Lex

Changing Blogs

2011-08-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

We haven't lived in Atlanta for over a year so "Hotlanta Hunters" is not really an appropriate URL for a blog. Furthermore (no offense Blogger, I like Tumblr better). So, if this blog is coming up in your feed, please change to: http://alexismhunter.tumblr.com/

See you there!

Alexis

No More Honeywell

2010-06-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at Honeywell. My next day of work will be June 21 with Chrysalis in Wilmington. After a brief training period, I will be the Office Manager there. This is exciting for me because it is a completely different industry. I've never been involved in any aspect to the medical field so I'm really excited about the opportunity. After working for an international manufacturer, it's REALLY exciting to start in an industry where it is next to impossible to move jobs overseas. I will miss great employee discounts and a partially matched 401K, but I'm really looking forward to working for a locally owned and operated small business.

In the meantime, we will pack as much as we can into our little cars and head east. I'll have 11 days to break from work in order to move and hit the beach. Hopefully, people will come and see our house and buy it so we can start to look for a house in Wilmington. The house will officially list tomorrow so I'll post that information when I can. If you know of anyone wanting an ADORABLE 3 bedroom/2 bathroom ranch house on a cul-de-sac in Alpharetta with a white picket fence, you let me know!

One Week

2010-06-04T06:32:00.001-07:00

A week from today, we're headed home. You can find us here for the rest of the summer:

No longer shall we be Hot-Lantans

2010-05-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

That's right. Wes and I are moving back to the Port City, to Wilmy, whatever you want to call it: We're moving HOME. I gave my notice at work today and yet it's still surreal. We've been here for almost three years, more than half our marriage. I'm ready (and I think I can safely say Wes is too) to head back to the beach, to be surrounded by family and our old friends and to start the next phase of our lives.

I will be working in the office at Chrysalis Counseling Center and start mid-June. Wes will be working at Winter Park Baptist. We have to sell our house but since everything has worked out so perfectly so far, I have to believe that will work itself out too.

If you're in Wilmington, we'll see you this summer at the beach. If not, come visit!

Come Follow Me

2010-05-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

I caved:

http://www.twitter.com/alexismhunter

I don't have much more to say there than I do anywhere else, but at least this way, I can follow others. Inquiring minds want to know what folks are up to these days...

Green Smoothies

2010-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is my latest addiction. I was skeptical at first too, but after one sip, I'm hooked. I learned about green smoothies from some folks at my gym and thought the idea was impressive: drink a delicious fruit smoothie that has blended up dark leafy greens but still tastes like the fruit. I must say, the green smoothies I have made recently live up to that standard. Here's my personal recipe:

Handful of frozen fruit

5 Fresh strawberries

2 tablespoons of non-fat plain yogurt

1 tablespoon of no sugar added applesauce

splash of fruit juice (Trop 50 is my favorite)

BIG handful of fresh baby spinach

I blend the first 5 things starting on ice crush to get the frozen fruit really smooth. Once smooth (which by the way you could drink this if you are too scared of spinach), add spinach and blend long enough that the spinach is completely incorporated. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Start by pouring into a dark glass just because the color may freak you out. If you use blueberries or pomegranate juice, it won't even be green.

It's no MAC but can't beat that price...

2010-03-17T05:49:00.001-07:00

Wes bought me a laptop for my birthday this year. Well, technically, it's a netbook. (Which, by the way, spell check doesn't register and wants me to change but according to this, it's a word). Wes has a MacBook and we both love it, but with him in school and having a crazy busy semester, I haven't always had a computer at my disposal while at the house. We have a Dell desktop that is 5 1/2 years old and it's running on borrowed time. We decided that it would be good to get an inexpensive laptop for me because basically all I need is to get on the web, run some basic applications and have iTunes. Off to Best Buy we went hoping that those PC people would be there that pay for your purchase if you find a PC in your budget. Alas, they weren't in Alpharetta this weekend so we paid for it ourselves. After about an hour of deciding, I went with the Gateway LT2104u and I really love it! Going in the store, I didn't think I would even like the netbooks but it is so handy and it fits right in my purse (ok, I carry large purses but still...).

2009-12-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been over six months since my last post. OK...well, I guess I can believe it. However, I sent out our annual Christmas letter yesterday and noted that this is in fact my blog. I have no idea how many people actually read this but if you are one of the few, you should probably just subscribe or set up a blog reader. Google Reader is great for this. That way, all the blogs you read can be in one place so you don't have to surf around to find them

If you didn't receive a letter from me, let me know and I'll send one.

We're still around...

2009-06-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

I realize that I haven't blogged since I mentioned we were going to Cancun despite swine flu. Well, we went and no swine flu to report. It actually worked out quite well for us as everyone else seemed to be too scared to come so the place was only about half full. We had a blast with the Waldens, Nelsons, Longs and Fatty and Suzanne! We stayed four nights/five days at one of those all inclusive type places (Grand Oasis Cancun). I would give it a B+. It was perfect for our group since there wasn't a lot of people there but there were a few downfalls. Overall, it was wonderful because of the group we went with. We are trying to have a Memorial Day trip every year with these great folks (not always in other countries). Here are some pics:

View from our room

Dinner the first night at the only "Mexican Restaurant"

My toes lounging beachfront

Wes lounging beachfront

For more pics, go to my Facebook page

Mexico

2009-04-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

Map of swine flu outbreaks

Some of you may remember that Wes and I have booked a trip to Cancun May 22-26. We are going with four other couples and are really excited. Then this stupid flu started and I got phone calls and emails about how we should cancel. Well, we haven't cancelled yet. Although the cases in New York started from a group in Cancun, this map shows that there are no confirmed cases in Cancun as of today. So our plan is to wait a little while longer before making a decision. My initial feelings are that by May 22, this will go away and not be a big deal or will be so out of control that nobody is allowed to travel and we won't have a choice of whether we go or not. I really hope that we can go! I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that this whole thing goes away.

The Dishwasher

2009-04-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our dishwasher stopped working. We figure it was the original one in the house that was built in 1982 because it's REALLY loud and had a copper hose connecting to the hot water and apparently, that's really out of style. Anyway, Wes took the whole thing apart as you can see here to see if he could fix the old one.

After completely discecting that one, we realized that it definitely was done for and we'd have to get a new one. So, I went to my handy dandy favorite website, Craigslist and started bargain shopping. We ended up finding one up in Cumming (another suburb of Atlanta but further north than us). We drove up there borrowing the Andrews' van and came away with a Super nice Adora GE quiet dishwasher. We were able to get it for $150 instead of at least twice that for a new one that would be somewhat good. Yay for saving money buy purchasing used. It's about 2 years old. It took a couple of days and a few trips to Home Depot, but Wes and our neighbor got it in and working. It's so quiet!

No, it's not sitting on the floor here as we use it :). But I can't upload anymore pics right now for some reason...

The Birthday Weekend Part 2

2009-03-23T09:43:00.001-07:00

Saturday we went to Lowe's to stock up on some veggies and herbs to plant. We started them in these pots because everyone around here says to wait to plant in the ground. It worked best for us in Wilmington to plant in pots, so hopefully they'll do well in these for a little while. Also, Wes surprised me with a Topsy Turvy! So, we had to get a bunch of tomatoes to fill that thing up. I really hope they work. They are kind of tacky, but we're moving them to the back yard because it's fenced in and we have some serious deer that like to eat any and all plants.

The Birthday Weekend Part 1

2009-03-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend Wes and I celebrated my 28th birthday by going down to Midtown for a show that we were supposed to (and did) go to in October but Ryan Adams and the Cardinals walked off the stage after 37 minutes of playing. We got make-up tickets at the Fox, which was awesome because we'd never been there. We decided to make a day/night out of it by me leaving work early, heading on Marta to Midtown Station and taking in a little city life. We stopped in a couple of places to hang out and as you can see, the weather was georgeous! These two pics show us at Joe's on Juniper and here we got a couple of ideas for our deck that we will be building soon with a little help from out friends.

Next, we walked a couple of blocks to this gem: The Steamhouse. We saw this a long time ago when we were down that way and I wanted to go to it so bad but we'd already eaten. I've been planning this for weeks now and it was totally worth it! I love steamed seafood but there's not a whole lot of places that do it up right around us so I was so excited to go here. We sat outside again and loved it!

