Destruction and a fabulous new pair of shoes

Abby looks awful; she needs to be groomed badly. (She spent some time outside today) She hates it but at this point, I'm not that concerned about it. Look at what she did to my cell phone last night!!!! Fortunately, it still works.

We went shopping today for a little while, and I found a fabulous pair of Cole Haan sandals on the clearance table at Belk. 80 percent off...it was the only pair, so it must have been some kind of fluke. The only thing I love more than nice shoes is nice shoes on sale :) It was definitely my lucky day!

Sick day...and a little bit of excitement

There is nothing I hate more than being sick, and I was sick today. At first I thought it was the flu because I was running a fever and felt really weak, but I have since determined that it is some kind of bug. Who knows? I did get the flu shot; the firm pays for it. I think that they just don't want us sick during tax season!

We booked our honeymoon today! I'm soo excited! We're going to Sandals Ochos Rios in Jamaica. Now I have something to look forward to after tax season! :)

Snow!!

It snowed yesterday morning! Crystal sent me a message while I was lying on the couch with Abby (she starts barking at 7 am now), so I went to wake up Jay. He was completely unimpressed. Ok, I was too, after we saw all of the snow in Taos!!

I took Abby outside to play in the snow. She was really confused about what it was. I made a video of it, but I can't figure out ow to upload it!

I went to run errands on Saturday morning: grocery store, library, drug store, etc. The stupid "flat tire" light came on AGAIN!! Ugh! That car drives me crazy. There is a stinking light for everything! (I have an appointment for Tuesday to take it in because the "replace brake pad" light came on.) Since the tires needed to be rotated, I went ahead and took it in. They couldn't rotate the tires because BMW puts a special wheel lock on the tires and the last time I took it in, they didn't give it back! UGH! So I waited for an hour and a half for nothing! I so want another car right now. Something without a lot of lights and a spare tire! Venting over.

We went to Vasilio's last night. I had never been before as I am very loyal to Keifers. It was so good though! The pita with feta was (gasp!) better than Keifers, in my opinion. It was definitely less greasy and the cheese had some sort of herb (maybe they use herb feta?) Anyways, they have the same feta dressing as Keifers. It comes in a big tub apparently. Jay really enjoyed his gyro. No yummy cottage fries, though, not that I would have actually eaten them. They had steak fries, though, and those were pretty good. All in all, I think we will have to go back. :)

It's been awhile...

Things have been kind of crazy lately. Extended hours started on Monday. I know it's just an hour extra a day, but somehow that just wears me out! I have been rather busy too.

I haven't posted any pictures in awhile, so here are a few. Abby had a bath Saturday night, but not as punishment for her being bad!! (Note the mangled cup) I love taking pictures of food, and Jay likes to make fun of me for doing it. The pork tenderloin was delicious that I made when Jay's dad came over! It was a new recipe that I had tried. Jay insisted on using the electric knife so that I wouldn't accidentally hurt myself. Whatever. He just wanted to cut the pork tenderloin with a "power tool." The frozen yogurt turned out really well, too. There are several more recipes that I would like to try with the ice cream maker.

We had a really good time with Jay's dad Sunday night. He gave me some ideas of a few books that I might like to read.

I finally asked off for our "official" honeymoon. It's definitely going to be in May. We just haven't booked it yet. We are looking at a Sandals resort. Both of us are beach people, even though I enjoy the occasional trip to the mountains. We're both excited. It will give me something to look forward to after tax season!

Yam or sweet potato?

Jay had his class this morning :( so I had to go to the grocery store by myself. Its been awhile since I've bought a week's worth of groceries by myself. I remembered why when I got to my car and tried to fit them all in!!!! Two seater convertibles aren't meant for women who go to the grocery store!

I had some confusion in the grocery store today. I had to buy sweet potatoes to make a roasted sweet potato dish for tomorrow night when Jay's dad comes over. I saw a sign that said yams but no sweet potatoes. I had to buy the yams, but I was wondering what the difference was (if there was any). Of course, I turned to the source of answers to all of those nagging questions in life: Wikipedia. They are close cousins, but not the same. Except for here in the south where we like to confuse things and use the two terms interchangeably. Confusing!

