I know, Sorry

I had the best intentions of keeping up with this blog and trying to post several times a week, if not more often. I failed.

We have been so busy. House, work, house, work.....

We're just wrapping up one of the biggest projects we've ever tackled on our home. We sanded and refinished our hardwood floors. What a mess. But the outcome is beautiful. And since we took all our furniture out to do the floors, we figured we should paint while the rooms were empty. We don't know when or how to stop. Or, Scott might say, I don't know when to stop.

As for the painting - our room looks awesome. We choose a nice chocolately malt color. Love it. However, we weren't so happy with the finished product in the spare bedroom. What was supposed to be "Smoke Screen," turned out to be baby blue. I feel like I should paint clouds on the wall. But we are so sick of painting and living in the basement that it's going to have to stay that way for a while.

Meanwhile, Scott was promoted and I am looking at some added responsibilites that could lead to a promotion. We'll keep you posted.

Welcome Abigail!

Gushing grandma Sheena called today to say the Napa Newbies (Liz, Luke and Ethan) welcome the newest addition to their family this morning.

Abigail Sarah Pestow was born Oct. 4, 2004. She was 6 lbs. 4 oz. at birth.

I can't wait to see pictures, which I post when I get some.

Congratulations!

the one where the season could be over

As many of, at least those of us in the Midwest, are relishing in the last few days of summer, it seems like the season is coming to a fast closure. Too fast. There's still lawn work to do, boat rides to take and golf courses to challenge.
But, just as the fading of summer makes some weary and ready for respite, it gets others thinking about their favorite fall past time.
Football.
I'm a huge football fan, just ask my co-workers who I am competing against for the fourth season of fantasy football. I love pro football, college football (nothing beats a game at the Big House of U of M or Spartan Stadium) and even high school football.
Especially since I have two brothers (Seth and Matt) who play high school ball in Illinois. I'm a proud sibling of two Reapers football players. Seth, the older of the two, is a captain of the Varsity sqaud again. The team has played three games thus far, has 2-1 record, with one of those wins being against cross-town rivals.
So on Friday, those boys were playing the game of their lives when Seth dug deep, as linemen do, stepped back off the line and felt his knee - is rubber-banding a verb? It is to him.
He thinks he blew his knee out and is out for the rest of the season - his senior year season. Today, he's going to see an orthopedic doctor and we should know more later.
Football is just beginning, and like summer, could be ending much too soon.

Update

Well, we finally got my ring back from the a-holes in NYC. We'll be taking it to a locally owned jewelry store to replace and repair the baguette diamond that fell out. Then, I probably should have my wedding band resized so I can actually wear that on the ring finger.

Wendi and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert a couple weekends ago, and again it was a blast. We found ourselves a life-sized cardboard cut out of singer. We made quite a scene with our cardboard Kenny.

For Labor Day weekend, we made it up to Silver Lake again to visit Donnie and Karri, and see our friends the (C)Rusts. It was a blast hanging out on the dunes all day, even if I was stung by a bee earlier in the day. Allergic, yes? But, not a bad reaction.

Scott has been working a lot, and is not too fond of the job. A couple months ago, things were going well, but since the new contractor, the place is a mess. No one knows what's going on.

My job? Well, work is work. I must admit anytime that there is an event that takes over national and local media, such as Hurricane Katrina, I feel this renewed interest in being a journalist.

God speed to the victims of Hurricane Katrina

Give A Little Bit
Supertramp

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
There's so much that we need to share
Send a smile and show you care

I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me

See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you'll be surprised

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you

Now's the time that we need to share
So find yourself, we're on our way back home

Going home...
Don't you need to feel at home?
Oh yeah, we gotta sing

Damn denim

this week's column -

It's that bittersweet time of year again.

It's when the mornings are cool but the days still linger of summer. It's when you can almost smell the faint aroma of apples and pumpkins in the air. It's when you swap out the khaki shorts for a pair of denim instead.

There's something comforting about slipping back into your favorite pair of jeans.

That is, unless you dread trying to squeeze back into those jeans that have been hanging in the closet all summer. For some women, this is a dreaded moment.

Will they fit? Can I get them past my thighs? How does my butt look in these?

What was your favorite pair of jeans last year could easily become a donation to Goodwill this year.

All the recent fall advertisements are running rampant with specials on jeans in all the latest trends.

Rhinestones on the pockets. Faded washes. Tethered hems as to look like you've been dragging them on cement.

So, do you spend the extra money for the brand that makes your back side look best, or stick with the traditional, never-out-of-style pair?

I'm pretty sure men and women will answer this differently.

A friend asked me to go to a denim customizing event near Detroit this weekend and I agreed. Then I read the fine print. A group of celebrity stylists and fashion designers will help you make your jeans unique with any $75 denim purchase.

