That's What She Said!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2010-11-29T10:01:00.004-05:00

A quickie, I have to get ready for work...

We went to the 2nd annual Ugly Christmas sweater party on Saturday. My brother and sister in law hosted the event. I missed it last year because I was living down state and had to work over Thanksgiving (double time and a half). I was happy to make it this year. There were alot more people this year too, probably twice as many as last year according to the group shot.

I got Sean and myself ugly sweaters. I went above and beyond, wearing ugly Christmas socks and making a headband too at the last minute (I love my hot glue gun!). We didn't win but it was fun. I made it about 4 hours before my sober boredom kicked in and I headed home around 10pm.

The whole group, I am sitting on my friend Sarah.

Sean and I. I should mention that he has not cut hi hair since the wedding (early August). He has no plans to. He is having some contest with a couple of guys at work. I like longer hair but I definitely prefer the sides and back trimmed, which his is not. The facial hair is almost all gone now, he shaved yesterday but left a little beard. Our sweaters are hideous!

Weird

2010-11-19T08:26:00.002-05:00

I am sitting here dreading going to the gym. I WILL go but I am not happy about it. I wish I was one of "those people" that loved working out. I love how it feels AFTER, not before or during. I have not been running, I am not comfortable with that being 5 months pregnant. I'm sure it would be fine but I don't like the thought of all of that jarring around in there. I have been spinning, walking, and doing the elliptical. To date I think I have gained about 10 pounds. This morning my scale read 126, I was 116-118 pre-baby. I'm okay with that. Even if I gain a pound a week from now on I will have gained 25-30 pounds, which is fine. I will say though that on a 5'2" frame, 30 pounds is quite drastic.

Anyway, things are going well. I feel kicks or punches more and more. Usually after I eat or after a glass of juice, which I drink on purpose to get baby moving :) I have been having some feelings of "girl" but not sure why. Most think it's a boy, not sure why on that either.

I finally broke down and ordered some maternity clothes from Old Navy. I got 5 shirts, a pair of cords, and two pair of leggings for $126! One of the shirts is awful but it was $8 so I bought it and will wear it.

Sean and I finally nailed down our delayed honeymoon. We were married in August and didn't want to go anywhere when it was so gorgeous in Michigan. We will leave for St. Croix next month for a week. I'm totally excited despite my hatred and anxiety over flying. I plan on wearing my bikinis, hopefully I can squeeze into at least one of the three. None of my summer shorts will fit I don't think so I will spend most of my time in skirts and cover ups. It's vacation, anything goes!

One of the weirdest things about this pregnancy is that the hair on my legs has virtually stopped growing. I know some women experience the opposite but for me it's just stopped. Weird. I'm not complaining believe me. Last night I woke up with a horrible leg cramp in my right shin. It happened a couple of times before I actually sat up and massaged my leg to get it to go away. Another common issue.

This next part may gross some of you out, it may interest others. I am 100% confident with my decision though and am VERY excited actually....

I am hiring a company out of central Michigan to come to our house (supervised) within 48 hours of the birth to dehydrate the placenta and put it into capsules. It's called "placental encapsualtion". It will give me back many hormones and nutrients that I will lost when I have the baby. It will help with post partum, decreased energy, and milk production. I have been researching this for months and feel it's beneficial in many ways. Sean is fairly resistant but accepts it. My Dr. is fine with it. I've come across two basic reactions: "that's disgusting!" and "COOL!" It's not like I am frying it up people and putting into stew, although some people do that too. It's like any other vitamin, in a capsule, taken with water. I will have them ready for me when I get home and the cost is minimal (about $200). The company, consisting of two women, will come to the house and perform the process. They will then sanitize the entire kitchen and leave. My mom will probably be here with them, she's the one who initially sent me an article about this.

So, that's all for now. Things are moving along. My next appt. is early December. Doc says the baby is "perfect: with plenty of fluid, ideal placental position, and measuring about 3 days bigger than the due date (no biggie). I will order the remaining cloth diapers within the next couple of months. We'll begin getting the room ready and hopefully my nesting will kick in!

Have a great weekend!

Well it's about time!

2010-11-06T20:30:00.010-04:00

Oh, hello there!

As promised, I am posting. I really do suck at this lately...all this year actually. I guess my life has taken a turn towards boring, which is exactly the opposite of how I thought it would be living up here near everyone. Truth is, I can't hang with the big boys anymore. Too much partying in college I guess, I'm bored with it now.

Anywho, we DID go to a Halloween party. Sean's cousin has one every year, he's our age, and he has a heated pole barn that he hosts in. GREAT food, people dress up, and usually it's a good time made better with a few drinks. Not this year. No drinks for moi ;) I wish I was the type of person that could have fun in any situation, drinking or not. Truth is, I don't have much fun at parties without alcohol. I'm not one to get wasted, Sean swears he's never seen me drunk, but I do like to get a nice mellow buzz and mingle. People are more interesting when I drink :) Oh, and Sean HAS seen me drunk, it's just not obvious because I am a pretty mellow drunk. I miss beer. 4 more months and I can have one or two Miller Lites.

So, we went to the Halloween party, I stayed until 9pm! WOW! 9pm! Nice Sarah...
I did dress up though and in my humble opinion, I had the best costume there. I went as an old lady. Sean went as a gynecologist, Dr. Howie Feltersnatch. I made him get the lab coat. He already had the steth, gloves, mask, and glasses. It was funny. I did his hair, which apparently he is not cutting until baby is here. He's having some contest at work with two other guys. Truth be told, I prefer longer hair but I like when the sides and back are kept neat...Sean's is not. And when it gets this long it starts to curl, which is SO cute and something I PRAY is passed on to the baby because my hair is PIN straight.

FUN!! Sean's cousin Amy, my brother in law Mike (as Billy Ray Cyrus), my sister in law Sommer (as Miley), me, Sean, and our good friend Glenn (as some gross guy).

Sean and I :) I got some of my stuff at Salvation Army. I borrowed the cane, sprayed my hair silver, and put it up in rollers.

We also had our second, and possibly our last ultrasound Thursday. It was AWESOME. We had an intern which upset me at first because I wanted someone who knew what they were doing. However, it worked out in our favor because she took longer to get the pictures she needed AND the senior tech had to come in and check her work which meant we got to see baby TWICE. I was very clear that we did not, in any way, want to know the sex. She told us both when she was near the bladder and butt so we could look away. We saw the heart beating and alot of movement. I have read that baby is more active after I eat so I ate in the car on the way :) Baby was moving!! I apologized to the intern, I didn't think about how hard it would make her job, I was thinking about myself and wanting to see baby move alot. Sean was amazed and loved when we could see baby make a fist, open the hand, and reach up to touch the placenta. Pretty cool! Everything looks great. Baby is measuring 19 weeks and 9 ounces. The heart rate was 146. I was looking through the pictures, which they put on a DVD for me, and am a little worried because in one I swear I see the sex. I'm not going to think too much about it though. I also THINK I have felt very small movements but can't be sure yet. It's not a flutter like people say but more like taps. Either way, I should feel for sure next week or the following. Here, take a look at our sweet pumpkin.

This is the nose and mouth. The large white area is the top lip. My mom doesn't see it but I totally can. They check this to make sure there isn't a cleft palate. YAY!

Stretching the arms :)

Anyway, things are good. I joined the gym last week and will go 3-4 times per week. I have gained about 7 pounds so far and can wear about TWO pairs of pre baby jeans/ pants.

We have SNOW! We got about 2 inches yesterday and it's still around. Not for long, it's supposed to be in the 50's this coming week. I can't wait for Winter. I love the snow, I love the slow driving, I love shoveling, I love Christmas lights and carols. Woo-Hoo!!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Coming soon...

2010-11-02T23:53:00.002-04:00

I would post a huge long blog now but it's past 11pm, I am pregnant and tired, and I have my choice of amazing TV to watch courtesy of NetFlix streamed through the Wii :)

So, my pregnancy brain is in full force and I am writing a reminder:

Blog about Halloween
Blog about Ultrasound (in two days)
Blog about.....other stuff

See you soon!!

Not much but it's something

2010-10-18T08:36:00.002-04:00

There hasn't been a whole lot to blog about lately, which is good and bad.

My mom was here Friday-Sunday. She came up to be with me before my birthday, which is tomorrow, and to help plant all of the perennial bulbs I had. I think in total she planted about 70 plants. She brought some of hers that she split and transplanted and also did all of the bulbs I had been buying for the past couple of months. I am SO excited to see what comes up this coming Spring. If they all take I will have two nice beds of gorgeous flowers, all blooming at different times :) I did have to dig up the lilies and daisies that the previous owners had put it. They grew so big and so tall that they ended up hanging over the sidewalk and looked like crap. So, I dug up the 6-7 plants and moved a few of them, my Mom took the others down with her. It was funny because I said to my Mom "I can't wait for Spring!" I meant that I was so excited to see the flowers. She mentioned something about me being too busy with the baby and I realized "Oh, yeah, right, I'll have a baby then too!" DUH!

I don't feel pregnant anymore. Thank God I had a Dr. appt. Thursday because it was REALLY reassuring to hear the squirts heartbeat again. It's a very weird feeling to KNOW that you are pregnant but to not FEEL pregnant. My nausea has been gone for weeks yet I have only gained 2 pounds since the last appt. a month ago. I can still wear my "old" jeans and can't feel movement yet so it's weird and I forget sometimes that there IS a little one in there.

The Dr. appt. went well. He said my weight gain is FINE. My blood pressure is awesome at 110/70 and baby's heart rate is down from 170 to 150, which is normal because the rate decreases as baby grows bigger. Baby is about the size of a navel orange at this point (4-5 inches). My craving for Gummi Bears is gone and the container has been untouched for a couple of weeks now, probably getting hard. I have been battling headaches (mostly sinus) weekly and have been trying to take minimal Tylenol, instead using the Neti-Pot and heat pack. Doc says to drink a soda or coffee to see if that helps OR take Excedrin Migraine. That surprised me. I haven' taken any Excedrin and probably won't, too much caffeine for me even when I'm not with child.

We have our "Big" ultrasound on the 4th. This is the one that shows baby looking more human (I will be about 19 weeks) AND shows the sex organ, which we will NOT be looking for. I am going to tell the tech to have me look away when they get to that area for fear that I will see something and know. There are so many pics online that show what to look for and I know if I DO see something I will know, even if they think I can't read the ultrasound. I have no feeling as far as boy or girl. So far, my dreams have favored a boy 3 to 1.

At this point it looks like I will take 12 weeks off of work. I will get paid 60% for 5 weeks and then nothing. I don't qualify for the Family Medical Leave because I haven't been at work for a year so I qualify for Short Term Disablity. The bad thing about this is that I am not guaranteed a job when I come back. I am hoping that my boss keeps her word and hires me back, which she said is fine, not to worry. Either way, having 3 months off to establish nursing, pumping, and feeding breast milk with a bottle is most important. Hopefully Bo doesn't have a hard time making the switch and I can nurse in the AM and PM and he/ she will use the bottle during the day. We will see, we won't know until we try it.

Anyway, things are really cooling off up here, struggling to reach 60 some days now. It's just a matter of time before we are pounded with feet of snow, something I actually look forward to :)

Have a great week!

Got the wedding pics back!

2010-10-05T23:14:00.005-04:00

I picked up our wedding albums yesterday :) There are ALOT of pictures. I have two albums and 4 discs of pictures. I think there are more discs coming but I wanted to share a couple of my favs!

The wedding party at the park we got married in :)

My folks and I!
My siblings and I!

That's it for now. I have a TON more but it's past 11pm and I still have to indulge in my latest NAUGHTY vice.... Nip/ Tuck streamed to my Wii through NetFlix. I have seriously lost hours of sleep this week since I am now able to watch the seasons I missed through NetFlix. Yes, a VERY disturbing show but one of my favorites.

The good stuff...

2010-10-04T08:18:00.005-04:00

Well I made it back in one piece from my trip downstate. It was a short trip, left Saturday morning and got home Sunday evening. I spent a few hours with my sister, niece, and dad on Saturday. It was the annual "Pumpkinfest" in my hometown and my sister and I hit up the craft show that was held in the middle school. Not much caught our eyes but we did get some yummy dip mixes. I didn't care what we did, as long as I got to see my niece, who turns one on October 11!!

Kaydence and Papa...true love.
Sporting the outfit I bought her before she was even born :) Of course, no pink or purple :)

I headed over to the Fowler's house after that. I was a nanny for the Fowler's for 4.5 years. I left about a year and a half ago but remain very close with them. Their youngest son is now 6 and a half. I was his nanny from age 4 months so he is important to me and always will be. They held their annual Fall party and I hung out there and spent the night. The Fall party, and every other party I go to, was not as much fun because I am only able to enjoy water. Yes, I miss beer. I don't miss it enough to buy non-alcoholic, but certain social settings aren't as fun considering most everyone is drinking and I usually end up annoyed at their behavior. I would love to be one of those people that can have a blast in any situation but I'm not.

I went to register at Babies R Us on Sunday before heading home. Yes, I am only 15 weeks along but I don't know when I will be down there next and we don't have a store up here. I think the shower will be in January so at least that's taken care of. Plus, it was fun. I was a little discouraged by how much certain things cost but we'll have everything we need regardless. I am most excited about this Baby Einstein activity mat. I LOVE Baby E products and the DVD's. When I was a nanny, Will would sit for 30 minutes and stare at the screen, watching animals and listening to Beethoven. I truly think it's good for the brain. Plus, it allows Mommy to take a shower or put dishes away. I also think I will be using the Moby wrap quite a bit. As soon as I figure out how to fashion it so that it's safe and sturdy with baby inside.

I made sure to stop at Whole Foods, something else we don't have up here and I wish we did!! I got some apples and loaded up a container from the salad bar to eat in the car. SO good and SO good for you! Oh, and I had to stop at Macy's to refill my perfume bottle because the Macy's up here doesn't have the refill station. Mine's been out for a few months and now I don't have to smell bad anymore.

All in all it was a good productive visit. Traffic was great and the weather was fine.

2010-10-01T08:42:00.005-04:00

Happy Friday!!

I am leaving to pay a visit to SouthEast Michigan tomorrow morning. I will stop by my Dad's and visit with my sister and niece, maybe hang out at the annual PumpkinFest in our hometown. It's been YEARS since I've gone, probably middle school, and it's quite pathetic how excited I am about maybe doing the Cake Walk :)

Last week, in preparation of my Mom coming up mid October, I bought some amazing perennial flower bulbs. She will come up for my birthday and help me plant all of my new babies. I had about $50 left on a giftcard that we got for our wedding shower and I got some pretty cool bulbs. I got the basics, Tulips, Daffodils, and Hyacinth. BUT, I also got some that I had never heard of, some that are "brand new" to this nursery, and some that I don't see often.

"Ice Cream" tulip...brand new to the nursery I went to. Cute huh?

Fritillaria! MANY different types of species. Some smell like rotting meat and eggs...not sure if this one I bought smells like that, we'll see.

Blue Allium, as opposed to the large purple. These are a bit shorter and blue. My mom loves these so I will gift her a few bulbs.

The pregnancy is tooting along. I am 14 weeks and some days and am feeling better as far as nausea. No more B6/ Unisom :) My fatigue is slowly starting to subside but I am still pretty tired on a daily basis. I have started allowing myself a half cup of VERY weak coffee at work. I mix it with Decaf and it helps a little. Yesterday I had a Diet Coke after reading that Aspartame is okay in moderation. Considering I drank MAYBE a soda per week PRE pregnancy, I felt okay with it. I am a bit nervous about the amount of weight I am NOT gaining. I was at 121 this morning. At 4 weeks I think I was at 117. I'm sure it's fine but I need to start eating more...healthy (as always), but more. I am anxious for the next appt., which is the 14th I believe, to hear the heartbeat again to assure me that little Bo is still in there and okay. Totally natural concerns I think but I sure would like to hear it again.

I have not said anything at work yet. I may when I have my one on one meeting next week. I planned on trying to wait until I was 5 months but I don't want them to think I was deceiving. Our busy season hits in April and I will be out that month on leave so I want them to know up front.

I have purchased, so far, three cloth diapers :) We only need about 17 more now. I will try to buy two per month, which should be fine. I cannot believe the number of people who think I am crazy for using them. I think THEY'RE crazy for spending hundreds of dollars on something that will not only harm the environment, but be thrown away daily. To me, it's like flushing dollar bills down the toilet. Cloth saves hundreds of dollars over 3 years and usually kids potty train earlier because they can FEEL the wetness. We will use disposable for about 3-4 weeks and then make the switch. This gives us time for baby's poop to normalize and time for baby to grow into cloth as they are fairly bulky. We can NOT use cloth at daycare so that sucks but as it stands right now, we will only need daycare for about 24 hours/ week so I can deal with that.

Today marks the first day of bow hunting season. Sean, of course, will be out at the family property tomorrow. He has been practicing his bow skills in the backyard and it ready to kill. Poor things.

I re-joined Netflix and am SO excited! Since we now have a PS3 and Wii, we can stream movies instantly that way too, in addition to getting one out at a time. I have the first disc of True Blood coming today. I have seen some of that series but am looking forward to seeing it from the start.

So, that's about it for now. Hope you all have a great weekend! It's really cooling off in Northern Michigan, in the 40's in the morning and 60's during the day. Fall is HERE!

Introducing Baby D! Also known as "Bo"

2010-09-19T20:40:00.003-04:00

Hello all! I am back to blog a bit. It is Sunday and time to wind down from the weekend. Yes, I actually did stuff this weekend, which is rare because I am boring like that.

Yesterday a friend from work came over and we did up some sugar cookies! I got the recipe from my SIL and it was VERY hard to work with but we ended up making some and decorated them all pretty. Sorry, no pics. If anyone has a sugar cookie recipe that they REALLY love shoot it my way, I'd love to try a couple of different ones :)

Today Sean and I woke up too late to go to church...again. My head was KILLING me so I got up, warmed up my heat bag, popped a Tylenol, and layed back down. We headed over to his Grandma Ellie's house (who is 82) to do the annual yard clean-up for her. We washed windows, pulled weeds, cut down flowers, painted the fence, and raked a bit. There were lots of family to help and it took about 2 hours. After that we headed to the family potluck and stuffed our faces.

We then went to Home Depot to spend some of our wedding gift cards. We got a new shop vac (the one we had does NOT suck), air filters, mold killer (yes, green mold in our basement), and I got some Tulip and Daffodil bulbs :) THEN we went to Kohl's and I got some Large and XL long sleeved T's. They shrink alot from there and I want to be able to wear them throughout the pregnancy :)

Now we're home. Sean is laying on the floor playing Modern Warfare and I am curled up in the chair. I wanted to share a picture, our first, of the little booger we're growing! I have nicknamed it "Bo", which stands for bearded owl because that's what it looks like in the ultrasound. The appt. went well. My blood pressure was 110/70, baby heart rate was 170. Baby is about 2.5 inches long now and was very active during the ultrasound. We saw it kicking like crazy, roll onto it's side, roll back over onto it's back, and move it's head. It was weird to see all of that movement but not be able to feel anything yet. Very cool though and very exciting. The ultrasound lasted about 60 seconds so it was nice to see movement in that short time. Also, I think my uterus kind of looks like a heart :)

Anyway, things are good. I didn't take my miracle nausea cure of B6/ Unisom and I still felt fine today so I think the morning sickness is over :) I am 12 weeks and 4 days with a due date of March 30th.

Have a great week!

The Big Chill

2010-09-10T08:55:00.005-04:00

It appears that Summer is officially over in Northern Michigan. We won't get above 70 in the next several days and it was 65 degrees in the house this morning. Sean refuses to turn the heat on but I snuck and turned it on after he left for work. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE AUTUMN, but with it being so chilly in the morning it's that much harder to pull the blankets off and get UP!

So, we were married August 6th and everything went perfectly. The weather was dry, mild, and clear. The humidity was horrendous the day before but it dried up and my curls stayed in :) The food was amazing and I think everyone had a blast. We got so many nice things and have some extra cash for honeymoon and furniture. Now we just have to decide on both! I think we've decided on Grand Cayman for the honeymoon (sometime in December). I went in 1995 when I was a senior and it was awesome! Plus, it's not too expensive and we can swim with the stingrays!

