life. november 2012

This monthly update almost passed me by... I cannot believe it is DECEMBER already!
So let's see... what else happened this month...

I finally got my iPad
I know my sisters are going to make fun of me for bringing this up again, but I never followed up to my other post about the drama associated with getting this thing!
While I was home the weekend before Thanksgiving, Lauren and I went shopping in Delaware and both purchased iPads. The Apple Store was flooded with people shopping but they made it very convenient with an express table for those of who know exactly what we want and don't want to graze around the store looking at stuff. This is a moment that my Dad and John would be so proud of... I knew exactly what I wanted so this should be IN and OUT of the store in no time. Well... not so fast.
For some reason when I was checking out they needed to call for authorization for using my debit card (which had more then enough to cover the iPad)! This took about 10 minutes of the poor sales rep being on hold at which point I told him to give up and just use my credit card so we could get out of there. This was not express!
While I appreciate PNC trying to prevent fraudulant purchases, which I confirmed was the case when they called me later in the day to report that my card was attempted for use in Delaware, I seriously thought this was a final straw in preventing me from getting this coveted iPad!! Now the obsession has begun...


The steps are finished!
John has been waiting for a few weeks for custom pieces to arrive to complete the steps and officially wrap up the floor project. When you enter our townhouse there is  small landing and steps that lead down to the basement/laundry room and another set that leads to the main floor. I've been anxiously waiting for the steps to be finished since it's the first thing people see when they come in.
It wasn't easy, but he did it and they look great!!!

Last Pitt Football Home Game
The Pitt football tailgate sesason came to an end the weekend after Thanksgiving and we decided to kick it up a notch for the last home game by bringing the deep fryer. We typically bring this to one big game a year and cook chicken wings, mozzerella sticks, and anything else we can think of that would be tasty deep fried! Well this year John was set on deep frying ANOTHER turkey because his friend Dave has never had it before. We weren't sure if everyone would feel like eating turkey again just a few short days after Thanksgiving but there wasn't too much left afterwards!

It was a noon game and it was SO cold that morning so we also had apple cider & rum and plenty of handwarmers to go around!

It was worth freezing out tooshies off because Pitt scored a big WIN against Rutgers. It's always nice have a great win at home to wrap up a not so great season.

Brag book
I am a proud aunt of a beautiful niece, Julia and two handsome nephews, Jake and Joey. 
I just have to share a couple pics of these kiddos. They are so stinkin' cute!

ipad is driving me mad

I've been wanting to buy an iPad for a few months now, but there is the good angel on my shoulder saying "You should save, remember you want a new house? you don't need an iPad" and then the bad devil on my other shoulder saying "YES, YOU DO!!!!!"

Stupid devil.

So I had convinced myself I didn't need it, but then one night about a month ago I turned on the TV to QVC as I was getting ready to go to sleep and sure enough there was the iPad. In all it's glory staring at me. A special one-time value that included a bunch of free accessories!

Oh my gosh, they already sold 5,000 in under one hour of this promotion!
It's midnight and they are selling this fast!
They are going to be sold out by the morning!
I need to get one now!!!

I shake John and ask for his opinion, (pretty sure he was dead asleep) but he said, "yeah, sure", as I quickly dialed in and placed my order. Whew, that was close!

Stupid QVC.

When I woke the next morning, I had to think twice about whether I really did an impulse purchase like that. One quick check in my call history proved it to be the case. Oh well, I really wanted one and apparently it was a good deal.

Well wouldn't you know as my luck has it, the following week Apple announces that they are coming out with the iPad 4. WHAT?! I didn't even get my iPad 3 yet! Apparently a lot of people were pissed that they released a new version so soon, so Apple was offering an upgrade for anyone that purchased an iPad in the past 30 days. I called the Apple store and they were only offering this deal for people that purchased their iPad at an Apple store. Bummer. So I called QVC and they said they are not offering any upgrades. Well crap. It was all making sense why QVC was offering this deal that weekend, I think they sold close to 20,000 iPad 3's to people like me who had no clue what was being announced just a few short days later... So I did what I had to do. I canceled my order.
It wasn't that the new version was so amazingly better, it was just the fact that I didn't even have it in my hands before it was outdated.