So, I have to pay that much for a new pair of jeans only to proceed to tearing them up, distressing them and otherwise making them look old?

The things we'll do for the perfect pair of jeans. These better last more than one season.

Then & Now

Because we have a bunch'o lame asses in our class, Lakeview High class of '95 was not able to hold a 10-year reunion. Instead, we just had a small, informal gathering at Ball Joint Sports Bar on Friday. They're usually called mixers, but really the most mixing going on was at the bar.

Of those who showed up, mostly everyone hung out with their same friends and grouped up with the same people they hung around during school.

But, it was fun. I wish more classmates would have shown up. I'm still surprised that we had such a low turnout, and I know there's lot of people still in the area.

Oh, well. Kim and I had a good time hanging out and chatting it up with some old friends.

Hopefully, we can have a 20-year reunion. Kim told me she nominates moi for organizing a 15-year get together with dinner and everything. It would be nice, but I don't even think people will want to do it then.

CONSUMER ALERT

Perhaps it's the journalistic instinct in me, or the fact that I'd hate to see another couple go through the shit we've encountered with this place.
I mentioned in a previous entry that the jeweler that we got my engagement ring said they'd fix my ring for free.

Off the ring went, encased in a jewelry box, surrounded by a well insulated envelope and shipped in a box. We got confirmation that it arrived in New York, but we wanted to hear from the jeweler that they got it.

Here's what we got:

"Hi.
Yes we got it.
You said: "Today, a small baguette diamond fell out of its setting and cannot be found" well - Even it it fell out just like that - after all this time it is the Insurance responsibility not ours but we wanted to show you good faith and therefore agreed to repair it for free. However - The ring you sent us is so badly bent that it looks like a truck went over it. This was totally untruthful and disrespectful. Where is your shame people?? where is your fear of god and honesty?
You need to send us a check for $200.00: $50.00 for shipping and insurance and $150.00 for the stone or we send it back (but you still need to send the $50) while filing a fraud complaint against you.
Shame on you! How low can you go? When you buy a car and you hit a wall becase you are drunk - do you send the car back to Ford and blame them?"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? DON'T EVER PURCHASE FROM ROMANCING THE STONE, OR RTS, INC., IN NEW YORK.

If fire could shoot my nostrils and ears right now, I swear. The ring was never bent. It was on my friggin finger until the day I noticed the stone missing. If this place was here and not in NY, I would be in their faces all day.

Don't mess with a woman and her diamonds.

What a wicked game to play

Our neighbor invited me to golf with her a couple week's ago up at Riverside Country Club for ladies' night. I rushed home from work to change into a sleeveless collared shirt and shorts. It was so damn hot and muggy that day that we were uncertain if we'd even get past the first hole.
So, off we go in our putzy little electric cart. We head down a steep hill to the first tee box and I'm ready to play.
Mind you, I've only golfed twice this summer prior to this night. Once with Scott at Cedar Creek, where I shot a 61 on the front 9, and once with my dad at Cedar Farms, coming in with 49 on the first 9. Scott was scoring very generously considering I might have lost two balls in the water on the third hole. I call No. 3 at Cedar Creek my nemesis. And, I'll take the good score at Cedar Farms, but it's also an extrememly easy course - wide open, no water. That's my style.
But, as Jayna and I get ready for what turned into the longest, hardest and most aggravating 9 holes of my life, I'm staring down a fairway that I've never played. I have no idea where I'm going and how to get there as I tee up my first ball. I've never played this course and it's about to play me.
As if a course has a life of its own, that damn big, green monster swallowed us alive that night. If I hit left, Jayna hit right. If I got in the rough, which happened a lot especially on No. 7, I stayed in the rough. There was no hope for us.
We teed off shortly after 6 p.m. and ventured into the clubhouse at almost 9. It really shouldn't take 3 hours to play 9, but we managed it.
Inside, we sat down for dinner and a few drinks and our husbands joined only to humor us as we told them how terribly we played. I quickly became tired, and it's no wonder considering I probably swang the club about 100 times that day.
I left the course that night knowing a few things. I hate this game, I love this game, I hate this game. I can play better, I have played better. I will play better.

Now announcing

Our wedding announcement was in the BCE paper last week.

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words

Then we just posted a novel. Our wedding pictures are now available for viewing on Snapfish. That way you can view and order prints at your leisure, because I'm pretty tired of trying to figure out who wants what, and in what size and how I'm going develop all these.
There's like 500 pictures, so have fun.
Also, the formal shots taken after the ceremony are not here. There's about 15 poses and we'll need to order those thru the photog.

So, if you want to see the pics at Snapfish, then e-mail me and I can invite you to the albums.

Jobby-Job

Scott was offered a position by the new contractor and he will continue to work at the Federal Center. They'll pay him a bit less, but at least he's still employed.

