Audi gets jealous

As soon as we get a new car, the audi decides that it wants to act out. Greg took it into the shop to have his check engine light repaired and his washer fluid leak to be fixed and we came out with a nightmare. About 2-3 days after it came out of the shop, he didn't have heat, it smelled as if it were burning something and it seemed to be leaking some unknown fluid. Good thing he didn't have to drive back and forth to work or else we would have been working with just one car to get to and from places. On the way back in to the shop, the audi starts billowing smoke from the underneath the car. I'm not saying a little bit of smoke but a lot of smoke...like I was looking for flames from the hood. ( I was following Greg to the shop so that we could just leave it there and have it looked at again). Good thing I was there! Greg was flagged down from a nice man in a truck who said that he shouldn't drive his car anymore because he thought he would do more damage to it. So here we are on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck to come get his car and take it to the shop.

the tow truck arrives....

they are looking for some clip to connect the chains to on the car
up it goes... Greg was worried that the front end was going to scrape the truck because it was lowered

at the shop without any problems

such a pretty little car and a very jealous one at that! the audi is now fixed but still needs an allignment, new tires, and shocks. This might wait until the spring.

UPDATE for prior post - Greg's new tv was taken back to the store because it had this odd stripe in the picture that went from the top left corner to the middle of the tv. We are still searching for a new one.

Greg gets a new toy

Well after much debate, Greg bought a new toy - a 55 inch Vizio LED/LCD tv. He has researched and researched multiple tv's and supposedly this one is the most bang for your buck. He is fascinated with it. I have to admit, it has a very clear crisp picture but the thing is huge. We are still trying to decide if we should keep it ( it has a small swirly streak in the screen - not quite sure it this is normal- might be taking it back). Here are some pics of it...

the box it came in, filled up the entire back of my car

this box looks as tall as the couch in the background

notice that the tv is bigger than the tv stand and it fills in the space between the windows (the other tv did not fill up this space)

watching trailers...

the old tv (42 inch plasma, anyone interested in making a purchase for their home?)

the end of a decade and the start of a new one

Okay so what we have all been waiting for, pics of my new car. This was my christmas present from Greg. We have been trying to get this car for 4 months. Needless to say, it is in high demand and Greg and I were trying to get the right price. I call it my "mommy" car ( and no I am not pregnant). It is a 2010 Toyota Highlander. It has everything I wanted in a car and then some. I retired my old Toyota 4-Runner after 11.5 yrs and got the highlander. I plan on driving it for a decade as well.


Silver and limited (I only wanted grey, black, silver, white or red) Silver is what I got.

Such a beauty...

Ash leather interior with heated seats. Sunroof, buttons on the steering wheel. Bluetooth capability... when people call their voices come through the speakers.

This console is huge. I sometimes feel like I am driving a boat. This is supposed to be smaller than the 4-runner (new style) but I think it is bigger than my old 4-runner. It rides very smooth.

The back seat is very spacious. It also has a third row that folds up and down very easily. This way no one will ever have to sit in the back of the trunk (which was either my sister or I or both)

So here it is, my pride and joy (of course after my husband and MacGruber). Greg drove it back from SC on Thurs Dec 31st b/c I had to come back early and work. I had never seen my actual car before Greg brought it back to VA. I am very pleased and hopefully it will last as long as the 4-runner. Thanks Greg!!!
:)

Christmas in SC part 3

On Sat Dec 26th - my last day in SC, my aunt Lucy, cousins Michael and Elizabeth came into town from CT. It is a tradition to go see the Christmas lights at this house in Mauldin SC. This couple starts decorating in October and puts lights up in the neighbor's yard. It is probably the most impressive light show I have ever seen. They have popcorn, hot chocolate and a fire out front. A movie playing on the garage and the lights synchronized to music. So cool and the display gets bigger every year.


The front of the house - i think they have added more blowup displays this year.

The driveway. Look at all the people there - this year they had signs in the neighborhood directing people where to go.

Mom posing in the walkway aroung the house.

Michael, Elizabeth, Aunt Lucy, Uncle Norman, Uncle Joe and Mom (hot chocolate and popcorn in hand)

My moms handy picture taking...notice her glove is blocking some of the picture.

More handy mom picture taking (Norman and I in front of the house)

Mom and Norman in front of the house

The whole gang, guess who is taking the picture.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your holidays!!!

