April 1, 200310 K Weekend
Got up at 8:30 Saturday to Jazzercise myself awake. The majority of the gang was downtown for the Ukrops 10K race. Brian, Lauren & Eric were the only brave participants from our group though. After a good hour+ workout I came home to find Jeff still sleeping (big surprise). Got a little laundry done before he woke up. After we were both showered and dressed we got to work on the chest of drawers. We had been missing the one piece to our bedroom suite until Jeff took the initiative to pick it up after work one day this week. Since we've put together 6 other pieces like this it took us no time at all to get the shell up. With a few drawers left to go Jeff's parents arrived. We abandoned the project in exchange for a yummy lunch at Gino's.
After lunch we hung out with them for a while (and I got to open more birthday gifts-thanks Mr & Mrs. P!) until they had to get on the road for Williamsburg. Jeff and I finished up the dresser and eventually got ready to go out for the evening.
Since we'd had such a late lunch neither of us were hungry for the Outback dinner our friends had planned, but we decided to go and be social anyway. Afterwards the caravan headed west to Eric & Kelly's house. The Sostes and Adam bailed out soon after since they had to be up early to get Adam to the airport. The rest of us played (or slept through) an interesting Blockbuster movie game. With the runners being exhausted from the morning activities we ended the evening around 1.
Posted by Olivia at 12:23 AM
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April 1, 2003Show-N-Shine begins
We were able to sleep in a bit Sunday before having to make the trek over the mountain to a meeting about the upcoming Show-N-Shine season. Rain & sleet/hail awoke us with the snow following shortly. Once we were on the road, the further west we got, the more snow there was. Of course there were those strange sections of the road that had no snow at all. But by the time we got to Stuarts Draft there were several inches on the ground.
The meeting lasted a couple of hours but Jeff & I hung around afterwards to talk web stuff and play with the baby of course. :) A stop in Short Pump on the way home for some Friday's food really hit the spot. With the rest of the night open we hit the video store for The Ring. That was..and interesting movie. Not as scary as I had expected, but suspenseful in the moment. Maybe one of these days we'll actually go to the theater to see a movie. *gasp*
Posted by Olivia at 12:23 AM | Comments (2)
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April 1, 2003Calling all bidders!
Wow it's crazy here!
Purchasing is taking bids for some service and the companies that want to "apply" have to get their bids in by a certain time (2pm today). There are like 20 people down here running to get their papers stamped in. I think we got this new time stamper thing cause I've never seen it like this before. So anywayz, there are lots of strange people walking around. Weird. Time's up though so maybe they'll all leave.
Posted by Olivia at 2:06 PM | Comments (2)
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April 2, 2003A little extra work for me
I spent about an hour today rearranging the files and random papers in my office. Why you ask? Because I was given 2 more binders to keep in my office. I know, it seems silly.
The reason is that the business office/cash receipts job has become slightly more involved lately. A couple of weeks ago we found I was able to input payment data from long ago into our Cash Receipts database. Since then I have been getting stacks of payments to input. It's not hard and doesn't take long, I just had to figure out the best system to enter and file these payments. So that's an extra stack of papers in my office.
And today, the IAT payments were dumped on me. These are the electronic transfers that come into the college. We have to verify the payments, match them up with invoices, then enter them into the Cash Receipts database. That's where the 2 binders come from. I have to figure out a system to enter and file these payments.
Some of you may remember that I was actually hired to do Accounts Payable. When I got this job it was agreed that I would keep the cash receipts that I had been doing as temp. This is due to the "the person who does the billing or the collections (for late payments) cannot also do cash receipts." Since there IS no one else in the department, I get to do receipts and payables. Yay me!
Most days it's not bad, but I've definitely been noticing an increase in the Receipt side of my work lately. I had to change the percentages in my work profile to reflect the increase. I need to get paid more. :)
Posted by Olivia at 5:10 PM | Comments (2)
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April 2, 2003Road Warrior Trivia
Road Warrior Trivia:
Every state but one, has 2 of these.
What is it and which state is it?
[See comments for answer]
Posted by Olivia at 5:12 PM | Comments (11)
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April 3, 2003A feel good day
Don't you love those days when everything seems to go great? That was my yesterday. I got to work on time (even though I was suppose to be early), was fairly productive, ate lunch outside, jazzercised, then got to be girly.