Meanwhile, we need to continue working on work for my dad. He's applied and sent lots of resumes out, but no bites yet.

Keep your fingers crossed!

His future's so bright....

It's pretty fair to say that like father, like son, Tony DeVito likes his cars.
Hopefully, he'll someday find a woman as wonderful and understanding as his own mother about the joys of multiple car ownership.

Over the River & Through the Woods

My mom and I visited my grandmother this past weekend in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. Never heard of it, you say? Don't worry, neither had I until my grandma remarried her ex-husband (they were divorced almost 25 years) and moved up there.

I left Friday morning to swing through Chicago-land and pick up my mom. She's not thrilled about highway driving so I continued to be the capitain. It should have taken about 4 hours to get to mom's (I can usually get there faster, but Chicago is construction hell right now), and then another 4 hours to g-ma's. It took us 6 hours, in part because we were a bit lost due to my grandma's fine directions. And, being in Madison, Wisc. at 5 o'clock Friday rush hour SUCKS!

But, Prairie Du Chien is a beautiful place. It sits on the Mississippi River, nestled between high bluffs and shaded valleys. A cool place where only about 5,000 live, but the population about doubles in the summer with campers, boaters and anglers hitting the river.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sick of driving now that I logged 1,000 miles in one weekend. Coming home was a little better and everyone, especially my grandma who was so "tickled" that we came to see her finally.

Napa Newbies

The Pestows are online! Welcome to the world of online.

Liz Pestow liked the blog we started so much that she created one for her and her family. Good idea since they don't say put in one place very long.

Check out the Napa Newbies by clicking the title link.

It keeps getting better

For some reason it seems like we've had an incredible spell of bad luck since getting married. Maybe it's like some divine way of saying 'hey, you guys found each other and you never need more than the love you share.'

Maybe it's a test to our perserverance, faith and committment.

Whatever is going on, I can't wait for the streak to end.

Since the wedding, I've lost a diamond in my ring, my dad lost his job, my brother Matt was in car accident and now there's a possibility that Scott could be jobless by next Friday.

Sorry if I seem grumpy lately.

Reunited and it feels so good

BC Central High School held its 10-year reunion a few weeks ago. At least they had enough of a turn out to actually have their reunion.

I'm pretty disappointed that our class isn't interested in having a 10-year reunion. Maybe by 2015 we'll all be able to put whatever bent feelings we have about high school aside and finally reunite.

So, my cousin Shannon showed me how she started a blog for the class reunion. Check it out if you'd like.

bcchs1995.blogspot.com

Raindrops keep falling on my head

It never rains in southern California, but the Pestows have moved. Now, Liz, Luke and Ethan are settling in at their new abode in Napa.

I don't know how much they get there, but it's been raining buckets here lately. Which, makes this pic of Lil E all the more fitting.

Former classmate found dead

Just earlier today a mass e-mail went out from our class president that not only reminded us that our (Lakeview High class of '95) 10-year reunion is coming, but that if we don't get our arses in gear, we aren't even going to have a reunion.

I had a blast at my hubby's and so many people attended. I'd love to see that response for our reunion.

It seems just 8 people have RSVPed and that's so not enough to pay for the club rental, dinner, etc. So, I beat the drums. People, let's do this. Let's get together, catch up, GROW UP, and dwell on the wonder years.

Because, it's things like this that remind you of better days when there was so little to worry about. Click the title link to read the story.

Niecko is a big brother

Congratulations to Jay and Orianna Jacoby in BC. They welcomed their second child, a big baby girl, to the world on Thursday, July 14, 2005. They now have a son, Niecko, and newborn daughter, Evian.

Here's her stats:
Evian Helene Jacoby, 9 lbs 10 oz, 21" long

You can see her online at Oaklawn's baby gallery. The password is nieckosbabysis

New kid on the blog

I can't take credit for the clever title. It's Nick's wittiness.

I linked this entry to today's column in WOW. Take a look at it by clicking on the clever title. I mention my new hobby of keeping a blog and how I have a few favorites I read daily.

Don't look at my picture, though. It's old and horrible. My hair is longer, blonder now and my eyes don't normally look glazed over and jaunting like that. Someday I'll get the photogs at work to shoot a new mug.
Someday

Learning as we go....

This blog is a work in process and hopefully you guys will start catching on.

We're getting a little more creative with adding photos and linking our blog to other blogs we know, read and sometimes find interesting.

It makes me feel a little bit of a computer geek working with the HTML, but it's kind of fun.

Tally

We had a discussion at work today about whether or not men and women keep tallies when it comes to spending and personal wants.

For example, if she buys a new coat at $150, shouldn't he be able to spend the same? Or what if he wants to buy something that costs $500, should she be able to make a purchase of equal value for something she wants?