When finised at the restaurant, we walked a few more blocks to the Fabulous Fox Theatre. I was amazed by this venue. It's so cool because they make the ceiling look like you are outside and the stage is like a castle or something. Here's a picture of that

The show was really great but almost halfway through I got a migraine and had no medication, so needless to say, it was a long Marta ride home.

Here's Wes enjoying the show:

A difference between Wilmington and Atlanta

2009-03-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of great weather

Wilmington: Everyone comes into work sunburned/tan with bathing suit strap lines and flip flop tan lines.

Atlanta: Everyone comes into work sunburned/tan with golf shirt tan lines, hiking boot lines or Teva tan lines...or if you're Wes and me, life vest lines from kayaking all day.

A similarity: A lot of people call in sick the following Monday. Spring fever has arrived!!!

I don't have pictures of us actually kayaking, only sitting in the kayaks. It was an adventure to say the least. From now on, we will check the wind forecast before going on the river.

The Wii

2009-02-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

We finally got one! Wes' parents brought us one this weekend for our Birthdays/Valentine's combined presents. YAY! We have Wii Sports and Guitar Hero right now. My favorite is Wii boxing or Guitar Hero. My shoulder blades have been sore for the past few days from boxing! Here are some pics from the weekend:

Honeywell in the News

2009-01-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

Honeywell has made the news a couple of times in the past few weeks:

Tech Industry CEOs Back Obama's Rescue Package
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123318835721826641.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Dave Cote is CEO of Honeywell International. I am 6 degrees of separation away from him. I feel like that's pretty close but considering that I am that far away from everyone in the world, I guess I'm not that close to the top. But still, he got to meet Barack.

Honeywell device may have aided US Airways flight in Hudson River landing
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/01/19/daily73.html
I'm pretty happy about this part of the company.

A big year for Travel

2009-01-26T13:12:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days, we have planned some really exciting travel times for 2009:

Either the first or last weekend of March: Wilmington to see the fams

March 13-15: Wes has some CBF Georgia thing in Columbus, GA that he's not really looking forward to and it probably won't be that great but the ACC Tournament is here so when he gets back we'll go try and get the tickets from the losing teams' fans. (OK, so that's not travel, but you know)

April 24-26: Rehoboth, Deleware for Wes' aunt's birthday celebration at her beach house

May 22-26: Cancun, Mexico with Wes' best friends to celebrate their 30th birthdays

June 7-10: I will be at a trade show in Houston (not all that exciting but a trip nontheless...plus frequent flyer miles) and Wes will be in Asheville or Knoxville for the Phish shows

June 12-13: Bannaroo (with a free hook-up from a coworker if everything works out...that's right, FREE BANNAROO) and I won't have to take off because I'll have comp time from working the trade show golf tournament the Sunday before :)

July 3-4: Wes has to go to Houston (to the same conference center I am going to ironically enough) for the CBF General Assembly but I'm not going with him

July 16-19: Wilmington for Jamie and Patrick's wedding

September 4-7: Wilmington for family/Labor Day

So all these trips and I only have to take off 6 days! I still have 7 to play with. Well, not 7 because at least 3 of those will go toward Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's always good to save one up for that day in the summer that I will take off to go Kayaking or to a Braves game or in the Spring for camping. All in all, I think 2009 will be a great year!

I've restored my faith in Dentistry

2009-01-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

If you read my blog a few weeks ago, then you know I had an awful experience at the dentist. Well, just to let you know, I had a great experience today. I went to Kimball Bridge Dentist and they were wonderful. No, I do not have periodontal disease and the Dentist there thought the Dentist at Coast was crazy. I also found out that Hygenists work off commission at Coast and other corporate places...so watch out!

They can't be serious...

2009-01-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an article that was a little weird. Read this.

I can't imagine that they think the government is actually taking them seriously. I mean, give me a break. First, the quotes from this article are as if big guys in the the industry actually think that Americans can't be sexual without pornography. That's just insulting. Secondly, a porn star actually commented that she thought it was crazy that these gentlemen are asking for a bailout. She seems to be doing fine since she makes $1,200-$2,000 for one scene in an "adult film". I can't imagine what senators and representatives will think or do when they actually ask for this. Or maybe they already have at this point. Still, I'd like to see their faces during the request. CNN's Campbell Brown even reports, "They concede the $13 billion industry is in no fear of collapse, but say in this environment, why take chances?" People are losing their houses to foreclosures, being laid off after 30 years of service and losing their retirement savings because of the economy and this is where American tax payers money should go?

Thoughts?

p.s. I apologize if any of those Google ads are advertising any adult or inappropriate websites through my blog. I don't choose which ads pop up!

Christmas Trip

2008-12-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

We went to Wilmington to visit family and friends for Christmas this year. Among other gracious gifts, we got a camera for Christmas. Here are some of the pictures we took.

Wes' parents got a Wii for their house so we played it the whole time we were there. Now Wes and I really want one.

The Priss Pot got dolls for Christmas and loved them!

Paul opened this gift first at Susu's house and played with it the whole day. I don't think he knew there were more. Wes and Paul were boys all day

We had oysters for Christmas dinner!

Hopefully on New Year's Day or this weekend we will be able to go out and take pictures to practice...I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Christmas Parties

2008-12-15T08:09:00.001-08:00

My (ok, work's) Holiday Party was awesome. Everyone had such a good time and it couldn't have run smoother. We had it at one of those Dave & Buster's type places. Food was good, games were fun, great times were had by all.

If you've never seen a Dutch man ride a virtual reality skateboard, you're missing out!

We then headed back to the house and went to our neighbor's Tacky Sweater Christmas Party. Since I refuse to spend money on parties requiring costumes, I made ours. Well, I just hung ornaments on my red sweater but I made this for Wes:

It's Christmas time in the city...

2008-12-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

At least it is in the 'burbs because we have not one but TWO Christmas parties this weekend. I'm so excited. My work party is Saturday night at Startime Entertainment in Roswell. It should be a lot of fun because this is the first time that our company has had a paid party off site in 2 1/2 years! Yay for European leaders.

Our second party is a neighborhood tacky Christmas sweater party in our cul-de-sac. It should be really fun too. I'm hoping that our camera makes it an I can post some pics.

Christmas Letter

2008-12-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

I sent out our Christmas letter today but I think my address list in my Gmail is a little out of date. I've received some auto-replys that emails are old or not recognized. Therefore, if you didn't receive our letter, leave a comment with your email address or email me (alexis.hunter@gmail.com) and I'll send you one.

Merry Christmas!!!

The worst dental experience ever

2008-12-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to a new dentist because I haven't been since we moved to Atlanta. I use to go every six months and need to get back on that schedule. I had an amazing dentist in Wilmington who I miss terribly, but my insurance will only allow for dentists in Georgia. Anyway, I won't give you the whole story, but I will say I was there for two hours and didn't receive a cleaning. After 18 x-rays and nearly gagging until I was sick, the hygienist came in to "measure" my teeth. After about 30 minutes, she decided I needed a special cleaning. The basic cleaning that insurance covers wouldn't suffice. She proceeded to tell me that I had all kinds of problems with my gums. I NEVER had any gum problems before this and my dentist raved about my whole mouth back in Wilmington. Anyway, after her sales pitch, I told her that I wasn't spending the money (which by the way was $170!!) I asked her to just give me a basic cleaning. She wouldn't!!!!! That's right, she said that she couldn't because that wasn't what she recommended as my "treatment plan". Grrrr....I was so upset by this point it was almost embarrassing. (OK, I was an embarrassment, but I'm never going back so I guess it doesn't matter). This dentist was Coast Dental. Run far far away if you ever have to go there. It's a chain apparently, maybe that has something to do with it. So, now I'm back to the old drawing board of finding a dentist. My insurance company sent a long list so I am going to call around and hopefully find a good one.

Nothing like dessert after a great meal...

2008-12-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Wes and Paul both loved the Vanilla Ice Cream. Wes loved the warm apple crescents too!

Conversations

2008-11-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

This conversation took place last night while Wes and I were sitting on the couch, watching Heroes.

While watching the episode where the heroes lose their powers because of a solar eclipse, Alexis learns that this is how they originally gained their powers. Since Alexis only started watching the show this season, she had an important question to ask:

Alexis: Didn't this show just start a couple of years ago? How can there be two solar eclipses across the whole world within such a short time frame? I thought those things only happened like every 50 years...
Wes: (sarcastically) Every now and again on this show, they go just outside the realm of reality.

