In My Head


Thursday, December 28, 2006
I was reviewing the post from the beginning of the year in which I listed my goals for 2006. I wanted to see how many of them I actually accomplished during the year. Here's an update:

1. Be in bed and asleep by 10 p.m. on work nights. Hah!

Even as I wrote that goal, I knew there was no way I'd ever be able to do it consistently. Over the summer I was doing really well, because I was getting up at 5:30 a.m. and going to the gym before work. But in the last couple months, I have been suffering from a serious lack of sleep. So this goal was not fully attained. Bummer.

2. Take a daily multi-vitamin. Even if it's Flintstones.

As if! I took a vitamin faithfully... for about two weeks! Then I forgot. I'm so bad at remembering to take pills, it's a miracle I remembered to take my birth control pills for ten years without any "accidents."

3. Get some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes, at least four days a week. Racquetball, weight-lifting, walking are some ideas.

Unless the weather is really bad, I walk close to three miles every day. Lately I've been slacking off due to holiday crazyness, but otherwise I've stuck to the walking pretty religiously. I do need to start lifting again, though.

4. Plan my meals better so that when I'm hungry, I can eat something nutritious and homemade, thereby reducing the frequency of eating out.

Hmmm...I've tried to do this. Lately I've lost interest in cooking, so I need to get my mojo back in this area.

5. Study for and pass the ASPPA DC-2 exam, so I can get the QKA designation for my job.

Done! In fact I just received my ASPPA QKA certificate and membership card two weeks ago. Yay, me! Now I'm thinking about getting the next designation, which is the Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA). That would entail two more torturous exams, one of which is dedicated solely to Defined Benefit plans...ugh.

6. Start thinking about having a baby. Perhaps.

Still thinking about it. I've been having a lot of baby lust, particularly when I interact with our friends' kids. When we visited Rochester for Thanksgiving, we saw Brian's friends' babies (a one-year old and a six-month old) and when I held them, I really thought my ovaries were going to explode! I just love babies. Frankly, we just need to start having more sex. A LOT more.

7. Travel somewhere fun. No more Caribbean islands, please...I'm talking Europe, Africa, or somewhere I've never visited within the borders of these great United States. I've always wanted to go to a dude ranch. Brian thinks I'm nuts but I'm totally serious. Hee-haw!

Unfortunately, the most exciting trip we took in 2006 was two days outside of Syracuse, NY for a wedding. Not exactly what I had in mind when I wrote "somewhere fun." This year, we MUST go somewhere awesome. Hint, hint...

8. Pay off all the new appliances that we bought when we moved into the new house.

Done! I think we had them all paid off by May.

9. Volunteer.

I was way too busy studying for those ASPPA exams to even think about volunteering. Oh well.

10. Continue on the home improvement spree. I slowed down due to studying for DC-1 and then the holiday onslaught began. Now I have all the time in the world to paint and strip wallpaper!

We definitely did a lot to the house this year. Let's see...we:

-painted the basement, the guest bathroom, the master bedroom, the two guest rooms, the upstairs hallway and stairwell
-removed, repainted, and rehung the vinyl shutters on all the windows, and repainted the front door and the trim around the garage and sidelight to match
-installed a new screen slider to the deck
-removed the old mailbox and installed a new wrought-iron Victorian style mailbox
-removed the handrail next to the front step that had rotted out
-had extensive landscaping done--still a work in progress--including pulling up two dead trees, planting a bunch of shrubs, and laying down 6 yards of mulch around the perimeter of the deck (thank you for doing that, honey!)
-installed a small water feature in the backyard all by ourselves
-installed new light fixtures in the hallway and the guest bathroom
-installed new ceiling fans in two bedrooms, the living room, the family room, and the kitchen
-had new carpeting installed throughout the second floor and the stairwell
-bought new furniture (sofa, chair, and tables) for the basement family room, along with a new TV and a home theatre system
-built a custom upholstered window cornice for the guest bathroom window all by ourselves!
-installed a remote control garage door keypad for outside access
-installed a doorbell chime extender so that we can hear the doorbell in the basement
-installed two self-timers for the outside lights (and almost blew up the house putting in the second one...oops!)
-had a new hot water heater installed
-had a new sump pump system installed
-hung various artwork, candle sconces, and curtain rods throughout the house

Jesus! We did more than I thought this year. Looking at this list, I'm amazed that we ever had any downtime on the weekends to just relax and hang out!

