Just testing out this Windows Live Writer from the desktop, that's all. To make it barely more interesting I'll add a photo...
Damn that's a sexy orange man. Hey I also just set up a place for Sarah to host her week-by-week baby journal. I'm such a nice husband... sarah's "but I don't want a blog" blog
Tonight our close friends Chris and Sarah Markwell, along with 9-month old Elizabeth and dogs Bodie & Bayla (sp?) will hit the road on a 17-hour trek to their new home in Greer, South Carolina. They were our first, some would argue only, friends local to Louisville. Neighbors from two doors down in Sarah & my first condo/apartment in Louisville, Chris baited us with his then puppy golden retriever Bodie. Shortly after we were enjoying margaritas at the Rio, our pug Miles & Bodie's budding friendship, and the rest is history.
Chris's entrepreneurial attempts varied from an online consignment store, estate sale auctions, the distribution of Argentinian furniture with a bizarre, and certainly now broke, neighbor, and so on. Sarah maintained small jobs at Starbucks, a cheese emporium and substitute teaching. But Chris eventually hit it big with a tax consultation company whose operating plan he admits to blatantly stealing from an employer, and soon after they were rolling in dough.
We left the complex at the same time, us moving to a townhome on Pheasant Run, them buying a brand new townhome in Lafayette. We all considered each other pretty well off, and soon came their daughter Elizabeth (who we're pretty sure was Chris's idea), and we thought for certain they would be here to witness the birth of our first, just 11 weeks away now...
But by now they're cruising east, to a McMansion in the South. It boggles the mind both that the place is so big (they have 4 or 5 bedrooms and are now unsure if they even want a 2nd child), and that the home is where it is. With no friends and 8 hours from either of their families, we're left scratching our heads as to why they would pick up & go so soon, but we have no doubt they'll be just fine. Certainly financially.
It was eerie standing in their empty house having helped carry the last of their belongings to the vehicles, and while we enjoyed pushing their emotional buttons to tears for the weeks that preceded, it really hit Sarah and I then that this was it. At least they're sure to come back for the skiing, as rich folk are known to do.
In another bout of long-term insanity, Sarah's boss has given her a $10,000 raise, for no apparent reason. Sarah contends that it may have to do with their discussion of daycare and the high price tag, and that this raise may equalize that burden. We guess the boss really wants her to stick around, and it just might work.
Today we'll be spending some quality time with our friends Chris & Sarah, before they hit the road to South Carolina in a matter of days. We stayed up late last night and put together a sideshow DVD that is sure to turn on the waterworks, which of course is our #1 goal. Can't wait. Sad to see them go; while we don't spend all that much time together, we're not exactly stocked with friends. Especially ones with family situations like ours (current and forthcoming). Sarah's been trying to strike up conversation with strangers, but it's a very awkward experience. We thought our birthing class might have provided a reasonable selection, but at first glance everyone else seems either much older (too well off), much younger (too white trash), too dumb (too dumb), or too ugly (not hot). Clearly the problem lies with everyone else.