I also got hired permanently at my job, which is a relief. I have a degree in Psychology and this job has NOTHING to do with that but you have to take what you can get sometimes and you all remember my 3 month long unemployment bit...not fun!

My Thyroid has been behaving thankfully! My old Endo increased my meds a touch when she found out I was expecting and my numbers have gone down and aren't even at a 2, which is GREAT! They like them below a 2 if you're pregnant. I saw my new Endo two days ago and she seemed happy with the Thyroid. My blood pressure was also good at 110/68. She prescribed me a pre-natal with Iodine because mine didn't have it (over the counter). I am also taking Vitamin B6/ Unisom for nausea (MIRACLE) and plant based DHA. So, I should be good to go!

I'm not sure when I will tell work about things. I want to try to wait until I am 5 months but that may be difficult. I have no idea how big I will get and when so we'll see. I am 11 weeks now and have only gained a pound or so, which is fine. I always layer and dress warmly at work anyway because it is so cold in there! I'm not trying to deceive anyone, just not a huge fan of people knowing too early. I also may not announce on Facebook. If I do it will be late. I don't know why I feel this way about Facebook, it just seems like once people are pregnant or have kids EVERY SINGLE post is about that and if you've been reading me for awhile you know that I am a HUGE fan of putting yourself first, then husband, then baby. It's like a pyramid to me. If I'm happy and healthy and taking care of myself that leads to me treating Sean right, and that leads to both us being prepared (mentally, physically, and emotionally) for baby. Yes, I love Sean and I love the baby already but I refuse to lose who I am in this process. There are times when baby will have to come first, especially at the beginning, but I think if I remember myself and Sean we will be good :) I think my due date is around April 2-4, which worries me because Sean's b-day is April 17th and I already told him I don't want him to have to share his day with the baby. Sounds weird right? I just want him to feel special on his own day too and not be overshadowed by the new baby. I don't want anyone to forget HIM.

Anywho, how about a few pics of the big day???

Okay, not a few. I don't have any from our photographer yet. The two above are from her sidekick who takes amazing pics as well and teased me with a couple of them. That is my Dad and my niece K-Rock who will be ONE in October! I will surely post more when I get them!

Have a great day!

Surprise!!

2010-09-09T09:29:00.004-04:00

We're MARRIED! Actually, this happened over a month ago on August 6th. Oh, and also.....

We're PREGNANT! Yup! We tried, on purpose, before the wedding. I thought it'd be a good idea to get a jump start by a couple of months, mainly because I thought it would take a few months to get pregnant. To my surprise, it took two tries. Turns out Sean has some strong swimmers and my eggs still work! I was 6 weeks along at the wedding but felt okay. I am now almost 11 weeks and still feel fine most days..I'm convinced it is because I have discovered the magical combo of B6 and Unisom. The nurses at my OB told me about it and I have only felt sick once since then and that was because I didn't take the Unisom.

Anyway, I wanted to just say quickly that there are so many women that struggle with fertility and I feel blessed EVERY SINGLE DAY that I did not have trouble with this. I still have a couple of weeks until I am out of danger for miscarriage but I feel good about it. I've surprisingly not gone crazy with worry about losing the baby, I thought I'd be a mess for the first trimester.

Just a few things real quick:
No, we will not find out the sex
My first appt. is the 17th (soon)
If you are on my Facebook list PLEASE DO NOT mention this there.
We are using cloth diapers
I am going to try my hardest to nurse, it will take a LOT for me not to.
We are on a waiting list at the hospital daycare already. It's tough to get it but we hope we do.
I have had three dreams that it is a boy...the Chinese Lunar Chart says girl
So far I crave Mac and Cheese, red meat, and Gummi Bears! I have NEVER in my LIFE bought Gummi Bears and I can't get enough of those rubbery fructose corn syrup filled nuggets.
Sean HATES changing the cat litter...I think it's great practice for working with dirty cloth diapers :)

Okie Dokie. I will try to blog more, and I will keep my word that it will NOT be all about baby now.

Now excuse me while I stuff my face with lasagna and cookies for breakfast. (Not really, I was good and had eggs, whole wheat toast, and OJ).

Weekend Wrap Up

2010-07-09T07:04:00.007-04:00

Okay, so it's time to finish my weekend wrap up....

I worked Saturday until 4:30pm. On the way home I stopped to get a few last minute things for Sunday and for company that was coming up.

When I was 18 I worked as a receptionist at a Fluid Power company. My trainer, Lori, and I became friends and still are. She is in her early 40's, married, and has two girls, Lauryn and Lindsay (fraternal twins). I went to the hospital the day after the girls were born....now they are 11. Eeeeek!!

I got home, cut up the veggies for shrimp/ chicken kabobs, made Root Beer cookies and No Pudge Fudge brownies. Lori, Jeff, and the girls pulled in about 6pm. I was so excited to have company and to see the girls!! We ate, drank, and played Apples to Apples (GREAT game by the way) on the back deck with the tiki torches burning.

Sunday we got up early and headed down to the Bay around 9:30am. We got a pretty decent parking spot a couple of blocks from the Bay and set up camp for the day. It was already SO SO SO hot and the beach filled up fast. Later we were met by Sean's parents and Grandma and my brother and his family who were also up from downstate. We lounged on the beach, swam in the frigid water, and people watched until our hearts were content.

The air show went on without a hitch, Mother Nature cooperated and gave us a few clouds but nothing that risked the Blue Angels flight. After the show Lauryn and I went shopping and Linds, Lori, and Jeff headed to the carnival rides. By this point is was 6pm and the crowds changed a bit. There were less families and more and more young obnoxious A-holes. We had to move our spot when Lauryn and I got back to it because a small group of kids couldn't seem to control their F words and I didn't think it was appropriate for them to be asking people to buy them beer in front of Lauryn.

I ended up leaving before the big fireworks. My vomit phobia was in full swing and I had a mini panic attack. I decided to call Sean, who was meeting up with us after working on call, to ask him to come and get me. The same already drunk kids had come back with two more cases of beer and my nerves were shot because we still had 4 hours until the fireworks and I knew they'd be sloshed by that point. Earlier, after we left to go shopping, my brother told me that the guy that was passed out on the beach 20 feet from us ended up waking up, digging himself a puke hole in the sand, puking in it, and then puking in the water before being chased off by some tattooed meat heads. I couldn't seem to relax and was suddenly VERY aware that everyone around me was drunk. Not a good situation for me to be in. Lori understood and she and the family stayed for the fireworks anyway :)

Everyone left Monday and I recovered all day. All in all it was an awesome weekend.

Sean took this picture. This kids shorts were WAY too tight and you can actually see an outline of "something"...mushrooms anyone? YUCK!

Fat Albert flying in :)
Lor, Jeff, Lauryn, and Lindsay
Lindsay already knows how to pose.

Was is the weekend or heaven??

2010-07-08T09:24:00.011-04:00

THE VIDEO UPLOADED AND PROCESSED BUT NOW IS SAYING THAT AN ERROR OCCURED AND TO TRY AGAIN LATER. I HAVE TO GO TO WORK BUT I WILL CHECK WHEN I GET HOME AND TRY TO GET THEM WORKING....THE VIDEOS ARE THE BEST PART!!!!
Taken by me with Sean's Canon Rebel.

Whew! BIG BIG weekend people! The excitement actually started last week, Wednesday to be exact, but it lasted throughout the weekend!

Last Wednesday I was getting ready for work, well, I WAS ready for work, and I got a text message at about 10:30am: "Your boyfriends are here!!" It was from my co-worker/ friend Melanie. My heart LEPT and I immediately panicked. My boyfriends!! The Blue Angels!! I NEED TO GET DOWNTOWN NOWWWWW! I knew they were in town early because my work threw them a "private reception and car show" at the air station Tuesday.
So, me, being the early bird, was ready for work at 10:30am even though I don't need to leave until 11:15am. Good thing because I got another text from another friend AND a phone call from Sean (my REAL boyfriend) telling me that they were practicing and flying over the Bay right then!! I scooped up all of my crap and ran out the door. I threw my club mix in my CD player (think Darude- Sandstorm) and hightailed it to the Bay. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the Bay and my seeing the jets every once in awhile, when on a hill, added to my excitement and lead foot.
I made it down there, parked at our reception site (the Elk's Lodge), and got to see about 10 minutes of practice.
I worked Wednesday and decided that Thursday I would get down there even earlier and enjoy the sunshine and Bay before work again. Luckily I had to watch Jesse, our 6 year old nephew, and I took him down there with me to see practice again. Didn't happen! We were down there waiting, making sand castles, waiting, but they practiced later, at 2pm, while I was at work.
It was REALLY REALLY hard to work late last week. I work 3-4 blocks from the Bay, seriously, a minute walk, and I had to hear them fly over constantly but was trapped inside. It was torture.
Thursday night, after work, I listened to my cell messages and got a WONDERFUL surprise. Our other nephew, Cameron, who is 4, has been fairly sick since he was a baby. He has LCH, which mimics Cancer but is curable. He has been going through testing, chemo, and steroids for YEARS. It was gone for about 10 months but came back last year. He has ONE more chemo appt. before we wait to see if it is gone for good. Anyway, he gets a Make A Wish, which is going to Disney in March. Part of his Make A Wish, and the Blue Angels schedule at most air shows, is to invite the Wish Kids to meet them. Obviously Cameron's mom and dad were going to take him, with Jesse, but Cam's dad (Sean's bro Mike) had to work. Turns out his boss is an A-Hole. Who makes a guy work instead of going with his sick son for part of his Make A Wish?!?! So, Sommer left me a message inviting ME to go!!! At first I was nervous and almost didn't want to, weird I know. I had to check with a friend who I had already made plans with but since she backed out I was free to go!!
Friday I woke up early like a kid on Christmas morning. What should I wear? Should I wear my hair straight or curly? Should I take my camera? Sean's "big boy" camera? The VIDEO camera?
We headed to the US Coast Guard air station, about 20 minutes away, and from there they bussed us to a "special viewing platform" situated at "center point" right on the Bay. What was cool about this spot is that the announcer (a Marine guy and pilot of #7 Blue Angel, which is the only jet with a passenger seat for media, famous people, ride-alongs) was announcing everything! There was music and we were literally sitting at the center line of the show.
We watched the practice show and I took ALOT of pictures!
Not sure what he is doing, Sean says he's signaling with a magnifying glass?

#7 pilot with the events coordinator standing behind him. You can BARELY see the jets coming in the background, just over the hill, but they are coming FAST!

The Blue Angels support team. Flight Surgeon, Events Coordinator, Maintenance person....

We had to board the bus BACK to the air station while the Blue Angels finished up practice and got back to the station, and INTO the hanger, while the jets were still parking. The jets weren't even turned off yet! Inside the hanger was the loudest noise I have EVER heard. It hurt my brain. At one point I was actually afraid my ear drums would burst. Did I cover my ears? Nope! I told Sean I wanted to experience every little thing and refused to cover my ears.
We watched them shut down and watched what I imagine is the routine of exiting the jets. Two flight staff wait in front of the jet. The pilot climbs down, salutes them I think, and then walks to the next jet where he is joined by THAT jet pilot. They walk down the line of the 6 Blue Angel jets until they are all walking together.
Exiting the jets

After that, someone announced that they wanted the "Wish Kid" and ONE adult to go meet the pilots, who moments before were flying 400-600 mph. Sommer, because she's awesome, told me to go with Cam. She knew I would appreciate it more I guess. So Cam and I walked around the corner outside and the pilots soon greeted us!! They were all so good with the kids and signed Cam's visor and brochure. I think we got 4 out of the 6. They all look the same, I was nervous, and I couldn't tell WHO signed and who didn't. I must say too that the #1 guy is my favorite and the hottest! He is the leader kind of and the Commander.
The pilots with all of the Wish Kids :)

So, that's my story of how I got to meet the Blue Angel pilots!! It REALLY was a dream come true and I am still in disbelief.
US Coast Guard.

I had to work Saturday, the first day of two "real" air shows, but I waited to take my lunch break at 2pm, which is when I KNEW they would be flying. A co-worker and I walked down to the Bay just as the Angels started their show so we got to see 20 minutes of it. They fly RIGHT over my work, low and fast, so that was cool.
I had Sunday off and had company up here from down state. We woke up early and headed down to the Bay. I'll finish the weekend blog later....

Picture Post

2010-07-06T23:47:00.006-04:00

What a weekend! I will go into more detail later but wanted to post a few of my very best pics for you all to see. I used Sean's camera, a Canon Rebel, and whipped the big boy lens out for the air show. Oh, and I MET the pilots too! More details later but let me just say "yummmmmmy!"

Two right side up, two upside down :)

Landing gear down
US Coast Guard Rescue Demo. He is NOT hanging from anything, he is jumping in!

My niece, brother, his lady, her kids, and me (in the white shirt).

Me with my soon to be nephews, Jesse and Cameron, before being bussed to the viewing platform for the air show. Cameron has been very sick since he was a baby (getting better though) and this was part of his Make a Wish...and how I came to MEET the Blue Angel pilots!!

Really trying

2010-06-25T14:19:00.003-04:00

Okay, I am seriously going to try to blog more.

Today is my day off, I also have Sunday off, but I work tomorrow which stinks. Anyway, the weather people up here in Northern Michigan officially SUCK. I understand it must be hard to predict weather a week ahead of time, because patterns change and all, but they can't get it right the day before! They said "mostly sunny" and that's a crock. It's pretty much overcast with the sun peeking out for 30 seconds here and there. Lately I have been checking www.noaa.gov instead because it seems to be more accurate. I have struck a deal with Mother Nature though and decided that it can rain EVERY SINGLE day from now until July 2, as long as it's nice that weekend for the Blue Angel visit to Traverse City for the Cherry Festival. If you've been reading me for awhile you know how in love with the jets I am! If not, check this post out. Oooh, and this one.

It turns out that Friday (my day off) July 2nd, the Blue Angels practice the show that they will do on Saturday and Sunday. Since I have to work on Saturday I won't be able to to so I will go down to the Bay Friday to watch the practice. Then again on Sunday...WEATHER permitting (yikes). What REALLY sucks is that my work is literally 3 blocks from the Bay and I will be stuck inside Saturday and will be able to hear, and feel, the jets overhead. This will be VERY hard people. I get tears in my eyes when I watch jets fly, I don't know why but I do. It's such a rush and makes me so proud to live in the US.

Tonight we have a birthday party! Jesse James and his brother Cameron Archer are turning 6 and 4. Sean's nephews, my soon to be nephews, although they both call me Aunt Sarah and have for months. For Jesse we got Uno Attack and a velcro paddle catch game. For Cam we got a new fishing pole (because he dropped his in the lake last weekend) and a baseball mitt and ball.

Okay, I got side tracked and just came back to this...guess that's it for now. Have a GREAT weekend!

Too damn busy

2010-06-23T09:43:00.005-04:00

Hello all! My blogging days seem to be withering. I don't even think to blog anymore like I used to. It sucks. Things have been CRAZY with the wedding less than two months away, working full time, summertime fun, and just trying to keep a house in order...which is NOT happening (I haven't cleaned in over two weeks, it's gross).

Anyway, I will try to make an effort to blog more. I haven't really lost any followers but the only comments I get seem to be foreign, in a different language, and I assume they could be viruses of some sort. Eeeek.

Here are some pics, because when all else fails, post pictures!

The tomato planter is really kicking ass!

Castle Orange flower. Wasn't doing so well at first but they all seem to have rebounded :)

Kelly attempting to catch the Grey Squirrel that was looting the bird feeder....she missed but I wonder what she'd do if she caught it. I think the squirrel would take her!

Dissociative Disorder

2010-06-03T08:49:00.010-04:00

Howdy! Happy Thursday! I work today, have tomorrow off, and then work Saturday.

It seems my VERY mild case of dissociative disorder is back after over ten years of being absent. This used to happen to me when I was nearly 20 years old. I went to the Dr. about it back then but they had no explanation. It wasn't until I was majoring in Psych that I learned about it. I describe it the same way the books do: "walking around in a dream like state, feeling "spaced out", and having trouble with memory, focus, and difficulty interpreting time passage". It usually happens to me, well it used to, during times of stress. It's my brains way of saying "F you, I'm outtie for a bit!" It usually lasts three days or so and I am on day three now. I don't FEEL stressed but obviously my brain thinks otherwise. I went for a run yesterday to try to clear my head and it seemed to have worked a little. Today should be better and the last of it. It's very annoying. It almost feels like I am drunk or high but I'm not. Yesterday I left my car keys IN the ignition all day while I was at work. I didn't notice until I went to leave work and couldn't find my keys. I walked back to my car and there they were! So, basically I have been a complete flake for the past 3 days. Yuck!

We had an AWESOME weekend! I had FOUR days off and it was glorious! My Mom and Grandma came up for our wedding shower, which was amazing as well! Sunday, we woke up hungover and went out on the boat with Sean's brother and his family. The weather was PERFECT! Monday was spent doing yard work. I got a $100 gift card for a local nursery here and checked it out Monday. I don't need any perennials, I have everything under the sun coming from my Mom and Aunt this fall. Our Aunt Debbie already brought me some irises, black eyed Susan's, day lilies, coneflower, lily of the valley, myrtle, and even a small teeny Lilac bush :) All of those are planted. Monday I had to dig a new flower bed, which hurt, in the front yard. I went to the nursery and could NOT resist buying a HUGE iris plant that already has a bloom on it! These irises are HUGE! I will post a pic soon. I also bought soil, a "normal" sized Iris plant, a "praying hands" Hosta, and some annual called a "blood leaf". Those are all now planted in the new front bed, which has plenty of room for whatever else I am given. Sean mowed the lawn and weed whipped Monday too.

The shower was GREAT! We had the hot dog wagon there and tons of other food! Lots of family and friends showed up and showered us with things that we registered for! We got alot of needed things and some luxury items too! We got our two fondue pots from my Mom and Grandma and Sean's parents got us an awesome wireless outdoor speaker! The receiver uses an iPod and it plays out of the speaker! It's pretty cool. Coolers, bath towels, beach towels, glasses, dinnerware, aprons, knives, gift cards! Oh, and Sean's buddies got us that singing fish from the McDonald's commercial...you know..."give me back that filet o fish, give me that fish!" Sean wanted to register for it, I said no, and he STILL got it :) Good times.

This weekend will be busy again! I HAVE to finish the wedding invites! I also have to finish the Thank You cards for the shower. I also have to work both jobs Saturday. Sunday we'd like to get to church and we need to meet with the manager of the reception site to decide on food. *Whew*

But for now...pictures it is!

Day lilies, blood leaf, and small irises :) That's bone meal sprinkled around too to help with their root systems :)

HUGE irises on the left. I still need to border the bed with something and throw some mulch in there but I can't do that until I get the rest of the perennials in the Fall. Oh, and that's Bee Balm on the far right...wanted it away from the porch as it attracts bees!!

Wedding shower :)

Our Bride and Groom "coozies" and one of our new coolers (we got a bigger one too!)

The crowd watching us open gifts :)

My Grandma and my Mom :)

Pregnant deer about 30 feet from our house :)

Tent worms all over the house!! YUCK!

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-28T00:16:00.008-04:00

It's been a minute. Not just since I've blogged, but since I have read most blogs too and I apologize. I honestly WANT to, I just have nothing crazy interesting to say. Plus, my computer screen took a crap ~~after it fell off the bed~~ for some stupid reason and now looks like this:

Mine is not quite this bad...mine has lines taking up about two inches on the right side. Better the right than the left I guess.

I had my blood drawn (AGAIN) for my Thyroid and now my levels are A-Okay. Under a 3, which is good. They like to see TSH between a 1-2 but mine haven't been below a 5 in months. So, that's good news.

We are currently, in Northern Michigan, being invaded but some visitors. "Tent Worms". They sound lovely don't they? Here, have a look see:

Tent worms on a hike that I went on with work people. Taken with my very own camera.

