off. We weren't very interested in driving through the mountains with such equipment, so on Wednesday (day two) we tried to find another u-haul place along the way to switch out the tow dolly for an auto-transporter. Long story short, we spent 2 hours driving around Columbus, OH to get one only to find out there wasn't one in all of Ohio. On the plus side though, the dudes at the last uhaul place we went to figured out why the straps were falling off and once that was fixed we were good to go. Still a colossal waste of time.
With the uhaul fiasco behind us we were pretty frustrated, so we called it an early day on the driving front. So on our first day (Tuesday) we made it from Gwinn to Toledo, but on our second day (Wednesday) we only made it from Toledo to Logan, OH, which is almost two hours from the WV border. Not a very productive day, but oh well. I wasn't feeling well, so I was glad we stopped early.
When I woke up on Thursday I knew I was officially sick, since I could breathe out of my nose and my sinuses felt like they were going to explode. Ugh. We stopped at a Walmart before we hit the road and I spent like 20 minutes in the cold medicine isle trying to find the right crap...do you know how hard it is to find a cold medicine that doesn't contain a nasal decongestant? Really hard. I had to read a million boxes! (Nasal decongestants can cause insomnia and they keep me up all night, regardless of whatever sleeping medication I take, so I avoid them.) And then we drive through West Virginia and Virginia...in all of their ear popping, sinus pressure building glory. Nice.
We got to Concord at about 7:45 that night. We decided to stay at a hotel rather than Joe and Sara's because I didn't want to get the kids sick. We checked in and the Joseph Kirkwood family came by to see us. Since we were at the same hotel they had stayed at when they arrived in Concord, Jake and Jonny were more than happy to show us where the pool was and where we could "get our own breakfast." By the time everyone was out of the pool (I didn't go) I had a fever and was feeling particularly pissy, so I got ready for bed.
HayZeus traveled well and thoroughly enjoyed the hotels we stayed in. We'd gotten him some tranquilizers from the vet for the drive and he actually seemed to enjoy parts of the ride. He mostly stayed in the Jeep but when it got too warm he rode up front with us. When Jake and Jonny were here yesterday I think he would have gladly traded hanging out with them for another day in the Jeep!
After signing our lease and getting our keys, we scoped out the apartment. It's not as clean as I require it to be and from the smell of things the previous tenants were smokers, but I can fix that stuff. I took pictures of the whole place and wrote down any blemishes we found so we would have a baseline when we moved out. Joe and Joe pretty much unloaded the u-haul and brought everything up to our second floor apartment by themselves in 95 degree heat. I think they may have produced enough sweat to fill our pool. I wasn't exactly productive, but we still got a lot done.
The cat likes the new place. There's lots for him to check out right now and I think he actually missed us. I don't remember him being this affectionate, nor do I remember him being this calm. I suppose 6 months with a dog and a 3 year old can make you appreciate the calmer side of life.
I like the new place too (sans the smell, which I'm working on). Our living room is hugenormous, Joe and I have our own separate walk in closets and bathrooms, we have a cute little patio, and a guest bedroom that actually has a bed in it (courtesy of Mom and Steve). I'm hoping to get the rest of the boxes unpacked today and get out first grocery shopping trip out of the way...you know, the one where you have to buy everything under the sun? Eventually I'll post some pictures of everything, but not today.
It's nice to finally have our own place again. And our own stuff again. Living with Dee and Mastin worked out so well for us, but I was tied of living in a perpetual state of moving. I'm also really glad that Joe and Sara are down here. It's like having a little piece of the U.P. down here, which I think will be key for me in the next couple months. And then when we get sick of them, all you other Michiganders can start visiting (HINT). :)
Ok, I'm off to find breakfast. I think we might have since instant oatmeal in a box somewhere. It's either that or Doritos and M&Ms....maybe I won't look for the oatmeal....hmm...
