HGTV bound...almost - so close....

Tuesday, I get an email from some lady at Pie Town Productions telling me she's interested in my relocation story and wants me to call her.....so I do...because I don't know who the hell she is, but she peaked my interest. As I was dialing, I realized that back in November, I had applied for HGTV's House Hunters and then completely forgot about it.

I called this lady, who happened to be a producer for the show and she was really interested in our situation and she wanted us to send in audition tapes. She was really excited to spin our story - Brad in MA, me in a hotel, us going from a high cost of living to finding a home in the south with the same price range. The catch was that she only had two episodes left to film and 5 other producers trying to fill the spots too. So we had to be quick. She mailed me all the forms I had to sign and all the rules that we had to follow and what she needed on the audition tape that Brad and I would have to submit in the next day. I called my realtor, asked if he had a camera, called Brad to tell him to get a camera and we were off.....

The next day, got another email from the lady....the other producers already had tapes in their hands....and it wasn't worth me wasting the energy to make the audition tape b/c they were submitting the other tapes that day.

Bummer....I really wanted to be on House Hunters....

A little MA ink and a trip to CT

I made it back to Boston airport around 9:00 on Friday evening and settled in Friday night for some much needed rest for a busy day on Saturday.

Saturday morning, we headed out to Mandrake Tattoo around noon for our appointment. Yes - we got inked. When we were in Ireland last year, my husband found this Celtic Love Cross that he fell in love with. We wanted to do something to remember our time here in MA before we moved away, so we decided to get a tattoo...not only a tattoo...matching tattoos in the same location. I hope that this doesn't doom us for divorce now!



Brad went first and for some reason, I didn't think it was going to hurt as bad as they say...(this is my 3rd tattoo, but I got my last tattoo about 8 years ago)...and Brad seemed to get through it okay. It only took an hour for his to be finished and then it was my turn. It sucked...it hurt, it was painful, but I sucked it up until I left the shop and then whined like a little girl afterward. Two hours and $180 later, Brad and I left Mandrake Tattoo branded and happy. I think they turned out quite nice.

Brad:



Jen:



We headed home for about half an hour and then headed south to CT to visit some friends. Brad and I are officially moving to GA the first week of February and figured this would be our last chance to visit Jen and Patricia.

I was so excited to get to Jen's because I have not seen her daughter, Crazy Natters, in so long. She had grown so much. Crazy Natters is the first baby we've been around and have been able to watch grow up. Brad absolutely adores this child and she in turn, adores Brad. Most of the night she kept saying, Bwad...Bwad...and point to the garage where Brad and Kevin would occasionally hang out. It was too cute.



We then headed over to Patricia's house. Patricia just moved into her first new home after moving from her apartment in Mansfield and it was beautiful! We drank, smoked, ate pizza, played guitar hero and then headed back to Jen and Kevin's to "watch the game." I say that with quotes, b/c I don't actually remember watching the game...but more the group as we started talking about politics. Fun times!!!







Please note my husband in the far left with his hand against the wall...he's practicing to be a JC Penney model...as Jen mentioned last night!!
We ended up leaving CT around midnight for a two hour drive home. It was a great weekend and I'm sad to see it go by so quickly. We do have another showing today at 4:00...the real estate business is finally picking back up and we've had a total of 3...yes 3...showings at our place since we put it on the market!!

I'll be working for 3 days out of the Mansfield office and then Brad and I will head down to GA on Wednesday night to do some househunting. Very exciting...

And...on January 28th...I bought tickets to see David Copperfield...I've wanted to see him since I was a little girl. Brad isn't going to be able to join me as the show is in Augusta and Brad won't move down until the first week of February, but this was one that I didn't think he would mind to miss....and it will be a much needed girl's night out with my new friends in Augusta!

A day in the hotel room

Picture a girl...hiking in the mountains of the wilderness, then falling into a cave and being stuck there for days on end....enter Jennifer:

It's going on the 8th day here in the cave (hotel).....just kidding. I intro'd that for dramatic effect...

