NaBloPoMo Fail

I failed. I'm a tiny bit upset at this but not really. I had the worst sinus infection/cold ever hit me Wednesday morning and take me out for 3 days. Awful. I hate winter. In other news Turkey Day is approaching and we have lots of family to see and catch up with. It should be a fun time. By the way, my two part-time jobs have become more demanding than one full time job, my schedule is way full right now. I shall try to post more on Wednesday (my next day off) but I wanted to write a little something to let you know I didn't die.

Currently on our DVR

Andy and I have never been huge TV people. Well Andy hasn't, if it wasn't hockey, he wasn't generally interested, I like TV, it helps pass the time and it's cheap entertainment. Currently with our "Reduce the Deficit" plan in effect (which is going smashingly, we haven't eaten out in two weeks!!!) we've been watching a lot more TV because we pay to have cable and a DVR (well I do because I work at night and miss some of my favorite shows). Plus it seems a tad ridiculous to pay $20+ to see a movie when we can rent one out of a machine for a dollar or watch our favorite shows together.

Anyway, currently there are a lot of good shows that we are in to, plus there is the added bonus of the "On Demand" feature which allows you to watch some of the popular shows when you want without having to record them. So what are we currently in to? Quite a few things actually. Wednesday nights on ABC are probably the best shows that we watch jointly, "The Middle", "Better with You", "Modern Family",  and "Cougar Town" never fail to have us laughing. Thursday night is my night with "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" giving me my chick show fix. Friday nights have "Supernatural" set to record on our DVR. Other than that, I have a few on my own that I've gotten kind of obsessed with "The Event" and "Parenthood" but those I only watch during the day when Andy isn't around and usually because I am bored and have all my work around the house done.

What's currently on your DVR or must watch list?

My favorite things: Gadgets

This is a continuation of "my favorite things series." For this one Andy and I both put our heads together and thought of the most used gadgets around the house.

1. iRobot Roomba 560 Series

• What it is: This is our daily vacuum, with just the push of a button (or not, see below) it will vacuum the whole living room.
• Why we love it: Hello! It's a vacuum that runs by itself! It's seriously amazingly fun just to watch but it does a great job at picking up animal hair. Bonus is that I can program it to run at a certain time of the day for each day of the week. Example: Monday schedule to run at 10AM, Tuesday to run at 9AM.

2. HoMedics SoundSpa Premier AM/FM Clock Radio

• What it is: It is an alarm clock with a built it sound machine.
• Why we love it: I have such issues with sleep. I grew up down the street from train tracks so I am use to falling asleep with a lot of noise. Before we got this alarm clock we would have to sleep with a heater or fan on all night just so I could fall asleep. Andy wasn't exactly thrilled with that scenario. Now I just push a button and fall asleep to my choice of sound. It's marvelous.

3.  Nintendo Wii

• What it is: I'm going out on a limb here and assume you don't live under a rock and you know what a Wii is.
• Why we love it: It's one of our favorite things to do together and a great way to pass the time. We have used it quite a few times when we have had people over as well.  Plus it doubles as a work out system for me!

4. HTC Evo (My phone) iPhone 3g (Andy's Phone)

• What they are: Our main means of communication with the outside world.
• Why we love them: Our phones are crazy awesome. Navigation, social networking, web, and of course the actual phones. These get the most use our of any gadget in our house. 

5. Califone 1005 Record Player with built in speaker for Education and Instruction

• What it is: Does anyone remember those large, black, circular disks with grooves (call records) that when a needle glides over the surface it plays music? Yeah, this thing plays those.
• Why we love it: This is more Andy's thing so I'm turning over to him. ... You really can't get much better than vinyl when it comes to music. The scratchiness adds a whole new level to the music. Elvis knew it; that's why his music sounded so much better on Sun than RCA. But anyhow, I love the vinyl, and this record player is REALLY good quality. Guess that's what you get for it being specifically for speech and auditory therapy. 

So there you have it, the most used gadgets in the SalTal household. More favorite things to come in the future. See you again tomorrow...I hope!

Comfort Food Sunday!

I think Andy and I have decided on a new Sunday tradition. See last Sunday, after we got the news about Maddie's passing, I spent most of the day crying off and on and all I wanted for dinner was comfort food. We ended up making pot roast, mashed potatoes, peas and biscuits. Talk about delish! It was a huge, lethargy-inducing meal combined with a nice fire and some good TV, it was the perfect way to end an evening. Anyway, I had to work today and Andy was kind enough to drive me and pick me up, (I had a long night of driving for a family event last night) so on the way home I ran the idea of another big Sunday dinner by him and he went for it. Tonight we decided on roast chicken, mac and cheese, broccoli and biscuits. I'm thinking about making this our own little family's tradition. Andy and I both thing that it could be a nice thing that we get to do together and it's also relaxing.

