Mmmm Lights

I thought everyone might like a look at our Christmas lights this year!

Its fun to feel like poo for 2 weeks.

Bleh.

I lost my voice and I've gone through about 3 boxes of tissues. It's pretty fun!!!!

I'm finally on Season 4 of the Sopranos (its only taken a few months...). Does anyone know when Season 6 starts?

So I was up in Philly last weekend. In 3 days, I spent about 32 hours in my new office. Some of us moved out to an office in Exton, PA. I actually have an office (ya know, like with a door). So thats cool. Its nice. Its new. Its pretty.

Its snowing here, so thats going to make driving home tomorrow super fun. And no matter where I go, its already Christmas...music, decorations, santa. People around here already have their christmas trees up and illuminated at night. Meh! Its not Thanksgiving yet!!! Though we did go any buy icicle lights and crap like that last night. At least we didn't put them up yet.

Know what the coolest thing ever (that happened last weekend) is? Lafayette beat Lehigh. WOOOOOOOOO!!! We watched the game on an internet feed. The one on Yahoo isn't bad.

We also found a pizza place that isn't OHMYGOD gross. HOORAY for not gross. Well at least found that to be pretty exciting.

So I'm gonna go pack so we can come home tomorrow. I hope everyone has a super duper thanksgiving. Don't go into a massive turkey coma or anything...

Look Look!!!

YAY Justin fixed my blog. Hooray for Justin.

I tried to fix it for like a minute. I suck at stuff like that.

So I went up to The Homestead on sunday. My "office" had an outing there and I met people for dinner (parents and others). Its in Hot Springs, VA. You have to take some interestingback roads to get there. It was pretty. The resort is GIGANTIC!!! I wanted to go bowling there, but the lanes closed at 6.

The road to go up there (US 220)...a little scary. Very twisty and sharp curves and scary stuff. I liked it.

Anyway, so that was fun.

So we went to Sonic tonight for milkshakes. SOOOOO COOL. We pulled up to a menu and then it talked to us and it took my credit card and then girls on skates brought food. Its like I was in an alternate universe...with milkshakes.

Me and Lauren are going to florida in October. We're going to a doctor convention thing. Otherwise known as "I'm going to Disney World" Yay disney.

Ok, I'm going to sleep now. Peace out.

Is it broken?

I think I broke my blog.

Does anyone know how to get the "sidebar" back to the side and not at the bottom?

Anyway...I'm all moved in now!!! We only had a few minor setbacks (the closet collapsed, amongst a few other little things) but pretty much everything is where we want it. The move in process actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

So working from home has been good too. I actually like it a lot. The days go by much faster here. I have been pretty busy here too. Its been easy to communicate with people up in the office in Jersey, as well as clients. We just got the fax machine to work properly with the answering machine. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! Its kind of cool. I like it here.

Justin is doing his first rotation. ER. It sounds interesting so far. He works some crazy hours though. 12 hour shifts. A few of them have been overnight. 7pm to 7am. Luckily there aren't too many of them.

Me and Lauren went to the DMV the other day and got our licenses and got our cars registered and stuff. Me and my car are now legally residents of VA. Weird.

I'm gonna start taking more classes again. I'm still kind of scared of the classes. They are hard. I think they would be less hard if I were more motivated with my studies.

My parents are coming to visit next weekend. They have a company trip to The Homestead Sunday to Wednesday. Since thats not all that far from here, they're coming from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. It will be nice to see them.

Also, I will be home in the middle of October. For the cranberry festival. It should be rather festive.

So I'm gonna go back to sleep now. I still have a hangover from last night, yes its 4:05pm. Ouchie!! I would watch the Eagles game, but I can't we don't get that here. So sad.

Just so everyone knows, my cell # is staying the same, so feel free to give me a callY

I'm almost Outie!

Well, this will probably be my last official post as a NJ resident. Its a little weird. I mean, I have lived out of the state before...with that whole college thing, but I always had my badge of jersey-ness...my license. The only license that looked like a fake but sadly (until senior year) always said I was under 21. Since the Jerz finally caught up to the rest of the country and decided to not just have laminated construction paper, I saw it fitting to move.

So here I am, sitting at my desk for my last 3 days working in an office (oh god I hope I don't have to come in on monday). I have an entire side of my wardrobe that will soon be rendered obsolite. So many cute shoes that won't be worn on a regular basis. But the weird part is really not coming to an office everyday. I kind of got used to it. As much as office life sucks, with the no consistant A/C system...the weird people...the stupid copier...the foam lined cells (also known as a cubilcle)...its gonna be weird. I'm gonna get up in the morning and walk to another room.