We did NOT have them "down state". These things are CRAZY. They make nests in trees and then grow and crawl out. I saw the nests weeks ago and now the worms are ALL over the place. Literally. I will take pics of our yard soon to show you. They are so bad that when I am driving slowly through the neighborhood, with my windows down (because it's been GORGEOUS up here), I can actually HEAR them popping under my tires. The roads are COVERED with little worm carcasses. It's like something from the Twilight Zone. Good thing I'm not grossed out by crawling things. I'm fine with spiders, ants, snakes, frogs...whatever. What I am NOT fine with is flying critters. Bees, those flying grasshopper things, dragonflies, deer flies, JUNE BUGS (GOOD LORD THEY FREAK ME OUT!), and moths.

The DISGUSTING "June Bug"...here in May!

Guess what the tent worms turn into? MOTHS! I don't even want to think about how many moths we're going to have flying around here, getting caught in my hair, in a couple of weeks. I came in from outside the other day and bent over only to have a June Bug drop from my head. AND, to top off the "Northern Michigan" fun, Sean came home today from the woods (coyote hunting) to find a tick on his leg in the shower. Eeeek! Those things can cause Lyme Disease! So now I am worried about the cats too.

Ticks. The one Sean pulled off was HUGE, about as big as the lower right one in this pic.

Work has been good! I actually have FOUR days off because I am normally off on Friday (#1), had to take Saturday off for our wedding shower (#2), off Sunday (#3) and off Monday for the holiday! Nice huh? What's even better is that THIS year, we are NOT tourists up here, we live here! It is getting super busy though, which is mildly annoying but I am not grumbling!

I planted 13 annual pots and they are all doing well except for one. Not sure what went wrong but it's d-e-a-d. We also have a tomato planter up so we'll see how the Roma's do. I don't like tomatoes plain but LOVE Roma's on pizza.

This morning I was looking out the front window, admiring the woods and listening to the birds when I saw two of these bad boys:

ORIOLES! I NEVER see Orioles. I have only ever seen an Oriole one other time. I saw two! They were across the street so I am contemplating buying some oranges to nail to a tree to get them to come on over to our house :) After I saw the Orioles, I wandered out back to fix the lopsided bird feeder and noticed that the Suet cake and hanger were GONE. Never to be seen again. A critter must have knocked it down and took it away. Good thing those things are cheap.

Hmmm...what else? Oh, my Mom and Grandma are heading up tomorrow for our shower. I am excited to see them and to have two of MY family members there. Of course this means I will spend 3-4 hours cleaning the house tomorrow but it needs it anyway so that's fine. I am also going to lay in the sun tomorrow and go for a run, all the while dodging tent worms! They hang from the trees and you don't see them until they almost hit you in the face...

OKay, I think that's all for now. Next post will be FULL of pictures, I swear! Any of you seeing Sex/ City this weekend? I want to but will probably wait until it's on DVD.

Crazy neighbors and faral cats

2010-05-18T21:45:00.002-04:00

Boy do I have a good post for y'all!! FINALLY something interesting and exciting has happened!!

Okay, I have two cats, mother and daughter. Since I have no kids yet, the cats are the closest thing. For those of you that have pets that you LOVE like your own, you know what I am talking about. My cats ARE my children. They are the first things I take care of in the morning, the first things I look for when I get home from work (as long as Sean isn't home, if he is, he's first), and the last things I check on at night. They love me and I love them. They talk to me and I can normally read what they want when they want it. Lily, the daughter cat, is trained to pull her container of catnip down off of the shelf when she wants some. They drink water from a cup on the sink, which I keep filled continuously.

You get the idea right?

Friday...my day off...I am sitting in the recliner playing on the computer watching Seinfeld having a nice glass of Merlot. The doorbell rings....odd since we don't know anyone in the neighborhood and I see no cars in our drive. I get up and notice an older woman holding a dog looking CRAZY. Before I even open the door I think "This could be weird".

Me: Hello

Her: (looking over my head instead of making eye contact...and her eyes look glazed and crazy) Uh, hi. Do you have a big black cat?

Me: Yes, I have two black cats.

Her: (yelling and looking at me now) YOUR CATS ARE KILLING MY BIRDS!!!

Me: (at a loss) Oh, I'm sorry.

Her: KEEP YOUR CATS INSIDE!!!!

Me: I'm sorry I can't do that. They are outdoor cats and they have collars.

Her: Well, you know we have badgers around here?!

Me: Yes, I know, and coyotes. They did fine with wild animals down state. We had raccoons, coyotes, and hawks and they were fine outside.

Her: WELL...MAYBE THEY'LL LIVE AND MAYBE THEY WON'T!!

Me: Oh, and where do you live?

Her: TWO HOUSES DOWN!

Me: OH!!! You're the President of the neighborhood association?!?!?!

Her: (starting to walk away now) One of them yes.

Me: Well, it was really nice to meet you.

I WAS FUUUUUUUURIOUS! I was so mad in fact that I was shaking and had to use the bathroom immediately...that happens to me when I get really upset.

So, I'm wrapping up in the John and the doorbell rings AGAIN! By this point, the cats had come to the back door looking FREAKED out and ran inside. God knows what she did...they were scared.

So, she comes back, without the dog now, and tells me all about how sorry she is. Her sister in law is dying and they heard bad news today. The bird, "her bird" that she found dead was hanging on a branch. She now admits that my cats had nothing to do with it dying, it fell from the nest and broke it's neck. I have every right to let my cats out, she loves cats, yadda yadda. I accepted her apology, apologized to HER because my cats were in her yard and I hate that they were but there's not a whole hell of alot I can do. They are not dogs with leashes or electric fences.

The point is, DO NOT threaten my cats. It's the same, at this point, as telling me "maybe you 5 year old daughter will live and maybe she won't." They ARE my kids. DO NOT come over to MY house and threaten them and then later come back and admit they had nothing to do with it.

Listen, I know cats can be a pain. I know they kill birds. That's how life and nature works. Cats kill birds, snakes kill mice, hawks kill whatever they can, DOGS kill rabbits, coyotes kill EVERYTHING. It's part of life. I hate it too but it's how animal instinct and hunting works.

She's a lunatic. AND President of the Association. Had she not come over and apologized, I would have written a letter and passed it out door to door. I still think about what needs to be done during the next election. A woman that unstable should not be running the show. To top things off, our neighbors next door told me a month ago she was wacko.

We also have a wild feral cat that thinks it's fun to beat up my cats, which I hate but THAT'S NATURE. This A-Hole cat comes around and beats the shit out of my cats. Yesterday Kelly, the mom cat, came barreling in. The feral cat was chasing her and ALMOST came into the house when I opened the door for Kelly. I heard them fighting and she came in hurt. Last night, she was still hurt. I could tell she was in pain (her eyes were dilated) but she was fine this morning. Oh, and to add fun to it, she has lost two break away collars in two weeks. Seems whenever this feral cat beats her up she loses her collar. They are not cheap. I spend about $10 on collars each time, including the name tag. Lily, the daughter cat, lost one and Kelly has lost two now. At least they break away I guess, otherwise they would be strangled somewhere.

So, that's the exciting news! Woo-Hoo!!

Booooooring

2010-05-14T08:22:00.002-04:00

I'm boring. I haven't had ANYTHING to blog about, still don't.

The weather has been sort of up and down here in Northern Michigan. It actually snowed a bit last week, the week before that it was in the mid 70's. I haven't been able to run because it's been raining. Finally, today it cleared up and I fully intend to exercise my behind off! I have the day off and need to make up for the past two days. I also need to clean the house and head to Sam's club for our usual staples (Kashi bars, Zone bars, Chobani yogurt, and Laughing Cow cheese).

The decision has been made, we are starting to try for baby next month! One more cycle for me and then it's ON! I do not anticipate it happening next month or the following month. I AM optimistic but also realistic. If it happens the first or second try I will be ecstatic but very surprised. I kind of gave up on charting my basal temp. They were so erratic and I can't see making any sense of them. Also, according to my chart, I am supposed to ovulate next week, although I think I already have. Due to the Hypothyroidism, my cycles have been a little weird, which was NEVER the case. I have always been SUPER regular but for the past couple months that has not been the case. So, instead of charting and driving myself crazy, I have decided to take other cues and go from there.

Work is still awesome! I am learning new stuff every week and have already learned more than the other two temps, which is a good sign since they MAY hire at the end of the summer. I heard through the grapevine that they will hire two out of three. They lost two people just after I started so it makes sense. This past week I learned the hardest and most complex system called closeday. Basically it's running all three HUGE printers and controlling comunication between the computers and printers. We are talking about hundreds of thousands copies and customer packets that need to be mailed. New policies, renewal policies, quotes, endorsements, letters, memos, cancellations, expirations, and renewal bills. There is a table, about 9x3 that is usually full of stacks of paper that need to be folded, stuffed into envelopes, and mailed out. I have learned the folding, stuffing, and metering already. I have also learned how to take care of special client requests (at a separate computer) and how to scan our logs into ANOTHER computer. The only other thing there is to learn is how to process client payments, which seems very easy, and how to ship FedEx, which I did YEARS ago at a job when I was 18.

So, it's going well. I still love going to work and time FLIES by.

So folks, that's what I've been up to. Hopefully soon I will have something more exciting to blog about? Not sure. I may take my camera on my run today and get some pictures...of what I don't know :)

Springtime in Northern Michigan :)

2010-05-02T19:47:00.015-04:00

As promised I took some pictures around town over the weekend. Not as many as I'd like and NOT with Sean's fancy pants camera (I used my lil' Nikon) but I did take some :)

Today was exciting for me at home! Sean and I have been trying to figure out our RainBird irrigation system for about a week now. We've never had a sprinkler system and were very excited about it. The problem was that we couldn't figure out how to turn the damn thing on! After a few HOURS of fiddling and online research, I figured it out and it is running as we speak! Of course I DID have help from a neighbor, Josiah, who came over after seeing me in the yard digging around in one of the in ground valve boxes. All he did though was turn on the master valve in the basement. After that, we still couldn't figure it out and they were not working properly. So, I came inside and searched the Web for info. I learned that all of the "solenoid valves" in the in-ground boxes have to be turned to "OFF". Seems backwards to me but you only turn them "ON" to manually run the system and who wants to do that when you have a cool electronic box in the garage that does all of the work for you? After I fixed the valves around the yard (finding the boxes was the hard part) I "tested all valves" and sure enough those cute little sprinkler heads popped up and worked! I am now running all zones for 15 minutes. It's not ideal to water the lawn at night (mold grows unless there is sun to dry the water) but Sean threw some seed and fertilizer down a couple of days ago so it needs to be watered a bit.

Looking out the front door

Anyway, here are the photos! It has been GORGEOUS the past few days up here. Friday it was in the mid 70's (I laid out in my suit and got a little pink) and Saturday it was near 80 (I was working ALL day inside)! Today it has been a little cooler (maybe 60) but gorgeous skies painted with clouds.

This is one of the streets I normally park on to walk a couple of blocks to work. Most of the side streets in town look just like this. Large old "victorian-like" houses line the streets and are amazing.

This is the park we'll BE MARRIED AT! Hannah Park, located at Union Street and Lake/ Seventh Street. It's beautiful.

This is Union Street. I cross it everyday walking to work. You can't really see it but the bay is at the end of the street. This is also the street that the Deering Meat Market is on, a market owned by Sean's grandpa and uncle.

This is Union Street heading the opposite way.

This is my work! I am in the far right building. You can see the catwalk leading to the next building. The far left building is the Claims department. It's HUGE. It's more like a campus. We even own two of the residential condos on the top for clients when they visit :)

This is a view from my work campus. I don't know what building that it but it's neat. Sean doesn't know either and he's FROM here.

Taken from the outdoor eating area at work. This is the Boardman River, the same river we'll be married at, work is right down the road from our wedding site.

Another view from the outdoor eating area at work...

This is a small shot of our cafe at work. There is a neon light (turned off because it was Saturday) that says "filling station".

Taken at the bay while driving :( People were out at the beach! I was wasting an hour because I got off of work at job #1 at 4:30pm and had to be to job #2 at 6pm.

The volleyball courts on the bay! Hopefully we'll get some people together this summer to play!

So there you have it, some pictures of what it's turning into up here. I CANNOT WAIT for summer and for Cherry Fest! The Blue Angels will be here again this year along with musical guest "Los Lonely Boys". They usually get good musicians so that will be fun.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Checking In

2010-04-29T23:27:00.003-04:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen! I figured I'd better check in with you all.

First off, I did FOUR separate VLOGS of the house. I did the separately because for some reason Blogger takes FOREVER to upload any video over a minute. Welp, it never did work. I tried several times and it always ended in an error. Someday SOON I will try on youtube, which also gives me problems but we'll see.

Secondly, Spring is in full effect up here in Traverse City! I plan on taking some good pics with Sean's ultra fancy camera within the next week. I attempted to download a free trial of LightRoom (a photo editing program) but that ALSO did not work. Either way, pictures of Spring in Northern Michigan are on the way!

I am trying to figure out when Sean and I should start trying for a baby. I thought July but it looks like the best chance IN July is the very last week. This is fine since we're being married in early August but now I am thinking "Why not start trying in June"? The one thing that worries me is my Thyroid. My levels STILL aren't where they should be and I am afraid of how that may affect baby. I guess I'll decide when I have my next blood draw in early June.

I entered a Chili Cook-Off at work today! I made Fresh Ground Buffalo Chili and corn bread mini muffins. I took pics but they are on my cell phone so I will have to e-mail them and post them on my next post :) It went well I think. I went to pick up my Crock Pot and it was bone dry! There were NINE other Crock Pots waiting to be picked up and they ALL had lots of chili left in them. That is a good sign. It was $5 and you got to sample your choice of three chilis. Then, people voted for their favorite. Not sure if I placed but I wanted to enter just to get my name out there in the company. I also included cheese and sour cream to top with.

I have tomorrow off of work. My future SIL called and asked if I could pick Jesse up from school at noon. Jesse is almost 6 and his brother Cam is almost 4. Some of you remember how Cam is sick and has been since he was an infant. He is still getting chemo treatments through a port in his chest. He has chemo tomorrow at 11am so I am going to pick Jesse up while Cam and Mommy are at the hospital. Cam has a CURABLE disease called LCH and requires chemo and steroid treatments among other meds. Hopefully after this round of treatments he will be better and STAY that way. Last year we thought he was all clear but the pesky LCH came up again. He's doing awesome though, feeling good and being a kid. Last week he had two teeth pulled and FIVE crowned. His tooth decay is a side effect of the treatments. He was FINE by the next day and excited because he got a visit from the Tooth Fairy, not many 3 year olds can say that :)
Sean, Cam, Me, and Jesse in December :)

It's supposed to be in the mid 70's tomorrow!! Can you say base tan? I am going to get up around 8am, go for a run, do a kettlebell workout, and go get Jesse! The KettleWorx program is AWESOME! It's tough but my sore muscles tell me it's working!

Not much else right now. I'll be back soon with pics!!

Spring Slim Down fun?

2010-04-23T11:17:00.009-04:00

So some of you may remember that after watching Food, Inc. I stopped eating meat. I did this years ago for about 3 months and it wasn't too bad. I'm not saying that I will NEVER eat meat but for now I am a veggie girl. I still eat eggs and fish too. I need my protein from somewhere and eggs and fish are loaded with it.
Anyway, since I started working full time last week, I make my lunches for the week so that I can just grab a container out of the fridge, throw it in a lunch bag, and heat it up at work. Because I am a very beginner veggie cook, I have basically mastered one dish...stir-fry. The first week I made tofu stir-fry. Last week it was tofu "steak style" meatless fajita strip stir-fry. This week I made shrimp and tofu stir fry. I thought I'd get sick of it but I use different sauces for different flavors and use different veggies too. The only constant in the recipe is brown rice.

Orange, red, and green peppers, baby Bella mushrooms, and red onion. I heat a wok up with EVOO and minced garlic. I heat it VERY hot and throw the veggies in!

I use these sauces at different times, depending on what I am in the mood for. The House of Tsaing line is VERY good. The middle one is my favorite (Peanut Sauce). Also, I buy whatever brown rice is on sale. This bag had a coupon on it so it won!

I am pretty picky about my tofu. It HAS HAS HAS to be extra/ ultra/ or super firm. Extra firm tofu keeps it's shape while bouncing around in the pan. You can buy it cubed or buy it in a chunk and cube it yourself.

This week I used small shrimp. I bought the bag frozen and thawed it in a strainer with cold water.
The finished product. I scoop rice into the bottom of the container, followed by the veggie mix, and top it with shrimp. Also, (not shown because I forgot) I threw some FRESH bean sprouts on top. I like my bean sprouts crunchy so I throw them in the wok at the last minute. In this case, I forgot so I just put them on top and figured they'd cook a bit when I microwave the lunches.

Five days of lunches! I'm not sure if it will stay good for that long so I will probably have some tonight for dinner and then eat the rest over the next four days.

I also LOVE Boca products and recently (last week) tried the "chicken" patties. They are AMAZING! It tastes JUST like chicken! I throw one on a bun with a slice of cheese, pickles, a little mayo, and dijon mustard. DELISH and another easy thing to do at work. The burgers are really good but I refuse to microwave them, they're too soggy that way. I prefer to use the Foreman grill or pan fry them in some EVOO.

So, there you have it! If you are like me and scrambling to shape up for Spring, try the brown rice and veggie stir fry. Chicken is fine too if you eat meat. Since I get off of work at 8pm and am STARVING by the time I get home I usually just eat a small salad. I have even been trying to watch my dressing and used Italian instead of fatty creamy Ranch last week. I prefer Ranch but Italian is good too.

I am off work today. I have a pretty big to-do list but am dragging. I DID do laundry, dishes, and made my lunches but I still need to clean the house and MAY tear up some grass to prepare for a new flower bed. Oh, and I still have to go for my run today. I guess it IS only 11:38am. I've got time.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Title Here

2010-04-22T09:50:00.002-04:00

Good morning friends! I am up blogging before I hop in the shower.
I started a dedicated exercise program this week. Tuesday I did the KettleWorx Abs DVD. Yesterday I ran intervals through the neighborhood. Today I did the KettleWorx Resistance DVD. Tomorrow I will run again. Saturday I will do the KettleWorx Core DVD. Sunday I will run again.
It's really a shame. I haven't REALLY worked out in about 6 months. I quit the gym when Sean moved in October and then it got cold and I didn't run outside. Couple my laziness with the HypoThyroid issue and I am 6-8 pounds heavier and FLABBY. We don't own a scale but I weigh myself when I go over to the future in-laws house. I've always stuck around 118 and the last time I weighed I was 123. No, it's not alot but when you used to have ripped muscles and fit into a size 2 and now I am flab and my 2's no longer fit. My size 2 American Eagle jeans have taken a time out in my closet for now. I am hoping to be back in them in about 4 weeks. And don't get me started on my wedding dress. I haven't even TRIED to put that on again because I am thinking it wouldn't fit. All in time I guess. My main motivation is to be in tip top shape for baby making. I want to be used to cardio so that I can continue it throughout the baby baking.
Which brings me to my next point. I bought a Basal thermometer the other day. I am going to start charting on fertilityfriend.com. Now I just need to start my cycle, which is two days late now. Last month it was 3 days late, I am assuming because of my HypoThyroidism. My numbers are not where they should be and I will start on brand name meds if my numbers are still high in June after my next draw. It's very worrisome for me, someone who has always had infertility in the back of my mind. I have no reason to think I am but it happens...I just hope not to me.
I am half thinking that I will start a baby blog sometime soon, as we get closer to the month of July. I used to think I would do this so that people struggling with infertility didn't have to read all about babies on my blog. Now that I think about it, I'd like to do one to document the journey. It's a big deal, trying for your first, and I'd like a way to go back and read through it. There is one issue though and that is that we don't plan on telling everyone until 12 weeks. Close family yes but not everyone. I guess I could make it private until that time and then open it up?
Enough of that....I'm a little excited, can you tell?
I work today and am off tomorrow. I also work Saturday's now, which stinks but I am SO happy to do it. It's going really well. I have been told a few times that I am way beyond what normal trainees do at this point and that I catch on quickly. This is all great, especially if it helps get a permanent job in August.
It's been pretty in Northern Michigan. Hardly any rain and in the 50's and 60's. Tomorrow it will be near 60 and I plan on being outside a good portion of the day. I have a fairly large area to get ready for a flower bed. This will include pulling out grass and fashioning a border, probably out of brick pavers. It's hard work but as long as it's nice out, I don't mind.
Okay, time for a shower. Sorry for the boring post. I'll get a good one together for next week and try to keep you entertained :)
Have a great day!