Actually, we learn a lot about Solar Eclipses here

Travels

2008-11-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

We are leaving next Wednesday morning to go to Wilmington for Thanksgiving. I'm always excited to go back for holidays because the time always involves eating really delicious food with reckless abandonment. Here's what I've been assured is on the menu:
Oyster Roast
Stuffed Flounder with fresh crab meat picked out by Nana and DeDaddy
Crab Legs
Collards

I'm sure there will be many other delicious traditional feasts for the season. At least our families don't have the big meal on the same day so we get two straight days of a picnic table full of food. YES!

Also, I was promised the following to bring back:
Collards
Homemade Pickles
Hot Pepper Vinegar
Homemade pepper relish

'Tis the season to be Merry!! (well that's my name)

Winter is here

2008-11-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging lately because sometimes I feel like my blogs are not worthy if not accompanied by photos. Alas...

We woke up this morning to the electricity going on and off. Finally, after about 6 attempts at coming back on, the power was out. At first, I was so happy that we had gas heat so that we wouldn't be cold...then Wes said that the heat can't work because electricity has to run the fan that runs the heat through the house...rats! Well, we do have a gas heated hot water system so I took a very warm shower and got out into a 65 degree tile bathroom floor...yikes! After I got to work, Wes called and said the power was back on, so that's good.
I can't believe how cold it is here! The high is only 44 degrees. Luckily, we have a lot of firewood at the house and should have even more this weekend because one of my co-workers is supposed to come over and help us split some...yes! I love fires when it's cold outside.

p.s. We managed to have a Holiday Party! And it's going to be awesome. We're having something even better than we did last year. Now let's see if Honeywell let's us get our incentive bonuses.

Dogs/Gators

2008-10-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

Living in Atlanta has given us a chance to see how SEC fans view football. It's like ACC basketball I think. Well, maybe just UNC vs Duke basketball. It's a culture here different from any other place and, perhaps, conference. Everyone in Atlanta is either a UGA or Georgia Tech fan. We haven't really picked a side but we did see this really awesome video story on College Game Day about Matt Richt (headcoach for UGA) about his family and their adoption story. The heartstrings were pulled and I cheered for Georgia this weekend against LSU (sorry, Ryan).

This Saturday is a big day in Atlanta and probably everywhere else in the South with a vested interest in football. Saturday is Georgia v Florida. I thought this picture was priceless on the AJC this morning:

I only know two people that actually went to Florida and they don't look anything like this but Kevin and Faydra, I think you should dress up like this for Halloween or at least get your kids to dress up like this!

Human Resources

2008-10-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Although it took some persuading on Wes' part, I really love the show "The Office". It's is extremely hilarious and after watching a couple of episodes, you'll be hooked. I'm not quite sold on Holly, the new HR rep but I am starting to be since Michael actually made a good move with her in the last episode. I loved the Michael/Toby relationship and miss that. I think it's crazy funny how Michael felt about Toby and HR. Ironically enough, my boss hates HR too. My boss, Ian is British and really likes the British version of The Office but I'm not sure if they play off the same scenario with HR on those episodes. Ian doesn't like our HR guy and doesn't make it a secret either. The thing that Ian has up over Michael Scott...our HR guy is in Phoenix. They have a weekly conference call and Ian just hounds him for anything. This week: HR wants to change payroll policies and Ian is not happy about it. So, HR guy should expect a beating.
When I reminded Ian a little while ago that their call is today (actually right now). Ian just sighed and said in his British accent, "Oh, I hate HR."

Ahh, Michael Scott!

Company

2008-10-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

We had guests this weekend! The Medlocks stayed with us Saturday night. Crazy how small the world is: Mark and Susanne are pretty much like my brother and sister and their kids like my niece and nephew. Mark grew up in Roswell (north of ATL) and now his family lives down in Hampton (south of ATL). They were here for a wedding down there and then he had a high school reunion up here so Saturday night worked out perfectly. Wes and I had so much fun with the kids, Mark and Susanne. I only have pics of the kids:

I feel deflated today

2008-10-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

I get to plan all events, caterings, parties, etc. at work. It's always so exciting and lately people have been giving ideas for our end-of-year (aka Christmas) party this year. Today, however, we received an email from the President of the company that all end of year parties must be canceled. STUPID ECONOMY!! The one thing we have to lift spirits up here at work when everyday, people on the production floor think their jobs may be going to India. Now, I can't bring in BBQ the Friday before Christmas week. I know, this is only a drop in a bucket full of major problems in the world today and I'm being really petty. But this blows! Now I have nothing to plan for the next two months...maybe we can still get away with Secret Santa!

Lettuce in a bag

2008-10-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, my Mom and sister came to visit and one night, we went to the grocery store to get some food for dinner. We bought a rotisserie chicken, some salad fixings and baking potatoes. Once we got home, we put everything in the fridge because it was too early to eat. Well, after some time, Mom and I started pulling things out to prepare our meal. I pulled out the bag of lettuce that we bought and staring at me in the face was this:

(Ironically enough sitting right on top of "no preservatives"...yea, ok!)

Anyway, of course I freaked and then we kinda laughed and I was just glad that I noticed it BEFORE we opened the bag. My sister brought it back to the grocery store to get our money back and apparently, the employee just said, "Oh...sorry". It makes me think they've seen this before...

Things that drives me bonkers - #1

2008-10-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Endless email forwards that have no value
Why is it that almost every time I open my email, I have at least one Forward of an email that contains one of the following:

* A dancing icon of an angel or domestic pet telling me to forward this to at least 13 people to have a "blessed" day or to show people you love them.
* A horror story about how you will get cancer from eating or drinking anything. New studies seem to show that we can get cancer a lot of ways now. I received one the other day about a girl that ate too much soy and that, combined with her birth control pills gave her cancer. (In the words of Amy and Seth on SNL Thursday last night, "REALLY? REALLY???"
* A petition for me to sign something to get a big company to stop selling something that has something in it that will kill us or bring danger to us or, once again, give us cancer.
* Political emails that provide false accusations of ANY candidate that you can always find on www.snopes.com: FALSE

From another blog

2008-10-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Well, last night it was made clear (I've only read it, not heard one of the candidates actually utter the words) that the McCain/Palin ticket will be taxing us on company provided health insurance. Wow! Now, I know that many people are Republicans because they are really wealthy or really conservative and that's all fine and dandy but aren't there conservatives who work 8 - 5 just like I do? My company pays about $150 a month for my health plan (I pay the difference), that's $1,860 a year that I've never been taxed on but would be should they win. When I worked at Dockside, they paid for ALL my insurance! There's no way I could have paid the taxes on that. $5,000 allowance will barely cover Wes and me, two healthy 20 somethings...let alone if we had children.

"The disturbing truth about John McCain's healthcare plan"
By Christopher Hass

Following the conclusion of tonight's debate, Obama-Biden Campaign Spokesman Bill Burton said the following:

Tonight, the American people heard the disturbing truth about John McCain’s healthcare plan: that while he would offer tax credits to help families pay for insurance, he would pay for them by taxing health care benefits for the first time in history. The McCain healthcare tax would come directly out of your pockets, but the tax credit would go directly to the insurance companies. It’s an old Washington bait and switch: he gives you a tax credit with one hand, but raises your taxes with the other. Barack Obama’s healthcare plan will cut costs, lower premiums for the average family by as much as $2,500, and provide affordable, accessible health insurance for every American.

Learn the three facts that everyone should know about John McCain's healthcare plan.

***

Now, I know that many of you are voting with the GOP candidate and you probably heard things last night that you can't understand from the Democratic ticket, but this is a biggie for me.

It's a whole new ball game

2008-10-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

OK, so I know I am a bit behind the times. I don't have a fancy iphone (although I'm so jealous of those who do!), we don't have unlimited texting or anything like that. To top it off, I work for a company that blocks all social networking sites like Facebook. But, because T-Mobile is running a deal on unlimited web access through my free phone I got with a two year subscription...I can surf the web (pardon the 1999 cliche) as long as I have a bar of service!!! YES!!!

Be on the look out for updated status on Facebook, we now have driving directions from the phone, no more printing out Google maps! I'm like a kid in a candy store right now!

