Wedding dvd

So I watched our wedding dvd last night (Thanks Jackie!) and got all sentimental. It was so fun! I got really sad though because I so thoroughly enjoyed having all of our friends and family there and there won't be anything like that again where everyone gets together all in one place! Maybe we can throw a big 5 year anniversary bash and invite everyone :) And maybe we can do it at Penn State so we can go to a bar and see Velveeta play! I just really valued having everyone together like that. Not to mention the whole thing was an absolute blast :) Ahhh, memories ;P


Tom and I are going to Nashville this weekend. We flew out of there to go to Chrissy and Bill's wedding and ate lunch downtown. We both agreed that it seemed like a cool city and we wanted to go back for a weekend. Then I found out they have this Music City Brewers Festival where they have like 35 breweries from all over the country and you pay like $25 and go in and try all the different beers all day. And they have food and bands/live music too. It's right up our alley. And I loooove microbreweries and trying different beers that I don't usually have access to. We really can't wait. It should be a blast. Hopefully we will be able to make it out Saturday night after the "beer festival" and see some good ol' country bands ;) I'll blog about it next week after we get back.

Then the following weekend we're going to Portland for Dorothy & Juan's wedding. Should be a good time, I've never been to Oregon and rarely get to see Dot & Juan (except weddings) since they moved back to the west coast! Carrie and John are coming too and we're sharing hotel rooms to save some money, so that will be a lot of fun to see them again. Then we have the rest of August off to rest up for FOOTBALL SEASON!!! :) Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

Are you ready for some football??!?!?!?

Tom and I got our PSU/Michigan tickets in the mail the other day! I'm so pumped! It's going to be a whirlwind weekend but I can't wait! Happy Valley, in October, against Michigan (grrrr!), under the lights....eeeeeeee! It's payback time! Just like it was time to payback Nebraska in '02 and Ohio State last year.......I LOVE NIGHT GAMES :D Anyone else going up for the game? Let us know!

GET READY!!!

Chinnys.....again......

Man, I feel like every other post is about our chinchilla saga. As you all know, Tiago passed away last week. Our new little guy Quito, was very active and kind of a brat while Tiago was still with him. However, after Tiago left us, Quito became very melancholy and didn't move around a whole lot. Tom read online that chinchilla's really do have personalities and you can usually tell when they are depressed. Regardless of whether that's true or not, Quito was definitely acting differently.

So Tom and I had a talk and he really wanted to get a new buddy for Quito. My main concern (see first chinchilla-related blog) was that we are going to be in this never-ending cycle of buying chinchillas after one dies, but Tom promised that if we get another one and something happens to him or Quito, that will be the end. No more chinchillas.

So I went to the pool yesterday and Tom went to the pet store to "look" at the chinchillas. There was one left in the cage and he came home with it. We think it might actually be the same one that was in the cage with Quito when we bought him, so that would be pretty cool.

Anyways, I am in love with our new little guy. He's so docile and kinda clumsy...I Love him! We think we are going to name him Chimu. It was either Chimu or Chako....the only 2 cities in South America that we liked as pet names.

So we have two chinchillas again.......*sigh* Hopefully these guys will be healthy and happy and we will have them for a long time. They sure are cute when they cuddle together :) This is how I found them when I got home from work today.......I can't tell which one is which in this picture. Quito is probably on top.

P.S. Tom took a video of them with my camera when they were taking dust baths/running around in the tub. I submitted it to Planet's Funniest Animals on Animal Planet so if you see 2 chinchillas running around in a tub-one taking a dust bath, one trying to jump out of the tub (Quito!)- that's them! :)

Apartment

Soooo, I've been meaning to post pics of the new car and apt on here since we moved in. But everything looked like a mess with all the boxes, etc and then we finally got settled and I forgot about it! (Thanks to Aunt Judy for reminding me!) Anyways, here are a few pics of the apartment and car. For more, please visit:

http://community.webshots.com/album/552366746kmCnOj

Our Saturn VUE

Living room

Kitchen

View from 3rd floor

Sad news

I'm afraid I have some very sad news to share with you all. Yesterday we came home from work, went in to say hi to the chins....and Quito was happy to see us....jumping up on the side of the cage. Actually he was probably just looking for food. But then I looked down and saw Tiago laying on the bottom of the cage. I couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. He looked like he might have been breathing a tiny bit but he really looked like he wasn't moving. I yelled for Tom and he came in to take a look. He picked him up and Tiago definitely wasn't breathing :( He was still warm though, and not stiff, so we think he must have just passed before we got home. I started looking up emergency vets online and I was going to call them but it was definitely too late :(

