A leak is never a good thing.

So, I have noticed that one of the outside-facing walls of our guest bedroom closet is not looking good. I've aways thought there was a problem with this wall. It is a corner of the closet where two outside walls meet. The gutter above this area does not seem to drain well and we always get huge brown spots and stains in this area on the siding outside. It makes the front of our house look horrible! I have it pressure washed every other year and we get out the ladder and clean it off, too. But now I fear the problem has moved indoors. :(

I mentioned as much to Todd about a month ago. He finally had time to walk by a look at it today. (I am so in trouble when he reads that.) Anyway, all he could do is agree with me. Not good. The walls on the inside of the closet all the way down to the baseboard are turning very brown. Not good. There is also some brown around the decorative window in the closet. Not good. I also pointed out a spot in another room I am worried about where this is some brown stain on the ceiling due to possible leak on roof. Not good.

So begins my search for a contractor who is good, and can fix my house really well without charging me an arm and a leg. Any suggestions? Please, please send them my way. I joined Angie's List for a month and didn't get much info on there. Not enough people around Monroe County with ratings. I have one possible lead and I may call him tomorrow to see if he knows where exactly the problem might be, how extensive the damage is, and what it will take to fix. I keep thinking about all the rain we had last spring and I just get a pit in my stomach. It has gotten exponentially worse the last few weeks and I can only imagine if we get a lot of rain how bad it could get.

I've always said this house was built rather shoddy. It has been proven now with problems in mass quantity. I have a feeling the summer vacation has just been downsized...

Insight.com Bowl - A Success!

At the game

I never got around to blogging about the remainder of our trip to Arizona. Given that we spent more time traveling to and from the state of Arizona then we were actually there, I didn't have much time to post on arrival. We were in Tempe for 2 days. It was amazing. Most of the time we spent doing Insight.com Bowl game events, which the Iowa State Alumni Association did a great job of organizing. In the

On Wednesday evening we drove out to Rawhide, which is a replica wild west town. They had a pep rally with the coach, team members, and other university officials. I wasn't expecting a huge crowd, but it was packed. There were 5,000 fans there for the rally. It was crazy - you couldn't go anywhere because the lines for food and drink were so long. We listened to most of the pep rally and then decided to eat at the steakhouse in this "town." It wasn't anything special, but the food was decent and they had a live band playing, which was kind of nice. After that, we headed back to the hotel.

On Thursday, we go up and got ready for the game. The game was at 4:00, but the pap rally was downtown Tempe at noon. We got something to eat at a local Irish bar, which was amazing. I would barely finish half of my corned beef sandwich, let alone the fries! After that we headed to the pep rally to get our bead, tattoos, and stickers. There were about 10,000 fans at the game-day rally. I can't believe how many people made the trip - many driving both ways to get there! We stayed for an hour or so and walked toward the game. We wanted to get in to check out the stadium and get to our seats.

The stadium was mostly full of Iowa State fans. Seriously, it was like 10:1 Cyclones:Golden Gophers, which definitely made for a better game atmosphere. The pregame was decent - parachuters came down on the field and they had fireworks. I won't say much about the game other than to note that Iowa State won 14-13. It was a close game at the end and could have gone either way, but a win is a win, no matter how ugly. I am just happy the Cyclones won. Otherwise, Todd would have been really upset. He gets so mad just watching the game at home when they lose. I did not want to deal losing after making the trip out.

After the game, we were hungry and found some food at a local bar. The servings were huge and it was super cheap food. We had no clue going there, but we could have split dinner it was so big! After that, we walked around Tempe's New Year's Eve block party. It was huge! We heard this is the biggest block party after Times Square. I am not sure if that is true or not, but it was definitely packed with people, food vendors, rides, activities, and 40 bands. It was $15 just to get in and we had to go through security, which was interesting. There were police in full riot gear, police on foot, on bikes, in cars, and on horse. It was crazy. Someone said that the was a big street fight a few years ago, so they are prepared I guess. We stayed long enough for the fireworks at 10pm (celebrated the New Year in the Eastern time zone). After that we were so exhausted due to the time change, our travel, and everything we squeezed into the trip, we headed back to the hotel. We heard the fireworks at midnight celebrating the Mountain time zone, but we were in bed already. Lame, I know, but we were so exhausted.