It is my 8th day here in Augusta since New Year's and I've done well to keep myself busy. I decided to stay in Augusta over the weekend rather than driving 5 hours to my mom's house. I joined the World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League here in Northern Georgia that plays at a different venue every night except Friday nights. I have made some new friends...although they'll never compare to the friends that I've made in my first league in New England!

The league here is pretty good, very serious since it is a national league. I have played almost every night. If I had a dollar for everytime someone asked if I was moving here b/c I or my husband was in the military...I'd be a rich woman!

Tonight, the venue listed for the league cancelled, so I'm stuck at the hotel...

Friday night, I went out with some girls from work for some much needed margarita's and social life! The biggest difference in the bars here is that you can smoke in them...which was really cool at first...until I realized after being a smoker in New England for 2 years...I don't like indoor smoke....indoor bar smoke! And I do smoke much more when allowed to smoke with my drink at the table! I think I smoked my body weight in cigarrettes!

I've started working on another 8 hour baby blanket by Plymouth Yarn...and am halfway through. Cooper was born in October....and still doesn't have a baby blanket! My goal is to finish it this week and ship it before I head back to MA, but I tend to set goals outside my reach. I've been toting an unfinished pair of socks with me to Augusta, GA every trip...and never get around to working on it...although I did manage to completely tear the sock out once I got to the heel....

With all the travel and move...It's safe to say...knitting has taken a back seat. I think it took a back seat a long time ago, I just didn't want to admit it. For me...I have to be in a happy place...in my head at least. I have to be calm, relaxed and not have anything "pending" as my friend patricia would say.

I did spend a little bit on my Ravelry account. I added a few pictures...and realized that I have been knitting for almost 2 years!! WOW...that long....? I hate how I started knitting, but glad that I did start...and was lucky that Crazy Natters Mom and Patricia were around for some knitting support!!

A Ravelry Newbie

A few months ago, I was finally invited to Ravelry.

With all the new stuff going on with preparing for the move and traveling back and forth between GA and MA, I haven't had any time to set it up and upload things to it. Well, actually I have had time, but have chosen to relish in the fact that I've been home with the hubby for a few weeks. So, tonight I've decided to dabble in it and have decided, I am going to have to dedicate some real time to it! I will be back in GA on the second of January and will have a few weeks to myself...alone...in a hotel and will hopefully muster up the strength to dabble some more!

As far as my holidays went - fantastic! We did nothing!! We did NO family stuff this year, which I love my family...but with all the travel, did not want to spend the holidays traveling more...

We cooked, painted, shopped....lounged...ate.....and lounged some more!

All to gear up for more away time from the hubby until he gets moved into temp housing with me!!

Christmas Cookie Fest 2007

This weekend was pretty uneventful, by choice. Being in Augusta has managed to make work life happy, but home life lonely, so we just wanted to hang out.

We took my car yesterday to have the stereo replaced since it was faulty, grabbed lunch at Panera and then grabbed a quick movie to kill time waiting for my car. We watched Hitman, which was entertaining, but not an Oscar winning movie!

Today, we got up, baked some mini muffins (this was Brad's idea as he excitedly brought the mini muffin pan to the shopping cart a few weeks ago) and just hunkered down for some lounging. By noon, I had a small case of cabin fever and as we pondered dinner, realized we needed some fixins for our Turkey Burger meal we had planned.

Once we got to the grocery store, I thought it would be fun to grab a cookie magazine and bake some cookies. And thus, Christmas Cookie Fest 2007 began. Brad picked out the two types of cookies that he wanted to bake and we were off through the aisles yelling out ingredients that we needed. Other shoppers were smiling and helping us find the baking soda, the unsweetened chocolate and other ingredients as I'm sure we looked like the novice bakers that we are!!

When we got home, we started right away. We bought Betty Crocker's Holiday Cookies magazine and decided to make Fiesta Fudge Cookies and Confetti Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies.




