Refinance Nightmare Par for the Course

We went to closing to refinance our house today.  I wish I could say it went well, but whenever we go to any type of closing it rarely goes smoothly.

We got a really good rate for a 20 year refi, 4.125 percent fixed for 20 years, down from the 6 percent fixed rate we got 8 years ago for 30 years.  Also, we're saving 2 years of financing.  We have really good credit ratings and equity in the house.  You'd think this would be smooth sailing, huh?

Our first indication that this was going to be bad was we got a phone call on the way to the closing from the title company letting us know that we needed money for closing.  What?  We were on the way and that's when they thought it was a good time to bring it up?  I was told the only out-of-pocket expense would be the home appraisal, which I paid weeks ago.  Then, on the way they tell us we are going to need more than $3,000!  It didn't really seem like this refinance was actually going to happen.

Anyway, we arrived at the credit union anyway, and after lots of back and forth, redoing the paperwork and a lunch break, we finally did get the papers signed without the out-of-pocket expenses.

We've had worse closings.  When we bought a house in Maryland once, the owner hadn't finished moving out and threatened to not sell.  We had all of our furniture on a truck ready to move in.  That was stressful.

Sunday Dinner -- Popovers Pop

We went over to our friend, Elaine's, last night to finally celebrate Christmas with her.  One of the gifts she gave me was a popover pan.  I put it to good use today and made these wonderful, if I do say so myself, popovers.  They would give Jordon's Pond House, a restaurant in Acadia National Park (Maine), a run for their money.  I found the recipe online and it was amazingly simple.  Two eggs, a cup of flour and a cup of milk lightly beaten and they turned into the above.  Soaking them in butter and raspberry jam also helped.  Yummmmm!

Dog Whisperer Shane and Patient

Our friend Elaine's Yorkie, Winston, is a bit high strung with visitors--except he seems to love us! Shane works with him to ease his stress.

Tweet of the Day -- Kathy Griffin

Watching the news? Congresswoman in AZ, who is ON Sarah Palin's crosshairs map was SHOT in the head 2day. Happy now Sarah?  -- @kathygriffin










Here is the map to which she is referring:

The Beginning of a New Streak?

I ran everyday this week--5 days in a row of running 3 miles.  I actually ran 4 miles on Wednesday.  Last year I ran a minimum of 3 miles a day for 25 days in a row--my longest streak ever.  How long will this one last?

Time for Chiristmas to Be Over

A neighbor is still decorated. I say that Christmas should be over,
but we're going to our friend, Elaine's, tomorrow to exchange gifts.

Less Ambitious Books -- My Top 10 List

Greg from A Life in the Day blog got me started on this when I saw him do one on the Twitter Machine.  The idea is to come up with the title of a book that is less ambitious than the original.  I don't know... I think I might rather read the less ambitious versions.

1. The Five People You Meet in Cleveland
2. Interview with an Umpire
3. Bridget Jones's Diarrhea
4. The Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin (Sorry, that is for the short book list)
5. A Farewell to Hands
6. To Slap a Mockingbird 
7. Scents and Sensibility 
8. Gone with the Breeze
9. The World According to Carp 
10. The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo  

Tweet of the Day -- Sticker of da Week

Repubs will read the Constitution on the House floor, because some of the new members really need things read aloud to them.  -- @stickerofdaweek

Miss New York Supports Beauty of Equality

Vote for her here!!!

Maude On Her Altar

Maude loves to lay on the pillows of our bed, especially when we are laying in bed.  Shane often looks like he is wearing a cat hat.  Maude also likes to lick the tops of our heads.  That takes some getting used to.

Tweet of the Day -- The Cajun Boy

Massage therapists sue Brett Favre for sexual harassment. It's just a hunch, but a lawsuit probably isn't the "happy ending" he was seeking. --@TheCajunBoy

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #270

Why the hell does the color of my parachute matter?

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #270.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! Does anyone actually get this joke?  Trust me, if you did, it would be hilarious (or at least slightly humorous).