We did a lot of reading online last night about what could have caused his death. A lot of people who have lost chinchillas said that they often die suddenly. We're not sure exactly what happened to him, but we think it was probably a contribution of a number of things. He did have glaucoma and couldn't see, so he wasn't as active as he used to be, and it is important that chinchillas get exercise every day. Also, on Tuesday Tom noticed that he wasn't eating as much, but didn't really think anything about it (especially because Quito usually hogs the food bowl anyways).

One of the most common causes of chinchilla death is gastroenteritis. The signs and symptoms are lethargy, loss of appetite, and death. We think this may have ultimately caused his death. But we're not really sure how he got it. Quito likes to sit in the food bowl and sometimes he poops in it...so we don't know if that contaminated the food and then Tiago ate some of the food? It's possible but who knows.

We don't know if Quito had anything to do with his death or not. It's possible but it's also possible that it was just random chance. We have had Quito for almost 2 and a half weeks and apparently chinchillas die pretty quickly after they get sick...so that leads us to believe that it may have just been random and Quito might not have had anything to do with it. Regardless, Tiago had a buddy during the last few weeks of his life, so we think that made him happy. They were so cute when they snuggled up together and slept.

RIP Little T. We will miss you.

Scary story

Soooo, we had our first official bug spotting last night. Needless to say, I flipped out. We were watching tv and I got up to go into the bathroom. I used the one in the guest room because it was closer (which makes me feel better, I would have truly flipped out if it was our bathroom). I closed the door and spent like 1.2 seconds looking at my hair in the mirror........and that's when I spotted it! It was this water bug (I said cockroach...Tom said waterbug......whatever they are both big and disgusting and I don't care to get close enough to examine the difference between the two). Anyways it was crawling up the door and then went through the crack between the door and the wall. So (again, needless to say) I started screaming and jumped up onto the toilet. Tom came in thinking that I had died or something and walked right past the icky bug and didn't even see it. I had to tell him where I thought it went and he got the RAID and killed it. (Meanwhile, Tom was on the phone with Michael, heard me scream, told Michael to hold on, went to put down the phone and accidently hung up on him. Michael called back when Tom was trying to kill it because he thought something horrible happened because he heard me screaming). Then it took some convincing to get me to come down off the toilet and out of the bathroom because I had to step over it to get back to the living room..........YUCK! So we're thinking it just came up through the drains so we sprayed in the bathroom and we're going to get the exterminator to come just in case. Hopefully it's just a one time deal.

In Philly when I lived with Jess we only saw 2 for the year and a half we lived in that apt and when I lived by myself I didn't see any (Thank GOD because I would not have been able to deal with it by myself!) I hate bugs worse than mice....somehow I think bugs will be more of an issue down here, not mice.

Oh yeah and the recycling place wasn't that bad...so I don't have any scary stories from that. It was kinda gross b/c it was like drizzling outside and EVERYTHING was full/overflowing. But there were other people there recycling when we were there. Maybe if we were by ourselves it would have been a little scarier. Regardless, we now know where the recycling place is...yay :)

The end.

Wedding pics are up!!

Wedding pics are up!! They are NOT the professional ones....they are compliments of me, Dad, stacey, curry, liz, & brie/jim :)

http://community.webshots.com/user/awesomeanne/3

Update

Soooooo I guess it's time for a new blog entry. I knew this whole "work thing" would drain me and I wouldn't keep up with my blog as much....and it's only my 3rd day! Work is going pretty well. Orientation was boring as hell.....and now I'm just kind of following people around to get a feel for the hospital and learn the ropes.....which will become boring probably by tomorrow because I tend to zone out when I am not actively doing something. But it all seems pretty cool. Everyone seems nice so far, and I'm super excited to start working with the onco kiddos again. I miss them!

