| The End of An Era |
[23 Jun 2004|09:54pm] |
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Alas, I've lost the will to blog ... actually, I find that I really have no need of two blogs anymore, so I'll now be doing all my blogging at [ www.barbyandbrad.com ] To know the latest, visit me there.
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| Book Meme via noetic_toe |
[11 Jun 2004|05:49pm] |
Book Meme
* bold those books you've read
* italicize started-but-never-finished
* put in parentheses if you've seen the movie ;)
* underline the ones you actually like
* add three of your own
* post to your livejournal
1. (The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien)
2. (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen)
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
( This looked like so much fun I thought I'd try it )
Whewh, I didn't know I was such a bookworm. Still, so many I'd never heard of.
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| A new little girl! |
[17 May 2004|11:43am] |
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I heard (by accident) this morning that Chris and Adrienne are the proud parents of a new little baby girl! I haven't heard her name yet -- Chris was trying to call his parents at the time and I wanted to let him get through to them. But I'm so happy for them. And a little shocked, too, at their being parents now. God bless you both! (all three of you! ... and let us know what you named the cutie!)
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| Practice in Parenting |
[01 May 2004|10:20pm] |
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I agreed to help my supervisor this week and next. He's in Pittsburg at General Conference, the conference held every 4 years when officials and members of the church decide on new programs, budget, and legislature for the United Methodist Church. What did I agree to help him with, you ask? Well, I'm responsible for picking up his 13 year-old daughter from middle school until next Wednesday. Sounds easy, but let me tell you, when I drove onto that school lot, it was like the first day of 6th grade. It was freaky, really. Anyway, I got over it, and I think the first day went ok. Just Monday and Tuesday to go! She's a cool girl, so I'm not worried.
Today, I did very little. Watched TV, took a 2 hour nap, and downloaded a new browser for my Mac. Microsoft has stopped supporting IE for the Mac, so I'm ditching them. I'm also erasing everything Microsoft I can find on my Mac and downloading free/open-source software instead. I figure MS Office will soon be replaced with Open Office, my browser's already been replaced, and I don't need an email client because Brad's computer handles all that stuff. Ooh, and I actually used the command line yesterday to ping Brad's system. We have a pseudo-network setup so we can share our DSL. Brad's even got the laptop we borrowed from work plugged in so he can do some diagnostics testing. Ahh, the life - to have more computers in your home than people :)
Well, the bed beckons me. It's off to snoresville.
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| Turning my black thumb green . . . |
[25 Apr 2004|07:50pm] |
I've taken a recent interest in learning to garden. You might laugh, but up to now I've killed every living plant I've ever owned. Actually, I have a few I'm trying to nurse back to health, so maybe that's not an accurate statement. I'm attempting a small butterfly/hummingbird garden and an herb garden also. Our apartment complex is so beautiful, and our neighbors have such nice plants outside their apartments, so I thought I'd give it a try. That and I'm sick of paying $5 for 5 Basil leaves at the grocery store!
In my quest for gardening knowledge, I've been trying to learn the common and scientific names of some of my plants. I of course know the geraniums, then there is "Salvia" (which I just think looks too much like "saliva") and Juniper. I've not gotten very far in my studies, but I figure I'll retain just a little of the information.
Partial view of our little garden
I also started a journal using "Greymatter" on Brad's and my personal website. I just thought it made a little more sense since our wedding is over. Go to www.barbyandbrad.com to see it.
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| I Live in Dr. Seuss Land... |
[13 Apr 2004|08:32pm] |
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Here is my evidence
Now, you've probably seen these before, but being from Florida, I'd never seen these sprout out of the ground like this! It's a Cinnamon Fern, as far as I know, and they're growing in the flower beds in our courtyard. They're so cool. I watched a gardening show online last week, now that I *can* with DSL :) , and I discoverd that you can actually eat the "fiddle heads" of the fern. So I've been telling Brad that we may have to live off of the Dr. Suess-ish ferns in our front yard until we can pay off this torrent of bills!
So, I've been talking about these cats that hang around our apartment building, and I discovered the other day that our upstairs neighbor either owns, or feeds these cats. I don't mind because I love cats, and our landlady won't let us have one in our apartment, so "adopted cats" are the next best thing.
Oh, and on a related note, there's a rather large groundhog living in the field just across the parking lot from our place. He's incredibly dumb, but really fun to watch. I'll have to see if I can snap a pic of him sometime. They really look like beavers!
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[02 Apr 2004|02:58pm] |
I have to teach a workshop!! ACK! I'm doing research now to try and prepare - the workshop's in June - but how much prepration can you really get! Ugh, I hate public speaking.
I'm refinishing our third-hand dining room set now. I've had to take the upholstry off our 1960s-era Swedish style chairs and sand down the legs, side pieces, and backs. The good thing is they're looking great and at this rate, I might actually have a nice-looking place to eat before my parents come up in May.
I'm also consindering writing a book for doing ministry on the Internet. I don't know how qualified I am, but I've got a few years in "the trenches" and would love to be able to tell all the dorks that work at my organization (that think all I do is answer phones and emails and "fally around with the press releases") that I'm a published author!
