Ranting and Raving

My Return....

2008-07-24T13:49:41Z

....Whoa, it's been a long time! Nathan will be 3 next month and I'll be 32 this month - yikes! I am taking Nathan to Alabama next week to visit with the family. My mom is throwing a joint b-day party for me and him; we are very excited! My fam hasn't seen Nathan since Christmas; so I think they will be very surprised at how much he's grown.
Got a new fridge for my birthday - you know you've been married A LONG TIME when you start getting appliances as gifts...ha, ha! The color is "platinum" and the 2 bottom drawers are customizable; can either be used as refrigerator or freezer...

Petting Zoo

2008-05-13T14:47:41Z

We took Nathan to the Lazy 5 Ranch; which is a privately owned petting zoo in Mooresville. We had lots of fun! Nathan enjoyed the zebras, giraffes, camels, wildebeasts, and rhino's the best. He didn't care much for the big white holstein steer that licked him across the face with it's 12" long tongue - YUCK!!!

Tax season sucks this year!

2008-04-03T18:12:10Z

For the first time ever we had to pay taxes; and when I say pay taxes I mean REALLY PAY TAXES!!! With the sale of our investment property last year and Brian's "self-employment" filing; we have to pay over $11,000 and this is after Brian paid his quarterly estimated taxes for the business...YIKES! Most of what we owe was tied to the sale of the rental property; due to our profit.

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I've been on here!

2008-04-03T12:05:14Z

Here's a much overdue photo update of Christmas. I recently got another promotion at work; so it's difficult to keep up with everything in addition to studying for the Series 7 exam (Yikes!). More updates to follow when I have time.

Our first road trip in the new car...

2007-11-20T13:30:25Z

Tomorrow we will be driving to Alabama for Thanksgiving - this will be our first road trip in the new car so we will get to see how comfy it is on long trips and will get to test out the new HID headlights Brian installed a few weeks ago on the Great Smokey Mountain highways. Yeah - I'm happy to be taking a week off...I really need it.
I'll be taking 2 weeks off for Christmas and will still be carrying over a weeks worth of vacation into 2008! Oh well, I'll try to look on the bright-side of it...at least I'll have 38 days of vacation to take next year!!

Check out the new HID's:

Look what I got this weekend...

2007-10-29T13:01:23Z

Black with chrome wheels and the huge vista-roof with navigation/back-up camera/i-pod interface/blue tooth/Sirius satellite radio and upgraded interior package including black leather heated seats and power folding rear seats...100% LOADED.

Brian and I decided against the Infiniti EX35 after visiting the dealer last Thursday and learning the dimensions of the vehicle. It will be based on the G35 chassis...so it will actually be smaller than the Maxima was; we were looking for larger and I hadn't considered a Ford until Brian wanted to see about trading his Lightning in on a new Roush Mustang...so I explored the Edge while he looked at the stang.

It was the best car-buying experience we ever had...no haggling. The price is what it was - no crazy back-and-forth shit from the salesman to the Finance manager coming back with outrageous $850/month car payment prices. Ford actually worked the price of the vehicle rather than monthly payment like Infiniti and Nissan did; which we preferred.

I will miss my Maxima...but I love my new ride and so does Nathan! By the way...the new one didn't come with HID headlights (which I can't live without) so Brian is having them put in after-market for me. :-)

Investment Property for Sale

2007-10-17T13:27:16Z

We have decided to sell our rental property in Fayetteville. New carpet and paint are being done this week and we hope to get it onto MLS soon...we are ready to get this one gone so we can look into buying/building a larger home without having to sell the one we live in first.

I finally got Nathan up to Michigan to meet my Dad & Grandma!!!

2007-09-13T17:36:18Z

Nathan's 2 year photos

2007-08-17T19:29:54Z

Nathan is 2 today!

2007-08-08T12:25:52Z

It was so mush easier on me this time - I was SO sad when he turned 1...

He's having his birthday pictures taken today and we're leaving for Huntsville tomorrow afternoon.