I had to read a book in World Lit, and I don't remember the name of it. All they did in the whole book was eat yams. I still refer to it as "the yam book." Apparently it was a bestseller. I think I was too distracted by the fact they ate yams the entire book (and even traded yams for wives) that I missed the deeper message. (Note: I made a ridiculously high A in this class)

The weather here is gorgeous! Abby played in the back yard without any complaints. She got out of the back yard and I had to chase her in the front yard in my trouser jeans, high heels, and cashmere hoodie. I'm sure I looked quite ridiculous because the neighbor across the street was laughing at me. He and Abby were the only ones having fun! I rode around with the top down for a little while. My personal rule is that the sun has to be shining and the temperature must be above 60 degrees before I go topless. I'm looking forward to taking a walk this afternoon.

I went to my "secret" sale place today. I say it's a secret because the only person I've told about it is Leigh (and she's had even better luck than I've had!) The sale wasn't good as it has been before but I did get a couple of things.

I had a couple of gifts left to take back to Belk. I had a hard time deciding what to get. In the end, I got an oval Armetale bowl (I am obsessed with it now!) and a Fiestaware pie plate (red of course!). Buying home stuff is sooo much fun but I pretty much have everything that I need now, or at least for a little while.

Reflections on marriage

Jay and I went and had dinner at The Bulldog tonight. There is a healthy blackened chicken sandwich on a wheat roll that I can have on my new eating plan. And I had a little treat too: sweet potato fries. Yummy!

I was thinking tonight how fortunate we are to have found one another through tall of the bad dysfunctional relationships we had both been through. How wonderful that we don't have to stress anymore about first dates, how to pick up guys (or girls in Jay's case), and how at the end of the day, we're never alone. I really love that I can talk to Jay about anything, and that we don't have to do anything but snuggle and watch TV. I'm not quite at the point where I can say washing his underwear and socks is a pleasure (fat chance of that ever happening), but I do love to take care of him and make sure he gets dinner when he gets home from class. I love doing the everyday mundane things with him: cooking dinner, going to the grocery store, and taking walks with Abby together. I love that we can pray together, when we have our daily devotional together; this has brought us so much closer together.

Newlywed gushing aside...Jay has class tomorrow morning (and Sunday afternoon) :( I hate him being gone. I have a few more returns left to make to Belk and a few more errands to run, so I should stay pretty busy.

Extra hours start on Monday...and so do the firm-provided lunches. I'm going to have to steer clear. A menu was posted today. Chimneyville banana pudding and Mazzio's lasagna don't exactly fit into to the new healthy eating plan. A bit of irony: a signup sheet for an office Weight Watchers group was posted right next to unhealthy non-rabbit food menu. Everyone is going to need WW if they eat like that for three months!

Menu planning and certifications

Gripe of the Day: Abby and I went for a walk tonight. She loves going with me because she can explore and she likes to see other people. Another dog got in her face tonight and snapped at her. She was very frightened and started whimpering. I snatched her up before the Dalmatian did any damage. The Dalmatian wasn't on a leash. This is the second time a large dog running loose scared Abby while we were walking. If I can figure out who to call and complain to about this, I am going to! There are leash laws! She could have been hurt, not to mention the kids that could be hurt by big dogs just wandering around.

Today, I went with one of the partners who is a CFP to the Financial Planning Association of Jackson meeting. The topic was business valuations, an area that I am very interested in. I worked on a couple of business valuations at my former job, and now I am working on another. Eventually I would like to get my CVA or ABV certification. It will be awhile before I can get it because you have to be a CPA for awhile before you can get the additional certification.

Work has been coming in and finally I'm busy again! I love having a lot to do. It makes the day go by soooo much faster.

Jay has his review class again tonight. I have worked on some thank you notes and flipped through some recipe books. Jay's dad is coming to dinner on Sunday night and I am trying to plan the menu. I love looking at cookbooks and planning more elaborate meals than we usually eat. The tentative menu is:

Roasted pork tenderloin in creole mustard (Did you know pork tenderloin is healthier than chicken? I just found that out)
Mashed potatoes with green onions and Parmesan
Garlic bread
Salad with homemade garlic salad dressing

I can't decide whether to make frozen berry yogurt in my new Cuisinart ice cream maker or to make Key Lime Cheesecake in one of my new spring form pans. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

New look

So, I FINALLY figured out how to change the background. It's not that I don't like polka dots, because I definitely do. I just wanted something a little more me...well I guess it's supposed to be Jay's blog too, but it doesn't look like he's going to be using it.

Speaking of Jay, he is in his review class tonight :( I've gotten so used to him being here that I really do miss him. I thought that I would enjoy the quiet since I would have a chance to get caught up on some stuff, but I'm not really enjoying it. The weather is scaring me a little bit. And Abby is freaking out. I don't think that she has experienced a thunderstorm yet. She is going to the window and whining. I think she is scared.

