Taking two weeks off from the blog almost got me out of the habit of things, but I wouldn't let it go that easily. I know my waiting public would be crushed without me. I couldn't let you all down like that! This post has been a couple days in the making since I do have 2 weeks worth of life to catch up on. Feel free to read it in sections.
THE MOUNTAINS
So I did spend the weekend in the mountains with my parents. Looking back, I guess I never really told you why I was going to the mountains. My aunt & uncle have had a house in the mountains for about 20 years now and we've always gone there for Thanksgiving and occasionally other times in the year. Recently my aunt & uncle bought some property across the road from their cabin and subdivided it into several smaller lots. My parents bought one of those lots and had their own cabin built on it since we've enjoyed going there so much. Their plan is to keep it as a second house for now and then when they retire in 5 years or so, split their time between there and a house in FL (where they currently live, although they'd probably sell their current house and get a smaller one). The house was just about done, so I was going up to help my parents move in furniture that they'd been collecting.
Nothing too terribly exciting happened there. I arrived late Friday night, sometime around 12:30ish or so, as I came directly from my last day of job #2. We were staying at my aunt & uncle's, since we don't have the CO on our house yet. Woke up Saturday and started assembling beds, moving dressers and what not with mom, while dad took the rental truck off to pick up some sofas they had bought from a store up there. The builder and his wife (who happen to be neighbors on the mountain) had told my parents they wanted to take us to dinner to celebrate the new house.We were a little nervous as to where we might be going, as, after nearly 20 years of visiting the mountains, we hadn't really found any amazing restaurants up there. We also were unsure because we were assured that while this restaurant was good, we would blend right in wearing jeans there (that's not a combination I generally have much confidence in). Well, we ended up eating here. You can read the story on their website if you want, but basically, it's a little mountain lodge that hikers on the Appalachain Trail visit frequently for a good meal and nice place to stay while hiking. They had a little hiking store and some rooms to rent in addition to the restaurant. It actually was a good restaurant and we all had really good food. I ordered some ribs (which the server told me they referred to as "pork lolipops" haha! very down home!) What also made this trip interesting was that the restaurant was located in a dry county (yeah, those still exist, apparently). When they made the reservation, we were told that if we brought our own wine they'd give us gla
sses (it seems you're allowed to have it, just not buy it there). But when we got there, we found out that this place got a winery license last year or so and now makes their own wine...and, in this county when you are a winery, you're allowed to sell your own wine. So, in a rare treat in these mountains, we actually got to order a couple bottles of wine with our dinner. Of course, my mom doesn't drink wine, but fortunately she had a Jack & Sprite in the car (don't worry, she didn't drink alone...the builder, who was driving, had some wine on the way too). Anyway, everyone (myself excluded) got rather tipsy, but we all had more than plenty of food, lots of wine and good company. (Side note- I don't really know why everyone else was so drunk and I wasn't. I had at least two good size glasses of wine, just like everyone else, and the wine was apparently fairly strong. Guess I just have a better tolerance than the rest.) Although my parents had obviously met them, this was the first time I'd met the builder and his wife and they are really nice and very entertaining. They'll make good neighbors! All-in-all a great evening.
Then we went home, I watched Auburn almost beat LSU and went to bed while dad fell asleep on the couch. The next day we woke up, did a little more cleaning at the new house, then packed up and hit the road. Dad had to return the rental truck at some place down the interstate and then I took them to the airport so they could fly home. Of course, once he was in the car, it only took dad about 10 minutes to complain about my driving, but oh well. I quickly put an end to that! haha. After dropping them off at the airport, I went up to the South Park Mall and wandered around (I love that place). Then I hit the road back home. Nice weekend.**FYI - The pictures are, in order: My Aunt & Uncle's Cabin; Our Cabin (the one in the back); and the view from our front porch.
