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our first baby Benjamin James 11 lbs 7 oz Born: 12/15 |
| carrieann on twitter |
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these last few days, i've not done anything really special or practical. just ran around, doing errands, sleeping a lot, and taking lily to the park a million times :) i did find out something disturbing though. the man who complained enough to prevent us from being at our park after sunset has now gone the extreme route. he's threatening people with their dogs, saying he is going to kill them and their dogs, and now is also reportedly leaving poisoned hot dogs in the park! what a freakin psycho!! a girl i talked to found the hot dogs, which were soaked in a green chemical (most likely antifreeze)... so she baggied them and took them to the police station. that terrifies me. lily is so prone to eating crap from the ground... i would be beside myself if she were to find one of those. what is wrong with people??
as for new year's... looks like i will be takin it easy hangin out with my friends. keepin a low key new year's... but it will be fun :) monday starts the new job... i'm havin a dilemma as to whether or not i can come home at lunch to let lily out. if i drive, it's $130/m to pay to park. if i metro it, it will be $90/m for the fares, but i will be gone for 9-10 hours at a time. so we'll see if that extra $40 kills me with guilt or not. *sigh* damn parking.
as for new year's... looks like i will be takin it easy hangin out with my friends. keepin a low key new year's... but it will be fun :) monday starts the new job... i'm havin a dilemma as to whether or not i can come home at lunch to let lily out. if i drive, it's $130/m to pay to park. if i metro it, it will be $90/m for the fares, but i will be gone for 9-10 hours at a time. so we'll see if that extra $40 kills me with guilt or not. *sigh* damn parking.
| posted at 11:50 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well, i was up early this morning to get some stuff ready for the new job... but now i'm back at home all warm in my pj's :) i love days off :) might have to take lily outside in a bit though, she's driving me crazy. she is just like a bored kid on vacation... getting into all sorts of trouble. even got a hold of my running shoes, and chewed off the back of one shoe :( *sigh* so until i can afford a new pair, i'll be running with a low-heeled shoe. doh. oh well. now, though... it's naptime! :)
| posted at 11:53 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well, here i am... sittin at home. my job let me go early, and i can't start my new one til monday... so for the next four days, i get to live it up :) i'm bummed they didn't tell me earlier... i could have stayed longer in michigan. i drove all the way back just to be let go. *sigh* oh well... i guess now i have time to clean :)
| posted at 9:39 AM ~ comments (0) |
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over the weekend, i also saw two movies with my mom... 'spanglish' and 'phantom of the opera'. i wasn't impressed with spanglish. i think they had too many characters, and couldn't really develop them all. but i loved phantom. loved it. i would love to see it again, and eventually own it. but be warned, you have to like musicals. there is very little spoken dialogue. but that's what i loved about it :)
| posted at 9:10 AM ~ comments (0) |
well, i'm back at work, but not for long. it's my last week at my current job. the drive to and from home was easy... barely any traffic. i think most people took this week off of work around here... must be nice. i no longer get new year's eve off of work... at least, not at this job. next year, i will for sure. christmas was a good time at home... it was too short. i didn't get to catch up with everyone that i wanted to, and i won't be driving back to michigan again until july. that will be, by far, the longest time i've spent away from home. so i wish i could have stayed longer, to visit with folks i haven't seen in forever. oh well. i found out an old friend of mine, who did dearbon youth theater with me (he was 12, i was 17) is going to be in town for new year's eve... so i'm gonna go glay cub hopping with them on friday night in dupont circle! as long as i get to dance, i'm happy :) i also started back up my 'fitness' blog... i gained 6lbs in a month, and no longer can wear my nice dress pants that i had planned on wearing for the new job. doh. so i needed to muster up the willpower again, so that i can look good at the new place ;) oddly enough, two people told me that they had heard that i was anorexic or bulemic, and wanted to know if it was true. i just laughed out loud. i think everyone i work with can vouch for me, that i eat just fine. but it made me sad to think that people didn't believe that i could maintain the weight i've lost, without spreading rumors that i have an eating disorder. oh well. c'est la vie, i guess.
| posted at 8:38 AM ~ comments (0) |
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merry christmas from the clan out here in arlington. thanks to robyn for the antlers! i'll be sending out christmas cards before i go home... so they'll be a day or so late... but better late than never ;) i'll probably update from my parent's house... but i'll be home again on sunday night... back to work on monday... then i'll be gettin ready for new year's eve! :)
| posted at 10:08 PM ~ comments (0) |
scott has a blog. never thought i'd see the day ;) although, after reading it... although unexpected, i'm lovin it. scott, if you don't want me to link to your site, tell me...