2008: I finally made it into the technology age!!

This weekend

2008-09-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

We're going to Asheville/Waynesville, NC tonight to go to Kelly Cutshall's wedding tomorrow. I'm so excited about going to Asheville, it's one of my favorite places in the whole world. I wish we were able to watch the debate live, but I think we will be enjoying downtown A-ville then. We'll Tivo it though. I was worried that we may not be able to swing the trip this week because I've been looking for gas for 3 days now. I finally found some this morning, YAY! Word has it that Ashville's gas is almost $5.00/gallon and you can only get 10 gallons at a time. Well, my little Saturn only holds 12 gallons, so I guess that's not the issue but I sure hope it goes down or we can find some in South Carolina (it's always cheaper there).
I'm taking our camera so I hope to post pics when we get back...I think it's going to rain the whole time! Hopefully it will stop long enough for the outdoor wedding and garden reception.

Interesting Article...

2008-09-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

My friend Andy posted this article as well but I'd like some input from my readers. This small article tucked away in the Atlanta Journal Constitution has sparked many comments on a controversial topic. I'll let you read the article about the Southern Baptist Convention and some of the posted comments.

http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/09/18/gospel_magazine_pulled.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab#comments

As someone who grew up in a Cooperative Baptist Church which broke away from the SBC, it's difficult for me to understand why they are so against women preachers. There is one comment that I did find very interesting:

By walter
Sep 19, 2008 7:25 AM
Soooooo, Southern Baptist Convention will support Sarah Palin to be the President of the United States but won't support a woman to be a Pastor?

Comments? Thoughts?

Praise God for storms diminishing

2008-09-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

But I don't think that's how the Weather Channel feels. Sometimes it's embarrassing to watch but I admit, I'm watching right now. I thought I'd check in this Labor Day morning and Lo and Behold, it's down to a Catagory 2. I've been through a Catagory 2. Yes, it sucks, but it's a blessing for New Orleans. I'm watching right now and Jim Cantore just said that we're down to a Catagory 2 here so it's not as bad as we thought BUT we're under tornado and storm surge warnings. And, he said this like he's disappointed. They just showed the Super Dome and other buildings that were torn apart during Katrina and they can't believe it. I mean, nobody has said, "THIS IS GREAT NEWS". I have to change the channel...

Today

2008-08-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

I've worked at my job for one year. Yay!

Another new thing about living inland...

2008-08-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

Tornado sirens.

Now, for those of you that grew up or have lived inland for years probably think I'm crazy. But I grew up on a beach with hurricanes that we saw coming for weeks (OK, days, but you get the point). Our siren was Jim Cantore on Wrightsville Beach with a big fan blowing on him for effect.

When I got into work today during the torrential downpour, I heard sirens. I'm thinking, "ambulance, police, fire truck". None of the above, apparently they ring sirens when severe weather is a foot. They did this a few months ago when the tornadoes went through Downtown Atlanta but that was on a weekend and nobody told us they were for the storm. We thought it was emergency officials. Today, people at work informed me that they go off whenever you should proceed with your drills. And, since I am co-chair of the Honeywell Health Safety and Environmental Committee (that's right!), everyone came to me! So, being the quick thinker that I am, I laid out an emergency plan for tornadoes. The sirens had been going off for about 30 minutes and by the time that we all actually thought, "maybe we should seek cover" and go into the middle of the facility, the sirens stopped. So, we'll be ready next time.

The Derby Alpharetta Team Trivia

2008-08-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Team Triva guy asks Final Question:
Put the following Magazine Titles in order from highest circulation to lowest in 2006:
1)Web MD
2)Woman's Day
3)Weight Watchers
4)Watercolor Magic

Alexis: Well, that's easy, Watercolor Magic is obviously lowest.
Wes: No, I think it's WebMd, who would by that when it's free online?
Alexis: OK, if you think so. So, Web MD is last, then Watercolor Magic?
Wes: Right, what do you think is first?
Alexis: Woman's Day
Wes: Ooo, I don't know, I think Weight Watchers, don't you?
Alexis: Well, I think it's Woman's Day because I have at least heard of it. I was in Weight Watchers and don't remember the magazine.
Wes: Weight Watchers seems like the answer, I think it would be more popular than Woman's Day.
Alexis: Fine. (Writes our answer on the card: Weight Watchers, Woman's Day, Watercolor Magic, Web MD) and then turns it in.
Music plays, we watch Olympic Volleyball on one screen and Braves on other
Team Trivia Guy: OK, answers in...the correct order is: Woman's Day, Weight Watchers, Web MD, Watercolor Magic!

...thank you and good night!

Olympics

2008-08-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is or ever has been that has so excited me about the Olympics. I have always LOVED the Olympics in both summer and winter. It doesn't even really matter which sport, somehow I get sucked in. I can't remember not loving them and I can't remember what initially drew me into watching as many games as possible. (Mom, Mere, maybe you can help me out there). But if you've ever lived with me during the Olympics, you remember my passion for the games.

My two favorite memories of watching Olympics happened while at NC State. The first was during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. This was the year that they were actually in the Fall for us because of the hemisphere difference. I was living in 303A Bragaw Hall with Morgan Murden (now Young) and I think I got her hooked too. (At least she let me watch them often on our 16" TV/VCR combo). But one night, I was watching at Chris Miller and Josh Jones' apartment when this guy made his Olympic debut:

Remember him? We didn't even see the heat where he ended up swimming by himself because everyone else false started. No, we didn't see it live, we saw the Bob Costas version with Eric Moussambani's life story attached. Bob Costas may have the best job in media. Even my husband, who is crazy about sports sort of agrees with me. He can call anything he wants and he goes to every Olympics anywhere in the world. They make these "tear jerker" short films about different athletes from all over the world and the one about this swimmer from Equatorial Guinea was a doozey. Everyone in the apartment, let alone the world was crying during the video. I wish I could find it, but work doesn't let me use YouTube and that's probably the best bet.

On a side note, before the Beijing Games started, I told this story to Wes, who vaguely recalls sob stories during the Olympics. But then, we both felt the heart strings Bob Costas and Chris Collingsworth pulled on during their story/video on Michael Phelps' mom.

Anyway, my second memory is far less sentimental but always makes me happy. I watched the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics from Lake Park and an apartment favorite for us was curling.

Now, I know what your thinking. It was kind of a joke that we liked it but we would turn the mute on and commentate ourselves. Let's just say there were 2:00am commentaries in our best Swedish accents, "Go Lars, go! You're not sweeping fast enough!"

I look forward to this weekend of endless games.

Breathe

2008-08-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't stopped once today. Work has been crazy busy this week! I am leaving work in 5 min to head down to the first of three productions of "Family Night on Peachtree: The Beat Goes On" at Wieuca. This has been a crazy week but has flown by. I will post pictures of the craziness that is FNOP (that may explain a little if you seen that acronym on my Facebook). Here's hoping we get to chill a little this weekend!

Stay-cation

2008-07-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

At least, that's what I keep hearing on radio/news/www that we can be taking since gas is so expensive. So, that's kind of what we did this weekend. Wes came across two Atlanta City Passes for a couple of things because one of his classmates wasn't able to use it all. I've used a City Pass in San Francisco when Landis and I were there but I havne't used one here in ATL.

Saturday: Took MARTA down to Midtown and walked around there. I always love walking around in the city because the buildings are just amazing to me...especially at night but we didn't stick around that late.

We ate lunch at the Vortex because they are supposed to have Atlanta's best burgers...they do! After that, we walked up to the High Museum of Art (click here) and had a blast. We've been to the High before but it was free family day and there were about 1,000 kids walking around so this was a little nicer. We didn't even know but there was a MLK exhibit that was incredible. It was a photo-journalism walk through the Civil Rights Act and the Freedom Walk. If you get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it.

Sunday: Of course, we started the day with reChurch. Following that, we headed over to Decatur with Shelly & Josh Woodruff, Abby Griggs and Matt Rich to eat at Brick Store Pub (love that place!) Wes and I were so excited to go to Fernbank because it is a natural history museum. We've been there once for IMAX and we hear that Martini's & IMAX on Friday nights is awesome so we set our expectations high. Too high. It was lamazoid (yes, I made up that word). I think it is more for kids than adults. I felt like I was at a taxidermy or something.

