Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. -- Margaret Mead

Harrington loves going out in the snow and playing. He digs his little snout in the snow and burrows just like dachshunds are bread to do. Unfortunately for him, this winter is beginning to look a lot like last winter: almost now snow, and warmer than average days. The only snow we have had came at the beginning of December. It began on a Thursday night with an rain which froze and became a lovely (but dangerous!) inch thick sheet of ice. After that came about two inches of snow. The following week we got about eight more inches, but it all melted away in about three days. Since then, we have had a rash of 45 degree days. It even got into the fifties for a while.

I worry about this. Global warming is here, and I know I'm guilty of contributing to the problem, but the whole thing really scares me. During Yom Kippur, Rabbi Aaron spoke a lot about Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth." It finally came on Gabe's Netflix, and we'll be watching it this weekend. I know I'm going to be horrified not only with what I see, but with myself. I only hope that Gabe and I can grow from watching it, and really be inspired to be a part of a solution, and not keep contributing to a problem. If things don't change soon, we're not going to have ice-covered trees glistening in the sun, or snow for the dog to bound through. With that being said, I'm going to end this with the words of Margaret Mead.


"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Harri and Grandpa

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Dad and Harrington spent all of Christmas together... This, of course, included napping...

...and keeping on eye on mom and her camera.

It's back to work in the morning...

So the weekend was good. Mom and Dad came yesterday to celebrate Christmas. We had fillet mignon and lobster and it was tasty! They let Gabe and I open a present before Gabe left for work. It was a statue/sculpture of a black and tan dachshund rolling on it's back. It looks just like Harrington! Mom and I watched a cheesy Lifetime movie while Dad and Harrington napped, then the three of us watched "Love Actually." They left after that for their hotel, and Harri and I hit the sack around midnight. I wish wish wish we had stayed up till 1:00 a.m. to see the Woot. It was a BAG OF CRAP!! Gabe was on a call and missed it too. We were so upset! They sold out 3000 in 10 minutes! Woot off in a couple of weeks. Hopefully we'll get one in there.

Mom and Dad came back this morning about 11ish. I made them watch about an hour and a half of My Super Sweet Sixteen, and that was about all Dad could stomach. He took control of the remote at that point. Gabe woke up about 1:30, and it was time for presents! Mom and Dad got us a very generous gift card to a gas station because of all of the commuting I will be doing. It was really nice of them! I also got another gift card to Express which is perfect! I got a laptop bag, curtains for my study, and a dictionary. Perfect! Gabe got me a new all-in-one printer, a digital voice recorder, a laptop cooler, my spycam from the last woot-off, and a book.

They got Gabe a cordless drill, a bunch of tools, and a new electric shaver. He was excited about that. I got him a new tool box and tape measure to go with the new tools. Maybe he'll build me something! I also got him some shirts, a new winter hat, a book about Roomba, a gift card to EB Games, a gift card to Q'doba, and slippers. Harrington got Gabe new socks. I thought that was very nice of him seeing as Harrington steals half of them out of laundry baskets.

Harrington got two new toys (one of which is almost destroyed!!), two boxes of milkbones, and a sack of pig ears. He was very happy, and is now passed out on the couch.

Mom and Dad really liked the computer we got them. I think they were really shocked! They kept saying that we didn't need to do that. But really, they do so much for us, we really wanted to do it for them. I think we've even got them signed up to DSL and getting rid of AOL. Yay for us! Harrington got them the Dachshund-A-Day calender that he gets them every year. Dad got Mom a thing she can put on her chair and it massages her back. Those people at HoMedics are geniuses! He also got her two books (one was the wrong book), and a book of MSU cross-stitch patterns, which she already had. Oh well, she loved them anyway. Mom got Dad some crazy thing that is supposed to make his golf swing as good as the pros. We'll see how that goes.