We had fun baking these cookies and have decided that beginning this year...this is something we are going to do every year gonig forward. It was a lot of fun and for our first attempt, the cookies looked pretty damn close to the pictures!!




I posted the recipe on my Myspace private blog, so if you'd like them, shoot me a note and I can email them to you, or sign up for a myspace account and look me up!

We had a lot of fun baking these. I told Brad, first it starts out with mini muffins, then we move on to homemade cookies. Next will be the cakes and we'll end up having our own dessert place!

A new way to celebrate Turkey Day

Thursday, November 22, 2007

A new way to celebrate Turkey Day So Monday, the 19th, was my first official day working in Augusta. This was kind of a short week since the holidays, but my new manager was going to be starting on Monday, so I wanted to be there when she started. It was an overwhelming and interesting week. I started the week off by traveling on Sunday and by flying back on Wednesday, only the busiest travel day of the year...but all was well and I made it back okay. I did a lot my first week, including look at some really good real estate. I found the perfect home for us, however, it needs some interior work...new kitchen, new bathroom, new floors and new walls (its all 1950's wallpaper...even on the ceiling!) on two acres of land. It is a well built home, our realtor believes an architect was involved. It was built in 1950 and the woman just happened to pass away this week. She's been in a nursing home for quite a while, but I think that she was the original owner. There is an additional 17 acres of land behind the property, but that will be an option to buy once someone purchases the house. It would be a perfect home - 5 bedrooms, lots of room, great landscaping and just a great, well built house. However, it would need about 30,000 dollars worth of work, but all cosmetic. They are asking for 268,000, but the judge who is overseeing the property and trying to sell it is basically trying to get rid of it and our realtor thinks we could get away with 220,000. HOWEVER...let's face it, Brad and I are not handy fix it upper kind of people and we are seriously looking at taking a huge hit on our house in MA, losing all of our equity and potentially more. So, we have to look for something that would not need any additional money. I looked at 4 other homes, all either with lots of land and an old home, or wooded lots with a gorgeous new home. All within our price range...we'll see. Brad is coming down with me in Dec so he'll be able to help me better judge what will be our next future home. I arrived home yesterday and today we went to Foxwoods to celebrate Thanksgiving. We decided to take this year and the holidays and make it our own. No family, just us. We've been apart so long, with my travels, that we just wanted to hang out. Besides, after we move back, we'll have all the family time in the world! We decided to take some money and just go and have fun and DE-STRESS! We met Patricia and Darien and played poker for almost 10 hours. It was a lot of fun, although all of our money went back to the Indian community, which as Brad mentioned, is just a way for us to give back to those that created Thanksgiving Day for us in the first place! I was totally bummed that we didn't win, but then again, we never win. But, we had set aside that money just for our gambling turkey day. Much to my surprise and ladies - I have to say - I have the best husband in the world...Brad had a bit of surprise for me. As we were leaving the casino, Brad told me he had been saving up a separate stash for a shopping spree for us...and only us. To buy clothes, shoes, whatever we needed. He had been saving up a little here and there, so it was almost like free money!! I was so excited! He had also meticulously cleaned the house for me Wed so I don't have a thing to do until I have to go back to Augusta on Monday. Heaven. My mom also kept with the new tradition and went to the casino on Thanksgiving in NC. Just like her daughter, she lost all of her gambling money as well. Like mother, like daughter. We have movie day set aside for tomorrow - Black Friday, so we don't have to get out and face the crowds...I love my husband.