Also...my apartment is naked. NAKED! We left one pot and one pan out of boxes, just in case we might need to make something warm before next monday. But my garage is full of stuff. The little MINI doesn't fit in there anymore. But there's always more stuff to move down there. Yeah...I have a lot of stuff. I've been told too much stuff, but I like it.

So thats about it. I cleaned out my desk (i have just enough stuff in it to be able to work for the next 3 days). I have underwriting to finish up and then thats it. But no matter how weird it is to be leaving here, I am really excited. I can't wait. I really am going to miss everyone though (It was great to see everyone at Chris and Katie's wedding!!! Congratulations!!!). Feel free to come visit us in Southwest VA!

This is a new post. Are we all happy now?

By popular demand (ahem...rob!), here is a new post for all of you people that want to know whats going on in my life.

1) I'm moving to Virginia. I'm excited. My last official day of NJ residence is August 31. I do have to say though...SO MUCH EASIER TO MOVE IN-STATE! Wow. The big evil ones are establishing residency and changing the car insurance. I'm in the middle of packing now. It looks like a very large bomb went off in my living room. Its kind of scary. Boxes and stuff everywhere! So, if anyone wants to come over on August 30th and put boxes in a truck...that would be greatly appreciated (Thanks Chris and Lacey already! You guys rock!)

2) I have been at work WAY too much. I've generally been in early and stayed late about 3-4 days a week...and the occasional Saturday or Sunday. My job is taking a new direction (you guessed it, still working for Lincoln in VA) so, in theory, I should be learning a lot of new stuff. In general, I have just been way busy with already existing client work.

3) The MINI is back and fixed and pretty (yes, I know i got it back like 4 weeks ago). And now it doesn't go EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE for 10 seconds when i first put the car in reverse. Now, the parking sensors actually work properly. Its nice. But who would have thought a bumper would cost $2100. Impressive.

So, thats about all I got...

Between figuring out moving stuff and working 50-60 hours a week, I don't have too much else to tell. If I think of anything else, I will post again. I hope you enjoyed this.

Everyone have a Happy August!

Sorry...I'm Slow.

I'm kind of surprised its June.

I'm not even sure where I was for May. I know I wasn't really here.

We went to Vegas at the end of April/beginning of May. Neither of us lost too much money. Had a great time! I recommend the Mexican Restaurant in the Venitian on the canal. Good stuff.

I had yet another class at the College. I have no idea if I passed...results aren't here yet...but I have to say, it was a bitch.

My car is getting fixed next Wednesday. I get a rental. YAY rental. I should have it back within 2 weeks. Stupid bumpers. Stupid people running into me. Boo him.

From late Thursday night until Saturday, Justin and I were in Willis, VA. We stayed at this adorable little cottage in (literally) the middle of no where. The cows woke us up. No kidding...several hundred cows woke us up as they moo-ed past our window at 7:10am. We also went to a winery that had some pretty yummy wines and horrid wines. Dinner at the winery was also quite yummy. I had a great time.

So, now, I'm back and its June and I really don't have too much else going on. My parents and brother and his girlfriend are in Hawaii. Work is quiet. That is good...I can get a lot done. YAY.

YAY Drinkies

Bacardi 151
Congratulations! You're 146 proof, with specific scores in beer (80) , wine (166), and liquor (113).


All right. No more messing around. Your knowledge of alcohol is so high that you have drinking and getting plastered down to a science. Sure, you could get wasted drinking beer, but who needs all those trips to the bathroom? You head straight for the bar and pick up that which is most efficient.

YAY a new post!!!

Hi again.


Well its been a good month, as you can probably tell from the pictures. I was proud of myself for not falling and crumbling into a ball of owwwww on a mountain in CO (Although those pesky knees and they inability to function properly did get in the way a few of the days).

As you can see below, I got my new, adorable car. (And no, I am not afraid of getting run over by a larger car).

I also passed the first test of the ChFC, CFP, CLU program that is going to have me reading for the next 2 years of my life. YAY!!! I am proud of me for not failing.

I read Condon's blog today, and it reminded me that soon, I too, will be able to be in the running for free lunches. I was approved to order my first business cards. YAY! I don't think I got promoted or anything, but maybe sometime soon. That would be nice.