It's an interesting discussion as we are working out our joing finances. We know we want new bedroom furniture and we will do a few more projects on the house (sand the hardwood floors, paint and possibly tile the kitchen).

But, Scott wants things like new golf irons, joining Riverside CC and a big screen TV. So, if Dana were keeping tally, what would she want?

That's a lot of dough to throw toward shoes.

Good news, bad news

The company from which we bought the engagement ring is going to replace the diamond and fix it for free!

Also, we have our wedding pictures back. They turned out great. There's a couple poses I wish we had got, but there's so much going on that I just forgot. But, I love the photos. we'd love to have a get together and share photos and will gladly pay for any photos you might have so we can add those to our scrapbook.

Thanks to Sara Brown for sending me her shots. Great stuff! And, also thanks to Wendi, who gave me some of her pics.

On the bad news side, my dad lost his job last week. He wasn't happy working for the gestapo-like boss he had anyway, so it's a bittersweet parting. Of course, it's hard for me to not feel badly since I know he just wrote a huge check for the wedding.

So, say a prayer for him that he gets through this storm and finds sunnier days, and a new job, soon.

thanks

So Hot in Herrrre

Those who were there know that it was hotter than h-e-ll-o the day of wedding. But, you may not have heard that our bus lost it's air conditioner just a while after we boarded.

So hot that our brothers Seth and Jeff took a dip in the BC river when we stopped at the Kellogg House for pics. Molly joined them for a cooling off, too. We have pics, but not sure we should share those online.

Molly did send this pics today.

Are diamonds really forever?

So we're enjoying married life and are busier than ever this summer.

But, there's a little bit of post-wedding stuff bothering me. Scott did his fair share when it came to wedding planning, but he doesn't have to do anything afterward.

Meawhile, I'm busy trying to change my name, get new credit cards, make changes to our insurance and benefits, etc.

Then, to make matters worse, I lost a baguette diamond from my engagement ring this morning. Nice!

What a way to start the week.

Only Scott can manage to get one last photo op with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders before he ties the knot.

If you can't have a good time at your own wedding, than forget it.

In other baby news.....

Relax, we're not expecting already.
But, it just struck me how many of our friends are expecting children. We can't blame the water, though, since everyone lives all over the place.

Good luck to the rents-to-be:
Jay & Orianna Jacoby, probably delivering any minute in Battle Creek
Daren & Julie Burkett, expecting a girl in Brighton
Brian & Sara Grasseschi, expecting a girl in St. Louis
Steve & Christine Gardner, a girl in Battle Creek
Luke & Liz Pestow, expecting, but keeping it a surprise in Napa,California

Any others we don't know about? Keep us posted.

Another Weiss in the world

Congratulations to our friends Craig and Juliann Weiss who welcomed their second child into the world Thursday, July 7, 2005. The parents are formerly of Battle Creek and now live in Carpentersville, Illinois (just outside Chicago).

Baby girl Gwyneth Vi Weiss and Juli are doing well while dad Craig and big sister Olivia are getting ready for them to come home!

Here's what Craig said in his e-mail:
"For anyone debating on whether or not to have kids, the past 24 hrs. of my life reminded me again why "nothing else matters" as much as your family and how great a feel it is to bring life into this world," Craig Weiss.

Hola Amigos

We're back from our honeymoon in wonderful Playa del Carmen, Mexico. For those not familiar, it's about one hour south of Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula. We were directly west of the island of Cozumel, which we could see from the beach.



Aside from the obvious, we did absolutely nothing but relax the entire time. OK, so we got a little wasted once!


This was our life:
8 a.m. - wake up (yes, we can get up before noon)
9 a.m. - breakfast, make RSVP for dinner
10 a.m.- hit the beach, drink, swim, sunbathe, swim, drink
1 p.m. - lunch then hit the pool bar
2-4 p.m. - Siesta (naptime for non Espanol)
6 p.m. - walk around, go to Mexican shops, walk beach
8-10 p.m. - dinner
10- midnight - drinks, watch show, entertainemtn
midnight - Buenos noches

We did go parasailing on our last day there, which was awesome. We were up there at the same time and our boat captain slowed down enough to dip our feet in the water before taking off again! The view of the Caribbean was amazing.

Check out the link (Click HOLA AMIGO) to see the resort, RIU Palace - an all-inclusive that we would highly recommend.

We're official

No more living in sin. OK, so maybe a little sin.

We had the most beautiful wedding on June 25, 2005, and are so excited that all our friends and family could celebrate the first day of our marriage with us.

Sorry it was so hot. I guess we can just be thankful the church didn't self-combust with all of us walking in it. But, at least we kept the ceremony short & sweet.

Thanks, everyone, for making our day even more special and memorable for us. We hope you enjoyed it!