I was not excited to go home at all. I LOVED the weather in Tempe and didn't want to deal with work after being gone for a week (the emails were piling up even though lots of people were on vacation, too). But, I did want to get home to my dogs. I always miss them!

All in all, it was a good trip. I was surprised I did made it that far in the car. I don't mind traveling, but driving for 24 hours is not my idea of fun at all. But, I watched a ton of movies, read through my stack of magazines, and kept up my social networking (about the only time I was good about keeping up with that). :) I am hoping we can head back out there to catch some spring training games. I have always wanted to go to spring training, but have yet to make it. Maybe this year??

In the Arizona sun

Vacation Bound...soon!

Outer Banks, here we come!


Finally! The vacation is booked. We can't go until July this year even though I desperately need a vacation now! But, at least it gives me something to look forward to. It really isn't that far away considering how fast the summer is going. I mean, it is already mid-June. I feel like the summer is usually long, but unfortunately it seems to be going by crazy fast this year! Usually by this point in time we have been to visit family, spent a long weekend in Iowa, been to a Cubs game or two, and taken some weekend trips. But, nothing this year and no days off work. I think that is why I am really looking forward to being away. We have just been too busy with work and home projects (please, please let our deck be done soon!) to be gone. Todd is going up for tenure and has to have everything turned in before we go on vacation. So, he'll be working on that a lot between now and then.


Until then, I look daily at the picture of the view from the deck of our oceanfront rental house to keep me going...

Another Iowa Visit

One of the posts I have been meaning to catch up on is when we visited Todd's family in Iowa the weekend of July 26th. Todd actually took time off from work and went to Iowa early to visit his grandma. I was not able to do the same, so headed out after work on Friday. It was a busy weekend! We spent time with family Friday night and got up early on Saturday for me to run the Bix. It is a crazy 7-mile run near where Todd's family lives. I have done this race for several years. I did fairly well, finishing in 67-mins despite the crowded streets and humidity. Around 15,000 people run this race and it goes through local neighborhood, so it is hard to navigate, but fun to run along and watch all the people and crowds lining the streets. After that, we hung out with more family, went swiming, grilled out, and made smores around the firepit. It had been a long week for me, so I was happy to relax and take nap in the lounger by the pool. We had to drive back on Sunday, each in separate cars, which was hard for me since I was so tired. It was a short weekend, but it was also fun to see everyone.

Todd with his Grandma (she turned 102 in June!!)

Me nearing the finish line at the Bix (and not looking very pretty after 7-miles)

Ben playing in the pool (Todd was having fun throwing the kids)

Vacation Pictures

I finally got our vacation pictures uploaded, among the other things I accomplished today. Hmmm...really I think I am finding other things to do besides grade final exams. They are due by midnight tonight, but four have already been turned in. I should be working on these, but instead, you can find our vacation pictures here! :)

(Note: Our parasailing pictures did not turn out at all. We should have asked someone to take pictures of us on our camera, but we bought them from the boat instead. Big mistake - they were all half black. I don't think they loaded the film right and the lens they sold us on less than stellar since all the far away pics are really blurry. Lesson learned. I croped a few of the better ones.)

Home

Well, we made it home safely. We left the Outer Banks around 11am on Friday and drove for about 11 hours before stopping to get a hotel room. We drove the rest of the way this morning and picked the dog up from the kennel on the way home. Todd gets extra points for driving the whole time.

I think Lucy had a good time. She is sleeping as a thunderstorm is raging outside. Usually she is pacing back and forth and jumping at the sound of thunder. But, she is laid out on the floor sound asleep tonight!

