Amore e formaggio: The October Archives

The October Archives

October 31, 2003:

Happy Halloween, everybody! We had a silly evening at home, dispensing candy to trick-or-treaters (one of which had a very cool costume which squirted blood), watching Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes and playing Phantasmagoria, an old horror video game. We got stumped, however, when we couldn't find a narrow metal scraping implement. Alas.
Otherwise, we were somewhat productive today. Chris did some yardwork while Renée applied for a position with the Red Cross. We used our Chick-Fil-A coupon for the month of October and got a free slice of cheesecake, which was tasty, even if the strawberry topping left something to be desired.
Sadly, Chris's job in New Orleans fell through, so no more imminent income for him. This is too bad.

October 30, 2003:

Another rather uneventful day. We brought all of our wedding cameras to Kroger to be developed, so we should have those by Sunday. For the first time since our honeymoon, we watched an episode of Friends while it was actually on! We also watched Bridget Jones's Diary, which caused us both to giggle like schoolgirls.
Chris may have a job in New Orleans this weekend, loading for another music video. Hopefully more info to come tomorrow.
Twinkie had an exciting day, meeting two new forms of wildlife. First, there was a deer in the woods just beyond our backyard. Twinkie attempted to give chase, but the deer was too quick. Later, Twinkie found a centipede wriggling across the floor of the den. She detained the vile insect long enough for Chris to kill it with one of Renée's shoes. Twinkie has thus proven herself to be quite the watchdog, though she still needs some practice dealing with snakes.

Alas, Twinkie has foiled my attempts to eat those Carusos!

You don't even want to know about the Masturbatorium

October 29, 2003:

Not much going on today. We had to stick around for much of the day because our brand new garage doors were being installed. They turned out very nicely and it will be quite pleasant to be able to park inside the garage rather than out in the driveway. We also have a plethora of remote control units so that we'll never be locked out.
The other big news of the day was that we finally located the nearest library. Now we can finally read all of those expensive books that we can't afford to buy. We checked out Running With Scissors on CD and had a nice evening snuggling on the couch by the fireplace while the book played on the stereo. Good old fashioned quality time.

October 28, 2003:

Very busy week. Stay tuned for a long update.
On Friday, we went to Athens where we had lunch at Hunan with Kevin, Courtney, and Caitlyn. Afterwards, we went to Courtney's house where we watched Not Another Teen Movie (very funny). Then because we had lingered so long, we had to have another meal in Athens, this time at On The Border. Finally, we went to Barnes and Noble to use some of Renée's gift certificates and then returned home.
Saturday, Chris went to CPT in Atlanta to learn how to load Arri 435 mags while Renée did laundry for approximately five hours -- curse the fellow who invented the "sensor dry" system! After completing these tasks, we went to Conyers to have birthday pie with Kate and to carve pumpkins. Renée made the witch, and Chris made the skull. They now reside on our fireplace, looking appropriately spooky.
Sunday was gross and rainy all day long, so we didn't do much of anything. We did, however, complete both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times crossword puzzles.

It's tough to recognize him without the dog

Monday, Chris went into Atlanta for his first big union shoot, a one-day music video for the rap group I-20 featuring Ludacris. The song is called "Fighting in the Club," and the video will hopefully be airing at some point in the not-too-distant future. Chris's fingerprints will be all over it -- literally, as he was loading all the film that was shot. Meanwhile, Renée got trash bags in bulk at Sam's Club and fell asleep watching The Devil's Advocate (a horrible movie if there ever was one) while waiting for Chris to get home.
Today, we went to the Stonecrest Mall to attempt to get a blender using the JC Penney's gift card that Uncle Bill and Terri sent us. Alas, the blender that we had registered for is no longer available. Rather than rushing into a hasty purchase of an alternate blender, we decided to just get some badly needed bath towels instead. Later in the day, we (along with Twinkie) went to the Caruso family house to have dinner with everyone, including Uncle Bob and Aunt Ruth, who were in town for a visit. We played several rounds of Family Feud, during which our team (consisting of Chris, Renée and Hannah) repeatedly proved our lack of skill. Still, it was a fun night. On the way home, we saw a deer by the side of the highway and then a raccoon, which made a rapid exit into a sewer drain. All in all, a jam-packed week.

