Our Thanksgiving

Alright, wach. We missed you guys yesterday. Missed your call in the morning because my phone was still on silent from church the night before, then got Mom's voicemail later in the day. Jackie's been traveling for work all the time, so it was nice just to have a quiet day in the old apartment. Jackie made some ham and after I peeled some potatoes we made mashed potatoes.

Actually, I guess listing a menu is kind of boring. We had a big good meal that I'll be eating all next week while Jackie's in Bloomington, Illinois again. On Wednesday night we went to a potluck at church, so we had pently of food there, too.

Hmmm. This blog post is boring me to death, but I thought it'd be good to let you guys know what's going on, what we did for Thanksgiving, so on. Today I insisted that we go to Macy's. I really wanted to see the big crowd and I needed new pants. Those of you who have been here might know that the Macy's is like seven floors high, with a big well in the middle full of escalators. We went in the door and it was like going into a sporting event or something, like shoulder to shoulder. So, I thought maybe I didn't need pants so bad and we were just going to grab a cup of coffee and get out of there. But the escalators were completely full. Like, on all seven floors, a person on every step. It was awesome. And crazy. And we left.

I'm sure that it's the same everywhere on Friday after Thanksgiving, but I've never really gone out to shop on this day, so it was cool for me to see. And terrifying.

Tutoring and possible cruises

So, I think that Derek and I are the only ones who haven't written a post on here yet. I don't really have much of an excuse either, because I quit my job and so probably have more time than everybody else. However, I don't really feel like I have much that is noteworthy to put on here! I did start tutoring this little boy named Nicholas from the Orion School. Today was only my second time doing it, but I think that I am really going to enjoy it. He's a pretty sweet kid even if he is distracted by every single thing possible, including thoughts that just go through his head in the middle of a sentence that he's reading.
Derek and I are trying to lose weight because we both have gained it recently, and as an incentive we have decided to go on a cruise whenever we reach our target weight. So, even though I desperately want a cheeseburger right now, I am going to resist so that I can go to the Bahamas or Canada or somewhere else on a big, beautiful, fun ship!

Homecoming! Corn! Pigs!

I am so excited about this weekend because all of my kids will be home!!! YAY!!! I can't wait!!! Things are shaping up for Nanny's birthday party. I hope that we have good weather...it was like spring today. A perfect day. The nights are in the 40's, though. That is wierd. (Right?) We went to the apple house on Sunday and bought lots of apples. Guess I will be making some apple crisps and maybe some apple bread...yum. Besides going to the apple house and getting our usual apple pies and apple cider, we went through a CORN MAZE. It was so much fun! I had never done that before and would have gotten completely lost if I had been the leader, but fortunately for all, I declined the very many requests for me to lead, so we managed to get through without too many hitches. It was tricky, though. And huge--4 miles of walking. And muddy. And to quote the lady who owns it, "very slickery." To end the day, we stopped at Colonel Poole's (the pig hill of fame place) and ate delicious barbeque! I wish that we could have all been together for that fun day, but very soon we will all get to see each other. I hope that I will be able to sleep until then.

Pumpkins, Jobs, and Travel...

So, on Saturday Craig and I had some friends over to carve pumpkins and it was tons of FUN- I love Fall. Also, our pumpkin turned out really well. It was also nice to get together with some friends plus, inviting people over insures that our apartment is super clean. Nothing like a little motivation :)
As far as jobs go- I still don't have one. :( But, I have a job offer down in Gainesville, FL. I would be working as a NP with a hospitalist. I told him I would only commit to a year, and it's a really good deal because he would train me and I would have constant support from him- which is huge. There are many NPs that are kind of isolated as far as having MDs around them to teach them and supervise them. The job would allow me to move toward being more autonomous as a provider without the intense anxiety of being pushed toward that as a new graduate. I haven't committed to the job yet because I wanted to see the contract first, as well as talk everything over with Craig. Craig and I are both game for the move- we think it could be really good for both of us, plus it's only a year and the training would allow me to work almost anywhere after this. Until I get the contract though I am still looking. Turns out there is a Cardiologist in Lafayette, LA that is looking for an NP and I am interviewing there on Thursday at 4pm. Not sure if after he meets me and reads my resume if he will even be interested but I want to explore every option, and then Craig and I can decide what would be best for both of us.