So me and Justin are going to Vegas in about a month. I was going for a conference and taking a couple of vacation days to go out early. And now I have decided to just got for vacation. Screw the conference. YAY.


So onto the less fun thing that happened recently.

I fell down a stair.

No, not the stairs. A stair. and when I did that, I sprained my ankle. I can walk on it. Thats about it. Can't wear shoes (I am condemned to a month of flip flops) and its purple. Now, purple is my favorite color, but I think I like it more on clothing and such than my foot.


So, I have decided to have a "Name my MINI" contest. The person who comes up with the best name gets baked goods of their choice delivered to their door. Feel free to leave your suggestion in the comment section.

Say hi to my new car. Hehe. 

All of us, up near the top. 

Liliya, Mark and me. 

This is me going down a mountain!. 

and again!!!! 

I know. You all Missed my wonderful postings!

Its been a fun past month.

I'll give you the highlights...


1) Went to San Francisco for Planning Forum 2005.

Which is pretty much a place where you learn new and upcoming things in financial planning. Its quite educational and I did learn a lot while I was there. And I got 15 CE credits. YAY. I went to some wonderful restaurants (if you want details, see Tom's Bloginess.)

So, there's the good news. Wanna hear the bad news?

First, I was pre-determined as a TSA Security Search Participant. YAY me. So, since i'm a girl and I was wearing a tank top, they made me go into a closet with 2 other females so one could hold my bags and the other one could pat me down. I was like, alright...I'm wearing a tank top...do you see a weapon sticking out? Yeah, didn't think so. And then they ran a metal detector around my feet. I was wearing flip flops.

The flight to San Francisco is normally about 6 hours long (give or take). Yeah. Not so much. Our flight was supposed to leave at 4:30 est. We get on the plane and it looks as though we're probably gonna leave 5-10 minutes late. Some people take too much time getting on the plane. Boo them. So, we get backed out of the gate at about 4:40 and everything is going well. until the captain comes over the intercom and is like, so, the right engine won't start. WHAT???
So, its not the engine...its the switch that starts the engine. Ok, not as bad. So, at this point, we're blocking the taxiing runway and no planes can get by. We have to get pulled back to the gate. So 30 mins later we get pulled back and then an hour later the thing that was broken is fixed. While it was getting fixed, there was a freaking blizzard that only hit the International Airport. 1.5" in 40 minutes. It went into insta-freeze. About 30 mins after the thing was fixed, we get pushed back from the gate. We get in line. And sit. And sit. And sit. Captain comes over the load speaker and is like, "um, yeah, there are at least 50 planes in front of us that need to go through the de-icer, its gonna be awhile."

So, 2 glasses of room temperature water and a mini bag of pretzels later, we take off at 9:47pm. Yeah, thats right, 12 hours sitting in the same seat. We get to the hotel at 2am CA time (5am NJ time) and I get to sleep at 3am CA time. Yeah, I was up for more than a day. It was rough.

Luckily, the flight home was WAY less evil.

2) I bought a MINI.

Yeah, you read that right. I bought a Cool Blue MINI Cooper S Convertible with black bonnett stripes. Awww yeah. And for those of you who want to see it, you're gonna have to wait until the middle of April. They are still making it in Oxford, England. I am happy. I'll send out a picture when it arrives.

3) I'm going to Colorado tomorrow.

I'm going to Breckenridge for a week with Justin and some of his friends. I guess we'll see if I still remember how to ski. Hopefully I do and will not fall down and die. I will report back on the happy funness when i return.


I hope everyone enjoys the oscars and has a lovely first week of March.

I'm as old as I really am...

You Are 25 Years Old

25 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

So its off by about 10 months...ehhh....close enough.


So florida fun. Saw clients and relatives and went to Disney a bit.

New York was wonderful. Walked around NYC in the snow, went to the MoMA, had some good food (big f-ing sandwiches from the Carnegie Deli) and drinkies and the show was fantastic. I had a really great time.



Oh and the Eagles. Hooray!!!
Some of you may recall from the preseason that I picked the Eagles and Patriots to be in the Bowl. Afterall, the Patriots are my AFC team (I was born in New England). Some have asked, who do I want to win??? Eagles all the way. Although the Patriots beer mug from 1983 will be brought out for this game.

Thats about all I have for now.

People Suck at Choosing!

Last night was the broadcast of the People's Choice Awards. Sounds like a fun and exciting evening of seeing your favorite stars from all catergories of arts and entertainment...