October 23, 2003:

The fact that there was no update last night was not really our fault -- blame the production staff of the film "The Other Side." They're the ones that decided that even though Chris didn't leave set until 11:30pm, he would have to be there at 7am this morning. Factor in roughly an hour of drive time each way, and that left only about five hours of time at home, including sleep. Needless to say, updating the page was not a priority.
Yesterday Renée went to a job fair for non-profit work at Emory University. Oddly enough, it was in a building where, over two years ago, Renée served as a counselor for a Red Cross youth camp. Perhaps this strange coincidence is a sign of good fortune to come -- or a future with troubled teenagers. Only time will tell.
Tomorrow we are venturing to Athens to celebrate Kevin's 24th birthday with a fun-filled lunch at Hunan. Speaking of which, did you know Hunan has its own website? Indeed! You can visit it at http://yp.bellsouth.com/sites/hunanathens. Perhaps that should be added to our list of fun links.

Boys like wonton soup, girls like hot and sour.

Let the record show the defendant made the 'drinky-drinky' motion.

October 21, 2003:

As promised, the first wave of wedding pictures have finally been uploaded. Go check them out on the Wedding Page. More to come soon.
Chris got a haircut today, a much better haircut than the one he got for the wedding. In an interesting twist, his haircut came with a free back massage. Not too shabby for $10.95.
We went to Best Buy and Media Play today, where Renée got a new magazine and Chris got a new Simpsons figure (only $1.99 on clearance). We are both excited and pleased by our purchases.
We also had some very tasty milkshakes at Baskin Robbins, where they are currently celebrating "Choctoberfest."
The tasty goodness did not end there, however. We also had Taco Bell for dinner tonight -- yummy Grilled Stuft Burritos. Delicious and bad for you.

October 20, 2003:

Still no massive upload of wedding pictures. But really -- it's coming soon. It's just a big job and we want to make sure we do it right.
Today we celebrated our one month wedding anniversary with a good old fashioned lazy day. We stayed in bed reading the newspaper until about 2pm, then we had lunch at Buffalo's and cruised the mall for a little while. We then caught a matinee of Runaway Jury and returned home for leftover Chinese food and more relaxation. All in all, a very nice day.
Yesterday Chris went to Six Flags with his family, where he rode a variety of rides including the new and very cool Superman. He also ate two chili dogs which thankfully did not make a reappearance during the day.
Renée, meanwhile, went to Athens to spend the day with her family. At WUOG, the radio station where Mike works, it was Parents' Day, so Renée and her parents each got to select some music to play on air. Renée also proposed an on-air contest where listeners could call in and guess the age at which Mike stopped wetting the bed. (The correct answer is 6, not 21 like one listener suggested.)

October 18, 2003:

Tonight we had our grand sleepover with the Caruso girls. We played the Simpsons Hit and Run Playstation game (which Hannah is actually still playing), a rousing game of Cranium, and a brief yet satisfying round of Simpsons Jeopardy. We also had some tasty Chinese food, unlike that found at Happy China.
We (just Chris and Renée) took a tour of Crunch Fitness, partly because we were interested in joining, and partly just to shut them up since they've been pestering us by phone and email for the better part of a month. We ultimately decided not to join, though, as the membership fee is a bit high for us unemployed types.
Tomorrow we sojourn to Six Flags, where Hannah has already told us that we will begin by going on Deja Vu twice, followed by Acrophobia, and so on -- apparently, we have to make no decisions because Hannah has already thought it all out for us.