Just Bought Tickets for Angels in America in NYC

Angels In America - Signature Theatre Trailer from Signature Theatre Company on Vimeo.

We are going to see both parts, all 7 hours, on Saturday, March 26, in New York City. Can't wait.

Tweet of the Day -- SteveOnBroadway

I just asked noisy girls outside my hotel room to please be quiet. One said, "But it's New Year's Eve" I said, "Honey, that was last night." --@SteveOnBroadway

Riding in a Car with a Boy

Shane and I are driving home to DC today from Florida. It is about a
quarter past one and we're about halfway. We left at 6 am. Needless
to say, we didn't stay up last night. We're hoping to get home to
Maude around 9. The weather has been good, but it is starting to
sprinkle.

To kill time, we've been listening to Patti LuPone's autobiography.
She isn't afraid to insult people. She isn't much of a fan of Andrew
Lloyd Webber or the guy who played her husband on Life Goes On. It
kills time.

In the photo, I'm giving the evil eye to a pokey driver who we are
passing on the right cause the are clogging up the left lane. As you
can see, I'm traveling stylishly in my green cashmere sweater. So
far, Shane has driven the whole way, though I have offered to drive.
He'll want me to drive later, when it's dark, rainy, and I'm tired.
Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

We are starting our drive back to DC today.  Nothing like starting the new year off cooped up in the car for hours on end.  Woo Hoo!  Bye Bye sunny Florida.  We'll be back.

Since I'll be riding in the car for hours, I suspect there will be many posts from the road.  Also, I love to play on the Twitter machine--follow "Bluespongerun" or see my posts in the sidebar here.

Tweet of the Day--John Fugelsang

Um, Barnes & Noble? If you look at the facts you'll see that Sarah Palin's book is a bit more than just '40% Off.'. -- @JohnFugelsang

Finally at the Beach

We arrived in Florida on Sunday, but today, our last full day in
Florida, is the first day nice enough to go to the beach. It has been
chilly and downright cold--below freezing cold, but it is in the 70s
today. Lots of people at the beach today too. Haven't seen anyone
swimming. Water temperture is just above ice.

Most people are shelling. You'd think these shells were filled with
gold the way people are searching. You can buy a big bag of nice
shells for $3. I guess it's not the same. There are lots of shells
here. Shane and I are not shelling. Just relaxing before our big
drive back, which we don't want to think about.

New Year's Resolutions for 2011

Even though I am not that good at achieving my resolutions (see yesterday's post), I still make them.  Here's my goals for 2011.  Along with the usual of eating better, exercising more, and reading a million books, here are my main goals for 2011.

1.  Run a marathon in less than 4 hours.  One of my goals in life is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  The fastest I've ever completed a marathon is just over 4 hours and 20 minutes.  At my age, in order to qualify for Boston I would have to run a marathon in 3 hours and 35 minutes.  I know that is not possible at the moment, but my goal for the year is to run a marathon in less than 4 hours.  Baby steps.

2.  Post a post on my website everyday.  Everyday.

3.  Get my Qrank on with the 365 day award and to score over 10,000.  Yes, I know what is important. @Qrank.

There are just the three this year.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Tweet of the Day - Mo Rocca

Extreme Couponing on TLC is my mother's version of porn -- @MoRocca

New Year's Resolutions Recap for 2010

There were seven goals for self-improvement I posted on December 31, 2009 to achieve in 2010.  This is a recap of how I did.

1. Decide whether to say "Two Thousand Ten" or Twenty Ten." I'm sort of leaning toward Twenty Ten.  -- I achieved this one.  I say Two Thousand Ten.

2. Read 30 Books.  - FAIL -- I don't know how many books I read this year, but it was far short of 30.  

3. Run to Florida -- Not an actual run to FL, but running the distance to Punta Gorda, FL, from DC (about 1,000 miles).  - FAIL -- Actually, I did run about 750 miles during the year, which puts me well into Florida, but still about 250 miles away from Punta Gorda.  I got a cold during Thanksgiving and haven't been running regularly since.

