Monday, August 31, 2009

So many exciting things!

Happy Monday!

It's not very often that I'm excited to come to work on Monday. But this week could potentially be exciting. You see, all year long, I have been working towards a promotion, setting myself up to become an Assistant Project Manager. The issue thus far has been that there wasn't a need for one. But on Friday, my dear cube-neighbor accepted a job in Sales & Marketing, and will be starting his new job tomorrow, leaving his post vacant. His current position is none other than Assistant Project Manager - meaning there is going to be an opening VERY SHORTLY. There are no guarantees, of course, but the truth is that I'm much closer today to that promotion than I was last week. Now I'm just waiting for the right time to go to my superiors to discuss the job.

In other exciting news, Scott has made EXCELLENT progress on the new website! The new website, if you haven't heard, is SightSI.com, a travel website for suggested itineraries. I've started a blog, which is where you will be redirected if you visit SightSI.com now. But soon...VERY soon, I hope, we will be launching the official site. There are still some items to tweak before we go into production (right now we are in the development stages.)  It's funny to say that, because Scott is always talking about "Developement" and "Going into Production" when he discusses his job....now I have a better understanding of what that means.

This weekend, Amy gets married! We are heading to Lynchburg sometime on Saturday. The rehearsal is Saturday night, and the wedding is Sunday night. On Monday, we are making a quick day trip back to Richmond to pack our clothes for GATLINBURG! Woo!!! I can't wait to go on vacation. It's going to be SO FUN. We leave from Lynchburg early Tuesday morning to head down there. So, it's going to be quite a busy week coming up. I need to check the weather.

Well, that's all the news I have for now. Hope everyone has a great week.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

sTori Telling by Tori Spelling - Book Review

sTORI TELLING sTORI TELLING by Tori Spelling


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Regardless of your opinion of Tori Spelling, you will love her by the time you finish this book. She's open, honest, and funny - and most of the time, not at all what you would expect.

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Launching: SightSI Blog!

Well, I told you a while back that there were some exciting things coming. So the time is here! I've launched a new blog (which will, one day, be a full blown website) known as Sight-SI. Sight-SI is a play on the word "sight-see", where the "SI" stands for Suggested Itineraries. The idea is to post suggested itineraries for cities and towns all over the world. No city is too big or too small!

In the long run, my full blown site (SightSI.com) will be a place where people can come to search for, rate, and submit their own Suggested Itineraries. Going to Chicago? Just do a search on SightSI.com, and find the best-rated suggested itineraries! You get the idea.

Scott and I will be working on getting the site put together, but in the meantime, I wanted to get my own itineraries out there for anyone to use. If you'd like to see your own itinerary posted on the blog, feel free to send it to me. You will get full credit for your submission, of course.

So there you have it. The blog is still somewhat "under construction", so don't be surprised if it looks different each time you visit. I'm working on the color palette and format on a daily basis. Hopefully we will also have a logo soon, as my sister-in-law has volunteered to help me out with that :-).

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Bare Minerals Buys

When we were at the Bare Escentuals store this weekend, I bought some Well Cared-For brush conditioning shampoo to clean all my makeup brushes. I cleaned them yesterday morning after I got ready, and this morning they had dried. They were so soft and poofy! It made a HUGE difference, so I'm really glad I invested. I'd definitely recommend this product if you are a Bare Minerals user.

I also bought some PrimeTime Eyelid primer to put under eyeshadow. It's supposed to make your eyeshadow stay on longer. After today, I will know if it is worth it. (Mandy - you may want to try mine out - if you like it, I'll give you your eye shadows back!)

Three weeks from today, we leave for Gatlinburg!! WOO-HOO! I am SO ready for a vacation. I hope we get good weather - I haven't checked to see what the climate is like that time of year. Hopefully not rainy the whole time. The fact that Hurricane Season has officially begun makes me nervous that we'll get rain the whole time. There is bad weather in the Atlantic right now, and the twins are on a cruise to the Bahamas. I hope they are safe and out of Hurricane Bill's path.

Well, back to work for me!

Monday, August 17, 2009

New Laptop!

I did it. I finally bought a Dell Inspiron Mini 10V in Promise Pink!! I've been saving up, and finally on Friday, Scott and I agreed that I could buy one. I think he's a teeeeeensy bit jealous that I will have a nicer netbook than he has. LOL. And he hates the fact that its pink, but that's what I wanted. Woo!

Also this weekend, we all went to the Outlets in Williamsburg, and Anne and I bought each other Coach bags for our birthdays. Haha! We justified our purchases by buying them for each other, instead of for ourselves. Aren't we sneaky? I had a coupon for an additional 20% off an entire purchase. I got a black leather Coach bag that was originally over $300. It was marked down to $249, then an additional 50% off of that, bringing it to $125. THEN I had my 20% coupon, so it was only $100! Anne's bag was originally $428, and when all was said and done, she got it for $85. NICE. I can't wait till my birthday, now. :-)

They opened a Bare Essentuals outlet store in Williamsburg, too. OMG its amazing. They have so many kits that are discontinued that are SUCH a great bargain! Between Coach and Bare Essentuals, Anne and I had a field day.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - Book Review

Flowers for Algernon Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book in highschool (or, at least, I was supposed to), but I can honestly say that I don't remember the story. I absolutely loved the book, and its truly a masterpiece. A page-turner all the way through, you just can't wait to hear what Charlie is going to say next...and if it will be grammatically correct.

