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I think I have sneezed 5,239 times already this morning. And no, I am not prone to exaggeration. It's OK, though, cause I found a coupon and scored some free tissues yesterday. Anti-viral ones. So perhaps they will take away this virus. We'll see...This morning, after clearing 7,000 tons of snow off of my car (true story), I drove to work and just as I was about to be here on time, thereby continuing my awesome streak of being early/on time for work, I slid right past the driveway to the parking lot. I might as well have been using my feet for brakes, you know, Flintstone-style, for all the good my "traction control system" brakes were doing me. When I finally managed to stop 17 miles down the road (really!), I then reversed (traffic behind me be damned) and managed to turn into the exit side of the driveway, only to realize the damn driveway is an upward slope. And my car did NOT want to climb it. So I spun some wheels for awhile and moved about an inch every 3-4 seconds until finally, 2 minutes later, I made it over the hill and was on my way. But I was also 1 minute late. That makes me sad. Streak over. Stupid traction-less car. On a positive note, the trees look very winter wonderland-ish today. I'm sure I'll enjoi it when I'm on my way home from work and not worrying about the time.Anyhoo. Cory and I have still been doing a good job of not eating out, and our trip to Kroger's yesterday reinforced how much money this saves cause we again got a crazy amount of groceries and $49. Sweet. So yesterday we had spaghetti with meat sauce, and right now I have my crock pot creating a delicious meal of pot roast, carrots, potatoes, and green beans. I'm also planning on making some gravy for said pot roast when I get home. I'm a lil' Susie Homemaker. Except my name is Erin. So I guess I'm a lil' Erin Homemaker. Not too much else to report... I had a nice weekend. Shayna and I spent a Girl's Night In on Friday with some drinks and vintage clothing, which was an absolutely lovely time, and as a bonus, her dog and I are now BFF. On Saturday morning, I went to a rummage sale and breakfast with the Mumsy, then to the House and Home Show. It was a good time, but I think I pissed off a landscaping guy. I walked up for the sole purpose of stealing some candy and he cornered me with, "How would you like landscaping for a whole year?" and I said, "I live in an apartment." and he looked at me like I was the biggest moron ever and I could read the thought, "Then why the f*&$ are you at a HOUSE and HOME show??" So I took my Smarties and beat a quick retreat. The Smarties were worth it. Cory and I went up to East Lansing in the evening to visit Dawnold. We went to a party and I spent most of the time chatting it up with Dawn. I love that she's as talky as I am after a few drinks, it makes for a good time. We woke up Sunday morning to the sound of people making out, though, and that's a gross sound. Unless you're the one doing it, kissing is a disgusting noise. So we got up and went out for burritos and a visit to good ol' Dustin at the pizza place and a stroll around town. It was nice to spend some quality time with Cory cause now that he works all the time, we don't get to see each other as much. And, you know, I happen to like my boyfriend quite a lot, so... :)
Time for another cup of coffee. Gotta prepare for my trip home in 7-8 hours that will be all uphill, in a blizzard, wearing moccassins (holey ones), with no coat, for 9,872 miles. Totally.
Ah, February…the guts of winter…the middle, that is… I’m so ready for summer, it’s ridiculous. Down with coats, down with gloves, down with hats! I long for the day I can step outside in just a t-shirt and feel the warm sun on my arms. And dresses. I really miss dresses…and my bike… Told you I’d hate winter as soon as Christmas was over… Bah humbug, indeed.
But, on the bright side, our big move is over! We now officially live in our own apartment. And we’re ALMOST unpacked. Almost. We still have some paintings and pictures to put up, and there are some things in our second bedroom that still need to be put away, but we’re the only ones who go in there at the moment, so no one has to know but Cory, me, and this blog. So don’t tell.
We’re really enjoying our new place. And the privacy. And I LOVE being on this side of town. It’s already made the move worth it. We’re closer to everything, including my parents, which means I’ve made my mom pick me up for everything we’ve done together lately. What? I’m RIGHT on her way, I swear! My new drive to work is a bit longer, but I’ve actually been early everyday since we’ve moved instead of bordering on late. Yay Erin! I CAN be a grown up! Sometimes!
In other news, Cory has a new job that has turned him into a workaholic, and makes him sleepy very early in the evenings, because he gets up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and works anywhere from 10-13 hours a day. I’m very proud of him, and he seems to like his job for the most part. I cooked a ham for the first time ever yesterday and it turned out really tasty, I was proud. We saw the movie “Enchanted” and it was delightful, and I also recently watched “Across the Universe”- if you’re a Beatles fan, it’s a must-see. And if you’re not a Beatles fan, it’s still a good movie (and shame on you for not being a Beatles fan).
