For RG’s birthday this year I tried to surprise her. Tried I think possibly unsuccessfully. I put aside some of my spending money every week for the summer and was able to get her an iPhone. This was something she wanted even before she moved back from Moscow. However we simply didn’t have the money to get it and she had to use a phone I had bought in UK. It worked ok but it was pretty much just a plain boring phone. So she had been talking about wanting either an iPhone or a new purse from Patinia. A little local chain in Minneapolis, of course the purse would have been a bad idea, how would I pick something like that out… seriously. So an iPhone it was. But I could not buy it before hand because to transfer her number her old service would stop working. This is bad for a couple reasons. 1 – we were traveling to DC and I wanted her to have a phone in case something went wrong, and B – she would know what she was getting.
So I had to find an excuse to get out and about on my own to get her present. So I made up some story… Not a very good one. She was didn’t know exactly what I was getting her but I think she had a strong guess. Anyway I found and ATT store and signed up for new service and bought a phone. While I was in there a friend from college that is now living in DC and working as a Lawyer called up and wanted to get together. So he met up with me at the ATT store (this would help with my plan because she thought I might have hid her present at his condo). Anyway I still had the idea that I could surprise the wife. So I stopped in CVS got a huge gift bag that could conceivably hold a purse and all the paper to stuff it with, along with some pop to weight the bag down.
So we headed upstairs and “surprised” her. At that the last minute she was a little confused because of the bag but it didn’t last. She opened it up and bam there was the iPhone. She was very excited and I think happy. So she started playing with it right away and has not stopped since. It’s insane. She uses it for everything maps, shopping, looking information, facebook, everything. I have to admit is quite useful though. It works with the internet 100% better than my windows mobile. So it is pretty nice. Plus I got RG’s old iPod touch. So that was a nice side affect. But I have to admit using the iPhone really does make other phones look out dated.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Eye Brows
Well I have to say our little pup is so much I had to write about him again. Actually he is fun most the time. At 5am when he needs to go out… not so much but I am sure that can’t last forever. Anyway were still figuring things out. We are taking him to vets, buying toys, trying to wean him off wet food to dry food etc. All that fun stuff. As he is a puppy there are limited ways to play with him to. Run around the house and let him case you or pseudo wrestle with him. Well wrestling is really him against your hand but he likes it. Of course you have to watch out because he loves to chew on you while you’re doing it. We are also trying to take him on walks but only down the block and back. He doesn’t quite understand the leash but he is trying really hard.
I thought it would be fun to name this post “Eye Brows” because that is the literal translation of the pup’s name. Brovi is Russian for eye brows. I came up with this name because of his coloring. As I mentioned last week he has tan spots on his face. Well they are perfect tan spots resembling Groucho Marx’s eye brows. They are really bushy and even kind of stick out a bit from his head, very similar in pattern to a Doberman pincher but a Doberman with a ton of hair, like a shaggy dog. So I thought it would be a good name for the little guy and it does sound like a dog’s name.
One of the funny consequences of this name is my in-laws reaction. They have no idea why anyone would ever name their dog such a thing. It would be like meeting some Russians that call their dog literally in English “Eye Brows” or “Nose” or “Hair”. It doesn’t make any sense. But of course sense I don’t speak Russia (at least not enough to count) and RG loves the name we’re sticking to it. But every once in a while RG’s mom will ask again why would you name a dog such a name. She is completely dumbfounded. I think the sister in law gets the joke and nature of the name so we have a little support. That’s ok I am sure they will understand when they meet him, and if they don’t they probably won’t care anyway because he is pretty adorable – of course there are no guarantees he will stay that way.
I thought it would be fun to name this post “Eye Brows” because that is the literal translation of the pup’s name. Brovi is Russian for eye brows. I came up with this name because of his coloring. As I mentioned last week he has tan spots on his face. Well they are perfect tan spots resembling Groucho Marx’s eye brows. They are really bushy and even kind of stick out a bit from his head, very similar in pattern to a Doberman pincher but a Doberman with a ton of hair, like a shaggy dog. So I thought it would be a good name for the little guy and it does sound like a dog’s name.
