Weekend Success/Fail

Good news! Jess and I were lucky and found some lovely pieces at the Antique Bazaar on Saturday. Pictures are coming! The rigorous house hunting continues.... Jared and I found a house that I absolutely loved over the weekend but before we could blink, someone else made an offer. We are going out again with Gail and some visitors from up north (my parents!) this Saturday to see some more houses. Apparently you have to act fast! Like two days fast. Which is faster than I would like to act, but I'm just going to have to suck it up and go for it. Hopefully we'll find something we like even better, with a vintage built-in intercom system that actually works. (The house we wanted had an intercom system, but I don't think it was working)

My dear nephew, Jalen, turns a whopping 10 years old today. If you see him, don't forget to tell him happy birthday! He's so handsome.

Oriented

Well, folks, the time has come. I am officially enrolling in graduate school. I attended an orientation yesterday, learning all about the program and what is expected of me as a grad student. I even ate lunch in the student center food court. It was really weird. I admit I'm freaking out a little bit, knowing that I'm going to be super busy and that school is going to affect not only my work schedule but also my amount of free time. But I guess it is worth it, just to have those three coveted letters behind my name.... MSW. That's right, I am going to be a master of social work. So today I am celebrating by going to the Antique Bazaar (on Walnut, on your way out of town) to check out a new booth that supposedly has some vintage clothing. And of course, I'll have to check out my favorite booth that is stocked full of lovely antique jewelry, gloves, scarves, glasses, etc. All the lovely old things you could ever want. I'll try to remember to post some pictures of the treasures I will hopefully find.

House Hunting

Jared and I are currently looking for homes to buy. This has been an interesting experience so far. Wednesday night I looked at 4 houses with my realtor, Gail, which most of you know because she sold you your house, too. Gail promises me she is not going to allow us to buy a home that we shouldn't be buying, because she cares about us and loves our group of friends. She likes hanging out with us because we are a scream. Gail shows me 4 houses out of 7 I had asked her about. The first, is a rather nice home - 4 bedroom ranch freshly remodeled. It's in a a terrible part of town and has the smallest, saddest yard you've ever seen. No thank you. The second is a "chalet" outside of town. It is literally falling apart. I wasn't sure I could make it up the steps without them caving beneath me. There are 4-5 decaying vehicles in the side yard that have probably been rotting there for 20 years. No thank you, part II. The third home is down the road from Mike and Jess and I hope there is promise in this house. Sadly the front porch is caving in, I don't think Jared would even fit in the half bath, and the kitchen is so poorly and bizarrely laid out I don't understand how you can put a table in there. There are also 2 front doors, which I do not understand. No thank you, part III. The third home is in a good neighborhood, and I again hope there is promise in this house. However, I knew it was going to be bad when Gail tells me there is no lock on the door, you just walk in. And when you walk in the door, you are hit with the worst animal smell in the world. Like the family that lived here was actually a family of dogs, and there were no human inhabitants. The carpet is so gross I don't really want to walk on it with my new shoes, and then I discover there are still clothes in the closets, which kind of creeps me out a bit. The house is in terrible shape, and we don't have the money to fix it up. And even if we did, I'm not sure we could ever get rid of that terrible smell. No thank you, part IV. Well, what an evening - 1 good house where I could get shot walking to my mailbox and 3 disasters. Gail was right when she told me I didn't want to buy any of these houses. Thank you, Gail. I can't wait to see what is next.

I've waited 2 years for this...

For a couple of years now I've been yelling "take off your shirt!" at bands we play with, or at my friends who play music, typically in between their songs. It's become a staple in the music industry. Or at least for me - and I think it's hilarious. I've really only been able to get a couple of guys to take their shirts off before. On Friday Rodeo played a show with Metavari and Husband & Wife, which started like a typical Bloomington show (starting at freaking 11:30 pm). I informed everyone they could "feel free to take off their shirts" to celebrate our bud Scott's last night in town. Some girl who was drinking heavily and standing on a chair in front took of her jacket and threw it on stage. This started a domino effect of lots of other people taking off their shirts/jackets and throwing them on stage. So many shirts landed on stage that I had to move them off the monitors so we could hear ourselves play! The lovely Mike Adams took off his shirt and says he tried to throw it at Zack; however, it landed like an octopus on my face. Then my lovely husband threw his hoodie directly at me, which hit the microphone instead, and sent the microphone soaring directly into my chin. All in all, it was a hilarious evening, resulting with me laughing so hard I almost couldn't sing, the drunken girl dancing close to the stage (which resembled a witch doctor casting spells on someone), and lots of chubby boys standing around without their shirts. We even got a few of the Rodeo guys to take theirs off too! What a dream come true. It reminded me of this other photo shoot I was in one time... although I can't remember why on earth we were taking these pictures.

Big Mistake

The agency I work for puts on a chocolate carnival every year during the Week of Chocolate here in Bloomington. The theme of the carnival is Willy Wonka and for the last 2 years I have volunteered to dress up like an Oompa Loompa. Typically this means very orange face, terrible green wig, really gross costume that tends to highlight my bulging and pudgy midsection, and lots of scared/crying children. Here is a look at this year's costume. I'm not sure I ever want to do this again - it is the grossest I have ever looked in my life. Hands down.

Also pictured are my co-workers Mark and Samantha, who dressed up like Willy Wonka. Her costume was almost as bad as mine and did not include a cane, so she decided to use the plastic whiffle ball bat instead. Good work Samantha.

Chicago

This is the damage from our trip to Chicago (actually just the damage to the van). Someone busted out our window and took expensive things! I give that thief two very enthusiastic thumbs DOWN. And yes, I'm the one radiating like the sun. That's what I get for wearing my very yellow jacket on a very sunny day.

Topic of the Day: Healthcare

The debate about healthcare makes me want to puke, or punch someone's lights out. Not only do I see people every day who do not have access to healthcare, but I recently found myself in the midst of a healthcare crisis, racking up over $30,000 worth of medical bills. There are a lot of things I could say about the healthcare industry, but I don't want to rant forever. I recently came across this article on NPR about the newest crisis concerning healthcare: medical identity theft. Could the healthcare industry become any more of a clusterfuck? http://http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123977187&ft=1&f=1027