Christmas in SC part 2

Christmas eve we spent with Greg's family. We went to Christmas mass where Greg's mom directed the music -it was beautiful and the had dinner together. It was yummy. We then played pictionary - kids (Greg, jenny and I) against adults (Kathy, Izzy, Mema, and Pepa). the kids beat the adults by a landslide.

Izzy playing pictionary.

Greg and his sister Jenny going head to head on Christmas morning ( this is when the girls played against the boys)

The girls lost this round...It was quicksand.

Izzy, Kathy, Greg and Jenny

Greg and his sister Jenny Greg and I

Christmas morning we were with Greg's family. We opened presents, ate brunch and headed over to my mom's house. MacGruber trying to get into his stocking.

Macgruber got this toy out of the stocking and immediately started trying to destroy it.

He got out the pigs ear and stopped digging for treats. He was done.

We ate dinner, opened presents and hung out with the family.

The present my brother gave my mom
Imagine my mom saying ahhh.... while opening this present - it was a memory foam matress pad.

Greg and my mom playing hungry hungry hippos with my cousins.

Christmas trip to SC

This year (our first year in another state) we went to SC for Christmas. I was very lucky in getting off for the Christmas holiday - however I did pay a small price to get it off, I worked 48 hours over Thanksgiving. We left on Friday the 18th and I returned on Sunday the 27th. Here's a quick breakdown of what we managed to do while we were there.

Friday the 18th - spent 8 hours in the car driving through rain, sleet, and snow. We drove straight to my in-laws to celecrate Christmas with Gregs dad and Tammy because they we going out of town the next day. We then quicky went over to my mom's house to say Happy Birthday to my little sister Kim. We finally headed to Greg's mom's house to stay for a few days.

Saturday the 19th - We headed to the dealership to talk about getting a new car. Sadly, we left without one. We hung out with Greg's mom, Izzy, Mema, and Pepa - had dinner and played dominoes - Greg tried to cheat at this game :)

Sunday the 20th - We celebrated Christmas with Greg's aunt, uncle and cousins from Columbia, SC. We watched a movie with the family and spent some nice family time together.

Monday the 21st - Baby day! I had lunch with my mom, younger sister and older sister (michelle) who is expecting a little boy in April. We then went to the furniture store and saw the bedding, crib, furniture she is getting as well as picked out a rocker for the nursery. I love the baby stuff and can't wait to be an aunt.

Tuesday the 22nd - did nothing but hung out at my mom's house. Greg actually brought his computer (desktop not laptop) and xbox to SC so if we had some down time he could get some playing in. No I don't mind that he does this - I knew this about him well before we got married.

Wednesday the 23rd - We drove to Columbia, SC to pick up Greg's sister Jenny from the airport. She was flying in from Austin, TX. She got to participate in Greg's obsession with Fuddruckers on the way home (we had to eat there for lunch). That night we went to Tim's new house to hang out for a Hollytrean night. (Hollytree is the subdivision that Greg grew up in and he has 5 friends that all get together when someone comes to visit). We missed Jeff and Beth who were in TN visiting some family. Brian, Todd, Tim and Greg at Tim's.

Kristen, Beri, Brian and Todd - Todd and Kristen live in NC.

Brian and Beri who live in Atlanta, GA.

Next post will be Christmas eve and on... this seemed to be getting to be quite a large post.

Merry Christmas to me!

Just wanted to let everyone know, I got an early Christmas present which I wasn't expecting until January. I passed my boards!! This was one of the most stressful tests I have ever taken and one I don't have to take again for 7 years! I was teaching PALS (pediatric advanced life support class) when my friend and coworker texted me to say that our scores were available. I couldn't stop teaching just to look it up on the computer ( however if I had a blackberry or iphone I could have). At lunchtime I was finally able to look online and it said my certification expires in 7 years but I couldn't figure out how to read the online letter that actually says you passed. After 3-4 more attempts of searching and getting on 2 other computers to try to open this document, I finally saw proof that the American Board of Pediatrics told me I passed!!!! Yay!!! What a relief. I guess my trip to Greg's cousin's wedding the weekend before the boards didn't cause too much of a problem.
I would also like to congratulate the entire pediatric residency class from Greenville for having a 100% board pass rate. This is a big deal for our program. Congrats Rebecca, Rob, Emily, Jessica, Kristy, Amanda, India, and Mary!