One of the funny consequences of this name is my in-laws reaction. They have no idea why anyone would ever name their dog such a thing. It would be like meeting some Russians that call their dog literally in English “Eye Brows” or “Nose” or “Hair”. It doesn’t make any sense. But of course sense I don’t speak Russia (at least not enough to count) and RG loves the name we’re sticking to it. But every once in a while RG’s mom will ask again why would you name a dog such a name. She is completely dumbfounded. I think the sister in law gets the joke and nature of the name so we have a little support. That’s ok I am sure they will understand when they meet him, and if they don’t they probably won’t care anyway because he is pretty adorable – of course there are no guarantees he will stay that way.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Growing Family
Ok so the biggest news in our household is that our family has grown by one member. Though he is not very big less than six pounds at the moment to be honest. So now we have had to go by special food for the little guy, toys, place to sleep, the whole works. It is not cheap that is for sure, but so far it’s been totally worth it. So to all those who don’t know we got a dog! His name is Brovi and he is a miniature Labradoodle. He is mostly dark brown almost black with light brown patches over his eyes, under his nose, on his bottom, and on his lower legs (his legs look like he has socks on really). He is quite the handsome little fella. So far I don’t think he knows what to make of us or his new house. He is by far the calmest dog I have ever seen. Nothing seems to faze him. He just keeps doing his own thing regardless of what is going on around him.
Now I have to admit up front I didn’t want to get a Labradoodle. I thought it was a silly kind of dog, a designer dog. I wanted a bull dog, a mutt, or maybe a sheltie. In fact my plan was to just go to the pound or some rescue society and pic up a dog there. But as with most things in my life the wife had another idea. It is funny how that seems to happen on most decisions. Honestly RG didn’t want to get a dog in the first place as she knew she would be doing most the work. But then she started looking around and fell in love with a Labradoodle in Kentucky. Unfortunately he was just too expensive and we did not get him. But by this time she was sold and when she saw Brovi and his siblings she was sold. So we got a labradoodle.
I think we decided to get Brovi in early August. However we could not pick up until after Labor Day as the kennel was very strict about how long the animals need to stay with them. So for the next 3 or for weeks I think RG checked the website at least 8000 times a day. I would not be surprised if she programmed her browser to bring it up and just display all day actually. As we got closer to the day we got more and more excited. So finally the day came. So on the Friday after Labor Day we drove down to meet the kennel owners at MSP airport (they were shipping other dogs to their new owners) and pick up our little pup. Like I said before he didn’t know what to do. RG was driving so I held him and petted him, finally letting him sleep on the car floor. When we got him home he just kind of explored the first floor. We did get him to play a little but he wasn’t that interested most of the time.
Now the first day or so I think RG was a little worried. She had spent 3 or 4 weeks reading everything she could about dog ownership and had a lot of ideas in her head. One of the big things was she was worried about him eating. Apparently the literature said if they don’t eat in the first 24 hours they could go into some kind of shock. Well he didn’t like the dry dog food. So we got cat food which is more fragrant. He didn’t want to eat that. So there were some worries in the house. Until RG put a little cat food on her finger and put that in his mouth. Then he seemed more than happy to eat the food and all was good! Now of course the hard part comes. House breaking… Oh no.
Now I have to admit up front I didn’t want to get a Labradoodle. I thought it was a silly kind of dog, a designer dog. I wanted a bull dog, a mutt, or maybe a sheltie. In fact my plan was to just go to the pound or some rescue society and pic up a dog there. But as with most things in my life the wife had another idea. It is funny how that seems to happen on most decisions. Honestly RG didn’t want to get a dog in the first place as she knew she would be doing most the work. But then she started looking around and fell in love with a Labradoodle in Kentucky. Unfortunately he was just too expensive and we did not get him. But by this time she was sold and when she saw Brovi and his siblings she was sold. So we got a labradoodle.
I think we decided to get Brovi in early August. However we could not pick up until after Labor Day as the kennel was very strict about how long the animals need to stay with them. So for the next 3 or for weeks I think RG checked the website at least 8000 times a day. I would not be surprised if she programmed her browser to bring it up and just display all day actually. As we got closer to the day we got more and more excited. So finally the day came. So on the Friday after Labor Day we drove down to meet the kennel owners at MSP airport (they were shipping other dogs to their new owners) and pick up our little pup. Like I said before he didn’t know what to do. RG was driving so I held him and petted him, finally letting him sleep on the car floor. When we got him home he just kind of explored the first floor. We did get him to play a little but he wasn’t that interested most of the time.