I got a mid-year raise...I'm one of only 2 people in the company that got a mid-year raise...an extra $540 a month will be nice! Brian finally agreed to let me have my Infiniti FX. He said "you deserve it". With my 2 raises this year; I have gotten a 32% salary increase - which is phenomenal for 1 year and I think I deserve it too! That was very nice of him to say though; I'm just glad he finally came around...because I was going to get it anyway.

Brian is also in the market for a new ride - pleasure vehicle. He wants a Saleen Mustang...he's been on the phone with a salesman from Massachusetts for the past 2 days; I can't imagine buying something sight unseen (only seeing pictures); it will cost an additional $2k to have it shipped here. This is the type of car you don't want to put a lot of miles on...kind of like his truck that he has put almost $50k miles on...bad husband!

Finally...

2007-07-18T18:47:21Z

My mom set her wedding date...August 11th...it's about time! Everyone will be there including my cousin from Washington who has a little boy 1-day older than Nathan - so I know they will have fun playing together. We're planning Nathan's birthday party for the Saturday before his birthday (August 4th); so we'll leave for Huntsville on the 9th.

Brian gave me my birthday present early: A gift certificate for laser hair removal...bikini area & underarms! Yeah - that's what I asked for! Too bad, I need to wait until after the summer to get started (you have to stay out of the sun).

My friend Jenn is having a baby girl! I'm so sad that I will not be able to attend her shower...I'll be in Huntsville. I'll find out what she still needs after the shower and get her tons of goodies tho!

I bought tons of decorative storage baskets to put on the bottom portion of the table under the plasma in the living room and stuffed them with Nathan's toys. I also bought a bunch to go in the storage tower in Nathan's room for toys. He's so excited because now he can get to things that were previously in the bottom of the toy boxes. Now that we have installed new fancy closet systems and done all these storage baskets...I don't feel as if the house is closing in on me anymore. I don't feel like I need a bigger house just yet; we can wait a bit longer. Brian just put in new Lutron lighting controls...so I know he's not ready to move. $2,400 to fully equip our house - I can't imagine what it would cost for the size of home I'm looking at...whew!
http://www.lutron.com/hlc/

Here's some new photos of Nathan

2007-07-16T19:03:32Z

I totally cannot believe my sweet boy will be two next month!!

Being Sneaky:

Kissy Face:

Me & the babe:

Daddy & Nate by the boat:

Nathan at island:

Nathan "Driving":

SpongeNate Crazybaby:

Nathan with Elmo sprinkler:

As promised...some pics from the airshow.

2007-05-21T13:37:15Z

Nathan & me with a stealth:

Daddy & Nate in The Bradley

Nathan with Pilot:

Nathan on a tank:

Nathan & Me with a "scary-face plane":

Wings Over Wayne

2007-05-17T12:43:26Z

We went to the air show in Goldsboro, NC last weekend where the Blue Angels flew for the first time since the death of one of their pilots at the air show in SC. It was amazing. I got tons of pictures with the new digital camera...which, by the way I like a lot better than the old one that was stolen...thanks thief! I will try to get them on the computer and post some very soon. I got a photo of Nathan and me with one of the pilot's in an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet! I think it's a prerequisite that pilots have to be HOT!

Brian has decided to take the day off after being at Kurt Busch's (NASCAR driver) house until 11:30 last night!! Apparently he wanted the theater done before all his friends and family come into town for the next two weekends of racing in Charlotte - which means horrible traffic starting tomorrow - I think I'm going to work from home tomorrow and next week to help avoid it. I can't avoid it all though, as over 60 of the teams are less than a mile from our house - UGH!!!!!!!!