In 2007, I would like to get a shed for the backyard so we can move all the lawn and garden crap out of our garage. I would also like to get a new oven in the kitchen. And maybe a new bed.

Did you meet your goals in 2006? What are your goals for 2007?

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Posted by Lori at 12/28/2006 11:53:00 AM |
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
If you know me, then you know that I like to keep myself occupied at all times. I'm truly happiest when I have some kind of project to tackle. Nothing excites me more than a to-do list. It keeps me out of trouble (read: distracts me from my shopping addiction).

Obviously, home improvement projects have been keeping me considerably busy for the past year. We've done a lot of work to the house since we moved in last August: some basic landscaping, upgrades in the forms of new ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, and plumbing work, and TONS of painting. That's all well and good, but lately I've found myself wanting to engage in more cerebral pursuits.

My friend Christina recently emailed me and asked me to join her book club. I've also been investigating an advanced non-credit Spanish class at a local college, just because I love foreign languages and I miss using that part of my brain.

And then there's Toastmasters.

My career will soon be taking a turn that will require quite a bit of public speaking. I find that prospect at once exciting and utterly terrifying. Contrary to all outward appearances, I am really very quiet. Unless, of course, there are copious amounts of Bacardi involved. Last year, I blogged about the results of my Myers-Briggs personality type indicator (which I found to be DEAD-ON for me, incidentally) and I am a true INTJ--introverted to the extreme. Most days, my job requires me to be the total opposite of who I naturally am. It's almost like flipping a switch.

Anyway, back to the public speaking thing. I'm wondering if any of my (laughably few! but very loyal!!) readers has experience with Toastmasters. Are they really as cultish as they seem? I guess I should check out a few of my local chapters, just to see what exactly goes on in there.

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Posted by Lori at 8/30/2006 03:10:00 PM |
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Thank you for all the good thoughts. I took the DC-2 exam yesterday afternoon and passed it! It was seriously difficult, despite all my studying. There were quite a few stumpers on it, so I just took my best guess.

I am so happy and relieved, you have no idea. Now I just have to submit the application for the QKA credentials to ASPPA. Hooray!

Brian took me out to dinner last night and we had a great time. Then I came home and mowed the lawn. I know, I'm strange! But I have been so consumed by this exam for so many weeks that it felt awesome to be able to relax and get some work done around the house. Plus, yesterday was sunny and dry for the first time in almost a week, so I wanted to take advantage of the good weather.

At bedtime, we were laying there and I started to laugh. Brian asked suspiciously, "What are you laughing about? Do I even want to know?"

I replied, "I'm laughing because every night for the past three months, I have thought and obsessed and worried about this exam before I fell asleep...and now I don't know what to think about, since I don't have to worry about the exam anymore!"

He sighed and was silent for a moment, then said in a resigned voice, "I guess that means we'll have to start painting the basement now, right?"

That man. He knows me so well! I always need a project to keep me occupied or else I go stir-crazy.

And it looks like I'll be getting that iPod after all...

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Posted by Lori at 6/29/2006 10:37:00 AM |
Monday, May 08, 2006

Now that I've gotten that last piece of information off my chest, I can tell you about the stupidest thing I've done in a long time, which happened just last night.

First, the backstory: about a month ago, I had purchased an Intermatic digital timer light switch at Home Depot, because I wanted the post light on our front lawn to turn on and off automatically. Surprisingly enough, I installed it with minimal trouble, ALL BY MYSELF, in about twenty minutes. All I had to do was shut off the breaker that controlled the light, undo the wiring to the original Decora switch, and then hook up and secure the new timer switch. It worked beautifully, and I was deliriously happy that I no longer had to bother with turning the outside light on and off every night.

(Sidenote: yes, I am a humungous GEEK. As I've noted here before, it's really the little things in life that make me giddy with glee.)

