A Nice Surprise

I had a really cool surprise at work today. With my local reception tomorrow, I was planning of taking off early today to pick up my parents and finish getting ready. So my focus at work this morning was just to get what I needed to get done, done!

Well, you can imagine my surprise when one of my coworkers lured me into one of the conference rooms for a surprise bridal shower of sorts! BIG surprise - totally unexpected! But I thought it was pretty cool.

They had all pitched in and got a few really nice gifts, and plus, has some cake and chocolate covered strawberries. It was a nice little break from my focus on work. It really makes for a nice work environment when you work with such great people!

The Tent and Stuff...

The big day is almost here!

For our Indy reception, that is.

The tent was put up today - our neighbor said they were in and out in about 45 minute. Pretty impressive for the size of the tent in the constraints of our backyard. Eric spent the evening decorating the inside of it with our lights and I stayed inside preparing favors and other decor. Just those few last minute items.

We got all of our liquor thanks to our awesome neighbor. It pays to know people in the right industry (she works for a liquor distributor). We should have plenty to go around and then some. Looking forward to the specialty drinks we're going to have - very summery! We'll even have an actual bartender - no pouring your own drinks necessary!

Tomorrow my parents arrive. They have a EARLY flight leaving Jacksonville... I'll still be in bed! But then I'll pick them up at noon and the weekend will begin!

I'm just hoping it goes smooth... no weird hiccups! Keeping my fingers crossed! It'll great to finally celebrate with all of our local friends, though... yay!

Am I a Traitor??

Not really a serious question... but at the same time, I can't help but feel like a traitor!

I've officially, and fully converted... I'm an Apple person now. For as long as I can remember, I've been all about Dell... But a Dell laptop, and two Dell desktops later, I bought a Mac Mini. And you know what... that Mac rocks!!

My computer was getting slow... scary slow. I had done everything I could aside from take it in for a 'professional screening and cleaning'... which didn't seem worth it. Eric and I had been talking about a new computer, if for no other reason, we needed a central 'server' of sorts at the house since it's all wi-fi. He had a gateway laptop with a broken screen, so that wouldn't work. And we both knew my computer couldn't handle it!

And then the iPad came out. Eric was instantly obsessed with it. I already had my iPhone, which I've loved for the past year. So we started throwing around the idea of doing a Mac for a base computer. We weren't quite convinced of it though. Then, for my birthday, Eric got me an iPad (for reasons other than him wanting to play with it - but we'll get to that in another blog). Well... he ordered it for me, anyway - it finally came this week. We happened to be at Best Buy around my birthday and saw that the Mac we had been looking at wasn't there anymore... and the employee had no clue! So we ventured over to the Apple store to see what was up.

Now the Apple employees are well trained... trained to know, and trained to sell... in a good way. They know exactly how to tune into your needs and direct their sales pitch in that direction. Needless to say, the guy we talked to was very convincing. But it turned out that the Mac we had been looking at just had an upgrade released... and it was smaller, sleeker, and faster. And of course a $100 more. So Eric and I walked away with something more to think about.

It didn't take long to realize that was what we wanted/needed. So last Friday, we did it - we bought the Mac Mini. I took my old machine in to do the data migration, which was the best bang for the buck considering it was our first Mac and things are just 'different' on a Mac. Plus, it included a year's worth of one on one training session, as you saw fit. Well worth the extra $99!

The migration was only supposed to take a day. Well... that's with a machine in good working order, because when they went to turn my machine on for the migration, they got the 'blue screen of death'. I hadn't seen that yet, but I knew it well from my last desktop when it did a hard crash. They eventually got it to work, though... it just took an extra day. But it looked like my timing was 'just in time' to get anew computer!

Finally, I picked it up on Monday evening. They gave me a quick tutorial on the basics, and I was off. I got it set up and from what I've payed with, I love it! The iPhoto is amazing, and I haven't even scratched the surface of what it can do. The other programs have barely been looked at yet. This is going to be fun.

In the meantime, my iPad got all sync'd up and running. Eric spent the night playing with it and I think he wants his own, now. That's a cool little gadget, too... Apple really has come a long way from the old Macintosh desktop word processors we had in elementary school! The user friendly aspect is amazing!

So maybe I'm not a traitor... just a convert. I still have a Dell at work... but it has a full IT department to maintain it. And I still like it. For now. We'll see how the differences pan out over the next couple of months and see what I like better. In the meantime, I'll just have fun with my new toys!

I *HEART* Ikea!

I'm not sure what it is about the place, but I LOVE going to Ikea! Maybe it's the meatballs. Maybe it's the unique items. Maybe it's just because of all the cheap thrills. I don't know... but I get a kick every time we go.

Today we headed to Cincinnati to go to Ikea - we needed a couple extra things for our reception this weekend. So around noon, we were off, which was a rather late start for a trip to Ikea for us. Though we didn't decide to go until this morning, either!

By the time we got there, I was ready for lunch, so we both had the meatball lunch... what is it about those meatballs?? Love 'em! So after we filled ourselves with meatballs, it was time to shop!

We had a few items on our list that we were specifically looking for...Now Eric... he likes to stick to the list. Me... I like to wander and just see what floats my boat. but for the most part, we did actually stick to the list... and added to the list near the end when we found something that would work as centerpieces for the weekend. But our big find that we were looking for was the kitchen cart! It has a butcher block top and a stainless steel shelf below... goes nice in the kitchen and add that little extra counter space when needed, where needed. I believe it'll be well utilized!

After Ikea, we hit a couple of other places in the 'nati... we went to The Container Store, more for Eric to research for work, but managed to find a few things there to buy, as well. i thought I'd been to one before, but this was was only about a year old, and if I have been to one before, it was awhile ago and they're bigger now. At least this one was. Regardless, I think we'll be going back, if not to that one, than another one. Or online. We're thinking out master closet will be using the Elfa fixtures there.