We had some uhaul issues getting down here - first u-haul wanted us to drive to Wisconsin to pick up our u-haul (Joe promptly told them where to shove it) but they finally magicked one up for us in Gladstone. Sill too far, but whatever. We got the truck and Joe, Mike, Troy, and Aaron had it packed up in an hour flat. Then we had to put the Jeep on the back. There's some big long explanation about a drive shaft and transfer case or something, but basically the Jeep wasn't attached to the tow dolly correctly and every time we stopped Joe found that the straps holding the Jeep onto the dolly had slipped off. We weren't very interested in driving through the mountains with such equipment, so on Wednesday (day two) we tried to find another u-haul place along the way to switch out the tow dolly for an auto-transporter. Long story short, we spent 2 hours driving around Columbus, OH to get one only to find out there wasn't one in all of Ohio. On the plus side though, the dudes at the last uhaul place we went to figured out why the straps were falling off and once that was fixed we were good to go. Still a colossal waste of time.
With the uhaul fiasco behind us we were pretty frustrated, so we called it an early day on the driving front. So on our first day (Tuesday) we made it from Gwinn to Toledo, but on our second day (Wednesday) we only made it from Toledo to Logan, OH, which is almost two hours from the WV border. Not a very productive day, but oh well. I wasn't feeling well, so I was glad we stopped early.
When I woke up on Thursday I knew I was officially sick, since I could breathe out of my nose and my sinuses felt like they were going to explode. Ugh. We stopped at a Walmart before we hit the road and I spent like 20 minutes in the cold medicine isle trying to find the right crap...do you know how hard it is to find a cold medicine that doesn't contain a nasal decongestant? Really hard. I had to read a million boxes! (Nasal decongestants can cause insomnia and they keep me up all night, regardless of whatever sleeping medication I take, so I avoid them.) And then we drive through West Virginia and Virginia...in all of their ear popping, sinus pressure building glory. Nice.
We got to Concord at about 7:45 that night. We decided to stay at a hotel rather than Joe and Sara's because I didn't want to get the kids sick. We checked in and the Joseph Kirkwood family came by to see us. Since we were at the same hotel they had stayed at when they arrived in Concord, Jake and Jonny were more than happy to show us where the pool was and where we could "get our own breakfast." By the time everyone was out of the pool (I didn't go) I had a fever and was feeling particularly pissy, so I got ready for bed.
HayZeus traveled well and thoroughly enjoyed the hotels we stayed in. We'd gotten him some tranquilizers from the vet for the drive and he actually seemed to enjoy parts of the ride. He mostly stayed in the Jeep but when it got too warm he rode up front with us. When Jake and Jonny were here yesterday I think he would have gladly traded hanging out with them for another day in the Jeep!
After signing our lease and getting our keys, we scoped out the apartment. It's not as clean as I require it to be and from the smell of things the previous tenants were smokers, but I can fix that stuff. I took pictures of the whole place and wrote down any blemishes we found so we would have a baseline when we moved out. Joe and Joe pretty much unloaded the u-haul and brought everything up to our second floor apartment by themselves in 95 degree heat. I think they may have produced enough sweat to fill our pool. I wasn't exactly productive, but we still got a lot done.
The cat likes the new place. There's lots for him to check out right now and I think he actually missed us. I don't remember him being this affectionate, nor do I remember him being this calm. I suppose 6 months with a dog and a 3 year old can make you appreciate the calmer side of life.
I like the new place too (sans the smell, which I'm working on). Our living room is hugenormous, Joe and I have our own separate walk in closets and bathrooms, we have a cute little patio, and a guest bedroom that actually has a bed in it (courtesy of Mom and Steve). I'm hoping to get the rest of the boxes unpacked today and get out first grocery shopping trip out of the way...you know, the one where you have to buy everything under the sun? Eventually I'll post some pictures of everything, but not today.
It's nice to finally have our own place again. And our own stuff again. Living with Dee and Mastin worked out so well for us, but I was tied of living in a perpetual state of moving. I'm also really glad that Joe and Sara are down here. It's like having a little piece of the U.P. down here, which I think will be key for me in the next couple months. And then when we get sick of them, all you other Michiganders can start visiting (HINT). :)
Ok, I'm off to find breakfast. I think we might have since instant oatmeal in a box somewhere. It's either that or Doritos and M&Ms....maybe I won't look for the oatmeal....hmm...
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