September 30, 2005

More apartment fun

But this time, it actually was fun!!! We went to look at a apartment last night - it's in our friends' complex (as opposed to the one the wife used to live in), and it's perfect!!! 3 bedrooms (hello office AND guest bedroom! yay!!), open concept kitchen with more counter space, same-floor laundry, cable outlets in every room (goodbye cat5 running along the baseboards and diminished internet speed caused by running a splitter off only one outlet for both the TV and computer), an open concept kitchen with more counter space and same floor laundry, bigger balcony than we have now, open concept kitchen with more counter space and same floor laundry, nice big bathroom, open concept kitchen and same-floor laundry, and it's a newer building, so no more lumpy floor from broken concrete under the cheap, nasty carpeting. And linoleum in the dining area, so no more vacuuming for 10 minutes after rolling out a pie crust on the dining room table. And no wall of dark paneling in the living room.

Oh, and did I mention the open concept kitchen and same floor laundry? :D

I'll be the first to admit that I'm lazy - our current apartment building's laundry facilities are on a different floor and on the other end of the building, so I loathe doing laundry because of it. This building has the laundry room not even 10 feet from the apartment door, so I will certainly not mind doing laundry as much.

It's a few dollars less per month than we pay now (including the extra Snowball fee), and the first month is free when you sign a lease. The only drawback is that heat is not included, so I'm a little worried about getting those first electric bills. However, what I'll be saving in gas costs will more than make up for it - plus, I'm going to do the budget plan (average total annual cost divided by 12 to determine a fixed monthly payment) with autopay, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Despite its shortcomings, we love our current apartment - it was our first place together, and I'm going to miss it. But the "fabulosity" of this new apartment will more than make up for it.

We filled out the application and put $100 down to hold it while we'r awaiting approval. Eeeeeeeee! I'm so excited! :D

Posted by beenie at 08:59 AM | Comments (2)

September 23, 2005

Sort of a meme

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:Kat
Birthday:October 2nd
Birthplace:Port Jefferson, NY
Current Location:Wisconsin
Eye Color:Hazel
Hair Color:Brown
Height:5'5"
Right Handed or Left Handed:Right-handed, but I unscrew bottles and jars with my left hand
Your Heritage:Austrian, Irish, English, German, French/Alsatian
The Shoes You Wore Today:Black sandals with a silver metal accent
Your Weakness:Physical contact (snuggling, hugging, etc.)
Your Fears:Losing people dear to me
Your Perfect Pizza:Pepperoni and extra cheese (NY style, please - none of this Midwestern Chicago-style crap)
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:Make my sales target
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:brb
Thoughts First Waking Up:Don't kick the cat while getting up to hit the snooze button
Your Best Physical Feature:Eyes
Your Bedtime:Somewhere between 9:00 and 11:00 PM
Your Most Missed Memory:The Great Pumpkin Hunt with my family - last weekend before Halloween, we'd pile into the car and head out east, hit several farmstands in search of yummy veggies and the biggest pumpkin we could fit in the car to carve into a jack-o'lantern, and stop at the 7-11 in Southold for chili cheese dogs and hot chocolate, then to the Carvel in Mattituck for pumpkin ice cream.
Pepsi or Coke:Pepsi
MacDonalds or Burger King:McD's for fries, BK for burgers
Single or Group Dates:Either
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:Lipton
Chocolate or Vanilla:Yes, please
Cappuccino or Coffee:Yes, please
Do you Smoke:Socially
Do you Swear:F*ck no!
Do you Sing:Yep
Do you Shower Daily:Yep
Have you Been in Love:Abso-f*ckin'-lutely!
Do you want to go to College:Been there, done that, have the debt, no degree. I might go back, but not for my original major (music). Probably something more like Business Adminstration or something similarly boring-but-right-up-my-alley
Do you want to get Married:I think it would be something of a surprise to my husband if I said no.
Do you belive in yourself:Sometimes
Do you get Motion Sickness:Once in a great while
Do you think you are Attractive:From the chin up
Are you a Health Freak:No
Do you get along with your Parents:Most of the time
Do you like Thunderstorms:I used to love them growing up, but now that I live at the tip of tornado alley? No effin' way!!
Do you play an Instrument:Just the voice
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:Yes
In the past month have you Smoked:Tobacco only
In the past month have you been on Drugs:See previous two answers, but nothing else.
In the past month have you gone on a Date:Does it count as a date if it's with my husband?
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:Yes
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:Yes
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:Yes (on that date with my husband)
In the past month have you been on Stage:No
In the past month have you been Dumped:No
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:No
Ever been Drunk:Got that out of my system in college
Ever been called a Tease:Yes
Ever been Beaten up:Yes
Ever Shoplifted:Yes
How do you want to Die:In my sleep
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:A Rockstar! Not really, but it sounded good
What country would you most like to Visit:Been to Ireland, so I'll say Australia
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:Always thought I'd go for brown hair, but my hubby is blonde
Favourite Hair Color:Always thought I'd go for blue eyes, but my hubby has brown eyes
Short or Long Hair:Always thought I'd go for (sense a pattern?) short and professionally coiffed, but hubby's is long
Height:Around 6'
Weight:Snuggly
Best Clothing Style:Dockers and a button-down
Number of Drugs I have taken:Other than alcohol and tobacco, one - and it's been several years
Number of CDs I own:Maybe 100? It used to be double that, until I left my CD case in a booth at a Perkins in IL.
Number of Piercings:Ears only, one hole in each ear. Tried getting a second hole in each - twice - but they got infected both times. I'm debating trying a third time, but I'm not sure yet.
Number of Tattoos:None
Number of things in my Past I Regret:Everything in my life that has happened has brought me to the place I am, so nothing. Life is an adventure. Some things haven't been the greatest, but I wouldn't give any of it up.

CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!
Posted by beenie at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)

What on earth is this feeling?

After 10 straight years in choir (up to three choirs at a time!), I joined the Madison Symphony Chorus upon moving here, but soon decided it wasn't right for me at the time and decided to take a break. That break lasted 7 years, ending last week with my first rehearsal with the Fond du Lac Oratorio - intimidation in a choral setting isn't something I'm used to, but I'm determined to make it work. My voice is currently shot to shit, but we'll see.

And in honor of the Oratorio's 35th anniversary and Mozart's birthday next year, we're doing the Requiem in the spring, which is my most favoritest choral work EVER. Hopefully my voice will have recovered enough by then.

Posted by beenie at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)

Like getting slapped when you thought you were going to be kissed

We went to look at an apartment today - we chose it because some friends of ours used to live in the same complex, and we loved their place. Turns out that even though the apartment turned out to be the one right next to theirs, in the same flippin' building, it was different, and not quite as nice. We were quite disappointed.

So I grabbed a copy of Start Renting, and it's off to the races! November 1st is our target move date, so we need to find something this week in order to give the proper amount of notice to our current landlords.

Fun times people, fun times.

Posted by beenie at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

Bryan would probably disagree...

He thinks I'm Charlotte.


Which Sex and the City Player Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

Posted by beenie at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

Good news and disappointment

The good news is that I'm not diabetic. Plus, the doctor did actually research a new med for me and got back to me on it, just like he said he would.

The disappointment is that my insurance company has this problem where their left hand knows what their right hand is doing (long story), and it may turn out that one of the few doctors I've ever actually LIKED (I'm a picky bitch when it comes to the medical field) might not actually be covered.

Posted by beenie at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)

September 09, 2005

Medical likes and dislikes

I don't mind having blood drawn. I have good veins, and I'm an easy stick. They took 3 vials today to do my bloodwork, and it was so easy I should have told them to just go ahead and take some for the Red Cross since I was there anyway - quite unlike the last time I donated.

I do mind having a large orange bottle in my refrigerator for the 24-hour urine collection that is accompanying the bloodwork. And I'm sure they'll mind the distinct lack of urine in that bottle - I don't drink enough fluid, therefore I don't pee enough. And I'm sure my poor husband will mind having to drop my refrigerated pee off at the lab because the lab will not yet be open when I leave for work tomorrow morning. He must love me. :)

I don't mind going to the doctor I saw today (GP). He's totally cute, very easygoing, actually laughed at my humor, and spent time in NY during his medical studies, so we talked about NY for a while. Not to mention, he's very thorough. I have to switch from one medication to another (for the same problem, just having some side effect issues), and he wasn't sure about which one to put me on - so rather than just randomly prescribing one, he's actually going to do some research to find out which one he thinks would work best in my circumstance and get back to me. And he told me when he'd be getting back to me rather than just saying "I'll give you a call." And I believe him.

I don't like playing phone tag. I'm trying to set up an appointment with the nutritionist that my "women's health provider" (read: more than just an OB/GYN, not quite a family practicioner) recommended, and we just can't seem to be available to talk on the phone at the same time.

I do like when doctors actually compliment me on something. When I told my WHP that one of the reasons I was there and not just at my GP's office was because despite the fact that conception is probably 18-24 months off, I want to make sure I'm in the proper health by then so safely do so. She was impressed, and told me as much.

She also complemented me on how clean I keep myself. WTF?? I asked her about it, and she said that a lot of overweight women don't properly clean between their folds (read: fat rolls), and sometimes they get a lot of stinky, yeasty buildup. Eeeeew. I don't get it - do some fat women just not realize that they stink, and then actually go to the gyno all stinky?

She also said that she doesn't think I'm diabetic (one of the reasons for the bloodwork - The Big D runs in both sides of my family, and since I'm fat, my blood sugar is something that needs to be monitored annually). I won't go into details (because it's even more gross then the pee thing), but suffice it to say that she said there is a specific gynecological indicator of possible diabetes, and I don't have it. We'll see.

Posted by beenie at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)

Sounds good

You Are a Mai Tai
You aren't a big drinker, but you'll drink if the atmosphere is festive.
And when you're drunk, watch out! You're easily carried away.
What Mixed Drink Are You?
Posted by beenie at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)