As I mentioned before, I cleaned up my office in preparation of this new work I'm going to have to do. A spring cleaning of sorts. It's nice to look at a stack of papers, realize you don't need them, and toss them in the recycle bin. That's one less ream in my office :)
Kim & I went to Subway for lunch and ate outside here at the office. I really didn't want to go back in. And today is going to be the same way.
Jazzercise was a great workout. Now that I've been a few times and know the routines better I don't have to think about the steps so much, just get into it. And that makes for a better workout.
And afterwards I went with Kelly Z to a friends house who sells Mary Kay. We got to play around with all the different makeups and nail polishes. We both walked out of there with no less than 5 colors on nails. It's not often I do girly stuff like that so it was fun; a nice change.
And yes, those are MY tulips up there! Yay!!!
Posted by Olivia at 9:52 AM | Comments (7)
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April 3, 2003Road Warrior Trivia
The first of the modern ones came along in 1962. What was the brand and model of the first?
It hasn't been answered yet, no one could get it..so we'll have to wait until tomorrow. But I can give 2 clues after some guesses have been made. :)
Ok, here's clue number 1: Even most non-athletes have some
Clue number 2: It's a shoe
[See comments for answer]
Posted by Olivia at 5:22 PM | Comments (15)
Find me in: Questions to Ponder
April 9, 2003A lazy weekend
I spent a very relaxing weekend doing..well, nothing. :)
Saturday I dragged myself out of bed to go exercise. Michelle wasn't teaching and I didn't really enjoy the lady filling in, but my legs sure were sore for the next few days. By the time I got back Jeff was up and ready to start work on his truck.
We pulled off the grill and started working on the headlights when the rain came. After 15-20 minutes it stopped so out we went. We managed to get one light out, tried to switch some parts around, and then realized they (the new ones) were the wrong lights! So we put the new grill and the old headlights back in.
After cleaning up we headed towards Ashland to check out some deck/pavers places. As soon as we get a free weekend (ha!) we'd like to start working on the backyard. Jeff made the suggestion of using paver stones and the more I think about it and look into it, the more appealing it sounds.
A delicious linner (lunch/dinner) at Casa Grande we made an amazing decision. We went to a movie!! That's right folks, we sat in the theater, ate Sour Patch Kids and saw a new release! (Opening weekend I think). Phonebooth was our movie of choice. It was pretty good.
The rest of the evening was spent lounging around..I think. Hmm..
Sunday was race day of course. Talledega, so we definitely couldn't miss that one. (Jeff's seemingly favorite track). I of course, took my usual Sunday nap. After which I got some cleaning/picking up done.
A lovely, relaxing weekend. :)
Posted by Olivia at 12:37 AM | Comments (2)
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April 9, 2003Jennifer's new job
First off, congratulations to Jennifer for obtaining a new position at Augusta Medical Center!!
Henrico Drs recently said they would not be renewing new contract (she's a travel nurse), so instead of taking another travel position, Jennifer decided to find a permanent job.
First interview at her first choice hospital and a week later she's employeed. Oh, and she's moving on Thursday. That's crazy-fast! But we wish her lots of luck!
Jeff called me up yesterday afternoon to make plans to get together with her last night. We ended up at Spinnakers in Chesterfield Mall. That was some yummy food! Mm...chocolate cake.
After stuffing ourselves silly we made our usual after dinner trips to Target & Wal-Mart. As we mosied our way through the endless Wal-Mart aisles, they were playing some pretty catchy tunes. I tried to catch Jeff dancing, but the (secret) movies didn't turn out too well. But as you can see, we had fun in the toy section too.
So we parted ways for the last Richmond outing. Jennifer will be moving back in with mom and dad on Thursday until she finds a place of her own. Maybe then we can help her shop for furniture (since she doesn't want hers back). :)
Posted by Olivia at 12:52 AM | Comments (7)
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April 10, 2003Random memories?
Ever have those moments when a certain song, smell or other sensory input suddenly reminds you of a long forgotten memory?
A few weeks ago I was eating fresh strawberries and just the smell reminded me of summer and my (maternal) grandparents. I have no idea why, I can't recall any specific event that included strawberries. If anything, it should be cheez-its and ginger snaps, but no, it was the strawberries.
And just now I turned on the radio to only to hear Cher with "If I Could Turn Back Time." I know I've probably heard the song dozens of times in the last few years, but this time conjured up images of the youth center in Myrtle Beach. I used to get those big sour candies, bleeps, and play foosball. And I distinctly hear that song playing there.
What makes you have random memories and what are they of?
Posted by Olivia at 4:00 PM | Comments (8)
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April 14, 2003The great spring camp-out
Look! I'm finally writing!! Yay!