We forgot to mention one of the cool things about the trip. On Monday we saw a ton of dolphins! We were out on the beach and they were swimming very close to the shore! Todd was out swimming close to them and they didn't seem to mind at all. We watched them for a good half hour come as close as 30-yards to the shore. We saw more on Tuesday, but they were out much further. Unfortunately, we didn't see any others the rest of the week.

One of the bad things about the trips were the mosquitoes. Not only do I have mosquito bites on my legs, but they have swollen up to huge welts! They also itch and burn like crazy. If we go back next year, we'll take some stronger bug spray.

Reality sets back in on Monday. Unfortunately, I have not been able to taken as much time off this summer as I had originally planned for several different reasons. I am hoping to steal a few more days here and there before the semester starts again on Sept. 3rd.

Vaca: Day 5

Our final and last day here! :(

We spent most of the day on the beach. The morning was perfect - sunny and warm, minus a rainstorm midday. I went for a run on the beach first thing this morning. All of the other times I ran along the sidewalks and trail system here. Today, I decided to go on the beach barefoot. It was a lot of fun, but next time I will remember to put sunblock on the tops of my feet! I will say that after a disappointing few days of shell collecting, I hit the mother load this morning! While out running, I ran across a ton of cool shells including two sand dollars that are in near perfect condition. Todd was very jealous I found more cool stuff than him. Of course, I had to run back with my hands full of shells for 1.5 miles, but it was worth it!

Todd spent most of the day using the body board he bought yesterday. He had several great rides in on the waves. I was going to try, but the waves were huge and it was high tide, so I chickened out. Maybe before we leave tomorrow.

We ended up the night eating out at Aqua S and sitting outside to watch the sunset. It was great until the mosquitoes started eating away at my legs. We moved inside to have dessert after the sun went down. It was an awesome sunset.

Overall, it has been a great trip! I am definitely not looking forward to the drive home, which begins tomorrow.

Vaca: Day 4

Unlike yesterday, today was cloudy, cold, and rainy. I got in a run this morning only to get to the beach and feel the rain drops 5 mins later. Bummer! So, we decided to go into town for lunch and tour around the area. We ate at the Red Sky Cafe again for lunch (they have a really great lunch menu and much cheaper than dinner). Then, we tried to check out some different shopping areas and parts of the OBX. However, because of the rain, so was everyone else. The traffic and parking was a disaster. Traffic on the highway was literally moving at like 5mph and there was no where to park anywhere we tried to go. So, we gave up on that and came back to the hotel for Todd to take a nap and for me to check up on work email (yeah for me - less than 1 hour per day on work email!). Once the rain cleared out, we headed back to the beach and took a long walk. It was still very cold and cloudy, but more people were out since the rain had stopped. I definitely had on long sleeves due to the wind! We are hoping tomorrow will be nice again since it is our last day here!

Since we really didn't do much today, I don't have any fun pictures to post. In fact, I was telling Todd that we haven't taken many pictures at all and have yet to get one with both of us (minus any parasailing pics that turn out). So, we will try to work on that tomorrow. We ate dinner at Mike & Dianna's Grill Room tonight. I would say it is okay. Both of us have had better. So far, Red Sky Cafe is the clear winner. They did have some awesome artichoke dip with their bread. But, I am ready for some home-cooked food! I am definitely reaching the point of not wanting to eat out anymore!

Vaca: Day 3

Tuesday was hot! The sun was out and the temps were hot and humid. I tried to go for a longer run, but decided to cut it short and head back to the hotel. I could tell I was getting dehydrated. So, only 3.5 miles today, but still decent. (I am trying to say up on mileage for a 7-mile race I am doing with my brother-in-law when we visit them later this month.) We spent some time on the beach before heading out to try parasailing. Parasailing was a lot of fun! I must admit I was freaked out the entire time and screaming as we took off, but once we got up in the sky, it was pretty amazing. We did the 900-ft double option. So, Todd and I went up together and once we got to our height it was actually pretty quiet. The wind on the group was whipping around and the boat was very loud, but up in the air, you couldn't hear any of that. Todd and I had a normal conversation and looked around at the ocean and sound for miles. As we came back down to the boat, we got dipped in the water a few times before we were pulled back up in the air to land on the boat in a standing position. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I would probably do it again. We had some pictures taken, but they are on 35-mm film by the boat crew, so I have to have them developed. I'll post them when we get them back!

