Buxton

Originally uploaded by Christian Sculpher Photography.

I'd like to introduce to you our new cat, Buxton (or Sir Buxton). We went to a local no-kill shelter and picked him out (or rather - he picked us out!) and returned on Monday after he'd had all his checks done and a few little things taken care of. He's currently Lord of the Master Bathroom - and is a loving and inquisitive fellow.

All systems go!

Time: 7:15am Central

As you can see - Kelly's positioned outside the test center with Olaf, her lucky Viking. Sadly he's not allowed in - as he has already passed his Series 7 and knows all the answers.


Everybody - keep praying!!!!

Update: She passed!

Exam Day

Three alarms were set to ensure we woke up at 6am sharp. It was the first time since we gave up working at Bloomberg that we had to wake up whilst it was still dark outside. We dressed and were out of the house by 7am, to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the testing center in Dallas. Rush hour wasn't as bad as we had anticipated, so we showed up at Prometric at 7:32 (still fairly dark outside). We entered the exam center and I signed in with Gloria at the front desk, who was lovely and inviting. Just what I needed as my heart was beating so hard I thought it would vacate my chest.
I was allowed to bring nothing into the actual exam room but my drivers license, so my pocket book, bottle of water, and Olaf went straight into a locker close to the front desk.
Christian sat with me for a few minutes, but around 7:40 Gloria advised me I could go in early if I so desired, rather than wait till 8am. I felt it was better to get the whole sordid affair over with, so I sent Christian away, with the agreement that he would meet me back there at 10:30 for my mandatory half hour break in 3 hours.
To go into the exam room, they checked my ID and made me sign in with the exact time. Behind the sign in desk I saw each desk individually on the monitor, in color. They watch you closely there. The penalty for cheating on the Series 7 is severe; you are permanently blocked from ever working in securities and get the privilege of paying a meagre $250,000.
There were about 15 stations in the testing room, and I was the first one in. Gloria led me to my station, where I was freshly armed with 2 pencils, some pink scrap paper, and a calculator; standard issue.
I went through the online tutorial then proceeded onto the exam. I went through each question as best I could, with a few others filing in and taking their respective tests (nursing, citizenship, etc) around me. I finished part one and collected my things to sign out for my mandatory break. What was supposed to take 3 hours took me less than two. I called Christian who was still at home, as he wasn't supposed to leave for another hour yet, and told him to just come back and get me around 11. I was back inside taking my exam at 9:50, and part two was by far harder. I started to panic around question 80, just wanting it to be over. When I finally clicked FINISHED it took a good 20 seconds to collate the answers and return a score. The word PASS was the first I saw and I relaxed my shoulders for the first time in 2 months, in a tremendous moment of relief. I've kept my job!
I signed out and Christian was waiting in the car for me outside. It was 11:50. The exam is supposed to be finished by 3pm.
Now we had the whole day. We went straight to Lewisville Furniture in Addison because we had a coupon, and I called everyone I could think of along the way. We bought a cute side table for the media room, then headed back home. It was cold and dreary out, so our plans to go to the arboritum to celebrate were put on hold.
I spent most of the afternoon speaking to family about the exam, then we got dressed and Christian took me out for my surprise meal. I had no idea where we were going. We drove to a REALLY posh area of Dallas to a restaurant called Celebrations (he covered my eyes but I sneaked a peak).

We entered the restaurant and I immediately heard Alex. I turned to Christian and said "My family is here?". We turned a corner and there at an enormous table was the entire family! Aunt Bell, Uncle Ed, Barbara Jones, the Jones Family and the Settles. Sue showed up right after us. We all had dinner together and it was wonderful.


When we returned home we went straight to Jay and Devalekha's house. Marlene and Chris and Charles and Christina, our other neighbors, all came over to give their Congratulations. We all sat together laughing and drinking Devalekha's amazing Sanghria that I love so much. We all then watched a video of Charles as James Brown on his cruise video, then we watched our wedding video.
I was so blessed to be surrounded by such supportive people throughout the entire ordeal.

Springtime

It looks like springtime is here. The picture says it all. This was taken at 9:22pm today

Finally finished!

It's been a long time coming - but the study is finally finished. Terry Bussing, carpenter extraordinaire just left after putting the finishing touches to the stained edging and it's finished.

It went from this....

...to this!

The Snows of Texas...

Surprisingly for Texas - we've experienced a 20 degree drop in temperature over the past few hours - the winds are really starting to blow and this is the view outside our bedroom window... (it may look like daytime - but this is around 11:45pm)

*update*

So - it's several days later (Thursday mid-morning) and the snow is REALLY coming down - I'll just quickly run outside to snap a piccy of the snow...

And here it is - snowy Texas. We're holed up in the study (recently finished) Kelly studying for her exams and Christian job searching.



For contrast - here is a picture of our street taken just 2 days before...