This weekend was a wonderful and desperately needed relaxing time. The work week had been so insanely busy and frustrating I was really looking forward to being out in the middle of no where with no one to bother me.
Since Jeff and I both work later than most, we (along with our driver, Chris) didn't get to leave Richmond until about 7. Along the way we found out the group had switched campsites on us and not we would be up near Mike's uncle's cabin. That's a mouthful! I think we all wondered if it would take away from the experience of camping, but it actually turned out really well! The girls had a bathroom at our disposal and we were able to wash the numerous dishes with warm water.
Friday was spent just sitting around the campfire, enjoying the slightly windy night. After such an exhausting week most of us turned in fairly early. Not that it did much good since the wind keep us up by blowing the tent itno our heads.
A pancake brunch started off our Saturday on the right foot. Once we were all stuffed and happy we decided to make the semi-short trip to Wal Mart to pick up a few last minute (must-have?) items. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around in the sun, playing koosh, frisbee and other reindeer games.
Saturday night Mike cooked us up a delicious meal of buscuits, couscous, baked potatoes, chicken (none for me of course), and salad. I've never eaten so healthy while camping. :) Birthday cake (Chris H) topped off the evening. The wind had died down considerably making it comfortable to sit around the fire and listen to Paul & Chris on their guitars.
Brian treated most everyone to omlette's Sunday morning. After stuffing ourselves once again we cleaned up camp and headed around the bend to spend some time with Mike's grandparents. Around 4 we all headed towards the interstate where we parted ways.
Chris dropped us off and we immediately left to pick up Gizmo. It was probably 7:30 when we got back home. And from 7:30 to almost 10 he and I were outside fighting with his back window. Jeff had purchased a solid back window for his truck and a couple of weeks ago we had tried to install it only to find the orginal rubber seal was not going to work. So we put the sliding window back in. The new seal came in and he wanted to get it put in.
That was one of the most frustrating tasks I've helped him with yet. But we got it in. So finally, at 10:30 I was able to shower and eat a little food. Needless to say, Monday I was extremely sore. 2 nights sleeping on the ground + koosh + pushing on a window with your entire body=sore muscles.
Posted by Olivia at 10:11 AM | Comments (3)
Find me in: Richmond Geeks
April 17, 2003Def Leppard in Roanoke
Some crazy person decided it would be a good idea for him and his crazy friends to go to Roanoke last night for a Def Leppard concert. And those crazy friends agreed! So all those crazy people drove to Roanoke last night and saw Def Leppard!
I can't say if the concert was good or not since I only knew 2 of the songs. But rumor has it that it was awesome. I did enjoy myself though. :) Jeff was able to snag us seats in the 7th row on the floor so we saw just about every drop of sweat that came off those guys. And one of us purchased some memorabilia. :)
After the concert we (me, Jeff, Jennifer & Brian) decided to hit Macados; Tracy drove up to join us. We stayed too long and ate too much food, but man was it good. By the time we got back to Staunton (and our cars) it was about 1:30. Almost 2 hours later (goodbyes + driving time) we were in Richmond. And four hours later, I was up, getting ready for work.
Like Jeff mentioned, it was a crazy thing to do, but why not?
Posted by Olivia at 5:48 PM | Comments (4)
Find me in: Friends in Low Places
April 21, 2003CustomTacos Meet
Why does Applebees seem to think that those round tables near the bar is part of the non-smoking section? Every time they ask us if that's ok. That's wack, yo! So yeh, Jeff & I paid a visit to Applebee's Friday night. Us and half the babies in Richmond. I've never seen so many babies in a restaurant at the same time! Not to mention it was 8:30 when we got there. A quick run to Target afterwards to pick up some caulk pretty much completed our evening.
Why is it I can't remember what else we did that night? Hmm...
Saturday morning we awoke not so bright and early and rushed to get up to Fredericksburg for a gathering of CustomTacos peeps. That's right, I said peeps.
When we finally got there around noon just about everyone else was already there. I think we ended up with 13 or 14 Tacos there. And most had 2 people per truck so you do the math. :) Despite the rather chilly weather I think everyone had a great time. It's neat when you can finally put faces with the user names you've come to know. After half the gang headed out the rest of us decided to hit Friday's for some dinner. Well, some of us ate dinner.
