New car... well kinda

So I posted about car shopping on Oct 29, which was actually THE day we bought my new (used but new to me) 2011 Chevy Traverse.

Yeah that picture was taken the night we got back. It looks so professional.

We bought her in Tupelo, MS a lot smaller town than I thought it would be. We got there about 45minutes before they closed so of course our sales guy stayed, the manager stayed, and the finance guy stayed. Because it was a small town dealership they came back offering just $500 less than what we were wanting and it took less than 5 mins to get that extra $500. Because we didn't have our title and our loan office was closed we had to wait to see if we could get the same or better offer from their bank. That was the longest we had to wait and of course the papers to sign, but I'm sure you would rather look at more photos so here they are.

Car shopping is just an excuse 10/29/11

I think car shopping (at least the way my husband and I are doing it) is a really good excuse for us to spend time together. We have been looking for three weeks now and decided to wake up early this morning to clean my trade in and drive 3 hrs to buy a car. On our drive we found out that that car was in service and wouldn't be ready until Monday. Since we were on the road anyway we stopped to look at another car we had our eye one, but it had just been sold :(. So we drove 2 hrs to look at nothing, but we did talk and joke the whole way there and back. Now we are driving 1.5 hours to look at one which I hope works out. We did learn our lesson and called ahead to make sure it was there and available. Hopefully I will have a post about it soon. Cross your fingers for us.

3 comments:

Vi said...

Post car pictures!

November 7, 2011 5:32 PM

Kristin said...

ooh fun! What are you getting?

November 17, 2011 8:44 PM

melissa said...

I got a 2011 Chevy Traverse. It is amazing!

November 17, 2011 9:53 PM

When I read blogs 10/28/11

I have a car wash fast pass and I try to use it at least once a week. While I am in there I catch up on my blogs. Today I decided to share where I read my blogs at with you. Where is the weirdest place you read blogs?

Finally submitted something for publication 10/23/11

Yay! I have finally submitted something for publication which if it is accepted will be my Master's thsis! I feel like I want to do a little dance but at the same time my heart is racing like crazy, nervous about the process. For those of you non-masochist who didn't go to graduate school let me explain the publication deal. Basically you need to get as many pubs as you can possibly get. The averages do vary depending on what you are do. For example, I have one friend that does neuro behavioral stuff with rats which is going to take her about 3 years to get that one study completed while I have another friend who collects all of her data online so she gets about a half dozen studies complete a year (yes she is also a super over achiever). For me there is no reason that I should be getting at least 1 pub a year, but because I tend to get distracted playing in the numbers it has taken me just over 2 years to submit my first paper. One of the cool things is that I am first author on it! Back to the submission process. Usually the study write-up is submitted to a peer reviewed journal. Then if the journal editors think the paper might be a good fit for that journal they send it out to volunteer reviewers, then you wait. And wait. And wait. The journal this paper is submitted to says I will hear back in 60 to 90 days although they told my co-author they give their reviewers 45 days. Once a decision has been made a letter is sent back to the author saying whether it was 'accepted, accepted pending revisions, rejected strongly encouraged to resubmit, rejected still accepting revisions, rejected please don't resubmit' with comments from the reviewers. I don't know that much about this particular journal that I submitted to but most journals don't give out many accepted or even accepted pending revisions. So I am hoping for a rejected strongly encouraged to resubmit pending revisions, and reviewer comments that are constructive. So please keep your fingers crossed for me for the next 45 to 90 days. ;)

First baby post 10/22/11

So here it is, my first baby post. I was inspired to have a blog after one of my good friends told me about her trying to conceive (ttc) turned mommy blog. We knew we had some amazing stories from working on our house that would be good to put in a blog, but we did have in mind that one day I would talk about my ttc and then hopefully family life. Well today while showering I was looking at my belly thinking how cool it will be to have a baby in there (instead of fat). Then I did some quick math and realized that if I am not prego by March I will be 27 (or older) when I have my first child! AH freak out time!