I also had my first ever pedicure in the afternoon, along with a manicure. I am not a fan of feet - my own or others. And it was a little weird to have some random person rubbing my feet and giving them a mask treatment, but it did feel pretty relaxing! I got an awesome color on my toes, too! Overall, I probably would not do it again, mainly because it takes more time and money than I am willing to spend on my feet and fingernails. But, here are my toes for now:

Other than those activities, the day included several trips to the beach. We didn't eat at any restaurants of note. In fact, we were disappointed in the restaurants we ate at today. At least they were not super expensive ones. Things around the Outer Banks are very overpriced (in my opinion). So, we have definitely been spending more on meals that I anticipated.

Vaca: Day 2

The great thing about being at a resort is that you get what you want when you need it - clean beach towels, sheets, and rooms, for instance. The bad thing is that you have to eat out every meal. I am already tired of that (although I don't think Todd is every upset about eating out). I started out the morning with a 5-mile run (needed to counteract the 5,000 calories I ate today). It was hot and there was no water along the way, but it was nice to jog along and check out the massive vacation homes. After that we hung out on the beach for a few hours and got totally sunburnt. We both had on tons of sunscreen, too! So, we decided to avoid direct sun in the afternoon. We toured the area a bit and checked out some of the shopping areas, beach shops and walked through a nature preserve area. We tried to go parasailing, but it was too windy. We'll try again tomorrow. I did schedule a manicure at the resort spa for tomorrow afternoon. I've never had one before! We went back to the beach in the early evening when the sun was going down and it was not as hot. I think we both agree this is the best time of the day.

When we were out and about, we stopped and got some breakfast items to eat in our room, thus avoiding at least one meal out and saving a little money. For lunch, we checked out a resaurant at the resort and for dinner we went to the Red Sky Cafe in Duck, NC. I thought it was just okay, but Todd raved about the crab cakes at Red Sky.

No pictures today! I took a few, but didn't haul my camera to the beach or shopping. I am worried about it getting covered with sand. Maybe tomorrow!

Vaca: Day 1

Well, we have arrived at the beach!! We spent Saturday driving 9.5 hours (about 9.5 hours too long for me) and stopped in Charlottesville, VA for dinner. The downtown area is so cool! It is a long brick road lined with different restaurants and shops. It is completely blocked off to traffic, which is so nice to just stroll around. One end also has a concert stage where they bring in some really big names. It is a lot like the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Indy, but this is right downtown. On Sunday morning we checked out the UVa campus (partially in search of good coffee for Todd) and decided to tour Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello. He was an amazing architect and created a mountaintop home that was completely self-sustaining. It is really amazing to see the different things he designed that were advanced for the period in which he built the home. The mountain was foggy and it was a bit rainy, so we didn't see to see all the amazing views, but we toured the grounds and home. We also stopped to see the family cemetery on his property, as well as the vineyards, which exist at one end of the 5,000 acres he farmed. After that, we stopped for lunch at Mitche Tavern. It has been open and operating since the 1765. It was pretty cool. We ate with camping-like plates and cups to keep to the period.

After that, we drove the final 3.5 hours to our destination at the Outer Banks - The Sanderling Resort. We checked in and took our first walk on the beach. Then, we checked out the The Blue Point for dinner. Of course, we have already eaten way too much, but so far it has been fun. We are hoping that Tropical Storm Bertha stays away!

Todd found his Starbucks on the UVa campus! It is a very cool area of town like Green Street (Illinois) or Kirkwood (Indiana).

Me at Monticello. The grassy area actually used to be a goat farm (sticking with Jefferson's plan to have a self-sustaining plantation), so it actually wasn't as nice back then.

We saw so many crabs when we were walking the beach. Todd is looking forward to the fish this week (Swordfish tonight...Tuna tomorrow night).