LG15 Pumpkin Contest Submission

I carved Sarah's face... Or tried to... or failed to. You be the judge.

The Good Ol' Days

I was going through some old 3.5 disks I found in a box and stumble across this picture. I thought I'd post it before I threw away the disk. Wow, I was so young. This was my freshman year in college, 8 yrs ago.

That's my cousin on my back.

Random Pic of Jack

My New Haircut

Thing have been rather hectic, so I didn't have time to do this beforehand.

The first is what it looks like with just a wash and dry. The second, I actually curled it. Yes, I'm bringing back the Ferra Faucet hair!

Remnants of Hurricane Ike blow through Ohio

Home video and pictures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mqKEikQZ8Q
Pictures from around the area: http://www.daytondailynews.com/p/content/gen/sharedoh/photos_galleries/news/local/091408bestuserwind.html

The Unknown Bug

What is it?? And how did it get into my house?!

Yes, I respond to personal requests.

Here you go, Ren.

My hair doesn't hold the curl well if I don't put anything in it, so it's already started to die.

Katie's Rehearsal

(Right to Left) Me, my grandma on my mom's side, and my sister, Katie.
This was taken at Katie's rehearsal dinner. She got married on 7/26. She and her new hubby are now on a Mediterranean Cruise out of Rome. Can you say, "jealous"?

Speaking of jealous: yes, Katie is really tan. And, yes, Katie is really fit.
(Sounds better that complaining that I'm pale and chubby, huh?) XD

By Request

This is me, or was. I was pregnant with Jack in 2006. This was probably around 25 weeks or 5 months.

I couldn't find the other picture I wanted to post. It was of me painting the ceiling in our kitchen. I was in running pants and grubby T-shirt, but it was tucked into the front of my pants. Brett snapped a quick picture. And don't worry! We did a lot of painting in my 1st and 2nd trimesters, but Jack turned out just fine!

Jack Gets a Buzz

The Would-be Oprah Episode

So, I did a stupid thing today. I was trying to sell the clock you see here on Craigslist. I was contacted via email by a gentleman who was interested. We made arrangement for him to come to my house this morning at 9AM to make the purchase and pick up the clock.

Around 8:20AM when I was hopping in the shower, a terrifying thought crossed my mind. What if this guy isn't coming here for the clock? What if he's a sexual preditor that hunts unsuspecting women on Craigslist? You may be thinking now that that is a little extreme, but think about it from my perspective. I live on a busy street. My neighbors are all at work. I'm home alone with the exception of Jack. And I have no idea who this guy really is.

In retrospect, yes, I should have made our appointment at a more appropriate time, like when Brett was home. But, I didn't think about it last week when we were making these arrangements. So... now what do I do to prepare myself for the worst?

Glad you asked. An Oprah show I saw popped into my head where they talked about listening to that internal voice that tells you something could be wrong. So, I finished my shower. Gave Jack his bath and got him dressed. Then I took my two cordless phones and cell phone and began to prepare. I dialed 911 on one of the cordless phones. I didn't hit send, so it was just ready to be dialed. I hid it under my pillow in my bedroom. Then, I did the same to the cell phone and placed it in Jack's room since that is the bedroom closest to the front door. I kept the second cordless phone in my hand.

I turned on all of the lights in my entryway and adjacent living room. I placed the clock within arm's distance in the entryway, so I wouldnt have to turn around or walk further into my home to get the clock. I even considered asking him if I could take his picture. I would explain that I take pictures of all of my successful sells for a scrapbook. That way I'd be able to identify him.

When he arrived, I answered the door with Jack in my hip and that cordless phone in my hand, already dialed to 911 if I needed to hit Send in a hurry. I noticed right away that his speech sounded slurred and he wasn't wearing shoes. I considered, if he's here for deviant purposes, why isn't he wearing shoes? What purpose does that hold? After confirming our names- "Emily?"
"Yes, Gerald?"
"Yes."-
I mentioned my observation about his shoes.
"You seem to have forgotten your shoes."
To which he replied, "No, I didn't forget."
Oooooooooooooooook. I guess he left them in the car. Weird! It rained all morning, so he was now standing on wet pavement.

Thinking it odd, I still let him into my home. I immediately reached for the clock and handed it to him, still with my finger on the Send button of my phone.

The asking price in Craiglist was $35. He handed me two $20s asking if I had change "Ah," I thought. "This is his ploy to get further into my home or to get me to turn my back to him."
I answered, "No, I do not. I could write you a check for the difference if you want." He actually replied that it wasn't necessary. He added that he wasn't worried about the $5 difference.

With that, he took the clock and promptly left.
I watched as he got into is car and drove out of my driveway.
CRISIS OVERTED!
Ok, so maybe he was an innocent man who simply wanted to buy my clock. How was I to know? Mental note to self: never do that again!

My New Summer Doo

Double the Love

Jack loves his Lovie! He has one that stays in his crib for naps and nite-nite. And, he has one that stays in his diaper bag for trips. For some reason, though, both were in his room the other day. Of course, he found the second Lovie in no time, and crawled with both out into the kitchen.

Too Cute!

Jack was posing in his highchair, so of course I had to take a picture.

Jack Learns To Brush

We've been trying to teach Jack to brush his teeth. Today, he finally got the hang of it.

I had the time to...

I actually had time to do my hair this morning, so I got all dolled up. Jack's doing better about occupying himself instead of having to be entertained, so I decided to get out the ol' curling iron and go to town.

Go Yankees!

Brett is from NY, so of course he's a huge Yankees fan. Always has been. It's in his blood.

My Little Boy Is Not So Little

Jack is now 15 months. He's learning to walk and eat more table food. He's talking up a storm, though most of the time you can't understand him. He can say most of the names of our family members along with some choice phrases, like "juice", "bath", "night-night", "car", "please", and his favorite, "puppies".

Welcome Sidney and Shelby!

Speaking of, this is Sidney and Shelby, our minpins. Sidney is in the red collar, and Shelby is in the purple. They are sisters from a farm litter born in Aug 2004.

Welcome Jack to the world!

Jack David was born January 4, 2007 at 4:30pm. He was 7 lbs. 11 oz. The first three months were certainly an adjustment period for us! Jack was colicky; after the first 6 weeks, I went back to work full-time; and Sidney and Shelby had to learn to share. Time has flown by now, though! My little baby is not so little anymore.

Welcome to our house!

We lived in an apartment for 2 years while we saved up. We purchased our first home in July 2006. She's a four bedroom, two full bath Cape Cod on a slab. She needed a lot of work, which we did while I was in my first trimester. No worries, though, Jack was born without any mutations from the paint fumes. XD

Welcome to ME!

This is Brett and me in Indianapolis 9/19/04.