On a sad note... my cousin died last week and I wasn't able to go home for the funeral because I was in FL interviewing/ shadowing the Dr. for that job. They suspect his death was an overdose but the autopsy results aren't back. He's in his early 20's around Katherine and I's age, I wasn't super close to him but I wanted to be there for the family. Also, it's really sad because my aunt, his grandmother, had already lost 2 of her sons to drunk driving accidents they were the ones drinking and driving in both cases. Her x-husband was an alcoholic and eventually drank himself to death, and now she lost her grandson to addiction. So, I could go on, but I don't want everyone to be depressed.

On to the travel topic.. I feel like I have been traveling non-stop! First Boston- which was amazing! Then home to LA then to FL for the interview and now back to LA for an interview. It is always great to see my family but I am kinda done with driving all over the country. Oh well! I will keep you all posted on the job situation. It's kind of exciting but also scary and overwhelming! I am trying to focus on the exciting portion. Plus, it will be great to have 2 incomes for the first time in our almost 2 years of marriage. Okay, this was a really long post. Love you guys!

Cleveland trip and getting the Halloween spirit

I’m finally chiming in. As Mom mentioned in her last blog, we went to Cleveland a couple of weeks ago. I got to see three of my friends, each for about two hours or so, and it was a great big sloppy bucket of fun. One of them I hadn’t seen in I-don’t-know-how-many years, and another I had only seen maybe twice since I left Cleveland.

A few days after that I got to check out the new Halloween-themed store at the Avenue near the house, Spirit Halloween. It. Was. AWESOME. The place is huge, and it is packed to the gills with cool stuff. Now, for anyone reading who doesn’t know or remember this, I freaking LOVE Halloween and all things related to it. Walking into that store, I felt like a kid in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory… except that I was pretty sure that the owner of the store had no interest in letting me come close to death in the building to find out whether or not I was a person of character, and (as far as I know) there were no orange dwarfs working there who were prepared to break into song and dance if I should prove not to be. Anyway, there was a fog-bubble machine by the front door: it made bubbles that released a little puff of fog when they popped. I thought that was about six different shades of cool, but as if it hadn’t been enough to make a first impression, just beyond it was a display that had been created to look like a haunted forest, complete with creepy-looking trees (which you can buy) and an array of animatronic ghouls (all of which are also for sale), including a zombie that rises up from the ground and moans, “Braaaaaaiiins.” No, I am not kidding.

They have just about everything you could ask for in terms of decoration materials and props—from screaming mats and rubber zombie rats and cats to ghosts and spiders that supposedly fly up to 25 ft. through the air—as well as some things that you almost surely *would not* ask for—ever—unless you were a totally freaking crazy person… life-size rubber zombie babies, for example. {shiver.} Predictably, they also have an entire 60-ft. wall covered with nothing but sexy costumes for women. Come to think of it, it wasn’t just one wall. I’m pretty sure they had WAY more of those than they had of all the kids’ costumes, probably both because a lot of parents make their kids’ costumes (that still happens, right?) and because while there may be a limit to what most parents will let their kids dress up as, there is no end to what one can imagine putting a grown-up girl in to make her look incredibly hot (or skanky, as the case may be). I got my own costume there—well, part of it. I’m going as V from “V for Vendetta.” I got the mask and a hat; now I need a cape and (maybe) a wig (we’ll see how much that would cost).

That night, after Mom and I had finished at the store, we met Dad at Macaroni Grill, kind of as a fun, spontaneous thing, and then we all got Cold Stone ice cream. … I don’t know if it’s sad that that’s the kind of thing I consider fun and spontaneous lately, but what can I say? Apart from the Cleveland trip, that was probably the most exciting day I’ve had in awhile, but it genuinely was a very good one by any standard I’ve ever had.

Right now I’m fighting a really nasty cold (or maybe the flu—the jury is still out on that question, I think). However, to try to stay on a high note here at the end, let me just say that I hope you guys are all looking forward to Halloween at least somewhere near as much as I am.

Eric's Job

Oi, I reckon that it's been too long now. I kept thinking that I'd find our camera and take some pic's of the place where I work, but we can't find the camera! So, I've stolen a picture of the outside of the building from flickr. It's above. This building is basically the whole school, though they do own three houses surrounding it. These places house students and administrative offices. Also, in my first few weeks I've noticed, their basements hold thousands of books that were donated to the library and then tucked away. In the basements. Of buildings built in the 30's.
This main building, though, is really gorgeous. It's all marble, stone, and super-fancy woodwork inside. I always feel like I should be doing something very important in the halls, though so far I've mostly been making lists of and processing the donated books.