| posted at 2:53 PM ~ comments (0) |
yep. that was the news i was waiting to explain. upon my first week on my new job in virginia, i was told of the plan to sell the company. not only was i upset that i was not warned or told of the sale before i started... i wasn't even told my first day. rather, an employee accidentally slipped and mentioned it to me. i didn't move all the way to virginia to worry about losing my job... and no one could tell me what the outlook of the company was. so i began to hunt for a new employer. i really didn't expect to find another so soon, but as fate has it, i did :) the company is based in fairfax... it's called ssb incorporated... i still can't figure out what that acronym stands for :) but i am actually going to be working for a client of theirs... the department of state. so i will be working in a government office in rosslyn... near to where i live... with a much more stable job. phew! i was really worried i would have to start a new job across the state, with a 45 minute commute... but i got lucky, and didn't anticipate the demand out here for cold fusion developers. so if you are a developer, and need a job, move here. seriously. :) so that's the big news... i start january 3rd, right after the new year. i'll miss my current coworkers... they are a great bunch! but i look forward to keeping in touch :)
so with the new job, i need new clothes. i've never had to wear business attire before... jeans and tshirts and sweatshirts have always been the standard uniform. luckily, i recently updated a few items in my wardrobe... so i have clothes to last me a while... but i am in dire need of some work clothes. have any you want to spare? let me know! :)
so with the new job, i need new clothes. i've never had to wear business attire before... jeans and tshirts and sweatshirts have always been the standard uniform. luckily, i recently updated a few items in my wardrobe... so i have clothes to last me a while... but i am in dire need of some work clothes. have any you want to spare? let me know! :)
| posted at 12:57 PM ~ comments (0) |
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three day work weeks rock :) i'm leavin for michigan on thursday morning... hanging out with friends thursday night... christmas eve is friday... we always go to a friend of the family's house to celebrate before we all head to church for midnight mass... then it's christmas at my aunt's house. and then i leave sunday morning. should be an interesting week. had to take lily to the vet yesterday to take a look at the gash on her leg, from the dog fight. there was a bump forming, so rather than wait and see, i just took her in, in case it was a sign of some infection. 70 bucks later, she's on some antibiotics, but other than that, she's all good :) jeez. she's also about to go into heat any day now... i'm praying to god that doesn't happen over the holidays. then spay surgery, here we come! *sigh* it never ends ;) i took some candid shots of her with her antlers on (for the christmas card)... i'll post those later today. it's so silly... i love it :) back to work... it's below zero outside right now with the windchill... BRRRRR....
| posted at 8:16 AM ~ comments (0) |
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got a new design... so far i'm likin it. got a few kinks to work out, and figure out how to make it work... gonna need a few layers and lots of images... but i think it'll work! :) i'll try and work on it tonight and tomorrow... but i might have something sooner than six months :) we'll see though...
| posted at 1:18 AM ~ comments (0) |
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we're having a rough couple of days. last night, we attempted to go on our regularly scheduled dog park outing... only to find out that the park has been closed. some guy who lives nearby (and is not a dog fan) complained excessively about the barking... so the park ranger closed the park. it's only after sundown... but seeing as how it is dark at 5pm... that leaves about a half hour of play time when we were spending an hour and a half minimum before. i'm so bummed. but it is still open during the day... so we tried to go there this afternoon. we got into the park, and lily ran up to one of the dogs with a tennis ball... and the dog attacked her! hearing the attack, the other two dogs in the park also come running, and start joining the attack on lily. i didn't know what to do! luckily, the owners of the dogs came running over and seperated them... but poor lily has a bunch of cuts and gouges in her legs, and one on her face :( she was shaken up a bit... wouldn't play at the park... so we came home. i checked her over and put peroxide on her cuts that i could find... but it made me so sad. the other dog is a known aggressive dog... especially over tennis balls. but i had never seen this dog before... and lily was just being her normal puppy self. *sigh* the owner claimed she never knew her dog had bitten anyone before... but the other lady there said her dog had been bitten by that same one... and that she should know better. stupid ass people. poor lily... she's happily resting now... but man... what a day...