Stupid Apple.

My mind was already made up about the purchase, so I'm beyond the point of second guessing whether or not I need one. Clearly I do. (That good side of my conscience has disappeared apparently) but now I'm battling when to buy the stupid thing and where. With Black Friday approaching I know that retailers won't be able to discount the actual iPad itself but they will offer various incentives like gift cards or free accessories.
I've been calling stores and scouring the internet and so far the only Black Friday deals I'm aware of are Walmart is offering a $75 gift card and Target is offering a $60 gift card. I called the Apple store because I have heard in the past they've offered discounts of 10% only on Black Friday as a surprise, but the service rep said she knew nothing. Liar.

I'm heading back home to Landenberg this weekend and am tempted to avoid the Black Friday crazies and just buy it in Delaware where I won't have to pay sales tax and be done with it.
I'm tired of trying to weigh all the options and figure out what will be the very best deal when it will probably only come down to saving me less than twenty bucks.

Sigh, Stupid Me. This iPad is driving me mad!

life. october 2012

I'm still trying to get the hang of this blog thing... what to write about, when to write, how much, how little... a lot has been going on but it doesn't seem like I should dedicate posts to every thing that happens. Reading this thing would become a full time job for you, and trust me, my life is not THAT interesting most days.  So my plan is on the first of every month, I'll provide a life update post for all those things that happened that I didn't catch along the way that are worth sharing (in my opinion!).
Keep in mind, I've completely cut other forms of contact with my family and are providing them updates on my life strictly through this blog now so I need to be detailed so they know I am alive.
 just kidding

Oh October, where did you go?!

Turned the BIG 3-0!
I enjoyed the final days of my youthful 20's and rocked in the 30's with friends and family at Sing Sing, a piano bar. I can't decide if the highlight of the night was the piano player calling me up on stage and singing to me about private parts (as my in-laws walked in) or the video I found on my phone the next day of John and friend's dancing their butts off. Honestly there was more booty shaking than a Beyonce music video. Either way, we had a blast and paid for it for many days later.
First sign, that I'm not longer in my twenties.



Welcome to the world Mia Frances!
My cousin Mimi and her husband Brian welcomed their first baby Mia Frances, into the world on October 8th. They live in Florida so I haven't had a chance to meet her yet, but I cannot wait. It will be so exciting with my nephew Joey (Sara's baby) being so close in age. I wish we all lived closer.





What? Oktoberfest isn't in October?
It's been on my bucket list to go to Penn Brewery during Oktoberfest and check out what it's all about. So one Friday night along with my friends Kendra and Jane, we decided to go. Apparently I was wrong for thinking this would happen during the month of October, it actually happens in September. So needless to say this will remain on my bucket list but we did get to drink some great beer at the brewery and partake in some delicious German food. I tried Buffalo Chicken Pierogies, which I'm sure is not traditional at all and of course pretzels and beer cheese!  





Julia turns 3!
My niece Julia turned three this pastTuesday and her birthday party was at McDonalds. Not just any McDonalds, but the world famous McDonalds that has a Big Mac museum (and a pretty awesome playground!) Guaging by the running around, screams and smiles on their faces, the kids had a blast! It's been so fun seeing the dynamic change each year at her birthday parties as the same group of kids grow up together. Julia loves princesses right now and I am pretty sure she received every single Disney princess item that is sold at Target, Walmart and Toys R Us! I can't imagine what Santa will bring in a couple months!



Just dandy, Hurricane Sandy
This past week many of us have been impacted in one way or another by Hurricane Sandy (or should I say Super Storm) that hit the north east coast. My heart goes out to all of those that have lost loved ones, their houses, and other precious belongings. I was especially worried about my sister Lauren and brother in law Ryan that live in New Jersey, less than 2 miles from the beach. Fortunately they are safe, with no damage to their house, but still without power. I've also had several friends ask about my grandmother's beach house in Fenwick Island, Delaware which is just north of Ocean City, Maryland and it also appears that everything is fine there too.
In the Burgh, it's still raining. We didn't have any flooding, but the ceiling in our bedroom closet started leaking Monday night with all the wind and rain. The leak stopped Tuesday morning so now it's just another thing to add to the list of projects for this place.

