tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53417249062473219342024-03-12T18:43:10.141-05:00Saint Louis ReduxWe're a quirky town and sometimes I wonder how we got this far.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-88715948735774206172013-03-27T16:43:00.000-05:002013-03-27T16:43:46.189-05:00New year, New dutiesI've decided to restart this blogging thing. <br />
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I'm still missing my dad, but the pain isn't a sharp daily hurt. </div>
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More like a dull ache in my heart.</div>
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Our work webpage is migrating and supposedly we're getting a bit more control to directly publish it. My branch chief wants me to take charge of this and I'm all for it. The pages look a lot like blogs with a main panel and side panels. We can do HTML or simple design editing just like on here; so I'm the likely candidate. Not that they know I have a blog, but I'm pretty sure no-one else in our office even knows what HTML is. Here's an office directory from a couple years ago. We are an odd group.</div>
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I don't really need more "other duties as assigned" but with work being down because of the economy, it'll be good to have something to keep me working. Plus, I think my bosses are all for it because if their underling volunteers for something it looks good on their year end review too. </div>
Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-44957778848545140632012-09-21T17:32:00.000-05:002012-09-21T17:32:23.999-05:00The best of times and the worst of timesSo I closed on my house and made frantic time to get everything painted and my stuff moved in. Then the Tuesday after that my mom called and said dad had fallen in the night and he wasn't well. He passed away that Thursday afternoon. I don't really have much to say about it now other than it's hard as a lifelong daddy's girl to lose your dad. He was the one person I always knew was on my side....always. <br />
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We buried him in the National cemetery this past Tuesday and I'm helping mom the best I can to process stuff and go through paperwork without making her feel like a frail old lady; because she's not. I wrote most of his obituary and I know I'm not processing this yet; but I just can't fathom life without that 89 year old man in my life. Geez, what suckitude.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-69135159777355805192012-09-10T16:30:00.000-05:002012-09-10T16:30:04.755-05:00Post Closing Letdown<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I closed on my house last Tuesday. A friend of mine came over that evening and took a bunch of before photos for me. Like this one:</div>
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Since then, I've been running nonstop. Shopping for paint, painting, packing, babysitting the movers, placing furniture... then, well there was supposed to be unpacking. <br />
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Not a lot of unpacking has happened yet. I still have the dining room to paint before I can place the china cabinet. There are a lot of boxes that go in my china cabinet so that's kind of overwhelming. Also, I kind of left the bedroom stuff until last. So that stuff was dumped into boxes and the thought of unpacking those boxes is horrifying.<br />
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I have a friend coming over tonight to help paint. Hopefully we can get the dining room done so I can start unpacking in that room. I still need to pack and bring over all my kitchen and bathroom stuff. All the stuff in my closets too. So I'm kind of living between both places. I'm sleeping at my condo on an Aerobed, and spending evenings at the house getting things painted and organized. Hopefully by this weekend, I'll be ready to move fully into my house. <br />
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Right now I'm just kind of tired and still anxious to get things done - although I feel like I could just go home and sleep until morning. Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-76947871481123522852012-08-29T16:59:00.000-05:002012-08-29T16:59:58.728-05:00I can see clearly nowI've gotten to a point in my life where I don't like to see myself naked. When I'm brushing my teeth, I usually wear a towel because the girls no longer are perky and my belly is saggy and..... well, I'm fat. <br />
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I'm still waiting to close on my house btw. Which means I'm surfing house websites and decor websites trying to stay excited about owning a home. So I ran across this: <br />
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<small><a href="http://www.houzz.com/photos" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;">Spaces design</a> by <a href="http://www.houzz.com/professionals/interior-designer/" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;">Interior Designer</a> <a href="http://www.houzz.com/pro/prizmastudio/prizmastudio" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;">prizmastudio</a></small></div>
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<small><span style="font-size: small;">It was on </span><a href="http://www.houzz.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Houzz</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> which is an interesting site, if a little cumbersome to surf.</span></small></div>
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<small><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>But seriously????</strong> A glass tub, that you can see from the kitchen! What skinny designer dreamt this up? Talk about my idea of hell. The only thing that would be worse is putting it in a room that had a wall of mirrors so I could see all my squishy bits smooshed against the tub walls.</span></small></div>
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<small><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, I'm back to surfing. I felt I had to share; in case you were planning your dream home and loved the idea of seeing yourself naked in a tub.</span></small></div>
Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-8492443945078865322012-08-24T15:39:00.002-05:002012-08-24T15:39:55.943-05:00Second verse (hopefully not) same as the firstSo....<br />
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Wednesday morning I frantically called several banks. I also had to tell my broker and the seller. Well, the seller wasn't happy but I understand that - I was pretty upset too! It had been almost 7 weeks since BoA started the loan process and they're just now telling me they can't loan me money?<br />
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My broker got me a deal with a local bank. They could do a three year balloon type of loan and close in 10 days. This would make the seller happy and was kind of scary for me. But I'd have the house and I'd have time to get a conventional loan.<br />
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The seller gave me the name of a guy who did a friend's loan or their loan.... I wasn't really paying 100% attention since I was feeling kind of numb and not in my body and cried at the drop of a hat. I called that dude and he called me on the way home. I told him the whole sordid tale and said I wanted to know if they could loan me the money or not before I went through another seven week process. He said he'd get some basic information from me and it wouldn't take seven weeks. He could close in three weeks - tops.<br />