International Beerfest 2007

Sunday, November 11, 2007

International Beerfest 2007 Saturday night, we attended America's Largest International Beerfest with some friends in Providence, RI. I was not really looking forward to the event because for whatever reason, I haven't really drunk a whole lot since we've moved to MA. I can honestly say, I've only been drunk maybe twice in the past two years. I suppose that means I'm growing up, but for a long while, I have no urge to drink... We get to Providence fairly early and get a chance to stop by the food court at Providence Place to get a slice of pizza. Then we headed off to the festival. Now there are lines, and there are Beerfest lines. There was a line to get your pre-purchased tickets from Will Call, there was a line to get your ID checked, there was a line to have your ticket scanned, there was a line to get to the escalator, there was a line to get ON the escalator, there was a line once you got off the escalator, there was a line to get into the ballroom that the beer festival was in and then there was a line at all the beer vendors that were there. When you walk in, there is someone that gives you a dixie cup - holds about 5 oz of liquid. You stand in line at each vendor and they give you a little taste. We had everything from pumpkin beer, to IPA, to stouts, to light beer, to peach, blueberry, rasberry beer. The best part was watching everyone (including myself) slowly digress throughout the night. You wouldn't think that the small amounts of beer would do you in, but they do!! As soon as we got our beer sample from one vendor, we would immediately get in line for the next and before you knew it, everyone had sloppy eyes and walks!! A few hours into it and I was done. I sat on the sidelines and people watched. We left the beer festival around 9:00 (3 hours later) and headed to Dave and Busters for some late night gaming and more beer. As soon as I walked in and saw the crowds, I wanted to turn around and go home. Not only did I hate the crowds at the beerfestival...I hate the bars now. The meat market bars anyway. I can handle a laid back pub anyday, but I'm so done with crowds. We stayed long enough to get a table, order some much needed appetizers, play a few games and then head out. Everyone came back to our place and, of course, played Guitar Hero. I immediately went to be and about 3 hours later, Brad and the rest of the gang finally decided to call it quits. So we're pretty tired today, but happy b/c this is my last week in MA for work, anyway.

A great day to be a New England Revolution!!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

A great day to be a New England Revolution!! Current mood: ecstatic Tonight was the Eastern Conference Major League Soccer Championship hosted by the New England Revolution at home in Gillette stadium. We decided that even though it was a school night (I just can't bring myself to call it a work night yet) that we would go and watch our boys take home the title. We got ourselves a little closer to midfield this time in section 110 on the fourth row and our seats were magnificent. It was a perfect New England November night, clear sky, and 30 something degrees. No rain, no wind...only the cold chill and some great soccer. We played the Chicago Fire and what an exciting game. The Fire definitely outplayed us, however, toward the end of the first half (and Brad gone to the bathroom) Twellman scored a beautiful goal...a bicycle kick into the net! I peed my pants and banged my knee on the seat in front of me simultaneously as I jumped up and down in celebration with the rest of the crowd...literally...peed my pants a little....I spent the next 10 minutes rubbing the soon to be black and blue knee. I must say, of all the sections in the stadium...we belong in the upper middle section. I'm not saying that because obviously they are great seats. I'm saying that because I've realized what the people are like in the various sections. Endzone 1: The Fort - This is where a majority of the die hard season ticketed fans sit...or shall I say stand. They are the tireless group of fans that chant, clap and make noise the entire game. I love that we have that section - would never sit there....too tiring - I wouldn't make it a whole game. Section 101-103: Older season ticket holders - Where our season tickets were...Older fans sit there to watch the game. Moderately priced seats, but no excitement - only older people there to sit and enjoy the game...quietly. Endzone 2: CHEAP SEATS - this is where the cheapest tickets are and not to be discrimatory - this is where a lot of the Latino community sit and pretty much root AGAINST the Revs and American Soccer. No one really sits in their own seats....they just sit wherever they don't get booted out. Mid section: TRUE BLUE soccer fans...and when I say true blue, I mean, can sit there with intensity, truly follow the game and make noise when necessary. I love this section. We were loud when we needed to be and focused on the game when it was necessary. I sat on the edge of my seat, literally, the whole second half. It was a fantastic game. WE WON 1-nil!!! We stayed and watched the ceremony afterward and yelled and screamed with the stadium as the Revs took their 3rd Eastern Conference Championship...Let's pray for a National Championship...The Revs have gone on numerous occasions....but have yet to bring home the championship...Let this be the year!!! And a move update: 1 appraisal and the moving company survey / visit down 1 more appraisal and two realtor meetings to go....tomorrow...almost done. Next Friday is my last day at the office....It will shake down like this: Week of Nov 19 - Augusta, GA Week of Nov 26 - San Diego, CA Week of Dec 3 - Orlando (Deland), FL Week of Dec 12 - Augusta, GA Week of Dec 19 - Augusta, GA Week of Dec 26 - Back to MA for some vacation...I have 11 days to kill somehow between all of that and the end of the year!!! We're hoping to move directly into a new home, but anticipating the temporary housing if needed by mid to the end of January.