This accomplishment led me to believe that I could tackle any electrical conundrum with ease. So last week, I bought yet another digital timer switch for the light sconce just outside our garage door. There was just one minor (in my mind, anyway) difference: the double light switch that controlled both the inside and outside garage lights were simple flip switches, and the digital timer switch is only available in a wide Decora version.

No big deal, though. I just bought a plain Decora switch and faceplate in addition to the timer switch, figuring I could remove the flip switches and install the new Decora switches and faceplate. How hard could it be?

So after dinner last night, I decided to get my latest project underway. The Huz was due back from his long weekend golf vacation, and I wanted to surprise him when he got home. I opened the garage door to give me plenty of light to work by, then went to the basement, figured out which breaker controlled the garage lightswitch, and turned it off.

I came back to the garage, unscrewed the face plate of the existing switches, and assessed the situation. First of all, there was hardly any slack on any of the wires in the box. Also, I noticed a black wire running from the first switch's bottom terminal to the second switch's bottom terminal. Hmmm, how odd, I thought. Wonder what that is?

Nevertheless, I forged ahead. I carefully undid the wires for both flipswitches, and freed them from the electrical box. Then I began installing the regular Decora switch for the garage's interior light. I had to strip back a bit of both wires, but I didn't run into much trouble otherwise. I carefully pulled the new switch away from the exposed wires for the second switch, then ran back downstairs to flip the breaker back on. When I came upstairs, the interior garage light was working! I crowed victoriously and did a little impromptu happy dance. Actually, if you must know, I did the Cabbage Patch right there in my open garage, for all my neighbors to witness (none did).

From there, I went back downstairs and shut off the breaker again. Then I began installing the new timer switch. That was a real bitch, quite frankly. The wires were not cooperating and there was hardly any slack to work with, not to mention I nearly impaled my left hand with my needlenose pliers. Eventually, I did hook up the timer switch, tested it successfully, and again did my little Cabbage Patch while chanting, "I am woman, hear me roar!"

Humming happily, I carefully attached the new faceplate just as The Huz pulled up in the driveway. He came into the garage to see what I was up to, and I smugly informed him that I had done it AGAIN! He smiled and hugged me while congratulating me on a job well done. We then took his bags inside the house, and I heated up some dinner for him while he recapped his golf trip to Ocean City, MD for me.

About an hour passed, and I suddenly remembered that I hadn't shut the garage door after finishing my work. I practically skipped through the family room and stuck my hand out the screen door into the garage to press the "close" button on the wall unit.

Nothing.

I stepped out in the garage and pressed it again, several times, quickly.

Still nothing.

Panicked, I went out to the driveway and tried to close it using the battery-controlled keypad that I'd installed on the outer frame of the garage door earlier this year. The keypad lit up as I punched in the PIN, but the door didn't budge. In a perfect moment of irony, the new timer switch turned on the garage sconce light just as I hit "Enter" on the keypad, further illuminating the immobile garage door.

After about a half-hour's worth of cursing (mine) and interrogation (The Huz: "Are you SURE you hooked all the wires back up EXACTLY the way you found them?"), we gave up and called our electrician. How embarrassing. My chest, which had been puffed up with pride only a few hours before, was completely deflated in defeat. Except for my boobs. They were still jutting out there, proud as ever.

Luckily, The Huz was off from work today, and the electrician came out and fixed my boo-boo in about twenty minutes, to the tune of $125. Turns out the switch in the garage was a three-way, and not a single pole, as the first one I'd hooked up had been. Way too advanced for me.

Doh!

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Posted by Lori at 5/08/2006 02:47:00 PM |
Monday, April 24, 2006
I'm back, and I finally feel somewhat normal again. For two straight weeks after my grandpa died, I felt like I was in a total fog. I had the worst insomnia EVER, and sleeping is the one thing I truly excel at doing. It took me hours to fall asleep, and when I finally did, I was waking up intermittently throughout the night. I'm still having a bit of trouble sleeping, but not as much as before. But for the most part, it seems I've gotten back into my usual routine...going to the gym, cooking real meals, cleaning up the house, doing yardwork. Thankfully.