I wanted to see dinosaurs and this is all they had:

When we use to take family vacations as a child, sometimes we would go on "educational vacations" and my Mom would ask us what we learned. Here you go:
-It's remarkable how much different our world is today than just 40-50 years ago. It was somewhat painful to look at the photos of segregation in the very city in which I live just because of the color of skin. I wonder what will be so socially different 40 years from now?
-I can learn more about polar bears and penguins from the Discovery and National Geographic channels and March of the Penguins than a museum.
-T-Rex's did not live in Georgia, it was too swampy for them. They lived on the West Coast. Smaller dinos and flying ones lived 'round these parts.
-It's too hot in Atlanta to be walking around exploring during the last week of July.

Job Security...I think

2008-07-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've been a little worried lately because my boss is leaving our division of Honeywell. Also because many parts of our company are moving to India...don't get me started. Basically, since our merger, my boss's position is no longer needed. As of today, I am his executive assistant and report to him for approvals, goals, etc but also support everyone else in my office and six outside sales people. Everyone around here knows that my boss is going to be out of here soon but everyone has been walking around on eggshells for me because we didn't really know what that would entail for me. Today, the US Sales Director for an entire division of Honeywell called my direct line and asked me to do a few things for him. We chatted a while and he also basically asked me if I have everything I need to support the people I support. A call from higher up than my boss is a good thing, right?

Here's to keeping a job!

A long week for Baseball fans

2008-07-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

If any of you knew me before Wes and I moved to Atlanta, you know that I didn't like baseball. OK, I hated it, despised it, even loathed it. I won't go into details other than say, it was for personal reasons. In fairness, I had never been to a real baseball game. I mean, I went to high school games that my friends played in, American Legion games and even some NC State games only because one of my friends dated the catcher. But I would never commit to enjoying the experience. Then, we moved here and everything changed. Before we moved last summer, Wes and I decided that we didn't necessarily have to love baseball but we should at least give the Braves a chance. We started watching games (there really is nothing else to watch on summer nights and when it's 100 degrees at sundown, why be outside?). We got to know the players and kinda liked the announcer guys but the games were still on TBS so they came on every night even in Wilmington but we only watched a couple of games a week and still didn't really think that we would like being baseball fans. One of the times that we came to visit for interviews, we stayed with the Tutterows and asked them, well, here's the conversation:

Me: So, will y'all be watching/going to a Braves game this week?

Vicki: Um, it's the All-Star break...

Me: Oh, yea, I knew that...

Of course I didn't know that. They get a break??? Then, we moved to Atlanta on August 3 and went to our first live Braves game shortly after...

...we left on MARTA changed forever... Thanks to Delta, we received our first Braves merchandise free on a hat giveaway night. This season, in April, we bought jerseys in Underground Atlanta (they're way cheaper there than anywhere else if you're looking). I don't really know how to explain our transformation other than being in a city with a team like the Braves is fun. Everyone talks about it at work the next day and everyone is a Braves fan. Everyone hates the Mets and Phillies. It's fun to be in a community like that...and it's actually cheaper for us to go to a game than a movie. That's right!

On Sunday, we were a little sad that we wouldn't be able to watch the Bravos for a week and since nothing else decent comes on TV anymore, we were forced into watching the Home Run Derby if we would watch anything. Fortunately for us, records were broken and it was actually entertaining. Until that guy that hit 28 home runs stopped, then it was boring until he came back on...but then he lost, weird.

I read this girl's blog often because it's about the Braves from a girl's perspective: http://braveslove.blogspot.com/
She kept up with the derby last night and I enjoyed these quotes:

8:12pm --

Chase Utley is a doll. I wish he wasn't a Phillie, so I could love him more.

8:15pm --

Erin Andrews' blouse is fit for a Disney Princess.

8:19pm --
I'm still not tired of "the most interesting man in the world". Love those Dos Equis commercials.

That Dos Equis guy really is amazing...

If you like Enchiladas (or just want something different)

2008-07-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

...Then I have the recipe for you. Wes and I love this recipe and I made it last week for Andy and Samantha when we brought dinner over and got to see Madison for the first time. It's not hard to make, it just takes a little time and you pretty much have to get your hands dirty. I make my own tomatillo salsa because I like to, but you can buy the green salsa (salsa verde) in the store on the salsa isle. I definitely recommend this recipe from Tyler Florence; I really enjoy everything that I have made from his show.

Here is the link (but check out other recipes from him, they're all great):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35924,00.html

It looks long, but it's not really. The first time it seems tedious but I make them a lot now and it's really easy. These are seriously the most delicious Mexican food I make at home and we love them.
Here is the recipe with my amendments (in bold):

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked (make sure you wash really good because they are sticky)
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos (leave these in even if you don't like it hot...once you roast them they loose some of the kick. if you don't like spicy, take out the seeds)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos (toss a little oil on so it doesn't stick) for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded (I usually use all but wings)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (if you like it extra spicy, use pepper jack)
2 cups sour cream (we don't use this because Wes is anti-sour cream)
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish(this just makes it pretty)

Heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes (Mine never takes this long but I have a super hot gas stove...just heat until golden). Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute (I don't know what that word means but basically, until it gets thick...like making mac-n-cheese). Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. (Don't fret if runny, the liquid will absorb)

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa (First spray with cooking spray...they can stick). Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove)(Or just throw the bag in the microwave for minute until soft). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. (This is where it can get messy, I just put on a cookie sheet and keep turning). Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. (I get between 8-10) Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Enjoy!!

And now it's gone

2008-07-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Honeywell blocked Facebook :(.

So much for social networking...

Another one bites the dust

2008-07-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I've done it, I've fallen for the biggest gimmick on the world wide web: Facebook.com
That's right, you can find me there with the millions of other like myself who have a strange obsession with finding people that I went to Elementary school with or played church league basketball with or those that I see on a daily basis but still crave to know what they're up to each hour. Fortunately (actually, unfortunately) for me, Honeywell stopped blocking Facebook and Myspace about a month ago...shhhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell corporate!! Nobody really knows why around here but I think it's so they can look up job candidates' profiles. So, on days that I don't have a whole lot going on (which seem to be the majority since all of my employers travel 85% of the time and I'm extremely diligent ;)), I'm on Facebook. It's amazing how the wonder that is Facebook can find people that you may know. I wouldn't have thought to search for these people but FB thinks I should look at their profiles. I love it. I'm new to it so I don't have a whole lot in my profile of interests or anything like that, but that will come. I've only been on for a week and already I have 110 friends. I didn't know I knew that many people!! Anyway, if you're not on it, I recommend it.

In case you've wondered about the people to the right of this post...

2008-06-19T07:18:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you about them.