Now the first day or so I think RG was a little worried. She had spent 3 or 4 weeks reading everything she could about dog ownership and had a lot of ideas in her head. One of the big things was she was worried about him eating. Apparently the literature said if they don’t eat in the first 24 hours they could go into some kind of shock. Well he didn’t like the dry dog food. So we got cat food which is more fragrant. He didn’t want to eat that. So there were some worries in the house. Until RG put a little cat food on her finger and put that in his mouth. Then he seemed more than happy to eat the food and all was good! Now of course the hard part comes. House breaking… Oh no.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Guy’s Weekend
So every year in the fall, at least for the last 3 years, a group of friends and I try to get away for a guys weekend. I pretty much consists of the all the activities you would expect. Some adult beverages, some golf, some boating, some bars, and a bunch of crazy probably some-what inappropriate behavior. This year was no different. I some new attendees were present and some old faces were absent but it was still a good time. This year we tried renting a pontoon boat for the first time and I have to say it was a success. While I think some people thought I didn’t enjoy myself I really did. I was just sick. What can you do eh? Anyway this year was also a little different because we rented a standalone cabin on a lake rather than a cabin that was part of a resort on a golf course.
Pros: No one to bother, lake, boating access, cheaper, and did I say lake. Cons: Smaller, older, smellier, and did I mention smaller. That last part smaller was probably the one big issue of the trip. Too many guys to few places to sleep and spread out. So I think for next year we will have to find another new location. But now we know we want lake and boat access. So that is a bonus. Also I know I need to make sure to keep myself healthy. That said I’m not going to get into many details about the trip as they say “what happens in Vegas…” Vegas.. Now that is an idea. Not sure I could get the ok from RG to head to Vegas for 4 days without her though. At any rate what happens on guys weekend – probably comes out slowly for the rest of the year in stories at parties. But I’m not going to write it down here. All I can say is I am looking forward to next year.
Pros: No one to bother, lake, boating access, cheaper, and did I say lake. Cons: Smaller, older, smellier, and did I mention smaller. That last part smaller was probably the one big issue of the trip. Too many guys to few places to sleep and spread out. So I think for next year we will have to find another new location. But now we know we want lake and boat access. So that is a bonus. Also I know I need to make sure to keep myself healthy. That said I’m not going to get into many details about the trip as they say “what happens in Vegas…” Vegas.. Now that is an idea. Not sure I could get the ok from RG to head to Vegas for 4 days without her though. At any rate what happens on guys weekend – probably comes out slowly for the rest of the year in stories at parties. But I’m not going to write it down here. All I can say is I am looking forward to next year.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
New Car!
Well ok new to us – a nice one at that. In fact we just purchased for RG the nicest car I think I have ever owned. It is a 2007 Honda Accord V6. While I know it isn’t RG’s dream car it is certainly an upgraded for her cruising around in the dent-mobile. The car is practically new with only 24k miles on it. It is a Graphite Silver and has all the options I think you could really need in a car. Power everything, in dash CD changer, cruise, tilt, traction control, and all that. I guess it doesn’t have a sunroof, satellite, leather, or heated seats, but that is all just extra stuff to break really.
I’ve got to say not only is this the nicest car I have ever owned it is one of the nicest to drive. The v6 just moves. In fact when we were test driving cars I got one of these on the freeway and when I went to pass someone I was in the high 90s without trying (so I will have to watch my lead foot). It has a pretty sporty suspension so you do feel the road but it doesn’t rattle you. The steering is perfectly balanced; I can certainly see why people are such fans of Honda. I will have no issue inheriting this car from the wife next time we get something new and retire my pickup.
Speaking of the truck I told RG when we drove it home from the dealer that after 2 weeks she would have no interest in driving the truck again. She told that she “loved” the truck and would still drive it. I just said “yes dear” and nodded. Well I was wrong, but she wasn’t right. It only took one week and she had no more interest in the truck. Though she claims that she will want to drive it when it snows I doubt it. I drove a car with traction control in the snow and it handled just fine. Unless there is 8-10 inches on the ground or more – when realistically you shouldn’t be driving – I can’t imagine a reason to drive the truck for her.