I am hoping the sun will come out in November, it's been almost a week since I've seen it!!

working from home

I bet you didn't know I won the lottery.

Unfortunately, not the Mega Millions or the Power Ball, but the lottery my company had last year when names were drawn to select employees to work from home four days a week. 
Sorry to disappoint! :)

More and more companies are offering this benefit and I was pretty stoked when mine started piloting a "hoteling" program a few years ago. (Hoteling for us means working four days at home and one day in the office.)  There had been a few rounds of selecting folks for participation but time after time I didn't get picked.
I didn't mind too much because my commute wasn't horrible and I was still a little nervous about distancing myself from the corporate office world at a somewhat young age. My reason for applying was strategic in the fact that I know we want to move and the commute will become an issue, simply because I can't imagine being in the car for an hour before I start the work day and at least that on the way home. My road rage will surely set in so it's best for the Pittsburgh parkway commuters.

I realize working from home isn't for everyone, especially four days a week.
Whenever I tell people that I work from home, I get mixed responses...

"Oh, must be nice!" (incinuating I sit around and eat bon-bons all day in a pink fluffy robe)
"Ugh, I could never do that, I need to be around people" (really? some days I hate people?!)
"Do you stay in your pajamas all day?" (No, but there are days I may not brush my teeth or comb my hair until 5pm, don't judge!)

I started my transition to my "home office" last May, so I've been hoteling for just about six months now. At first, saying goodbye to a cubicle that felt like home for many years was pretty tough... (kidding!).

Surprisingly the switch went pretty smooth for me. Being an IT Project Manager for a company that has offices all over the country, I was used to working with people remotely and rarely face to face. When I was in the office I was typically glued to my computer and telephone, always on conference calls and web meetings working together virtually. 
The same thing is true at home.
There are still many people that probably don't even know I'm not in the office because it's appeared seamless to them. I feel just as productive, if not more. You'll notice that when you're at home you feel you need to make it a point to follow up with people more timely so they know you are there working and available.  My day to day work activities haven't really changed much except sometimes I have a dog laying on my lap. It's really bad when she starts snoring and people ask if I've fallen asleep on the phone!

This opportunity has allowed me to gain hours back to my day by not having to wake up earlier to get ready and commute back and forth. With this extra time I can squeeze in a longer work out or prep for dinner a little earlier, or get things done around the house that I would have previously waited until the weekend to do.

Some things I have learned while working at home...

• Move! By putting on my work out clothes first thing in the morning, I am more likely to exercise during lunch or at the end of day. It seemed like one of my biggest excuses after a day at the office was not wanting to get changed again!
• Don't snack when stressed! I was never one to hit up the vending machine at the office when times got stressful, but being at home makes the convenience of snacking so much easier. I tried hiding certain foods, limiting to snack size bags and just realized I can't buy it at all. Instead I'm trying to use it as an opportunity to have healthier snacks or lunches that I wouldn't typically pack for myself.
• Walk away! Having a room where I can close the door and walk away helps me to turn off from work mode. I used to work from a lap top at the kitchen table or the couch and it was very easy to feel like I constantly had to be logged on all the time.
• Pick up the phone! I make an effort to talk on the phone more with people. Even though I wasn't working with anyone face to face in the office often, I was still hearing the chatter of humans around me. At home it's pretty quiet so I make an effort to pick up the phone to talk to someone for work related stuff when I can rather than email or instant messaging.
•  
• Get out more! Getting out of the house does wonders, especially on nights when John has class and I've been by myself all day. I try to make a point of getting together with my girlfriends for dinner, taking Izzy to the park, or even just walking around Marshalls! (which usually results in several unnecessary purchases!) Some social interaction never hurt anyone!

There are certainly things I miss about the office atmosphere... but the one day a week I have to be there gives me the fix I need and makes me appreciate that I don't have to come back until the following week!