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So, it looks like I have another loan. Heartland Premier sent me all the paperwork today. The interest rate is .125% higher but they can close in 10 days. I'm not counting my chickens before they become loan commitments though. I'll check back with them on Tuesday morning and see if they have the appraisal scheduled and if I can get a loan committment letter from them. Because a verbal yes clearly doesn't mean dick in the banking world. <br />
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Yeah, it sucks that I have to pay for another appraisal. But I'll have the house early enough to do some painting before the movers come on the 8th. And...AND... I'll have a house.<br />
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Oh, the worst part? The loan processing POS at BoA couldn't even call me to tell me that they denied my loan. His boss called to tell me and even she kind of beat around the bush. Seriously, grow a fucking pair! Seven weeks of bullshit and you can't even tell me it's a no? How did they get to be "too big to fail" if they are such fuck-ups? He asked for the same information multiple times and apparently it takes 5 weeks for them to even open up the file. <br />
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Bank of America, you denied my loan and I'm pissed; but I'm more pissed that your employees don't have enough professionalism to tell me or enough timely work practices to not leave me hanging on so long. I used to defend you to people, now I'm on the other side. I have no idea how you got so big, but if success in the banking industry is that easy, sign me up!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-90579751566927067602012-08-21T15:34:00.001-05:002012-08-21T16:08:50.816-05:00Returning calls *Updated)Hey, the loan officer's boss just called me back to tell me they're declining my loan. After a good ugly cry, I called my boyfriend who gave me the name of his loan officer. Officially worst day ever.<br />
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I'm still trying to close on my house. <br />
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Hell, I'm trying to get a final loan committment from the bank. <br />
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Apparently, when they preapprove you it doesn't mean squat.<br />
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I talked to the Home Services Specialist last week and I called him yesterday, this morning, and this afternoon. My original closing date was tomorrow, but he said we may have to move it back to Friday or Monday. But the dude has quit returning my calls. If I don't hear in the next hour, I'm calling the main office number. Surely someone can give me an answer or go smack him upside the head for not returning my calls. Look, I get it. If you don't have an answer, it's painful to call someone back. <br />
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I've avoided calls before from applicants because I didn't have an answer yet. Maybe this is karma. However, and here's what has me worried, if you have bad news you also avoid calls. If I have to tell an applicant that the agencies aren't agreeing with their plan and we've got to review for the umpteenth time; I avoid calling them. <br />
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What if he hasn't called because they can't loan me money? I can almost pay for the whole house with a check - but not quite. But shouldn't that, and the fact that I have a job, count for something? I haven't defaulted on loans, I have a couple 30 days late payments but not a lot but come the FUCK on!<br />
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It's probably a good thing that their office isn't here; I'd be sitting in his office chair working by laptop so that I would annoy the crap out of him and he'd annoy underwriting.<br />
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I think I need a drink.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-51305159002216308252012-08-14T17:41:00.002-05:002012-08-14T17:41:34.956-05:00Delay of game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been so excited about the house, it never bothered me that I hadn't really heard from the bank asking for additional information. They asked for a couple things right up front and I kind of thought that was it.</div>
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It wasn't.<br />
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They didn't review my file until this weekend. Dudes, they've had it four weeks! So I emailed them this morning asking what time my closing was and where was it... Since it's only a week away.</div>
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My loan officer called me and said he'd meant to call me yesterday but they needed some additional documentation and that would put my closing behind by a couple days up to a week. I kind of had a tight schedule for this all so a whole week would suck. I'm supposed to close next week and then in two weeks I've got movers coming to get all the stuff I haven't brought over. Then I've got two more weeks to clean my condo and move any incidentals. Somewhere in there I need to get someone to refinish the floors in the bedrooms and get roof vents put in and get somewhere on getting tile done in the bathroom. Oh, and I also have to paint the cabinets. </div>
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Now, obviously the only thing that has to be done before I move is the floors but I don't even know when I could do that since I don't know when my closing is. Especially since folks tell me that I should expect them to change the date at least once more. Apparently anything that they need means that the file gets pulled from underwriting and then has to go back through the process and get reviewed again. Now, I got them the things they needed about two hours after they asked. But I'm guessing that won't matter.</div>
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Geez! I've got a schedule here. Oh, I've also got stuff posted in <a href="http://pinterest.com/whiteflash87/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> about the house.</div>
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Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-90498987858225785952012-08-01T17:52:00.000-05:002012-08-01T17:52:01.234-05:00Making listsOkay, so I could be queen of the procrastinators. No, you might think you have me beat; but it's really my one true talent. Sure I knit, I play piano, I blah blah blah.... but I can really procrastinate like nobody's business. I've actually tried to commit a little afternoon time once a week to blogging just to get stuff out of my head. Of course, it always falls in the last half of the week in the last half of my day!<br />
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So I've always heard to make lists. <br />
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"If you cross stuff off your list it's very satisfying."<br />
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"If you put everything on your list you can get a feel for how easy it is to tic things off."<br />
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That's all crap! If I make a list I <strong>can </strong>procrastinate doing any actual work. Making lists at work is just too damned depressing. My job is one where my inbox is never empty, my plate always has something on it and that's just hard to swallow in hard print. Look, I'll admit here (I'd never admit it to someone in meatspace) that I've even had utilities shut off because I procrastinate paying the bill and forgot about it.<br />
