Our bowl runneth over

As renters, we don't fix problems in our apartment ourselves. We get to wait for someone to fix it for us. We have had chronic intermittent toilet running since we have moved in. We have called the office several times and are still waiting patiently for the annoying noise to stop. Last night after a 3 a.m. bathroom visit, we heard a knock on our door. I was startled and sent Ryan (the man of the house) to the door. Anything someone has to tell you at 3 a.m. is not going to be good news. On his way to the door, his feet sunk and splashed in the carpet. We then noticed there was an inch of water on the bathroom floor. The knock was our downstairs neighbors who were awoken by their fire alarm and the water that was dripping into their apartment.

After turning off the water and using all the towels we own, our bathroom was almost back to normal. Not a fun way to start off the week..... sleep deprived and not being able to use the toilet. Ryan called AGAIN today and they said they fixed it but when I came home from work ..... still running.

If we were still in L.A., I would be worried that our neighbors would shoot us. We are not so worried here but just in case we are baking them a plate of cookies.

My husband doesn't beat me

So, I was minding my own business skipping and singing around our humble abode. I suddenly had an immediate need for super glue and remembered that it was in a tuperware drawer on the top shelf of the closet. I opened the drawer but realized I was vertically challenged and with out go-go gadget arms to retrieved the needed item. My tall and handsome husband was coming to the rescue but while I wasn't looking the tuperware drawer and the one on top of it fell on my nose! These were heavy drawers holding bolts, nails, duck tape, and other fix it items. Ice was promptly applied while I crumbled into Ryan's arms. I felt like it was me against the world and the world just won. I was sure that I would be sporting a broken nose with a big bruise to match. I would have to explain to everyone that my husband doesn't beat me.

The drawers have been placed in a safe place on the floor. We are slowly making our home dummy proof. And lucky enough, my nose isn't broken and I have no black eye.

Good Friend in Town

We were lucky to have our good friend in town from Sunday to this morning at about 4:45 a.m. Notice from picture that she even smiles at that hour!

She made the most of the daytime, when Cheyn and I were working. Mrs Dora visited a number of museums and places we haven't even made it to: A butterfly arboretum in the Natural History Museum downtown, a Tobacco Museum in Durham, and a nuclear power plant close to here I didn't even know existed.


We were able to catch up and have some good talks and see a bit of town with her too. We went up to Duke and saw the famous chapel. We went for Cookout and for Sushi. She took us dancing with her at a local place. We watched in amazement from the side and she brought us out later and taught us a few steps. OK mostly me.

What a treat to have her in town. We love you Ms. Dora

Hatching Dinosaur Egg

Ryan made a music video and for a dinosaur hatching slide show (focusing mainly on the slide show) for intended multimedia experience.  Ryan geeked out a little bit but had fun doing it.

Asheville

Cheyn Planned a fun overnighter to Asheville NC this past weekend. Saturday morning we went to the Biltmore Estate, a giant mansion that is open to the public. It was really amazing inside. There was a bowling alley and giant dining room than seemed like it could seat 100 people. The furniture and rooms and painting were all super fancy. The grounds were amazing too. It was the biggest mansion I've ever been in. Afterwards I realized it was the mansion where Being There was filmed, a really funny movie about a TV addicted gardener who becomes friends with a billionaire.

Later that day we went and hiked a few hours on the Appalachian trail, with one foot in North Carolina and one foot in Tennessee (The trail divides the states). It was fun to be in such beautiful mountains. Cheyn planned a wonderful little get away.

video on other blog

Back Together Again

Yeah! I finished my last day in Virginia last week! I must admit, I didn't work very hard on my last day. I managed to find an empty room to watch an episode of Sex in the City and eat a lot of chocolate cake (a nice co-worker brought to celebrate my leaving). I basically ran out when it was time to go, clicked my heels and didn't look back.

I have enjoyed being jobless in Raleigh. Nesting and name changing. I am finally getting around to becoming a "LINDGREN". I had an excuse that I wasn't in my permanent state of residency to do all the nitty gritty things. I have gotten my NC driver's license. I woke up early, straightened my hair, and drove around looking for the DMV. When finally found and after waiting in line, they told me I needed my marriage license (silly me, I thought the SS card would suffice). Back home and back to the DMV. Not nearly as painful as the California DMV. But for some reason, I didn't want to just make 2 trips to the DMV that day. I left the marriage certificate (something that might be important) and I had to make trip #3. So, I have gotten to know the roads around Raleigh a little better and my name changing process is almost complete.
Ryan and I have been relaxing and enjoying being together. We explored a flea market. Here Ryan is sporting his present from the flea market... a free pink neon sunglasses strap! Ryan's real treat last Saturday was watching BYU play and win their first game this season. He is obsessed! It is fun to have football season back. But I am even more excited for all of my favorite shows to be back on T.V. with new seasons!!!

We have taught our first Primary class (10 year olds) at church. We were pretty nervous about our first class especially since we really don't know much about 10 year olds and the lesson was on the Crucifixion! What a dosey! The kids were darling and the ADHD child wasn't there so we had it "easy". I thought it would be important to establish class rules but they notified me they already had a list. One rule is "No going out the window". It used to be "no jumping out the window" but the ADHD kid made the argument that he was, in fact, NOT JUMPING. It is almost like we are skipping church because we get to go to Primary class and sing songs, do sharing time, and then hang out with 10 year olds. I kind of feel like they are my peers and our best friends in Raleigh, so far. I am already planning dinner dates to Chucky Cheese.

The End of Summer/Summer Movies

Summer is slowly heading towards its end. I have mixed feelings about it ending. We have lived in three places this summer: Bainbridge, GA, Fredricksburg, VA, and Raleigh NC. The past eight weeks we have been living apart and meeting up when we can. It will be nice to live in the same place again.

Come August the summer drags a little. Raleigh has been over a hundred degrees many of the days and when you add the humidity it gets pretty intense. You have to exercise in the gym, and you get big power bills for air conditioning in your apartment. Its hard living apart from Cheyn.

I will miss some things about this summer. I enjoy the long days with lots of light after work. I like summer concert series and nights out, even though we only ended up going to one such event (Eddie Money on Fayetteville street).

We saw a lot of movies this summer, more than average for both of us: Shrek,
Pirates of the Caribbean,Sicko,Transformers,The Simpsons,The Bourne Ultimatum,
Cheyn also saw the latest Harry Potter movie with her Mom.

My top two recommendations are:


The Bourne Ultimatum:
I love all three of the series. I enjoy how the movies are filmed on location, so you feel like you are really able to see the surroundings in Europe, Russia, and India. The filming is gritty and more realistic and now seems to act as a standard to the current action genre.(James Bonds recent film makeover seemed to be influenced by the first two Bourne films). I also enjoy the picks of great character actors to play government officials in all of the movies. You would think by the third installment of the film, people would have figured out you just can't kill Jason Bourne.


Sicko:
Michael Moore is pretty polarizing, but his films sure are entertaining. I felt he reaches too far trying to laud Cuba, and tries to sell a socialized government system (France), which doesn't set well with a lot of Americans (especially those in the middle or on the the right politically). I for one was quite jealous on the vacation time and other social and medical support in France. You leave the film a bit empowered thinking something can be done to make health care a little better for all of us, especially for those stuck in the middle. With Romney proposing his health care initiative from Mass. for the nation and Clinton and her past attempt at improving the health care system, hopefully something could happen soon.

What are your favorite movies of the summer? Post in the comments. I would love to see if we missed anything entertaining.