KirstenL4W

We are in the midst of packing right now, so posts will be few and far between until we get set up in the new home.  I’m doing my best to keep up with all of you in the meantime!

On Thursday, we had our “New Home Orientation,” or what’s more commonly known as a walk-through. We met with a representative of the builder, who showed us everything in the house, down to the last light switch. He showed us how everything worked, where all the major utility things were, and how to take care of everything. Then, armed with stickers of colored dots, we went through and marked everything that needed fixing or touching up. They will be taking care of those things over the next few days so we can move in once we take possession. Then we went to the closing. It’s done a bit differently here in Nevada than what I know and how it’s done in Massachusetts. In MA, you go to a lawyer’s office, sign a bunch of papers, and walk out with the keys. In NV, you go to the title company’s office, sign a bunch of papers, and wait. Once the seller receives the money and their reps give the OK, the sale is recorded with the relevant office (in our case, the county recorder), and once word is received that the sale is recorded, then we can pick up the keys. We are supposed to do that on Tuesday, and plan on moving next weekend. In the meantime, we have a lot of boxes to pack. We plan on starting that today, and I’ll be doing quite a bit of it this week while FH is driving all over the desert at the request of his employer.

Now for pictures. I’ll post a couple below, but you can also click here to see them all.

Blog. I haz one. I’ve been blogging for over 2 years now, and even after all this time, I still quite enjoy it.

I started blogging once someone I knew had one. I’d heard of blogs, and some of my imaginary internet friends had them. but I just didn’t get how fun it could be until my high school friend Courtney got pregnant and used the blog to document her pregnancy and communicate with everyone about it. Actually, Court’s blog had two results - my blog, and more importantly, it allowed us to catch up with each other, since we had drifted apart after college. Double Bonus!

Anyway, I was doing my research and checking out exactly what this blog stuff was all about, and one day, when bored at work, I finally decided to go for it. My goal at the time was to journal my thoughts, much in the same way I did in my handwritten journal. I was curious to see if my thoughts attracted any readers from the great wide interwebs, and indeed they had. But my thrill was short lived. My first comment was a scathing attack by someone who refused to reveal themselves to me. Yep, an anonymous comment that was not nice at all. Even though I deleted the comment, I replied in this post. I figured that while the comment was a nasty attack, there were some points that needed clearing up, for the benefit of future readers. Eventually, I got more and more readers, and even made my first blogging friend. That’s it, I was hooked.

I started spending more and more time on my blog, learning my way around the template, html and css. I spent hours looking for resources to improve my blog and make it a place that I wanted to be, much in the same way one does to their home. I found widgets and other cool things to install, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I started thinking about everything that happened to me as a blog post, and posted about my innermost thoughts as well as the mundane happenings of my everyday life.

Over time, the novelty wore off. I started to regain some of the balance with my offline life, and even made a bunch of new friends here. That group of people eventually led me to meet FH, and now my life is so fulfilling that I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with the blog. Maybe I started blogging to fill a hole in my life, and it certainly did that for a time. But now, the blog is such a part of my life that I don’t know what I’d do to chill out, de-stress, escape for a bit if I didn’t have my blog and the blogosphere to keep me sane.

The blog has seen some changes since I first started. Template changes are always popular with new bloggers, and I sure had a few of those. Then I started getting into the css and did what I could to make it my own. Macoosh made me a beautiful header, and I got to a place where I was happy with the template. But there was always this voice at the back of my head, nagging me to see what I could do better. I knew I wanted more from my blog, more functionality, and more options. A big change was in order, and a few months ago, with Snoskred’s help, I switched to a self-hosted WordPress blog. I still have lots to learn about the new platform, and there’s this whole new language called php that I need to learn. I don’t have the time to devote to things that I did when I was single, but I’m managing. I started with one template, and soon found another that I like a lot better. I still look at the template to see what I can do, but I’m largely satisfied with it. But I have a favorite feature here that I couldn’t have at Blogger…

Pages! Lots and lots of pages! WP lets the blog be like a real website, with different pages for different subjects. Holy freaking cow! The possibilities are endless. I was able to take some things off my front page to keep that cleaner, dedicate a page to a mini-niche, and improve functionality with a sitemap and contact page. I feel like I hit the jackpot here. There’s even more that I want to do - I’m working on a Shopping page using my Amazon.com affiliate account, to keep all my favorite stuff that I recommend to all of you in one place. That probably won’t go live until after we move, but again, the possibility is exciting.