| posted at 5:28 PM ~ comments (0) |
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i'm signing up for classes... from the knock on wood studio, they teach "ryhthm tap, a form of percussive dance that gives you the skills to make music with your feet, drawing from a number of musical genres including jazz, blues, and swing..." and my instructor is baakari wilder! i hope he's as good a teacher as he is a dancer. it's only a four week session... but otherwise, i'd have to wait until february to start classes back up. so monday nights in january, i'll be stompin my little heart out! i'm also planning on checking out their performing group "step aside". if i think i'd fit in, i'm planning on auditioning for it. i think it would be great to start performing again. they tour to a bunch of different festivals and events... but that's a ways off... we'll see how it goes... and how the money flows... :)
| posted at 3:35 PM ~ comments (0) |
ouch. my knee hurts. at the dog park last night... i wasn't paying attention fully, and had three dogs slam into the side of my knee. i could have taken a hit from the back. i know better to keep my knees bent at that place. but the side impact is killer. it didn't hurt so much last night... but i woke up this morning with a terrible ache. it doesn't hurt to use it... just the inside part hurts, and it hurts if you press on it. so i hope that's a good sign :) lily still loves that place, btw. we now have a routine after i get home from work... where it's eat, chill for a half hour, then dog park. but for that half hour... she's super anxious... sometimes she'll even grab her leash as if to remind me that we need to go :) *sigh* gotta love that dog ;)
| posted at 7:42 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i'm really tired lately. i'm starting to make plans for new years, only to find out everyone has left town, and won't be around dc. doh. i don't think i'm brave enough to venture out on my own yet. *sigh* we'll see. hopefully i'll find something going on. all these new designs of sites makes me think it's about time i did a redesign of my own site. it's a little TOO simple for me now... i'm looking for something more sophisticated... less childish... more color, maybe. ideas are a-brewin... if i find myself with some free time anytime soon, which isn't likely, i'll try and throw something together. i keep changing my mind though... so it'll be like six months before i finally decide on something. i'd like to add a professional portfolio, eventually... something to point future employers to. we'll see. just ideas right now...
this is the last weekend before christmas. i'll be leaving on thursday morning to make the drive back to michigan. looking forward to some family fun... hanging out with friends. should be a good time. this weekend, i've got plans to hang out with robyn to watch office space and lost in translation. gave me an excuse to finally go buy the movie :) but no plans other than that... i'll try and round up some troops tomorrow night... see what everyone is up to. laundry time tonight, though. fun, fun.
this is the last weekend before christmas. i'll be leaving on thursday morning to make the drive back to michigan. looking forward to some family fun... hanging out with friends. should be a good time. this weekend, i've got plans to hang out with robyn to watch office space and lost in translation. gave me an excuse to finally go buy the movie :) but no plans other than that... i'll try and round up some troops tomorrow night... see what everyone is up to. laundry time tonight, though. fun, fun.
| posted at 3:55 PM ~ comments (0) |
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reading fark today, i came across this story about a WWII hero, who escaped from prison, fought in Russia, and finally made it back to the US... to his family in muskegon, michigan :) it's a great story. my favorite part was when he said he had the crap beat out of him, until he was unconscious... but he knew he wasn't dead because "angels don't speak german" :)
| posted at 9:22 AM ~ comments (0) |
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saw this live, and i am ecstatic that they are making a movie out of it. my sister and i used to play the soundtrack over and over and over... to the point where i can now recite the entire thing by heart :) don't know why i like it so much... but yeah, phantom of the opera opens december 22!!!
| posted at 8:36 AM ~ comments (0) |
william finally decided to move his blog to his new domain... so feel free to check out the new design... i like it... all css, baby! :)
i'm also on my way tonight to my first meeting with the macromedia user group out here. wammo (washington area macromedia organization) sounds like an interesting time. we'll see. hey, at least there is pizza ;)
i'm also on my way tonight to my first meeting with the macromedia user group out here. wammo (washington area macromedia organization) sounds like an interesting time. we'll see. hey, at least there is pizza ;)
| posted at 8:20 AM ~ comments (0) |
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even though i didn't do much of anything last night, i am still wiped out today. i did go to ikea, but i wasn't as impressed as i thought i'd be. i did find a cutting board for 10 bucks that i like... it's one of those huge ones that is wooden and takes up the width of the counter. for all the chopping i do, it is really handy to have. the rest of the day, i just laid around, and slept in. it helped tremendously with my cold... i really just needed sleep. i even slept in an extra hour this morning... i was that tired. still am. don't know why. i'm also in one of those 'moods'... i hate that. i can tell i'm grumpy... i just feel like crawling back into bed and not dealing with anything or anyone today. *sigh* welcome to monday... it's gonna be a crazy week. i'll know more towards the end of wednesday... but for now... i just know something big's a comin.