Boy names

2010-04-19T06:42:00.002-04:00

My friend Sarah gave me a baby name book a couple of days ago. Since I am all set for a girl name, I started going through it for boy names. No, I am not pregnant yet but the name is probably the most important, and most difficult decision to make. Sean gets to name the boy if we have one but I thought I'd start jotting names down to mention to him. I'm only through the book to the "L's" but have the whole back cover of the book full of names I like. My friend Sarah used the front cover :)

Here is what I have: Rowan, Ashwin (Ashton or Asher), Waylon, Ainsley, Julien, Casey, Griffin, Hudson, Elijah, Gareth, Keegan, Reid, Wyatt, Ryder, Hunter, Riley, Rory, Quinn, Enbry, Lincoln, Dashell, Dax, Kieran, Evan, Henry, Noel, Garbiel, Emery, Sheldon, Lochlyn, Solomon, Emerson, Cash, Easton, Nolan, Adrien, Aison, Xavier, Breyen, Brodie, Callum, Cowan, Cullen, Curran, Darby, Declan, Eagan, Ellis, or Finn.

My favorite RIGHT NOW is Declan. Declan Deering....it has a ring to it. Plus, it's super Irish. Sean's not loving it so we'll see what he comes up with when the time comes. We won't find out what we're having so it will be fun!

So glad he was born :)

2010-04-17T09:46:00.004-04:00

Today is Sean's 30th birthday! Yes, folks, I am older than he is, by over two years :) I'll be 33 in October and the little stinker JUST turned 30 today!
His parents threw him an awesome surprise party last Saturday and he is going to a fancy "Elk's Unlimited" dinner tonight with his parents and his brother, no wives included. This is fine with me since I am still vegetarian at this point. I AM eating eggs, fish, and shrimp so it's been really easy for me. I will admit that I had a difficult moment the other night while I was making Sean's ka-bobs with tender chunks of sirloin steak. But, that passed and I enjoyed my shrimp.
Anyway, last weekend was the party and this weekend is low key for us. After working my first full week of work in over three months, I need some quiet time and time to get the house in order as far as cleaning.
I THINK we have officially decided to start trying for Baby #1 in July or August. We are being married August 6th so even if we perform a miracle and get lucky on our first try in July, I would only be a couple weeks pregnant by wedding time and wouldn't even know it yet. I guess realistically I am hoping to be expecting by the end of the year. This way, I will be 33 for our first and 34-35 for our second. MY plan is to nurse for 6 months. From the very beginning I will be freezing milk so that I can physically stop 6 months but have a stock of milk to feed baby for another 3-6 months. I want to stop at 6 months so that we can try for #2 at that point. This is all contingent on how quickly I get back into shape because I really don't want to go for #2 if I haven't gotten back to pre-baby shape, or close to it. We will also use CLOTH diapers after the baby's poop normalizes (about 4 weeks in). I REFUSE to spend money on disposable. I can buy a nice stock of cloth for about $400, which sounds like alot but those last from birth to potty training so we'll save HUNDREDS! Between that and nursing, we'll save over $1000 I bet. Plus, cloth diapers are so stinkin' cute.
Obviously I have been going through some baby fever lately. I have been itching to have babies for years now and to think that we can start trying in a few months makes me very happy, and a bit nervous, which is normal. I have a girl name picked already and have told Sean that he can name the boy...only because I am not budging with the girl name. SOME boy names I like that have already gotten the thumbs down from Sean are: "Lincoln" (I love Abe Lincoln like crazy!), "Dashell", "Dax", "Colby" (my maiden name), "Rory", "Embry", and "Quinn". I could probably think of many more but those are off the top of my head. "Link" and "Dash" for short. Sean is Irish through and through so I'd like an Irish name but that's up to him, within reason of course.
Anyway, enough of that. Here are some pics of Sean and his party. I was socializing too much I guess and only got a few....

Sean with Travis, Jessica, and his brother Mike.

About a quarter of the guys that came: Travis, Sean, Adam, Chuck, Ben, and Nick :)

I am not dead...

2010-04-15T19:22:00.003-04:00

Hello! Remember meeeee???

I started working FT on Monday and have been exhausted by the time I get home. I'm not used to a regular working schedule and will admit I am quite the baby about it. I DO still come home and cook dinner. The laundry is not piling up and the dishes are clean and put away. I just haven't felt much like blogging at night.

Anyway, the job is GREAT! I LOVE LOVE it! Do you remember awhile back when I mentioned a company I had an interview with? Remember I blogged about how they waited 5 weeks to call me and tell me I did NOT get the job? Remember how said company had some sort of fancy computer program that alerted them when I mentioned their name online? Well, I am a little paranoid about mentioning my new job online for the same reason. Not that I have ANYTHING bad to say about them but I'm not sure I want my new bosses being able to read my every blog entry just yet :) So, I will spell it backwards and with spaces: y t r e g a h . It's an insurance company for classic cars and wooden boats. Biggest "specialty insurance" company in the nation :) There are over 400 employees and they have recently branched out and have offices and grassroots people in Canada and the UK! They service 49 states (not Alaska or Hawaii). I was going to post a photo but am too paranoid but if you Google that company name you can find ALOT on youtube and the net :) And let me tell you, these people KNOW how to treat their employees!! Check this out:
*You get your birthday off with pay!
*You get 40 hours paid bereavement for the death of immediate family! (My County job offered three).
*There are water coolers and coffee makers in every department on every floor!
*There is a HUGE cafeteria complete with FOUR microwaves, TWO dishwashers, and an entire fridge stocked with condiments, courtesy of the company! And the cafe is stocked like a normal kitchen with real silverware, glasses, and plates.
*There's fresh popcorn popped on Wednesdays (free) and soft serve ice cream on Fridays (free).
*Each department has an area stocked with oatmeal and soup, free and courtesy of the company.
*One day a year the company shuts down for "------ Day". Everyone meets at the local opera house. They eat, listen to speakers, and socialize. Each employee is given a gift. Two years ago it was an AWESOME messenger bag and last year a black vest with the company logo on it.
*The company health insurance INCLUDES and recognizes gay partnerships!
Gay partners are included in the "immediate family" bereavement pay.

That's all I can think of right now. It is truly amazing! Everyone is SO happy and friendly. Oh, and it's casual dress so I can wear jeans whenever I want. You can also wear flip flops but not in my department because we handle shipping and large boxes.

Anyway, yesterday I got off of work and had THREE more messages for job interviews at the hospital! After some thought and a discussion with Sean (he works at the hospital) I decided to stick with where I am right now. It's technically "temp" work through September but from what I hear, usually it turns permanent. I love it too much to leave, even if I am un-employed again in September. Sean agrees.

So, I apologize for being MIA, I will try to catch up soon. I have a few pics of Sean's surprise birthday party (he turns 30 Saturday), which was a BLAST. He wasn't exactly surprised but ALOT of people turned out so it was great for him.

I hope you are all doing well too!

Reporting In

2010-04-08T17:13:00.006-04:00

Traverse City sunrise. Taken on my way into town for work. You can barely see the bay.

Howdy Ho Neighbors...you're welcome for the Tool Time Home Improvement throwback :) Love that Wilson.

Yesterday I was babysitting Miss Claire (the two and a half year old I have been watching for two weeks, last day with her is tomorrow) and my sister called. Her and her boyfriend broke up a few days ago. Her baby daddy if you will. I have NEVER EVER liked him, EVER. He is like 23 and a complete L-O-S-E-R. Here's a run down of "N" for you:

* He drinks too much. Probably close to everyday. He can't afford to fix the washer but he sure can afford a sixer of Miller Lite. My father is a recovering alcoholic so I am a bit anal when it comes to alcohol and parenting. Strike ONE.

* He smokes pot. I know some people like to roll a doob every once in awhile but he actually left the hospital the day AFTER baby Kaydence was born to smoke weed. Strike TWO.

* He smokes cigarettes IN THE HOUSE with the baby. He figured he should hang a sheet up and "block off" a smoking section in the house. He smokes in his special room. Problem is, the smokes travels all over the house. Anytime I have seen K-Rock her blankets and toys smell like smoke. My Dad is also a smoker, for over 50 years (since 1958) and even he goes outside to smoke. STRIKE THREE.

* He has no license. He has had more than one DUI and can't afford to get his license back. My sister carts his ass around everywhere in the car MY DAD pays for. STRIKE FOUR.

* He refuses to do any housework. When my sister was 7 months pregnant SHE was driving to the laundrymat to do laundry while he sat his stoned ass in front of the TV with videogames. Not to mention she cleaned the house, cooked, and worked more hours than he did. STRIKE FIVE.

* He can't even be trusted to take care of K-Rock during the night. Apparently he "doesn't get up to anything at night". Probably because he's so drunk or stoned when he goes to bed. Now that they are broken up, he will see K-Rock when he wants but NEVER overnight because he can't be trusted to get up with her if she wakes up. STRIKE SIX.

I am so frustrated with my little sister. Twenty years old and not strong enough to tell this Jack Wad to take a hike. I told her while she was pregnant to start paperwork for child support. I explained that if they were living together and he was contributing, she didn't HAVE to take ANYTHING from him...but she better have it in place in case something changes (which just happened). She never did the paperwork. She STILL doesn't have insurance for the baby or herself. She continues to take money from my 60 year old father, who works his ass of at two jobs, but she won't take money from her lower boyfriend.
Anyway, she called while Claire was sleeping so I was talking to her. She was asking me if there was a Planned Parenthood by her. I told her there MUST be, they are everywhere. I thought "GREAT, she's going to get some birth control, Hallelujah! Nope. Nope. Nope. She thought she was pregnant AGAIN! Kaydence is only 5 months old! And pregnant AGAIN! Did you not learn ANYTHING?!?!?! Thankfully she went for a test and she is NOT. But Lord help her! Seriously. I can't take much more. She needs to open her eyes and start living like an adult now.

What else....

I start my new job at the insurance agency Monday. My last day babysitting is tomorrow and my last day helping at the YMCA daycare was today. I worked with 1-3 year olds today. SO stinkin' cute. I have two favorites: Sophia and Henry. Both are very sweet. Sophia's mom comes everyday at noon to nurse her still, she is probably 14-15 months old. I think that's awesome. Henry is close to a year but a little delayed in his walking because he wore a helmet until about a month ago. Not sure why, I didn't ask, but he is catching up and the sweetest thing ever. There's something about a little kid reaching their arms out for you to pick them up. They barely know me and it means alot when they do that. It tells me that I DO have a natural soothing influence on kids. They can read my non-verbal behaviors and know that I am safe. I like that. I will miss those little stinkers.

Oh, I had my second blood draw Monday for my Thyroid. I have mild HyPO Thyroidism and it's taking awhile to regulate my levels with meds. The "ideal" level for TSH is between 1-2, especially for fertility and healthy pregnancy. Before I was ON meds my TSH level was 5.7 (too high). Six weeks after starting meds it was .13 (a little too low). Eight weeks later, after altering my meds and me only taking a pill SIX days a week, it shot up to a 10!! And now, after taking a full pill 6 days a week and a HALF pill the last day, it is 6.7. Sheesh! WTH? I spoke with my Endo Doc today and she said to go back to the original script and take a full pill 7 days a week. I am taking a generic Synthroid, called Levothyroxine. She said that sometimes the generic can cause fluctuations and that I can try Synthroid now if I want. I opted to wait for one more blood draw, if it's not regulated in 8 weeks I will switch to the brand name. We'll see. Tricky business. 'Specially when we are getting married in August and really want to seriously think about kidlets then. It needs to be low and stable by then or I will not try. I'm not a fan of risking a miscarriage if I don't need to.
Still haven't eaten meat. I think it's been over a week. I am scarfing down tofu, eggs, and yogurt for my protein. Tofu stir-fry is my friend and it's been quite easy so far. I don't feel any different but it means something to me emotionally. Sean is not amused and gives me crap for it but that's okay.
It was in the 70's and 80's last week in Northern Michigan. Today? In the 20's and 30's with SNOW. I started some seedlings inside earlier in the week. Shasta daisies and "Irish Eyes" (for Sean because he's Irish). They need to grow inside for 8-10 weeks and then they can be planted outside. I have HORRIBLE luck with seeds so keep your fingers crossed! Turns out we have daisies and lilies in the front flower bed. I think that's what they are anyway. They haven't bloomed yet but Sean's aunt is an expert and that's what she said. HA HA HA HA HA "That's What She Said"! Shout out to Michael Scott!!
"Irish Eyes"

Shasta Daisies

Okay, enough rambling. I'll be back soon :) Have a great weekend! You know my blog name? Do you watch "The Office"? Enjoy THIS!

I'm alive!

2010-04-04T23:46:00.002-04:00

I feel like I owe you a blog. Thankfully I have been busy the past week and will be again this coming week. It's been rough, getting back into the swing of working every day. Waa Waa Waa.
Okay, first off, I DID get offered a FULL TIME job with an insurance company. The problem? It's "temporary". I accepted it. It is with a company that insures classic cars and wooden boats. It's the second largest employer of Traverse City. I took it because a) it's full time! b) I'm not loving the babysitting gig and not loving the other part time gig at the Y. and c) I really think it could turn into permanent work when all is said and done. It's full time until August and we'll see what happens then. I start the 12th. I will continue to work part part time at the Y, doing the teen dance once per month and "family nights" twice per month. I love those two events and love my boss there.
The weather in Northern Michigan has been AMAZING! We got close to 80 degrees last week and it looks like Spring is here to stay (knock on wood). Sean's Aunt came over yesterday morning and helped me plan the flower gardens. OVERWHELMING! I am going to start with two smaller areas this year and go from there. My mom and Sean's Aunt will be giving me lots of perennials, which I love, so hopefully they will all grow and be pretty by next Spring. I will also do a few planters and maybe some boxes of annuals, which are pretty easy and fun. I will ALSO be buying some rocks for the front flower bed since we have weird gutters and rain drips down into 1/4 of the bed. Nothing can be planted in that area, it would erode, so I am opting for rocks instead of mulch (I am not a fan of mulch). This should all be done by the end of May and I will post pics then :)
We spent Easter with Sean's folks and family. The highlight was getting a big bag of old pictures of Sean to use for the wedding slideshow. CUTE CUTE little boy!! And LOTS OF HAIR when he was born :) It's funny, he was 22.5 inches long at birth...a long baby...but he's only 5'6" tall now. My favorite picture is one of him dressed up as a girl for Halloween when he was 11. Once we scan them in I will post a couple. Our babies will be cute if Baby Sean is any indication. My little butterball :)
I rented the movie "UP" a few days ago! YOU MUST SEE IT! It is so cute! I watched it with the kids at the Y Spring Break Camp and rented it again because I wanted Sean to see it and wanted to see it in Blu-Ray. We both loved it! One of the best Pixar movies that I have seen :)
Not much else is happening. Just work and sleep. Oh, and I am on the vegetarian kick full swing now. It's been close to a week. No biggie, pretty easy for me, but I did want some egg/ sausage casserole today :( I've been eating alot of veggie/ tofu stir fry and am still eating eggs.
I will start an exercise routine tomorrow. I would have loved to run last week but have been sick, I'm sure I caught something from the snot nosed kids at the Y daycare (I worked there 3 days last week and wiped 1,000,000 noses). I am currently at 122 pounds, which is only about 6 pounds heavier than I was in December. The difference is that my body fat percentage is higher. I notice it. No one else seems to but I do and my cloths do! I have ONE MONTH to get toned and drop maybe 10 pounds. We'll see. Luckily I tend to really get serious when I have something to lose. I am determined and excited to see results. I usually have more of a problem when I am in really good shape because no matter what I do, I stay the same. Now, even with 10 pounds to tone, it is something to work for and something I will notice :) I am determined to be in the best shape of my life in August. For two reasons: I am getting married and want to look and feel my best. Also, we may or may not be trying for Baby by August/ September. I cannot confirm or deny that :)
I hope you all enjoyed your Easter!

I knew I shouldn't have done it...

2010-03-24T07:45:00.004-04:00

I knew it would be a mistake. But I did it anyway. I rented the documentary Food, Inc. It's not going well people.

Years ago I "went vegetarian" for about 3 months. It was surprisingly easy for me. The ONLY thing I missed was deli meat for sandwiches. Someone told me that some people are built or born to be vegetarians. Others are born to be carnivores. I should do a self body test and stop eating meat for at least 3 months. Then, I should eat a steak or burger to see how my body reacted. If I was meant to be a vegetarian, my body would be REALLY pissed at me and let me know with wild cases of upset stomach and bathroom blowouts. Guess what? I was FINE...and, that steak never tasted so good.

I think I am headed towards vegetarianism once again...this time for good. It's not ALL about the processing of meat for me, it's more about the killing of innocent animals. I was 15 minutes into this movie and in tears already. I had to look away from the TV but couldn't the "mute" button fast enough and still heard the SCREAMS of chickens being dropped into "slaughter tubes". I think they were slaughter tubes...I looked away so I'm not sure exactly WHAT was being done but that sound was absolutely heartbreaking for me. Not 15 minutes later and the waterworks were flowing again during the pig slaughter section of the movie. I just cannot stand hurt animals. I ran over a raccoon once and bawled like a baby.

The ONE thing that really pushes me to take better care of myself all around is pregnancy. Do I want to eat meat that has been treated with ammonia...pass that on to my unborn child? I'm not there yet but with a wedding 5 months away....I have to think about it. I have ALWAYS had some strong opinions on health and it intensifies when I think about that unborn human ingesting EVERYTHING I do. Whether it be smoke, caffeine, or chemicals. I don't see how I can, in good conscience, do that to my child.

Anyway, I highly recommend you watch the film. It's easy to turn away and pretend that all of our food is safe and healthy. It's HARD and EXPENSIVE to buy organic, many of us can't afford it (me), but it's still our right to know what the hell is up with our food. Seriously, it's disgusting.

On to better news. I MAY have ANOTHER job offer. There is an insurance company up here that insures classic cars, boats, and whatever else. It's a VERY well received company with an excellent reputation. I applied there about a month ago and although I got a call and it went well, the company has a policy that denies people that have claimed bankruptcy within 7 years. Welp, I was a VERY irresponsible 20 year old, in college and broke, and was not good with my plastic. By the time I was done with college I had accumulated a mountain of debt. From the time I was 23 until I was 27 I TRIED and TRIED to get out from under this debt. Finally, after being advised by my Mom, a realtor, I filed in 2006. Yes, it sucked. Yes, I was ashamed. And it's STILL creating problems. So, I was pretty upset a month ago when one of the jobs I was REALLY hopeful about was denied me. I understood company policy and tried to stay optimistic. Two days ago Sean called from work and told me I should call J back from the insurance company and talk to her more about possibilities of work there. I told him that their policy is 7 years and that she said she'd call if anything changed (lowering the time limit to 3 or 5 years maybe due to ALOT of people filing with the economy this bad). Anyway...literally two hours later J called and said she had a few other positions that weren't licensed so the bankruptcy issue wasn't a problem!! There are two "temporary part time" (work until August) and one "part time permanent" position. She said she remembered me and wanted to talk to me about them! When asked which I preferred, I said that while I REALLY want full time, I also want permanent...so I told her I'd like the PERMANENT part time. There is always a chance that it could end up full time eventually...or I could work it for 2 years or so and be over that 7 year bankruptcy hump. I have to take a typing test tomorrow and interview after that :) SO excited to be considered with this awesome company! The typing should be fine, they want 35 wpm. I'm not the BEST typer but I think I can nail the 35wpm. Obviously, this adds ANOTHER branch to my job tree right now.

I started babysitting yesterday. It went well. The litle girl is SO smart. I came home and looked at the growth and development charts for 2 year olds and she is WAY past it. She's at the 3-4 year old level, very bright. I credit her intelligence with watching VERY little TV (maybe 2 hours a week), listening to music CONSTANTLY, reading a TON, and days filled with creativity and socialization. Not only that, but she also attends a Montessori school a couple days a week. Anyway, what I was afraid would happen has. If I get a job offer at the insurance company I will NOT turn it down. I will have to tell the family, after a DAY of work, that I won't be able to do it. I guess this is better than telling them after a month or two though. Still, I am such a people pleaser, I hate confrontation more than ANYTHING. I am getting better about it though, saying no and looking out for myself most of the time. I am hoping that if I get this job, I can also work at the Y as well. I would be working 6 days a week but BELIEVE ME, I am NOT complaining. To have TWO jobs right now is a complete blessing. And I am a hard worker. Been working since I was 14 and it wasn't even two years ago that I was working two jobs and not sleeping for 30-40 hours because I was working midnights AND my day job nannying. I can do it, I am happy to do it, and I am hopeful that I get into this company.

