Just some randoms

The front of "Gramma's House".  I love my little dwelling.....

On the way to my brother's house in Annapolis.... This is normal.  (Yes, I was going 65 while taking a picture.  I'm an East-Coaster, gimme a break!)

This is how they do bonfires around here!

I'm thinkin'. Yeah. Maybe.

I totally forgot that I can blog from my phone. Oh snap! It's on!!

Lately, an interesting thought has been brought to the forefront of my mind. The idea is to start a career in writing. Maybe not even a career, but I'm only going to spend my time on it if it will make me money. (As a sidenote: Yes, I know that everyone should pursue their dreams, whether it will make them money or not. But I want you to know that whoever said that has never been as broke as I am right now!)

Does anyone have an idea of where to start?! I've looked into websites like examiner.com, but I'm not an expert on anything. There are blogging websites out there, but generally you get like $1.00 for every 30,000 hits. I'm liking the idea of just writing into newspapers letting them know how much they are missing out on by not employeeing me as their columnist. I dunno though - newspaper editors might want someone with actual professional experience in writing. The only experience I have is writing technical guides for the software I work with and I was the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper for three years at a high school that only had 530 people on the distribution list.

Once I started thinking about this, now it's the ONLY thing I can think about (you know who are - the crazy person that has talked me into this...). This is something that I've always wanted, but never thought I could make it. Thinking about it realistically, it's not like I am going to quit my job and just go for it. BUT - life in Maryland is a bit of a struggle on my salary and think it's time to find a part-time job. Wonder if anyone could take on a part-time freelance-type-deal...???

I was looking back at some blogs. My favorite posts were the observations in the airports. I only did two of them an wish I couldve kept it up. They were posted on May 30, if you're interested in looking back at them. I would love to put the link in here, but that's a limitation with blogging from my phone.

Anyway, if anyone has any idea at all of where to start, or if you want to let me know your vote on whether or not I should go for it or not, please comment on this post. Feedback is a gift and it's much appreciated.

Please forgive any typos that may be in this post. My fingers are too big/fat for the buttons on my phone.

Lindy

Sent from my PDA Device

Life at BSU

Yes, I know - it's nuts.  I move away and then I have to go back to Muncie to do an installation.  "Okay - I guess I can go to Muncie......"      :)

I've had a very interesting time here.  It's weird to mix my work life with my life here in Indiana.  It was great....but weird.  I filled every evening with something wonderful.  I saw pretty much everyone and I feel great about the visit.  It's so nice to have friends that are willing to go eat with me, or go do....whatever!  LOVED IT. 

As sad as it is, I really enjoy my home in Maryland.  I miss my rental house, my bed, my car, preparing my own breakfast in a fit of speed in the morning, blaring Michael Buble on the way to work, sitting in my cubicle or troubleshooting something with my team in the office, doing a "happy dance" if I figure something out, softball...... ALL of that.  Can't wait to go back to it....................



As promised to some, here are some pics I took along the way...

And for a special person.....here are some pics of the room! 

Back Home Again in Indiana...

As I'll explain further in my next post, I was able to come back to Indiana for some quality time. Thought I'd share some pics and a video.

It's been so much fun watching Emily grow more and more every day since I've moved to Maryland.  She into this face now and we all die laughing just about every time.  I'm glad I finally caught it.

Brody had a blast with all the water guns, slip-n-slides with soap on them and the pool Dad and Kathy bought for the yard. 

Catching up.........

I'm going through a lot of old photos and videos. Thought I'd share these! :)







My Gosh - he is his daddy.


Uh oh....the pinky is about to make an appearance!


Yyyyyeah. That's been a daily occurrence around here. Ugh.

It just-so-happens that I'm going to be doing an installation at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana from 7/8-7/15. I'll make it to Parker City for the fourth of July weekend. If Mitch decides to drive, I'll ride along with him both days, and then fly back to Muncie on Wednesday the 7th. Either way - it will be good to see all the boys at Dad's house this weekend. Looking forward to it, hope it works out.

Best Picture of Smemy....

HARRY CONNICK!!

OMG. A friend of mine was just recently hired by my company and managed to get free tickets and back stage passes to a Harry Connick, Jr. concert. WOOT!!

Where have I been?!

Well helllllloooooooo!!

I'm finally able to catch up enough to blog for at least a hot second.  Unfortunately, I had to agree to babysit my munchkin niece so that I could use my brother's wireless internet, cable and central air!  Not a bad price to pay, actually.  I'm still playing a little bit of catch-up and I'm not convinced the best way to spend my money is to install internet and cable just yet.

Obviously, a lot has changed in my world in the last two months.  I'll recap....

In the middle of April, I drove out to Maryland to start working in the new position in the office (PS, I LOVE IT).  I crashed with my brother and his family.  I had a great time hanging out with them and enjoying Emily's crazy company!!  Here are some highlights!

After three weeks, I went on the family vacation to Las Vegas.  My bestest buddy, Amanda went with me and we had a great time.  Amanda had never flown before, and never been to Vegas, so we had a great time using my frequent flier miles and my almost free rental cars!  Here are a few highlights from that trip...

Emily is ready for the pool!  We rented a house about 8 miles off of the strip.  The house had a pool, and Emily was in it every day!

The Hoover Dam was pretty awesome.  If you haven't been - you should go.

Bellagio fountain, Manda and me.

