So I saw my first snow before February yesterday. Every relative I had below the Mason-Dixon line called me and asked if I was in line “at the Wal-Mark’s stockin’ up for the blizzard.” And honestly, yes, the thought crossed my mind. Maybe even more than once.
It’s exciting for me to get familiar with a new climate, albeit the cold end of the climate at this point. The Blue House is endearingly chilly, yet delightfully cozy, with everyone bundled up while working away. I like it in a way. More excuses to drink hot chocolate.
My car on the other hand does not like the weather. Every morning Nadine, my little car, whines and moans. You can tell she thinks that it isn’t time to be this cold. It’s not time to scrape the windshields. She huffs and puffs as I turn the key, trying to get her engine going. I don’t know much about weatherizing an older vehicle, but I bet the List can give me a few ideas to ease Nadine’s creaky sprockets on future — even colder — Indy mornings.
Twinkle VanWinkle is a Southern punk-rock belle transplanted to Indianapolis, and is
List-en up! producer for
Angie's List. She enjoys thrift store treasure hunting, dusty old records and is a connoisseur of hot sauces.
This Halloween marks the fourth week of my marriage to my beautiful bride (that’s a photo of me at the wedding when she gave me my precious ring — somehow I lost my tux before the ceremony). What have I learned in my first four weeks? 1) I’m always wrong. Period. And 2) A new life together takes a lot of work.
First up on the to-do list: new shared bank accounts and closing the old personal ones. We got that done this weekend and it was surprisingly easy (I’m of the belief that the List should rate banks, as I’d rate my new financial institution highly, but that’s for another post). Next up: filling out reports for all the service companies we hired for our wedding ceremony. I’ll be rating and reviewing the reception hall, the florist, the photographer and the DJ. I should have done this weeks ago, but hey, I just got married — I do what I want (if it’s OK with the wife).
What else? For the long term, we need to find a home to purchase in the next two years; figure out a shared financial investment strategy (with the economy, I’m thinking of buying stock in the manufacturers of Ramen and refrigerator boxes); determine how to reduce our now shared debt; and decide on whose medical insurance we’ll use. I’ve got the feeling my Angie’s List membership will definitely come in handy in the future.
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
I can’t say for sure that this is true, as I’ve never been to New York City. But that will soon change — I’m leaving tomorrow for a long weekend in The Big Apple.
I’m not sure what I’m most excited about — visiting a city I’ve heard and read all about but only seen on TV, catching up with my old friends also going on the trip, or just having a few days to get away from the real world and enjoy a vacation.
My only concern is how we’ll find time to do everything on our list in only four short days. Continue reading ‘I Heart NY’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
I love October — it’s the best time of year. Here in Indiana the leaves start to change and the weather becomes mild. Across the nation, the NFL gets into full swing, the NBA season starts, the MLB post-season begins and we celebrate one of my favorite holidays, Halloween.
I love the horror movies on AMC and TCM, the haunted houses, fake cobwebs, witch costumes and Jack-O’-Lanterns.
Originating in Europe, Jack-O’-Lanterns were first carved from rutabagas and turnips. The name evolved from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a greedy old farmer who liked to drink and gamble. Mr. Stingy J trapped the devil up in a tree by carving a cross into the tree trunk. Continue reading ‘I love October’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I’m a big fan of motorcycles. This weekend was probably the pinnacle of motorcycle fandom, as our fair city’s beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted the first-ever Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the fates also decided that Indy would also play host to the remnants of Hurricane Ike, making for quite an interesting race. Continue reading ‘A weekend at the races: the Red Bull Indianapolis GP’
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
So, I’m planning my re-wedding. Yes, I’m getting married twice to the same guy, and no, there wasn’t any kind of confusion of sexual orientation that annulled the first wedding, in case you were wondering. Nope, my first wedding was of the shotgun variety, sans baby — we had immigration hoops to jump through so my husband could escape the captivity of our rental home and enter the American work force, which required us to get married in a hasty fashion. Continue reading ‘Going to the chapel, and I’m gonna get married…again…’
Lindsay is the publication assistant for
Angie's List magazine. She has a dog, Clio, whom she found on the street, pregnant, in front of the Blue House. Lindsay loves eating anything homemade, especially salads, and her favorite movie is The Constant Gardener. Coincidence? Her favorite place is the South of France.
Alright. I’m hoping this is the last high-price-gas-related post I’ll ever write and you, loyal reader, will ever have to read (yeah right). If you’re like me, you’re fed up with news reports and articles that reiterate the same well-known thing over and over…and over.
Man In La-Z-Boy Watching Television: Honey, check this out — did you hear about this? The six o’clock news is saying gas prices are high! Have you heard ’bout that? They’ve even got a reporter at a gas station interviewing normal, everyday people about how they feel about these so-called high gas prices!
Man’s Wife In Kitchen: Dear — as you well know, I’ve just returned to our home after living under a giant igneous rock for the past two years, subsisting on a diet of rain water and pill bugs — so, no, I haven’t heard about these so-called “high” gas prices.
[Man’s Wife In Kitchen places pill bug in mouth and chews thoughtfully] Continue reading ‘25 Days Later’
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
“Goodnight, sweet princess.”
Yes, it is appropriate to misquote Shakespeare’s Hamlet in reference to the death of my beloved Honda Accord.
She had 263,000 miles on her when she made that final shift into overdrive, and she was epic in every way a car can be. Continue reading ‘Changing gears’
Matthew is the senior editor for local affairs at
Angie’s List magazine. When he’s not at the Blue House, he enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing guitar and riding his bicycle.
Angie’s List sure knows how to treat its employees!
The company rewards top performers each quarter with a fun, daylong excursion. I’ve been lucky enough to make some of those trips in the past year – we went to a horse ranch in Brown County, rode rides at Kings Island and even cruised on a private boat around a lake in Monticello. At the end of the year, Angie’s List goes all out and takes the top 10 percent of the company on a big vacation. Continue reading ‘Fat Tuesday’
Brittany is senior editor of national affairs for
Angie's List magazine. When she's not busy reporting for the magazine, she enjoys relaxing, bowling and watching movies.
My fiancé and I can go anywhere in the world for our destination wedding next year. Sounds nice coming from our destination wedding travel agent, but the truth is, like most people, we (and our guests) have a budget.
We’re in the stages of narrowing down our location. This is, we’ve been told, the hardest part of a destination wedding. I hope so, because I want my wedding to be as easy as possible for me. Continue reading ‘No worries, mon!’
Kristy is deputy managing editor at
Angie's List magazine. She has two rottweilers, Bud and Moto, and enjoys playing mom to her rott-en, lovable pups. Taking the plunge into homeownership last year was a huge wake up call for Kristy. Thankfully, she says, she not only has a handy fiancé, but a handy tool called Angie’s List as well.
