So I got this apartment....

It turned out I needed an apartment for grad school, and since I was out of town for the most part of the summer, I had to shop for one online. I think we got pretty lucky with this one. It's a one bedroom, but it is perfect for a first time apartment. I am pretty much prepared for the coming school year... I think!














Office/Living Room

Living Room with my massive TV









Living Room












Dining Room










Kitchen

Bedroom Closet

Bedroom

Bathroom

Back "Deck"

Catch up!

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. Emily was doing a good job of keeping it updated, but now that she is with you, someone has to keep her updated as well!

While Moon was in Texas, I had four days off school and Julie came to meet me on that Friday. I was surprised when I heard her pull in the driveway because I had never heard the sound of the vehicle before! Much to my surprise, she showed up in the little Geo Metro Josh had bought and fixed.

Once I found out that the car has a weight limit, I decided I should be the one to drive to lunch and to get our hair and nails done!

Julie and I went to see Lisa so Jul could get a haircut and a pedicure. I was only going to get my hair highlighted, but I also ended up with a pedicure. I wish I would have taken a picture of Julie's toe because she has a rhinestone horseshoe on her big toe. It is kind of difficult to see what is on my toe, but in the spirit of Halloween, I have orange toes with black tips and a spider and spider web on my big toe. I love my little spider!

The most interesting thing, however, that has happened recently is my little trip to the Emergency Room. Monday night after Moon and I had come home from eating dinner, I was going to work on my lesson plans for my observation. Well, I had some really bad cramps in my chest, which I had gotten before, but I figured they would go away like they had so many times before. Moon thought I was working on my lesson plans and little did he know that I was fighting with these cramps. After about an hour, Moon found me rolling around on the bed trying to get the cramps to go away. He wanted to take me to the ER, but I told him that I have had this before and it would go away. A few minutes later, I was running to the restroom and get rid of everything I had had to eat earlier. That is when Moon got really scared and we decided to go to the ER. Once I got there, the cramps were not much better. When the ER doctor came in to talk to me, he automatically thought it was my gallbladder. He ordered an ultrasound and sure enough he was right. I had actually had gallstones for 7 -8 years, but I was always able to get rid of the cramps. This time, the stone was so big, it was blocking the small tube at the end of the gallbladder not letting anything pass through causing me to throw up my dinner. Well, I didn't have to stay the night at the hospital, but I got up the next morning to meet with the surgeon and I had surgery that afternoon. The surgery went well and everything is better. I feel good - I'm just dealing with all the leftover gas that is in my stomach from where they blew my stomach up with gas during the surgery. I have four incisions; three horizontal 1/2 inch and one vertical 1 1/2 inch. It's hard to believe they removed my entire gallbladder from a little incision! Oh, and by the way.... they had to go through stomach MUSCLE to make my incision from my belly button. You didn't think you'd ever hear that from me, huh?!!

Afternoon of surgery

October 21, 2008

My belly button sticking its tongue out!

The morning after surgery - October 22, 2008

The Black Panther Strikes Again

Hello again!

This is Abbey and Moon's cat, Boo, who has an odd personality but is lovable nonetheless. Lately we have had a pack (or peck...ha ha...pun intended) of wild turkeys roaming our neighborhood (28 on this day). Boo is enthralled with them... or just hungry... and stalks them (she's very sly)... and then tries to fly to catch them when they fly away. It is very amusing, to us at least. I had caught it on video but it doesn't seem to want to go through... so I am posting some pictures we took, too.

Spooky!

Hello all!

As most of you know (or all of you know), Abbey is a teacher with really cool ideas. Especially when it comes to decorating her door for the holidays. Well, since I will be out of town soon, Abbey asked if I would help her get a head start on some of her ideas. "Sure," I said. Ever since then, I have been stuck in the house, elbow deep in construction paper, scissors, and tape. But I think the time paid off. First, we created a Thanksgiving table with a feast on it. We didn't take a picture of that....sorry. But the best one so far, is the October one. It is a spooky house that Abbey is going to let her kids make pumpkins to help decorate it. Now since both of those have been finished and lamenated ( I made her do it), I will be starting on the Christmas one where jolly ole Saint Nick is in a little bit of a quandry. He's stuck! Anyway, I just wanted to share the house with everyone. Also, Sid the Spider is on there, too! Enjoy!

Two Big Things in Two Very Fast Days

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to touch base real quick about two big events that happened the last two days. The first occurred when Mom and I drove up to Ohio to watch and participate in the Tommy Brown (our late uncle) Memorial Football Game between the Fitch Falcons (Whoo!) and the Chaney Cowboys (Boo!). Mom was the one who got to hand the trophy over to the winners this year, and lo and behold, Fitch won! Mom got to give the trophy to Danny (her nephew, my cousin) who was a senior this year and also a captain on the team! It was great being able to see a lot of the family in the short time we had there, and they all came out to support the game.