| posted at 9:36 AM ~ comments (0) |
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this weekend's been a fun one. went to a place called 'brickskellers' last night with dave and his roommates. they have over 1000 different beers from all over the world... 2 out of the 3 i had were really tastey... i liked the place :) then i woke up early this morning and headed out to the tap studio and took two classes... figured out i'm advanced... and got the info to sign up for the spring classes that start in january. i might drop in on the really advanced class on monday night... but i think it might be just over my level. so i'll have to save that one until i've had a bit more practice, and i'm not so rusty. then i called up my friend robyn from work and we headed out to see might could at college perk. they rocked, it was a great time :) scott and his wife even showed up, and we all learned how to play 'mancala'. always wondered how to play that! so now i'm back, and really ready for bed. no plans tomorrow, other than a trip out to ikea... look out! i'm gonna try not to spend too much money :)
| posted at 12:27 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i'm full of fun links today ;) got this from the mmug i belong to... an article about how individuals were able to control a cursor with their thoughts! sweet!
| posted at 3:39 PM ~ comments (0) |
have a wishlist on amazon and like getting packages in the mail? sign up to be a secret santa! i do it every year, and i love it :) my first year, meg from megnut sent me my gift of 'sixteen candles'... little did i know she was one of the founding members of blogger! regardless of who it is, i have fun picking out stuff for people. i love christmas :)
| posted at 2:50 PM ~ comments (0) |
interesting to note... rss feeds are now starting to become pretty popular, and according to slashdot, are now eating up more and more bandwidth. so this site, rss cache gives users another option. it's interesting :)
| posted at 8:14 AM ~ comments (0) |
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happy holidays from dc :) here are the christmas decoration photos :)
| posted at 8:59 PM ~ comments (0) |
well, i put up my christmas tree last night... blasted the christmas music and donned my santa hat :) even put up a couple icicle lights in the doorwall... very nice :) i'll take some photos and post them... my ones from last year are still up... i can't believe it was only a year ago that i lived in my one bedroom apartment in urbana. no dog, no house, and in illinois. crazy. i still say it's amazing how much things really do change in just one year's time. i'll be interested to know where the heck i end up NEXT christmas. wow. and the year before that, i was living with jackie in our apartment in east lansing. in just two years, i've lived in three states and four different places. i'm trying my hardest not to make it four and five!
i made some tentative plans for this weekend. tim is playing with his band might could at the coffee house his girlfriend lives above, in college park. so saturday night, i'm gonna make my way over there and hang out with them. i'm also dropping in on a tap class on saturday, at knock on wood in silver springs. i can't wait for that. should be a great time. might even stick around for two classes that day... depending on if i can get into the really advanced class or not. i'm trying with level four at first, and if i think i can manage, i'll jump up to level five after that. we'll see. classes don't start up again until the end of january, but at least then i'd know where to start :)
and i heard about this from a couple at the dog park... it's called "santacon" i believe... the idea is, you buy/rent a really cheap santa suit, and do a bar crawl downtown as a group. so literally, there are 100's of santas walking around downtown getting drunk. how fun is THAT? :) might have to drag some people out next year... good times :)
i made some tentative plans for this weekend. tim is playing with his band might could at the coffee house his girlfriend lives above, in college park. so saturday night, i'm gonna make my way over there and hang out with them. i'm also dropping in on a tap class on saturday, at knock on wood in silver springs. i can't wait for that. should be a great time. might even stick around for two classes that day... depending on if i can get into the really advanced class or not. i'm trying with level four at first, and if i think i can manage, i'll jump up to level five after that. we'll see. classes don't start up again until the end of january, but at least then i'd know where to start :)
and i heard about this from a couple at the dog park... it's called "santacon" i believe... the idea is, you buy/rent a really cheap santa suit, and do a bar crawl downtown as a group. so literally, there are 100's of santas walking around downtown getting drunk. how fun is THAT? :) might have to drag some people out next year... good times :)
| posted at 8:09 AM ~ comments (0) |
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yuck. coughing. chest hurts. bleh. i feel like crap. not doing anything tonight but resting... i'm exhausted. i took a trip out to harris teeter, the 24-7 grocery store near to me last night. it's a nice grocery store... and it has a bed bath and beyond next door :) but it is a little odd taking your grocery cart into an elevator to your car in the parking garage rather than just outside. oh well... i'll manage ;) i also managed to accidentally buy selzter water rather than the flavored carbonated waters i usually get. doh. i hate this stuff. and i have six bottles of it. doh.