What do you think? What kind of traditions have you and your significant other come up with?

Adventures in Unclesitting

So we had to take care of my baby nephew Charlie for around 7 hours tonight. And when I say "baby nephew", I mean 5 month old gettin crazy with the teething nephew. And when I say "we" had to take care of him, I mean me by myself for a couple hours.

See, Amanda had to go up to Sandusky tonight for her grandma's birthday as well as their Thanksgiving, seeing as she's going with me to my family's Thanksgiving. So that just left me, 2 dogs, and a drooling cutie alone in the house. Now, keep in mind that Charlie was the first baby I ever held, period. Was I nervous? I suppose one could say that.

However, did I rock the uncle-ness?
Yeah, I suppose you could say that :) Had the little bugger taking a nice nap within an hour.

Truth is, Charlie is such an awesome baby that I felt like I had things on easy mode. Not saying I ever doubted my taking-care-of-baby skills, but let's just say that I hope being so good is genetic.

Working at the Car Wash...er...not quite

I literally walking into my house about 10 minutes ago and already I'm in sweats with a drink in my hand. So I now have two jobs. Both of which are part-time, which is great. It offers me a nice change up. I have only had two jobs a grand total of a week, but it's been a great week. A little tiring but not at all boring. See for the first time in my life. I love my jobs. I mean I looove them. Both are awesome in their own unique ways. It's fantastic.

Both of my jobs had a little segment in the orientation/handbook about blogging and social networking in respect to the company, which I understand. They don't want you bashing your company, which is totally understandable. I mean how awful would that be to get fired because of some Internet thing where you were letting out steam. Not that I would be that stupid. I mean my blog is out there for the world to see, it's not exactly the forum to say negative things about work. I think talking a little about my jobs is okay as long as I'm not bashing or divulging company secrets.

My first job that I have had for about a little while is with Columbus Metropolitan Library. It's a really great job. It keeps me on my toes both literally and figuratively. I find that I have enough stimulation and movement that I don't ever get bored. Honestly, probably one of the best I have every had in my life. I feel really comfortable saying that now because I have been there for a while and am starting to find my rhythm, it's a great fit for me.

My second job is newer and therefore I don't feel very comfortable talking about it yet. I will say that I enjoy it and that I have a lot of fun there, it's also looking to be a pretty good fit but I'm not even out of training yet so we'll see in a week or so how I feel. I sincerely don't think there will be any problems. I just feel that confident.

Now, I've worked an 11 hour day and would like to go to bed, so see you all on the flip side.

Happy Veteran's Day!

I just want to take a brief moment to thank all the men and women that serve this country and have served this country in the past. You are all my heroes and I respect and admire all that you do for us. Thank you again veterans, you all are amazing, incredible people to do what you do!

On a different note, regular posting will resume tomorrow. I think. I hope. I'm gone from 9:30AM to 11:30PM for work tomorrow, so it may not be me. I'm trying to convince Andy to write a post since he hasn't written in ages. I'm hoping that still counts for NaBloPoMo. If not then I'm screwed because I will have very little time to write something creative and intelligent for you to read. Have a good night everyone!

My Favorite Things: Cleaning Products Pt 2

I apologize for my skimpy post yesterday. I swear I had the whole thing written out and saved, I was just awaiting editorial approval (read: Andy had to read through it). I think Blogger might have just hated me yesterday, I had to re-write that post twice already so when I go home and it wasn't here I was in no mood to write it again. Anyway, where did I leave off yesterday? Oh yes, the last four cleaning products that I can't live without.

2. Pledge Fabric Sweeper

• What it does: Swoosh it across whatever fabric you have in mind (couches, chairs, blankets etc.) and it picks up that pesky fur.
• Why I love it: Four fur babies, 'nuff said. But seriously, when I don't feel like lugging the vacuum around the house to clean things this really gets the job done.

3. Bounce Dryer Bar

• What it does: It keeps my clothes and laundry static free and smelling fresh.
• Why I love it: I always forget to put in a dryer sheet or fabric softener. This convenient little bar sticks right into your dryer so you never have to worry about, well not entirely true, it needs replaced every couple of months.

4. Swiffer Dusters

• What it does: It dusts. Duh. Well it also captures the dust and doesn't spread it around.
• Why I love it: I abhor dusting. It is probably my least favorite chore. These little duster cloths really get the job done and keep the dust from flying around. 

5. Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel

• What it does: A little glob of gel in the toilet and it cleans with every flush. When it disappears you add another glob.
• Why I love it: It really keeps the toilets clean and it's easy to know when it needs to be replaced. Bonus is the smell is nice and fresh. 

There you have it, my favorite cleaning products. They make my household a little easier to clean.

So what are your favorite cleaning products and why?

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Cleaning Products pt 1

I want to preface this post  by saying these are my own personal opinions and am in no way getting paid by any of these companies to endorse these products (I wish!). Moving on, I really hope that The Sound of Music soundtrack is running through your head the rest of the day because I won't be able to get it out of mine for the rest of the day. I decided today that I want to do a series of my favorite things, I have a few different categories of products and things that I love and use everyday that I thought would be nice to share.

Today's post is going to be about the cleaning products that make my life easier. This has become vitally important lately because with my two jobs I'm getting home 3 or more hours later than Andy on weeknights and I have to also work weekends, which means our time together is precious. Most of these products save me time, energy and work pretty well which is why I love them.

1.  The Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner

• How it works: Basically, the user (moi) presses the button after the last shower of the day, then shower cleaning solution is sprayed through a rotating nozzle. Voila! The shower is clean!
•  My Thoughts: I'm a big fan of this product, I got it pretty much as soon as it came out. It's really easy to use (just push a button) and it works pretty well. It doesn't replace the need for a good scrub every once in a while but it does mean I don't need to scrub the shower once a week 

...Okay guys, I had an entire post here, with five items, it was here ready to post after I got home from work, but apparently I'm having technical difficulties. I'm too exhausted to re-write today so the remaining 2-5 items will be on the blog tomorrow. Thanks for the patience!

Da Fever

I don't know what is is lately but I have been suffering from baby fever so badly. There is just something in the air that is making me baby crazy. It probably doesn't help that I have an adorable 4 month old nephew, who is (without any bias whatsoever) the best baby in the world. I'm not being sarcastic, he hardly cries and he sleeps through the night. He is such a good baby and so damn cute. Seriously, look at that face:

 My nephew on Halloween. Seriously, I die.

Anyway, you get it, I want a baby. I think a lot of newlyweds face this. We have both finally gotten into a routine, things aren't chaotic anymore, we've adjusted fairly well to being married and it is kind of like, now what? Well, Andy and I finally had a serious talk about this the other night in bed. (I love pillow talk, it's my favorite time of the day) and we both want kids, in fact we wouldn't mind a kid now. The key word there is mind, meaning if by some miracle of God we were to become pregnant we wouldn't freak out. We both know that we aren't ready to actively try for a kid, we probably won't be ready for a couple years. There are many reasons for this, but most of them come down to money. Our logical reasons behind fighting the fever are as follows:

• We would like to get completely out of debt, meaning all we have is student loans/ house/ car payments, no more credit cards. This seems like a good plan and completely do-able because we have a date in mind to complete this by.
• We would like to own our own house. This one seems like it might take longer than expected so I am kind of hoping that we can negotiate on this one. Meaning maybe we will be renting still until the baby is a few months old but after that purchasing.
• We would like to build up our savings. The reason behind this is that I would like to stay at home with our kids until they are in pre-school. This may change in the coming years but right now my income would cover the cost of daycare/a nanny and that's about it, maybe a bill or two. Looking at it this way, it seems like it would make more sense for me to stay home or at least work only part-time around Andy's schedule so that I am not working just to pay someone's salary. 

There are a couple other reasons but mostly those are emotional. I like where Andy and I are right now, we both love the time we get to spend together and the fact that it's just us and the fur babies. For right now, we aren't willing to give that up. However, I do keep getting these waves of baby fever that isn't really eased by my logical or emotional reasons for waiting and I am torn. Mostly I try just to repeat over and over in my head our reasons for waiting and hope logic prevails. When all else fails I visit with my nephew and try to get my baby fix in.

Any other newlyweds struggle with baby fever? How do you deal with it?

A Dedication

Please press play before reading on.



 Nearer My God to Thee seemed appropriate, especially the lines: "Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise; So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee."

Last night, I had some devastating news, I learned that this world lost a great friend and my family lost a member. Our family dog, Madison, died. Madison had been battling cancer for the last month and the cancer won out last night. My sister and my mother fought hard to save her life but there was nothing more they could do. To many this may seem ridiculous, but to me it's like a death in the family because she was family. For twelve years she was there for us, she comforted us when we cried, she was excited with us when we were happy, and all the in between times she was there. Maddie was so sweet, so loving, so loyal and so fantastic, she was the best dog we had ever encountered and it is truly a devastating loss. We all loved her so much. I know that God gained a loyal companion in Heaven last night and I know now that she is free of her pain but I can't help but be a little sad that she's no longer on this Earth with us.

Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers today. Thank you all so much.

Is it a full moon or something?

I have to tell you there is something weird in the air around the SalTal household. It started a few days ago, our older kitty Izzy started getting more and more anti-social. Now this isn't too unusual for her, Izzy is a very low-maintenance kitty, she hangs out by herself and comes around when she wants attention or food and basically pals around with our other kitty Josie. However, she seems to be extra agitated lately, no one can get near her and she absolutely will not tolerate Josie within 5 feet of her. Andy and I have both picked her up and examined her to make sure she wasn't physically hurt somewhere and she doesn't seem to be sore anywhere, but we thought we would take her to the vet to be sure. Well, Andy couldn't even get her into the carrier this morning to go to said vet. She now is in her own private room (my office) quarantined in hopes that less stimulation will be good for her.

As if that wasn't worrisome enough, our Pepper pup will not go outside. She gets all scared and cowers down and we have to literally carry her outside and then she tries to run back into the house. This started last night. I have no idea what to think except that maybe there is some weird cosmic force at work that my very sensitive animals are picking up on and making them act funny.

Anyone have any experience with some sudden weird behavior in their animals? What did you do, if anything?

Lame-O

Do you remember when you were a kid and it was around Christmas time (or another holiday or your birthday) and you were opening presents, digging into that pretty wrapping and finding some of the coolest things, only to reach one that wasn't so cool, like socks? Then you'd get that fake, frozen smile and say thank you, when really your eyes are saying "What the heck man? Where is the Barbie?" I know that you all know what I'm talking about, now the real question, when does that all change? When do the Barbie dolls and race cars turn into clothes and socks and other practical nonsense?

I say this because Andy and I are currently in the process of making out our Christmas lists to send to our families and I'm looking these over and thinking, really? When did I become so lame? Need an example:

Amanda's List
-Attachable book light for kindle
-The Talavera Split Ender
- Slipper Socks
- Gift Cards to Home Depot or Lowe's

Andy's List
- Sweaters size M
- Craftsman Standard Wrenches
- Big comfy socks (not slipper socks) wool/ not too itchy
- Knife from Bed Bath and Beyond registry

Seriously? We are lame. But in all honesty, it's cool because I'm probably more excited about some of these items then I was about toys when I was a little kid. Maybe I'm just boring or maybe I've grown-up and realized that practical gifts that I will use every day rather than just on Christmas morning are so much better. Oh, and just so you know, those aren't the complete lists, we really aren't that boring. I do have some fun items written down (some that I know for a fact I won't get but it's fun to dream, like a Coach purse), as does Andy but quite a few of them are just like the ones listed above and made me scratch my head.

So what do all of you want for the holidays? Are you practical or fun? Or are you like Andy and I and have a little mix of both?

Bad Newlyweds

We are very bad newlyweds. There are multiple that I say this, our thank-you's haven't gone out yet (Don't judge, I feel awful, the only thing making me feel a little less guilty is Miss Manner's rule that we have one year after the wedding to get those suckers out), we haven't unpacked completely, and we haven't done anything with the wedding pictures. Trust me when I say, we are working on it. Everything kind of took the backseat in the months after the wedding. Between my graduation, both of us getting new jobs and moving, we had a lot on our plate, but the dust is (finally) starting to settle and we are getting things done.

First of all, we finally located the gift list to write out our thank-you's this week so we will be able to write them this weekend. Woo hoo! Cross that momentous undertaking off the list (soon), hopefully the guilt of not getting them out yet will stop and our friends and family will understand why there was a six month delay in getting those suckers out (I think we have a pretty legit reasons). Second, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel with the whole unpacking nonsense. The garage is cleaned out and there are only 4 boxes with stuff in them still and more than likely it will stay that way. Finally, my project for the next couple weeks is going to be to organize our wedding photos into a photo book. Christmas is just around the corner and I know a few parents that would love some pretty pictures to show off. Plus my hope is that by loading our pictures onto the computer I will be inspired to print a few copies of my favorites and actually have some of the beautiful pictures of our wedding day hanging around the house.

So tell us that we are not alone in being a bad newlyweds, is there anyone else out there that hasn't got any other there post-wedding to-do's done yet?