The REVS are going to the Eastern Conference Championship

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The REVS are going to the Eastern Conference Championship Tonight, we bundled up in our winter gear...a few layers of shirts, pants, wool socks, gloves, hats, scarves and winter coats and headed to the Revolutions playoff game agains the New York Red Bulls. The remains of hurricane Noel swept through New England today, so not only did we have the cold November temperatures, but also wind and rain. Cold is one thing, but wet and cold is another!! We upgraded our seats as this could have potentially been our last Revs game and we found ourselves on the second row at almost midfield. We got to see all the action up close and it was so awesome to watch the game so close!! We could hear all the guys yelling at each other and actually see their faces!!! The refs called a shitty game but in the end, the Revs came through 1-nil and will be playing in the Eastern Conference Championship this Thursday at Gilette Stadium again! We're going to head there again and hopefully watch the Revs win a spot into the National Championship!!!

Patricia and Darien’s Farewell Poker Game and Salem, MA

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Patricia and Darien’s Farewell Poker Game and Salem, MA Last night, we decided to throw Darien and Patricia a going away party...and also play a little poker!! Yesterday morning, we got up, ran errands and Patricia and D drove in from CT around 5:00. They brought their Guitar Hero guitar and Patricia and I were glued to the game pretty much until guests started showing up! We had a small group this time, about 10 or so people. We grilled out, played cards and just hung out. These will be one of those things I'll miss about MA. Our Patricia and D...and the rest of our poker buddies. Gideon Resort and Casino's poker tournaments have flourished and we will miss them!! After Darien won both the main poker game and the side match....and after everyone left, Patricia and I had to wait patiently for the Red Sox game to finish before we snuck in and raided the television and Guitar Hero!!! We are so into this game it is pathetic! Both of our husbands sat laughing and video-ing us as we dueled it out!! The video is for our kids to watch mommy, when she actually had fun...apparently I am suppose to turn into a nagging, boring person after I have kids... We stayed up until about 3:00 again playing until we all said our goodnights. Since Pachy and D moved last weekend into temporary housing, they shacked up with us for the evening. This morning I was able to get up early enough to clean up from the party last night as well as get the floors cleaned and mopped...I'm meticulous about my hardwood floors....I just can't have dirty feet!!! We cooked a huge breakfast this morning and introduced biscuits and homemade gravy to Pachy... We headed out to Salem, MA after breakfast as I've wanted to go there for Halloween now for a few years.....Boy....was I dissappointed. I was expecting some genuine Halloween stuff...and it was all covered by this touristy crap. Totally NOT what I was expecting. We ended up wandering around looking at the little booths set up...There was a ton of stuff going on for the holiday season...Salem, MA website...but it was hoaky....silly....not at all scary.... We eneded up going to a wax museum and through two haunted houses, but didn't really get anything from it. I had more fun at the Haunted House in Abington! And I learned nothing of the Witch Trials. I had to google it on my Blackberry on the way home and after reading about it....yes...remember....I'm bad with my history....am totally shocked that the town embraces Halloween with all the people that were hung...not burned...because of alleged witchcraft. I guess every town needs income and a lot of people head to Salem, just like us...to check it out! We made the best of it and I always enjoy spending the day with Patricia and Darien. We parted ways around 5:00 and we headed to Fuddruckers for some much needed food. I had stuffed my face with Kettle Corn and candy all day and had the naseating sugar jitters!!! Tomorrow...I'm off to Atlanta for a few days...

