What's next?

It started off very slowly. Once graduation from Samford's MBA program occurred on May 15, the common question I received was "What's next?" followed by "What will you do with all of your free time?" To be honest, I have about 1.5 years of shtuff that has gone undone so I'm estimating it will be at least 1.5 years before I actually see any free time. So by then maybe I'll figure out what spare time is and what you do with it. The initial two questions were followed by a statement of opinion, or wish, and it typically went like this: "Why don't you take some time and update that stupid blog of yours. You know I subscribed to being a follower of it once you promised you were going to continue it and then NOTHING. I don't just follow people around for nothing, you know." I am amazed at the exact three questions asked in a row by more than 20 of my friends (I didn't realize 20 people even read the first 2 posts)! Let's see.....what will Erin do with her free time...I know! She can update that freaking blog. Not volunteer, work on knitting, but UPDATE THE BLOG. NOW. I have two friends that have even gone as far to suggest specific topics to be addressed on the blog; I was also given the instruction that it wasn't good enough to string them all together, each topic needed to have it's own entry on the blog. I would also like to point out that of the 20 friends that have hounded me over the past two weeks to update the blog, only ONE of them actually has her own blog. Hmmm....somewhat hypocritical...yes?

So, graduate school is over, I'm giving in to peer pressure, and will be resurrecting the blog with at least a weekly post. I realize I have just made the day of at least 20 people. So kick back, and enjoy the past few months of my life. Apparently you die hards crave information!!!

25 Random Ruminations

Happy Tuesday! The blogs have it. I will be continuing the blog past the Christmas newsletter. I am very surprised that I received so many comments because there are a couple of blogs I read and the poor guy never has any comments, and he writes some very funny things. Oh well.

Well, the requests are also pouring in for blog topics. Some are requesting Stella updates. Others want me to devote a section to life in B'ham. Others wanted movie reviews, music reviews, travel reviews, tips with puppies, and my personal favorite was "random ruminations."

I thought I would start there. For the next week I will be posting random ruminations. I will start with 25 random little-known things about me.

1. I do not like bright lights. I'd much rather read in the dark then in light that is too bright. Consequently almost all the lights I use most often in my house have dimmer switches (installed by Perfect Solutions - my friend Sue and my mother's "pretend" fix-it-up company).

2. I despise writing in pen, yet apparently when you are an adult it's expected you should write in pen. Even the pencils we have at work are substandard because they are not the thick No. 2 kind. The mechanical pencil is a compromise.

3. My favorite gift is an Itunes gift certificate. I can have that thing spent in less than 10 minutes. And enjoy every minute of what I spent it on. The gift that just keeps on giving....what could be better?

4. I wear Mary Kay powder and foundation. But I don't pay full price for it, I just buy it on eBay. I realize MK is sort of old ladish, but I have tried all of the new fangled bare minerals business and a) it makes me sneeze and b) it makes me break out. For whatever reason the MK makeup is the only kind that doesn't react to my skin and it a perfect color match. I don't even try new foundation anymore.

5. While TIVO has been life changing, there are times I want to throw it out the window. If a program runs over into the next hour, shouldn't TIVO just KNOW that and tape it until it ends? Also, one TIVO should theoretically be able to run in the entire house. Many times I have been in the bedroom watching TV and tried to fast forward....whoops! (Update: I NOW have TIVO in the bedroom and it is breathtaking....really no need to ever leave the bedroom!)

6. The answer to the top question I receive: Yes, my hair is naturally curly. Though the older I get, the more it is wavy than curly.

7. The answer to the second question I receive: My last name is pronounced R-O-N. It is German. If it helps you to remember, my dad's name is John R-O-N. Not sure what my grandparents were thinking.

8. The answer to the third question I receive: My first name is spelled E-R-I-N, even though I was named for my grandfather, whose name was spelled A-A-R-O-N. We were little Erin and big Aaron, or EJ and AJ when I was growing up. It was really fun. I miss him a ton.

9. I have dreamt up many perfect jobs if money was no object. Ideally I would like to be involved in some sort of touring band, like the tour manager for James Taylor. That would be a blast.

10. I gave blood once, and only once. I really want to give blood, but I felt crappy for 6 weeks afterwards. I couldn't even move off the couch - it was crazy. I think they took too much.

11. If I have a coupon for the store, and go there, and can't find anything to buy, I like to find someone to give the coupon to for them to use. It really bothers me to see a coupon go unused.

12. It has to be completely dark for me to sleep without some sort of sleep aid. My sister and I both inherited this from my mother.

13. Even though I am taller, my mom, my sister and I have identical calf muscles. It is very weird.

14. I really don't like to eat red meat, mostly because the thought of eating a cow is sort of disturbing. However, I don't feel bad at all about eating chicken or a turkey because those animals are mean and will peck you.

15. I am slightly scared of dwarfs, mainly because I feel self-conscious because I am looking down at them, and I feel bad at avoiding them because I feel like they know I am avoiding them because I don't want to look down at them and feel self-conscious. It is a lose-lose situation.

