Happy Thanksgiving

In Canada :) Yes, we went to Niagara Falls yesterday, and spent the afternoon in Canada! Only when we got back to the US side and the immigration guard asked if it was busy "over there" did we remember it was Thanksgiving in Canada!! We had a great time!!!

Letter from a Marine who happens to be my brother

Dear Mom (next of kin)

I am writing to you another mandated letter regarding my safety and status on this great adventure, the 22nd Marine Expiditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). Some retard in my unit sent the last letter out to his parents with a blank piece of paper in it. His parents contacted the chain of command, because they are also idiots and thought he was kidnapped (we could only be so lucky). So this is the 4th letter I am sending to you, although we have email and I prefer to talk that way anyway. I don't even write Lauren letters. So here is what they are making me say:

I am safe.

I am ok.

I will be training for a few weeks (but by the time you get this I will be back from it)

Love,

Adam

Tastes like honey

I got stung by a bee on Sunday...on my BUTT!!!

It really hurt, a lot!!! And it stung me through my JEANS! What a persistent sucker! My only comfort was that the bee died on contact!!!

CPA

So on September 8th, I start school again. I'm super nervous, but excited as well! I will be studying "business administration" at a community college (focusing on accounting) then after 2 semesters I plan on transferring to a university, to get my bachelor's in accounting, and then (since it is now a requirement for the state of NY) a master's in accounting so I can sit for the CPA exam. My goal is to do this all by the time I am 29 (this gives me a little over 4 years which I hope will be more than enogh! I would prefer 3 years, but with the masters and the 4-part CPA exam, it will more likely be 4) So that is my plan! It feels so good to finally have a plan and some direction! Although I never though I would ever in my life become a CPA...!!!!!!! It feels good!

Pictures from our sealing

We finally got our official pictures from our FABULOUS photographer Susie Campbell Photography. So here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure :)

A ride through the Mountains

This weekend Rapha and I went to the Adirondack Mts with my dad to be his "crew" as he participated in a 140 mile ride through the mountains! We had a fun time following my dad and getting him water and his protein bars! hehe We saw a lot of beautiful places and enjoyed nature. It was a beautiful place. And my dad rode really well. He finished the ride in a little over 9 hours (it was a lot of uphill climbing in the mts) and was so tired! But he did great!! Here are a couple pics from the trip!!

Tax credits can be a great thing!!

There is a new tax credit this year for first time homebuyers. (As long as you don't make more than 75 thou if you are single, or 150 thou if you are married filing joint) The tax credit is $8,000. Thats a pretty nice credit come tax time. I found a house we want to buy. It's tiny-918 square feet, but it is kind of cute. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room and kitchen and almost no yard as it sits on a mere .09 acre. BUT, here is the appealing part- it is only $25,000!! So take that and the tax credit, and you have yourself a very cheap, $17,000 house! Pretty cool, huh?! Now if only we had 25 grand... :) Oh, here is a picture of the house, a little work around the yard and it would be a pretty great starter house!

As a side note, I haven't been in it, so I don't even know what kind of shape it is in. I just got excited about the possibility of buying a house for 17 grand! ;)