October 17, 2003:

Busy day today. Renée had to send a fax to her supervisor at DCF to get a reference for a job application. Then we took Twinkie to the vet, where it was determined that she has fleas and an allergy to some unknown source. Afterwards, we drove through McDonald's and got pieces for the Monopoly contest.
We then cleaned up the house and unpacked some more things in anticipation of Joe and Victoria's visit. Chris bought his long-awaited DVD shelf to organize and store his many movies. Finally, a place where Legally Blonde and Lord of the Rings can coexist in peace and alphabetical order!
We had a very nice visit with Joe and Victoria. We gave them a tour of the house and then went out to Logan's Roadhouse for a delicious dinner. Joe was kind enough to give us a CD with about 240 wedding pictures on it, so that means that the flooding is set to begin!
Not tonight, though, since it's late, and not tomorrow, since Kate and Hannah are coming over for a slumber party. But maybe on Sunday....we'll see.

October 16, 2003:

It has been a sad month of October for all baseball fans in this house. First the Braves lose, then the Cubs (mean, yet somehow lovable) blow it. Finally, the Red Sox manage to once again self-destruct in appalling fashion. A Yankees vs. Marlins World Series means only one thing: no more baseball for Chris this year.
In other news, Chris began work on a new film, a supernatural thriller entitled "The Other Side." Chris is serving as the entire camera team, as well as moonlighting as gaffer.
Meanwhile, back at home, Renée and her dad put up the living room/kitchen wallpaper today. It looks pretty good, though we'll see for sure tomorrow when it's all dry.
In response to Chris's recent wearing of tight pants, Renée purchased him a new pair of jeans which are much looser and more comfortable. We are both pleased by this.
Tomorrow: Joe and Victoria visit the Caruso home for the first time! Hoorah! Unfortunately, this meant Chris had to do dishes tonight.

October 15, 2003:

Tonight we finally ate at the Happy China restaurant near our home. Let us say this: it was not happy. The soup was odd (who puts onions and frozen peas and carrots in wonton or hot and sour soup?), the service was lacking (we had to loudly slurp our empty water glasses just to get a refill -- and we were the only people in the place!), and even though it was specifically asked for, the sweet-and-sour sauce was not served on the side. All in all, not the best Chinese dining experience.
Boo to the Florida Marlins. Boo, we say.
Chris tried in vain to get the scanner that his parents gave him to work tonight. After several failed attempts, he was able to discern the source of the trouble: his parents neglected to give him the power cable that goes with the scanner. Needless to say, this makes operating it difficult.
Chris got four new tires today, which pleases Renée, since (for some reason) she doesn't want to see him go spinning off the road like a mad Hungarian dancing woman.
Renée also wants the world to know (over the protestations of Chris) that Chris wore tight pants today. Chris adds quickly, "But only because my comfortable pants were dirty!"

October 14, 2003:

Sorry for the late update tonight. A combination of computer troubles plus the ridiculously addictive nature of the Sims has conspired to keep this update from arriving until very late.
Renée encountered a snake in the backyard yesterday that we think is this black racer. Twinkie offered no protection, as she was too busy frolicking with sticks.
Chris, meanwhile, finished up with his shoot today, and he will begin a new shoot (unpaid, this time) on Thursday. Not exactly moving up in the world, but experience is experience.

October 12, 2003:

As promised, the first few of the wedding pictures are online. In the days to come you'll probably be flooded with them, but for the time being, you'll have to accept them in small bunches. Also, they'll be formatted in a very nifty manner, with thumbnails (for the technically challenged, that means a small-sized version of the picture as a preview), but for now you've got text links. We think you'll live.
Dinner was at the Chris's parents' house, where we got to be all jealous of Hannah, who is able to play our Sims Unleashed game. That's just not fair.
Otherwise, it was a fairly mundane day -- Chris was on set, Renée did some laundry, Twinkie ate a bug.
Ah yes -- Chris's mom gave us some Halloween decorations today -- big scary monster faces, just like the kind that probably contributed to the warping of Chris many years ago. Also, there was some strange liquidy goop called Maggots in Mud (or something similar). It's quite disgusting in a fun kinda way.

