April 30, 2013

Tuesday catch-up

As soon as I got out of my sister's car after coming home from the race in Toledo, I discovered that I had forgotten my pillow at the hotel. I may be super cheap when it comes to my clothes, groceries, and household items, but I don't mess around with my bedding. I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress, 1000-thread count sheets, and nice, fluffy, goose down pillows. Bedding is a splurge for me. It certainly would have been cheaper to make the hour-long drive to go back and get my pillow, but I was sick of being in the car all day (from the relay and the drive home), so I just went to buy a new one.

After buying the brand new goose down pillow, I realized that I no longer had my pillowcase either--and that was $30 to replace! I opted not to get the pillowcase yet, so now we just have mismatched cases. What was originally a cheap $26/person stay at a hotel turned pretty expensive! But it is kind of nice to have a brand new pillow ;)


Yesterday afternoon, the mailman dropped off a big box for me--the bridesmaid dress that I had bought (used) online. I was a little nervous, because what if it didn't fit like the one in the store had? Or what if it had stains that the seller didn't mention?

I opened up the box, and was relieved to see that it looked brand new! It wasn't wrinkled, there weren't any stains, it was the correct style number and color... perfect. The seller even threw in a matching jacket for free, which was really cool of her! I had Jerry zip me into the dress (I can't do it myself for some reason) and was thrilled to see that it fit perfectly. Best of all? The previous owner had it hemmed to her height (5'4", same as me) so the hem was perfect, too!




 I'm not wearing shoes in the pic, but I'll be wearing flats, so it'll fall just above floor-length. I still don't love the fact that I have to wear a strapless dress (I can already see myself tugging it up constantly), but at least I didn't have to spend $170 on it! If I had gotten it at David's Bridal, it would have been $170 (or $150 if I got it on sale) PLUS the cost to hem it ($60)... and I wouldn't have gotten the cute little jacket. But for this one, I paid $66 total, which included shipping. What a great deal! Hopefully I'll be able to sell it after the wedding, too.


Last night at around 7:45, Jerry and I were just getting the kids ready for bed, when I saw a car go FLYING down our street. I was pissed, because the speed limit is 15 mph and there are always kids playing outside in the streets (we don't have sidewalks). I yelled, "REALLY?!" and Jerry said, "That was a police car..."

So we looked out the window and saw that the police car stopped right in front of our next door neighbor's house, jumped out the car, and plowed over some kid who looked about 18 years old. Then two more police cars showed up. He was lying in the grass, and they were patting him down, then they picked him up and arrested him.

A lot of the neighbors were outside, wondering what the heck was happening. The cars left shortly after, but then we saw a bunch of police searching for something in the woods across from our house. Jerry asked them if they were looking for something, and they said no, that everything was fine. He said, "Well, my kids play out here, is it still safe for them to play?" And they assured him it was taken care of.

After asking around with the neighbors, we discovered that there were two people in a car, fleeing from the police (according to the neighbor, they were drunk driving and they fled the scene of an accident). The police arrested the one in front of our neighbor's house, but they were still searching for the other person in the woods. This kind of stuff never happens around here--I don't think I've ever even seen someone get arrested before!

Naturally, my kids were super excited and wanted to go outside to watch all the commotion. The police were still looking an hour later. Jerry heard that they found him, though. I'm a little irritated that the police told us everything was "fine" and "taken care of", when they were still looking for someone.


I was tempted not to run today, because it would be my sixth day of running in a row. Normally, I only run five days a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays are rest days); but I knew I'd be eating a lot on Saturday, so I did a very easy three miler on the treadmill that morning.

Anyway, the weather was super nice today--60 degrees and sunny, and it actually looked like spring. I wanted to take advantage of it, so I did my scheduled run. But I am definitely looking forward to a rest day tomorrow! I felt really fatigued today shortly after I started running, so it's definitely time for a break. I did get to wear a tank top for the first time this year (other than when I was in Florida, of course)...
Just wearing the bright yellow and running in the sunshine made it feel very spring-like. I think I'll have a glass of wine out on the back deck tonight--one of my favorite things to do in nice weather!