After a delicious turkey dinner, my parents headed home. I did some studying and am getting ready for bed because it's back to work in the morning...but only till 11:30;)

Tall double mocha with a shot of vanilla

Today was a pretty quiet day, but I got quite a bit accomplished. Gabe and I had to go to the bank this morning and sign on the refinance of the car loan. Merry Christmas to me with a lower interest rate! The bank manager wasn't there today so we met with the assistant manager. When we walked out the door, I said to Gabe, "After that, I feel like I've known her forever!" In the 25 minutes we were there, we found out about her living situation with her boyfriend, and that although she has to work some Saturdays, he doesn't want her to look for a new job because of the perks. What perks you ask? Well, she gets three weeks of vacation time, 10 sick days, two personal days, and her birthday off. And, it doesn't roll over, so she needs to use it up January 1st so that's why she has so much time off in December. Also, she and her boyfriend are looking for a new place. They're currently living in an apartment, but looking for a condo. This way, they don't have to mow the lawn. SERIOUSLY!!! We were there to sign on a loan, not to become best friends with her!!! Oh well.

Went to Meijer's and got a gift card. The other day when I was there, I got a coupon for $10 off any gift card of $25 or more. So with that, combined with the Christmas bonus Gabe got at work, we'll be going grocery shopping this week on the Meijer family's dime.

After the Meijer run, I headed to Beaner's to study for the afternoon and stayed there for about 4 hours. My good fortune came when I met a gentleman and his wife in Beaner's. He noticed my casebook and stopped to talk. Turns out that he graduated from Cooley in 2000. He lives in the area and has a practice and specializes in what else...wills and trust. I talked with them for about a half an hour. He showed me a book that I should read, and we really got to talking about school and what to expect. I left with his phone number and e-mail address. It was pretty great.

So now it's a quiet evening at home. I just finished wrapping the rest of the presents and have settled in with Harrington for a night of Lifetime movies and Dr. 90210.

Perez Hilton is always right

Wow. Perez was on when he said Heidi Klum couldn't sing! For those of you who don't know this already, Ms. Klum just put out a cd in her native Sweden. I just saw the new Victoria's Secret commercial in which she sings about two lines from "Santa Baby." It was hideous! Now I'm not claiming that I'm the next Mariah or anything, but damn!

On a different note. The studying has begun. It's going well. Time consuming. I should get used to it though! New job is going well. I'm working mornings only in this new part-time gig. I was trained Monday and Tuesday morning, and was on my own starting today. It was pretty easy to catch on, and am enjoying what I'm doing. Plus I get to listen to NPR all morning and go home at 11:30!

Gabe's working a lot, but loving it. The fire academy starts the same day as classes, so he'll be even busier. He got me a "spy camera" (a digital camera shaped like a zippo lighter) for one night of Hanukkah. It's only 1.3 megapixls (yikes!), but it's fun to play with.

Other than that, not much going on. Just studying lots and working. Mom and Dad are coming this weekend and we're going to eat like kings! I can't wait. I know Gabe and Harrington can't either!

Have you ever taken a $337 hot shower?

Today was the last day at my old job. Although I will miss my coworkers so much, I can honestly say that I am glad I am done. I didn't need the stress and the micromanaging anymore. So come Monday, I will be working at my new post. I will still be in the same suite, which is nice because I'll still get to see my friends. However, I will have a new, much calmer, relaxed, and laid back manager. I also think it will help that it's the kind of job where I can really work independently. Hopefully everything will go well and it will work out with my school schedule.

Speaking of school, now it's time to really kick my ass into gear. Only a few short weeks until school starts. I've gotten through all of the pre-reading for school. Now it's time to start working on my assignments for the first week and for orientation. (I know, right? Assignments for orientation!)

I had been planning with Leslie for about a week for her to come over last night for dinner and watch a movie; a girls' night since her husband was out of town on business. I came home from work; however, to find my husband screaming from the bathroom. There was no hot water. The hot water heater went out. Of course I wasn't about to wait until the next day to get it fixed...a girl needs a nice hot shower in the morning! I called an emergency plumber at 5:30. He called me about 6:30 and said he had one more call before me and he'd call when he was on his way. Leslie got here about 7:00 with dinner and we started watching the day's episode of Y&R. The plumber called about 8:00to say he was on his way, and he arrived about 8:30. He knew what was wrong with the water heater, and went to his truck to get the part (he knew we had a whirlpool, as I told him so when he called). Unfortunately, he came back in and gave me the bad news that he didn't have the part in the truck, but there was one at the warehouse and he could go and get it. He left at 9:00. Plumber Ron got back here exactly at 10:00. Leslie and I were now in the middle of watching "Love Actually." Ron fixed the water heater and started his truck up at 11:00. He didn't come back in until 11:15. He told me that when he had called and I said we had a Whirlpool, he was sure he had the part in the truck. Unfortunately, another company's packaging looks just like Whirlpool's, and that was the part he had. So being Ron the nice plumber, he didn't charge me for the hour he left to get the part (the hour that was a half hour too long...what? did he go 15mph the whole way?) So here I am thinking I got this great deal. Wrong. $337 later, I have hot water. Let me tell you that the part for the water heater was only $35. The rest was labor. Fucking emergency call rate. Fucking hot water heater. Oh. And Plumber Ron said that next time this happens, I should let it happen after 5:00 p.m. What the fuck Ron???