Of course, I’m not looking to make millions from my blog. Tens would be nice, just enough to pay my extremely reasonable hosting fees and perhaps buy a CD or DVD every now and then. This isn’t going to morph into a pro blog where I ramble incessantly about some subject I claim to be an authority in. No, this is a personal blog, first and foremost, and I will ramble on about me, a subject I am an authority in. I’ll continue to blog as a hobby, as an outlet, and as a way of networking and “meeting” new people (btw, Alyndabear, buffet in August, right? And Macoosh - Columbus Day in Boston?) This may be a coincidence, or not, but my personal satisfaction in my everyday life has increased tenfold since I started blogging. As far as I’m concerned, blogging is here to stay.

aka “Monday Miscellany”

• I had the absolute best potato chips last night.  I stopped at Trader Joe’s to get something for dinner, and decided to get some chips.  The Kettle Baked chips, I have to say, are the most perfect chip I’ve ever had.  Most baked chips just suck, but these had all the great qualities of a fried potato chip without the greasy feel.  I’m not a huge chip person, but I’d definitely get these again.
• Is it me, or do IT people think they rule the world?  At work, I put in a help ticket for a somewhat minor problem that prevented me from doing the work I needed to do.  Yesterday, I received a call back.  So what, you’re thinking.  Well, I put in the ticket on March 31.  Yesterday was April 14.  Good thing the problem was solved the next day, because there’s no way I could have gone over 2 weeks without being able to work.  My desk only take so many paper piles before it collapses.
• We have the walk-through on our new house this Thursday.  I’ll try to remember to bring my camera and take pictures.  If I don’t, you won’t get any before pics, and it may be months before you get after pics.
• Working on my next encyclopedia entry.  Hopefully will be out by this weekend.

And that’s all for today, folks!

I was trying to finish up work today when a coworker came to my desk to see if I had an entry she was looking for. As I reached for the pile it would have been in, I got a paper cut. Considering the volume of paper I handle every day, this is not surprising, even though I rarely actually get a paper cut. But this tiny little cut caused me blinding pain - so much so that I started to sweat for a few minutes. Paper cuts are known to be painful, but why would this tiny little cut cause such a reaction? It was under my fingernail - my thumbnail, to be exact. And every time I hit the space bar as I type this post, I am reminded of it. Try as I might, I cannot hit the space bar with my other hand, because I am a righty, and my right thumb is the one that wants to keep spacing out.

Last week, FH and I went out to eat for lunch. Since this place serves breakfast all day, and it was still relatively early for me (for a Saturday, anyway), I decided to have pancakes. These were no silver dollar pancakes, though. No, these things resembled manhole covers. Yep, you heard me right. Check this out:

As you can see from the photo, it is a full 8 inches across. That’s approximately 20 centimetres to the rest of the world. That’s one enormous pancake. I ate the other one. Is it any wonder why I couldn’t finish the second one? And I know you’re all asking - where does one obtain such large breakfast foods? At the Black Bear Diner, of course!