With this gorgeous spring day, we decided to cook out on the grill. We had barbecued chicken and corn on the cob. Eli was eating his corn, then got VERY excited because his tooth was really loose! He's been SO excited to lose a tooth. He's the only one in his class who hadn't lost one, and he even asked the dentist to pull one out for him when he got his teeth cleaned ;)

Anyway, I told him we were going to pull that sucker out tonight, and I grabbed a paper towel to start wiggling it. Within 20 seconds, I heard a pop, and it fell right out! He was thrilled. Doesn't he look adorable?



Oh, and I almost forgot! The winner of the book, Stranger Here, by Jen Larsen, is:

Congrats to Megan Mack! Hope you enjoy!

31 comments:

  1. LOL Eli looks so thrilled.

    One time in my neighborhood I looked outside the window and there were two cop cars, an ambulance, and a firetruck all parked outside my next door neighbor's house. Turns out he just fainted or something, but I guess they sent out the whole 'team' (or lied about what happened... more likely).

    Anyways, enjoy your rest day! :)

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  2. We were on vacation in Springfield, looking at Lincolns home when we saw a man who appeared to be homeless come running down the street. He dropped his garbage bags, and 2 police on bicycles came peddling up behind him, jumped off their bikes and took the guy to the ground. My kids were also amazed.

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  3. The dress looks great on you! Don't you love it when everything just works out? Eli is precious and I bet he is anxiously awaiting the tooth fairy!

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  4. You look absolutely stunning Katie!
    What a fabulous colour!!

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  5. Could you get the hotel to send you the pillow? I expect the postage would be less than a new pillowcase and you'd have a spare pillow. The dress looks great.

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    1. I agree. I've done that before!

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  6. You look amazing in the dress.

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  7. Just an idea about the dress...if you don't want to sell it, you should consider donating it to the Traveling Red Dress project! It is a grassroots type of thing started by The Bloggess to give women the opportunity to wear a kick ass gorgeous red dress and feel comfortable and beautiful in their own skin! You can read about it here:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Traveling-Red-Dress/150889871693313
    Here:
    http://thebloggess.com/2012/01/the-traveling-red-dress-revisited/
    Here:
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferleggio/2012/01/09/traveling-red-dress-movement-proves-social-media-foundation-is-still-people-empowerment/

    Just a thought! You look awesome in it, by the way!

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  8. What a great deal on the dress! I have 2 friends that have asked me to be in their weddings, I hope I can be so lucky lol.

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  9. You look amazing in the dress, the colour really suits you :)
    I'm amazed you had to buy it yourself though. Here in the UK it's traditional for the gown to be bought by the bride or whoever is paying for the wedding.
    Maybe when you're done with it you could sell it on the same way it's previous owner did. It would be nice to think that dress is pleasing someone else the way it's pleased you. :)
    Thanks for sharing Katie

    Linda

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  10. Ooooh I meant to ask what you were going to be doing with your hair on the day? Up, down, half up , half down? You should try some different styles and blog em so we get to help you choose :)

    Linda

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  11. Gorgious! You look great in that dress! I want one (but have nowhere to go). T-hehe. Speaking of deals... I got mu wedding gown (brand new from the store) for a wopping $74 dollars! It was originally $300 and kept getting marked down. I was expecting to pay $150, got to the register and the lady said it was half off! I wanted to tell everyone as I went down the isle!!!!!

    On another note, I love reading all of the things going on that you write about. Your posts always grab my attention. So fun.

    ♥ that toothless smile too!

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  12. AnonymousMay 01, 2013

    You look so beautiful in that dress!
    I love reading your posts! The best part of my mornings before starting to work is to read your new post.

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  13. Aw, congrats to Eli for losing his first tooth. So cute. :)

    And great job on finding such a fab deal on that dress. Almost one of those "too good to be true stories!" Fantastic that it all worked out!

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  14. That dress is definitely a good find. It looks beautiful, and so kind of the seller to through in the jacket.

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  15. That dress looks AWESOME on you. Your shoulders! Your collarbones! Yowza.

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  16. Stephanie O'NeillMay 01, 2013

    I would contact the hotel and see if they can mail the pillow back to you - shouldn't be very expensive at all! That colour looks great on you for the bridesmaid dress :)

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  17. Best tip I ever got for strapless dresses...go to a beauty supply store like Sally's and get toupee tape. That dress will not be going anywhere!