Let's see....what else is new.....I got a new phone...I LOVE it. I have the new-every-two with verizon and I can't believe it's been over 2 years since I got my last phone. I remember getting it and thinking "Oh my gosh, I will be MARRIED before I can get a new phone!" and I remember thinking that July 2006 seemed soooo far away! Not anymore :P

Oh yeah, we FINALLY finished all of our thank-you notes (sorry it has taken us so long!) So they will be going out tomorrow.

That's it for now! Sorry it's nothing too exciting! This weekend we plan on venturing into the ghetto to find the like one recycling center B-ham has so I'm sure I'll have some crazy story about that. I'll keep you posted.....

:)

Top 10 Lists

Sooooooooo, if you know me at all you know that I've been doing Top 10 lists on instant messenger FOREVER! So anyways, here are some updated Top 10 lists from the past month or so :)


Anne's Wedding Top 10
10. Pre-wedding Key West getaway
9. Spa day
8. Our "something borrowed" car from C & J
7. The Weather!
6. "Alone moment" with champagne
5. Rehearsal Party
4. Willow
3. Velveeta!
2. Getting serenaded :D
1. Marrying Thomas O:)


Anne's Honeymoon Top 10
10. Corona on draft
9. Our jacuzzi
8. Mimosas Grandes
7. Bud! (Our lizard roommate)
6. Bordeux
5. Turquoise water!
4. Pool bar/drink service
3. Snorkeling in a sinkhole, cave, and lagoon
2. Seeing a giant sea turtle and stingray snorkeling in the ocean!
1. Being with Thomas O:)


Anne's "Moving to Alabama" Top 10
10. On time movers
9. Sweet tea!
8. Quito!
7. Spending our gift cards at Target :)
6. Our new bed :D
5. Working on the onco floor at Children's of Alabama
4. Our pool
3. Our apt with our balcony and 2 walk-in closets
2. Our Saturn VUE
1. Living with Tommy :)

DMV story

Hola loyal blog readers :) It's a frigid 85 degrees today in Birmingham. It's actually quite nice, considering that since we've moved down here it's been anywhere from 94-103! That's sad that I think 85 is "refreshing."

Anyways boy do I have a story for you! Ok, DMV's are notorious for being ridiculous and a pain in the butt but the ones in Alabama top them all! I've seriously attempted to get my Alabama license and get my name changed at the DMV like 5 times! (At two different DMV sites). Although 4 of those times I either didn't have everything I needed or we didn't make it in time to get on "the list" or we just didn't feel like wasting our whole afternoon at the DMV.

Ok, so let me explain how it works down here. They only accept 60 people a day for new licenses/out of state transfers. And it's worse during the summer because all the little 16-year-olds trying to get their license take up valuable spots. Anyways, you have to ARRIVE at the DMV at 5:30 in the morning if you want to be guaranteed a spot. Seriously. When people told us this we were like "okay, whatever" and just thought they were exaggerating. So anyways, people start arriving and lining up outside with their lawn chairs at 5:30 in the morning. The DMV doesn't even open until 8! We got there at 7 yesterday...and considered ourselves lucky that we actually got a number.

So that brings me to the second hurdle. After waking up ridiculously early and standing in line (in the heat) for 2 hours, you have to be lucky enough to be close to the front of the line so you can get one of the 30 numbers they hand out. That pretty much guarantees you a slot...as long as you're patient enough to sit there and wait your turn. (And for everyone who knows me, you all know how difficult this must have been for me!)
Okay, so I was lucky enough to get a number yesterday (Number 92....but they only started at number 70). So if you come after the numbers are handed out (i.e. right at 8:00 when they open) you can put your name on a list. I think they must take 30 names, and then by like 8:45 the list is closed for the day and if you missed the cut you have to come back the next day and start the whole vicious process all over again!

So anyways, back to me. So I got my number, then realized I didn't have my birth certificate or passport with me! I had my PA license, my new SS card, and my marriage license....but waking up at 5:30 in the morning apparently made me forget some pretty important stuff. So wonderful Tommy drove back home to get my passport while I waited at the DMV. Then I proceeded to wait until 11:45 when they called my number (the most triumphant moment ever!) Then the lady was incompetent and didn't understand how to read a marriage license, but I talked her through it. I thought I was home free and then she asked me to take the vision test. Crap, that's when I realized I had taken my glasses out of my purse like 2 days earlier. So she said I had to come back later with my glasses to take the vision test but I would still be able to get my license that day as long as I was back by 3:30.