The cats are now outdoor cats again. It's been about 4 years since they went outside, they couldn't at my last apartment due to the busy road and FAST cars. They started going out last week and they are taking it slow but seem to like it. They stay in the backyard for the most part although I did have to physically go and get Lily off of the neighbors wood pile...sassy pants.

I found the PERFECT wedding dance song. Sean is not convinced yet that it should be "our dance" song so I may use it as the daddy/ daughter dance. I would LIKE to dance with father at the same time Sean is dancing with his mother but he has to ask her. If that's the case, I think it will be that song. Sean is set on Dave Matthews "You and Me", which is AWESOME considering I am one of the biggest Dave fans in the state.

I was surprised when he suggested it and really excited. However, this Colin Hay song just hits something in me. It's beautiful.

Alright, the movie is over and I distracted myself with blogging. I hope you will watch it. One idea I have is to buy Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet" and go from there. I still need protein and tofu gets old after awhile, although I love it. Sean's family will laugh at me considering his Dad is a butcher and most of his uncles and cousins own or work in the family "meat markets" up here (they own three collectively).

Have a great day!

The most wonderful time of the year....

2010-03-21T16:08:00.011-04:00

No folks, I ain't talkin' about Christmas...GOLF. Golf season HAS ARRIVED! This is the second weekend I have been able to watch golf on TV. It's kind of a big deal to me. Most of you are probably getting sleepy just THINKING about watching hours of golf...it is heaven for me.
I don't know why I like to watch so much. I grew up watching from time to time with my Dad but it wasn't until I was in my mid 20's that I REALLY enjoyed watching. I bought my own clubs about 5 years ago and play from time to time as well. No, I'm not good. I suck in fact but I have fun and that's all that matters. My Dad plays, my brother plays, my Mom plays, my sister plays, and Sean plays. Actually, Sean bought clubs after we started dating...our second date was golfing :)
Not only is it one of my favorite sports to watch and play, the sport also has some of the best looking guys around! See for yourself....

Deceased golfer (and my all time favorite, ever) Payne Stewart. He died in a plane crash around 1999. I was at work when I heard, devastated.

Sergio Garcia...yumm.

Currently my #2 guy, Retief Goosen from South Africa, which is also where Dave Matthews is from :) They grow em' pretty down there!

Currently my #1 guy, Irishman Padraig Harrington.

Uh...hello...Nick Dougherty from England.

Maybe THEE best looking right now. Aussie Adam Scott.

Nick Watney. Never heard of him before today...

Camilo Villegas from Columbia! Pronounced Va-Jay-Gas. Also know as "Spiderman" because of his crazy routine reading putts.

What to do, what to do?

2010-03-18T23:05:00.001-04:00

Okay friends, I have a dilemma. Well, not REALLY a dilemma because I think I know what I am going to do already but it never hurts to get unbiased advice.

Okay. As most of you know, I have been unemployed for nearly three months. Last week I started a "part part" time job. This job is between 5-10 hours per week right now and pays $9/ hr. During the summer it WILL be full time and will only pay $8/ hr. I took the job because it's a JOB and because it is working with or around kids.

Today I met with a family that is looking for a "nanny" three days per week. Twenty Five hours per week. One daughter. Two years old. $10/ hr.

The problem is that I will not be able to do both in the summer. I CAN do both UNTIL summer since their schedules are not conflicting. Job #1 WILL be full time in the summer but I will barely have 10 hours per week UNTIL June. Job #2 guarantees me money NOW but I will have to choose one or the other in the summer. The dilemma is that there is a child involved. I feel obligated to stay with job #2 throughout the summer because of the child. However, the nanny job will probably only be until September...which means if I leave job #1 to nanny, I may very well be unemployed AGAIN in September when the family no longer needs me. If I stay with job #1, I will still have a job in September but it will be back to "part part" time.

This of course all depends on whether or not anything else full time opens up in the meantime. Which brings me to my next concern...I got an e-mail from the hospital today asking me if the commute is okay for one of the jobs I applied for awhile back. The commute is fine, about 25 minutes, which is the same as the other two jobs. However, just because she e-mailed me and asked me that doesn't mean I will get the job...but what if I did?

Sean says to take the first thing that jumps at me. I did that when I took job #1. Now I have job #2 jumping at me and possibly a third job, though I doubt it (it is nearly impossible to "get into" the hospital up here).

So, what would YOU do? I think I am going to take job #2 and do both until summer. I have no idea what will happen in the meantime with other job opportunities. This is an example of when you need to be selfish and not worry about others more than yourself. The bottom line is, I need MONEY NOW. My bank account is dwindling and that's my main focus RIGHT NOW. So shouldn't I do what I need to do NOW and worry about the rest later? I just hate being unpredictable and I hate not being dependable. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do I guess. What would be GREAT is taking both jobs and doing them both part time, summer or not. We'll see I guess...

I'll do a better post later. Just needed to get this off of my chest. Thanks for reading.

Video of my "I think I may die" cute niece...volume up!

2010-03-16T22:06:00.002-04:00

Busy, busy, busy

2010-03-16T01:25:00.008-04:00

Hi all!! It's been a minute but I wanted to do a quickie to show you what I've been up to....

Kaydence Sarah . 5 months old.

Yup. My 5 month old niece has been here for the past couple of days! They got here Sunday and will leave tomorrow morning :( I am 1000% IN LOVE with her. She is so beautiful and so happy.
Before that though my brother, his girlfriend, and their three combined kids were up for a few days. They left Saturday.
I'll post more when it's not so late! Until then....drool away with Kaydence :)

Sitting on Uncle Sean's lap :)

So pretty!

After the sink bath :)

First bath in the sink! My sister has a picture of me giving HER a bath in the sink (I was 12 when she was born) so this was special :)

My achin' uterus...

2010-03-08T17:25:00.003-05:00

This morning, at 5:20am, I got a text message from our good friend Sarah. Her water broke and she was on her way to the hospital. She is due March 31st but this is her fourth child and she "always goes early". I hopped out of bed and got in the shower. A couple of months ago Sarah told me I could be there for the birth and there was NO WAY I was going to pass that up! I was in the room when my first niece was born, 11 years ago, and it was an experience that is hard to put into words. It's simply breathtaking.
I got up and was ready when she texted her room number. I flew out the door a couple of minutes after Sean left for work, which is at the same hospital. When I got there her family was there or pulling up as I was walking in.
Sarah did SO good. She dilated normally, about a cm every hour, and got her epidural when she was at a 6. Literally, 20 minutes after her epidural she was at a 10! Her Doctor, which will hopefully be MY Doctor when my time comes, made it in time and she started pushing the second he got there. She pushed for about 30 minutes and out came Briggs Lendon! Sarah and Glenn have three other children, a boy (Ames), a girl (Adeline), a girl (Maeve), and now a boy! They have NEVER found out the sex which is fun and the way we plan on doing things. Briggs was nearly 3 weeks early so he is a bit small at 6 pounds 2 ounces. Maeve was actually only 5.11. so he's bigger than she was.

I was so happy to be able to be there for this! It is SUCH a miracle and to be able to witness it twice is amazing. Because Sean works AT the hospital, he was able to come down for a minute before Briggs was born and he will stop by the room again when he gets off tonight.
My brother, his girlfriend, and her two kids are coming up for a visit Wednesday. They will stay until Saturday but they are staying at a hotel most of the time. THEN, my sister and my sweet sweet niece are coming Sunday to stay WITH is until Tuesday. My niece Kaydence is now 4. months old and getting to be a very big girl, holding her bottle all by herself! I haven't seen any of my family since Christmas so I am BEYOND excited for these visits.

Hello all! It's been a looong day and I just woke up from a nap.
I worked for the YMCA Saturday, chaperoning the middle school dance. It reinforced my opinion that I want boy babies. Obviously I would be blessed to have either but looking at the middle school girls almost gave me a heart attack. Sean's family has TWO girls in over 20 years so the male gene runs strong in his family. The dance was fun and over 300 kids showed up!! LOTS going on!
Okay, just wanted to blog a bit to share the exciting news!

Catching up!

2010-03-05T14:11:00.007-05:00

Whew...it's been a slow blog week. I didn't want to post pictures while I was house sitting because the connection was SO slow that I don't know if they would have EVER uploaded. Then, I get home and our Internet is acting a fool...again. Sean tried and tried for like two hours to fix it and finally gave up and went to bed. About two minutes after he went to bed it connected :) Go figure. By that time, I was ready for bed.
So, I am in Lansing now. The capital of Michigan! I don't know if I have EVER been here believe it or not. I have lived in Michigan my whole life but cannot remember ever being to Lansing. Maybe with a field trip or something but I don't remember. I am here as part of my new position with the YMCA. Two high schools are here also with the Youth In Government Program. I am here to observe and help figure out what the YMCA's role should be. Problem is, I got here at 1pm and it's like an abandoned hotel. No one to be found. I look at the schedule and quickly realize that everyone is at the Capitol Bldg. until 4:45pm. I talked to two girls that are working with the "press" and they said everyone would be back by 4:30pm. So I guess that's when I will start observing. I'm not being paid to be here, otherwise I would feel really guilty. They are paying gas and food (and room). I talked to my boss this morning and she didn't say anything about everyone being gone all day. Had I known, I would have waited to leave. O-well.
Hopefully, Sean and I will register this Sunday. I am thinking Target and Menards. Menards is like a Home Depot/ Lowe's up here, although there is a Lowe's too. I am sort of anti Bed, Bath, and Beyond so I don't think we'll do that. I think they are WAY WAY overpriced. It's really up to Sean though, as long as Target is one of the places. We have to register because we found out a couple of weeks ago that we are being thrown a wedding shower. Fun stuff. It's in May.
Our guest list is finalized and we are at 240 people! Originally we had about 185 but Sean's mom gave us a list and we included most of those people too. Know what this means? Not everyone will get a Save the Date card. I only made 95 so I won't mail them to close close family. Hopefully it will all work out. Now I have to get crackin' on the invites :)
House sitting was good. Despite the dog destroying some things, it was fun. I hope everything was okay when R came back home. He hasn't called yet but should today sometime. Here are some pictures of the deer that came nightly to eat. I bought corn and hay for them, which is against the law in Michigan, but if that's the worst thing I do I think I'm okay. The last night I had NINETEEN DEER, one black squirrel, and four ducks :)

The goods. I stopped at a local farm with a "self serve" barn. One bale of "2nd cut" hay and two bags of corn for $20.

Taking pause

2010-03-03T19:59:00.002-05:00

I am almost done house sitting. I am done tomorrow. Normally this would mean I could post a picture blog like I want to. It seems that the house I am sitting has VERY slow dial up. This prevents me from posting pictures, it takes too long if they upload at all. At home it is better except we are having problems THERE now with Internet and Sean has everything torn to shit. Me, being the technological wizard that I am, cannot figure out how to hook things up so that maybe I can connect. Either way, it will all be fixed soon and I will post some KICK *SS pics of the deer I have been seeing. NINETEEN tonight, which is the record :)

Oh, also, during my stay here the dog has destroyed: a pair of my underwear, a pair of my socks, a pillow, a blanket, an ink pen, and today...chewed the hell out of R's binoculars. They were sitting on the window sill, which is where they were when I got here, and I came back today and they were chewed to crap. Usable yes but still...CATS RULE THANK YOU!

Be back soon, I hope :)

House sitting with a panty eating dog named Tupac

2010-02-25T22:42:00.012-05:00

Hello! I have been trying to post but the house I am house sitting has a VERY SLOW wireless Internet situation. I really think it's dial up. So, I am home for a bit today and decided now is a good time.

The house from the river.

The river from the house :) There is a bridge to the left in this picture. It was re-built by Richard and his house is the only one over the bridge.

The river again. This is the Boardman River, which is quite long and is the same river we will be married next to, although about 10-15 miles away.

I will be house sitting until next Thursday. It's nice. The dog has his good moments and his bad moments. Yesterday we had a rough day. After our walk he went on a destructive rampage. I was taking a shower and could see him through the glass grab my underwear. By the time I had dried off, he had eaten the ENTIRE crotch out of them. GROSS!! Then, he starts in on the couch cushions. They had been chewed before, I could tell, but he really got into them and was pulling the stuffing out.
I decided maybe a car ride would settle him. Richard left me the keys to his F150 and I needed to buy some things anyway so we went up to Wal-Mart. He was fine while I was in there. I got carrots and apples to feed the deer when they come to the river tonight. I also bought a frozen thin crust pizza. I then stopped at the gas station to buy some beer. In the 2 minutes that I was inside the dog had chewed the Wal-Mart bag up and started in on the frozen pizza box!! Thank God he didn't get INTO the pizza but he sure tried. Little A-Hole :)
"Tupac" the Portuguese Water Dog

Never too cold for a dip in the river...

The field clearing during our walk. Snowmobile trails aren't too far from here.

Our walk was good, although I was scared the whole time. Tupac (the dog) had his training collar on so that I could beep him to warn him if he got too far away. I would only shock him if I absolutely had to, which I didn't. He listened very well and backed away from the dead deer as soon as I beeped him. Seems he likes to eat the butts of dead deer...again...GROSS! Richard warned me he may do this so I was ready. We saw three dead deer. Very strange. Two were together up against a tree and one was about 20 feet away. After talking to my future bro in law, it seems like someone placed them there to bait coyotes. The deer looked to be in good condition. It's not hunting season anymore and the road is far away so hunters and cars don't seem likely as far as cause of death. They were covered in snow but seemed to be in one piece. I don't like the idea of baiting coyotes around where I am supposed to walk Tupac everyday.
Heading deep into the scary woods.

Poor things...weird.

I saw 5-6 deer last night come down to the river. Hopefully there will be more tonight since I bought carrots and apples to put out. I cut some up and put them down this morning. Yum!
The house is gorgeous. I haven't used the jacuzzi yet but maybe tonight when Sean comes out to stay with me. I DID use the steam shower yesterday and it was heavenly! A little hard to breath at first but so relaxing after a minute. I also want to try the four wheeler and snowmobiles this weekend with Sean. I've used four wheelers before (in high school) but never snowmobiles so I want to wait for Sean for that.
You can barely see the deer here. I couldn't open the door because the deer are VERY skiddish. Not sure why...maybe the coyotes?!

Anyway, it's been a nice getaway. And I am remembering VERY clearly why I have always had cats, not dogs :)

Lots going on :)

2010-02-23T23:21:00.005-05:00

So after the quick last post, I thought I'd wait until I really had time to focus on an interesting update post. I planned on including pictures and all sorts of cool stuff but I can't seem to find many that fit my updates :(

First off, we DID go to church. It was good. It's a VERY VERY small church in the middle of Lake Ann, which is technically a village outside of Traverse City. I passed by the church many times and never even noticed it. It's not a steeple, bell, church tower church. It's connected to the library and town hall...almost like a mini strip mall setting. Apparently it's a newer church and they will break ground for a BIG church this fall. Anyway, it was a special service (11am) because we knew the baby being baptized. It is Sean's sister in law's niece. Our Pastor is Justin and I have nicknamed him "PJ" (Pastor Justin). He is my age, maybe a bit older, has two kids, and has been married for 9 years. I like him :) He is really easy to listen to. Animated and current with his language. There was ALOT of sitting and standing but I enjoyed it overall. I am afraid my singing voice needs some work though :(

Our Pastor baptizing Baby A Sunday

I got a job at the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. It is part time but can be full time in the summer with camps. I WILL be able to work on the "Leadership Youth" float for the Cherry Festival/ 4th of July parade. How cool is that?! Initially I will be doing the Teen Programs which include dances once a month, some family nights, and Youth in Government activities. Actually, next Thursday I have to travel to Lansing to stay until Saturday for the Government program. I will also help out in the daycare and assist the Program Director, who is only a year younger than me and VERY cool! Should be interesting. I plan on learning alot and am excited to be able to work with teens again. I have missed those little buggers.

Tomorrow I begin a week of house sitting/ dog sitting. I will be taking care of my future brother in law's boss's house until Thursday of next week. He lives about 20 minutes from us deep in the woods. BEAUTIFUL house. I will take pics. The dog is a Portugese Water Dog. He is three years old and his name is Tupac.

There is a hot tub, snowmobiles, 4 wheeler, and stream shower for me to enjoy as I please :) Sean may or may not stay some nights, not sure yet. Either way, it's money and it's fun :) I am a little nervous about the dog walks in the woods. I am supposed to take Tupac for about an hour per day, which is fine, but I have been having dreams lately abotu wild animals attacking me. A couple of weeks ago it was a Tiger in my house. Last night it was Coyotes. We do not have Tigers in Michigan but we do have Coyotes (in EVERY county) and bears, which SHOULD be hibernating right now. Sean's dad is building a cabin near here and has a bear nose and paw prints on his windows. Eeeek. I would take Sean's gun but don't have a permit to carry a weapon so I may have to buy some spray. We'll see. The house is on a river and apparently 5-15 deer come down every night to drink from the river. I will try to get pics of them too. I will take Sean's good camera, the Canon.

Apparently Traverse City has a "low density" population...and they should be in dens until April :)

Coyotes are all over Michigan. I could hear them at MY HOUSE in Ann Arbor. I have yet to hear them up here but neighbors say that they are around and to keep my cats inside. I think they're stinkin' cute.

I have no pictures of the park we will be married in OR the reception hall. The park is on the same river as the house I will watch but it's miles away. It's called Hannah Park and we will celebrate at the Elk's Lodge on the Traverse City Bay. BOTH are VERY pretty and as long as it doesn't rain, we will be good :)

Okay, I am trying to watch figure skating as I type this so I better focus! I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far!

Lots lots lots

2010-02-22T15:39:00.002-05:00

Whew, what a week!

I will write a longer post but wanted to keep you interested so this is what has happened:

Had an interview last week for the YMCA Teen Program.
Went to see Dear John with my friend Sarah.
Went to church for the first time in 25+ years.
Went to a baptism at church and party afterwards.
Booked the reception hall :)
Handed in the permit for the wedding ceremony site :)
Had a second interview at the YMCA and was HIRED!
Was asked and offered to house sit for 7 days starting Wednesday.

I feel very productive! I will fill you all in on everything soon. You know me, I like pictures and I like to spend time really blogging so it will have to wait. Oh, and don't get too excited about the job...although it is an AWESOME position, the hours are not as many as I'd like and the pay is $8 LESS an hour than what I was making. Even so, it's a job, doing what I love, and could open more doors since it's with the YMCA. Plus, my "new boss" is awesome. She's a year younger than me and we are SO similar. She's real. We talk like we have known each other for years. It's pretty cool.

More to come!

Dear Someone...

2010-02-18T16:32:00.006-05:00

Dear Thyroid Gland and Thyroid Hormones,

I have been taking meds for you for about three months now. I REALLY thought we were getting somewhere. I REALLY hoped we were because I don't have insurance anymore and it will cost me over $100 every time I have blood labs done to test you. Imagine my CONFUSION and FRUSTRATION when my labs from yesterday came back. Now, your levels are HIGHER than they were BEFORE I even started TAKING meds! WTF Thyroid A-Hole. What are you DOING? You're supposed to go down, not up! Even the Endo is confused. I guess we'll see when I have another poke in 7 weeks...and spend another $100. Thanks alot.