I know, I know, 27 isn't that old to have your first baby. In fact you my even think it is smart and maybe I should wait longer (til after I have my PhD perhaps), but this is all relative. Think about it- you probably base whatever arbitrary number you think is right to have kids on just a few variables. For me, my mom's age when she had my older brother is a variable. She was 21 and from the stories it seemed like it wasn't super easy but what first time mother story is. Second variable, my sister-in-law was also 21. With me a little older I could see that 21 is totally doable but not the ideal age. Third variable, my friend Kristen from the aforementioned blog was married at 22 (like me and my hubby) then waited about a year then it took another year to conceive. Now that sounded like a good plan. But her hubs is an engineer so he got a good job right after collage. With Neill's degree he has really had to prove himself and work hard to get ahead, and I am getting my PhD which doesn't really help out the income a whole lot. So we know we need to wait a bit longer, but omg I never thought I would be in my late 20s possibly 30s having babies. And no this isn't the post kicking off our ttc adventure, but in trying to be an active and truthful blogger I thought I would share my freak out with you. What do you think is the right age to have your first child?

1 comments:

Kristin said...

I think the there is never a PERFECT time. There will always be something- money, jobs, school etc. You just have to jump right in and trust that God will provide. I am excited for the things to come for you!

November 17, 2011 8:47 PM

Workout Wednesday may need a new day 10/13/11

With school being in full swing for me I have found it hard to get a workout in on Wednesdays. I tend to procrastinate and with once a week classes I end up with a project needing to be completed on Tuesdays.

Sorry for the lack of post lately 10/13/11

I have been busy with school and our kayaking adventure and our weekend trip to the lake house. I was going to really catch up tonight but let's just say I am going to punch Eve in the face when I get to heaven.

Workout Wednesday 9/29/11

Well last night I decided to try something I heard on the Git Fit Guy's podcast (from Quick and Dirty Tip--LOVE THEM). It is a way to workout while getting to watch your favorite shows. The workout is kind of like a drinking game, but with soreness in the morning instead of a hangover. Because we are watching Doctor Who I decided to do the objects workout that he talks about for movies. Allison has all of the Doctor Who episodes memorized so I just asked her for 5/6 common objects, phrases, or people. Once I had my list I then matched up leg exercises such as squats, reverse lunges, forward lunges, side lunges, calf raises, and knee ups. After I did 10-15 reps and if a new object wasn't present I would walk in place or step side to side.

What I didn't even think about what the length of the episode; it was close to 50 minutes! The interesting part was after I finished and we started the part 2 of that episode, I had a really strong urge to do squats every time the sonic screwdriver came on to the screen. It seems like you could really develop a habit of working out while watching certain shows. I definitely think I will be trying this again.

Volunteering 9/26/11

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to volunteer for the Big Scoop Ice Cream Festival. I love volunteering my time; I always have. I remember in middle school and High School thinking that I was going to join Outreach International and make a difference in the world. Although I did not do that I have been involved in a number of philanthropy events. So much so that I was voted as the philanthropy chair in my sorority. That's when I found out that being a philanthropy chair and being an active volunteer are NOT the same. Maybe in the future I may try out that role again, but for now I will just be that volunteer that the leaders love to have.

Neill does not share my love for volunteering, but because he loves me, wants to spend time with me, and wants me happy, he has put in his share of volunteer hours. I think it was our Sophomore year in college that we joined Habitat for Humanity and helped start two houses. Thinking about it now I don't know why we weren't really there for the last part of it. We have driven by the finished houses and they look great. Knowing that my then boyfriend was willing to wake up early and go do manual labor for someone else was definitely a sign of husband material.
Why do I enjoy volunteering? What do I get? I was actually asked that from a man while walking back to our car on Saturday. I don't think he was even close to comprehending why anyone would want to volunteer. Yes you often get free stuff like a cool volunteer t-shirt which I get a lot of joy from. This Saturday we also got a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, a bunch of bananas, a gallon of ice cream, and chocolate syrup. But it's not about the stuff--really. I felt better about giving away some of the bananas and the donuts to a homeless guy on our way home than getting them. That is what volunteering is about: giving of yourself to make others smile. It's a great way to meet wonderful caring people. It really just impossible to put into words. If you are thinking I am crazy find a way to volunteer, put a smile on your face, and go see what it is all about.