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Which, btw, is very different from when I lived in Iowa and worked a bunch of part-time jobs and sometimes had to choose what bill to pay and.... well.... sometimes I didn't have enough to pay even the most dire bills. <br />
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If you're ever in that situation, my advice is pay the water bill. Not because water is essential to life - hell, I always could get water to drink at work - but because the water man comes to your house and shuts it off and then has to come back to your house to turn it on. See, the phone and electric were shut off not at the house. Well, not right away. They did some kind of soft shut off a few days before they came to the house. I didn't have a cell phone or cable back then, so I have no idea how that last one works.<br />
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Anyway, my point is I'm not a list maker but I am a master screwer-upper of important tasks. I'm also a lover of technology. So I downloaded a calendar app for my android called pure calendar and also there is pure grid. These put a calendar on my home page with little bars of color showing what event is on what day. I think someone said HTC phones have this type of calendar already. But, BUT, that's not the cool app. I also downloaded <a href="http://astrid.com/" target="_blank">Astrid</a>, which is a task manager. Saying it always reminds me of Asterix, which is some kind of French comic book hero - but the little icon that represents the app looks like the warm fuzzies that the nuns handed out in high school. I used to have one somewhere, but it was a line drawing of a happy furry little guy that looked like a ghost from Pac-man.<br />
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So, <a href="http://astrid.com/" target="_blank">Astrid</a> has really helped me get my shit together. Seriously. Which is good, since I'm buying a house! So, I can put the due dates for all my bills in this little app, and tell it to repeat every month and on that day - or earlier if I set an alarm - it pops up and reminds me to do it. I can have it appear on my calendar or I can put a widget on my home page so that I can see what's coming up.<br />
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I just learned a neat new trick too! I can make lists. So, I made a list of all the things I need to get done before moving or just after moving into the house. <br />
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Now, I don't have a due date on most things yet. But as they get closer I can go back and set a date. Like I did with contacting my insurance agent.<br />
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Instead of letting it auto-order things, I did some click and drag and put things in the order I'll probably need to complete them. It lets the procrastinator in me breathe a little bit since there isn't a hard and fast date.<br />
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It's not fancy; but it's at least kept me on time with bills. Oh, in case you are wondering why I don't just set up bills for autopay.... It's a leftover from my days of not having any money. It's not that I can't pay bills these days - but I spent enough time having to only pay what I could that I don't like to autopay things. It's not a paranoid "then they know all my info" conspiracy crackpot thing like it is with some folks (not that there's anything wrong with that) its just a leftover bad habit.<br />
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Kind of like rubbing the sating edge of the blanket when I need to go to sleep... it's something that I probably should get past but as long as I'm aware of it, it doesn't hurt anything<br />
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Yeah, the folks who made PureCalendar, PureGrid and Astrid didn't pay me, didn't give me jackshit and don't really give a rats ass who I am - but if you need to get better organized like I did.... it's a little less painful than a paperlist.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-21408873333980855182012-07-27T16:26:00.000-05:002012-07-27T16:26:19.421-05:00DreamsI started a diet AGAIN on Monday. I really have to lose weight. My knees and feet hurt if I walk too much especially on stairs and I'm hopefully moving in a month to a house with a basement and an attic. I, of course, feel like I'm starving. Monday wasn't bad; but by yesterday I felt absolutely ravenous. I caved and ate some good brie and crackers after dinner so I didn't go to bed hungry. <br />
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Now, before you say I shouldn't starve myself, know that I'm not. I'm doing Weight Watchers, for the umpteenth time in my life. Honestly, the only time that worked was the first time on the old exchange plan... back in 1990. This points thing is for the birds. I'm always hungry, just like I was a year ago when I tried it. I thought about doing the non-tracking thing but there is so little wiggle room on that; I just don't see it working. Too many things you just can't have - and I don't do well with can'ts.<br />
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I'm sure next week I won't be as starving. I just keep reminding myself of how I looked in a picture taken at my friend's going away party. My arms! They were huge! Honestly trying to tell yourself, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." is a load of crap. I can think of a lot of things that taste better. Triple Creme Brie, Jilly's Chocolate Thunder cupcakes, hard salami on brown bread with butter, homemade preserves on sourdough toast.... the list is pretty long. Don't get me wrong; the summer that I could wear a bikini in college was pretty sweet. But a picture is worth a thousand words and OMG I looked like a toad squatting in the corner at the bar. Sure, a toad in a cute top with killer jewelry - but still.<br />
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The fact that I feel absolutely ravenous even using all my points and all my extra points and walking the dog an extra time to earn extra points.... well, that probably means I've been eating too much food. This spring I tried to count calories. It's not as hard as it sounds with a smartphone around. I didn't feel starving as much; but I did realize that it wasn't working. I was always over my calorie count for the day because counting calories doesn't really encourage you to snack or eat healthy.<br />
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Oh, the post title? I've been having weird, vivid dreams the last couple nights. Almost nightmares. Last night - the last one I remember - I had one where I was watching some teenaged boys picking on a kid. The way they did it was futuristic; and disturbing. I noticed that several of them had their hair rolled from side to side on top of their head with a soda bottle in it - kind of like a cross between a sideways ducktail and the curlers made out of orange juice cans. Then I looked down and they were holding down a boy with an elizabethan collar for dogs around his neck and they were pouring soda into a tube stuck into the top of his skull. It looked like the straw that is in all the hospital cups that everyone seems to have now, but a lot bigger around. The soda was coming out of his.... his face I guess probably his nose and eyes. And when they were done his whole head was submerged. They let him pick his face up out of the collar to breathe for a moment but then back under he went. <br />
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Weird.<br />