COMPUTER WOES
As you well know, when I came back from the mountains I found that the power cord on my laptop was no longer working. I think the AC adapter was shot for some reason. After I convinced Dell they needed to send me a new power cord, I waited for it to arrive. Sure enough, a few days later a package arrived. Unfortunately, tho
ugh it was only part of a power cord...and not the part with the AC adapter in it. I called them back and made them send me the correct part instead. Problem is...they sent it to the wrong address. Yeah...they sent the second power cord to my old work, since that was the address I had the computer shipped to originally like 2 years ago. I don't know how many times I have to tell Dell that's not my shipping address anymore. I get a call from the receptionist at my old job saying they have a package there for me. I had to go by that afternoon and pick it up. I didn't really want to go there b/c pretty much everyone around there I want to see any more I will meet outside of work, but oh well. I actually showed up just before the annual Halloween Party began (everyone brings their kids and hops them up on sugar and lets them run around like crazy around the building) so everyone was a little distracted and I didn't have to see too many people. Oh well, computer's up and running again and I didn't have to pay for it...yay!!MORE WARRANTY FUN
Last week I took my car into the shop to get a general inspection done and I also mention that one of the wheels was making some strange noise. As you'll recall...the car's been making certain noises for a while and I don't know if this was the same noise or completely unrelated, but it got worse while I was in the mountains, so I thought I'd have it looked at. Turns out it had something to do with my CV joints and was going to cost about $1100 to fix. Thankfully, I bought a very comprehensive extended warranty on my car so it covered it. No cost to me. So here's the running tally of what that warranty has gotten me since I got the car about 2 and a half years ago:
- 3 new radios
- 1 new power window motor
- 2 adjustments to another power window motor
- air conditioner repairs
- new CV joints
TV UPDATES
So, busy week in my TV world. I know I still owe you all so many editions of "What's in Mark's DVR?" but I do need to take a moment to comment on my shows. First off, Nip/Tuck debuted this week! Yay!!! I'll give the full dish on Nip/Tuck later, but I will say it is definitely my favorite show on TV currently. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me! The verdict is still out on this season...it's a bit campy so far, which is a welcome departure from the previous seasons which were a bit heavy, but I just hope they have crossed the line. We'll see.In more important news...DWTS was a complete and utter shock! Sabrina got eliminated??
!! That's disgusting and appalling and everything horrible. I know I said I hadn't particularly fallen in love with any of the celebrities this season, but Sabrina was far and away the most accomplished and superior dancer this season. The fact that the judges were completely shocked, with Carrie Ann having tears in her eyes, is a testament to the fact that this was uncalled for. I'm not necessarily accusing anyone of anything, but I will say if a hanging chad was involved, I wouldn't be entirely surprised. What's the protocol for a recount? By the end of last season, I was getting ready for a "They Were Robbed" season, where celebrities who got eliminated far too early would be invited back for another shot. Now I think it's almost necessary. Among others, Laila Ali, Mario Lopez, Vivica A. Fox, and now Sabrina, should all be invited for one all out dance war! (No, not like Carrie Ann & Bruno's new reality show, which will probably be lame.) I seriously was stunned for a couple of days and almost don't care how this thing turns out now. I'm disgusted.***UPDATE*** While looking for a picture for this post, I just ran across this juicy little bit of gossip. At least she got something out of the show! It may not be the coveted shiny mirrored ball trophy, but I guess it's not a bad runner's up prize.
EXERCISING
Still running. Yeah, who would've guessed! It actually hasn't been as bad as it was when I first started. I decided I needed to run a little more frequently than I had originally planned if I actually wanted to get anywhere, but so far it hasn't been near as painful. After 1/2 mile nearly killed me, I pushed myself to running 3/4 miles. Yeah... thought I was going to throw up for a good 15 minutes after that one. I made it though. I've kept pushing myself and now I can do a mile and a half without feeling too bad. I guess this whole exercising thing has its benefits. I mentioned on the phone to my parents the other night that I went running. My dad's response was "What happened, is your car broken?" My mom said "You did what?" Apparently the thought of me exercising is surprising to more people than just me!
THE CAT'S MEOW
I was cat-sitting for some neighbors over the weekend. I don't think I've shared with you my sordid past with felines, but for now, lets suffice to say that the roommate & roommate's wife got an evil sick little cat when we were living together that I didn't get along with so well. Anyway, the neighbors' cats weren't so bad...I did only have to see them twice. The neighbors' house was a complete sty though! Literally, the kitchen floor was covered in laundry and there was a bowl of PJ sitting on the kitchen table which was leftover from a Halloween party I attended there a week before! And it's girls that live in this house!! Wow. Oh well, on the upside, they got a Wii not that long ago, so I stayed there for a couple hours on Saturday playing that while the cats ran around.
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