Mooresville: 3-Time Winner of Top Micropolital Area

2007-05-03T12:14:15Z

For the Third year in a row my town has been named the #1 "Micropolitan" area in the US. My neighbors have decided to cash in on their investment and sell their house:

http://atthelake.helpusell.com/Listing/ListingDetail.aspx?Search=2b4cb1e9-748b-4813-8762-4d557d099dc1&Listing=20842818&IRPAgentID=&Image=1&First=1&Last=10&pagesize=10&SearchType=&ListingDistrictTypeID=&FirstLetter=&Sort=6&Cookies=

It is on the market for $399,900...last year they bought it for $300,000; so if they get their asking price they stand to make $100K in 1 year! I hope they get it. We are going to "sit on" ours a bit longer and cash-in in a few years. We need a bigger house before we have another baby (in about 2 more years) so there's no need to move now - I'd rather wait a little longer when the area is REALLY booming and make a killing.

IUD Trauma

2007-05-02T17:21:14Z

So I decided to have an IUD put in rather than continuing with the pill...tired of the hormones. I didn't fare as well as most patients (big surprise). I ended up passing out in front of Nathan and had to stay in the doctor's office for almost 2 hours after the procedure was done while the nurses looked after Nathan for me. Everyone I know told me that this was "no big deal"...well apparently it was a big deal for me. I have been cramping for 2 days and hope it ends soon!

Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary to Me!!

2007-04-20T11:32:05Z

Wow, Brian brought me home a receipt last night...it was for my new wild cherry front loading steam washer and dryer! Brian is such a good repeat customer that our regular salesman threw in the storage pedestals for FREE. Woohoo - I've been wanting these new hot machines for awhile. Happy anniversary to me!! I love my hubby!

Easter with family was nice

2007-04-13T15:03:26Z

Nathan and I had a great time visiting my family in Huntsville for Easter. Brian couldn't go because he's been programming and setting up a massive home theatre at Denny Hamlin's (NASCAR drivers) house and didn't want to leave it unfinished. He's almost finished - thank God...he's been having to work late every night this week to try and get it finished by today.
Below are some pictures of Nathan, me, and my mom at her house on Easter Monday - we were heading back to the airport.

I hate my boobs...

2007-03-30T15:04:58Z

The more weight I lose, the smaller my boobs get. I hate it. I officially had to retire my c-cups and dig out the b-cups...dammit!!

I workout everyday at lunchtime with a co-worker and now she has loose skin and I have small(er) boobs. I was so upset about it last night that Brian offered to let me go ahead and get the implants now rather than after I have the next baby. I'm thinking about it but I really think I should wait until after I have baby number 2. It's a tough decision because I hate them now and they will only get smaller as I lose more weight. They're not saggy and weird-looking or anything like that - just smaller than when I was in high school, and that sucks!

Big plans for Easter

2007-03-28T18:01:14Z

Well, we finally decided to head to Huntsville to visit my family for Easter. My procrastination cost us big-time on the airfare...oh well. Brian's working on a pretty big job so he won't be able to come with us...he would miss out on about $13,000 worth of work if he were to take off - I figured it would be okay for him to stay home this time...at least we'll have a new pavered patio and landscaping when Nate and I return :-)

Nathan loves airplanes he's always pointing them out saying "see the airplane". He seems so confused when I tell him that he's going on one next week. He's been on an airplane many times...but the last time he was only 12 months...and I really don't think he realized that he was on an airplane then. Hopefully he won't freak out as he seems to understand that he's going on one next week.

I'm looking forward to seeing my family and hopefully taking a break from my workouts. I'm at 132 now, which is only 4 pounds from my pre-pregnancy goal weight of 128 - which is actually considered underweight according to my doctor - WHATEVER!! I'm 5'9" and I have always been under that (except pregnancy and after -baby). Luckily, I'm not trying to get to my wedding weight of 116...now that's TOO low.

A lot has happened in the past week

2007-03-08T16:11:28Z

Nathan got Scarlet Fever and was sick for a week - REALLY sick! I totally thought Scarlet Fever had been eradicated long ago - but apparently I thought wrong! He's much better now and finally ate yesterday for the first time in 5 days - I was SO happy.