After lunch, and running a couple other errands, we decided that we didn’t want to go home yet, didn’t want to do the usual things, and wanted something different to do. After a bit of thought and aimless wandering, we decided to go see the Lost City, in Overton, NV. Lake Mead is seriously low on water right now, and there is an old city that was flooded and left underwater when Hoover Dam was finished and Lake Mead was formed. With the water level so low, the ruins of the city are visible, and there’s a museum dedicated to it. Being the sort of people who are interested in such things, we headed up to Overton to see it. All I can say is that we were disappointed. We somehow thought we’d be able to see the actual Lost City. Nope. Didn’t even see Lake Mead at all. We saw a small-town ancient history museum that mainly exhibited the finding of the place, and a reproduction of a pueblo. Nice drive, disappointing destination. With all that’s been said about being able to see the Lost City, we really thought we’d be able to see it. Instead we find out that we saw the same exact thing we would have seen if Lake Mead was overflowing. The Imposter City.

My thumb is throbbing now and it’s affecting my typing, so that’s all you’ll get out of me until this darn thing heals a bit. So long for now.

As you all know, I’m trying to remain calm through the exciting but stressful changes going on in my life right now.  I’m getting married and buying a house with my Future Husband.  This blog has taken a backseat to everything else in my life, specifically my sanity, which has been hanging by a thread.  But the bulk of the wedding plans are done, the house has been chosen and now we just take care of the little things while less than stellar service from our lender has us wondering exactly what the heck is going on over there.  No matter.  We’re closing on the house April 25, whether they’re ready or not.

Anyway, back to the title of this post.  I was reading over at Cherry Blossom Adventures, and Lulu has an Encyclopedia of Me series going on.  She read about it elsewhere, and it all started at Bella Dia.  I figured it would be a great way to try and get back in the blogging groove - a mini-series of sorts, and for a little while, I’ll have something to write about when I can’t think of anything else.  So, without further adieu, I present

Encyclopedia of Me - A is for All About Me

All About Me - And Then Some is the name of my blog.  I chose it because I couldn’t think of anything clever and this lame line popped into my head at the moment that I had to pick something.  I figured, at least it’s accurate.  As time went on, I realized that people tend to list their blogrolls aplhabetically, which put me at an advantage.  I was appearing at the top of everyone’s list, which, to be honest, is a place I’ve never been before.  Which brings me to

Alphabet.  My last name is towards the end of the alphabet, and in school it was rare that anyone came after me.  My high school graduation, in an attempt to provide anonymity to the mediocre students, graduated us alphabetically.  That meant that I was 2nd to last to graduate, on a hot humid day of somewhere around 90°F.  I remember my kindegarten teacher would sometimes call attendance by starting at the bottom, just so I could go first.  She said that I had to marry someone whose last name started with “A” so that I wouldn’t come last anymore.  And guess what?  I am!!! FH has an “A” last name!

Aunty.  I’m one.  Those of you who have been around here for awhile know that I am an Aunty to Bubba, Mia, and Messy J.  I was there in the waiting room when Bubba and Messy J were born, and got to see Mia in the NICU when she was just 2 days old.  Bubba is graduating 8th grade this year, which I’m sorry I’ll miss since my wedding is just a few days later.  Messy J is a redhead just like me, and Mia is an adorable little babe who looks nothing like the pictures that her mommy takes (big blurry baby head, anyone?)  Since I moved to Las Vegas, I don’t get to spend nearly as much time with them as I’d like to, and I really miss them a lot, but even with the infrequent visits, I try to be the best Aunty I can be from 2700 miles away.

Accounting.  I’m working in the accounting department of Big Company, and I’m liking it quite a bit.  It’s a change from other jobs I’ve had in that it’s a big company and I live in a cube.  But the people are great, and my boss is very supportive, so I’ve decided to go back to school to study accounting.   As a compulsive checkbook-reconciler, I think it’s something I’ve got a bit of a knack for, so I’m really looking forward to it.  I was going to get a jump start and take a class over the summer, but with the wedding and house, I think the summer will be crazy enough without trying to cram a 6 week class into the mix, so I’ll be looking to start classes in the fall.

There’s a bit about me, the first in the Encyclopedia of Me series.  Look for the next installment coming soon!

I am having a major dilemma.  I have no idea what to do with my hair for the wedding.  I’m not completely sold on the idea of having a veil - I kinda like the way it felt when I had the samples on in the store, but I definitely did not like the idea of paying for it.  Bridal shop veils are expensive, people!  I need to peruse the craft shops to see what their DIY offerings are, but otherwise I have no idea what to do with my hair.