WRONG!!!

I was all excited. I even made Chris and Lacey and Aaron watch it. Both Chris and I voted in the prior months. I wanted to see if other people think some shows are as cool as I do.


First of all, all winners broadcast were guaranteed to be there.
That sounds pretty cool. Until you think about it. That means that everyone knew beforehand that they were going to win (we had a satelitte feed of johnny depp from eastern europe! They probably didn't set that up unless they knew he was going to win.) (mmmmm Johnny Depp). That means that everyone else didn't show up. That also means that you knew who won prior to the catergory actually coming up. If you noticed anyone in the audience as it panned, you knew they were winners.

How lame is that????

Also, America has some pretty freaking bad taste. How can Joey be doing so poorly in the ratings but yet win best new comedy?!?!?!

Thats dumb too.

Ok, no more about that.

My prediction about what my parents would get me for Christmas was fairly accurate.

Clothes. Lots of clothes. Those clothes are still on the floor of my bedroom because I have no where else to put them. meep.

My Christmas tree is still up. I think I'll probably take it down in February. If I'm home...

Speaking of not being home, I'm not going to be home much until about...March. I'm going to Florida on friday. And then to NYC with Justin on the 21st : )

Florida was a fun trip to book. My primary reason for going is clients, I'll see them in several parts of the state for the whole trip, except sunday and Tuesday. I'll also see my Great Aunt and Uncle and my Aunt and Uncle and little cousins. The reason it was an interesting trip to plan was because of flight coordination. My father is already there. He's in Miami. My mother and I are flying into Fort Lauderdale on friday. We then drive to Fort Myers. Then to University City, then to Orlando, then to Tallahassee (where I leave, flying to Charlotte and then Philly), then they go back to Orlando, then to Stuart and then to Fort Lauderdale (Flying back on saturday). So lets review the flights...

Father departed to Miami on 1/9.
Me and Mom go to Ft Lauderdale on 1/14.
I leave 1/20 from Tallahasse (to Charlotte to Philly, then onto NYC).
Mother and Father leave 1/22 from Fort Lauderdale.

Yes, thats right, none of us could book together.

Meep. Why was I put in charge of travel arrangements?

I have decided to say Screw Financial Planning and become a travel agent.

I just booked the San Francisco Planning Forum Trip. That sucked too. I can't check any baggage. The meeting ends at noon. Our flight leaves at 1:20. I have to stay for the whole meeting in order to get my CE credits. Crap.

I have one thing to say...5 people going to Hawaii. 2 different days. 2 different hotels. Kill me.

Its ok. I'm going to Hawaii!!!!!!


So, I'm not gonna be posting so much in the next few months. Wanna talk to me?? Give me a call!

Christmas is for giving me stuff...

at least it is if you're a Third Party Vendor.


So, I read Condon's Blog today and it inspired me to let everyone know what I have received in this short week.

It all started on Tuesday.

The FedEx guy came a little late, around 10:30am. I was waiting for an important underwriting package, so I decided to camp out at the receptionists desk until the guy delivered. When he finally did arrive, he had both of my paperwork envelopes and a bunch of boxes. Nothing seemed unusual...

I go back to my desk, sort the paperwork and prepare it for more people to sign it.

The receptionist comes to my desk with a box.

SWEET!

Its from the "Dancing Deer Baking Company"

ok...

Inside is a marvelous box...Neiman Marcus cookies!
Fresh.
4 kinds. (Peppermint Chocolate Chocolate, Mountain Crunch, Cherry Walnut, Vanilla Almond)
Mmmm Cookies.

Whoever sent me that get some more business next year.

5 minutes later. Another Box.

This one is from a law firm we work with. It has a mug. And a box of 30 Truffles.

I finish some more of my stuff and decide now would be a good time to photocopy all of it.

I pass the receptionist. She has another box for me.

I go photocopy and pick up the other box on the way back. OH MY GOD. Its f-ing heavy.

14 pounds of Hershey's Miniatures!!! In quite a lovely holiday tin.

Yeah, you read it correctly. 14 pounds. To give you an idea of how much that actually is, thats about 34 heaping handfuls.

All packages that came that day were for me. I like it when companies kiss up.

So, yesterday was less exciting...only one package.

Chocolate covered potato chips from Neiman Marcus. 3 sleeves. 3 kinds of chocolate.

wow.