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| I'm bored |
[05 Mar 2004|02:54pm] |
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Let's see, went to work. Finally feeling better after over week of being doggedly sick. My boss is mysteriously absent today. He left abruptly yesterday without a word and haven't seen him since :-?
Have been working on a new website for my side ventures, InnerSpace Media. Brad and I are collaborating on this, so maybe it'll work out this time around. Stay tuned for the new site to launch in a few days at www.innerpacemedia.com.
My dad got a new job. He finally got fed-up with the county government and told 'em to shove it (althouh I'm sure he was a little polite-er about it than that :) I forget the name of the company, but it's a private building-inspection group out of Tampa, FL. He's now making about double what he was making when he started with Highlands County Building Dept. I'm glad for him. Hope he enjoys the work more.
Brad and I are thinking of taking a class together at the community college here. It's a programming course that I should remember the name of, but can't right now.
My friend the black cat came to visit yesterday, mewing his mouth off. He begs for food at our apartment complex, even though he's a very *overly* healthy cat.
That's all for now. Off to celebrate the weekend!
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| Now that I have a minute |
[24 Feb 2004|08:01pm] |
I barely worked today. I was in a meeting from 9am-noon, a totally unnecessary meeting, IMO. But I went. And it all turned out ok because afterward, Brad, my boss, my co-worker, and I all went to the First Methodist Church's annual all you can eat Pancake breakfast.Ahhh, sooo goooood. I actually ate buckwheat pancakes this year, which I was never really fond of before, but now I love. I had 4 pancakes, I think Brad and the other guys had about 10 a-piece. A group of school kids, about 50 of them, came in shortly after we got there and the guys were worried they wouldn't get any more food, so they hurried up and stacked their plates. I think the lunch conversation revolved around football, tractors, lawnmowers, and war. I had very little to contribute, needless to say :)
Brad's supposed to go get his NC driver's license tomorrow. He's only been procrastinating 3 months! And his FL licence plate expires tomorrow, too, so he has to go get an NC tag. There's a load of money flushed down the toilet. We'll also probably have to pay property tax on his car which is a total crock. OH, and he has to have the tint taken off his windows because it's "too dark." Although, it's ok for SUV's and trucks in this state to have completely opaque tint on their back windows. Yeah, makes a lot of sense to me! I found out it actually IS a conspiracy between the state gov. and the "big 4" auto manufacturers. Seems they have a "deal." Just like those good ol' boys.
Anyway, Brad and I had such a cool Valentines Day. We made dinner and ate it by candlelight. Then we had dessert on the floor in our living room while listening to the band that we "fell in love to." Really, it was just Sixpence None the Richer (gag if you must, but we've been listening to them since their "a deux" days), but it was really a great time. We talked about our "firsts" and all the reasons why we fell in love.
Uhm... what else can I ramble about?? Oh, I'm thinking of getting some fish or an amphibian or something. I really want a pet, and since I can't have a cat or dog (and I don't really bond well with rodents), I'll go for something less cuddly. Don't know if I'll get my way, though. I don't think I'd remember to take care of it...hmm, maybe that's why I'm postponing parenthood :)
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| Sprawled on my *NEW* bed |
[08 Feb 2004|11:27pm] |
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music |
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867-5309 |
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Hey, we finally got furniture! A bed and a couch. Both are very welcome since we've been sitting on pillows in our living room and sleeping on a air mattress in our bedroom for the past two months. I feel very thankful ... and I will continue to be, probably, until we get the credit card bill at the end of the month :(
Oh, and it seems that the names of my and my husband's future children has been under discussion. It's ridiculously funny because Brad and I are waiting 4 1/2 more years before even considering becoming parents. Chris...shouldn't you be finding names for your own offspring? :)
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| Linux makes my brain hurt |
[29 Jan 2004|01:08pm] |
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We just had a Linux server go down at work -- something about a port being shut down. Anyway, all of our web communities run off that one server and now we're trying to track down the one guy who may know how to fix it. I'm, of course, no help because my only experience with linux is mounting drives and playing around in RedHat and Mandrake guis.
Oh, Brad and I are contemplating what to do with the website we set up for our wedding www.barbyandbrad.com. We just found a cool new hosting company LunarPages that offers a lot for a little. And they've gotten pretty high ratings. While I'd like to pick someone local, the people around here just aren't up to speed. And to be honest, the web servers we run here in my office have better up-time than the local hosting companies.
Brad is delving into database, php, and SQL. I say, good luck. I tried to learn linux and pretty much decided that I'd figure it out as I had to. I still want to learn perl because there have actually been times when I couldn't used it. Right now I just know enough to manipulate a few lines as needed.
Well, now I guess you can figure out why I picked "nerchick" as my username. I ramble on about programming languages, hosting companies and websites at length. Sorry for putting that glazed-over look in your eyes [ drool ]
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| My husband's found a NEW wife |
[03 Jan 2004|08:36pm] |
I've lost all privileges pertaining to my living room TV, AND to my husband! It seems Brad has found a new love
Brad's New Love
Oh well, there's only so much a woman can do against a Ninentdo GameCube.