The weekend was mostly a washout, due to all the rain we got, so I did some housework on Saturday. Then I got sucked into watching VH-1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars. Seeing all those poster boys from Tiger Beat reminded me how completely boy-crazy I was, even as a little girl. Come to think of it, I'm still kinda boy-crazy. I just love men! I can't relate to women who stop looking at other men as soon as they're married, or even in a relationship. How is that possible? I am constantly checking guys out. And not just sexually--though I regularly encounter one or two guys I could imagine fucking within an inch of their lives, if I and/or they weren't married or otherwise attached. I can usually see at least a few redeeming qualities in most men, even those who wouldn't be considered conventionally attractive--especially if a guy can make me laugh. A guy with a great sense of humor is so freaking hot to me...it almost trumps any other quality or personality trait, in my eyes. I guess I just appreciate the differences between men and women.

Anyway, back on track. Yesterday, I took my mom out shopping for the afternoon. My biggest purchase was a post hole digger from Home Depot, woohoo. Then I came home and mowed the lawn, did some laundry, hung some pictures, and installed the new cellular shade I'd bought for our bathroom window.

Next weekend: going to a bridal shower in upstate NY. Good times, y'all.

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Posted by Lori at 4/24/2006 11:32:00 AM |
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
I know I posted about this before, but I'm still stuck.

This past Saturday, our new sofa and chair for the basement arrived. They are upholstered in a brick reddish chenille. The sofa has two toss pillows upholstered in a geometric pattern, with little squares of the same color as the sofa, plus small chocolate brown and dark gold squares.

So what color should I paint the walls?

Here are some facts:

We are going for a cozy, masculine, pub-type of look.

The current carpet (which I hate) is a greyish-beige berber with little flecks of dark red, dark grey, and eggplant. Yuck, but I'll have to live with it for now.

The basement gets no natural light at all. The two windows down there are located in the unfinished part of the basement, behind closed doors. But there are many recessed lights in the ceiling of the finished portion of the room.

We're thinking of putting up chair rail moulding around the perimeter of the entire room.

I've been looking at a dark green with greyish undertones. Green is red's opposite on the color wheel, which supposedly is a good choice, according to many interior decorating websites I've seen. However, I'm afraid that putting a red sofa and chair against green walls will make it seem like Christmas year-round. Granted, the green is very dark, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

Then again, I've been looking at a chocolatey brown for the walls, a few shades lighter than the brown in the throw pillows.

Also, should I paint the wall two different colors if we do wind up installing a chair rail? Like a darker color on the bottom half of the wall and a lighter color on the top half?

Usually I am pretty good at picking colors and pulling a decorating scheme together. I don't know why I'm struggling so much this time. I think it's because the walls are currently two different but equally garish shades of robin's egg blue. It looks like a Smurf threw up all over the basement. If the walls were off-white, it would probably be easier to make a decision.

I promise I'll post some photos soon.

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Posted by Lori at 4/04/2006 09:33:00 AM |
Monday, March 27, 2006
Man, my weekends have been so busy lately!

First of all, we rented Capote this weekend. Despite my love for Joaquin, I have to say that Philip Seymour Hoffman did deserve to win that Oscar. His performance was outstanding. The movie itself was slow, though. My mind began to wander about halfway through it.

We also rented Mr. and Mrs. Smith and watched it last night. It was entertaining, but definitely required too much suspension of disbelief. I still believe I am the only woman in North America who just doesn't find Brad Pitt attractive. At all. Yes, you can pick your jaws up off the floor now. And The Huz and I agreed that Angelina's boobs are totally fake.

We did some more work on the house this weekend. Since we're getting new carpeting throughout the second floor of the house next week, we decided to do as much painting as possible beforehand. Last weekend, we painted both guest bedrooms. On Saturday, we painted the hallway and the stairwell, which was a challenge. Fortunately, we have a really cool store nearby called Rental World, and we rented a 16-foot painter's plank so that we could paint the high walls above the stairs. The best part was that it only cost $7.50 to rent for the day! Our friend Joe came over and the three of us knocked out two coats of paint in about four hours.