Word is that the stacks (you know, where I work alone, in the dark since most of the lights don't work) are haunted. We'll see. Or not see. Not sure which to hope for.

I feel really lucky to have gotten this job. By the time I got it I had mostly moved on to jobs that were somewhat less ideal for me. Security jobs. Tutoring elementary school kids. Warehouse jobs. I was just about to move into the city's great enemies: the traffic control people.

Oh well. So, I'm working and enjoying it. I like the few people I work with. If you have any Unitarian Universalist reference questions, just let me know. I am at the place to figure them out!

Cleveland

Well, I kept waiting for Wes to blog about the Cleveland trip last Monday, but since he still hasn't done it, I am going to at least talk about my experience that day. I had been promising Nan that I would take her to see the exhibit in the Pentecostal Resource Center (Eric had wanted her to see it a couple of years ago, so I was just hoping that it would still be there) and the new Religion building, so it was a good time for Wes to see all of his buds in the one trip. We dropped Wes off at various places throughout the day, and Nan and I went to do our own stuff. The exhibit was still there and nan had a great time looking at the old pictures from campmeetings past and the tent revivals of T.L. Lowery. She read everything very slowly and soaked it all up, commenting that in one of the pictures, she was at that meeting--we even think that we found Aunt Ruby's face, mom said that she was sitting right beside her and that gran and pop were a couple of rows back. Wow. As we left the exhibit, she said quietly, "You would never know it was the same denomination." I kept quiet. She was amazed and so proud of the new Religion building. We walked around inside and outside and she looked at the campus carefully. She said "They've done a good job. Roy would be proud." I was glad that she got to see it all. We were going to go to Earl's for lunch, but alas, it was out of business. Shame. Best cheeseburgers. AND worst of all, we went to Gardner's to get Prince Vlad tea and Bill said they don't carry it anymore!! OH NO. He said that it had gone up to $10 a box and nobody would buy it. That is now two things that I have loved that I can no longer get. Ideal cookies. Prince Vladimer tea. Well, and there are the delicious cookies that I could only get in Milwaukee--Dare chocolate cookies with chocolate filling. Oh and the double dipped malt balls. Yum. But I don't want to get sad, so on to happier topics! Natalie drove over and met us at Starbucks for the most scrumptious pumpkin lattes!! Yay! They are back!! I also found a new bakery that makes Nanny's fave creme horns. They were de-lish. Then we three girls went shopping and out to eat at Oliver's, a new restaurant (well, new to us) in Cleveland while Wes met up with his friend Bob. It was such a great day!!! After reading over this, it seems that I talked mostly about food. Sorry. The day was about so much more than that. Really.

Nanny's party

Since Jackie mentioned Nanny's party, I think I should make sure that everybody has gotten the word that we are planning to celebrate Nanny's 80th birthday on November 7. This just got settled, by the way, like yesterday...so mark your calendars and let's all put our heads together to throw Nan a rocking hullabaloo.

Bright Lights, Big City

Hi everybody! We are piping in from Chicago to say hi and catch up with y'all! You might think that Eric is writing, but nope--Jackie, and yes, I said "y'all."

Judy, I think this blog is a great idea! I am always that person who is saying, "How is so-and-so? What are they up to?" (Sorry Craig, I know you hate this about people!) and Judy always says, "I don't know! I guess I didn't ask!" So, I hope that everybody keeps blogging so we know how you are. Craig, that thing w/ your back sounds terrible! I hope that yoga helps and you start feeling better soon.

Things are pretty good in Chicago these days. Eric has started his new job at the library. I am, at his request, not going to say too much because he is planning to go take pictures this week and then put his pictures in a blog post this week. I will say, though, that he so far likes the job, enjoys the people he is meeting, and is quite noticeably happier now that he is working.

The weather here has been kind of cruddy lately. It's cool, which we are so happy about, but also rainy. I am just hoping that we don't skip fall like we did summer! Today was 50 degrees and rained most of the day. It made it a perfect day to stay home and watch Michigan State beat the University of Michigan in football.

We also started watching Flash Forward last week! We really enjoyed it, and will most likely stick with it this season. Anybody else have a new favorite show?

Alright, well that's a good brief update from the Pingel-Biddy branch of the Biddy Bunch. We're wondering how thing are going for Kristen & Derek, and how Cali was. Kristen, has the new teacher started? Natalie, how is the job search going? Wes, blog here! Eric and I miss you a ton!

To everybody, we hope you're all doing well and look forward to seeing you all soon. We are definitely going to be in GA for Nanny's party, so we will see you all then, if not before.

