I finally did it

I posted my starting stats on my weight loss blog, which you can find here and any positive encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

The weekend was busy but good. The downstairs room is framed and ready for the insulation and then the drywall. After that the floor will go down once we decide what we want to get and then painting and all that jazz. Friday night Andrew took me out to Roosters which was awesome because I had been so crazy busy all week at work that I had zero motivation to make us dinner that night! Saturday it was working on the house all day and then a little relaxation in the evening. Sunday we took the electric stove to my grandparents house; they bought it so they could keep a spare in the basement and their old one had quit working. Saved us the time of posting it back on Craigslist, although I love that site and its great for selling things, it can be a pain in the butt. We ended up staying at their house much later than planned and didn't have much time to get anything else done when we got home.

I am hopeful that my week will go smoothly and that Labor Day weekend will be here quickly.

A weekend in photos

I cleaned the house really good this weekend because we had people over! I even gave the dog a good scrub down (which was long overdue and much needed). Here is the living room with some more decoration!

I bought this little side table at a garage sale for that weird blank wall in the kitchen. I can't decide if I like it or not, but for now it works!

My best girlfriends from college came over :) it was a really fun night!

I would say that everyone's face in this photo about sums up the evening!

Upcoming stuff:
Finishing all of the painting
Getting the drywall hung in the downstairs/working on the laundry room
Making a window seat for the bay window
Starting on window treatments for the rooms
Maybe buying a sewing machine

Stay tuned!

Please read my......

new weight loss blog: Amanda's Weight Loss Tracker - it is still in the not fancy/beginning stages so bear with me as I get this thing going!

Travels and Things

So the trip to Pittsburgh was amazing, we had a really nice time and got to go into the city for the day on Saturday. I rarely get to go to PA and do things that I want to do because its always on my parents or my work schedule. We arrived Friday afternoon after an hour rest stop at Cabelas, we had my fave chili dogs for lunch and had my fave pizza for dinner! Saturday morning we headed downtown via the light rail transit system and walked around Station Square, the Southern end of downtown all the way out to Point Park where the 3 rivers of Pittsburgh meet.

Best things about the trip:

• Dipping our hot feet in the fountain at Point Park
• Having Yuengling beer on draft (you can only get this stuff in PA and WV)
• Seeing the US Steel building up close for the first time
• Seeing my god-daughter Abigail
• Having most all of my favorite foods
• Lunch at the Hardrock Cafe on the patio
• People watching

Here are some photos as well!

The Fountain at Station Square dances to music, its really pretty

The view from atop Mt. Washington after riding the incline (the car was so hot inside, I thought Andrew would drown in his own sweat)

This is where we were most of the day.

Just one small part of my favorite building downtown.

I just thought this one turned out really cool.

And in other news, I am going on a diet/work out routine. I've slowly been gaining weight since Andrew and I started the house buying process and I am sick of the way that I look. Andrew and I made a deal about me loosing weight and I'm not going to give all the details on here because it really only makes sense to us. I am going to start mid week after I get everything figured out with my exercise routine and diet, I bought a ton of healthy stuff at the store last night and Andrew said he would buy me some weights and work out videos, which we are going to get tonight. I've heard Booty Beats is really good as well as any of the dance type work out videos. If anyone else has suggestions (I can't really afford to join a gym, but I have a bike and a place to run nearby), please let me know!

Paranoid

I am at the house, all alone (no dog even) for the first time ever.....and of course I'm freaking out! The people across the street have been in the process of moving out since we bought this place, and they have people coming and going constantly. They have been walking up and down the street all night yelling, coming and going from the house and all kinds of crazy stuff. Andrew told me to call the cops (he is out fishing with his brother on the Scioto River), but I don't think I need to do that. This is the one nice thing about having a dog, because although Bessie is not vicious I feel safer when she is here. Andrew's parents took her for the weekend since we are going to Pittsburgh! I wanted to leave tonight, but that didn't happen, but it doesn't matter, we will just leave early in the morning.


Its now 11:01pm, I really wish that Andrew would come home.....I don't think I can go to sleep without him. There isn't much on TV that I feel like watching, King of the Hill just ended and I've watched 18 Kids and Counting, House Hunters, Barefoot Contessa, Cops and Real Housewives of Atlanta......and I made a quesadila too! The dumb gas company STILL has not brought our meter out so we can't use the gas stove yet! I didn't feel like starting up the grill since all we have left is charcoal, so the quesadila maker I bought came in handy today! I swear when I am too lazy to cook that thing saves my life!