I have been playing Oregon Trail on Facebook lately (until I died yesterday), and that got me to remembering how much fun it was in elementary school at JA. I found this great website that lets you play the original Oregon Trail, just as it was on the computer lab screens! It even tells you to when to flip the big ol' floppy disk over. I had so much fun playing! It was definitely a blast from the past. The Facebook version is fun because it lets you get your friends involved, but the original is way better! :)

Long day!

Today has been so long, or maybe it just feels like that since I didn't get to rest yesterday because we went to Columbia. Jay is watching the BCS National Championship on TV. I'm not exactly sure why he is watching it since he hates LSU and Ohio State. (I just hate LSU but I will probably go to sleep in an hour, so why do I care?)

I need to get rested up because our longer hours start next Monday. I know it's only one extra hour a day, but it will be busy nonstop. I like staying busy; it makes the day go by faster.

The state board cashed my check for my CPA license back in November, but I haven't gotten any information about it yet. I called today, and they are going to vote on my application January 25th so I should be officially a CPA soon! (It got a little delayed over the holidays)

I made chicken salad for dinner tonight. I have been craving it. It definitely wasn't Beagle Bagel, but it was good! I think that the food processor really helps with the texture. What did I ever do without it? I had mine on a pita like a sandwich, but I spread Jay's on french bread and sprinkled it with cheese and broiled it. I think it made it more manly! He has definitely been tolerant of eating healthier food. Or maybe he's just glad that I'm cooking!

Did anyone else watch Avonlea on the Disney Channel as a child? I absolutely LOVED it, and I just found out that it has come out on DVD! I ordered the first season, and I can't wait for it to come! I already have the Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea miniseries on DVD. My mom gave me all of those books (I think there were 8). She and I both loved them.

Busy weekend

I had so much fun on Saturday afternoon. We had a gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and a credit left Everyday Gourmet. I keep meaning to go in BBB during lunch as it is right by my office, but I have just not gone yet. I'm SOOOO glad that I waited. It was slightly stressful picking out what to get. Fortunately, I was chatting with Audrea on the phone and she gave me some great ideas! I got a set of 3 springform pans (like cheesecake is part of my new healthy eating plan), a stainless steel spatula (I've broken 2 plastic ones), and a new set of sturdy measuring cups. I still had a few dollars left and after considering many options, I just got a set of dish towels. Jay ruined several of mine with Old English furniture polish when he mistook them for rags. I secretly wanted a blowtorch but Jay would have made me return it. He barely lets me use a knife, saying "I don't trust with you that. You might hurt yourself." I think blowtorches fall under the category of dangerous objects. BUT, that is a great gift idea for my mom!

Then I went to the Everyday Gourmet to use my credit. I love that store! I could spend hours in there. I registered for these great glasses there in the highball, double old fashioned, and the footed iced tea glasses. I got plenty of the shorter glasses and all of the footed iced tea glasses, but I needed some more highballs. This was my second trip there in search of them and finally they ordered me some more as they only had three in stock. Apparently they are pretty popular.

I went into another store to pick up some more thank you notes, and one of the ladies recognized me as "Michelle's daughter." I love it when that happens; it always makes me smile. I consider it such a compliment because I think that my mom is gorgeous.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend! It was nice to be able to go walking. I love to walk around the neighborhood, but last week was so chilly. Fleece lined sweatpants can only keep you so warm!!!

Jay and I went to Columbia today with my parents to see my mom's side of the family. We had not had Christmas with them yet. It was nice to get to see them.

I cooked homemade pizza tonight for dinner. The crust is so easy to make, and it's healthy. I topped my little section with fresh tomatoes, and Jay had pepperoni. We were sitting at the dinner table, and Abby who has figured out how to jump up on a chair onto the table, try to jump on the table without jumping on the chair. She missed it by almost half an inch, but she still managed to pull a placemat down. I can't believe that she can jump that high now!

Early morning

Jay is still lying in the bed. I just don't understand how he does it! My body won't let me sleep late anymore, now that I get up for work at 6:30 (that's what time I'm SUPPOSED to get up; it's usually closer to 7). So I have been up, hanging out on the couch with Abby watching reruns on television. She is much better. She was droopy all day yesterday but she finally ate a little after we got back from dinner. Now she is back to her old self! :) I guess she just ate something that she wasn't supposed to. Abby is into everything; it's hard to keep track of her constantly. I have a tendency to be overly concerned about her. She started limping one day, and I panicked and took her to the vet. I found out, $200 later, that she was perfectly fine. Oh well, she is our child for the time being.