Neglecting the Knitting Blog

We are officially moving back down south! I have officially started work already in Augusta, GA and will commute / fly back and forth from GA to MA until mid January. In the midst of all the excitement, I realize that I am still neglecting the knitting AND the knitting blog. So, I'm being lazy and just copying some posts from my private blog!!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

A week of rest, sushi, haunted houses, Bruins hockey, Red Sox baseball and Revolution soccer It didn't FEEL like a busy week, but as I think back to all that we've done...maybe it WAS sort of a busy week. I was home for the week again...(yea!) and it was wonderful! Tuesday night, Brad had a company bowling tournament, which freed me up for the night to clean, clean, clean. For those of you who don't know my secret pleasure...as long as it's on my terms....I love to clean. I like to sweep all the cracks and crevices of the house and pile all the junk from the floors up and see all the dirt I just cleaned up! I like to have things organized and clean. Now, there are parts of the house in my cleaning endeavors that I pretend to overlook - such as our desk...it is crammed with mail and papers...and I just won't bring myself to organizing it just yet. Our sock drawer is something else I won't bring myself to organize. I know that there are many unmatched socks in there and I just won't bring myself to throwing those lonely socks out. Anyway.... Thursday, Mark and I headed out for sushi with Julie at work. We went to Fresh Catch and had ourselves a shit load of sushi...This was an $20 lunch...I ate every piece that I could....$20...I don't like spending that much on myself...for lunch...Brad and I actually spend about that much on dinner for the both of us!!! Thursday night, Brad had to go to a vendor demonstration at the Boston Bruins game and then was able to watch the game, from the Blackberry vendor's luxury box. I figured this was my chance to go to a haunted house. Brad's not a very Halloween spirit kind of person - actually, Halloween is his least favorite holiday. As for me...the chicken that I am...I sitll like to spook myself out for the occasion. Mark mentioned his friend worked at a Haunted house in Abington and would be able to get us in for free. Judging by the $16 admission fee and the flyer...it seemed like it would fun! Mark came by...in his brand spankin' new sweet ride of a car, a fully loaded hybrid Altma....to pick me up and we headed out for dinner and a show. Dinner was eaten at a random place we passed by in Abinton, called the Great Chow and the show was the Barrett's Haunted Mansion. Mark's friend, Amy, met us outside on her stilts and full on costume and took us through the house. It was pretty darn good...I was impressed! With Amy working at the house (she's a chemist at our company and took the week off to work this haunted house), we got to hear how all the plans are done and how the house comes to be. We also got to meet a lot of the other workers of the house, including her scary clown husband! It was a great experience and I enjoyed watching all the volunteers and actors in full character, work the crowd. The kids....a different story. I don't know where these little pissy spoiled kids come from, but there were several times I wanted to smackakid....From what Amy filled us in on...the parents drop thier kids off at the haunted house each night and the parents go next door to the Ale House. So from 7:00 - 10:00, the kids have an instant babysitter called haunted house security. Here's a pic of me and Amy, who stayed in character pretty much the whole time we were there! Wednesday and Thursday we were able to watch the Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies for two straight wins! I am totally not a baseball fan, but having the BoSox in the World Series, I want to be a part of the spirit! So I buckled down and watched game one and two with awe and amazement...those BoSox ARE good! If we had never moved here, I would never have the interest to watch the BoSox, but now, I know who Josh Beckett, Dice Kay, Mike Lowell, Big Pappi, Manni and many other players are...and I LIKE watching them play! I don't know...never was a big sports fan unless I had a passion for supporting them. UT football was really the only thing that I was rooting on there for a while. Now, I love my boys on the Revolutions team and now am starting to feel the same way for the Red Sox. I also got to see a Balk for the first time during Game 1. Something I never knew existed...for those of you that don't know...look it up and read about it. Who knew there were so many rules in baseball!! We also got to see our Revs play in the semi finals against New York. Although it was a scoreless game, we look forward to New York coming to Gilette stadium and playing next week as we upgraded our seats to section 117 on the second row...which is oh so close to midfield! Can't wait to see my boys in action!!!