I ordered a cheese quesdilla but when it came, had bacon on it, so I sent it back and waited patiently. And waited..and waited. At one point the waitress said it would be out in a minute so I figured ok, no problem. And then I waited some more. By this time most people were finished eating and it was coming up on 9:30. When our waitress finally came back and realized I never got my food she apologized profusely. I told her forget it, just take it off the bill, but she insisted on checking with the cooks. Come to find out, they hadn't even seen the ticket. Grr..so there I was, with no dinner. :( At least I'd eaten enough at the cookout earlier.
Shortly after we all went our separate ways. Jeff and I played radio tag with Greg, a guy from Suffolk that we traveled with until Richmond. He could hear us, but all we got from him was squawking. It was actually kind of funny.
Wow I have a really bad memory..I can't even remember what we did Saturday night! Umm...
Posted by Olivia at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
Find me in: The Garage
April 21, 2003The fun of being an adult
We slept in a little on Sunday then decided to get up and start working on my brakes. My car's a '98, with 65K miles and had never had the brakes replaced. We knew a while back that they really needed to be done so Jeff purchased all the stuff. Of course the only days that we were ever around were rainy, nasty ones. But with yesterday being so nice, how could we pass it up? So several hours and 2 trips out (Auto Zone & Lowes) we finally finished. It's really not hard, if you have all the correct tools in the beginning. :) And I, with Jeff's prodding (and muscle assistance), ended up doing most of the work on one side; pretty cool.
After cleaning up and taking it for a test drive, Jeff changed the oil in his truck while I cleaned the inside of my car. How do I get so many rocks in there??
My next project of the day was to start caulking. I'm sure some of you have noticed (especially on the stairs) where the baseboard is pulling away, leaving a nasty cracked look. Yeh..so I started on that. It's a slow process since I have to wipe everything down (so much cat hair), put the caulk on, then smooth it out, but it's so easy. Maybe I can get the rest of the house finished up this week. It's also a good excuse to clean our ledges, umm..baseboards.
With the majority of our weekends filled up through the end of June it's hard to find time to do these little projects around the house. But one day I'll get to them. By the time we sat down for dinner at 8:30 I knew I wasn't going to get back up so we ordered One Hour Photo on PPV. Creepy movie. It was good though.
And now it's Monday and we're all back to the daily grind. Hope everyone has a good day!
(Oh, and I'll get some pictures up later..my work machine was upgraded last week and the guy didn't copy over my camera software..doh!)
Posted by Olivia at 10:58 AM | Comments (8)
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April 22, 2003Memory loss
Don't you hate when you're at work or busy doing something else when a brilliant idea or random thought for a blog pops in your head? And you can't write it down?? Yeh, that's me today. I had all these things I was going to say and now I can't think of a single one. Figures.
Posted by Olivia at 6:11 PM | Comments (1)
Find me in: All About Me
April 29, 2003An extended weekend?
Ok, so even though I haven't worked in the office since Thursday, I didn't really get a long weekend.
Friday I volunteered to help out Kim (one of my coworkers) get the baseball park set up for the league's annual Hit-A-Thon. As a state employee we have so many hours we can use towards community service activities, so I decided to use some of mine. We filled coolers with ice and drinks, shopped at Sam's for candy and other things, stocked the food in the concession stand, made signs, etc. Despite the drizzle/rain we had all day I had a good time. I ended up helping her out just as long as I would have been at work so I don't have to feel guilty for using 8 hours.
Jeff and I didn't do much of anything Friday night. We both ended up falling asleep after we got home, causing dinner to happen really late. Our nap of course screwed up the rest of the night which we saw too much of especially considering we had to be up early on Saturday.
Luckily we were still able to get up (mostly) on time and make it to Bridgewater at a decent hour. In the course of three, maybe four weeks, Jennifer has had to find a new job and move out of her apartment in Richmond. And not only did she find, interview and get a new job she has also managed to find a house she wanted to buy, go through the loan application, be approved and now, move in. Needless to say, the moving in part happened this weekend.
And along with a new house comes all new furniture. After being a travel nurse for several years and living in furnished dwellings she had no furniture! Since it was brand new and the furniture store delivered it, her move was definitely the quickest of all moves we've done so far. Jeff, Brian and I ended up spending the night in Fishersville because we were all pretty exhausted after a long day of physical labor.
Sunday, back in Richmond, we lounged around watching the race until Mike called. An hour later we were in the Sostes freshly painted house. Dinner at Uno was a great end to the weekend. We all hung around for a while listening to Mike read random websites before finally calling it a night.
Posted by Olivia at 12:24 PM | Comments (4)
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