We kind of decided to buy the car quickly. Originally we were going to save for 8-10 months and buy a Murano. But a lot of things colluded to push RG to want a car of her own. Some having to do with not liking going to work in skirts and having to climb in and out of a truck to wanting to drive around her host grandma or some of the kids she used to nanny. The pick is simply not suited for these things and considering I bought 7 years ago when I was single and wanted something I could haul things around with you can’t really fault it for not being everything to everyone. So I looked online and noticed quite a few lease returns for sale.
With the credit crunch and then cash for clunkers a lot of dealers where coming into fall with a lot of extra inventories and decided to slash prices. So we thought why not now. We can’t get a Murano but we can certainly get a much better car for a lot less now. The v6 accords were all three to four thousand dollars under blue book. So we went looking. After driving a couple cars in the cities RG talked me into driving up to St. Cloud. Where there were a couple Accords we found online with very low miles.
I’ve got to say not only is this the nicest car I have ever owned it is one of the nicest to drive. The v6 just moves. In fact when we were test driving cars I got one of these on the freeway and when I went to pass someone I was in the high 90s without trying (so I will have to watch my lead foot). It has a pretty sporty suspension so you do feel the road but it doesn’t rattle you. The steering is perfectly balanced; I can certainly see why people are such fans of Honda. I will have no issue inheriting this car from the wife next time we get something new and retire my pickup.
Speaking of the truck I told RG when we drove it home from the dealer that after 2 weeks she would have no interest in driving the truck again. She told that she “loved” the truck and would still drive it. I just said “yes dear” and nodded. Well I was wrong, but she wasn’t right. It only took one week and she had no more interest in the truck. Though she claims that she will want to drive it when it snows I doubt it. I drove a car with traction control in the snow and it handled just fine. Unless there is 8-10 inches on the ground or more – when realistically you shouldn’t be driving – I can’t imagine a reason to drive the truck for her.
We kind of decided to buy the car quickly. Originally we were going to save for 8-10 months and buy a Murano. But a lot of things colluded to push RG to want a car of her own. Some having to do with not liking going to work in skirts and having to climb in and out of a truck to wanting to drive around her host grandma or some of the kids she used to nanny. The pick is simply not suited for these things and considering I bought 7 years ago when I was single and wanted something I could haul things around with you can’t really fault it for not being everything to everyone. So I looked online and noticed quite a few lease returns for sale.
With the credit crunch and then cash for clunkers a lot of dealers where coming into fall with a lot of extra inventories and decided to slash prices. So we thought why not now. We can’t get a Murano but we can certainly get a much better car for a lot less now. The v6 accords were all three to four thousand dollars under blue book. So we went looking. After driving a couple cars in the cities RG talked me into driving up to St. Cloud. Where there were a couple Accords we found online with very low miles.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
DINKs again
That’s right folks Duel Income No Kids. RG and I are on the up and up again. After sending out what I can only imagine as thousands of resumes and applying on line to hundreds of companies RG started working again! As it seems things always happen she interviewed several times with no bites and then bam – she has two companies going after her - and why not she is super talented. She has some funny stories to go along with here hiring but I won’t tell those as I think she could share them in more detail as it all happened to her. That said we are certainly looking forward to the second pay check again. So now we get to figure out a new budget. Hopefully not as tight as the one we have been living with for the last six months.
So now it is pretty obvious how we could afford to buy a new TV. In fact the first 3 or so of RG’s pay checks went to paying off the credit cards and then to purchasing several things we had been wanting for a while; TV, new pots and pans, some clothes, etc. So now we have to buckle down though and start paying other things down as we still have a few loans out there. Now however we have a little more breathing room and it doesn’t seem like we are always waiting for the next check to come. In fact it is really nice because RG and I are both paid bi-weekly and on alternating weeks. So we get a paycheck every Friday. SWEET.