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I'm pretty sure the lack of calories has something to do with this. I just hope the dreams abate when the hunger does. They're disturbing!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-57861642605755097532012-07-20T15:59:00.003-05:002012-07-20T15:59:36.414-05:00Color my world<br />
So I've heard back about the house. There were some issues that came up in the inspection I paid for. <br />
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This is a good time to point out that you always want to pay for your own inspection, but especially in the City of St. Louis. The city inspector didn't even go downstairs to the basement, or upstairs to the attic.</div>
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WTF?!?</h2>
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The sellers have agreed to fix all the issues and give me copies of the receipts. </div>
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Which means it's time to decorate the house in my head. I mean, I was already doing that a little. But I've lately developed an addition to <a href="http://design-seeds.com/" target="_blank">Design Seeds</a>. I actually had this bookmarked a long time ago; but now I've been actively searching for colors to paint my walls. Of course it helps that Sherwin Williams has this site called <a href="http://letschipit.com/" target="_blank">Chip It!</a>. I can find a picture I like and click the Chip it! button on my IE toolbar and then I can see what Sherwin Williams paint colors correspond to the photo. </div>
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I might be seriously addicted to decorating my house. </div>
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These are the leading contenders for my living room: <br />
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<img alt="Pinned Image" border="0" height="200" id="pinCloseupImage" src="http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/256423772504244127_dVXoTaii_c.jpg" width="175" /> <img alt="shell tones" height="200" src="http://design-seeds.com/palettes/ShellTones.png" width="181" /><img alt="underwater color" height="200" src="http://design-seeds.com/palettes/12/UnderwaterColor505.jpg" width="172" /><br />
(all from <a href="http://design-seeds.com/" target="_blank">Design-Seeds</a>)<br />
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I have a couch which is brown and light blue and I kind of don't want white or tan walls. But I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go orange or pink. But a Nemo colored wall kind of intrigues me.<br />
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These are the leading contenders for my kitchen:<br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/256423772504244222/" target="_blank" title="View Image Source"><img height="143" id="swatch-image" jquery1708176071936182701="23" src="http://chipcards.letschipit.com/ifHNBl_full.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://design-seeds.com/index.php/search/category/edible/P480" target="_blank" title="View Image Source"><img height="137" id="swatch-image" jquery170004271262224806283="23" src="http://chipcards.letschipit.com/Erdc4R_full.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://design-seeds.com/index.php/search/category/edible/P360" target="_blank" title="View Image Source"><img height="135" id="swatch-image" jquery1707674657612489146="23" src="http://chipcards.letschipit.com/C98lGx_full.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
(all from <a href="http://letschipit.com/" target="_blank">Chip-it</a>)<br />
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I have cream counters and a really yellowy cream tile in the kitchen with stainless appliances and a multi tonal floor which has tans and greys. I really want a hot color in the kitchen but something about that fig picture kind of talks to me.<br />
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I even have this one marked: <br />
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<a href="http://design-seeds.com/index.php/home/entry/slice-of-bright" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="View Image Source"><img height="169" id="swatch-image" jquery17022415069237494384="23" src="http://chipcards.letschipit.com/iXTcSK_full.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Which I could use in the living room with the blue furniture, or in the kitchen with the cream tile. Ooo or maybe the dining room which is in the middle! Although I seriously like the last color on the <a href="http://design-seeds.com/" target="_blank">Design-Seeds</a> tile; why did <a href="http://letschipit.com/" target="_blank">Chip-It</a> not pick up that one and instead pick gray?<br />
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Aaaand this one:<br />
<img alt="Pinned Image" height="180" id="pinCloseupImage" src="http://media-cache-ec5.pinterest.com/upload/256423772504247730_znTTrB4J_c.jpg" width="200" /><br />
From my <a href="http://pinterest.com/whiteflash87/" target="_blank">my Pinterest</a> (because I can't find it again on either of the other two sites)<br />
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Which I'd love in the living room; but that's kind of a bright pink. Who wants artificial sweetener package pink on the wall? Will people be in my living room and suddenly crave aspartame, or saccharine or something more horrible? (I love diet soda/foods, please don't send the fake sugar cops after me.)<br />
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Seriously, how much fun is this? Hella fun, that's how much!<br />
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(This is ridiculous to say, but this post isn't sponsored by anyone, dude I'm lucky if the Sherwin Williams folks won't throw me out of the store after spending hours in there just touching paint chips.)Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-73923793099443148162012-07-11T16:31:00.000-05:002012-07-11T16:32:45.132-05:00I'm a helperYesterday I stopped at St. Louis Bread Co for dinner. It's my favorite guilty pleasure at dinner time. I mean, it's healthy and all <br />
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or it can be if you order correctly: <a href="http://mypanera.panerabread.com/play/?ref=pb2062012_foot">Eat Smarts</a><br />
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but I can make a salad and sandwich at home.<br />
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I think that might be the German housewife in me coming out. </div>
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My ex-husband's mother never understood wanting to go to Subway or any sandwich shop because she had bread and cold cuts at home. But then again, she also thought I should learn to churn butter. Of course, I'd love to churn butter now. It would be something I could add to my post-apocalyptic skill set (otherwise known as hobbies). <br />
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So Bread Co was pretty busy last night. Maybe the cooler weather had everyone actually willing to leave their car in a parking lot for a few minutes? As I waited a mother came up with a little girl on her hip. I have no idea how old. I'm bad at that kind of thing. She had three plates to pick up, two of which were kids meals; so I'd guess she had another little one at the table. I offered to help her carry them since she was already carrying a human being. The human being was trying to help by grabbing things off the plates as she attempted to stack them in one hand and carry them. She seemed pretty shocked and said she was fine.<br />