October 11, 2003:

Since Chris was out of the house before 5:30 this morning, Renée took the opportunity to do one of her favorite Saturday morning activities -- yard saling. She came back with three new tins for her tin collection, two books, and a chair for the computer desk -- all for about $3.00 total. Pretty frugal, that Renée.
Being set up in our house means that we can go back to our imaginary house in the Sims, where instead of being the Caruso family, there's Renée and Chris Tinglaruso, who have two kids already! Sadly, they have no dog, as our computer is too slow to run the Unleashed expansion set. Still, there's some fun stuff we can do. For example, here's a picture of Homer Simpson as a Sims skin. Wacky, no?
We also cooked our first dinner in the new house, a delectable feast of rigatoni (cooked in our new, very cool Pasta Pro set -- no strainer required! Thanks Kim and Taylor!) with meat sauce. It was quite tasty and we'll be eating leftovers for days.

October 10, 2003:

Greetings from the Caruso home -- the Chris and Renée Caruso home! We've finally moved into our new place and even have our adorable dog Twinkie with us, so hooray! We celebrated tonight with ice cream and Little Debbie snacks since we don't have any real food here yet.
Yesterday we dined at Chick-Fil-A with the other Caruso family, where we encountered a 7-foot-tall cow. Hannah shook his hand and blushed -- it was very cute.
Chris's shoot continues -- tomorrow morning he's got to be there by 6am -- bleh!
The other big news is that we picked up our wedding pictures and they are lovely. Soon we will post them all to the webpage in a flurry of uploading that will likely drive Chris mad. Therefore, you should be very appreciative.

October 8, 2003:

Moving day! We moved the majority of the stuff left in the Tingle home today and picked up the living room set from the Caruso home, so we've got probably 95% of our stuff in the new home now. Exciting! Tomorrow we're going to pick up Twinkie and bring her to see her new stomping grounds. It should be fun, but also sad for poor Munchkin, who will have no one to pester her now.
While at the house doing organizing-type stuff, we got hungry and decided to order in. We ended up getting one of Papa John's new Barbecue Chicken pizzas, and it was pretty darn tasty. It had bacon on it as well, and as everyone knows, bacon is the key to any successful meal. Renée was sad to report, though, that it does not hold up as well as regular pizza to the "eating it cold" test. Still, this is but a minor inconvenience on the road to yum-tastic-ness.
Tomorrow we venture forth to Athens to look at pretty pictures. If any lobbyrats read this page (yeah right), you should email us to say that you want to luncheon with us. If not, you are bad friends and make us cry. Okay, you make Chris cry. Renée just rolls her eyes.

October 7, 2003:

It was a very productive day for Renée today. She started our newspaper subscription (which, oddly enough, costs more than you would pay at a newsstand), ordered the wallpaper for our living room/kitchen, organized things at the house (including setting up the computer all by herself with only a little bit of assistance by Chris via cell phone), and wore very cute pants.
Chris, meanwhile, managed to give himself carpet burn on the backs of his calves while attempting to wrangle cables. He also got paid today, a whopping $375 for a week's work, which is still twice as much as he was getting for his assistantship at FSU.
Because Chris got home relatively early tonight, we were able to spend some quality time snuggling on the couch and watching Renée's Muppet Show DVDs, which were most pleasing. A good time was had by all.
We also got a call from our wedding photographer today. We are going to Athens to take a look at the pictures on Thursday and should soon have many photographs to share with the world.

October 6,2003:

Today, Chris taught Renée how to add pictures to the page. However, neither of us did anything interesting today, so the picture is not very exciting.
Chris went to set and came home two hours early. Alas, tomorrow he must be there at 7am. Chris, master of invention, has devised a way to stop scratching his wedding ring up on set - he wraps tape around it!
Renée tried to change her name with the Social Security office, but upon arrival was told that there would be a two to three hour wait. So she went and bought books instead.
Tonight, we watched our Trading Spaces tape and ate yummy Sonic chili dogs and milkshakes, which Chris kindly picked up on the way home. Yay! If only Sony would donate an entire home theater system to us, too!