The window got fixed today. Yes. That's right. Our window...in our bedroom. Gabe was sleeping last week, and and only been asleep about an hour, when our bedroom window shattered. $145 and 20 minutes this afternoon later, I have a new window.

Happy Hanukkah everyone! Gabe is at work tonight, so I had to light the first night's candle alone. We'll be in Lansing tomorrow and we'll light candles at my parent's.

Time to work on laundry

A quiet Tuesday evening at home...

I am so much more comfortable in my house when it clean. Since this is the case, why is that I am so unmotivated to clean it? My good friend Leslie is coming over Thursday night for a girl's night...so that was just the motivation I needed to get off my ass and take care of things! It is now 8:15 and I am a much happier person!

Right now, as I type, Gabe is out on his first official call as a member of the fire department. He got all set up with his gear and his fire radio and pager today. Let me tell you, they are crazy loud!! He's really excited, and he looks really cute in his turnout gear, so I hope it goes well. I guess we shall see in a little bit.

Work was work today. Training my replacement. I started to "let go of the reins" today. Tomorrow and Thursday, I'm making her do the job by herself, so it should be interesting.

Just heard the garage door open, so I'm off to greet my husband and work on some school stuff.

Four days and counting.....

So the title of this post pretty much sums it up...four more days in this job. THANK GOD!!! I am really looking forward to my new position and the part-time hours. I will miss the girls though. We're ordering lunch Friday for my last day---crab rangoons all around!

Gabe was officially hired onto the fire department today. We're really excited about it...it's going to be really good for Gabe and his career. We went to dinner at the new Texas Roadhouse to celebrate. The food was alright, but the service was horrible. They got Gabe's order wrong twice, and then the waitress dropped off the bill and never came back to take our credit card. After like 10-15 minutes, we finally left cash and tried to leave. I say "tried" because they were playing "God Bless Texas" (yuck!!) and the entire waitstaff was line dancing and you couldn't get out of the restaurant. And wouldn't you know it, our waitress was dancing too. The only good thing about the restaurant was that the bread was good, they gave Gabe a second dinner to take home for later, and we had a parking spot out front. From now on, we've decided to stick to Logans...coldest beer in town!

Alright, time to pay some bills and work on some school stuff.

How did it become 8:00 on Sunday night already?

Whew! This weekend went by too fast. Didn't do much Friday...went to Barnes and Noble and picked up some of my textbooks that came in, then pack us up to go to Detroit on Saturday. We left about 10:45 on Saturday morning and drove to Lansing. My parents met us downtown where they took Harrington and Gabe and I went to the bookstore to buy more of my books. I dropped about $560 there (YIKES!!!). All in all, my books cost about $650...expensive!

From there we went to Novi where we met Erin at One World for sushi. We were starving! It was ok. Not nearly as good as Noble. After that we headed over to The Great Indoors, as we have a gift certificate there. We spent well over an hour there, and could not find a thing. I really don't understand how this could have happened. Oh well. It doesn't expire until April, so hopefully we'll think of something we need. After our failed shopping trip we headed to Erin's to check out her bathroom which she is remodeling. It looks like its going to be kick ass when it's all finished. We hung out at Erin's waiting for Jeremy to come home so we could go to early Hanukkah party at Grandma Ruth's. While we were waiting, Gabe played their wii and almost punched a hole in their newly drywalled ceiling. Jeremy and I thought it was pretty funny; Erin did not.