Kitty & Canine Holiday Blogger Gift Exchange

Yesterday I ran across the cutest and best idea in the world:

A fellow blogger Kelly over at KJPugs and her friend Hannah at GatorTales had posted this and I couldn't resist, I signed up Pepper and Murphy right away. I totally encourage you to participate as well! It should be fun, but take a look at the rules to make sure you can participate:

1. You have to have a living, breathing pet. Unfortunately, your pet rock is awkward.
2. Each pet has to be signed up individually, so if you have 3 pets – fill the form out 3 times! (It’s that easy.)
3. Deadline to sign up is Wednesday, November 24th
4. Deadline to send your gift to a cute little pet is Friday, December 10th
5. If you sign up you are promising to participate. No one likes a holiday Grinch!
6. Please keep the gift under $10 – it doesn’t cost a lot to send some love!

Read the rules? Want to participate? Then Click Here and fill out the form do it, you know you want to.

Newlywed Challenge: The Holidays

It seems like it's that time of year again, the decorations are out in stores, people are making plans and shopping lists, and I log into Weddingbee and see posts about splitting the holidays. I use to love the holidays, spending time with family and friends, tons of food and of course presents. I say use to because this year thinking about the holidays is giving me hives, because I simply have no idea what to do. Splitting the holidays seems to be a big challenge for every couple and we are no exception. It's hard, obviously, you are talking about adding  whole new sets of traditions and places to visit, which logistically and emotionally provides problems. I think as a child I had it pretty sweet, my parents had the holidays figured out to a T, actually, it was more that my parents lucked out.

My grandparents live within ten minutes of each other so for Thanksgiving we would have lunch at one and dinner at the other. For Christmas eve we would head to Grandparent S and stay from early to late afternoon, then the evening would be spent with Grandparents M. We would head off home and spend Christmas morning at our house, just my sisters and parents. It worked out super well. In a perfect world, Andy and I would be able to do something like that but this is not a perfect world and our families live 3+ hours away from each other. Add to that fact that we live 3 hours away from my family and nearly 5 hours away from Andy's family and you see that dinner here, dessert there doesn't work out too hot.  It's frustrating because I want to make everyone happy, but I also have a tiny little part of me that wants to just please me. That part of me is there because it isn't like it use to be, things have changed and it's hard to accept that. More than that I miss my family like crazy. The move has been extremely hard on me because of the time it's taken away from my family, who I am use to seeing on a regular basis. Andy knows how hard it's been on me so he's being extremely patient and kind, telling me that we could separate for Thanksgiving if I really need to see my family by then, but I'm trying to be a mature married lady and present our united front.

So what are we going to do? The answer is simple, I had no idea. So far Thanksgiving is planned out with Andy's family. More than likely we will go to my Grandma's for Christmas Eve and spend Christmas morning with my family then Christmas evening will be ours (which has been our own little tradition for the past three years), but I'm not positive. We have to do another Christmas with my other Grandparents which will be a different day, prior to Christmas Eve, since schedules aren't working in our favor for a one day all-inclusive family fest. Plus we have to do Christmas with Andy's family as well. I know that it will all work out in the end, it's just going to take some careful planning.

What about you? How are your holidays shaping up? Do you have an easy time with the splitting or are your holidays challenging as well?

New Obsession

Ever since the wedding I have had this hole, I mean for the year or so before the wedding I spent my time looking up ideas, trying to find things that I could make myself to make the wedding unique and pretty. When there was no more wedding I had a hard time with all the free time I had and crafting had turned into a drug for me. See I have a lot of nervous energy and I get anxious at times, crafting really helped me to calm those feelings and  let me feel useful. Now that I'm working I feel useful but a lot of the time I still have no projects (other than cleaning) to put that anxious/nervous energy in to. That is until I found http://ana-white.com/ and fell in love. This was the answer to my crafting withdraw. I obviously need furniture for our house and what better way to save money than to make it. So this past weekend, Andy and I set out for Home Depot and bought wood and supplies for this project and this project. The first project (the crate shelf) was my own undertaking, and in my humble opinion the result turned out pretty good:

As for the chair, I'll admit that was a bit too much for me by myself so I more or less just assisted Andy but it is looking like it will turn out pretty well. It is by no means done yet, there was a problem with the leg and I want to paint it too but I think it will be fantastic once it is completed. Here's some pictures from the work site and the nearly completed chair:

There were a few shots of him bending over but I thought he might not appreciate it (trust me though, he looks hot, well, to me). Isn't my husband truly awesome? I think that we might make a habit of this woodworking together thing. It's a great way for us to bond and we have something really great as an end product. Though I think if it becomes habit I'm going to have to learn how to not be afraid of the saw. And just for fun, some future plans I think we might be working on: a headboard (as we currently have none) and a bench/storage (our hall is looking a little drab), plus another chair or two for the deck plus a little coffee table. Love it.

What projects do you and your significant other do together?