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She managed to get it all over to the table fine. But here's the kind of weird thing. My Bread co is a kind of friendly place where you're all standing pretty close to one another if you're waiting for food. When I went back to my place on the room divider, I felt everyone move a little away from me. I didn't see it, I just all of a sudden realized I had a lot of elbow room. I have a pretty big need for personal space, especially behind me. But it was weird to suddenly feel contagious. Were they worried I would offer to carry their sack to the car? Maybe they were worried I would talk to them?<br />
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Instead of accosting patrons and wresting their bags/plates from their hands I got my dinner and walked to my car. I like Brentwood but sometimes the suburbs have really weird people. I kinda look forward to finding out about city weirdos.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-28018663808164373692012-07-05T15:11:00.000-05:002012-07-05T15:14:50.101-05:00Do I have to change my last name?Well, I did it. I made an offer on the house on The Hill. I emailed the contract to the owners today and as long as we can hash out the details - we've already agreed on price - then I'll be a home owner. Here's the house:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xIC1i-LKI-A/T_XzYeLukwI/AAAAAAAAAGw/gMorACEvC_A/s1600/house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" sca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xIC1i-LKI-A/T_XzYeLukwI/AAAAAAAAAGw/gMorACEvC_A/s320/house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes, I forgot to take a picture of it so I had to resort to google. I do have some pictures of the inside though.<br />
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They're on the memory card that's in my purse. Unfortunately, we can't download information from flash memory onto our work computers and I totally forgot to download it at home yesterday.<br />
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It is a very cute house though. It's been well cared for by the family that has owned it for all 74 years of it's life and they're happy to have someone buying it who will care for it for another 20+ years. <br />
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I'll have ample time to gush about it in the future. For now, keep your fingers crossed for me that they agree to the terms of the contract and that my inspector doesn't find anything wrong!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-59398786342231761812012-06-27T17:13:00.003-05:002012-06-27T17:14:18.990-05:00The American... I mean... The St. Louis Dream<br />
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This past week I had a friend tell me they had a neighbor who was putting their house on the market. Well, technically they didn't want to put it on the market but they'd already bought another house. He said he'd talk to them if I wanted. I did because buying a house from a friend of the family is like living the St. Louis fabled life? Why? <br />
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Here's a hint:<br />
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Yeah, the house is on The Hill. In all my growing up years I heard stories of families passing down houses in that area. No house ever goes on the market on The Hill unless the people die without family; that's what we always heard. Ok, so that's an exaggeration. </div>
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Kind of. </div>
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I mean houses don't go on the market a lot there and this one is owned by a relative of the builder so I'm hoping it's in nice shape. I get to see it Saturday.</div>
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It's brick - duh - with a brick two car garage and room for a tomato garden in the yard. Yup, they actually added that. I'm trying not to be too excited. But, I kinda am.</div>Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-84020833274361576282012-06-25T16:29:00.003-05:002012-06-25T16:31:14.583-05:00Still lookingUgh, I didn't find anything last week. We trooped through about 6 houses and none of them were even something I could live in. Maybe I'm being too picky.... Everyone tells me I'll just know when I walk into the right house; but everything just seemed so wrong about all the houses. Small closets, no parking, no bathroom on the main floor, musty basement. I feel like all those are things I just can't compromise on.<br />
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I love the Holly Hills area. I found a great house there (in my price range even!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="3905 Bowen Street, Saint Louis MO" border="0" class="photo" height="150" id="current_property_image" src="http://thumbs.trulia-cdn.com/pictures/thumbs_3/ps.45/3/3/4/0/picture-uh=8d32af96c024c119331b5e313cfbea85-ps=33404f82efa93bfc4acb23d4576318b-3905-Bowen-St-Saint-Louis-MO-63116.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trulia.com/property/3087570173-3905-Bowen-St-Saint-Louis-MO-63116">http://www.trulia.com/property/3087570173-3905-Bowen-St-Saint-Louis-MO-63116</a></td></tr>
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Great except it needed A/C - including ductwork, it needs a total kitchen redo, it needs a bath redo because there's no shower and the tuckpointing is horrible.<br />
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Then I saw a house that had been flipped this winter. I had all that done. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://thumbs.trulia-cdn.com/pictures/thumbs_3/ps.45/5/8/f/a/picture-uh=cfd96e23e12f6f3ef7c1c84dc1a7bb-ps=58fa405545c46cadbeb27cd164b5960.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.trulia.com/property/3011075671-5947-Marwinette-Ave-Saint-Louis-MO-63116">http://www.trulia.com/property/3011075671-5947-Marwinette-Ave-Saint-Louis-MO-63116</a></td></tr>
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In fact I thought the kitchen rehab looked amazing<br />
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But they didn't do anything with the windows and the varnish was old and charred and some panes were broken and the hardware was missing on some so the upper sash didn't stay up. Plus, it was freaking hot upstairs! If you just put in A/C shouldn't you have done it so it cools the whole house?<br />
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I did see a few houses on Sunday with my mom. <br />
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One on Miami was nice but it has no parking - you'd have to tear down the back fence and build a carport/garage - then rebuild the fence. <br />
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One on Sutherland had closets only as wide as the closet door. Weird.<br />
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We saw one in Affton that I liked, but I think that's too far from everything for me. <br />
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Geez, I can't quit staring at that kitchen on Marwinette. I'm going to watch that one closely, I just have to decide if I really want to live all the way down in Holly Hills - its really far to my gym and my boyfriend. <br />
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Now if only a cool house in dogtown would come up instead of the crappy ones I keep seeing - what is up with St. Louis people cutting down all their trees? Some streets feel like the Sahara!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-31070955528759409262012-06-21T17:05:00.000-05:002012-06-25T16:30:45.085-05:00House hunting shouldn't be this hardA friend of mine at work told me house hunting shouldn't be that hard. After all, they pretty much stand still and let you walk right up on them, right?<br />