I have to ask though...does anyone send fruit anymore? Come on...thats like the most amount of chocolate I have seen in my entire life.

So thats about all from here...I probably won't post until after the New Year. I only work 1.5 days next week. HOORAY!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone!!!

I'm going to Happy Hour now!

Curse you ACME!!!!

Let's all refer back to my wonderful post from November 30th. If we recall, it says, in the 2nd paragraph, "I have found a new and exciting service (which I am sure many have heard of before, but perhaps have not used). ACME delivers to my door. For $10. If you refer back to the October 26th Entry you will understand why I will employ this tool for my future grocery shopping needs."


wow. worst idea ever.

So, Tuesday night I placed my online order for 50 items to be deliveed to my door between 8 and 9:30 on Wednesday night (there is a 5% discount for wednesday deliveries). So, I'm sitting at home, watching tv, just chilling out. Its 8. Then its 9. Then its 10?!?!?! Where the f are my groceries??? So, I call the 877 # and I think I get someone in Minnesota and she calls dispatch and actually finds out where my food is. Apparently the delivery guy "got lost" and didn't deliver (he had my # on the delivery receipt, he could have called and asked where I live). At that point (10:20) she says he can be at my apartment in about 1 and a half hours. 11:50??? Yes, weird delivery guy...come to my apartment and bring me food. Almost sounds like a porn scenario. So, I declined. She asked me when he can deliver in the AM. I say 7. She says no. so we finally decide on 5:30pm.

It is now thursday. Glorious thursday. He's lucky survivor is over.

I rush home from work and get there at 5:27. And sit on my couch. WOW...its 7:30.
So, I call the 877# again. Get a guy who calls dispatch again. Apparently the truck broke down. They had to get a new truck and switch all the groceries and they would be to me within an hour. So, I figure I'll give them till 9.

Well, its 9. I'm on the phone with my father. Talking about Life Insurance. I finally get off the phone and call the 877#. I'm like, Hi. I've been waiting for 2 days. I just want to cancel my order. So, it gets cancelled. After I am put on hold again while she calls dispatch.

Yes, I know, I should have been more forceful and angry and demanded something for making me sit there for 2 nights, but I didn't feel like it. I am still waiting for the charge to be removed from my credit card.

I have one thing to say...

Screw you guys, I'm going to Genuardi's.

Its Almost Christmas!!!

Its a wonderful time of the year.


I am going to be the happiest person in the world on December 23rd : )


I just spent about an hour downloading statements from one account. Statements from 1999. I feel like we don't need to reference them anymore. Clearly, I am mistaken.

Someone gave me a chocolate bar today, so I am a little bouncing off the walls. Ya know, in the "I have a severe head cold" kind of way. Its very weird.


I have a picture of Ender up in my cube. He's barking at the camera (he looks a little scary). Its here to keep evil people away. It doesn't seem to be working so far. Several people have come to my desk today.

We saw Blade Trinity last night. It was vampire-tastic.
Finding Neverland rocked. It was Johnny Depp-licious. And soooooooo GOOD!

11 Days until Christmas. I know I am "old" now but my parents still ask for a christmas list...every year but this year. That actually kind of scares me, primarily because they asked my brother, who is 30, for a list. Maybe they will just give me a bazillion dollars. Or a purple mini convertible. More than likely, I will get a sweater or 12.

My christmas tree is all pretty and ornamented. I have all the presents wrapped. I went a little crazy this year. Everyone has their own wrapping paper. While it eliminates the need for tags, it increases the amount of paper I need to buy. Oh well. Its pretty.

What is with fortune cookie fortunes lately??? They suck. The last 3 that I have gotten have said pretty much the same thing: You will travel for business and/or pleasure. I didn't need a cookie to tell me I'm gonna be hopping around the country for the next 6 months. Mmmm cookie.

So I took a random mid-week trip to VA last week. I like being spontaneous. I don't like studying for the ChFC. Good thing I don't have an exam until like March.

There is one thing that I like to do that I almost never do on work days. Late Lunch. If you take a 2pm lunch, you get back at 3 and then you get to leave in 2 hours. That is pretty kick ass. That is if you can make it to 2pm without killing anyone.


Oooooo Random Poll time:

If I were to go on Survivor, how quickly do you think I would be voted out?

I don't think I would be the first to go...but who knows...


And my final thought for the day...

No more fuzzy camel colored sweaters. They are turning all of my black dresses hairy and camel colored.