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  18. LOVE that red dress--I think that is really your color with your complexion and hair--PERFECT! What a great idea to look for that dress on-line, a great savings in effort and money!

    Police tend to over-react and under-react in my estimation. I remember they sounded the ALL-CLEAR in Newtown, MS (near Boston) just before they caught the second bomber. What was that about? All Clear--then a round of gunfire is heard! Seems a little premature. I remember a few years ago hubby and I were playing trivia in a bar downtown, and I guess there was a guy across the wide street, threatening to jump from the top of a parking garage. They wouldn't let anyone leave the bar. So finally they took us out the back way, into the alley. It just seems like, at the very least, they could have escorted people out, to make sure they didn't yell things at the jumper. He never jumped, thankfully! But that seems like an over-reaction. I guess they do what they think is best. But to tell you it was safe, and they were still looking for the other guy?? That just isn't right. Glad they found him, so you won't have to worry about your safety.

    Eli is adorable with his missing tooth. My 7-year-old grandson is missing about 4 front teeth. SO CUTE!

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  19. I was going to say the same thing... call the hotel. They probably have your pillow in lost and found. In my many years of working in the hotel business, we didn't charge to return items to our guests. Then you would have your pillow back - which could at least be a back-up or a travel pillow for all your adventures.

    By the way... the sleeveless dress looks FABULOUS!!

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  20. You look fabulous in that dress! What a deal!
    And, Eli has such a happy, proud smile - very cute! It's such a big event at that age!

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  21. Great score on the dress! And it looks adorable!

    Sarah
    www.thinfluenced.com

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  22. AnonymousMay 01, 2013

    When I was a kid, shortly after moving to PA (from NY) my parents had some friends visiting. Sitting on the back deck, they mentioned how quiet it was and how nothing ever seems to happen around there. Cue the sirens and lights and police cars. They circled the block a few times. My dad (a retired police officer) said "I bet they are looking for someone and I bet he's going to come right through here" (our yard backed up to the community play ground) Sure as rain, some guy came running through the yard... and my dad jumped right off the 2nd story deck and hauled bootie after the guy. Caught up with him in the woods a few blocks away.

    Crazy. :)

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  23. We have problem neighbors right now. We found drug needles a few weeks ago and there is nothing the cops can do about it. Only because we can't prove it was them. They fight all night, have random people in and out of the house constantly and the cops are there at least 1-2 times a month. Our neighborhood used to be nice and peaceful, but not anymore. It's sad! I am glad they caught the other guy though. I bet that was a sigh of relief.

    You look fantastic in that dress!

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  24. When my kids were little, numerous times we had to have hotels mail us left behind blankies, stuffed animals, etc. Never once was I charged for it even though I offered, and expected, to pay for the mailing. I hope that you have called them. At least try.
    The dress looks great!

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  25. The dress is beautiful on you, and good for you for being a good interent shopper :) I couldn't wear a strapless dress, the poor dress would be completely flat on top, LOL. I am an aspiring trail runner and have begun running on the treadmill...sort-of, I can't breathe, I can trot or run for very short bursts but then have to step on the sides of slow down to a fast walk. Are there any tips you can give for simply breathing while running? You are a great inspiration for me, I come here each day and value your straight forward simple honesty. You say you didn't feel like running but went and did it anyway. My downfall is being inconsistent with fitness.

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  26. that dress looks awesome, that is the same dress my girls wore to my wedding (if the color is apple then it is the same color too).

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  27. Dress looks beautiful!!

    My boys get excited about losing teeth too! My oldest lost a lot of his early(at 4 yrs old) so my youngest who is almost 6 can't wait to lose his teeth... he has his first lose tooth too, cant wait for it to fall out!

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  28. Just found your blog today. Love it so far! I'm a runner who's just started doing 10k.

    The dress is great, and I'm right there with ya on doing things the inexpensive way! I even bought my wedding dress online. :)

    And to Eli: I was the last one in my class to lose a tooth too! The teacher had a chart on the wall, and when someone lost a tooth, their name would go on the chart... my heart sank with every name added.

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  29. Love the dress, you look fabulous!

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