I also picked up a Decora timer switch for our outdoor lamppost and installed it all by myself. This thing is SO cool...it can be set to go on and off according to the sunset and sunrise, or it can be programmed either by individual days, weeknights, and weekends. It only cost $20 at Home Depot and took me about 20 minutes to install. So easy! And now I don't have to worry about turning the outside light on and off. It will always be on as soon as it gets dark outside. Love it!!

(Sad what gets me excited these days, isn't it?!?)

Yesterday I went shopping with my mom for the first time in over a month. Brian and I have been so busy with house projects that I haven't had the chance to get out with her. We went to Kohl's, Homegoods (my favorite!), Bed Bath and Beyond, and had lunch at Panera. It was a nice day. I always have fun with my mom.

On the way home, I stopped at a store called The Dump. It's a warehouse that sells off-price and overstocked furniture, area rugs, and mattresses. I've been there several times in the past and never found anything I really wanted or needed. They have a lot of unusual stuff; think of that scene in The Birdcage where Robin Williams and Nathan Lane redecorate their condo before the senator comes to visit. Yeah...the Dump sells a lot of very austere and monastery-like furniture. But yesterday I picked up two burgundy Italian leather cube ottomans for $88 a piece, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I'm going to use them as a coffee table base for the basement seating area. They are the perfect size and height for it, and I've seen it done before on a few decorating shows. Now I just have to get a couple of wooden trays to put on top of the ottomans to create a "tabletop." I found unfinished square wooden trays online at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $16. I think I'll buy them and stain them dark cherry. The sofa and chair we ordered are being delivered next Saturday, and the fabric we picked out is a dark rusty red chenille with coordinating pillows. Hopefully it will all work together.

Anyway, that brings us to my question about decorating our basement. We still have a lot of work to do down there. Currently, the walls are two different cringe-inducing shades of sky blue, with a cartoon Noah's Ark border in the center of the walls. It used to be a kid's playroom, I guess. We removed most of the border already, but still have major patching to do before we can paint. We're aiming for a dark, intimate, pub-like decor, much to The Huz's excitement, because we plan to eventually build a small bar down there. I would like to put up a chair rail, and paint the bottom half of the walls a dark color...green, perhaps. But then I'm thinking of hanging a patterned wallpaper above the chair rail. Something very subtle and on the masculine side. Maybe a diamond or stripe pattern.

How hard is it to hang wallpaper? I've never done it before and I'm a little intimidated. I'm not usually a wallpaper type of girl, but I feel like it would be a good choice in this instance.

Any pointers or tips are much appreciated, as always!

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Posted by Lori at 3/27/2006 11:13:00 AM |
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Whew! It's good to be back. I fell hard last Wednesday due to an unexpected case of strep throat. I have no idea how I got it. Haven't had it since I was a kid. It came on so suddenly...Wednesday morning I felt fine, then by lunch started getting that weird taste in my mouth that always precedes a cold. By Wednesday afternoon, I felt like I was hit by a freight train. Fever, chills, sweating, couldn't swallow, hurt to talk.

I'll spare you the details, but just know that I'm extremely grateful for antibiotics. Still not feeling 100%, but much improved today.

Anyhoo...although I missed the New Year, I figured I'd post my goals for this coming year today. Better late than never!

2006 Goals (in random order)

1. Be in bed and asleep by 10 p.m. on work nights. Hah!
2. Take a daily multi-vitamin. Even if it's Flintstones.
3. Get some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes, at least four days a week. Racquetball, weight-lifting, walking are some ideas.
4. Plan my meals better so that when I'm hungry, I can eat something nutritious and homemade, thereby reducing the frequency of eating out.
5. Study for and pass the ASPPA DC-2 exam, so I can get the QKA designation for my job.
6. Start thinking about having a baby. Perhaps.
7. Travel somewhere fun. No more Caribbean islands, please...I'm talking Europe, Africa, or somewhere I've never visited within the borders of these great United States. I've always wanted to go to a dude ranch. Brian thinks I'm nuts but I'm totally serious. Hee-haw!
8. Pay off all the new appliances that we bought when we moved into the new house.
9. Volunteer.
10. Continue on the home improvement spree. I slowed down due to studying for DC-1 and then the holiday onslaught began. Now I have all the time in the world to paint and strip wallpaper!