Jay's dad gave me the most charming little book for Christmas (in addition to the gift card to Outback-yum!). I didn't have the chance to read for pleasure much in the past year and a half, (Becker study guides don't count) so that is yet another thing I am looking forward to this year. It is From Manhattan to Mississippi: A New Yorker Falls in Love with the South. Daisy Karam-Read, the author, moved to the coast when she married a southern boy. She discusses southerners' mannerisms, our food, and our hospitality. Her assessments are so true, they made me laugh at loud. One observation in particular, about fencing in the backyard, really hit home. Her husband said it would make them appear to be "unfriendly." How true this is. When we were looking at homes to purchase back in August, I noticed how many homes now have fences. When I was growing up (before my parents moved to the middle of nowhere), no one had fences in their backyards, except people who had pools. I remember the names of all of the neighbors who lived around us.

Now, we live in a neighborhood where fences are the norm, not the exception. While I'm thankful for the fenced-in yard because it means Abby can go out and play safely when she's been particularly annoying, I do feel that it shuts other people out. I have been living here for three months now (Jay - one month), and I haven't even SEEN the people who live to the right of us. The husband in the neighboring family to the left made a point to introduce himself while I was moving in. I have yet to meet the neighbors across the street. But I still object to the fence on principle!

If you get some time to check out the book, I highly recommend it. I even learned a few new things about the south that I didn't know before: the difference in Cajun and Creole cooking. Never knew there was one!

I will have lots of time to read with Jay going back to school (2 nights a week) and then going to a LSAT review course (2 nights a week + Saturday mornings + Sunday afternoons). I don't know what I am going to do without him! The library is less than 5 minutes from our house, so I guess I'll have to go check out a stack of books. I don't think I've been since I started studying for the exam, but that may have more to do with the fines I still owe on the last stack of books I checked out.

Back to normal

Life has returned to normal; the holiday season is officially over. Thank goodness!

I decided that this year, I am going to be more healthy. I have been cooking every night so far, and I think cooking is definitely more healthy than heating up a Lean Cuisine or going out to eat. (I'm getting my Lean Cuisine fix at the office for lunch!)

Jay and I went to work out after work tonight. It was crazy how many people were there! All of the new year resolutionists were working out, and there were even a few people checking out the gym. Fortunately I got there in time to snag some headphones so that I could watch Reba while on the elliptical :) It won't last very long...most of them slack off after a few weeks, and it will be quiet again.

When I got home, Abby leaped out to see me (as usual) and then proceeded to get sick. I don't know what is wrong with her. She is calmer than normal, and she refuses to eat. Usually I love it when she is calm, but now I am seriously worried about her. When Leigh came over last night, she was acting crazy, jumping all over the table and trying to drink out of our glasses. Her godmother had to get onto her! I hope she will be ok.

Judge Judy is on in the background...Jay records it on the DVR every day so we can watch it after work. I NEVER watched trashy judge shows until Jay, but now I watch Judge Judy with him almost every night. Its our little tradition. The unclassy people are entertaining, but I really like watching her. She is so funny and so honest!! My favorite "Judyism" is "Beauty fades; dumb is forever." We saw her interview with Larry King a few months ago, and I was surprised to see that she is very similar to her persona on television. She is very opinionated and outspoken. I agree with her line of thinking on most things.

New Year!

Today is our one month anniversary!

We had a good New Year's Eve. Jay and I both had to work, but he was sent home at 2:30, and I was sent home at 4:00. Dinner with David and Lucy was...interesting. Jay had never grilled steaks before on his new gas grill. They were very rare, so he and David took them back out. Mine was fine (I like medium rare), but they took them back out (again). They were still pretty pink, but edible. I guess it goes to show that my mom's number one rule is right: never serve guests anything that you have never made before.

The brownies turned out to be hard as rocks. I was so excited about my new (red) silicone bakeware that I just had to use it. I think it might have overcooked the brownies. Oh well.

Jay and I went with Leigh to Fire for the New Year's Eve Party. US was playing, and it was a lot of fun. Somehow, I always feel better about myself after leaving Fire. I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps it's growing up and having a "big girl" job that has dulled the allure of going out. Or maybe it's being settled down.

I couldn't sleep this morning, so I got up and went to the mall. There was hardly anyone there, except a few mall walkers. There was NOTHING in the stores to buy! I really don't know why they were even open. I bought the makeup I needed -- plus a little more; it's easy to get carried at the MAC counter! Jay is watching bowl games for the rest of the day so I will probably amuse myself by writing more of those thank you notes.