4. Weigh less than 165 lbs.  - FAIL -- I was in the low 170s prior to Thanksgiving, but I've fallen off the exercise wagon and been eating badly. I was 184 last I checked.  

5. Run two marathons.  - FAIL -- I did run two 10-Milers this year, but no marathons.

6. Get more than 100 Followers on my blog. - FAIL -- Still at less than 100 followers.  I started the year with 10 followers and have 91 at last check.

7. Save money. - FAIL -- I've have saved some, but not nearly enough.


If you are keeping track, the only one I actually achieved during the year is #1, which was hard to not achieve.  Oh well, there is always next year.

Our Morning View - Pelican On the Dock Pole

The new camera has a nice zoom.  This is through the window.  

Florida Sunset from Our Lanai

Taken with my new camera I got for Christmas from Shane's mom and stepdad.  Thanks Sharon and Jerry!

Christmas Dinner at the Waffle House in GA

Riding to Florida on Christmas

We're in NC. I'm wearing the new sweater my mom gave me this morning.
Love it!! Thanks mom!

Christmas On the Road

We had planned to go Florida tomorrow by driving 5 hours south to
Greensboro, NC, flying on cheapo Allegiant Airlines directly to Punta
Gorda, FL. Mother Nature had her own idea. Greensboro is predicted
to get 6-10 inches of snow by tomorrow. We decided not to chance
driving out if our way to Greensboro just to find a canceled flight.
We left this morning right after opening presents. We're missing
Christmas dinner, but we spent last night and this morning with my
mom, sister, and her girls.

At 2 today we're just north of Richmond and hope to make it to
Georgia, and miss the worst of the weather. We did stop in and checked
on Maude very quickly. She got a turkey and gravy dinner, which is
more than we got. We are munching on a bunch of cookies my mom made.
Mmmmm!

The Reason for the Season

Some of the Walton's Homecoming Reposted

I posted this last year, but here it is again.  This is one of our favorite Christmas shows that we watch each year at Christmas.  This predates the TV series and the cast is a bit different.  Patricia Neal is amazing as Olivia Walton.  It might be that she reminds me of my grandmother, but I love her.  Richard Thomas still plays John Boy -- in fact all the kids are the same as the series cast, but only Ellen Corby, who plays the grandmother, did the series of the family adults.

Shane and I use many of the lines from this show in much of our everyday conversation.  For example, if one of us suggests we should buy something, the other person usually says, "That's the first thing I'm going to do once this Depression is over!"  (Olivia was referring to a getting a phone.)  "Favorite line:  What were you doing in your room John Boy with the door locked?"  I realize this is a long show, but it is worth it.

UPDATE: Some of the links no longer work, but you can still see parts of it.  Sorry.

A Christmas Song Dedicated to Shane and Me

Shane's step brother and his wife are a little bit insane in a fun way.  Trent is an amazing professional trumpet player and his wife, Laurie, also is very musical.  They collaborate on an album of holiday music each year, and this year they dedicated a song to Shane and me.  I had suggested they do a Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme duet, and they took that suggestion and ran with it.  They also redid the original album cover of the Steve and Eydie holiday album.  We almost wet ourselves with the result.  These guys are Hell airy ass!  It is so fun to listen to the other tracks with Laurie's attempts at playing trumpet and them cracking up.  Thanks Trent and Laurie!!!! Listen to their song dedicated to us below!  Also, download the whole album (this one is free) and other albums by Trent at http://trentaustin.bandcamp.com or click here.  Enjoy!

 

Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center

This was as close as we could get. The crowd was crushing and starting
to get a little scary. I'm not claustrophobic, but it was very
crowded. Very.

The Evening Show & After

We liked Time Stands Still much better than Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Seeing Laura Linney live was amazing. The whole cast was awesome. The subject matter was a bit depressing, but it was a good play. It was much better than that Bloody Bloody silliness.