Arrival in Texas

Having grown up in the north, I always knew that birds flew south for the winter. We learned about it in school and each autumn in my youth I would watch the ‘V’ shaped patterns of the birds as they flew to warmer climes. Perhaps once or twice I wondered where they went, but never for long, imagining sparrows on a bough overlooking a carribean beach, or bluejays frolicking around the Amazon River. However, now I need ponder no more, because I know where birds fly for the winter. They come to Dallas, more specifically the corner of East Hebron Parkway and North Josey Lane.

We arrived in Carrollton on Saturday, November 10, driving straight to our new home. It was locked for the weekend, but we were amazed at how different it looked from when we had last seen it in April. There were more trees; the big Grand Homes sign had been removed, as had the flagpoles, but the grass had not yet been laid. We peered in, seeing our shiny new floors devoid of furniture. The house would remain locked for the entire weekend.

We arrived at cousin Sue’s house immediately after, and we all went to lunch at Sonic together. Our presence was still unknown to anyone else, as we decided to surprise everyone. Sue had been invited to dinner at Aunt Bell and Uncle Ed’s before the show tonight, but had declined. Driven by the thoughts of Aunt Bells cooking, we encouraged Sue to call and advise she had changed her mind. Dinner was to be steak and, yes, mashed potatoes (Kelly’s favorite). We showed up at the house within a few hours only to see that the table was set for us as well. “How did you know?” we inquired. Aunt Bell admitted it was when Sue had asked about the mashed potatoes. We were caught!

We all drove to the theatre at 7 for the show, seeing in the lobby the Kathy and Evan, Mark and Mrs. Jones. The show was The Miracle Worker, which Lindsay was starring in as Viney, and she was amazing, as she is at everything she tries.

The next few days we found ourselves caught in a web of governmental red tape, as we endeavored to get all the paperwork done for our move. We had to register the car, pay the taxes, get our licenses, plus supervise the progress of our new home. As of now, Christian has his provisional license; he pretty much sailed through the written and driving tests. Kelly still awaits hers, as the car was in her name (which oddly complicates things) and she has misplaced her social security card in the move. Who on earth knows where their card is? We went to the Social Security office yesterday and after waiting an hour learned that she cannot easily change her name as it’s been over two years since the wedding. I mean, my gosh! Monday night was a joy though. All the family went to Aunt Bells for a ziti dinner; even Nathan who has been suffering from pneumonia recently. They literally showered us with gifts. We received an enormous basket filled with Texas necessities; chilli sauce, corn chips, tour book; several gorgeous cookies we cannot wait to try, two Dallas Cowboy t-shirts and a calendar, much to everyone elses dismay, since the Settles didn’t beat them to it with Eagles paraphernalia. Aunt Bell also gave us a bag filled with toilet paper, paper towels, tin foil, and everything else one needs in a new home. The icing on the cake was the flowers she gave us. Lovely flowers from her garden in a vase that is a little cowboy boot. Unbelievably apt and adorable.

So today is the day; November 15 is when the builders finally vacate our home and we can take it over. So tonight we should be sleeping in our own home, on an air mattress Aunt Bell and Uncle Ed graciously lent us. We are so excited!

On the Road to Nowhere - Texas Trip Day 1

This morning at 10am we departed from Kelly's mothers house on a one way trip down to our new home in Texas. We stopped in East Hanover briefly to visit Lori & Madison, then set off down route 287. We travelled today through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia, and about 100 miles north of Roanoke we pressed the little blue button on our OnStar unit to get signed up. We spoke to Stacy, who took all of our information and registered us for our one free year that came with the Buick. We were signed up for a free service that emails us monthly diagnostics on our car, which is amazing. In addition, she advised us that we could extend our handsfree phone service by 100 minutes for only $14.99. That sounded absolutely wonderful, so we signed up. Due to a clerical error, she gave us 130 minutes instead, which was just fine by us. She also booked us a hotel in Salem, giving us a price of $89.99, which included breakfast. She downloaded the route straight to our car and we decided OnStar was just about the best thing since peanut butter.
We made it to Salem in about an hour, about 8:30pm, and the car lead us directly to the Days Inn that Stacy had booked for us. Prior to going in, we ran across the street to grab some dinner to eat in our room. Christian got Subway and Kelly, of course, grabbed sushi next door. When we entered the hotel lobby, dazed and exhausted, Front Desk Tim advised us there was no reservation for us. We were bitterly dismayed, but he made it much better by booking us one of the last rooms for $71.00 (noticibly less than the $89.99 OnStar had advised). Because of the mixup, OnStar also agreed to extend our annual subscription till February 2009, so a further 3 months. We were very happy about that too.
We actually love the hotel, where we get a full breakfast and everything, not to mention the free WiFi which I am utilizing right now to post this entry. And on top of ALL of this, Law & Order was just starting.
Productive Day.