She wasn't ready for the picture - but I love the way it turned out.  On the first day, we drove to Zion National Park.  I was there in the winter of 2008 and love it.  But during the summer....OMG.  Awesome.

On the last night, Amanda and I stayed at Paris (Amanda has always wanted to go to the real Paris.)

Because I'm an Elite member with National Rental Car, when I land at the airport I get to walk out and just pick whatever car I want in a certain aisle.  Amanda was SO excited when I told her it was her job to pick the car.  She ran to the convertible MUSTANG and I think she almost peed her pants!  This car was just what both of us needed....it was absolutely awesome!  (We went a little crazy with the photo ops for the car!)

The weekend I got back from vacation, I moved from Indianapolis to Halethorpe/Arbutus/Baltimore, MD (no one can really tell me what city is actually is)... I was VERY discouraged the first time I went to look for apartments, as it is SO expensive to live out here.  I was hoping to live close to work, but that wasn't looking like a possibility.  I was staying with my brother and his family in Annapolis, MD for about three weeks and we would have to leave the house every morning at 6:30 to make it to work on time.  No thank you.  Ugh.  A co-worker of mine came in on the Monday after I looked for apartments and asked me how my weekend was.  I let her know how discouraged I was.  Luckily, her mother and aunt were looking for a tenant at her grandmother's house.  My co-worker's grandmother just moved into a home, and they were hoping to find a renter.  BINGO!  So - I currently live in, what I affectionately refer to as "Grandma's House".  It has pink carpet and interesting kitchen tile, NO central air, a sun room, a crowded basement, a HUGE backyard (compared to others around here....not compared to Indiana), a paved driveway, a GIANT screened in porch-area, a koi pond and tons of fun wildlife and trees/flowers/plants.

Here are some pictures of my back yard.  I'm not quite ready to show anyone the inside yet.  :)

Oh yes, that is a bunny rabbit.  I have named him Murphy.  He walks around with me when I refill the bird feeders.

My yard goes all the way back to those cars.

From the middle of my backyard, looking up at the house and driveway.  You can see part of the screened-in porch.

Next was Mitch's birthday...  He had a busy day at work, and I managed to make sure he wasted about an hour of his time by putting a sign outside his cubicle that said, "It's Mitch's Birthday!!"  Every person that walked by would say, "Happy Birthday, Mitch".  This might sound fun to you and me, but to Mitch it was a nightmare!  He is the guy who always has his earphones in with music (I'm sure it's geeky music), so that no one will bother him.  OR - so if someone does talk to him and he actually hears it, he doesn't actually have to act like he heard it.  Wait a minute..... I wonder if he has any music playing in those earphones at all.  Hmm....  Anyway - his wife, Debbie, sent him an Edible Arrangment, so that really brought a crowd into his cubicle.  It was awesome.  That evening, we had dinner and cake.  Though, Emily had already licked off a lot of the icing before we got to it!

Now that I've gotten settled in a little and I've started to get a routine down, I am really enjoying it.  It's cool being so close to Mitch, Deb and Emily and I've actually hung out with some folks from work a little bit here and there.  The only real issue that I've had so far is allergies.  Apparently I have allergies.... who knew?!  I'm trying to find an allergist, and will hopefully get an appointment sometime soon.

Carnegie...

While in NYC last week, I had the opportunity to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.  I'm not sure where my appreciation for Carnegie Hall comes from, but I have always wanted to go there.  It was sort of like something that would have been on my bucket list, if I had one.  In my eyes, a symphony is the epitome of teamwork...  And Carnegie?!  To me, Carnegie is a place that a lot of people dream of going.  As a child, they think, "one day, I'll make it on that stage".  That may not be true, but that's my impression.  It was absolutely great to actually get to go and witness it.

Jeff was in town and actually agreed to go with me.  Poor guy actually sat through it like a champ!

Look what we found on the way home!  I have eaten here before (a year ago), have a receipt somewhere to prove it.  But it's all lit up and fancy at night.  Just like me that night, I guess!!

Last Trip as an Installer....

Welp - I'm back in NYC, a place I've traveled to a lot for my current position.  I'm glad this is the last stop on my schedule.  I used to hate going to NYC, but my opinion has changed.  I really like visiting the city.  Though I've visited many times for work, I was usually working overnight shifts and would sleep all day.  I never ventured out to do all of the touristy things, and typically because I didn't want to do them alone.

This time has been different, my friends.  Perhaps it's because I don't mind doing things by myself (I actually have come to prefer it), or it's because this is my last trip, and I wanted to make sure I made all the stops.  I also know so many co-workers now, so there always seems to be other people working in the city that I can hang with.  This has been a great couple of days, and there are two more to go!!  I will post more pictures in a few days...

The Chrysler building at East 41st and Lex

Empire State Building

Grand Central - just a few blocks from my hotel, The Kitano

Inside Grand Central Station - smelly, smelly place.  Very cool though.

Statue of Liberty

Proof that I was actually there.  Crazy windy, crazy cold.

On the Staten Island Ferry - laughing about how huge my hair will be.

NYC, from Staten Island.

My view from my room at The Kitano.

One of my favorite places....Vincent's in Little Italy.

On the walk to dinner one evening...

The Garment District....I'm told this building was once owned by the Unsinkable Molly Brown.

The lobby of The Kitano... 38th and Park