A trip downtown 9/26/11

I love any reason to take a trip downtown. So last Thursday after we found a restaurant that serves Halal food we decided to go downtown. Before I get to the downtown part, I must say if you are looking for Halal food in Memphis, Casablanca over by Mendenhall was excellent. Towards the end of dinner when we realized that Assad was going to be staying another night, I thought it would be a good idea for us to show him downtown. Allison and I sang with Marc Cohn Walking in Memphis, walking with my feet 10 feet off of Beale as we drove downtown to show Assad downtown Main St and of course Beale St.

Since Neill works downtown we just parked in the parking garage that he has a parking pass for by his office and enjoyed our walk down Main St. I just love walking down Main St. looking at all the cool old buildings and watching people. As we got closer to Beale St we were also getting close to the Orpheum. I got so excited about our up coming Broadway play MEMPHIS which is making its off Broadway debut here (and we have tickets!) that I was ranting on and forgot to say that we had made it to Beale St. As we cross the far West end of Beale St (one block away from all the lights) Allison asked "what is all that?" "Oh, this is Beale St." is all I could reply.

Well we aren't much for partying and especially with Assad, so we walked to the other end of the Beale St strip looked around and listened to music. Allison refused to let Assad or anyone have a deep fried Twinkie (which by the way is really good). On our way back we took the trolley.

Allison and Assad on the trolley

Neill and I on the trolley

1 comments:

Vi said...

Now you have to talk about how awesome the dining room looks! Yay!

September 27, 2011 9:53 AM

My late Workout Wednesday Post 9/25/11

I am sorry that it has been so long since I have posted. Oh and I haven't forgotten about you; I have been thinking about all the things I have been wanting to post.

Last Wednesday Allison's friend, Assad, came to visit. So to get in my workout for workout Wednesday Neill and I took our dogs for a walk. Not the best workout, but it was something. Assad is from Pakistan, so he is unfamiliar with dogs and our dogs can often be overwhelming to ANYONE. So walking the dogs was about the only way to get some of there energy out. After Drizzt freaked out on Assad, scaring the life out of him, he offered some novel entertainment (video is no longer working).

I'll make sure to do some kind of workout on Wednesday and hopefully post about it. More post to come.

Workout Wednesday 9/14/11

OK so I don't think Workout Wednesday is a thing. Most of the other blogs I follow do a Wordless Wednesday full of pictures of their super cute families. Well I don't have any cute little ones, so my Wednesdays are going to be Workout Wednesday.

So today I did Metamorphosis by tracy. I attempted her 30 minute jumping/ dancing thing this afternoon and then after dinner I did the muscle part. The infomercial isn't wrong when they say that you are doing moves that you have never done before and feel your muscles react in a way they never have before. I think I did about 60 or 70%. It is very challenging and I like that. I read a review where a nutritionist said the food program from Tracy is like an anorexic how to, so if you decide to try her program stick to the videos and not the meal plan. I am not sure if I will repeat it again tomorrow or find something else to do (maybe something on the house), but starting now I think I will be doing some kind of workout every Wednesday and reporting it to you.

What are you doing to stay active?