Wes Hunter: The hubs. Check out his page if you haven't, he has songs that he's recorded there.
Penny Mann: The BFF. Penny and I met through Winter Park 10 years ago and she's chillin' in Charlotte right now
Montana Tuckers: Ryan and Courtney are our amazing friends from Wilmington/Winter Park. We were in "That's Crap!" (small group) together for three years. They live in Montana now and are starting a church there. Their little girl, Avery is awesome, check out their pics.
Lauren & Garin K: Lauren is one of my great friends from the fabulous NC State University. She and her hubs, Garin are living on the NC coast because he's in the Coast Guard.
Sarah Walden's Baking: Not to be confused with the other two Sarah Walden's, this Sarah is married to one of Wes' best friends, Dan. Sarah loves to bake and she posts recipes that look amazing. I'm going to try one of these one of these days.
Dan Walden: the a fore mentioned Dan goes way back with Wes. He and Sarah are uber-intelligent and working on PhD's at Ole' Miss.
Felony Melanie: This is one of my great friends since I was but a teenager. I first fell in love with this girl on a mission trip to Weaverville, NC in 1997 where she was scarred for life by her roomate/chaperone. Melanie lives in Charlotte now. (Wow, I just realized that, Penny, get up with Felony!)
Melissa & John Partin: Melissa was in my Bible Study that I co-led with Kelly Cutshall at NCSU. She was one of the "LoveLees" and we met every Monday night for 3 years. She and John have an adorable little girl, Meredith.
Ryan & Maria Jessup: Maria was another LoveLee at NCSU who now lives in Winston-Salem with her hubs, Ryan. Maria, Maria does what seems to be awesome things through her career.
Samantha & Clif Sult: More representation from the LoveLees. Samantha is in seminary and she and Clif live near Charlotte.
Jennifer & John Clark: Jennifer was another LoveLee who I had the priviledge to meet with on a weekly basis outside of Bible study. She and John live outside of Raleigh and do engineering stuff there.
Orange Tiger/Red Wolf: Erica & Andy live in Garner, NC with their precious one, Viv. Erica was also a LoveLee and met with Jennifer and me as well. Erica lived with us in Lake Park and we were able to share many El Rodeo and Rock o' la nights together.
Daniel & Mandy Smith: Daniel was one of my best friends in college and now he and his wife have a little boy, Braydon. They live in Raleigh.
David & Katie: Another LoveLee! David and Katie live in Raleigh and have really cool sounding jobs. Despite Katie's 4-year stint with the Mighty, Mighty Wolfpack and living with ME for a summer, she remains a Tarheel fan. David, I feel your pain...I live in a house divided as well.
Brian Harrison: Brian is a fellow Wieucan here in the ATL. Brian plays bass in the reChurch praise band. His wife, Tammy sings as well. They both work for a printing company in Midtown. We enjoy delicious Mexican Food with them.
reChurch: This is basically why we moved to ATL. This is the worship experience at Wieuca that Wes leads music for (and I'm the "stage manager"...:)). It's awesome. If you are in Atlanta on a Sunday, you should come.
Winter Park Baptist Blogs: Different people from WPBC in Wilmington blog about their mission opportunities around the world. It's pretty interesting to read from different people.
Stuff White People Like: The name speaks for itself. If you haven't ventured to this site, you should...it will give you a good laugh.

If you're reading this and you have a blog that I don't know about, let me know!

A shout out: I would have the Strattons on here, but they have a private blog for their lives in Texas. They have one adopted sun from Russia, Kaden and a foster kid, Blue. Trust me, they are presh.

Texas

2008-06-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the posting hiatus. I just realized that my last post was in May...that seams like forever ago! I just got back from my first business trip. (Well, I technically went to Greensboro when I worked for Next Media Radio for a night, but that didn't involve flying, my own hotel room or company paid meals). I went to Houston to the ILTA Trade Show (http://www.ilta.org/). I've always thought it would be so official and important and career-like to go to a trade show. My brother-in-law has the opportunities quite often but he works for the surf industry, which is way cooler than the oil industry. It was OK...but better than my predictions, so it was a nice surprise to half-way enjoy myself.

First off, if you don't know (see previous posts), I work for a Honeywell-owned company that manufactures and sells products to oil companies. Yes, I know gas is crazy expensive and I agree that the oil mongols are the most corrupt business people in our country, and no...I can't do anything about that. I still have to pay for gas just like you do, there are no gas discounts at Honeywell. Besides, someone has to provide them with products that blend, inject, prove, gauge and make cleaner the gasoline that we all put in our cars everyday. And I support those involved in Sales and Marketing :).

I was pretty much in charge of our exhibit at this show. It was pretty great because all of the responsibilities were given to me about 5 months ago and my bosses just told me to run with it. I worked with one guy in our Houston office and two people in our Delft, Netherlands office to get everything together and it turned out swimmingly. Our booth looked awesome, we had a ton of traffic through, and I received great kudos from my employers. The Americas VP even said that he was considering sending me to Rio de Janerio to the Rio Oil & Gas show! I'm not holding my breath, but that would be an amazing opportunity.

The best part about this show is that there were people from all over the world there with us. We have 5 folks from the Netherlands (go Holland soccer team!!), one from Venezuela and one from England and I had the most fun with all of them. It is so humbling to be around people from other countries in the States because they always put us in our place. Darren, from the UK could not believe how big our American portions are at restaurants and how much we waste here. I could say nothing because he's spot on; in his words, "it's a bugger that you have so much and waste it". What can you say to that?

But, I was able to learn some Dutch, how much Europeans live, eat and drink soccer and how Holland beat Italy for the first time in 30 years at the Euro Cup. Let's just say there was a Heineken/Amstel Light celebration courtesy of my Dutch friends. I decided that Americans are missing out because we don't use the word "bloody" and "bugger". You should expect me to start using both in everyday vocabulary.

I came back Wednesday night through the terrible storms that passed through Atlanta. We were delayed 2 1/2 hours and then flew through a rain cloud, which was terribly frightening! By the time we finally landed, we taxied for 45 minutes to find a gate and then I took the 50 minute MARTA ride to the 'burbs to be graciously welcomed by Wes and the appropriately named Kiss 'n Ride parking lot at North Springs Transit Station.

I'm glad to be back in the ATL.

Some pics from Wilmy

2008-05-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

1. On the Gypsy headed to Mason's Inlet...our favorite boat spot.

2. Precious D'side

3. Priss and I on the beach

4. Paul and I on the beach

5. The Priss Pot likes to have her picture taken.

6. Banks channel view from WLI Club

7. Doesn't this look like a postcard? This is Paul and Avery, they are BFF's.

8. WB on Memorial Day Sunday

9. Amy, Josh, G, Wes, Lex

This week

2008-05-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

We are going to Wilmington tomorrow and will come back Tuesday. If you're in Wilmington, let us know. I'm really excited about seeing family and friends because I haven't been there since Christmas. I will try and remember to take a lot of pictures and post them upon return.

Last night, we had a crazy storm here in the ATL. For the first time ever, i saw some serious hail. Our camera is at home with the pictures so I'll have to post them later...if they came out all right. I would say the hail at our house was about "nickel" size. There were reports of baseball size hail in Woodstock, but we didn't see anything like that. How scary would that be?

Some things I love about my job...

2008-05-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

1) I work in an office and I'm wearing flip flops...and it's not Friday. Call me crazy but it is the little things that make a difference. Seriously, I am wearing a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops and nobody cares. I think the most I have ever seen anyone dress up was when I tucked an oxford shirt into a dressy skirt. Maybe that's one of the reasons that people are laid back around here. None of the men wear ties...ever. Everyone wears jeans. There is this really metro guy here that dresses nice but still, never wears a tie.

2) I have been given some extra responsibilities that are solely mine. It's nice because people keep coming to me and asking me to help them because only I have been trained on some new policies that Honeywell has installed. For example, we have a new expense reporting solution and I am the "SuperUser". That's right. It's a Honeywell word, no space, capital S-capital U. I'm her, the SuperUser. One guy around here calls me the "Super Used" because everyone comes to me to help them with the reporting. At first, I was not excited that the Controller volunteered me for this position because there was 5 hours of training with a guy named Venkat and it was all tele- or webconferencing. But now, I realize that this is another key on my chain for job security and something great to put on my resume. I mean, let's face it, I can make this little part of my job sound amazing (I did major in Public Relations, which is basically making the mundane sound stupendous and the terrible sound mundane). Besides, the Controller told me he would get me a Super Woman shirt...but I haven't seen it.

3) This place is super diverse. I love that about not only my job, but Atlanta. There are more colors of the rainbow than I've ever seen anywhere. (Yes, I've only lived in Wilmington and Raleigh, but still) Here in our office the following countries are represented: United States, United Kingdom (he wins the best accent award), The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Belarus, Russia, and Venezuela. Everyday I call out to or get calls from all over the world. Yesterday, I called the UK, India and Colombia. Maybe I will be able to travel to one of these places sometime!

4) The people I report to are never here so I have a lot of time to cruise around on the Internet. There is one bad thing about that though: Honeywell blocks a lot of websites (anything that streams video, myspace, facebook, etc.). Oh well, I can't complain.

Obama represents the Pack!

2008-05-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

He may have been at the Dean Dome last week, but... He represents the Mighty Mighty Wolfpack after the win!

The big 3

2008-05-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

...Years that is. Today is Wes' and my third year wedding anniversary. I know to many of you that have been married 10, 30, or more years, you are thinking..."oh those kids". But we are really excited about it. In three years, a lot has happened. I've had three jobs (four if you count the two I had at Dockside), Wes has graduated from one degree and moved on to another, he's grown his hair out to his shoulders since this picture, we've lived in two houses and two different cities. Today at work, someone said, "so I guess you aren't newlyweds anymore". Is that what three years does? Make us old??? Well, I don't feel that old...(unless it's raining and my chipped kneecap hurts really bad)...but I do feel like we've been together a long time...a great time! Another thing to consider, we've been married half of the Priss Pot's life! This picture is something I made to give to her mom last Christmas...

