Nicole Carina

What gets me through the day

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:49:43 -0400

Tuesdays are the worst, it's the first day of my work week so I have to get up at 5am after sleeping in the previous 2 days.
If it wasn't for my tea stash I'd be snoring at my desk by lunch time. I love to drink loose leaf tea at home but prefer the convenience of bagged tea at work. White tea is great for work because it gives me just enough caffeine to keep me going but not enough to make me jittery like coffee does. Today I'm drinking Berryblossom white by Tazo teas. If I had some of Kelly's cucumber sandwiches to go with it I'd be set. ;)

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One day at a time.

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:33:41 -0400

in the breakroom at work

Finally! Life has slowed down enough for me to post!

I've been pretty busy lately with packing, moving, and unpacking. I feel like I've given tons of stuff to our church outreach and I STILL have way too much stuff. Oh well, I keep telling myself that this is the LAST time I will have to move in long time.

With moving in and trying to personalize the house, I find myself wanting to get more in touch with my inner domestic goddess. I enjoy baking (but not cooking, go figure) having tea parties, crafting, and entertaining but haven't done any of those things in months.

One thing I've never been good at but wish I was, is gardening.

I plan on having a small garden in my front yard along with hanging baskets, window boxes, and some potted plants on the porch. I'd also like to design a backyard garden with a little fountain or pond. Now that being said, it should be noted that I have the blackest thumb of anyone I know. Seriously.

So I've decided to start small. Baby steps right? I bought a seed starter kit and planted some Zinnia seeds I had from about 4 years ago (I didn't see an expiration date so I figure they're still good) and Maravilhas seeds.

Maravilhas means "wonders" in Portuguese and my grandmother brought seeds with her from the Azores when she came to the US in the 70's. She harvested the seeds each year and kept some for my mother and I before she died. I planted some a few years ago and they germinated so hopefully these will too.

I don't remember how long they take to start growing but I know they're summer flowers and won't grow unless it's hot, so I've been taking them outside for a few hours each day. I hope they sprout soon, I'm always so impatient when it comes to plants (propably where my black thumb comes from, oh well).

Danbike

I was able to find time to get out of the house recently when I broke down and finally bought a bicycle. I've been wanting one for a while now and since my new place is about 12 blocks from the river I had an excuse since I'm not within walking distance of everything anymore.

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It's the cutest little cruiser, and the cheapest bike they had, perfect! I couldn't wait to try it out so Daniel and I went riding around Greenfield lake the next day. I haven't ridden a bike in years! I forgot how much fun it was. I'm so glad I got it.

I've also got a little basket for the front that I put Sebastian in. He loves it! I'll take pictures the next time I take him for a ride, he was too wiggly the first time.

I've still got so much to do as far as moving in and it's easy for me to get stressed out, frustrated, and upset so I've been making it a point to do something fun on each day that I do a lot of work on the house. You know what? It actually helps. I've been riding my bike, watching movies and spending time with friends and the house is still getting done. Slowly but surely. I just have to remember that there will always be a "to do" list but I have to remember to take time for myself.

Looking out the window

Another thing I'm hoping to do more of is post (I know, I know, I always say that). I find myself thinking of things to post but never get around to so I'm going to start blogging from my phone more, maybe even once a day or every other day, just to get me motivated. We'll see how it goes!

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My new home!

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:44:50 -0400

Newhome

Yesterday I closed on my new home! It was amazing that everything fell into place to finish the sale. It's been such a busy couple of days scrambling to get information and paperwork to the right places on time. I've been praying like crazy for things to work out and thankfully they did.

This is a big step for me, being responsible for this home and everything it will need. But I'm so excited about all the thing I'll be doing to fix it up and really make it mine.

The day before I closed on the house I realized how wonderful my friends and family have been to support me and offer advice and prayers. I bought this house on my own but I couldn't have done it without all the wonderful people in my life, Thanks Everyone!!!

Today I'm going to paint and do some more packing and then walk downtown to see the fireworks over the river. I almost feel like this is my independence day, the start of a new chapter in my life, and I couldn't be more excited.

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Poor baby

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:33:34 -0400

I took Sebastian to the vet yesterday to get neutered. He looks so pitiful with his plastic cone. He was still really groggy when I picked him up. I have to keep him from running, jumping, and playing for 2 weeks somehow. He's the world's most hyper dog, how am I going to do that? I feel so bad that he has to stay in his kennel all day but that's really all I can do.

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Cubicle love

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:58:36 -0400

I found this usb cup warmer while going through a bunch of stuff in my attic yesterday. I forgot I bought it last winter to keep my coffee warm. I never used it so I didn't know it had led lights. It swirls from red to blue, very office zen like, lol.

