Sunday, February 23, 2003

We leased a new car yesterday. We leased a Toyota Sienna - http://www.toyota.com/html/shop/vehicles/sienna/ . It had 3000 miles on it, even though it was a 2003, so we got it for a really good deal. It drives great. The color is white, with a grey bumper guard all the way around it. We don't have to turn my caravan in for a few more weeks, so Tim is going to get insurance on that & drive that car until we turn it in.

We got around 5 inches of snow last night. We shoveled the snow this morning & then went & picked up Mom, Dad & Shawn & went to breakfast at Frishes for their breakfast bar. We then went to Farmer Jack's to get the makings for dinner - a roast, ceasar salad, sugar snap peas, and a lemon pudding dessert. Shawn is sleeping, Mom & Dad are watching travel channel & Tim & I are cleaning the house & doing laundry.

Saturday, February 15, 2003

We got back today from our Hocking Hills/Columbus trip. We had a good time, but missed Shawn so much. We got to Hocking Hills around 5pm on Wednesday night. We checked in & then drove down the huge, steep hill to our cabin. We then parked the car at the top of the hill & loaded up a wagon with our stuff & went down the hill to our cabin. I was sure that I was going to slip & fall into the valley!!

The cabin was really nice. We dropped off our stuff & then went back up the hill to head into town & get food. They have built a Super WalMart since we were last in town, so we went there & picked up food. We had shrimp, guacumole & chips and cheese Wednesday night. Watched American Idol results - yea Ruben!! I love him!! Went into the hot tub & that first night it was horrible. It was around 9:30pm, so it was really cold outside & 105 degrees inside the hot tub. You stepped into the hot tub & it was too hot, but if you didn't get in, you were freezing!! We only stayed in about 15 minutes that night.

We got up the next morning, made coffee & an egg casserole, put a fire in and watched Analyze This w/Billy Crystal & Robert DeNiro. Really cute. Went in the hot tub after that. It was much better this time. The sun was out & it wasn't as cold. We then cleaned up & went to Old Man's Cave which is one of the trails in Hocking Hills. Took a ton of pictures of the frozen waterfalls. It was so pretty. Came back & had pizza for dinner & watch Shallow Hal - cute movie!

Friday morning, we got up & packed up & headed into Columbus. We went to Easton Center first. Walked around & ate lunch at Chilpoltes. We then headed to another mall - Polaris & walked around there. We then went to our hotel & checked in. Tim was looking for a shirt for dinner so we left & went to another mall (Tuttle Crossings) - big mistake b/c we were both tired of malls by now. We were in & out of there very quickly w/no purchases made. We went back to the hotel, had our drinks at the managers reception & then went to dinner. We decided to eat a BD's Mongolian Barbecue on Sawmill. The concept is you make your own stir fry. You go to a salad bar type of table & pick out your meat, veggies, sauces. etc & then take them to this large, round grill where you stand while they cook the food. It was really good. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel & watched tv.

Got up this morning & went down to breakfast. After breakfast, we checked out & went to clean the snow off our car. Columbus was hit with about 3 inches of snow over night. We drove down Franz road to this field that had cement corn cobs standing on end. There were probably 50 of them - imagine a cemetary or flags all spaced out & that is what the corn cobs looked like. I took a picture of them - we'll see how it comes out.

Went to WalMart on the way out to pick up some of their flavored water that Tim likes. On our way home from Columbus to Toledo, you always pass signs & then the building for Coons Candy (www.coonscandy.com). It is right before Upper Sandusky & we have passed it for 10 - 15 years now. Anyways, we finally stopped & we are glad that we did. It was a really cute store with a lot of great things. We bought Mom & Dad a loaf of Raisin bread & a homemade Cherry Pie. They were really happy to see us. We'll definitely stop again!

Shawn was happy to see us. It seemed like he aged so much while we were gone. He is a little more clingy now (which I'm eating up!!), but that should pass. He had a great week with Nana & Papa & got spoiled a ton! Now for the unpacking, laundry, cleaning house & getting back to life!!

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Took Shawn to the doctor yesterday - he has pink eye. He is in a great mood, his eyes are just a mess. He is home with Mom & Dad all week.

Tim & I leave for Hocking Hills tonight. We are looking forward to it. The only thing we are worried about is the terriorism threats going on & the changes of them happening while we are away from Shawn this weekend. I rented 9 movies to take with us because the tv reception in the cabin is not good at all. We have firewood for the fireplace, movies, games, books & magazines & the hot tub. Hopefully we are set!!

Saturday, February 08, 2003

At the car show we liked the Honda Odessey & the Oldsmobile Siloutte. We are going to go & test drive those plus a Toyota minivan. We had our car inspection on Friday. The first weekend we had the car we went to Franklin Park Mall & when came out we found that someone had either opened their door into our passenger door or actually hit it. Anyways, that ding will cost us $50, but that is the only cleanup charge we will incur. Didn't think that was too bad.

Tim moved into his new office this past week. Since starting at his company, he has always had a cubicle or a desk in an open space. With his recent promotion, he actually got an office with a door! He was excited. We went over on Friday & rearranged the furniture - took out a bookcase & a table topper & moved the furniture around. I must say that he definitely needed my help to get it looking good! He needs a picture on the wall behind his desk, so we are going to go to Cleveland for the day tomorrow to find a Cleveland skyline picture.

Tim & I leave Wednesday afternoon for Hocking Hills & Columbus. We are looking forward to getting away.

Went to Nicks for breakfast today - thought of you Brad!! I had eggs, bacon, toast & coffee & Tim had an omlet & a side of gyro meat & sauce. It was all really good!

Saturday, February 01, 2003

We are in the process of turning in my minivan for a new car. My lease is up in April & Chrysler comes to our house this Friday to inspect the car, so we took it today to one of those $20 car wash places where they clean the car inside & out. We are now going to clean the carpet where the stains from coffee are & sweep the seats. Tonight, we are going to the Toledo Auto show. There are 200 cars in the downtown convention center. We'll go & sit in a bunch of cars & see what we want next.