Well all for now readers! When I arrive back from Pittsburgh I'm sure to have pictures and stories to share!

An opinion piece

As much as I HATE to admit this, I often find myself sucked into celebrity gossip and as of lately the story of John and Kate Gosselin of John and Kate Plus 8. When I first learned of their divorce, I was mostly sad for their kids and then the rumors started to swirl about their cheating and indiscretions. I wasn't sure what to believe (or who to believe was in the wrong) and awaited the new episodes of the show to find out. I believe that fame went to both of their heads and maybe as some have said they married and had children too quickly. Kate has admitted many times that she knew she wanted to have kids right away, and in all those interviews John just sat there and didn't say a word.

I've been paying attention to their separation for sometime now through the show and the tabloids, which are about as addicting as crack or for me good chocolate. This morning Kate had an interview on Good Morning America and I read the follow-up online. I am more than convinced now that she is truly heartbroken and may regret some of her choices in the past, such as how she treated John and how quickly the fame went to both of their heads. I do believe that she is a good mother and that she wants what is best for her kids. That show, her books and everything else will put those kids through college and probably beyond, but its sad that their parents split was probably caused by this sudden fame and money.

No one wants to think about getting a divorce, whether they are married or not, I know that the thought of that just makes me cringe. I can't imagine loving someone and then finding out later they are not the same person you married or met all those years ago. I cannot imagine what that would do to a child and since my parents are still together I honestly have no idea. When Andrew and I talk about marriage that subject has come up because of ugly divorces that have occurred in his family causing family land and money to be lost in the shuffle and many people to be angry. I don't want something like that to ever happen to us or anyone that we know. So now the struggle will begin over custody, money and any other possessions that have been acquired during the marriage.

So then the question becomes, should you protect what you have in a marriage? Should you sign an agreement if you hold valuable assets (aka Pre-nup) to protect what is yours outside of the marriage - or - should you just trust that nothing bad will ever happen and it won't matter in the end? That is the issue that I am struggling with now, although Andrew and I don't plan to marry for a few years this is something that we must consider. He stands to inherit a valuable piece of property and money at some point in his life, while I don't really expect to acquire much of anything as far as money or land is concerned. I'm not sure if anyone who reads this has any opinions or advice on this issue, but I just wanted to let that out and see what happened!

And over the weekend

This weekend was less than productive. I didn't do anything at the house, well WE didn't do anything....but that's fine with me I suppose.

Friday night we just hung out and went to Meijer, where I had the worst shopping experience I've ever had there. I don't shop at Wal-Mart because it usually involves not being able to get checked out and having un-friendly/rude cashiers, but at Meijer I never have this problem, until Friday night. Our cashier was no more than 17 or 18, which is fine, and he was sloooooow. The girl in front of us was buying 5 things, all electronics and was ringing them up all separate purchases and writing checks....which seemed odd. She kept asking for gift receipts for each purchase, which as I've heard is a new scheme that people are pulling at stores. Her checks kept getting rejected and then when the cashier didn't ask for her license, the checks went through "magically." This whole process took at least 20 minutes and we had the whole conveyor full of food so I wasn't going to leave. When he checked us out he did an AWFUL job bagging the food and didn't put anything cold together and put about 3 things in each bag. I was beyond annoyed and when we got home and decided to call the store manager. He was friendly and said he would take care of the issue, but when we went back there the following day the kid was still working....I thought passing bad checks would get someone fired but I guess not!

And enough of that ramble! Saturday we did some garage sales and then visited with my grandparents and went to my god-daughters 4th Birthday Party, which was pretty lame. No offense, but my aunt and uncle aren't always the friendliest people in the whole world! After that we headed home and relaxed.

Sunday was Ohio State Fair day, and as much as I hate to admit this.....I tried the Deep Fried Buckeye.... (no photo, sorry) and it was so good, but so horrible at the same time. The thought of eating deep fried candy made me feel like a blimp, but its not like I would eat that every day!

Here are some photos! Enjoy!

My beautiful flowers at the house - they are called nekkid (naked) ladies!

The butter cow and farmers at the fair, they do this every year, but its always something a little different

We got trapped in Davey Jones Locker!