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Rainy day embroidery

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:07:43 -0400

It's been raining off and on all weekend, which is the best kind of weekend to stay home and craft. I got into embroidery when I was visiting my dad in Texas last month. Aunt Lydia gave me a ton of her old transfer designs and embroidery thread.

Dishtowel1

The first dishtowel I made for myself. It's part of a series with different things beside the flowers like cups, silverware and other kitchen things.

A few close ups and the new one I've just started. I'm going to put another design on the one with the teapot and maybe a border of some kind. I usually knit on days like today but with the summer heat it's hard to think of working on the wool sweater I've been making for myself. So embroidery it is.

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Home Sweet Home...soon.

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:40:59 -0400

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. I'm still around I've just been very very busy lately. My lease is almost over where I live so I started thinking about possibly buying a house... and now that's just what I'm doing. I was checking the real estate listings every day trying to find something in my price range that I liked. I wanted something with enough space and at least a small back yard for Sebastian to run around in. Here's what I found:

It's a 2 bedroom/2 full bath bungalow downtown with a cute little back yard. I've already made an offer and had it inspected, now I'm just waiting for the seller to do a few more repairs then I can get it appraised and get the bank to make it official. I didn't want to post about it until I was a little more sure. Even this far into closing something could come up that would make me decide not to take it but so far everything looks good. I got a great mortgage from my credit union, and I made sure that I would be able to afford it comfortably, without needing a roommate.

It's still sinking in that I'm actually buying my first home. This is really a big step for me, not just because I'm investing in something big instead of paying rent but I'm investing in myself. I always thought I'd wait until I was married (again) to buy a house, but not anymore. I'm not going to wait for the perfect relationship or perfect guy to come along for my life to start. I feel like I'm making some priority changes, putting my faith and responibilies before doing what feels good at the time. It's MY life and I'm going to start really living it, the right way.

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First Pics from Texas!

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:30:12 -0400

What a trip! I had a couple of long flights and a 2 hour layover but I'm here! This is my first time here, so it's really interesting to me. I got in at 8pm last night and it was about an hour drive from the airport.

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Kelly, this one's for you! They had an ipod vending machine in the airport! Crazy!

I'm staying in Aunt Lydia and Uncle Jim's 5th wheel camper, and it's pretty nice and spacious.

I went through all the trouble to mail my clothes here so I wouldn't have to check any baggage and the stupid box didn't get here until late today. Oh well, I just wore the same thing I wore yesterday when Dad and I did our running around.

Dad showed me some of his medals he got while he was in the marine corps. I didn't know he got the purple heart but I guess it's because he got it for something he did in Vietnam. He doesn't like to talk about it much but that's ok. He's very proud of his time he spent in the corps and I'm proud of him too.

Texas6

My grandmother lives with my aunt and uncle and guess what I found on her shelf? Yep that's me when I was about 6.

The view from the top of the hills is beautiful. There's just so much open space out here, it's crazy. Tomorrow we're going to the wildflower seed place. I'm hoping to bring some Texas Bluebonnet seeds home with me.

I plan on taking lots more pictures and posting when I can, I can only get wireless in the house not the camper, so if I don't get back with anyone that's why.

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Off to Texas

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:52:28 -0400

I'm flying to Texas in about an hour to visit my dad for a week. I always stress out before I travel, hoping I don't forget something and making sure I get everything done before I go. And heaven forbid I don't get to the airport 3 hours early, lol. Thankfully the airport here in Wilmington is pretty small and laid back. I didn't check any luggage because I've heard so many stories lately about it getting lost and delayed, so I mailed a small box of my clothes and shoes ahead and am just bringing everything else in my carry on. I've got my knitting, book, magazine, zune, laptop and a ton of other essentials so I can barely close the darn thing. Oh well, its worth it to not have to wait at the baggage claim for an hour.
I'll try to post from dads but I don't know if I'll have access to wifi anywhere, we'll see. I just can't wait to board the plane because then I'll have about 7 hours of knitting, woo!

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New kite at the beach

nobody@vox.com(Nicole Carina) — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:57:13 -0400

I saw some kiddie kites at walmart during a grocery shopping trip the other day and thought that it had been years and years since I flew one. So yesterday I stopped by the local kite shop, Blowing in the Wind, to look for a little portable one for the beach. I always prefer to support local businesses if I can, especially downtown, and I'm glad I did. The guy there was really helpfull and they had a huge selection. There were some really awesome and fancy kites but in the end I settled for this little guy. Cute and easy to esemble, and it does flips and dips like a stunt kite. Its really a lot of fun. And I can just fasten it to my bag and leave it up in the sky while I tan, perfect!

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