It’s Coming

One of the most fantastic pieces for our basement is being delivered next week. I’m almost ready to post pictures… can you stand the suspense?!?! I’m so excited!!!!

PS – Please read Kristen’s post. I about died!

So tell me about your day.

Disclaimer: This post was originally much more detailed than what is written below, but I walked away from the computer with “publishing remorse” – not because I wasn’t proud of my recent recant of today’s nothingness, but because I started to let my imagination wander and the last thing I need is some extremist coming along and blowing up my blog.

That said… please read on. (those of you with the google read thing will know that this is not as I originally planned)

Ahem…
The subway started “burning” (the conductor’s vague description) on my way home today and for about 20 minutes I was stranded underground on the Blue Line. I started having all these horrific thoughts about what was going to happen to me and what Kurt would do if I couldn’t answer my phone and then I glanced down at the book the guy next to me was reading.

It was called, “Leviathan 666: The beast as the Anti-Christ” and you can only imagine the uplifting terrorist propaganda that filled it’s pages. I skimmed one freakish paragraph.

And then I decided that my problems probably aren’t that bad. Just imagine what that guy was thinking about.

Sneaky Sneaky

Do you think it’s wrong that I enjoy eavesdropping on the gossipy girls that sit around me?

Cheese please

I went to the market yesterday to buy groceries and after walking to the very back corner of the store, I remembered that they do not carry Mozzarella cheese by all the other packaged cheeses. They don’t even stock it. (I also feel like every time I blog about a grocery run I talk about cheese, but I do buy other things.)

Anyway, the solution to the “no-mozzarella” situation is to buy a chunk from the deli. I made my way back to the deli counter and stood behind six other people to wait. I timed this. It took 17 minutes before it was my turn.

Finally, I’m the only customer at the counter and neither of the workers would make eye contact with me. It was as if I didn’t exist.

AND THEN THIS LADY WALKS UP, AND THE GUY SAYS “NUMBER 70″ AND SHE HANDS HIM THIS TICKET THING AND THEN HE HELPS HER. WHERE DID SHE COME FROM????

You have got to be kidding me.

You can bet your britches that I found the ticket dispenser but by the time I could lug my big ass cart down the isle, five other people beat me to it and I was at the back of the line again.

I swear I dream these things beforehand. And then, in some ironic twist of fate, I have to live them.

Read it and weep.

The high this week was 73.

Need I say more?

What gives?

I came home to this today.

Apparently, one half of my amaryllis had had enough, took a fatal nose dive, and gave up the ghost. Boo.

Highlights of 2007

This was our year.

1. Attended the wedding of our dear Megan and Zach. Welcome to the family, Meg.

(PS – I stole this pic off your facebook. Don’t hate me.)

2. Spent one last time rippin’ it up at the Beav

3. Assisted on my first Eagle Project (and as you can see, I was very helpful)

4. Bought a house in a city that I still get lost in.

(you can see why the basement has been our little project – sick!)

5. Threw a baby shower for my Lauren.

6. Was on hand to welcome the cutest baby in existence into the world.

7. Moved cross country to start a new life.

8. Took a road trip to NYC

9. Shot a wedding

10. Flew home (again) for Mindy’s wedding – I LOVED her dress. I think it’s the prettiest one I’ve ever seen.

11. Spent our first Thanksgiving away from home

10. And spent Christmas with family being grateful for all our blessings! (and New Years at a rockin’ party at the Ericksons!)

I hope to have an equally eventful recap for 2008.

It’s what I do

For the most part I try to keep our personal details vague on this blog (simply because each time I hit “publish post” I’m sending my life out into the unknown) but I get the question “What exactly do you do?” a lot and so that’s what I’m writing about today. If I’ve already explained this to you feel free to continue blog stalking elsewhere.

I work for a very large accounting firm (one of the largest in the world – and if you’re accounting savvy, it’s one of the “Big 4″) in the tax “line of service”.

Each day I arrive at the office to hunker down, for at least 8 hours, and prepare tax returns for the rich and famous.

Okay, the “rich and famous” part was a lie. I actually prepare returns for Americans working overseas or for Foreign Nationals that work here in the US.

Basically, it’s the run-of-the-mill Form 1040 with a few extra treats that (apparently) justify our outrageous charging fee.

You’ve heard of busy season (for accountants) right? That applies to me. So come middle of February I might be living here at the office, drinking Coke by the gallon and staying up way past my bedtime. You can send me packages of Nerds or chocolate covered cinnamon bears if you’re feeling generous.

We have a magic suitcase (or truck)

We’ve been home for a few days and we decided that before real life starts up again we’d go buy some new furniture for our freshly carpeted basement. And where do you go for furniture that can handle being moved around a lot? IKEA!

And for those of you who complain that your car is “too small” to haul any furniture around… you’re just being wussy. We fit all this in our little Civic. (Two of those lamps, mind you)

We did have to tie the TV stand to the roof though. And while tying it we accidentally tied the doors shut and then had to crawl through the windows. And my chair was pushed so far forward that my knees were squashed up against the jockey box. It was a little uncomfortable.

And, we were shopping at the IKEA in South Philadelphia rather than our usual Conshohoken IKEA so we got lost driving home and ended up driving with all our crap through North Philly which was A VERY BAD IDEA. You don’t just drive through North Philly. That’s where that cop was shot in the face and where Kurt was almost mugged. It’s gansta central. We’d be sitting at traffic lights and have homeless guys tapping on our window begging for money. I was pretty freaked out.

But we made it home with all our new goods. Hallelujah.

Christmas in Philly

Ha! Psych!

Last night we arrived back in Philly from our VERY SHORT TRIP home. I can’t emphasize enough that it was VERY SHORT. Dang job. Why can’t you take as much vacation as needed around Christmas time?

I had a list of places I needed to patronize (like: Fat Jacks, Fredrico’s, Cafe anything that’s Mexican, Mandarin Garden etc…) and I’m proud to say that I accomplished 99% of them.

Anyway…. the highlight of the trip (for me) was holding baby Liam. (besides seeing family, of course)

I really wish Lauren wouldn’t have been so selfish and let us take him home for a couple of months. I would have brought him back just in time for his first birthday.

This was my least favorite part.

I’m not going to complain about the foot of snow we received on Christmas Eve (it was awesome), but the whole “driving in the snow thing” – I’m not missing it out here on the East Coast.

Down in P-town Megan and I had a craft night. We even got the boys involved.

And the last night before we flew home… we went bowling. (and nothing reminds me more of high school dating than bowling). I think we should do this every time we go home.