All in all, a successful trip to Ikea... and more. But I love Ikea. Wish we had one in Indy... though then I probably wouldn't appreciate it the way I do now.

Birthday Weekend

In what has seemed to become a tradition, Eric and I headed north to celebrate my birthday. This year, in addition to making it to Redamak's, we headed further up the Michigan coastline to Saugatuck. Eric read an article about this little artisan type town, so we thought it'd be fun to check it out.

We left after breakfast on Saturday morning. Our first destination was Redamak's in New Buffalo for lunch. This was the first time we actually went during peak season. It was PACKED!! Line was out the door with people waiting for tables. Eric managed to snag a couple of seats as the counter, which was first come first serve... which he was lucky to do! But we had our Redamak's cheeseburgers and fries and enjoyed every morsel. It's one guilty vice we only enjoy once a year or so...

From there we headed to Saugatuck, MI, a little artisty beach town about an hour north. Eric had seen a short article about the town in a magazine, and that's all we really knew about it. So we had no idea what to expect! As we started to come into the town, we geared up for disappointment... but to our plea sent surprise, we found ourselves into a bustling little downtown area, full of shops and galleries along the Kalamazoo River.

We eventually found a parking space and started to walk around. There were so many little galleries and it ranged from free trade shops the scenic oil paintings. of course you had you tourists shops, too. I found myself a few birthday gifts and then we grabbed something to eat at what we thought was a pizza joint and turned out to be a very authentic Italian restaraunt.

We decided to take a sunset boat cruise on an authentic two level paddle boat, The Star of Saugatuck. It took us around the bay and then out onto Lake Michigan in time for the sunset. Along the way, they gave us the history of the town and how it came to be. But the end result - the sunset - was the reason the boat was packed. And we had a great sunset that evening!

By the time we got back to port, it was late. So we headed up the road to the hotel and just crashed. So far, for a trip we didn't really plan, it was great!

The next day, again, we didn't have much of an agenda. After breakfast, we went back into Saugatuck, just to check out the beach since we didn't get the the day before. The sand was amazingly soft from being so windblown! But it still wasn't 'the beach'... no waves!

From there we headed back into Indiana, just across the state line, to pick blueberries. Apparently, it was the thing to do that day cause the patch was packed! We planned to pick a lot more than we did (4 pounds), but it got so humid and unbearable, we had to give up early. But we still got enough to last us for awhile.

At this point, we we hungry, so initially, the thought was to eat at Eric's parent's old bar... but they were closed on Sundays. So we headed down to Garwood's market since Eric heard they had a cafe there now. Though the 'cafe' turned out to be a food trailer in the parking lot. but it was still good and kept us moving as opposed to getting held up in a sit down restaurant somewhere.

FInally, we got on the road to go home. And just in time... it started POURING just a few miles down the road! It rained off and on the whole way home. But we managed to get home when it was still light out. Not that that's saying much since the sun sets arounf 9:30pm here. But still...

So I have a very good birthday weekend! The getaway was much needed by both Eric and I and it was nice to just leave it all behind. Too bad is was such a short weekend!

More Wedding Pictures!

As promised, I'm sharing more wedding pictures with everyone!

First, there are more pictures on my Fotki page... I've been collecting all the family's pictures, so there are some fun one there. No password necessary here.

Finally, what I'm guessing everyone's been waiting for, a link to the professional pictures!! Go to Sarasota Photo and enter the event code karaanderic. It's as simple as that!

I'd love to here some comments about the pictures, so feel free to come back here and post your thoughts! Enjoy!!

First Hard Moment...

So today I finally did it. I conquered this ever wavering difficult task I've been putting off. Not that there was a good reason... it just was that sure sign I was no longer a "me" and definitely a "we"... and even more so, the first step in really letting go of my house.

This was MY first house. I bought it on my own, and have been living there, by myself, for over 8 years. There's a little bit of emotional and sentimental attachment to it. No... there's A LOT of sentimental attachment to it!! The packing and moving will be hard, as I've already mentioned. But the sentimental part is what will cause me to do most of the packing myself... I'll need time to dwell in each room, and if there's someone else 'helping' me, I won't be able to do that.

I know... it sounds crazy...

So what was the task I'd been putting off? The permanent change of address with the post office. I went to the website multiple times in the last month, but just couldn't hit that submit button. Sad... I know. It wasn't that there was ever doubt about me and Eric... there's been no doubt in my mind about us for well over a year... it was just the leaving of my house. Leaving my little piece of suburban paradise behind, something I knew was mine.

*sigh*

Oh well. There will be other houses, but one never forgets their first house. Just like I cried when my parents moved out of my childhood home in FL, I'm sure I'll cry when I finally close the door as I leave my house. Not that there was anything spectacular about it... it was just mine.

4th of July

The 4th of July has come and gone, and this year was one full of family and fireworks. It was actually relatively low key, which was actually pretty nice. And the weather worked with us this year, too... it was humid, but no rain!


Eric's parents came over, as did his sister and her family, and we just grilled out some food and relaxed while waiting for the late fireworks (that's what DST does for you... 10pm fireworks...). His sister brought over their puppy and she was entertainment in herself getting tangled up in her leash all night. but I was impressed how well the little dog did with the fireworks... didn't mind them at all.

Nolan was skeptical at first, but ultimately enjoyed the fireworks, too. He was around for them last year, too, but it didn't look like he remembered them - it seemed like a whole new concept. I was more surprised he stayed awake because he seems beat! He looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep all night!! But he pushed through the evening!

And then when the finale finally exploded in the warm night sky, we sat on the porch and watch the traffic clear out of downtown before Eric's family left, themselves. It was a good 4th of July.