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yeah....<br />
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I'm going tonight for the second round of showings in the city. The SoHa and Noha ones went ok. But out of six houses, I'm only leaving one on the list. One was cheap, but totally trashed.... way too much work. One was flipped but the kitchen was done weirdly. The rest of it was nice and they used nice materials in the kitchen, but they didn't connect the fridge with the counter that held the sink or either one of those with the counter that held the stove. They didn't want to cover up the bottom of the windows. Weird.<br />
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Tonight we're travelling all over the city from Southwest Garden all the way down to Holly Hills.<br />
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Wish me luck.... Hopefully one of these six will be a keeper!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-1067906468208229932012-06-11T17:45:00.000-05:002012-06-11T17:45:02.853-05:00Gentlemen, start your (search) enginesI've decided to buy a house. Yeah, it shouldn't be a big deal. I had money in a CD that my dad put there years ago and I've decided to take some out and buy a house. Everyone is asking me what finally made me decide.<br />
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"Did your landlord raise your rent?"<br />
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Yes, $25 more than last year which is only a $50 raise in the last six years and I'm sure the HOA fees have gone up more than that.<br />
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"Did someone in your condos finally drive you over the edge?" <br />
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Yes, I'm tired of the lady who stalks my dog and looks in the window and rings the doorbell for him. I mean he's cute and all :<br />
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But geez, can't a hermit get a little privacy? </div>
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Everyone knows me as someone who doesn't make rash purchase decisions. I go over things for months, reading reviews, asking advice, scouring adverts. However this house caught my eye one afternoon while wasting time on the internet instead of being productive:</div>
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It was totally in the range of what I could pay and was so perfect and cute!</div>
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Even my niece thought it was adorable. So, I promptly called the bank </div>
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and told them I wasn't rolling over my CD and the money could go in my savings account and I didn't send in my renewal notice with my rent - which was due that day - and I decided I would buy this house. I started placing things in my head and deciding how long it would take me to get home after the gym.</div>
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It had a contract on it already. </div>
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But, I'd already gotten things rolling. So, I just made things more scary by calling a friend who moved last year and getting the name of her realtor. I almost broke down in tears on the phone with the realtor - she probably thinks I'm insane.</div>
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I owned a house years ago in the mid 90s. This house:</div>
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I loved this house. It had a nice rock garden in front and where the red car is parked there were firebushes. But that house was a money pit!</div>
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Notice how the driveway is butted up against the foundation. OMG, that thing leaked! The front porch was not heated and it had horrible astroturf glued to the floor that I could. not. get. up!</div>
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I can't even tell you all the things I spent money on - it didn't even have central air.... I saved up for that but I spent that money on new ductwork since the old had pinholes.</div>
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I'm terrified I'm going to end up in another money pit. I've made a really exhaustive list of things that I want my Realtor to know about my house search. It stretches to almost two pages. I'm wondering if I should bring my Realtor some Xanax tomorrow?</div>
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P.S. I did get approved for a loan. As long as my credit doesn't drop in the next 90 days or I sign a contract before then I'm good!</div>
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<br /></div>Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-61286683927250826652011-03-11T22:54:00.000-06:002011-03-11T22:54:02.791-06:00IncompatibilitiesI'm just not sure that someone with poor self esteem will ever be compatible with someone with an overinflated self-esteem or self-worth. The impacts of telling someone they are sucking the life out of you with their negativity and constant bitching and adding to that the fact that you think they should work on losing weight and working out every day... well, those impacts are huge when your self esteem is fragile. Honestly, I don't think my friends think I'm constantly bitching and that I'm an energy vampire; but maybe they're not being honest with me. I'm also not sure if it hurt worse to hear the above things about me or to hear that sometimes he wants to do stuff without me because he just wants to be without me and doesn't want to offer an explanation of why. Unless I'm just hanging out with girlfriends, he's always invited along and on those rare occasions when he isn't invited I make it clear why. I guess it hurt to hear that I make him crazy instead of hearing he's crazy about me like I am about him. I just feel crushed and like I want to sink in to a puddle on the floor. And he'll have no idea why what he said hurt my feelings - he'll say, "I was just sharing. If you tell me that you're upset then I won't want to share anymore." <br />
<br />
I'm tired of never being good enough for anyone. I just wish there was someone out there who loved me for me - but it hasn't happened in the 25 years I've been dating so I'm not holding my breath.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-68801616790821337612011-01-21T10:03:00.000-06:002011-01-21T10:03:49.541-06:00Winter musingsI have come to the realization that owning a TransAm somewhere that is snows regularly may not be a smart decision. I bought my car when I lived in Charleston, SC - it doesn't ever really snow there. (When it snows a leeetle bit they shut down the bridges and roads anyway.) I might be a slow learner because it's taken me 4 winters to realize this. I think I'm just tired of being stuck at home when it snows - probably the fact that I need new back tires so the sliding is extra special has helped bring this decision on.<br />
<br />
On the way to work this morning, while driving on the lovely dry highway, I passed a tow truck. It was a nice tow truck. It was kind of a pretty brown color with the name of the company written in a script on the side. It made me wonder if you're better off being towed by a company that has nice trucks or one that has old trucks. Does the former mean that they charge more or just that they take care of their shit? Does the latter mean that they're a bargain or that they're cheap bastards?<br />
<br />