Disappointingly Yours,
Sarah

Dear Meijer or Little Penguin wine people,

I was very upset last night when I went to open my bottle of cheap Merlot and couldn't do so without tearing the cork apart. I have THREE wine openers and none worked. Thankfully, my fiance and knight in shining amour was able to open you with minimal cork in my glass. But still, get it together.
Sincerely,
"I drink wine for the health benefits, not the buzz" Sarah

Dear Redskin Potatoes,

You ARE delicious. I love to dice you up, drizzle EVOO all over you, sprinkle you with garlic and sea salt, and roast you up in the oven. I love the crunchy texture you have on the outside but soft inner core. I can't wait to have you again tonight. Not only are you cheap, you are also scrumptious.
Lovingly Yours,
"I heart Potatoes" Sarah

Dear SpellChecker,
Thank you! It seems that my spelling is not what it used to be. Back in the 5th grade I was second place in the 5th grade spelling bee....not anymore. On the days that I can't seem to spell the simplest words right, you save me from embarrassment. I really appreciate you but also wish that my brain would learn to work again.
Yours Truly,
"Not gonna win any spelling bees anytime soon" Sarah

Head on over to ShortMama to get in on this action!!

Whew! I heart the Olympics!!

2010-02-17T22:03:00.010-05:00

Sorry folks. I have been busy ~~watching the Olympics every chance I get~~ applying for jobs and interviewing.
Honestly though, I DID have an interview today which I am actually VERY excited about. It is for a Teen Program Coordinator at the area YMCA. From the second I handed in my resume a couple of weeks ago, I had a good vibe from the hiring Director, Molly. I just liked her immediately. My opinion was based on a 2 minute convo when I handed her my resume (I took it there in person instead of mailing it or e-mailing it, I like it better that way). So today I met with her and we talked for about an hour about the job, my experience, my personality, beliefs, and values, and basically had an awesome conversation about many things. It wasn't forced, it was the easiest, most comfortable interview I have ever had. She is about my age, maybe younger, and it seems that we have alot in common. I am going back to talk more with her Monday because she had an interview right after me and we had already run over the time so she said she didn't want to be rushed and wanted to talk more. It seems like an fun job, coordinating alot of the teen programs. Molly said she needed someone to be "her right hand". The down side is that it pays less than $10/ hr. and is "part part" time and VERY inconsistent as far as hours. At this point, I am willing to work whatever I can because it is a position that deals with kids and youth and that is where my passion is. Who knows what could open up. Also, it looks like I would be able to get a 2nd part time job in order to supplement my income. We'll see.
I have been watching the Olympics. I love the Olympics. Summer AND Winter. I especially like figure skating and snowboarding. These are AMAZING athletes and it isn't until you try whatever they are doing that you truly appreciate the talent. I suck at ice skating and suck worse at boarding so I am in awe when I watch.
I am routing for Evan Lysacek and Patrick Chan for skating.
Patrick Chan (Canada eh?)

Obviously I like Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto for pairs.
This is NOT Ben with Tanith. This is Evan Lysacek. Apparently they used to date, back in 2007.

I REALLY dislike Johnny Weir. No, it's not because he is very openly gay, it's because he is SUCH a diva. Get a grip buddy, you are NOT the best. Stop acting like people need to be bowing to you and be polite. Ugghhh.
Seriously....you are a figure skater, NOT a model. I just don't think he represents the sport the way it should be.

Snowboarding. Obviously, Shaun White is my pick. We have his PS3 snowboarding game. These guys are AMAZING to watch. I couldn't even stand UP on a board, much less jump 15-25 feet into the air off of a half pipe. Just awesome athletes with an incredible drive and focus.

Anyway, not much else to report. Oh, I did finally rent "Whip It", the movie I was an extra in. I can be seen in the movie but only if you're looking for me. The best views are at 1:31:09 and 1:31:15. This is during the championship game against the "Holy Rollers". Those are approximate times. I am wearing a black shirt detailed with silver and pink and have on green pants. I am next to a chick in a black shirt (I think) and light blue jean skirt. Her name is Kelly, I spent most of the 14 hours on set with her. I was pretty excited!

I have been watching Olympic snowboarding throughout this post and Shaun White just won gold AGAIN on the half pipe. He is just breathtaking!

I wish I had video of his second run, which he didn't even NEED to do to win gold. Not only did he do it but he beat his first score by doing his invented double McTwist 1260 (I think). So a 360 is a full turn...he did a 1260! A few weeks ago, he did the same trick and BIT IT HARD!! No, I don't know what "it" is when people say that but in this case "it" was the side of the half pipe. I am still amazed that he isn't dead or in the hospital. He was on Ellen shortly after and was fun to see talk about it. Forgive the video quality, it's what I could find.

Wonderful weekend

2010-02-15T22:17:00.012-05:00

I hate waiting to blog because I KNOW I will forget something cool.

Sean and I had visitors this weekend, our first from "down state" (SE Michigan). Susan is a woman that Sean used to work with at the hospital down in Ann Arbor. She is one of my favorites that works down there. She has three sons, all under 16. Oh, and she's a single mother. Hello?! Can you say H.E.R.O.? Raising three boys between 12-16 AND working at a hospital running the "cardiac board"? I don't know how she does it but she's awesome and we were so glad to have her, her boys, and one friend here with us for a couple of nights.
We met them at the ski mountain (Crystal Mtn.) on Saturday. I decided to TRY snowboarding for the first time. It did not go well. I have to remember that I am 32, not 16 anymore. I rented a board and tried the "bunny hill" TWO times before Sean insisted I would do better on one of the big hills. Not only was it my first time riding a chair lift, but it was my first time on a snowboard. I bit it hard just getting OFF of the lift. With one foot strapped in and one dragging I went down. I then unstrapped the entire board, pouted a good deal, and started WALKING down the mountain. Eventually, because I wanted to get out of there ASAP, I decided to strap back in and attempt to ride a little, to save time. I would ride, get going, freak out at the speed, and fall deliberately. There were SO many people and I was afraid that I would run into someone and take them down with me. It seemed that people THOUGHT I knew what I was doing. Had they REALLY known what I was all about they would have took off away from me.
Anyway, next time we go, I will go for skis. Crystal Mountain is only about 20 minutes away so we will be going again sometime. Thankfully, Sean got his $55 back for my visit. I left him there with Susan and her boys and came home to bake cookies. I knew I would be sore Sunday but was surprised when the most sore place on my body was my neck muscles. Tense much? Oh, also, my palm muscles (did you know you have muscles there?) from using them to get my ass off of the snow after wiping out COUNTLESS times. Ugghh...brutal. I told Sean I wanted to TRY snowboarding because I REALLY felt like I'd be good at it. Do ever feel like that? Like, there is something you see people do, you love watching, and you TRULY feel like you'd be good at it? I even feel like I KNOW how to do it, like in a past life or something I used to be good at certain things. Golf is among these things also. Same with guitar, ice skating, gymnastics, and violin. I suck all of them. Well, I don't SUCK at golf, I can play and hold my own. I don't SUCK at gymnastics but can only do the basics...I USED to be able to do a back walkover but age has prevented that for some time. The main thing though is that I enjoy all of them. Whether I am watching, listening, or TRYING to do them, I enjoy them. That's most important.

On the chair lift moments before I was face first in the snow.

Sean's nephew Cam was on the mountain too with Mom and Dad. How cute is a 3 year old on skis??

BUSY!

Okay, back on track.
While Susan and her boys went back to the mountain Sunday, Sean and I went to a birthday party. Our good friends Sarah and Glenn celebrated their oldest son's birthday. Ames turned 6. Sarah will be our photographer for our wedding. I have talked about them before. They are expecting their 4th child in March. They live up here and I have been invited to be at the hospital during the delivery, which is awesome since I have only seen one live birth (my niece, 11 years ago). It is a life changing experience and I am stoked. She has had very easy labors and is very open about everything. We are one in the same. She also has a severe vomit phobia that has NOT subsided with her kids. I got to feel the little one moving. It was crazy. An arm floating beneath her skin, I could have grabbed it! They will not find out what they are having although we all think it's a boy.
Happy Birthday Ames!

Maeve trying the drums

Glenn filming me, filming Sarah and Adeline.

Susan and her boys got back Sunday night and we all relaxed. They were all very sore.
Monday morning I got up with Sean at 6am, got him ready for work, and went back to bed until Susan and the boys got up. I then took them all down to the bridge for pictures. Her boys were all so polite and fun. We had a great time.
Susan and her boys!

Just one question: have you all ever thought you'd be REALLY good at something but ended up sucking? If not, make something up so I feel better...kthanks!

Happy Hearts Day!

2010-02-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

It's Valentine's Day :) I have never really celebrated these sorts of holidays. I REALLY feel like Sean and I express our love on a daily basis. Seriously, we are gross like that. All of our friends express their disapproval of our affection. I say, after almost three years of dating, before we're married, we should be like this.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to Sean. He is an amazing partner for me. He is patient while I am uptight. He is funny while I YEARN for humor. He is GENUINE when I get sick of the masks people put on. He is tolerant when I am rediculous. We have alot of fun together. Most days we can be caught in our living room cracking each other up, although I have to work ALOT harder for a laugh out of him. Just a couple of weeks ago we did "ice dancing" in our living room while watching the Olympic trials. We were GOOOOOD! We would so win!

Marrying Sean in...August (wink) will be the best day by far. Better than the birth of my future children. He will be, in fact, the person that gives me those children. He will be an amazing husband, and amazing father, and an amazing friend. It took me 29 years to find him (I'm 32 now)...he is well worth the wait.

I won't go into his family because I would go on for HOURS. His family is purely wonderful. In every way. Period.

Happy Valentine's Day!! If you're not with someone, love YOURSELF today. Loving yourself is mandatory if you ever will love someone else.

XOXOXOXO

Test taking and beer tasting

2010-02-12T15:07:00.004-05:00

Today I went to the "Homestead Twp. Hall" to take my Census worker test. What a flippin' JOKE! Forgive the negativity of this particular portion of this post. I want to preface this by saying that I am a VERY accepting person in general. That said, I do believe that the US should declare English as it's primary language. I ALSO think that there are WAY TOO MANY illegal aliens in the country, doing jobs that LEGAL residents would die to do but cannot get due to ILLEGAL aliens doing them. Whatever, you want to live and work in the US, get your citizenship and go about your business. DON'T sneak across the border and then take jobs from those that have been losing their jobs, losing their homes, and losing pieces of themselves.
Anyway, it was a full house at the Hall. Obviously unemployment is at an all time high, especially in Michigan, and people are willing to do temporary work like Census taking. A nice mix of people including three Hispanic gentlemen sitting directly behind me. Now this is where I get a little pissy. ONE guy had to have his wife fill out his paperwork. Apparently he can read but not write in English. She left during the test taking (obviously) but I heard him ask his buddy how to spell Michigan and what his address was....okie dokie then. Throughout the test I heard whispering...another annoyance. It took EVERYTHING in me not to turn around and say "que cierra la boca". (You shut your mouth). Oh, and to top it off, the younger kid seemed to be legal. He had a SS Card and License. GREAT! However, he never registered with the service. You know, if the draft is ever reinstated. Nice. You have no problem living and working in the US but if it ever came time for you to fight for your country..well...you're not interested in that. Ughhh. I don't want my words to be misconstrued. My best friend throughout my childhood was Hispanic. His Dad was ILLEGAL. I helped teach a kid in 5th grade English (his name was Oscar). I have worked in the restaurant industry and LOVED the Hispanic guys and gals. I am just saying, if you are here illegally or not willing to at least TRY to learn English...well...you're not getting points from me.
Then we had a few people that obviously didn't want to WORK and wanted ONLY the "office" positions, which would involve NO walking door to door or calling people on the phone. Come on people! You either want to work or you don't. You can't come in with 30 other people and demand the cushiest job position. Granted, I wasn't too excited to have to walk door to door during a Michigan winter (it's like 22 degrees today) but IT'S WORK! I was happy when they said that the soonest we would start is mid-late March into April...much warmer potentially.
Then we had the really flaky people that didn't seem to understand the directions for the scratch piece of paper we were given at the start, along with our answer key and test booklet. Even after being told that we were allowed to use the paper to figure out math problems there was one genius that actually asked "So, we're allowed to use the scratch paper at will?" HELLO...IS ANYONE IN THERE?!?!?! YES! USE THE PAPER!!
Sheesh.
So, I finished the test, which was fairly simple. We were told that we could stay afterwards to wait while our tests were graded OR we could leave. I had had nothing to eat yet (it was 12:30pm by the end) and felt like I was about to cause a scene so I asked to go. The guy was like "Are you sure, it will only take us a couple of minutes to grade these 35 tests and you can find out what you got." Out of 28 questions, the passing grade was to get TEN RIGHT. WTF?! Really? Less than 50% right is passing?? I replied "No, I'm pretty confident. My stomach is about to start making really loud and embarrassing noises because I'm starving, I'll take off if that's okay."
We'll see if I get a call. I also have an interview next week for a Teen Program Coordinator position with the TC YMCA.

Tonight is the MicroBrew Festival at the Grand Traverse Resort. Sean is going to go, I decided to sit this one out since we have guests from downstate coming up tomorrow and I want to clean and get ready for them. Plus, I think it's important to have Sean spend time with his buddies alone. It's healthy.
Yesterday Sean got stuck coming up the driveway. I spent all that time shoveling but then the plow came by AGAIN and built it all up at the base of the driveway. While he was stuck and I was ~~inside gabbing on the phone like a typical woman~~ trying to dig him out with my bare hands, our neighbor came over!! I didn't meet him but apparently his name is Josiah (one point for him because he has a super cool name, one of my favs) and he is a stay at home Dad. His wife works and they have two kids under 4. FUN! I almost went over there today to introduce myself but he didn't appear to be home when I got home from the test.
Oh, anyway, back to the car getting stuck. MONTHS ago I bought these plastic strips through a catalog. Sean ripped on me for days about these things. "They won't work" "What a waste of money" "Where did you GET those things?"

Guess what got him out? Yup ;) Too funny. I was hopping around in the driveway laughing and pointing like a kid at recess.

Okay, I hope to TRY snowboarding tomorrow for the very first time. We may or may not go with our friends. I will be sure to take pics if I do go. I don't have health insurance so hopefully I don't break anything :)

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Who needs a treadmill...ouchie

2010-02-10T23:45:00.008-05:00

Good Lord. I recently wrote about a workout I did. Normally I am not the "in my living room" kind of workout person. I either like to be outside running or in a gym with awesome machines that I probably don't even know how to work anyway. However, due to my unemployment, I am forced to get creative with my exercise.
I decided that after a FOUR MONTH hiatus, I would start to get back into fitness. I love working out. I love knowing that I am treating my body GOOD! I like to eat well and take my vitamins. I FEEL better. Who knows if I look better and honestly, it's not about that for me. I FEEL better emotionally and physically.
I must say that during the four month break I did gain a few pounds....and I NEVER gain weight. Chalk it up to being 32 now and my metabolism slowing down I guess....or the Pizza Rolls I have in my freezer as we blog. Anyhow, it's not like it's a CRAZY amount of weight. BUT, knowing my family history of weight, 5-10 pounds is alot to me.
Whatever...my point is: The Kettle Bell workout (technically called "KettleWorx") kicked my arse. I can barely walk today and for me, the second day afterwards is the worst, so more to come tomorrow. I LOVE it though. I like FEELING results. When your muscles are sore it's a sign that you've essentially damaged them by working them. The soreness is them trying to repair. Experts, correct me if I'm wrong but I think that's the gist of it.

YES! (Lee) The Kettleworx WORKS! I have only done it ONE time but it really seems to be working. Sean has done it several times and told me to try it (laughing maniacally). I don't think it's cheap, I don't know because Sean's mom got it as a gift. Ours came with a 20 pound bell which Sean uses. He went and bought a 10 pound bell because the 20 pound one is too heavy at times.

Because my legs are dead today, I needed an upper body and core workout. Nothing better than shoveling huh? Sean worked a 12 hour day and is on call tonight so I decided (after a gentle nudge from him) to shovel our ENTIRE driveway. This is no small feat. It took me over an hour. We really need a snow blower. I was SO proud in fact that I took a picture :)

The little black thing in the center is our mailbox.

Notice how the path starts out wide and dwindles down as I lost steam and the burning in my back began to penetrate my spine.

I called a Pastor today. My future bro and sis in law attend church every Sunday. They speak VERY highly of their Pastor, Justin. I have seen Justin's name around, on their Facebook's or on their son Cameron's "Care Pages" page. Cameron has been fighting a very tricky blood cell disease since he was an infant. Pastor Justin has offered words of encouragement and I know that Mike and Sommer have received ALOT of support from their church. It's an Advent Church in the same "village" we live in. I spoke with Pastor Justin briefly about our upcoming wedding and general stuff. I really like him. He is young and hip and seems VERY open and accepting. I told him that my faith has always been shaky and that although I am un-educated about religion, I am open and have the desire to learn. I honestly feel like that. I want our kids to go to church and be baptized. I don't think church hurts anyone or is bad in any way. What can it hurt? Sean and I are going to go to Sunday mass in TWO Sunday's. We then have to meet with "PJ" (my nickname for Pastor Justin) three times before we tie the knot. This is a GREAT way for him to get to know us and for us to get an idea of what he is all about. I do NOT want a stranger marrying us. I want someone that knows how we are as a couple and that can bring some of our personality into the ceremony....to make it ours. I want to feel like I belong to a group, a supportive network of people. I think this is going to be good. I am excited!!

Oh, I also took a picture of the snow in town today. This isn't a ton by any means but it looks cool next to cars :)

And last but not least, a picture of the infamous Sarah McMuffin! I bought ham today because it's WAY better with ham. If you like McMuffin's you MUST try one with that Laughing Cow Cheese. One wedge, spread half on each muffin piece. I don't really have a favorite. I bought the Original Swiss last time and it's AWESOME! I then bought a three pack of Garlic and Herb at Sam's Club but haven't opened it yet as we are still finishing the Swiss. I have had both and they are both great! It's a great low-fat low-cal breakfast. Each egg (I use Eggslands Best) is about 70 calories and 4 grams of fat. The muffins are about 110 and .5 grams of fat, and a wedge of cheese is 35 calories and 2 grams of fat. So, you are getting a good dose of protein (the egg and the cheese) while keeping the "bad stuff" low. You could use two egg whites instead of the yolk! Instead of ham, which I didn't look up nutritional info on but I only use two deli thin slices, you could use ONE piece of bacon. Bacon is actually NOT THAT BAD if you're talking one or two pieces.

This is Sean's, which is made with TWO eggs. I also used bacon crumbles because I hadn't bought ham yet....YUMMMM!

I also colored my hair AGAIN tonight. I don't think I will be using store bought colors anymore. It seems that I lose hair when I do this. It's to the point that I actually start to freak out a bit as I pull chunks of hair out. At first I thought it was my Thyroid problem. I have always lost hair. They say it's normal but HOW MUCH is normal? The last time I colored was a few months ago and I was a little uncomfortable with how much hair was coming out. THIS time I was ALOT uncomfortable with it, mainly because I remember how much came out last time and I kind of added to this time. So, next time I think I may go see Amanda, who does hair up here and used to cut Sean's hair. She's awesome. Very unique looking as far as style and I know she'd do a good job, with professional color. Not until I get a job though, until then, I had to settle for store bought Loreal Preference in "Ultimate Black". I LOVE black hair. Thankfully, although my hair is medium brown, I can pull black off because my eyebrows are dark brown. It does wash my skin out though in the winter, whatever, everyone around here looks pale unless they "fake bake" and that is something that HAVE done but would not do again.

WOW! Another totally random post! I like it! I hope you are all having a great week so far. And to my friends on the East Coast....stay warm, stay safe, and try to enjoy the blanket of love that Mother Nature has showered you with! I heart snow!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2010-02-09T22:46:00.011-05:00

Head on over to see Keeley to participate in RTT!

**Do you all follow The Secret Is In the Sauce"? If you do, you will know what I am saying when I say that I was SUPPOSED to be a "featured blogger". However, since they e-mailed that to me, in October, they have switched to Google Reader (I think) and it is now a pain in the ass to access that blog site...so I don't. I am now out of the running I am sure since they only award the "featured blogger" to those that comment regularly. Ooops. Sorry. It's too much work for me to get to that site and scroll down HUNDREDS of comments to the box. Also, many times the featured blogger is someone like "Mommy TuTu" or "Love Being Mom" or "Call Me Mommy". Yes, I get it. Being a Mom is AWESOME. I can't wait until I am one. However, I think that these ladies that run this site often forget about women who CANNOT biologically become Mom's. As far as I know, I can, but I still fear and think about not being able to. Also, and I've mentioned this before, I will NOT define myself because I am a Mom. I will come first and then Sean will come second. THEN the kids. You cannot do your best at being a Mom if you put yourself third or forth. Period. It sounds bad when you say it or type it but it is SO SO true.