In other, OTHER news- Nevaeh turned 2 this month and Harmony turned 3, so I’ve been to some adorable kid birthday parties recently. A lot of our friends have kids now, and they’re finally old enough to interact and play with each other, it’s too cute. Nevaeh and Harmony are good friends now, and they’re learning “sharing.” I’m going to add some pictures to this blog as soon as I can get to a computer that allows me to do so, so check back later if you hate words and/or just like visuals better…
Lastly, a few tidbits: LOST is back on and awesome. I got my hair cut kinda different but haven’t had a chance to try styling it the same way my hair girl did yet, but I will add a picture of how she did it when I can. Shayna, Lauren, Cory and I are still going strong with our Sunday brunches (yes, brunches- we were fooling ourselves calling it “breakfast”) and the service has gotten better. Anyone who would like to join us on any given Sunday is more than welcome, just let us know beforehand and we will include you in our groggy rounds of phone calls. Oh, and my mom’s 50th birthday party was a huge success. A picture or two from that may also be forthcoming. Everyone have a lovely Thursday! Tonight is LOST night, so we all know I will. :)
It's quick update time! I'm short on time cause I'm at the library and am in a hurry to get to the parent's house- 2 packages await me!! But thought I'd give a quick Erin Update to anyone who actually bothers to read my ramblings.Cory and I did manage to find a new apartment, and will be moving in there at the end of this month. Alas, our time at Underwood comes to a close. Which is good and bad. Our new apartment is a 2 bedroom, which is awesome, and it's close to lots of people and an actual real-life highway entrance and exit! You don't realize how important that sort of thing is till you don't have it for over a year. Plus, we will now be able to virtually eliminate our trips back and forth down Secor Road, which should make my blood pressure go down...points? I don't remember how blood pressure is measured, but you get the picture.Christmas was awesome, New Year's was fun, and I've been enjoying lots of good times lately. Shayna, Lauren, Cory and I have started a Sunday breakfast club, of sorts- minus the teen angst and Judd Nelson. We are trying out different breakfast places every Sunday (although it's more like lunch by the time we wake up) but so far, we've had super terrible service at one place and the slowest service on the planet at another. But we will continue to fight the good fight...for eggs and coffee. And bacon. Except Lauren, she hates bacon.Otherwise, my days have been filled with the usual work and social what-nots, and lots and lots of cleaning and packing. I am trying my best to get rid of everything I can- whether it gets thrown away, shredded, or given away...or given back to their rightful owners, such as Lauren's DVD collection. So if anyone has had an eye on anything I own, stay tuned- it might become yours, depending on how sick of packing and moving things I get!Lastly, for anyone and everyone out there who knows my awesome mother, it is her 50th birthday next week and we are having a birthday party for her the following Saturday, the 26th, at my parent's house. If you wanna come, let me know! I'm sure she'd love to see you. The party may or may not be a surprise, I don't think that part's been decided yet, so just in case it is...shhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
I can't believe it's December already! Thanks to Global Warming, it takes a lot longer these days for the Midwest to freeze and stay frozen, but alas, I think it's finally caught up to us. We've had snow that actually stuck, and today we woke up to freezing rain and a nice coat of ice on my car and the streets that kept me from bringing my little sisters coffee and enjoying pancakes made by Lauren. So sad. But! It's also closer to Christmas! And I don't care what anyone says, I still love Christmas. And I still get excited about it every year. I love buying presents, I love putting up a tree, I love Christmas parties and church on Christmas Eve, and our sister present exchange, and Christmas morning, afternoon and dinner with my family. It's good times all around. Nevaeh especially loves my Christmas tree and that makes it even more fun, no one else appreciates it the way an almost 2 year old does- she makes me sit in front of it with her, watching the fiber optics and saying, "OOoooh!!! WOW!" I'm also a big fan of all the Toledo activities you can only partake in at Christmastime. Yesterday Cory and I joined my mom for a walk through the Manor House (and happened to run into his mom while we were there, so we all had hot chocolate), and sometime within the next week or so we're more than likely going to the Lights at the Zoo. Shayna and I have a date for cookie making sometime in the next week, and there was a super awesome art show at Lauren's studio last week called "Tis the Secor". Hope everyone else is enjoying the holiday season! For me, it makes the cold a little more tolerable...but as soon as the holidays are over, I will curse every flake that falls.Until then, it's pretty.
So this is going to be quite the month for me, Cory, and the State of Pennsylvania. Last weekend, Cory, Kyle and I went to visit my cousins in the outskirts of Pittsburgh, and at the end of this month, Cory and I are going with his mom, sister, and her boyfriend to visit his family in the outskirts of Philadelphia. But let's begin with what's already happened, shall we? The purpose of our visit (besides just the fact that I love my cousins and they're super fun) was to see my newborn baby cousin Logan...