The next day, Mom and I drove home in time to make it to the Demolition Derby to watch Moon race his car. The night before, he had some trouble with the car when his shifter messed up and then he got hit hard enough that his hood bounced down and hit his distributor cap and broke it and the distributor along with it. (I sound like I actually know something about cars, but I have no idea about what I just wrote means except that Moon was not finishing the derby that night!) Anyway, he worked on it early the next morning and had it in running condition for the derby that night. He was in the third heat with a bunch of sturdy, older model cars but he showed them what a little car could do! He ended up being one of the heat winners and got a spot in the final! As a heat winner, he was awarded a trophy and some other goodies. He was in pretty bad shape after his heat because he had taken a pretty good beating. With that added to the damage left over from the night before, he had a few things to mend before the final started. As they were lining up for the final to begin, Moon comes flying into the arena and completes two donuts in the mud before he parks his car. Let's just say the Staff and firemen on the outside of the ring weren't thrilled to be covered in mud...twice. The crowd loved him though. His car was by far the one in the worst shape in the final, but he gave all he had until a lucky shot broke his back axle, pulled his back passenger wheel from under the car, and left him spinning his other three tires and getting nowhere. He ended as 11th overall...but he beat Hillbilly and the guys that liked to target Moon didn't get very far either. The winner of the derby was a chicken who hid more than hit, but we didn't care all that much. We were so proud of Moon and still are. He had one of the biggest grins on his face, but today, he still has the grin but he has the soreness, bruises, and tiredness that come after a personal victory! He did a great job and had a lot of people to support him. Here are a few pictures of the derby and what remains.

Catching up!

Hello Mom and Dad and everyone else who reads this!

Sorry it's been so long since we have posted anything. Well Moon, Abbey, and I went to Ohio to share the 4th of July with our family up there. The fireworks were pretty good this year like they usually are, and I got some really cool pictures of them and of the kids with the sparklers.

Moon came back that weekend so he wouldn't miss work while Abbey and I stayed in order to visit New York City a week later. New York was awesome. It was also hot, smelly, noisy, and big. We had a lot of fun! We got to see the Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Trump Tower, Ground Zero, Little Italy, Chinatown, Times Square, 2 Broadway shows (both excellent - Altar Boyz and Avenue Q), Rockefeller Center, and Coney Island along with a few alleyways. Our feet hurt everyday, but we got really good tans, especially on the way back to Ohio. (Pictures of the trip coming soon.)

Aunt Tish drove us back to Tennessee just so she could decorate Julie and Josh's house with tiny animals hidden in various places. They weren't as amused as we were! We found out today that Aunt Tish also hid a few of the little animals in our house, and we have only found 1 to Julie and Josh's 38. But we have a lot fewer in our house than they has in theirs. [:

Abbey is excited about school starting August 5. She will be teaching 5th grade. She has been to her room several times in order to decorate it for the kids. She has some really cute ideas for study centers.

The Wilson County Demolition Derby is August 22, and Moon is preparing for the ride. The car is almost finished. Just a few things need to be painted on it and a few things need to be tinkered on under the hood. What they are, I have no clue.

I have an interview for ETSU PT school on August 2. Wish me luck! I bought a new shirt, but I am not sure exactly what I am going to wear yet. I will have to do a fashion show for Abbey to figure out which outfit looks best.

Hope all is well with you guys. We will be talking to you soon. We love and miss you!

What a stick!

It's been a while since I have posted a blog, but at least I have something interesting to share and I am not just rambling on!

I was sitting in the computer room looking up directions to some properties Moon and I are interested in when Moon decided to go outside and put chemicals in the pool. He started to get frustrated with me for putting a stick on the side of the pool, but instead of saying anything, he was just going to move it. When he reached for the stick, it moved off the side of the pool and into the yard. The stick was a snake! After the "stick" moved by itself into the yard, Moon thought I was playing a joke on him and thought it was a fake snake. It wasn't until the head started to move toward him that he knew it was real! He called me to grab my camera and "come look what fell off the side of the pool!"

After I took a few pictures, Moon wanted to know what we should do about it, so being the clever person I am, I said "Call Mr. Coley or Coy. They'll take care of it!" Needless to say, Coy came down and took care of what I thought was about a 4-foot snake. (He was long and FAT!) Coy was our hero for the day and after he slayed the snake, I made him hold it by the tail so I could take a picture. (Look at how big the snake REALLY was! And it's missing its head!)