DON'T TOUCH THE ART 9/12/11

As some of you may know Allison, aka the indentured servant, has her degree in Art and has moved in with us to pursue art full time. Well we found out that one of the art museums has pay what you can Wednesdays and also student discounts. Neill wanted to go, so we decided Sat. would be a great day. There was way more art there than I expected. Right away when we got to the paintings Allison ran up and starting gesturing closely to the painting, pointing out the colors, brush strokes, and different techniques. Let me say that again "gesturing closely" not touching. Well a security person came over and asked her to step back saying it looks like she is touching the art to the cameras.
One of the strangest things about going to an art museum with an artist (well at least with Allison) was how quickly she flew around the rooms. I was expecting that I would be waiting impatiently for her to look at each and every brush stroke, identify each and every color in each painting, and recalling all of her art classes about every painting and artist. I guess it is because she knows what she likes and those details that take me a few minutes to review and capture, only take her seconds. Well as she whizzed about that security lady followed her. When we got to the main exhibit she saw a painting that she wanted to check out on the other side of a few columns and she popped right over. She was quickly told that she should not have done that.
I guess art museums aren't really for artist. How amazing would it be if museums were a little be more laid back and fun. No one is reading the plaques--they all have the audio tours in their ears. I think it would be ok for people to talk and laugh and enjoy the art.
At the end of the exhibit there was a children's area which was amazing. I wish more of the exhibit was like the children's area. They had boxes with different scents for you to smell and match with different paintings that were in the exhibit. There was also an area for dressing up and a drawing area. I went over there, grabbed the biggest black hat, put it on, plopped down on the tiny child's chair, stuck out my lower lip in a pouting way and asked Allison to sketch me with the crayons provided. So of course she began sketching me for the hundredth time.
Not to long after a man was exiting and decided to check out her art work. He seems a little unsure if he could stay but after seeing Neill standing there and watching he decided to watch her finish. The drawing was clearly inspired by me but seemed more like a little piggy girl pouting. It was very very cute, but I was thinking while she was drawing that we should leave the drawing for others to see and wonder "who did that?" Well that guy quickly told Allison how good it looked and asked her to sketch his dogs. Of course she said yes. Then the guy noticed that I didn't grab the drawing of me and asked if he could take it, so I said yes as did Allison. So long long story short some guy has a drawing of me in his house. Is that weird, or what? Neither of us took a picture of the drawing, so sorry you don't get to see it. Check out her art here and here.

Our End of Summer Trips 8/31/11

With school starting back this week I have decided to tell you how much fun we have been having at the end of this summer. It was a little hectic going every weekend, driving (well riding for me) over a dozen hours each weekend and taking the dogs (or leaving them with the indentured servant, thanks Allison!). Neill and I both agree that even though we may be tired we feel like the weekend is longer and more enjoyable when it is full of activities as compared to those weekends where we veg out on the couch and watch all of True Blood or Dexter (yes, we have done that).

Hi Kristin!

Our first trip (first weekend in Aug) was to one of our college friend's son's first birthday party. They live in south Louisiana, so we made a trip to Neill's parents in north Louisiana on Friday after work then got up on Sat and drove the rest of the way. We were lucky enough to spend the day with our friends that we rarely get to see. Kristin told me that she had been blogging at Our Growing Garden and after reading all of her's I decided to create my own so if you like mine you should check her's out (or if you don't like mine and want something else to read check her's out). We were so lucky that Neill's parents were able to keep the dogs while we got to hang out with our friends.

Hiking picture

We are also so lucky that my aunt and uncle have a house on the Beaver Lake in Arkansas. They love sharing their large lake house with family and friends, so the second weekend in Aug. we loaded up the car (2 kayaks on top, 2 dogs, Neill, myself, Allison and her art supplies) and headed out. This was the first weekend for me to try out my new kayak and I love it! Audi however still prefers Neill's kayak--yes, our dog rides on the kayak (on the towel). We were hoping that Drizzt (who has webbed toes too) would start loving the water. After Neill pushed him off the boat dock and he some how made a B-line to shore we decided water wasn't for him. Audi on the other hand LOVES, absolutely LOVES the water; as my uncle said "that's the most swimmingest dog I've ever seen." With Audi somewhat tired from swimming, we brought Drizzt hiking along a cliff and up a small mountain. After being nervous about the cliff's edge I realized Drizzt LOVES this. He was great, not pulling you when you needed to watch your step and would pull when you wanted help up the mountain. It was an awesome weekend, and I can't wait for us to go back.