Party at Grandma Ruth's was fun. Food was good. Conversation was...interesting. In the Hanukkah White Elephant exchange I got a Barnes and Noble Gift Card and a bottle of wine (which Erin and Jeremy are now holding hostage) and Gabe got a subscription to Bon Appetite (sp??). Grandma got Gabe a really nice sweater and got me a pair of Uggs. They're pretty sweet. After Grandma's we headed back to Erin and Jeremy's. This time it was Jeremy's turn to almost ruin the new drywall job. Arnie and Shelly came over a little while later and we exchanged gifts with them and Erin and Jeremy. I got a gift card to Express and Gabe got a pretty awesome handheld gps (oh no! we got one in the woot off too!! but this new one is much better). I then got Season 1 of Numb3rs from Erin and Jeremy. Freakin Sweet!!!! I LOOOOVE David Krumholtz. yum yum Yumholtz! They got Gabe the Aqua Teen Hunger Force dvds. (I want my name to be spaghetti) After that we headed back to Arnie and Shelly's cause we were pretty tired, and we new we had an early morning on Sunday.

Patrick came to Gabe's dad's house at about 9:30 this morning and we piled in the car with Arnie and Shelly and we headed to Windsor (Oh Canada!) to meet Erin and Jeremy and Jeremy's brother Josh and his wife Christine for Dim Sum at Wah Court. I was nervous. I had never been. But I must say, it was quite tasty. I stuck mainly to shrimp, as almost everything else had pork, and I don't eat pork. They had these AMAZING sticky buns filled with this AMAZING custard. I could have seriously ate those all day. I burned the roof of my mouth on a shrimp ball, and it still hurts. After dim sum we headed back to the States and then Gabe and I took off to go home.

I slept most of the way to Jackson, where we were meeting my dad to pick up Harrington. We were a little early and he was a little late, so Gabe and I headed to the mall there. Seriously ghetto. However, we did pick up some coney to eat in the car (nothing like National). Drive back home was uneventful. Thankfully Thomas (our new gps, that's his name) got us there quickly...lol.

Once we got home I had an e-mail from Barnes and Noble that my last textbook had arrived. I persuaded Gabe to go with me to pick it up. Trade-off was that we had to go to Meijer to do the grocery shopping (I HATE MEIJER!!!). Got groceries, came home, had dinner, and here I sit.

Now it's time to do laundry and work on some school stuff.

This is going to be a no input meeting, a lecture; I will talk and then send you out the door...

Attempting the blogging...we'll see how it goes...

With today now over, I only have 5 more days in this job, then the new job begins. THANK GOD!!! My boss today decides that she's going to have a meeting with the front desk staff about scheduling. Only this meeting will be a "no input" meeting. She'll talk, actually, more like lecture, then tell us to leave. WTF??? How unprofessional is that. Who has a "no input" meeting?? I mean seriously, she couldn't schedule her way out of a box. I told the girls that if she actually had this "no input" meeting, I was going to contact HR and demand an exit interview before I left her department, because that's bs. She's done a lot of stupid shit since I've been there, this is just fuel to the fire, and I know exactly where it's coming from. five more days, five more days, five more days...

Sorry about the venting, but I've felt like a ball of rage all day!! On to happier things. Something amazing happened! Yesterday was the Woot Off and we got some really great stuff (handheld gps, roomba, digital camera shaped like a zippo--I know, seriously, right?), and then this morning I woke up and the Woot Off is still going on! It's Wootacular! Gabe and I have been watching it all day (me at work and Gabe while he's been sleeping--lol). Lots of cool stuff, including a Scooba (Gabe said no). Rumor has it, it's going to last till midnight. Also on the rumor mill---woot off on Christmas Eve---SWEETNESS!! Leslie even tried to woot today, but it was too little too late, but we'll keep trying for her.

Two of my books came into Barnes and Noble today. I am picking up the rest tomorrow at Cooley's bookstore. This is crazy. This is all becoming real and is actually happening...I'm going to law school. More updates to come as things start progress...

Going to see Gabe's family tomorrow for early Hanukkah. A weekend filled with lots of good food and family sounds excellent right now!

Alright, out for now. Back to wooting!