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and fulfilling 2006!

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Posted by Lori at 1/03/2006 01:03:00 PM |
Monday, October 31, 2005
You know, I have been insanely busy. I feel awful for neglecting this little piece of internet realty.

We rented the movie "Crash" on Friday night. What a powerful, interesting story! It really made me think. Definitely not a feel-good piece, though. At the end of it, I was quite disturbed for the remainder of the evening, even though it attempted to go out on a high note with the suggestion of redemption.

Overall, I thought it was an excellent movie. Of course, I think that any movie with Don Cheadle is great, so no surprise there. It featured quite an ensemble of actors: Sandra Bullock (in a decidedly different role), Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Ludacris (who I thought did a great job), Larenz Tate, Brendan Fraser, and Ryan Phillippe.

We spent most of the day Saturday painting our bedroom. Between Coat #1 and Coat #2, I did endless loads of laundry, and made French onion soup.

Time-out: can someone please tell me how two adults manage to create SO MUCH DIRTY LAUNDRY? I did four loads over the weekend, and when I opened the hamper this morning, it was full again! Maddening!

October 21 marked the beginning of my 28th year on this planet. The Huz surprised me with Rachael Ray's newest cookbook, and we went out to dinner with some friends of ours. It was a great time.

I can't believe I'm 28. It seems that all my life, I have been waiting for my chronological age to catch up with my perception of my maturity. In school, I often felt frustrated by my classmates, because they acted so much younger than I did. Most times, my good friends were several years older...I got along with them better, and felt that they understood me, too.

Now, however, it seems that it's going the other way for me. At what point will I feel like a "grown-up"? This is something I ponder all the time.

I am married with a mortgage. I have been working a full-time job since I was 21, and have even remained in the same industry. I have a platinum MasterCard and an impeccable credit rating. I subscribe to Reader's Digest (well...I didn't subsribe to it; my dad gave me a gift subscription to it...but still, I read it every month when it comes!). I garden and cook for pleasure, for pete's sake, which I had always considered "old people hobbies." I can't remember the last time I got sick from drinking too much. Yet, I still feel like a kid most of the time.

Last week, I received an invitation to my 10-year high school reunion, which is being held the Friday night after Thanksgiving. I decided to attend, just out of blatant curiosity, since I was never really close to anyone in my class. So after I RSVP'ed yes, I logged onto Classmates.com because I'm nosy, and wanted to see what my fellow Class of 1995 grads were up to. Many of them have a kid...or three!

I'm still not sure if I even want to be a parent. I like my life the way it is now! I only have to take care of myself, my two cats, and my husband (to a reasonable degree). I still cannot imagine being wholly responsible for another human being, 24/7. It scares me. I don't know where I'd get the energy to do it. And I'd be afraid to mess it up. Don't get me wrong, I loooove kids. Just can't imagine birthing and raising one at the moment.

Maybe if/when I have a kid, I'll finally feel like an adult. But still, not in any hurry to do it. Much to my mother-in-law's dismay. Ugh.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Posted by Lori at 10/31/2005 11:45:00 AM |
Friday, September 23, 2005
Well, it's already Friday...hard to believe. This week went very fast for me.

If you were following my old blog, you might remember that I said I had a family reunion to attend last Saturday. I was wrong. It's tomorrow in NJ. I have been so confused with dates and times this month. I don't know why. Ever since I took a week off from work to move into the house, I've been mixed up.

I'm also about to give a blood donation to the Red Cross. They have set up a Bloodmobile at my office building, and my appointment is in about 15 minutes. I haven't given blood in a while, so I'm a bit nervous. The last time I did, I hadn't had enough fluids beforehand, and I wound up passing out. Oops.

Other than that, we will be painting our kitchen and family room this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll even take some before/after shots and post them here!

Happy Friday!

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Posted by Lori at 9/23/2005 01:27:00 PM |

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