*Phew* That tangent was unexpected. I am grumpy. Why you ask? Because I couldn't run today and feel like a lazy loser slob. I couldn't run because we got some of this "epic" snow storm people are talking about. I am in Northern Michigan now. Apparently, South East Michigan (where I moved from) is getting PUMMELED. We got about 2 inches but it's enough to make running on it not so fun.

Instead of running, I did the Kettle Bell workout DVD that Sean's mom got him for Xmas. Ummm....yeah....can you say WEAKLING?! Good Lord I am in bad shape. I went from bench pressing weight to barely being able to do a frickin' lunge! I used to do 120 UPHILL lunges and now I am winded doing 40 stationary lunges. I am fed up. I am determined. I am pee ohh-ed that I have let myself go 4 months without doing anything.

Did you all watch the Bachelor? GIVE ME A BREAK! FOR THE SAKE OF PETE. Ally, breaking down in the hotel hallway. Curled up in a ball on the floor because she had to choose. Her choice was: A) Stay on the Bachelor and compete with three other girls for Jake's love or B) Go back to her job. Ummm...hello. Do you have ANY idea how hard jobs are to find now?!?! LEAVE. If he REALLY TRULY loves you (he claims to have "fallen for" all of the ladies) he will FIND YOU! And wah wah wah wah wah...you have a kick ass job and you're crying because you have to leave a guy you BARELY REALLY know. She made the right choice and left. However, the previews for the next episode show her calling Jake. Seriously ladies. Get a grip...please. This show is NOT reality. That's why pretty much every couple breaks up afterward.

Trista and Ryan are married and have two kids. They are the exception. And hello...Ryan....yummy!

Sean went to a Township meeting last night for our township. Apparently the board members are asking for a 2% wage increase. WHAT?! Are you kidding? Do you really think NOW is the time to be asking for a salary raise? You already make over $20 per hour and you want more???? Seriously? They ended up voting it down because of the people that showed up and caused a ruckus.

My brother called me today. He is still having issues with his girlfriends ex boyfriend. This guy is deranged. He is posting things on his Facebook about how much his kids need him. What a great father he was. How he taught his kids morals and values. Okay. Let me just say that I don't know this guy from Adam but he has a PPO against him and there has to be good reason to get one of those and keep kids away from their father. He verbally and physically abused H and the kids. He smoked weed in front of them regularly, and he is now refusing to sign a paper that would allow H and her kids to stay in the house that they have known for years. Sound like love, morals, or values to you? What a PSYCHO. And yes...this is actually him. What a WINNER!

I sent my sister a check for her birthday on January 12th. She has yet to cash it. Why? Because she has no bank account. She is 20 with an infant daughter and has no bank account. I told her tonight that she needs to cash it somehow (sign it to my Dad and he'll give her cash) because I am going to close out that bank account soon. The bank account I wrote it to her under is a bank that I used downstate and they have no locations up here. She then told me to keep the money and "we can do something when I come up." I told her that if she's not going to cash it, I will buy her stuff instead but somehow she is getting that money.

This is SUCH a negative post. I hate those. But, I am 32 with a Bachelor's Degree and a pile of student loan debt, without a job, in an economy that absolutely sucks. I am in the most beautiful county in Michigan and can't even enjoy it because I am worried about money and bills. I am spending money that I wanted to save because we INSIST on hiring people in China and Indonesia. BLECH!

Sorry, next post= POSITIVE! Promise!

Okay, let's get real

2010-02-09T00:13:00.005-05:00

Okay. So, living in Michigan is kind of bitter sweet. On one hand, we have all four seasons. Very defined. I love that. On the other hand, if you are the "outdoorsy" exercise type, Winter is not your friend. I have NEVER run outdoors in the Winter. I just haven't. There are many "warnings" about running in the cold. Here is one that pertains to temperature alone. Here is another.
So, I will cut to the chase, especially for all of you that have no interest in running and don't feel like reading those articles. Running outside in cold weather is FINE.
Next...the snow and ice that often occurs in Northern Michigan. Welp...not an excuse option lately. Yes, we have snow. Yes, we have ice. None on the roads though so I am out of excuses. Actually, I have seen many passionate runners tackling the icy surfaces. They wear "yak tracks". I don't have any but like I said, no snow or ice on the roads in our subdivision so whatever, I will run.
By the way, do you like the song "Subdivisions" by Rush? I love Rush. I love that song.

It's late and I have had some wine so I won't ramble. I just wanted to be accountable for my running. If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know that I AM a runner. I used to run all the time. I stopped in October when Sean moved North and we quit our gym memberships (he paid for mine and I took it out of the rent owed). I haven't worked out since. Have I gained weight? Probably. I don't own a scale, I am "anti scale" but I have noticed in my clothes. Maybe 5-10 pounds. That's how it starts. I have a size 4 wedding dress that I WILL fit into. I have kids to think about. I want to be in GREAT shape when we start trying. I have genetics to worry about. Yes, some people say genetics play no role in weight...I disagree.

So, today, when I get up I will eat a healthy breakfast of egg whites on a whole grain muffin with Laughing Cow Cheese. I will drink water and wait three hours before I workout (I get cramps). Then, I will run. I will run as far as I can and at intervals. When I get home I will do our KettleBell workout and will start my journey BACK to healthy living. I will hate myself tomorrow.

For now....I'll have some more wine. (Merlot....it's good for your heart)

PeeEss (in honor of Alicia at "It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy") I got a new picture message from my sister. Kaydence is almost 4 months old!! I miss her LIKE CRAZY! Here she is...so beautiful. Not even cute...beautiful.

SuperBowl Success!

2010-02-08T12:00:00.008-05:00

Our SuperBowl party was a big hit! I was a bit worried since this was not only the first party at the new pad, but also the first party Sean and I have hosted as a couple. It went well! I think everyone had a lot of fun and the food was delish!

We provided chicken wings (21 pounds with three different sauces), pulled pork (which I put in the crock pot at 7am), some beer, and a hot Velveeta/ cream cheese dip. People then brought sides like cookies, cupcakes, potato salad, rice krispie treats, and bread sticks with marinara.

We had about 18 people before halftime. At halftime all of the people with little kids left because the kids had school today. There was more than enough food but not TOO TOO much. I sent people home with carryout trays full of food. I saved our carryout trays from Applebee's the last time we ordered carryout from them.

I didn't really care much about the actual game, although I was cheering for the Saints because they were the underdogs AND because the Colts won one recently. I was really just interested in the commercials but didn't get to watch many because being hostess is a BUSY job and I was going all night.

So, here are some pics of our very first party :) It was so much fun and I am so thankful to be up here with AWESOME people now.

I made sign for the food. I used my Cricut for the shapes on the signs and then glued a straw to the back. We had Teriyaki and Spicy Garlic sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings (downstate) and also used Frank's Wing Sauce on some.

Sean, Me, and our friend Nick, who is such a cool guy!

Sean braved the snow and COLD temps to grill the wings on the back deck. His brother helped also and Sean is wearing his "I Just Sharted" tee that his brother got him for Xmas.

Sean's mom with Baby Alta (4 months), Eric, Sean, Tyler, and Kelly

Because I am anal, I had pretty much everything cleaned up before I went to bed. The little kids, 5 total, (ages 2-5) played alot in our unfinished basement. Sean's nephews even brought their little racers over and rode those down there.

Sean's nephews are on the ends with their cousin in the middle. I set them up in the spare bedroom and put on "The Incredibles" for them to watch.

I am so glad everyone had a good time. I'd LOVE to host again for something...

I am a Master...

2010-02-04T07:11:00.007-05:00

I got this AWESOME award from Macey, whom I adore. Is that the correct use of the word "whom"? Anyway, I have been having block blocks lately so this is fun!

I am the Master of.....

Celebrities. When I was 16 my boyfriend at the time nicknamed me "Papparazzi". I love celebrity news. Not the "Star" or "Enquirer" kind of news...REAL TRUE news. And for some reason, I can remember celebrity names like no other. Last night Kristen Chenowith guest judged on American Idol. I don't know WHERE I know her from but I remembered her name like it was nothing. Latest celebrity upset? RUMORS that Taylor Kitch is "seeing" Jessica Simpson. WTF!?!?! Taylor, dear Taylor, as funny as I thought she was on Newlyweds, you can do MUCH better. Like me.I have never seen this picture before. Yummy, yummy, yummy. No, I will NOT post one of he and J. Simpson together. Nope, will not do it.

"The Office" (see blog name). I have seen every episode several times and still laugh hysterically at parts that I have seen 10 times. Also, a Master of Sex and the City, Friends, Six Feet Under, Friday Night Lights, Three's Company, and Grey's Anatomy.

Worrying. Sean tells me I worry WAY too much. I agree but I have always been like that. I wouldn't say I "stress" about things to the point that it affects me emotionally and physically, but I do worry...alot.

Egg McMuffins. Homeade people. Every morning lately I get up with Sean at 6am and make him an Egg McMuffin with some sort of meat (either ham or bacon) and one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese spread. This is basically torture for me because I can't really eat anything until an hour after I take my Thyroid meds, which I take first thing in the morning. After I take the pill I then stare at the clock, waiting for 60 minutes to pass so I can stuff my face.

Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. This is not something I am proud of. My high scores reflect time wasted playing the heavenly game, not talent. I am normally #1 on the score list. Big Deal. I do like that I heard somewhere that playing Bejeweled lowers stress and exercises the brain. I'll take it!

By the way, the Master Award image is from one of my other favorite, and very offensive TV show, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". What is funny about this show is that it IS so wrong and offensive most times but is produced or directed (I think produced) by Fred Savage...innocent Kevin from "The Wonder Years". SOMEONE grew up!

Uh-Oh...Oooops

2010-02-02T00:58:00.005-05:00

Hmmm...apparently my comment about the ZERO talented Taylor Swift cost me a follower. Whatevs. Seriously, I don't pride myself on my number of followers, I was just excited to get to 100.

I went to ManPower Staffing today and the girl would BARELY even TAKE my resume. It seems since technically I haven't had any "direct clerical experience" in years I am of no use. I'm sorry but it doesn't take a genius to answer a phone, greet customers, and run office equipment. I worked as a recpetionist when I was 20-21 and I feel like those skills don't go away. So, I got the "we'll keep your resume on file...blah blah blah." She DID give me a great packet full of wesbites to check in the area, sites in addition to Monster and Career Builder, which I have no faith in.

My brother is having an issue with his gf's ex bf. She has a PPO on him because he is crazy. Apparently this jackwad thought it would be fun to steal a picture from my brother's Facebook page (I've since told him how to make that private) of my brother and his GF and proceeded to talk a BUNCH of trash about them and the picture. Hurtful things and hateful things. This guy is THIRTY FOUR years old. My bro's GF has two kids with this A-Hole. What is sad is that she is about to lose her house and needs him to sign off on something so she can do a home loan modification. No way is he going to do it. He claims he loves his kids and wants to be with them again...real love that is, preventing them from staying in the home they know and love. Of course this is all wearing on my already high strung brother, who is also 34. We've all reported the picture so hopefully FB will wise up and take it down.

I rented "Twilight" yesterday on Blu Ray. I have never technically seen the movie, just on youtube in 10 minute increments. I was SHOCKED when Sean sat down and watched the entire movie with me...said it "wasn't bad" but then mentioned it again tonight saying "that was pretty good." I told him he is lucky that we have "New Moon" to watch in March!!

I went to Sam's Club today and got a membership per Sean's request. He wants to get a TV mount from there so I got a membership. Lots of good stuff there, I could and would spend boatloads of money there if I had a job.

We decided to have a Superbowl Party at our house this year. I hate football but am excited to have people over. We are going to make wings (of course), pulled pork, and a cheese dip. People will bring a dish if they want. I bought a mini Crock-Pot for the occasion and for future gatherings. It was $10 at Wal-Mart. I then called my ex boss (the family I used to nanny for) to get his cheese dip recipe. It was good to talk to him. We'll use Buffalo Wild Wings Teriyaki sauce as well as Frank's Red Hot "Wings" sauce. Yumm!!!

Sean got called in to work at about 11pm, just after he told me he was going to shower. Poor guy. He is on call one day per week and one weekend per month. It's now 1:10am and he still isn't done...and has to get up at 6am for his normal work day.

What a downer of a post huh? Tomorrow I am going to start going through the website job packet that girl gave me. SOMETHING has got to turn up. Now, my incoming income is limited to my income tax return, which is enough for a couple of months.

I hope you are all having a great week! And for the record, I stand by my opinion of Taylor Swift....yuck.

PS. If you are watching "The Bachelor" like I am and haven't seen the spoilers like I have...let me just say that I am NOT happy with the winner...if the spoilers are true.

PSS. I don't believe ANYTHING the tabloids or magazines report unless it comes from US Weekly or People. Imagine my surprise when US reported that Brangelina is on the rocks. What a shame. So many kids involved...upsetting.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR: (said by my Dad two nights ago)
Me: How much snow have you had down there, not alot right?
Dad: Well, Frank says we've had 12 inches but I don't know where he's getting that from, I've never had 12 inches of anything, you can ask your Mom about that!

GROSS, YUCK, NO, DAD, GROSS. Seriously, my Dad is a hoot.

Crock of *hit

2010-01-31T23:44:00.001-05:00

I only have one thing to say this Sunday. Taylor Swift RUINED Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" AND THEN she went on to beat Dave Matthews...my all time favorite band. I do not, nor have I EVER, EVER, EVER liked Taylor Swift. I turned the Grammy's off. I may never watch again. "Talent" these days is a joke. Blech...have a great night.

100 Followers...WOOT WOOT!

2010-01-30T19:44:00.013-05:00

I never thought it would happen. It's been 98 followers for awhile, which is fine with me, but secretly I was wondering when I would get to 100! I must say too that for those of you that visit "The Secret Is In the Sauce", I was e-mailed months ago and told that I would be a "featured blogger" on their site but have yet to hear anything else. I am okay with this also since it seems that whenever anyone IS a featured blogger on that site, they end up with over 300 followers and frankly, I don't think I can handle that. So whatever.

Okay, welcome to the two newest followers! I will try to make this post interesting although lately I have been on a blog block....a funk if you will, probably because I do NOTHING since becoming jobless as of December 28th.

So right now on Facebook people are doing this thing where they post a picture of a celebrity that they have been told they look like. I struggle with this. People don't often tell me I look like someone famous. It USED to happen at times but not in years. My Dad SWEARS I look like Alyssa Milano when I smile. He has thought this for MANY years, since "Who's the Boss". I think it's true more when we were younger. What do y'all think?

AND WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER....

I mentioned in my last post that I hung a new "wire curtain system" and new curtains for the living room. IKEA sells the wire system but since they were out of stock, I bought mine through eBay. Compared to other wire systems that run over $200, this one was a steal at $30. I like the new look, especially since there is alot of green and I love green.

I am writing while Sean plays "Skate 2" on our new PS3.

I am about to go watch the last disc of Season One of Scrubs. I LOVE that show. I JUST started watching a few days ago, when I rented the first season, but I really like it so far. I am a late bloomer when it comes to popular TV. I just started watching "The Office" like a year ago. I will say though that I highly doubt I will EVER get into "30 Rock" or "Glee". I have tried and I just don't like it.

We are just taking her easy tonight. We went out last night and had GREAT microbrew beer at "Right Brain Brewery" in Traverse and then had GREAT food at "Bubba's" in Traverse City.

After that we went over to Mike and Sommer's (future bro and sis in law) and had a nice visit with them, playing Taboo, which Sommer and I won :) Tonight we are sitting around. Sean took a nap and we just got done with pizza and a salad.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!!

Highlights of my week!

2010-01-28T17:13:00.002-05:00

Being unemployed sucks. I am the type of person that THRIVES when busy. So, sitting here all day trying to find things to do is a pain. However, I am also the type of person that is VERY easily entertained and excited. Here are a few highlights so far of my week:

**We got our trash receptacle. Yup, after living here for a MONTH, I finally broke down and set up trash service. Sean was taking our trash bags to his uncle's dumpster, which was a pain, so I ordered it up! $21 a month and we got a shiny new trash bin :) As weird as it is, I was VERY excited about this. Probably because it helps with being organized and I tend to be pretty Type A when it comes to being orderly.

**My future Mother in Law made some curtains for us! I went with her to pick out the material and she hemmed them all pretty like. Sean thinks they look like shower curtains but I wanted to add some color into the living room, which WAS ALL brown and green. I will post a picture soon. Instead of the standard curtain rod, I ordered a wire system from eBay. IKEA makes this awesome wire system and it was only $25. Our friends Sarah and Glenn have the same one and I really liked theirs. So today Glenn came over with one of his daughters, Adeline (3 years old), and put the wire on the wall and hung the curtains. AWESOME!

**I have a few job prospects. I will NOT name them here since apparently those people could be reading my blog by tonight :) One is "part part" time as a teen program coordinator. The other is a scheduling position for a heart clinic up here. We'll see how those pan out. If I don't get something or HEAR about these two by next week I will be forced to go to ManPower Staffing to set that up. I have heard mixed opinions about ManPower but I have to do SOMETHING. Mostly temp work but from what I hear, jobs sometimes turn into full time often.

**I am chugging along with the Save the Date cards. A follower mentioned that I shouldn't stress about a date because it's not the date that matters. I agree with that and don't have ONE date I HAVE TO HAVE. However, places are booking up FAST and most are already booked into September. THAT is where the stress is for me. Before we know it, we'll be looking at 2011 for a date. I am 32, will be 33 by the time we start trying for kids. I am NOT crazy about having kids after 35. Birth defects are a big fear of mine. I'm not saying I won't love my child if they come out with a defect but I think about cost involved, quality of life, and who will take care of them when I'm gone. Also, I worry about losing baby weight and know that the older I am, the harder it will be. And people say "Don't worry, it will all work out. It will happen when it's supposed to." That's a crock, especially coming from people that have been married and have kids already. Easy for YOU to say.

Anyway, not much else is happening. I hope to have great "work" blogs soon! Say a prayer!

Eeeek!

2010-01-26T08:04:00.002-05:00

Hello all!! It's been a minute but whatever, nothing much to write about!

Not too long ago I blogged about how a woman called me five weeks after an interview to tell me that I was not going to be hired (duh). I thought this was odd. You thought this was odd. Not as odd as what happened next....

This morning I checked my e-mail and found a message from a woman that trains supervisors for this particular agency. Apparently they have some Google program or whatever that alerts them if they are mentioned on the web! My blog entry came up, because I mentioned this agency by name, and she read the entry. She then e-mailed me and apologized for the length of time that had passed.

I know that what I write can be read by ANYONE. I don't usually blog about stuff that I would be ashamed of. I try to be positive and witty and I try to stay true to myself. I'm not sure why, but I was uncomfortable knowing that she read my blog. It was like a violation but it WASN'T. I immediately start to think about everything I have ever written and felt a little panicked to tell you the truth. Weird huh?

Anyway, she wanted a name and I didn't feel right about calling this woman out. She really did nothing wrong. Most places don't even call you to tell you no. That's why I was a little confused. Why call at all? And definitely, why call five weeks later? Weird.

I got my Cricut yesterday and will be busy trying out different Save the Date card ideas. We need a date though. Maybe we'll go look at a couple of places this weekend...time is wasting! Every day that passes I feel more anxious because that is one more day that the date we WANT could be booked already by some other very well prepared couple :)

I hope you are all doing well. I will try to get caught up by weeks end.

Dear Someone...

2010-01-22T01:39:00.008-05:00

Dear "John" on craigslist,
Thank you for posting an ad for a "deluxe work table" for $20. It is JUST what I need to scrapbook and make all of our wedding invites! We were truly delighted to pick the HUGE table up at your house and even MORE excited when you told us "just take it" and wouldn't take our money. You are like the modern day Robin Hood, giving to the poor. It was obvious by the size of your house and your profession (a pulmonary specialist) that you didn't need our $20 and it WILL come in handy!