October 5,2003:

After giving Chris a foot massage, Renée managed to extract his top-secret password from him and is updating the site today all on her own. This explains the repeated picture, because Renée does not yet know how to add new pictures. Chipper does not deserve to be on the site today, as he and the Braves have just lost and made everyone sad.
Chris is, of course, on set, and has not bothered to call Renée since he left 11 hours ago, despite promising to call at lunch. The likely explanation will be "I was too busy" or "I stuck the cell phone in my back pocket along with a bag of Hawaiian Punch candy, where the heat from my farts melted the candy to the phone, making it impossible to call you." While Chris's farts are capable of mass destruction, the truth is that he is inconsiderate and likes to make Renée worry about him driving around unfamiliar places in a crappy car late at night.
No news about the house today. However, we now have Trading Spaces - $100,000 on tape for inspiration.
LATE NIGHT UPDATE: Chris here. I did indeed call Renée at 8:30 tonight during my lunch break, a call which was confirmed by the records on the cell phone. Renée, however, got no message for unexplained reasons. Perhaps it was just a bad night for message-leaving, as Renée's voice mail messages that she left on the cell phone hours ago have still not arrived. In any event, I am a considerate husband whose crappy car should not be held against him. So there :-p

October 4, 2003:

Another long day on set for Chris, this one from 10am to 11pm. And as seems to be the norm, Chris got a sunburn due to his failure to bring proper sunblock. Silly Chris!
Also of note was the fact that for the second straight day, Chris ate fish. Today, however, it was not intentional, as all of the barbecue chicken that he coveted was gone by the time he got to the lunch table. It was indeed a sad sight.
Renée, meanwhile, spent a relaxing day sleeping in, reading, and flipping between the Braves game and the Bulldogs game. She was not completely unproductive, however, as she managed to get to Home Depot to order garage doors for the house. She also kept Chris informed of the score of the game every time he called, relieving much of his on-set stress.
Fair warning: tomorrow's entry may be either late or non-existent, as Chris is working until 1am and won't divulge his top secret password to Renée. We'll see.

October 3, 2003:

Busy couple of days. Today Chris began his new job on a feature film entitled The Walk. It went pretty well overall, especially when he was not being criticized for doing something wrong, which happened frequently.
Also, Chris finally got a car, a 1989 Honda Accord (not the same one in the picture -- that's just a model for you to observe). Renée was kind enough to secure insurance for Chris today while he was out dropping lenses, so tomorrow he should be able to drive to work all by himself, just like a big boy.
We've succeeded in moving most of the big stuff over to the house -- only some boxes and a few larger items remain. That means that soon we will be able to live in our new home without the clutter of boxes to constantly trip over. Yay!
The bad news, however, is that the Braves are very mean.

October 1, 2003

In all of our discussions about the honeymoon, we forgot to mention one very exciting part of it: we were witnesses to a taping of the syndicated show Blind Date! We had seen notices posted around the resort saying that a taping would be occurring, but it listed dates that were prior to our arrival. So imagine our surprise when, while lying on the beach, we saw a cameraman, sound guy, and producer escorting a young couple around! We saw them periodically throughout the day, and we were even in the background for a few shots! Keep your eyes peeled for us whenever they air Blind Date Jamaica!
We were again productive, starting our joint checking account, making sure the engagement ring was insured, and moving stuff to the house. We also went to have dinner with the Carusos and watched the Braves beat the Cubs 5-3. Go Atlanta!
You will also notice that the site has been slimmed down. Not to worry, however -- all of the content is still in place. Just scroll down to the section marked The Archives and you will see links to the old updates there.
I would write more but it is very late and Renée is already asleep, so I should go join her :-)

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