| posted at 8:14 AM ~ comments (0) |
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bleh. i woke up today with a sinus infection... aka a cold. i haven't had one of these in a really long time... like years. so i hope it doesn't stick around... i feel like crap :( but i did have fun this weekend, even if it did make me sick :) saturday we met my work friends out at a restaurant called 'zaytinya'... we didn't eat there, but the atmosphere was very nice... very high class. we had some cocktails and then decided to head to a bar nearby... coyote ugly! they modeled it after the movie... complete with girls dancing on bars :) that was a fun time, and made for a late night. then i woke up sunday... very hungover... and exhausted. but i dragged myself off the couch in time to go out to the rap tap hip-hop step festival at the dance place... it was fantastic! i am definitely joining up tap again soon. they also had a guy who performed some beatbox... he was crazy good. i've never heard 'headsprung' performed acapella... the crowd went nuts, me included ;)
so it was a great weekend... needed to get more sleep, so hopefully i can catch up tonight and tomorrow, while i try to kick this cold out. still haven't put up my christmas decorations and i need to start sending out christmas cards. no plans yet for this weekend... i didn't make it out to the museums, so that is always on the agenda :)
so it was a great weekend... needed to get more sleep, so hopefully i can catch up tonight and tomorrow, while i try to kick this cold out. still haven't put up my christmas decorations and i need to start sending out christmas cards. no plans yet for this weekend... i didn't make it out to the museums, so that is always on the agenda :)
| posted at 7:42 AM ~ comments (0) |
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last night was a good time. won a bunch of pool games thanks to dave being a superstar. i need to learn to take naps after work on fridays though... i was TIRED at like 11pm. we played at a place called dr. dremo's... it used to be a car dealership, and they turned it into a giant pool hall/bar. they had an electronic jukebox... and i've seen a couple of these out here... that is wired up to the internet! about time! so now if they don't have your song, you can connect and download it! :) sweet :) so we were jammin and drinking some pbr... good times :)
today i've got a lot of running around to do. it's a beautiful day, and i need to start learning my way around. first thing on the agenda is to buy a freakin map of the roads. then it's off to get pet food, deposit a check, go to the grocery store... fun stuff. then i'm gonna head downtown and check out the museum for a couple hours... then come home and take lily out to the new dog park! if we don't get there today before it gets dark, i'll take her to our normal lighted park for a couple hours, and head to the new one tomorrow. :) alright... time to get out of here! i slept in... and it felt great, but now i'm losing daylight...
today i've got a lot of running around to do. it's a beautiful day, and i need to start learning my way around. first thing on the agenda is to buy a freakin map of the roads. then it's off to get pet food, deposit a check, go to the grocery store... fun stuff. then i'm gonna head downtown and check out the museum for a couple hours... then come home and take lily out to the new dog park! if we don't get there today before it gets dark, i'll take her to our normal lighted park for a couple hours, and head to the new one tomorrow. :) alright... time to get out of here! i slept in... and it felt great, but now i'm losing daylight...
| posted at 11:39 AM ~ comments (0) |
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lookin forward to a fun night out on sat! people from work are heading out downtown, so we're goin dancin! scott posted pics of robyn and james... we had pizza hut for lunch today... mmm.... and robyn's showin off her matching belt and shoes, with weldon and phyo. this group is great :)
| posted at 3:38 PM ~ comments (0) |
saw the movie garden state last night. i liked it :) very different from the character zach plays in scrubs. i rounded up people from work to go... it was playing at this place near my house called the cinema drafthouse. it's a restaurant that serves alcohol and food in front of a movie screen. it's great! the movies are not first run, and only 5 dollars... so it's perfect :) definitely looking forward to going back :) tonight i'm meeting my friends out in clarendon, and tomorrow i think i'm going to head downtown to the smithsonian. not sure for the plans tomorrow night... maybe some poker? then sunday i'm heading out to the tap performances. i refuse to stay home with all this stuff going on! plus i was told of a new dog park nearby, that has water... but it's not totally enclosed, so i'm a little hesistant to take her there, since she doesn't always come when she's called. so we'll see... fun times this weekend though! :)
| posted at 9:54 AM ~ comments (0) |
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anyone written any web services lately? if so, email me... i need your help :)
| posted at 3:28 PM ~ comments (0) |
woohoo! i found another tapper! :) one of the girls i work with was talking about dance classes today... and come to find out, she likes to tap, too! now i don't feel like such a 12 year old :) it also inspired me to find out if there are any performances/festivals coming up... and the studio that i am interested in is performing at the rap tap hip hop festival downtown this weekend! so i'm gonna go check it out one of the nights (they are there fri-sun)... i can't wait! i'm gonna drop in on a class soon... and possibly sign up for a semester in january. 14 weeks of tapping... man... i'm so freakin excited. i can put my favorite shoes to use... i've been dying to use them again!
| posted at 2:59 PM ~ comments (0) |