So I called Tom and he was actually on his way to pick me up so I had him swing by the apt to get my glasses. So in the end....after almost 6 hours at the DMV, I am proud to say that I walked out with an Alabama license with my name officially changed! Although I absolutely HATE the picture on my license and they put your weight on your license! And again, I was not thinking and rounded up instead of rounding down when she asked for my weight. What the hell is wrong with me?!?! Haha. Anyways, I think this constitutes as the LONGEST BLOG EVER! So congratulations if you made it to the end of it :)

P.S. We will be in Philly this weekend for Tom's friends wedding! We won't have much time to hang out but please call if you're in the area and we can try to meet up!

Quito! The newest member of our family!

Soooooooo, happy early 4th everyone....and happy belated birthday to me :) Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday wishes too! Oh and I have to comment that Kathleen must have had off today since she didn't comment on my blog :) Ok, so for the exciting news!!

We got another chinchilla! See blog circa June 30 for my feelings on getting a buddy for Tiago. But when we went to the pet store again today, they had 2 chinchilla babies and they were so cute playing with each other! And Tom's had his heart set on getting Tiago a buddy for like years now. So we left with a little boy chinchilla. And then we named him Quito to stick with the "capitals of South America" name theme.

Let me just fill you in on the whole chinchilla story and how we came to get Tiago in the first place.....

Rewind to Tracie's first chinchilla (Tray was the original owner of Tiago). Her first chinchilla was named Lima after the capital of Peru since chinchillas are from South America. Lima had a tragic accident in the winter of '00 and then Tray got Tiago (short for Santiago). Tom and Tiago met when Tray and I lived together at Penn State. Fastforward to a couple of years later when Tracie graduated from PSU...and didn't take Tiago with her on her new adventures. Long story short, Tiago needed a home and Tom's birthday was coming up.....so on a joint effort between Tracie's parents, my (wonderful) Aunt Judy, and my parents....Tiago made the trek from Erie to Philadelphia to live with Tom.

Currently Tiago and Quito are investigating each other in their cage, and Tom cut them a new home from Quito's take-home box. They were squeaking at each other a lot at first....and I thought they were biting each other but Tom says they were grooming each other. Hopefully they'll get along. They're both males and are supposed to be the less dominant and more compliant gender of the species (I could comment here re: blog circa July 1 but I won't). Anyways, here is a couple pics of the new little guy.

And here is Quito (center) and Tiago (left) getting to know each other.

Currently they are eating dinner and sharing a food bowl! It's so cute! Hopefully they will become fast friends and won't fight!!!

Breadwinner

Ok, so I have to post this and do some complaining! Maybe it's just a southern view on women, or it could me a married thing, but I'm about damn tired of everyone looking to "the man" when we are buying/interested in something! I am a working woman and quite frankly, I want to enjoy my short but temporary (until Tom is finished with grad school) title as bread winner! His name is first on the car lease, first on our bank account, and the ONLY name on our insurance cards!! Shouldn't my name be on those at least??? We were at (pre-birthday) dinner tonight (which was awesome) and ordered a bottle of wine and the guy poured it in Tom's glass first and let him taste it. Ok, I admit I am by no means a wine connoisseur....but I know you swirl it first, then smell it, then sip it.......I wanna taste it first! WHATEVER! AND the other day when we were out at lunch, the waiter hands the bill to Tom and goes "Here you go sir" and the waiter stands there and sees me take the bill (or "ticket" as they call it down south) and put MY debit card in it, and then when he comes back to pick it up he goes "Thank you sir" to Tom! Anyways this post makes it seem like poor Tom is who I'm complaining about and I want to make it clear that I'm not complaining about him at all.......like I said earlier, as the temporary bread winner, I would just like some RESPECT! Anyways, here is a picture of diligent Tommy, working on his paper today (while I sat by the pool and then got a pedicure....YAY birthday week :D)