The third weekend we left the dogs with our indentured servant while we went to dauphin island, AL. Neill's family has been going there for years and we were able to get off Mon and have 3 days there. We brought our sea kayaks and finally got to try them on the open sea. It was amazing. The water was perfect for sea kayaking (not so great for boogie board/body surfing). On Monday morning we got out there early enough to be just feet from dolphins. It was magical. Sorry we didn't bring our phone/cameras out on the water so there are no pictures of the 50+ dolphins that we saw.

All I can say I love my life and love the wonderful people in my life! Now I have to go wash clothes for our trip this labor day weekend to see our niece and nephew.

Is running for me? 8/29/11

Well I hope you didn't think that our house was the only part of our home, because I do hope that this blog can cover the various parts of our home. So today my husband and I decided to start the couch to 5K . . . again. We have started C25K oh um 3 times before. We have made it into the 2nd week, and then usually have bad weather, get sick, or have a ton of work that prevents us from continuing. I am making no promises that I will make it past week 2, but with the nicer weather I do hope we will get out more. We bring the dogs with us on our run which is great for them, and clearly it is great for us.

Only once in my life, my junior year in high school, have I really enjoyed running. I would come home and run and run. I will admit my mom was letting me take matabalife before they took out the stuff that is now illegal, and it may have been why I was so full of energy everyday. Now when I run I think I should feel that way - full of energy. I completely forget that it wasn't just last week that I stopped dancing and playing volleyball. Maybe if I keep up running or doing other exercise I will gain back that love for running.

Meet and greet

Welcome to our personal side. Let me introduce the main characters of my blog posts:

Neill and Melissa

Hi! My name is Melissa and I am currently a graduate student studying Industrial/ Organizational Psychology (work psychology). I work as a researcher at the Navy. I love working on our house and doing craft projects.

Behind me there is my wonderful husband, Neill. We have been together since 2003 and married since 2008. He is an IT guy for the US Dist. Courts. He is super smart (I have actually given him an IQ test), but sometimes he does some of the silliest things. You will probably hear about his antics.

We are both from Louisiana, but moved to Tennessee for me to go to school.

Audi

Here is Audi, our first dog. He was left on the side of the road with his sister when they were only about 2 weeks old. A wonderful adoption group in Texas cared for them, and when he was 7 weeks old, we adopted him. With a lot of love he his has grown up, learned a number of tricks, and of course has some problems. We will save those for later.

Drizzt

When Audi was getting calmer and learning to behave, we started to look for a Boston Terrier to adopt and found Drizzt. Not exactly a Boston, but we fell in love. We knew if we didn't adopt him he would probably be euthanized, and he was so calm and quiet. We later found out that he freezes in unknown circumstances, and is a BALL of ENERGY when he is comfortable. His name was Rocco, but didn't respond to that, so I let Neill pick out a new name. He picked Drizzt based on a book where the character Drizzt was a part of a race that was hated and often evil, but Drizzt is a good guy, so it fit with him being an American Pit Bull Terrier. He really knew nothing, and we have taught him a lot, even "roll over" and "dead".

Our newest addition is our indentured servant.

That is my cousin, Allison, also from Louisiana. She was working at Lowes and getting very little art work done. So we offered to let her live in our guest room and work in our back porch area in exchange for a small amount of rent and her controlling our food budget. So she moved in at the beginning of the month and is basically a modern day indentured servant.

Welcome to my non-house blog

I have given it some thought and if I really want people to frequent my blog that is mostly home improvement then I really need to stay on topic. So I have decided to follow the big dogs (www.younghouselove.com / http://life.younghouselove.com) and create a second blog for my non-home improving things. I plan to move everything non-home improvement related from Improving Our Home to here at Improving Our Life.