For all you LOSTies...

2008-05-02T13:07:00.001-07:00

http://timelooptheory.com/the_timeline.htm

Hair Tip for the ladies (and men if you condition)

2008-04-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I got my hair cut at Great Clips on Saturday. It had been forever since a cut...last summer to be exact when Emily Anne cut it before we moved. At places like Great Clips (for those of you who have never been), you have to request a wash. They pretty much just do a cut and it's only $14. I will admit, I am not too proud of my hair to go to Great Clips. In fact, I would have gone to SuperCuts but Great Clips was closer to my house. I haven't spent money on getting anything done to my hair since I sold ads for the radio and called on hair salons. Unfortunately, in sales, I had to spend money to make money. Considering how much I paid for that haircut and the commission I made from the sale, it wasn't worth it at all. So, I even felt bad about spending $14 on a hair cut but I don't know anyone here willing to cut hair for free. (No, Babe, you can't cut my hair.)

Anyway, to the point of this post: my stylist (I use that term loosely, I received no styling, only cutting) was Yuri. He was not of any decent other than white male and I was suprised that was his name. He was, however, obviously from New York from the sound of his accent. Anyway, he told me that in order to get rid of my many split ends, do this:

Put a hair towel in the microwave for about 10 minutes (This seems like an extremely long amount of time for anything in the microwave, but we'll see)
Get in the shower
Shampoo normally
Get out of shower and towel dry hair to about 45% dry (He didn't give me a method of determining the percentage of dryness, I guess I will just give it my best feel)
Put in conditioner(He said not to use cheap conditioner and I'm like, "I came here because you only charge $14 for a hair cut. Do you really think I am going to spend a lot of money on hair products?")
Get towel out of microwave and wrap around hair
Keep on for 15 minutes
Rinse hair with cool water

He said do this every 2 weeks. Impressive, I know that my male "stylist" at Great Clips knew this...I'll let you know when I try it.

No, I don't have a before and after picture because it's not a dramatic cut. (Well, Tammy noticed yesterday at church, so maybe it just looks better than it did)

I've been tagged

2008-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Erica tagged me, so I'm to fill out the below...finally, I'm getting to it:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Current- Executive Assistant - Honeywell Enraf Americas Inc., Roswell GA
2. Manager - Dockside Restaurant, Wilmington, NC
3. Fitness Services Associate - YMCA, Raleigh, NC
4. Super Scooper - Kohl's Frozen Custard, Wrightsville Beach, NC

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. SHAG, the Movie
2. Forrest Gump
3. Ray
4. Steel Magnolias

T.V. Shows that I watch:
1. LOST
2. American Idol
3. CSI:
4. The Office

Four places I have been:
1. Gibraltar
2. Wine Country (California)
3. Wine Country (Georgia...yes, there is one)
4. Six Flags over Georgia

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Penny
2. GAP
3. Wes
4. Wieuca people

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Anything Mexican
2. Curry
3. Anything Tyler Florence makes on "The Ultimate"
4. Spaghetti

Four places I would like to visit:
Four? I can think of a thousand!
1. Italy
2. Boston
3. Hwy 1 from Canada to Mexico
4. Thailand (mainly for the Curry)

Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Building a deck
2. Getting a car into the garage
3. Going on a trip to one of the above places...ok, that's just a dream but that's ok
4. Visiting family

I'd love to hear from all of you!

For all you FRIENDS fans out there...

2008-04-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember this scene?:

Caitlin: One, uh, vegetarian pizza. That's $12.15.

Ross: Oh. Uh, by the way, if it makes it feel any better, I happen to like 8-year-old boys.

Caitlin: What?

Ross: No, I mean, uh, uh... no, no... the, uh, your hair. Before--your hair. You said you thought that your hair looked like an 8-year-old's, and I'm... I'm just saying I like it. The hair.

Caitlin: Oh. Thanks.

Ross: You understand I don't actually like 8-year-old boys.

Caitlin: Y'know, all I'm looking for is the money.

then...

Ross: (He opens the door while faking a laugh.) Hey! Oh, we-we can't keep eating like this.

Caitlin: It's uh, $12.50.

Ross: Okay, (gets the money) so, do you make the pizzas in one of those uh, wood-burning ovens?

Caitlin: No actually umm, I think that they're umm, gas.

Ross: Gas? Wow! Intense.

Chandler: (To Monica) If this is the way all the Gellers flirt, we don't have a problem.

Ross: (to Caitlin) Hey uh, y'know that smell gas has?

Caitlin: Yeah.

Ross: They put that in.

Caitlin: What?!

Ross: The gas is odorless, but they add the smell so you know when there's a leak.

Caitlin: (getting more desperate to leave) Well okay!

Ross: A lot of other gas smells...

Chandler: Oh the humanity.

Ross: Meth-methane smells...

Caitlin: Y'know what umm, actually I, I really, I should go.

Ross: Oh but I-I-I haven't paid you yet!

Caitlin: Y'know what? That's okay, you guys have ordered so many that this one is on me! (Runs for her life.)

Well, a little FYI...the company I work for (Honeywell Enraf) makes the machine that "puts that in there"...the smell. Ladies and gents: The Microdose Injector

Bravos? What is going on?

2008-04-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

We went to the Opening Night game for the Braves last night. We had a blast but the Braves were depressing. Tom Glavine pitched, which was awesome but after he left the game, everything started falling apart. They were ahead for the first part of the game and then Pittsburg scored a bunch of runs and Atlanta was down 9-4. It was the 8th inning, it was very cold and it was 10:15 pm. Chipper Jones made an awful throw to first and we jetted. We rode MARTA there so when we got back on, we listened to it on the radio and low-and-behold...the Braves tied it up!!! We couldn't believe that we left. I always said I would never leave a game early just because my team was losing. (However, in my defense, it was a work/school night and it takes an hour to get home from Turner Field.) So, anyway, we listen to the game on the train and then in the car and we get home and the game is still going!!! We watched the end of the game and the Braves finally lost in the 12th inning. So, needless to say, I am glad we left because we would have gotten home at 1:00am and I had to be at work at 8:00. We are going again on Saturday, hopefully they will improve!

Yunel Escobar was the best player last night...

On a side note, we kept attracting the most obnoxious people last night. We sat beside this guy that just got out of "the hospital" (I think that is a substitute for "place the crazy people go" or "prison). He was definitely excited to be at the game but he had the weirdest, deepest voice ever. He screamed the craziest stuff to random people. It was one of those moments where everyone around keeps looking at each other uncomfortably but everyone is afraid to say anything to him at the same time. I tried to get a picture of him (he didn't have very many teeth) but we were sitting in a position where it would have been too obvious...rats!

If you haven't read it, you should...

2008-03-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

The speech, entitled "A More Perfect Union", was given by Barack Obama, D-Ill. on March 18, 2008, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania.

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story...

Read the rest: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=4472228&page=2

Wait until it comes on TBS next year...

2008-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

We went to go see 10,000 B.C. Saturday night with Brian and Tammy Harrison for Tammy's birthday along with 2 other couples they know from college. We had a great dinner at La Parilla and were fortunate enough to miss the tornados on Friday and Saturday. We went to the theater in Atlantic Station for the first time. We had both seen the previews for the movie (you can too at http://movies.aol.com/movie/10000-bc/23948/main) and it looked really cool from those. We had planned on seeing it for about 2 weeks. Well, let's just say that I was never scared, it wasn't suspenseful and I laughed...A LOT. I think that either middle schoolers or perhaps very confused screen writers wrote this movie because the timeline was all over the place. To begin with, let's just pretend for a minute that 10,000 B.C. was a year...that's a whole other debate in itself...I know. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that in 10,000 B.C. there was no metal so I'm not sure how they would have come up with the sword that one of the men had. I'm also pretty sure that they didn't build the Pyramids in said year, nor did they use Wolly Mamoths to do so. I was pretty bummed that there were no camels. There was however a saber tooth tiger (see movie poster) and a couple of giant ostriches. More pictures and videos can be found at http://www.10000bcmovie.com/. I was very disappointed when there were no dinosaurs...I thought I saw that one coming but they never did. The most outrageous thing about the movie is that it began in what appeared to be the Himalayas or something because they traversed through the "great mountains" that were covered in snow. After a few days walk, they were in a rain forest, and then a couple days later, a desert. Now I'm not sure where this movie is thought to take place but maybe they are going for the Pangaea theory and all land is connected together or something. I know, I know, it's fiction and I'm fine with that. But this was overkill on the cheese factor so all of these other points just made the movie a flop. I won't give away for any of you that want to spend $10 on the movie but let's just say that the ending is really what made it hilarious. I'm not sure if they were going for the Braveheart "actually could have happened thing" or the Lord of the Rings "fantasy" thing. Either way, I don't think they got it. I would like to hear what you thought about it...