My hair has some natural wave/curl to it, but mostly has a mind of its own - very often I get the stick straight piece where i least want it.  It gets very heavy, so I keep it in a shorter cut, just past the shoulders, and layers in it to keep it from getting plastered down under its own weight.  My everyday style is to throw some mousse in it to keep it from getting frizzy, then walk out the door.  I don’t own a hair dryer, curling iron, straightening iron, or gallons of fancy products.  Since my hair very much has a mind of its own, I find that the more time I spend on my hair, the worse it looks.  For my own sanity, I let my hair have its way.  There are days (most days) when my hair just bothers me too much, so I’ll pull the top and sides back in a clip, or it goes up in a loose, messy half-pulled-through ponytail, with all the frizzy bits and cowlicks throwing themselves out there for all the world to see.  If I decide to put my hair up in the morning, I do it while it’s still wet, and plaster the rest of it down with some mousse or gel.  The “light and fluffy” on top look does not happen with me, unless I want my hair falling out.

Now for my dress.  I’m already a bit worried that it doesn’t go too well, but whatever.   I’m wearing an actual corset (black!), so there will be lots of lacing in the back, and a pouffy skirt with lots of gathering to make it look even fuller. So, I think that whatever I do, it needs to be simple.  I do NOT want a tiara, and I’m kinda turned off by the idea of anything with rhinestones/crystals/bling.  I’ve cruised the IndieBride boards to no avail.  I don’t want anything hanging in front of my face - that’s the reason why my hair is always going up, so it can stay out of my face.  But I don’t know what to do for this occasion.  My hairdresser is on vacation and I will need to be doing my own hair, with every bit of hairdressing talent that I do not possess.  So, any thoughts?

I’ve been really tired lately.  Stress does that to you.  I emailed my mom and told her how it’s going to be when she’s here for my wedding.  She responded saying that she understands, but then came back with a blog post that tells me she really doesn’t get it.  I mean, with a tiny wedding that is cutting out a lot of the traditional details, there really isn’t much to do.  I know she’s eager to help, but honestly, if you were visiting a strange city, would you want to be given a list of errands and a map?  Me either.  FH and I are planning it so that there will be very little to do, and if there is anything that needs being done, those jobs will go to local friends.  It just makes more sense that way, don’t you think?

Sis also tells me that mom has been complaining that I won’t be spending more time with out of town guests (aka her and my uncles).  This wedding is not a week-long affair with fun events planned every night.  The wedding will take place on one day.  In the days before, I need to work, since I have one of those jobs that likes me to be there - at 7am.  Doesn’t leave me much time for going out on the town.  And FH and I would really like to take time for us, so we can chillax a bit before the wedding, just the two of us.  If I spend the days before the wedding playing tour guide and planning a million pre-wedding events, then I will not be a blushing, beaming, glowing bride walking down the aisle.  I will be a frazzled madwoman.  I think FH prefers the first one.

Mom brought up this issue of a tie.  She thinks I’m focused on her buying Dad a tie.  It will be 105°F or so outside that day.  I don’t think Dad will want to wear one, and that’s fine.  But it’s not my mom’s job to buy him a tie.  They’ve been divorced for over 30 years now.  Let his wife pick out his clothes, or *gasp* let Dad do that himself.  What a concept.  And don’t even get me started on my mom calling me to update me on Gram’s health yesterday.  My paternal grandmother - not her mother.

So I haven’t been around here much lately.  I’ve been over at LJ so I can vent out loud a lot more, since LJ lets you control exactly who gets to see each post.  Nifty feature.  Here it’s only public, registered users (I don’t do that registering thing here), or no one can see it.  On LJ I can pick and choose.  So there.

Excuse me while I eat a little piece of sugar coma in a foil wrapper - aka the Cadbury Creme Egg.