Of course this also means RG is going to have to start getting up early in the morning like the rest of us and she won’t be able to volunteer as much, but these are the sacrifices made with having a job. Also it means on Fridays when I work from home she will be jealous of me and want to come home early. Plus she will probably be more tired but it will still be better than what she had to put up with in Moscow! 13 hours a day from when she left her apartment to when she could get home. Hour and ½ subway rides each way plus 10 hour days. Now she has only a 12 minute drive. She can come home for lunch if she wanted.
So while we are excited about being DINKs again we do need to make sure we don’t go crazy and keep spending. In fact this should finally give us a chance to get ahead and put a little a way for a rainy day and help out some more with charity. Of course it does let us get a few nice things too!
So now it is pretty obvious how we could afford to buy a new TV. In fact the first 3 or so of RG’s pay checks went to paying off the credit cards and then to purchasing several things we had been wanting for a while; TV, new pots and pans, some clothes, etc. So now we have to buckle down though and start paying other things down as we still have a few loans out there. Now however we have a little more breathing room and it doesn’t seem like we are always waiting for the next check to come. In fact it is really nice because RG and I are both paid bi-weekly and on alternating weeks. So we get a paycheck every Friday. SWEET.
Of course this also means RG is going to have to start getting up early in the morning like the rest of us and she won’t be able to volunteer as much, but these are the sacrifices made with having a job. Also it means on Fridays when I work from home she will be jealous of me and want to come home early. Plus she will probably be more tired but it will still be better than what she had to put up with in Moscow! 13 hours a day from when she left her apartment to when she could get home. Hour and ½ subway rides each way plus 10 hour days. Now she has only a 12 minute drive. She can come home for lunch if she wanted.
So while we are excited about being DINKs again we do need to make sure we don’t go crazy and keep spending. In fact this should finally give us a chance to get ahead and put a little a way for a rainy day and help out some more with charity. Of course it does let us get a few nice things too!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The House to Ourselves, Almost
Well even though RG and I have been married for over two years we have never really lived in a home of our own, on our own for much of that time. When we got married her folks were staying with us. Then we had a couple of months and RG had to head over to Russia to fulfill her scholarship requirement. When she finally was able to move home in February we had a renter who I let move in while I was working in the UK so someone would be around to watch the house. We didn’t see any reason to kick him out right away figuring he wouldn’t want to stay forever anyway. So at the beginning of August he moved out and we almost had the house to ourselves again. But my sister needed a place to stay until the house she was going to live in for college was ready so she is staying with us.
But since she didn’t move all her stuff in and is just using the guest bedroom. Also a lot of the time we have one or both of my parents staying as they handle some business on the house also. Not that we mind, but having a house to ourselves is going to be new thing for us really. It will be nice to have a quite house. It will also be nice to have the driveway open for our truck. Not to mention all the stuff that will be gone from the garage and basement. So once September gets here we will be moving into a new phase of our lives. I actually think it might be a little strange as I have never lived by myself. I went from living in my folks house to an apartment with friends to my house with roommates. The short time I spent in Iowa I had roommates, and then I got married. So this will be the closest I guess I will ever get to it.
I can’t wait it will be nice to have those rooms back. Maybe I can even use one as an office, at least for now. I think RG is also excited. Not that she minds the company but I think she likes to have some time to herself to wind down and an empty house helps with that even when the people in the house are family and you like having them around. At any rate it will be nice to have the change.
But since she didn’t move all her stuff in and is just using the guest bedroom. Also a lot of the time we have one or both of my parents staying as they handle some business on the house also. Not that we mind, but having a house to ourselves is going to be new thing for us really. It will be nice to have a quite house. It will also be nice to have the driveway open for our truck. Not to mention all the stuff that will be gone from the garage and basement. So once September gets here we will be moving into a new phase of our lives. I actually think it might be a little strange as I have never lived by myself. I went from living in my folks house to an apartment with friends to my house with roommates. The short time I spent in Iowa I had roommates, and then I got married. So this will be the closest I guess I will ever get to it.
I can’t wait it will be nice to have those rooms back. Maybe I can even use one as an office, at least for now. I think RG is also excited. Not that she minds the company but I think she likes to have some time to herself to wind down and an empty house helps with that even when the people in the house are family and you like having them around. At any rate it will be nice to have the change.
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