We went out to a piano bar at Don't Tell Mama, which we had gone to the last time we were in the city. Before, it was a sparse crowd of die-hard theater lovers listening to show tunes. Tonight, there was a big crowd of loud, obnoxious straights talking over the music. It was so good before and so not good tonight. We're back in the room after a wonderful day despite some disapointments.

Getting ready for bed and hearing lots of car horns outside our window. Yikes!

Dinner at Wolfgang's

Dinner with Wolfgang

We had diiner at Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Midtown. They tricked us by having the lunch menu outside on display. We suffered sticker shock once we got inside, because the prices were substantially higher--Substantially. I had the salmon and Shane had a filet mignon. It was good though. Not sure if this restaurant is associated with Me. Puck. I saw no sign of him.

Free Concert by the Gin Blossoms

We happened upon a free concert by the Gin Blossoms, who were taping a segment for Fox News's New Year's Eve Show. We were right near the front and should be on camera, so look for us on December 31st on Fox News (I never ever thought I would write that sentence!). I wanted to give Shane a big kiss while on cam on Fox News, but he wouldn't go for it. The trio of bimbos...I mean reporters (2 blonds and a brunette--i didn't think they hired non-blond spokes models)introducing the band looked like vacant-eyed Miss America contestants. The Gin Blossoms sang Hey Jealousy and a couple other songs... Very cool. I'm not sure why the band would agree to appear on The evil Fox News, but they did talk about their recent trip to Iraq and how happy they were that things were winding down over there. That probably will get cut though, since it is outside the Fox News talking points.

Our Next Show: Time Stands Still

We're seeing a regular play--a non-musical with Laura Linney and
Christina Ricci... Time Stands Still.

My Review of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

We could have seen Donny and Marie! BBAJ reminded me of those singers
from the FreeCreditReport.com commercials... For 90 minutes. Big
mistake.

Street View from Our Hotel

We're only on the third floor, so Shane is concerned about street
noise. The Hotel seems nice (clean) though. Posted this while in the
theater waiting for Bloody Bloody to start.

A Quick Bite Before the Show

Where else but Mickey Ds.

Time Square Crowd

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

This is the musical we got tickets for at TKTS. I heard it was
good... We'll see.

Shane Checks for Bed Bugs

We arrived at our hotel--a Courtyard Marriot in lower Manhattan.
We're trying to get up to Time Square in time to see a matinee.

Inside the Tunnel

I'm driving Shane crazy with all this blogging. Listening to NYC from
Annie.

Even the Tunnel Is Festive

Approaching the Holland Tunnel

Heading Into New York City

Shane and I are driving to NYC for the weekend!

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Annie Lennox

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #267

I will be requiring a Braille menu.  Didn't you notice my seeing-eye bees?

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #267.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

Maude Is Not Always Ladylike

There's Still My Joy by the Indigo Girls

Celebrity Siting: Mary Poppins?

At the Magic Kingdom

Surprisingly, Disney World is quite crowded the day after Thanksgiving.

Three Generations at Thanksgiving

Shane's grandmother, his mom and him get ready for their Thanksgiving
feast. The glass door behind Shane and his mom reflects the view.

Thanksgiving in Florida

I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner and i'm thankful that it turned
our pretty good. The turkey was moist and tender--the best I ever had
actually... if I do say so myself. We started with Butternut Squash
and Apple Soup. The second course was an Apple Salad with craisins,
blue cheese crumbles, toasted pecans in a spring mix of greens with
either blue cheese or pomegranate vinaigrette dressing. The main
course was a buffet of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, glazed
carrots, cheesy corn medley and biscuts. Shane's mom made a delicious
apple pie for dessert. She also did the hors d'oeuvres, including her
yummy deviled eggs. The photo is, from left to right, Shane's
stepdad, Jerry; Shane's grandmother, Jesse (Nana); Shane's mom,
Sharon; and Shane. We ate out on our Lanai. Hope everyone's day was
as nice! Happy Thanksgiving!