16. I cannot find a deodorant that I really like. Neither can my sister. For some reason they always discontinue the one I start to like.

17. I am slightly scared of people who own birds or snakes. Who wants to have a snake in their house? Gross.

18. For some reason people always repeat stories to me when they don't know they are repeating them, and usually I feel bad telling them I have already heard the story. I draw the line when they start repeating it for the third time. Then I tell them.

19. I despise painting. I have spots in my house that have needed a touch up ever since I have moved in and I still haven't done it. I'd rather change out the insides of a toilet or install a dishwasher (both of which I can do).

20. I don't understand how people live without a keyless entry pad on their garage door. I therefore have a hard time feeling bad for people who get locked out of their house and either a) do not have a keyless entry system or b) didn't think enough to have a key at a neighbor's or hidden somewhere around the house.

21. My favorite time of the day starts about 6:30 PM and runs until 10. If it's a weekend, it's 7 AM to noon. I am worthless in the afternoon.

22. I don't really like to be outside. I don't really like to be outside because I don't like to be too hot, or too cold.

23. I love to be at a restaurant and have someone order for me. I really love it when they are able to order what I wanted. Strange, I know, but I love it.

24. I don't like my laundry to pile up. It rarely does.

25. After watching an Oprah show, I threw out all of my dishtowels and rags. I only use paper towels. All of those germs being swirled around. Yikes.

Stay tuned for more random ruminations...and have a great week!

Merry Christmas 2008

Well, if you are reading this link, it means that you have:

a) received my Christmas card OR this link
b) taken the time to walk to your computer
c) type in my link just to see what I'm up to!

So if you have made it this far, thank you. I'm flattered.

Hi and Merry Christmas to all!

In an effort to save printing and paper costs to meet my 2009 goal of using less of the world’s natural resources, I decided I would try an online newsletter this year. Maybe if I receive enough feedback I will continue blogging! If you want to be able to subscribe to future blog posts, you can click to the right of this note. You have to create some sort of login but it looks pretty easy.

I have just finished a whirlwind semester of nine hours of graduate work, followed with a school/tourist trip to London. London was amazing. I got to see lots of awesome sights and five very cool plays/concerts. I would definitely recommend the trip to anyone – and the best part is that everybody speaks your language (well, some people anyway). The Tower of London and the Churchill Museum were definitely my favorite stops – but I just cannot get enough of the plays.

This year seems like it has flown by. In May, I learned how to knit. This resulted in constant knitting in spare time (or when procrastination kicked in). All of my team members received a hand knitted scarf from me at Christmas. Well, at least the girls did. All of the boys except one got pen sets and they were more excited about those than the scarf (which is what I figured). Now I have to figure out how to make a manly scarf-it is tougher than it sounds. My 2009 goal is to learn how to knit a hat. It really can’t be that hard, I am just scared of the finishing part (it looks tougher the closer you get to the top). The good thing is that I can make my own hat and size it to my overly large head. Anyway, work at State Farm continues to go well and I am enjoying every minute of it.

In June/July, I went on the tour of IL, starting in Chicago for Jimmie and Mary’s Greek wedding (op-ah!), then to Peoria for the annual fourth of July family reunion, and then back to Chicago a week later for Matt and Lynne’s wedding. It was a good time had by all. I also got to meet three week old puppy Stella, who is now my precious schipperke. Stella joined the household in August. At eight weeks old, she became a jet setter by flying back to Alabama with me on the plane. She has made several other flights since then and is a seasoned traveler. She also responds to the word “diva,” which is no surprise to anyone that has met her.

My how Stella has changed my outlook on pet owners. We know the PetSmart employees by name. We enjoy watching “It’s me or the Dog” on Animal Planet and have now taken to watching the Animal Cops show late at night. Also, when Stella wants to help type on the computer we scroll through the humane society and look at the other animals. I told her she has to wait a few years for me to lose the puppy “baby” weight before I am ready to tackle a sibling.

We have taken puppy class and although she did graduate, she is less excited about any of it unless it involves a treat. It is about that time that we do a repeat class since the nipping/biting continues. Don’t worry, I’ve tried every trick possible, she still bites. I keep several tubes of Neosporin around the house. Stella continues to have more dog play dates then I do people play dates. She especially loves Walker, Suzie, Rudy, Merlin, and of course her Affenpincher boys Sebastian and Toby.

Reeses the neighborhood cat visits her at her window daily and they seem to have a love/hate relationship [I know this as evidenced by the cat-made holes in my screen window]. We tried to visit Reeses on the lawn one day and I was afraid Reeses might eat Stella and take a couple of bites out of my leg.

Anyway, Stella is pretty smart. She figured out right away that the outside and the kitchen is “her” territory. She took to the potty training right away, and seems to like the cold weather and loved picking through the snow at Thanksgiving in IL. She loves to meet new people and can’t wait to meet all of you!

I hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying the Christmas holiday and any vacation or fun plans. May you have a wonderful 2009. With graduating from grad school and having the first anniversary of my 29th birthday, I certainly plan to have a banner year!