Nose diving birds

After going to bed feeling very sick last night (I was broadsided by a violent cold on Thursday night), I woke up early today feeling much better with only a scratch in my throat and a bit of a runny nose. Leaving your dad in bed to sleep, I took my trusted cup of coffee and Maggie out in the yard for a quick look at my roses. They have flourished since the flood. Rose Corner may yet be christened. While Maggie went in the "natural area" to do her business, I noticed some activity around the bird feeder. As background, the bird feeder has been a constant source of enjoyment/frustration for your dad and me-an anniversay present that we both agree was perfect. Actually, so was the new rose bush that was the other half of that joint present for this year. I should post pictures-breathtaking variety. But, back to the bird feeder story. We recently moved it to a bracket that swings off of the back deck to try to solve the frustration (squirrels) issue. This has proved to be a pretty good idea, because it brings the beautiful birds up close with their sweet chirping. But this morning, I noticed several birds doing a nose dive off of the back porch railing. Stepping closer to the screen, I saw them. They were all congregating on the ground looking for spilled bird seed. It was awesome.

I just read the blog that I wrote earlier about how my freezer thawed up everything and realized that does not make any sense. I should have said that the freezer stopped working. As a result of that, all of the food thawed! Shortly after the freezer broke, the refrigerator stopped working. What a mess! It's fixed now, thank goodness. Dana and I worked for hours on it and had to toss a lot of food. BUT, my fridge/freezer has never looked better.

Normal

Why can't I be like every other mom and love to talk on the telephone and ask a zillion questions so that I always know what is going on with my own family? I think that I know that my kids are fine because they told me so the last time that we spoke. They looked okay. They sounded okay. But then my mom or a friend will ask me some question that seems reasonable enough and I realize that I don't know very much at all actually. The curious (normal?) ones always act stunned that I have so many "I don't knows" to their rapid fire questions about anything. About everything. This has made me ask myself : Why don't I ask questions about things? Do I not want to know if things are not quite perfect or is it because I think I would be told what I need to know? I just don't know. There I go again. After thinking about it, I guess because I grew up in a pastor's home where there were so many secrets being kept about members of the congregations that I learned not to ask or tell. That must have carried throughout my life and nobody ever said to me that I could/should ask and tell now. Maybe this blog will help me be more normal. But only if you guys play along.

Finally!

Well, finally (thanks to Eric) the blog is up and running! I hope that everyone will check in and add something to this so that it does what it was meant to do. What a week it has been. The steady rains finally caused a big mess here. I have never seen so much water gushing down the street. I just stood at the front door and watched in amazement at how much rain was falling and how it was rushing down the road. It was unbelievable. Somehow it made the cedar shake on the front of the house that I just had power washed a couple of weeks ago turn grey again! So terrifying to come upon a road that was closed just minutes before and driving on a road that I knew should be closed, praying that I was not carried with the flow. I felt that way on Monday when things really got crazy. Or in the case of the MidwayRoad bridge, to be the first to come upon it and see that it was underwater. I backed up the road in a panic and after finding a driveway to turn around in, I stopped every car that I passed and warned the cars that had started down Midway to go back, the bridge was under water. It seems wrong to complain when so many people were affected so much worse. Dana's shop flooded and he and all of the workers spent all of last Monday dealing with the water and the damage that it caused. Not to mention what so many in Powder Springs (and in Clarkdale, only a half mile from Nan) were/are suffering through--many lost everything--and nobody had flood insurance because they were not in an area that normally flooded. It reminds me of when Cheri Hutchison screamed that we should all get earthquake insurance because she found out that we were sort of on a fault line here. It is like a dollar a year to have it but nobody listened to her because we have never had an earthquake here. Maybe I should rethink that now...on to other things...a great new show premiered last week, Fast Forward I think it is called or something like that. Premiered on Thursday before Fringe. I loved it!! Right up the Biddy Bunch alley. Those who saw it, weigh in! Tonight's big adventure: the freezer thawed up everything. Of course, I had a freezer full of stuff. Lots of chicken! I guess I will be crockpotting like crazy over the next couple of days. Argh! Well, that's it for now. I will have lots more to say in the next blog. I love you all and miss all of you who are far away!!

Staying connected

This has been created so that we can all stay connected a little bit better! With the family so scattered geographically, I am hoping that this will be a way for us to keep up with what everyone in the family is doing! Let's hope that everyone will play along and keep this interesting. Start blogging!!