Snowshoe

2008-03-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

We went skiing this week and it was awesome. We went to Snowshoe, WV Sunday through Wednesday. We got to skii all day on Monday and it was 50 degrees so it wasn't cold but conditions were great. Tuesday, it rained ALL day!!! It was crazy because it was a constant downpour and melted all the snow. So, on Tuesday, we sat around the cabin all day and watched it rain. Wednesday morning, we woke up and there was a dusting of snow all over the ground so we thought it would be great skiing for the morning before we had to leave. Well, we got on the slopes and everything was covered in a sheet of ice with about a 1/16" of snow on top. It was crazy sketchy because in some places, you could hear water running under the ice that we were skiing over!!! It was also snowing/sleeting really hard at this point and the wind was blowing so you couldn't see 3 feet in front of your face. So, we didn't ski very much yesterday. It was still a blast and now we are going to go buy ourselves skiis so that we can try to make a couple of day trips in the NC mountains. Hopefully, we are going out west next year for a trip, too.

On the way home, we got to stop in Charlotte to see my best friend Penny~ yay!!

Here are some pics from our back door at the ski trip:

Deer outside our door just before we let G out to chase them...

G trying to chase them...he was tied to the stairs though.

G trying to find a tennis ball in the snow

The downfall of snow the day we left

Oh Flu Season!

2008-02-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

We will fight you, flu! You will not bring us down before our ski trip next week! Three cheers for Airborne to stand and guard our immune systems before you attack!

I really don't want to get sick...Wes is almost there and we are going to West Virginia next week to go skiing...

My favorite kidos...

2008-02-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hey, I was looking through some pics and wanted to show you my two favorite kids in the whole world. These children are not related to me by blood, but they are family. Their parents are like siblings to me and like children to my mom. By the grace of God, this family is a part of my life. (For those that where there, this was my flower girl).

Paul (aka: Paulskis), me, Kathleen (aka: The Priss Pot [and yes, it's always with "The" unless it's just "Priss"])

Kathleen will be 6 in May, her hobbies include but are not limited to: going to school, collecting anything with Disney Princesses, pestering her little brother and spending the night with Susu or Mere-Mere.

Jansport Bookbags called and they want The Priss Pot to be the poster child for the first day of school. Can you tell she was excited about starting Kindegarten?

This is Paul back at Thanksgiving. He is such a man and is rarely sitting still. This picture was taken right before he took the camera and ran. Paul will be 2 in April. His hobbies include but are not limited to: eating, running anywhere he can get to, hearing himself make loud noises, and pestering is older sister.

I miss them!

V-Day recap

2008-02-15T05:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought we were going to the piano bar place but we didn't have a reservation and they weren't taking walk-ins. Who knew? Anyway, we will definitely be going back there.

We went down the street to Benihana for sushi and it was really good.

P.S. Wes got me a gift even though we weren't supposed to do that. I love you, babe!

Actually celebrating!

2008-02-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

We don't normally do anything on Valentine's Day because Wes' birthday is tomorrow. However, Wes is leading worship for a McAfee retreat this weekend so we are doing the V-day/B-Day thing tonight. We are going to a Piano Bar/Italian Restaurant...I'll let you know about it tomorrow. (p.s. Can you tell I'm bored at work?)

My love of TiVo

2008-02-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it, I'm addicted to two TV shows. One is a guilty pleasure: American Idol. I don't know what it is because I really don't think that Idol can ever get better than the first three seasons, but for some reason...I can't miss an episode. So, thank goodness for TiVo. I watched Tuesday and Wednesday's episodes back to back last night (fast-forwarding, of course through commercials and the parts where they just show what I've already seen). I'm not even attached to any contestant yet. But for some reason, I have to watch it. Does anyone have any first week predictions? Nobody has really stood out to me. I'm trying to think of who I even remember. I think we'll know the top 12 next week after hearing them all perform just once. I can't imagine how long the show will go on. I kinda wish this would be the last season so I would stop watching it, but I think that millions of other people are just like me and have to know what's going on with the show. I think this girl is my fav so far:

My other show that I can't get enough of is LOST. I know, I was a pessismist at first about it. I thought the idea was stupid too. But Wes and I watched season two and got hooked. Now, I find myself reading message boards about theories and missing peices and I try to figure out what goes on. It's cool when you Tivo it because you can rewind and see things in slow motion and catch fast things like Jacob in the cabin and Christian Shepherd, too. It's crazy how many people blog and message about this show. There are so many theories out there.

How does anyone else feel about these shows?

p.s. All of my former roomates will be happy to know that I also Tivo old favorites like Friends, 30 minute meals, Golden Girls and Who's the Boss!

Before and after pics

2008-02-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

So, I still don't have any good pics of the new house...I know, I'm a slow-poke! Anyway, here are before and after shots of painting. Yes, that is Mustard paint with dookie-brown trim (painted, not stained!)

We hired painters because we painted our old house in Wilmington and it was the biggest pain ever. Not having to do it ourselves was worth every penny! Especially since they did the whole interior including the garage.

Let's hear it for the underdog!

2008-02-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I married a football loving man. When we were dating during the 2004 NFL season, I spent Sunday afternoons on a couch or in Wild Wing Cafe watching and learning NFL football. Four seasons later, I love it too. I love how excited about sports we get as humans. And even more, I love when the underdog wins. Since they made it to the playoffs, I have been a closet Giants fan because I wanted Eli to shine in the same brightness that his older brother has for so long. I'm really happy for him and for the Manning family. I can only imagine how proud Mrs. Manning is of her boys. I think it's cute how Peyton was there and how excited he was when Eli threw the winning touchdown. It's good to know that the 2 touchdown underdog can win. It's good to know that we can prevail. And it's also good to know that sometimes, 14-6 is better than 18-1.

New House

2008-01-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

OK, So I still don't have our first picture in front of our new house. To be honest, there has been way too much going on for any cameo shots lately. It took 4 days, but we finally got into the new house! Yay!!! Everything went well until we put together our new IKEA bed. I have been so excited about this new bed. My sister, Meredith and I put it together at 10:00 on Saturday night...at 12:30...it fell apart. That's right, Meredith, Wes and I moved 3 inches to fit under the window and the legs broke! THREE INCHES!! You should be able to move furniture, right? I mean, it's a bed...2 people should be able to lay/sleep/sit/or anything else on it...

So, needless to say, I am a little upset with IKEA. Furthermore, they don't answer the phone in the customer service department so we took it apart as much as we could, we have to get it in one of our small cars and drive it back to get a refund. NO, I am not exchanging it for the same bed. If anyone knows of any inexpensive Queen size beds, let me know~

There's a first time for everything

2008-01-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

OK, so I started this blog about 6 months ago and never posted anything so I guess it wasn't really a blog. Wes has is own for music purposes, so even though this is "our" blog, you will probably only see posts from me (Lex). There really is a lot going on in our lives now so it is appropriate to have this thing.

For those of you that don't know, we are living in the Atlanta, GA area. We just bought a house! It's in Alpharetta, GA which is due north of the city. We're suburbanites now! I will post pictures of the house when we take some good ones. Right now, we are having painters in and random stuff fixed before we move in. Hopefully, we are moving in next weekend...we are willing to take help if you are offering ;). It's really exciting to BUY our first house (we had a house in Wilmington that we inherited and are/were incredibly grateful for but we actually bought this one so it makes me feel like we are actually adults or something. But I guess that's not true because we are going to see a Michael Jackson cover band tonight in Midtown...yes!!!

Well, I guess I'll post more when I get some pictures...I like reading other people's blogs even if they are about everyday things so maybe they will like this too.