In other news, I can't find the pictures I took of the new apartment. Granted, they were from when we had JUST moved in, so the place looked trashed, but I still wanted to show everyone where we live now. Maybe I'll have an excuse now to fill up another memory card .
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[01 Jan 2004|04:09pm] |
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I almost forgot. We took the Christmas tree down today. It's laying out on our patio now. Such a sad sight :( I think I'm actually sad for it. Next stop -- woodchipper!
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| My what a pickle! |
[01 Jan 2004|04:00pm] |
My former landlady is really determined to find out where Brad and I now live. I don't know why. If she quit bugging me about it, or even just directly asked "where are you living now?" I might actually be inclined to tell her. But instead, she tries to follow us, or she claims she has something of mine (won't say what) and wants to know when she can bring it by. She kind of freaks me out!
Our ringing in the new year was pretty cool. Brad and I just relaxed, has some chili, *I* drank some beer (Brad said it tasted like something bad), and we watched the last 5 minutes of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve! Quite the party animals we are!
Anyway, I had planned to go in to work for a while today, but I just don't see the point. There's nothing to do. I'd just be twiddling my thumbs or doing what I'm doing now :)
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| Some gator out there is missing its tail! |
[31 Dec 2003|12:45pm] |
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I can finally say I've eaten an alligator ... tail that is. When Brad and I were down in Florida, we went to this new place where we live called R.J. Gators. I guess it's a central Fla. chain that serves fairly localized quisine (although I couldn't seem to find any collard greens on the menu!). Anyway, my Dad ordered gator-tail for all of us to try, and I have to say, it really doesn't taste like ANYTHING. Not even chicken. A major let down.
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[29 Dec 2003|10:21pm] |
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Christmas went well. Brad and I celebrated the weekend before and had our nice, quiet pre-Christmas before heading down to Florida to visit the family. Here's our loverly tree
Photo's will be up on the website soon.
Stayed with Brad's parents while were down and visited with the pups (and his parents and brother too!). We were greeted with a new queen-size bed in the spare room when we arrived! I don't think I've ever had such a good night's sleep :)
Had some issues with my Dad's sister. Guess she's still sore about me not asking her to play the organ at my wedding. I think it's resolved, but you just never know. Anyway, spent Christmas Eve with my parents and Christmas day with his. It was so nice just being able to visit with the family and relax a little. Usually it's rush, rush, rush. Anyway, it was a great time and unbelievably I'm glad to be home...although I'll miss everyone back home for a while to come!
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| Bad taste, senior citizens, and a Christmas Miracle! |
[08 Dec 2003|08:42pm] |
Whoever thought updating your journal would be such a hard thing to do? It's weird, I thought that once I got married things would settle down and I'd have more free time. But, unfortunately, I picked up two new freelance accounts and a few pro-bono on the side, only because they asked nicely. All that in addition to my 9-5. I told Brad, my hubby, that after these, I'm taking a break from freelancing for a while. It's just too nervewracking. You have to work with people that think they have taste, but really don't. And you have to tell them they don't, but in a way that doesn't insult them. I wish sometimes I could just design and not have anyone standing over me saying "Oh, make this a little bigger, and that a little smaller, and that a little bluer, and this a little oranger..." Granted, that's part of the business, but sometimes I just need a MORE creative outlet than my work. Being 'creative' for a living isn't always fun.
Oh, I got to teach a computer class for seniors today. Talk about 'dumbing it down.' The last meeting we just got done showing them how to scan their photos and use digital cameras (they complained because it was too 'techy' and they didn't get any 'hands on' experience). So, guess what they ask me to teach next time? HOW TO USE A DIGITAL CAMERA! Anyway, after that meeting I was little irritable and tired. I think I now know how a sixth grade algebra teacher feels at the end of the day.
Hey, we're goin' home for Christmas! Woohoo! Although, I think I might miss having a COLD Christmas this year. I was a little looking forward to it. But, balmy weather won't be all bad. I'm kind of looking forward to being able to wear shorts again :)
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| Yeah, it's time to move on |
[14 Nov 2003|01:19pm] |
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Well, the time has come to move out...we're considering several apartments in the area. The reason you ask? Well, our landlady is getting a little viperous. Our answering machine accidentally caught a conversation between her and some guest she had staying upstairs, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. I guess I'm a little disappointed and hurt, but she evidently doesn't really like us and doesn't trust us either. Seeing as how we have no written contract with her, things could get bad down later on. So, we're going to rent a place in town for a while. Anyway, that's just me venting. Glad to finally be able to get it out in the open. So, all those who have our address, hope you didn't write it in pen.
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| Time Out |
[19 Oct 2003|10:01pm] |
Went to Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Brad braved twisty, windy, one-lane gravel roads (with 2 way traffic!) to get us there, but we made it. Glad we did. Here's just a couple of the photos:
The elk evidently run rampant there
The leaves are starting to change!
More photos to go on the web at our website.
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nerdchick's journal
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