The City of St. Louis is notorious for not cleaning their streets off well. My boyfriend's street isn't ever really plowed and eventually the snow just gets kind of packed down. Luckily the cross street is sort of plowed - they don't plow down to the pavement or anywhere near it but they knock the high spots off the snow. However, the worst part of my drive in this morning was the parking garage. It's owned by the city as well. Now, I'm used to the street leading to the parking garage not being plowed. It was very snow packed this morning and I was grateful I didn't slide into the gate. The "fun" part was that they hadn't salted inside the garage either. In fact, it looked like they might be understaffed because there wasn't anyone in the office - there was just the lone ticket taker at the exit. I slid around every corner and had to put it in low to climb every ramp. It was just like ice skating in a 4000# plus hunk of steel. <br />
<br />
Lastly, I wore my old merrell boots in this morning. With the Superfeet insoles, they're pretty warm and dry. However, I need to remember that the shoes I carry into work will be really cold when I get here. Wow!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-63879925779438885232010-12-03T17:45:00.000-06:002010-12-03T17:45:45.345-06:00Divorce<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TPl99QlIiaI/AAAAAAAAAEU/Ehm3DYOuRG0/s1600/rugby3.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TPl99QlIiaI/AAAAAAAAAEU/Ehm3DYOuRG0/s200/rugby3.bmp" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TPl-C7Vu2HI/AAAAAAAAAEY/34EQ508Zk3Y/s1600/rubgy1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TPl-C7Vu2HI/AAAAAAAAAEY/34EQ508Zk3Y/s200/rubgy1.bmp" width="200" /></a>It's odd how divorce seems to touch everyone you know at some point. When I got divorced, I was young - in my early 20's. No-one I knew was divorced yet and I recognized that I married someone who just wasn't the right one for me. We met in college and we broke up once only to reunite two years later. I worked and went to school and was involved in organizations. He was in a fraternity and heavily involved in rugby. In fact, I spent a lot of weekends taking pictures like these:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I loved taking pictures and he loved playing rugby. When we graduated though, I was ready to move on from our college life and play house. I wanted to do stuff together and we both wanted a house so we bought a house that needed work. After all, we were both engineers....right?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">He still wanted to play rugby every weekend so not a lot got done around the house. He didn't have much to offer me as far as affection or common interests</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But I digress....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">One of my good friends from highschool who I reconnected with when I moved back here emailed me today to tell me her parents are getting divorced. Let me rephrase that: Her parents, who have been married 45 years and who really don't have much in the way of money or income, are getting divorced. He met some woman online (who is also married, although her husband is dying of cancer so that's better) (NOT) and when my friend asked what he wanted for his upcoming birthday - she took her mom to Europe - he said he wanted to go to Vegas...alone. Turns out he was hooking up with this woman and now she's moving here so they can live together. <br />
<br />
I never thought they'd get divorced and I'll admit I sat at my desk with my mouth hanging open for a good bit. Her mom has no money and not much income and their current house is in the hood so it's not a source of income. Her dad is being a total shit. But ya know... I'll bet my ex's family probably thought that about me. They probably still do. I guess my brother was right when he said there are two sides to every story when mom told him about my divorce. It just seems like sometimes, one side is a little harder to understand.</div>Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-12314549213059304672010-11-24T16:38:00.000-06:002010-11-24T16:38:16.257-06:00Winter is close<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The other day I posted a status update on Facebook that said something like, "You know winter is around the corner when you see the Coasties all in their float coats." All my friends from the coast got it, but none of my midwestern friends did. I find that odd since on the southeast coast you only see float coats when it's really cold. Here's what I'm talking about:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TO2TJ5gKviI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/5fMawYiUkyA/s1600/Float+Coat.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TO2TJ5gKviI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/5fMawYiUkyA/s200/Float+Coat.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They're very warm if you fall in the water in the winter, which is why you start to see them around here as soon as temps drop. I work in the same building as the US Coast Guard (Coasties) so I see them coming and going in the morning when they're headed out to the river. You usually just see them in their blue outfits, so it's pretty obvious if they have the orange coats on. They actually work as fairly warm winter coats too, although they're bulky and stiff.</div>Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-74163831674590918192010-11-19T17:19:00.000-06:002010-11-19T17:19:46.473-06:00Is there a pill for that?So Blogher is doing this feel good series about owning your own beauty. Shouldn't reading these stories make me feel uplifted and better about myself? Inspiring is the goal, I'm pretty sure. However, they always make me tear up and feel sad. I want to be that girl who has learned to love herself. The one who has even learned to like herself would be a good start.<br />
<br />
Yes, I know I'm a good person. I mean I get told that a lot and it's always for stuff I, well.... for stuff I just do. Like cooking extra food so my 81 year old mom doesn't have to cook every night for my picky, cranky 87 year old dad. Like sharing extra biscuits with the older lady down the row of condos, like helping a lady in Target get something unwieldy into her car. But I feel like that's just being a good neighbor to my fellow humans. I mean, geez, who doesn't live their life trying to make other people's lives pleasant?<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TOcEGeNVtDI/AAAAAAAAAEM/TRIJU1PyMOU/s1600/Relationships.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
So why do I hate myself? You know, I don't really understand it myself. If you named one thing you liked about me, I could tell you at least two things about that feature or trait that I dislike. I'm a pro at picking myself apart. I honestly hate myself for hating myself. I try so hard to look put together and made up every day, but you can't tell me I'm pretty and have me <br />
believe it. <br />
<br />
Of course, part of that could be my history of making bad choices in who I date. <br />
<img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TOcEGeNVtDI/AAAAAAAAAEM/TRIJU1PyMOU/s640/Relationships.jpg" width="491" /><br />
I'm sure they all had their own reasons, but a lot of the guys I date just aren't interested in a physical relationship. Maybe some counselor could tell me that it's who I draw in or that I shut them out; but my current boyfriend and I have a pretty good physical relationship. Not as good as we did, but it's frequent enough.<br />
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I'm just tired of really, truly disliking myself. I just don't know where the door to the other side is. Why is there not a pill for this?Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-75027290580237807202010-10-21T15:28:00.000-05:002010-10-21T15:28:30.518-05:00What Would Jesus PostOkay, here's the deal. I'm sure God <strong>can</strong> see your facebook status post about blah, blah, blah if you believe Jesus is Lord you'll repost this. I'm just not sure he gives a rat's ass. I also am pretty sure this doesn't make you a good Christian, a better Christian than me or anything other than a lemming. <br />