I didn't get a chance to workout for the week Nathan was sick and I ate really bad...McDonalds, 5 Guys Burgers & Fries and Zaxby's...and somehow I still managed to lose 2 lbs.; I guess stress will make you lose weight!

Nathan is recovering well from surgery

2007-02-21T20:10:59Z

Nathan had his surgery last week and is recovering quite well. He had to have a new set of ear tubes put in; the old ones were so clogged with fluid build-up that had hardened like a rock and his skin was actually growing over the build-up - ICK! So, the ENT had to do a surgical cleaning and checked his adenoids to see if they needed to be removed - they did not, because he's still so young that he doesn't have any adenoid tissue yet. They ENT also did an extensive allergy test on him to see if we can pinpoint why he keeps getting all these ear infections, results not in yet.

Nate was supposed to have the surgery done 2 weeks ago...but the night before the scheduled surgery he was running a 105 degree fever and we spent the night in the ER. After waiting for over 2 and 1/2 hours just to see the Triage Nurse...he finally was able to get antibiotic shots in the thighs to bring down the fever that was caused by...guess...EAR INFECTIONS!!!

We had his hearing tested and it's a miracle that it is perfect!!

WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE: I have lost a total of 13 pounds; my weight loss has begun to taper off because I'm now lifting weights. Although, I'm not losing any more weight right now...I am back into my Size 4 clothing!!!!!!! Now, my goal is to get into my Size 2's!!!!!!

This weekend...

2007-01-29T13:27:24Z

1. We converted Nathan's crib into a daybed. He was rebelling against confinement and kicked two slats out of the front of the crib (the part that lifts and lowers). Now he is happy, he actually stays in bed when we tell him even though he can easily climb out. He sleeps on a cot in daycare, so I guess he's used to it.

2. We bought Nate a potty chair and he runs to the bathroom yelling "potty, potty" AFTER he goes. I guess this is the first step to potty training. I ask him to tell me when he has to go stink, and of course, he tells me afterwards..oh well, we're getting there I guess.

3. We weighed in on Saturday and I have lost 8.5 LBS. and Brian has lost 6 LBS in ONE WEEK. Brian is not being as strict as I am, if he were...he would have lost more than me. This is a record for me in the first week of Atkins...until now, the most I've lost in the first week was 7 LBS. I'm going to think about working out this week so I can lose more quickly.

Brian & I started the Atkins Diet on Saturday...

2007-01-24T14:27:40Z

And so far I have lost a total 4.5 lbs. I think this is the best diet for people who want to lose weight quickly. After I had Nathan, this is how I lost my 80 baby-weight pounds. Brian has lost 5.5 lbs. since Saturday, he always loses more than I do.

This time, I'm just trying to shed those few extra pounds that the Holiday's and extra soda's so graciously (UGH) gave me. I want to at least get down to 128 before boating season (mid April). So, I need to lose at least 7 more lbs....more will be fine though. I guess I'll start working out sometime in mid February in order to drop some more in time for bikini-season.

I have been MIA for awhile...

2007-01-23T13:41:53Z

But now I'm back. We've been so busy with work, Nathan, and house stuff that I haven't had the chance to post. We were in Atlanta for a long MLK weekend and took Nathan to the Georgia Aquarium, which I totally recommend - it was AWESOME. All Nathan kept saying was "mama, see the fishy" and "see the birdie, mama". They have Penguins there - I was totally surprised about that!
Nathan has become totally obsessed with my boobs (and bras for that matter)...at least somebody likes them, ha, ha! He will pull my shirt open and stick his whole head down there and say "see mama's boob", it's so embarrassing. If he can't get down my shirt he just grabs them and makes this weird face and yells "booooooooooob"! Oh, God!! He did this at the Aquarium in front of hundreds of people! Also, I was in Belk yesterday picking up some eye cream from Estee Lauder and Nathan spotted the bra isle and was screaming "bra, bra, mama see the bra". Everyone thinks it's hilarious - now I'm beginning to regret naming all the objects he sees. For some reason, he has become fixated on these particular things and luckily people find it funny rather than offensive.