...and to belatedly celebrate my cousin Stevie's 21st birthday. We went out to a famous sandwich restaurant/bar called Primanti Brothers or something of the sort... Had some sandwiches, had some drinks, then headed out to Oakland, PA to a bar on the University of Pittsburgh campus. They had dollar Yeung-Lings, which is apparently some famous Pittsburgh beer. Drinking, dancing, getting accosted by genuine drunken Pennsylvanians, and general good times ensued.
We even got to see some guy slip in someone else's puke and face-plant on the floor...on his way out the door, cause they kicked him out for dancing in his underwear.We also did some shopping, had some brunch at my aunt's, all that good sorta stuff. And I got to hang out with my favorite little boy, Dakota, who is so smart and funny it's ridiculous. 
In other news, Cory, Stuart, Bobby and I have decided to stay put for the time being. Meaning, we're not moving out of our house at the end of this month. We've decided it makes more sense to at least wait out the holidays and the wintertime, then see where life takes us. That way, we don't have to spend the extra money right before Christmas, we don't have the hassle of fitting moving into the busy next couple of months, and we don't have to give up our garage, washer & dryer, dishwasher, and attic yet... Which means I'm staying close enough to work for the time being to continue to come home on my lunchbreaks for some kitty love...
Hope everyone's having a lovely Thursday evening and try not to think about the fact that it was in the 60's outside yesterday and today we had freezing rain...
I have so many things to get done in the month of November, I feel like I have to try to concentrate on just one at a time, or else I start to feel very overwhelmed. But, at the same time, I tend to be somewhat of a worrier so it's hard to do. Luckily, a lot of the stuff I am getting done this month will be fun, and will be worth the effort I put into making it happen.This weekend, Cory, my baby sister and I are going to visit my cousins in Pennsylvania. My cousin Claire just had a baby that I haven't seen yet, and her brother Stevie turned 21 over me and Cory's birthday weekend, so we are going to belatedly celebrate with him. I adore my cousins my PA, they are so sweet and lots of fun, and I'm really looking forward to it, and to seeing Claire's other son, Dakota, because he is the cutest little boy on the planet. I'm sorry to all of you moms out there who have sons and are thinking, "No way, my son is WAY cuter." I won't be swayed on this...unless I have my own son, then I'll probably think he's cutest. Over Thanksgiving weekend, I will be going with Cory, his mom, his sister Dawn, and her boyfriend Scott to the opposite side of Pennsylvania to visit his aunt and uncle, like we did last year. It was a great time last year and our trip included visits to Philadelphia and New York City, plus his aunt is an amazing cook, plus trips with them are always a good time, so I'm very excited for this, too. The only problem with having both of these trips happen so close together, and during this particular month is that our lease is up at the end of this month, so we need to find a new place to live. Cory and I are going to get a place by ourselves this time around, as we have had roommates the entire time we've been dating and it's time for a place of our own. We love our roommates and I will really miss living with them, but it's time. We'll probably just end up getting an apartment somewhere, but we need to figure out which ones we're interested in, set up appointments to look at them, all that jazz. Then we have to either rent a truck or find someone with a truck, pack all of our stuff, get rid of stuff, clean the house and fix things so we can try to get our security deposit back, all that fun crap-o-la that comes with moving. I hate moving. Well, the actual process of moving. I actually really enjoi living in a new place. I have a tendency to get bored with wherever I live after about 6 months (or less), so moving to a new place is always really fun for me. BUT. I hate the actual moving part. It sucks and sometimes leads me to nervous breakdowns. Ask Cory. It's not fun for him to deal with me during these times, either. Lucky for me, he loves me.Other than that, I gotta get some stuff together for my grandma's birthday, which was yesterday so I'm obviously already late, but what do you get for a grandma? And then I gotta work on my dad's birthday stuff...which I have mostly done...and I gotta figure out something for my BFF Holly (that reminds me of that silly cell phone commercial, OMG!). Yup. In the meantime, I've been reading quite a bit lately. I finished "Farenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, which was awesome, and then I read "Autobiography of a Fat Bride" by Laurie Notaro, which was hilarious. Third book of hers I've read, she's a good time. Now I'm reading "Sister Mine" by Tawnie O'Dell, and it's REALLY good and addicting. One of those can't-put-it-down books. I figured out yesterday that if I close my office door during my lunch break, I can read in a quiet, peaceful environment and no one bothers me. It's awesome.Hope you're all having a wonderful week! :)