<br />
Yes, I'm Christian but I try my hardest to be one by living a good life and doing good to others. I don't try to sell you God at the door. <br />
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It's almost enough to make me quit facebook - almost.Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-89228005593479864932010-08-27T11:17:00.000-05:002010-08-27T11:17:00.191-05:00The end of summerI can't believe summer is almost over. It's been a brutally hot one for most of the US and I'm glad to have some cool mornings finally here. Here's a short highlight reel of my summer:<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfhgBZZGVI/AAAAAAAAADY/81NdpVOHKEs/s1600/Taco+Johns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfhgBZZGVI/AAAAAAAAADY/81NdpVOHKEs/s200/Taco+Johns.jpg" width="200" /></a>I went in the field (meaning I spent time out of the office visiting various sites for applications or violation reports) and found out there's a Taco John's in Marion, IL.</div><br />
If you've never had Taco Johns you're really missing out. I hadn't had any since 1998 when I left Iowa.<br />
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A coworker of mine got their Super Nachos which were made with their Potato Oles rather than chips. It's like tater tots and Nachos all mixed up.<br />
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I took my mom to get cataract surgery. (My niece calls this photo Pirate Grandma)<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">She was really worried about the surgery. I took this photo of her in the drive through of Taco Bell on the way home from the surgery center. We've always bonded over Taco Bell.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now that she's had the surgery she actually is excited to get the other eye done. Everything is brighter and more clear - her vision is 20/20 in that eye. She never wore glasses until she had surgery for a cancerous tumor in 1979; and I'm excited for her to not wear glasses anymore.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I got my dog a puppy cut:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfin07XjjI/AAAAAAAAADo/7Ic_4pWzhDs/s1600/Summer+Dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfin07XjjI/AAAAAAAAADo/7Ic_4pWzhDs/s320/Summer+Dog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Oscar has long hair normally: </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfi-u9lWJI/AAAAAAAAADw/4CbjRzmqHlk/s1600/Imgp0091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfi-u9lWJI/AAAAAAAAADw/4CbjRzmqHlk/s320/Imgp0091.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">So this cut was a big deal for all of us. My boyfriend who has a dog allergy was especially excited about it it really made him look like a puppy again. But I'm definitely growing it out for the winter; I kind of miss my fluffy little boy.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I got to go to <a href="http://www.throwedrolls.com/">Lambert's Cafe</a> for the first time. My co-workers are always raving about this place and I have to admit it was pretty good.</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfjyTiE5MI/AAAAAAAAAD4/wf4DiLnIPYg/s1600/Lamberts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfjyTiE5MI/AAAAAAAAAD4/wf4DiLnIPYg/s200/Lamberts.jpg" width="200" /></a>Of course watching them throw the piping hot rolls was interesting but honestly it was the food that made me appreciate it. It was really good. It was too much food with all the extra sides they call "pass arounds" like fried potatoes and tomato and macaroni. But definitely worth the trip if I'm close again.</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The reason I was close is that I had a training class in Memphis. It was really unbelievably hot in Memphis, so hot even the squirrels were looking for relief:</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfkhh77FsI/AAAAAAAAAEA/rt_6WJr_KlA/s1600/Squirrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/THfkhh77FsI/AAAAAAAAAEA/rt_6WJr_KlA/s200/Squirrel.jpg" width="200" /></a>We couldn't believe it when we were walking back from lunch and saw this squirrel stretched out on the sidewalk. But everything was just blazing hot and this stretch of sidewalk was under an awning on the north side of the building so it probably was the coolest spot in the city. </div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">She let us get pretty close and just kept a wary eye on us while she cooled her belly on the pavement. I was kind of jealous.</div>Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-12051161714270032652010-07-12T23:25:00.000-05:002010-07-12T23:25:25.164-05:00Geographically challenged.I admit it; before I moved to the East Coast I didn't really know where all the states were. I knew South Carolina was in The South but I didn't know it was on the coast. It's the same way that my coastal friends think of the midwest - or the flyover states if they're weren't playing nice. They don't know exactly which states are which, but they know the general area. Tonight I told a lady at the gym that I was headed to Kentucky Lake for vacation. She asked where that was. I replied "Kentucky, south of Paducah." She gave me a blank stare and asked if it was close. Seriously? You don't know where Paducah is? She's excused - kind of - because she grew up on the east coast and so Kentucky is just another flyover state.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>PS, I was nice to her and explained it was a little over three hours and was actually created by damming up the Tennessee river and was quite pretty. The lake at least, I've never been to Paducah. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TDvqSmPWFcI/AAAAAAAAACo/Zf0vFbJqgJs/s1600/Kentucky_and_Barkley_Lakes_aerial_view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SS61jVmae-s/TDvqSmPWFcI/AAAAAAAAACo/Zf0vFbJqgJs/s320/Kentucky_and_Barkley_Lakes_aerial_view.jpg" /></a></div><br />
PPS Kentucky lake is in a dry county so we have to bring all our booze and beer with us. It's kind of surprising we haven't been to Paducah since they have bars. Clearly we're well planned drunks!Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341724906247321934.post-38609371218856053302010-07-06T17:25:00.000-05:002010-07-06T17:25:40.585-05:00Competitive fireworkingSo I grew up in North County where we didn't have legal fireworks. But I've found that working in a city is very different from living there as a kid. The lunch table and after lunch discussion today was about fireworks. Not about what city has better ones - no. The discussion was Illinoisians talking about how dangerous fireworks are and who in their right mind would shoot them off or spend money for an hour long "show" of big fireworks. The opposing view was from people who live in Missouri but outside St. Louis, talking about how awesome fireworks are and how lame it is to go to public shows.<br />
<br />
Having done both, I see both points. I haven't lived somewhere before where there's such a strong division between fireworks factions. Each group wanted to prove themselves right - and really was into their side of the arguement. <br />
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Seriously, is that all there is to talk about after a three day weekend? Boring.....Amy in StLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06071519072605592545noreply@blogger.com0