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Getting Closer

I've narrowed down this much: The Mystery Noise has something to do with my air conditioner. If I'm driving along, and I turn off the A/C, the noise happens. If I turn the A/C back on, it might happen again, and if I turn it off again, it happens. I've also heard it twice happen when I open the door to get IN my car - the same instant the door opens, the noise occurs. Really, really weird.

Last night I posted a bunch of old pictures on Facebook. I scanned them and uploaded them. How fun! Most were from high school and early college days, before I had a digital camera. It's always fun reminiscing and looking back at how ridiculous we dressed/looked.

The Maids are coming today to clean the house. Then, Anne and Scotty will be at Rory's tonight, and we are going to yard sales and shopping tomorrow! Should be a fun weekend. I have a coupon for 20% off at the Coach Factory store...must go to the Prime Outlets at some point this weekend :-).

Well, I'm off. Yay for Fridays!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Just a bit of rambling.

August has been a slow month at work. I've talked to my supervisor about assigning me as the PM (Project Manager) on a new project coming in, but honestly, I don't think he's very supportive of my advancement. He keeps telling me I'll get "the next one", and he keeps assigning them to himself or someone else. He also wouldn't let me take PM training when I asked earlier this year. So I went to my boss (who, obviously, is also my supervisor's boss) and told him I was ready to take on PM responsibilities, and that my supervisor didn't seem to want to give me any contracts. My boss said he will make it happen this month or next. Yay!

The Mystery Noise continues. Heard it on my way to work this morning shortly after leaving the house. I thought it might have had something to do with the heat, but it wasn't even that hot this morning. So scratch that.

Jeanine is due in about 4 weeks. Exciting! I can't wait to find out if we have a niece or nephew.

I've been doing plenty of reading, as you can probably see from all my recent book reviews. Right now I'm reading Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - what a great book. I remember having to read it in school, and I knew it had something to do with a mouse, science, and a boy named Charlie. Except Charlie is a man. Maybe I only ever read the first few pages, and that's why I thought Charlie was a boy - due to his intelligence level. I don't think I actually read the book in its entirety back then, because I don't remember most of it.

My parents are coming to visit this weekend. Yay! They are staying with Rory this time. We are going to yard sales on Saturday, then doing some shopping and such. I'd like to go to Williamsburg to the outlets, but I'm wondering when William & Mary students move in. If its this weekend, we definitely do not want to go - traffic will be horrible.

Well, back to work.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Mystery Noise

There's a strange noise coming from my car. It sounds like something exploding, and it happens about 1 minute after I start driving. It sounds like it may be coming from my glove compartment.

This all started last Saturday when I was leaving the house to go to yard sales. As I was rounding the corner out of my neighborhood, I heard a "pop!". I thought I'd hit something in the road, but in my rear-view mirror, there was nothing there. Since then, I have heard the noise every single time I drive my car, and it always takes about the same amount of time before the noise is heard.

Its THE most bizarre thing ever. Scott doesn't have a clue either, and he's been sitting in the passenger seat when it happens. I'm tempted to get a video of it and post it here to see if anyone else knows what it could be. It sounds like a small explosion, like air pressure being released very suddenly.

I have to solve this mystery.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Things I learn on the Food Network

This past weekend, I started watching the Food Network. I figured maybe if I started watching it, I would learn something, or at the very least be inspired to cook. I was right on both accounts. These are the things I learned over the weekend while watching "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef":

1) How to make hard-boiled eggs.
This may sound ridiculous, but cooking hard-boiled eggs is actually not that easy. How do you know when they are done? I learned this weekend that all you have to do is place the eggs in a pot, add water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 13 minutes exactly, and VOILA!, you have perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs.

2) How to make roasted red peppers.
I absolutely LOVE roasted red peppers. On this particular episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef", she was not making hard-boiled eggs or roasted red peppers. Her recipes were much more complicated. But that's the great thing about the Food Network - there are so many tips in every show that you can pick up, even if you don't get the overall picture. Anyway, you take a couple red peppers and put them on the grill, and essentially burn the heck out of them. You literally blacken them on all sides. Then stick them in a plastic bag to steam. I'm not sure how long you have to steam them - she didn't say that in the show - but 10 minutes is probably sufficient. Once they are steamed, you peel off the burnt peeling, and VOILA! Roasted Red Peppers!

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah - Book Review

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A heart-wrenching account of a young boy's experience as a child soldier during the Civil War in Sierra Leone. Most would not believe that something so horrible could happen as recently as the mid-90s, and unfortunately it is still happening today. Ishmael is a survivor in every sense of the word.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Exciting Things to Come!

This past weekend, while on my way to visit my family in Lynchburg, I came up with a new idea. It will take a lot of work, but in the end I think it could be very successful. The only thing I will give away is that it's a website I will be working on (with a lot of help from Scott, and possibly my family) over the next couple months. We are still in the planning stages, but hopefully we will be able to launch it sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson - Book Review

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I never could get into this book, so ultimately, I did not finish it. While I think Greg Mortenson is an amazing man, the story isn't written in a manner that peaks my interest enough to continue reading. In a nutshell, the book is rather boring.

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