Dear ABC Warehouse Sales-Slime,

I ALWAYS loved your store. I always thought we could get the best deals there. This thinking started way back in 2001 when I bought my TV at your store for $174. I still have and USE this TV although it is an old "tube picture" P.O.S. (piece of *%#$). Sean and I were VERY happy today when we left your store with a 50" Plasma, surround sound system, and bundle pack included with our $649.00 5 year warranty. Although I advised Sean to pass on the warranty because of what I JUST read in the Consumer Report magazine sitting on your counter, he bought it anyway. Imagine our disappointment when we scooted over to Best Buy afterward to buy a PS3. A PS3 that you claimed the entire city was sold out of. We noticed the same TV, just an earlier model, at Best Buy for cheaper. Turns out, they were able to get us EVERYTHING we just bought from you for $300 less AND a better warranty. Imagine, again, our disappointment when you REFUSED to return what we bought from you because "our salesman" was no longer at work. You told us we had to wait until he was there, we had to come back the next day with our car piled to the max with expensive electronics. You thought you had us fooled but Sean was adamant and you finally apologized and credited us. Shame on you ABC Warehouse. I will tell ANYONE that will listen NOT to buy from you, especially when you claim that your store "doesn't have a return policy" and "each return is handled on an individual basis." *BWAH* Don't think so A-holes. THANK YOU BEST BUY!

Dear Burger King,
Although I NEVER eat fast food, I want to thank you for offering your double cheeseburger for $1. I was starving today while on the road and it was DELICIOUS! It may be awhile until I devour one of these heavenly morsels again, but THANK YOU!

Dear I Need Stuff (Amazon dealer),
I ordered my Cricut cutting machine SEVEN DAYS ago. I know you say that it takes "2-3 extra days shipping from this seller" but it's been SEVEN and you STILL haven't shipped my machine! I am totally e-mailing you tomorrow and if you don't ship it I will cancel and order from someone else.

Dear Michael's Arts and Crafts,
I thouroughly enjoyed working for you while in college all those years ago. However, you have the Cricut for $299.00 and Meijer sells the same exact machine for $199.00. Plus, your cartridges seem to be WAY overpriced. From now on, I will head to a different store, just because I think you are screwing people.

Dear Tanith Belbin,
You are the hottest figure skater I have ever seen! Years ago Detroit disc jockey's Drew and Mike were drooling over you on the air and I took notice. I may have forgotten about you for a bit but you are STILL smokin' hot! Good Luck this year!

Dear ACE Buyers Pawn Shop,
Thank you for giving me $85 for my old yellow gold jewelry! I only planned on getting $30 and was very happy with $85, especially because everything I sold you was old and from A-hole ex boyfriends! I especially LOVED giving you my thumb print like I was some cracked out junkie looking for money for my next fix! Even though I felt the need to IMMEDIATELY shower after leaving your store, I appreciate the chance to put some cold hard cash in my pocket. I also love the fact that you sell DVD's without cases for $1.80/ each!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2010-01-19T10:13:00.004-05:00

Thank God for RTT because my mind is jumbled as all hell. If you want to hop on the bandwagon with RTT head over to Un-Mom and share!

Did I tell y'all about the co-worker that gave me a card and check for $50 on my last night of work? I worked with this woman, an older African American woman, three nights per week. I think we had a rough start, I got the distinct feeling that she didn't like me at first. I was intimidated by her. She has worked there for YEARS and is a very good worker. Anyway, after awhile we began to laugh and talk alot and I really came to like her. She gave me a card with a check for $50. THAT morning, after work, I ran to the store to get her a Thank You card and mailed it that very morning. Turns out....the check bounced and I had to pay a $15 fee, PLUS the $50 was never cleared. I know I shouldn't bitch, it was a nice thought, but make sure your damn check is going to clear before you give gifts. Now I am wondering if she DID ever like me? And my paranoia leads me to think that it was all a joke to her, although I don't really believe that.

My Cricut cutting machine hasn't even shipped yet. My payment has been processed though so those people better get that thing IN the mail!! Sheesh!! I have everything I need for the "Save the Date" cards...just no Cricut!

I interviewed for a position at Lutheran Child and Family Services about 5 weeks ago. I didn't have a great vibe from the woman and felt like she had already decided on someone and wasn't even listening to me. When I never received a call for a follow-up interview, I had written it off as no job. This morning she calls to tell me she is sorry it took so long but that they decided to go with someone else. Are you FREAKING kidding me? Lady, it's been FIVE weeks and I never had a second interview. I think I know that you're not going to hire me. While I appreciate the call from her, the fact that it took so long felt more like rubbing salt in a wound.

The BIG job I was hesitant to talk about also did not work out. This job was for a Juvenile Probation Officer for the County. $18.22/ hr. TO START. I interviewed on the 7th and kind of knew I blew it. It was a board style interview with me sitting in the middle of a room being drilled by three people with EXCELLENT poker faces (i.e. no fun or personality). I got the call yesterday afternoon. I sort of knew the outcome since my gut said "no" and they never called my references. The HR lady said "you were in the top 5 out of over a hundred applicants." That does NOTHING for me. If I had a dollar for every time I have been 2nd or 3rd I'd be a millionaire! So getting that call yesterday and getting the other "No" this morning was almost funny. I DO feel fortunate that I even HAD two interviews. Some people have been out of work for MONTHS and are losing their homes. I am thankful for what I DO have and I WILL find something.

The temps up here have been warmer. By warmer I mean in the low 30's. The snow on the roads has melted and I now realize that I live on a PAVED, not dirt, road. I always thought it was dirt.

My sister sends me picture texts every once in awhile of Baby K-Rock. She is 13 weeks old now and SO pretty!

Sean and I are talking about music at the wedding. I am most concerned with the Father/ Daughter dance. My Father is probably my favorite person and I want a song that I connect to. Originally, I wanted Janis Joplin or Patsy Cline, because they both remind me of my Father (as does most classic rock). After searching for a couple of days I think I have decided on Heartland- "I Loved Her First".

Sean told me that for our song I should look up Johnny Cash- "Delia's Gone". Take a listen. I laughed but I REALLY like the idea of being fun with it because a serious couple is one thing we are NOT EVEN CLOSE TO. We are ALWAYS laughing, being stupid, and borderline offensive.

A good weekend...

2010-01-17T19:12:00.011-05:00

It was a busy and FUN weekend. After being cooped up in the house all week and feeling like a total ZERO because I am unemployed, we got out this weekend and did some fun stuff!

Friday night we went over to Glenn and Sarah's house for some yummy dinner (some concoction Glenn cooked up with pasta, chicken, and sausage), Wii games, and conversation. Glenn and Sarah are two of my favorite people up here. Glenn was the first friend of Sean's I met and his wife Sarah has the same phobia of vomit that I have...just as bad as I have it. People always tell me "When you have kids, your fear of puke will be gone, you'll just deal with it." I don't think so....Sarah has THREE kids and one on the way and she still freaks out and can't deal with it. Luckily Glenn is usually home when the kids puke but either way, it hasn't gotten better for her at all. SO, my hope that mine WILL go away is diminished but it's nice to know someone that knows what I'm talking about! We like that about each other.

Last night Sean and I attended a "holiday party" for the Cardiac Wing of the hospital he works at. It was at Great Wolf Lodge, which apparently is a pretty popular tourist attraction up here. It was cool. It was a music themed party and the food was AWESOME. I met alot of people he works with, mostly older, and it was nice to get out and be social! Oh, also, Sean won a door prize...a signed Kris Draper puck (Red Wings)! It's not worth a whole lot but whatever, it was exciting.

Great Wolf Lodge-Traverse City

After the hospital shin-dig we headed over to our friends Becky and Chuck's place. Becky is a vet and Chuck is a cop. They started dating about 6 months after Sean and I. We talked and watched some of "Pee Wee's Big Adventure", which was CRAZY! I remember LOVING that movie when I was a kid and now it's just funny and wrong. We left there at 2:30am and didn't go to bed until 4am!! It was a blast!

Today I ran over to Mike and Sommer's house (Sean's bro and SIL) to run some wedding ideas past her. I decided to make all of my invites, save the date cards, and RSVP cards. I invested in a Cricut machine, THEE coolest thing for paper crafts! It was $106 on Amazon. I got the 2007 model which is ALOT cheaper than the $299 2008-2009 model and it does basically the same thing. It works with cartridges and cuts out lettering and shapes. Sommer tested hers out today, which she got for Xmas, and cut out the "Save the Date" lettering EXACTLY how I wanted it! She will be a HUGE help with all of this stuff since she is a master scrapbooker. The Cricut will also come in handy when I scrapbook, which I am a beginner at but already have two done and an okay collection of beginner supplies.

The Cricut (above) and the cartridge (below)

The front of the card (above) and the inside (below) with ribbon accents. The front will have "Save the Date" in green or blue, not pink as pictured (that's just what color Sommer used to test it).

My "office" space for scrapbooking.

We have an appt. Thursday to see THIS place, Sean found it and it's kind of our style. It's about 90 minutes away in Charlevoix, Michigan. It's cheaper than most locations but we'd have to rent chairs, tables, and linens. We'll see what we think once we see it in person.

Abrupt ending, I know, Sean is home and has to "harvest his pumpkins" before they die on Farmville!

What a wuss

2010-01-14T08:54:00.002-05:00

So yesterday morning while I was ~~napping in my favorite chair, I had a horrible nightmare~~ cleaning the house from top to bottom, I was thinking about someone breaking into the house and doing horrible things to me. This may or may not have to do with the fact that I forgot to lock the sliding door for over a day. Sean rolled his eyes, he doesn't think we need to lock any doors up here. I am from a small town down state where we NEVER locked our doors. I walked home BY MYSELF from Kindergarten, every day. My Dad STILL leaves his door unlocked. Anyway, it seems I am a scaredy cat. Ever since I found out about the sex offender living just FOUR houses down I worry sometimes. The SO was convicted of attempted rape 11 years ago. That makes me feel a bit better I guess but our lot is surrounded by trees and a little spooky still at night.
So early this morning Sean was called into work. He is "on-call" one day per week and one weekend per month. At 2:30am his pager went off and out the door he went. After he left I couldn't go back to sleep. I kept hearing noises and was convinced that someone was hiding in the woods waiting for him to leave. I went through the scenario of survival and decided that in order for me to get the gun from Sean's side of the bed I would have to crawl UNDER the bed if an intruder came into our room. Then, after crawling UNDER the bed, I would have to manipulate the fingertip buttons to unlock the darn safe, hoping I get the code right. THEN, I would have to unlock the safety and cock the darn thing before said intruder cut me up into pieces and killed my cats. Ugghh! I decided that my best bet would be to buy a can of pepper spray, which according to our cop friend, is VERY potent. I should do that and keep that by MY side of the bed, that way I would have enough time to get the gun ready after I spray the A-Hole.
That's what I thought about for a good 30 minutes after Sean left. He never did come home. He must've had a big case at work and just stayed there until his shift at 7am. So of course my imagination THEN runs wild with possibilities that he is in trouble. Maybe he crashed on his way to work, half asleep. Maybe he crashed on his way HOME, rushing to get back to bed? Good Lord it was an exhausting morning. I paged him at 8am when I woke up and he immediately called me, safe and sound, and VERY tired at work.
Do you all ever go through this? Sometimes you can really get yourself worked up!
No word on the job yet. I expected to hear yesterday but hopefully for sure by the end of the week. I am sure they are running all of our backgrounds. A "flag" will come up on mine. When I applied for the job at the detention center they ran a background check and something came up from 1996 or 1997. It turns out that the little verbal argument I had with my high school boyfriend ended up with him calling the cops. It seems that I was so upset (at 18 years old) when I found him with another girl that I left his house very distraught and he called the cops because he was worried about my well being. I may or may not have threatened to hurt myself...eeek. How embarrassing. I didn't even remember this. When my last boss mentioned the flag to me I called my ex immediately (we were still very good friends and I went to his wedding a couple of years ago) and he replied "maybe I called the cops." As embarrassing as it is, it should NOT interfere with any hiring. At my last job I went to the Township office and paid for an archived copy of the "report" if you can even call it that because they never even called me. My name is ON the report but my entire side of the interview is blank. Hmph. It IS slightly annoying though.
Okay, that's about it for today I think, unless I hear from the job...

Have a great day!

PS: I got my new boots! They are awesome! I wore them to the grocery store yesterday even though I really didn't need to :)

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2010-01-11T23:08:00.017-05:00

I am excited to be feeling the blog bug again. Why not celebrate with some Random Tuesday Thoughts? Head on over to Un-Mom to participate :)

**Our wedding is no longer the small Mackinac Island ceremony I had hoped for. Sean is pretty insistent on inviting lots of people and I agreed because it's his day too. I also made DAMN sure that people will be helping me with all of this. I do not want to plan a thing. I'm hoping I get alot of help from Sean, his mom, and sister in law.

**I swore that I would not watch this season of the Bachelor. All I end up doing is talking to the TV, annoyed, making fun of these psycho girls. However, once again, I was curled up tonight watching two hours of misery. And seriously...why in the world would they choose Jake over Reid to be the next Bachelor??!! Jake does NOTHING for me.

2010 Bachelor Jake...ewww.

2009 Bachelorette "loser" Reid...yummmmmy.

**We got another 3-5 inches of snow today. It was very light snow, as in weight. Sean did some research and discovered that if the snow is light (as opposed to heavy "good packing" snow) it is lake effect snow. I shoveled for 30 minutes today and was dripping sweat when I walked into the house. It's HARD work, and a GREAT workout!

**I ordered a pair of winter boots, FINALLY. I've had the hardest time finding a pair I like that are also affordable. I ordered these Kamik's. I like em'. I especially like the draw string at the top to keep snow out. I walked out to the bird feeder today and the snow was literally up to my knees. I'll need that draw string.

**Not sure if I mentioned this but I turned in my Honda Accord and bought a used 2007 Dodge Caliber. I am nervous about it since I have been driving Honda for 7 years. It's a rougher ride but the payment is $160 LESS per month than my Accord. I think I'll live ;)

**I have been on a soup making kick lately (sort of). Sean and I were both sick last week and it sounds good. I made broccoli soup, which is gone, and will make potato soup tomorrow. I use these packets I get in the produce department. Yummy!

**I've realized that aside from missing my family (sister and niece the most) I miss the local news team down state more than anything else. Channel 7 (ABC) in Detroit with Erik Smith, Erin Nicole, Jerry Hodak, and Dave Rexroth. The newscasters up here are all tool boxes.

Meteorologist Jerry Hodak...I miss him

Morning news anchor Erik Smith...have had a crush on him since middle school :)

Multi faceted news guy Dave Rexroth. He does traffic from the 'copter and is sometimes in the studio doing weather as well. AKA "Rexy".

"Live Drive Traffic" girl Erin Nicole. I always like to see what she's wearing.

Some guy on the news up here. Adam Bartlemay...what kind of name is that?

Another weirdo news guy, Bill Froehlich. I'm convinced he is actually Ronnie from Big Brother 11 (shown below).

**I should hear about "that job" by mid week. You know, the job I have barely mentioned for fear of jinxing myself. I'm pretty sure I bombed the interview last week so I would be shocked if I got it. They got 90 applications and I don't know how many they actually interviewed. The interview was my least favorite kind...a group interview (3 people) sitting in front of me in a very bright room, firing HARD questions at me and displaying award winning poker faces. SUCKY! I fear the nerves won. I'm not a nervous person by nature. I am very social and talkative, pretty quick on my feet. However, when something THIS big is at stake, it's hard not to be completely freaked out. I have thought of hundreds of better responses since the interview and do not expect good news. Either way though, at least I'll know and when I don't get it I can focus on finding something else.

**When I moved I packed my cable TV remote. I had to mail it back to my landlords :)

**While I was driving the other day I saw a road sign, one that I've seen before, that read "Do not pass when opposing traffic is present." Really?? Isn't that obvious?

Okay, that's all folks! Have a great Tuesday!

The Vlog! FINALLY!

2010-01-11T17:39:00.001-05:00

I finally got my apartment video to upload. I had to use youtube but whatever. So here you go, a look at the teeny tiny place I called home for over 3 years!

A Lovely Picture Post!

2010-01-11T00:57:00.012-05:00

Alright, FINALLY I have something to blog about. It used to be that I would find something to blog about, I would ramble about nothing really but somehow that was fun. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find my blogging "fun" side but I am positive that she will come back soon, I can feel it.

So, I now live about 90 minutes away from my 11 year old niece, Mallory. This is quite an improvement from the 3.5 hours it used to be when I was downstate in Ann Arbor. I promised Miss Mallory that since I didn't see her for Christmas, I would pick her up for a sleepover as soon as we could. I drove out to Gaylord to get her Saturday and we had an AWESOME time. She opened her Christmas gifts and also a birthday gift since her birthday is on December 26th. I always make sure to wrap her birthday gift in birthday paper, not Christmas paper! She LOVED her Twilight blanket, board game, and calendar. I also got her a new book called "Marked", which is another vampire series. I got myself a soft cover copy a few weeks ago and about 5 chapters in I decided that this book was NOT appropriate for an 11 year old. Several blow job comments as well as the "B" word a couple of times and "%ock" references. I was honest with her and told her it was a little too grown up and that I didn't feel right giving it to her. She blushed and changed the subject ;) But, for adults, it's a great read so far. The series is by PC and Kristen Cast. The first book is "Marked" and I believe there are four others that follow. I digress...

Saturday Mallory and I made pizza Stromboli, brownies, watched two movies (Hide and Seek and The Ring...I own both and she chose), played the Twilight board game, played MarioKart on our Nintendo DS's, and relaxed! We woke up Sunday and I made ham and cheese omelets. Then, we drove a mile down the road (yes, we could have walked but it is barely 20 degrees here and SNOWY) to visit a covered bridge I have been wanting to stop at. I brought the tripod that I bought for Sean and we set the self timer and took lots of pictures!

After that we made sun catchers. Not the watercolor paint plastic ones, the REAL metal frame bake sun catchers. I always did these kind as a little girl and I found a couple at Michael's Arts and Crafts that were cute. After those were done we had turkey dogs and french fries for lunch.

On our way out of Traverse City we stopped by the West Bay, FINALLY! I have been meaning to get down there and take some wintry photos.

This one is actually the East Bay, just down the road a bit from the West Bay

We had a great visit. I told her next month I would have her for two nights so that we could do more. The drive from TC to Gaylord is all country with a few small towns. I couldn't believe how many snowmobilers I saw! Very cool but also a little unnerving considering most were parked across the street from local bars. I DID see a police snowmobile too though so that's good!

There are SO many Cherry Orchards, which is what TC is "famous" for. These Cherry trees are now covered in ice, waiting for Spring!

Enjoy the pictures! Have a great week and thank you for hanging in there during my slump!

Apparently my New Year resolution was to blog less?

2010-01-10T00:43:00.003-05:00

I have not been in the mood to blog lately. Not sure why, perhaps because I have basically been sitting on my arse for the past 9 days. Aside form cleaning the house and running errands I really haven't been up to anything. I WILL do a picture post SOON (within two days) and TRY to get my old apartment Vlog uploaded (it failed before). So sorry, I'm sure you have all been surviving without me :)

BE BACK SOON!

I'm alive!

2010-01-04T02:08:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year! I haven't been able to blog. We have been super busy with two family gatherings up here AND some trouble with our wireless Internet :( Boooo!

I left for the big move Wednesday. I got up at 6am after a HORRIBLE night sleep due to anxiety and stress about getting the cats into their carriers and driving four hours with them.

After loading my car up it was time to tackle the cats. And yes...literally TACKLE them. I have scars on my legs to prove it! It was pretty much a nightmare and as bad as I'd imagined it would be. It took an hour to get them both in the carriers and I ended up on my living room floor in tears at one point. Eventually, after grabbing them in towels, I turned the carriers on their ends and dropped the cats in. I will NEVER do this again. They cried their awful murderous cries for about 200 miles. After that it was quiet for the most part with a few pissed off meows here and there. We pulled into the driveway at the new house and Sean was standing in the garage with his camera, wanting to get the first "Welcome Home" pictures. He heard Lily crying (loud again at this point) and looked horrified. I said "Yeah...try 200 miles with that!" Ugghh.

Anyway, the cats were rushed into the spare room with their litter and food. I threw my down comforter on the bed so it smelled like "home". They shocked the crap out of me when four hours later they were out and exploring the house! Very carefully at first but now, four days later, they are happy and normal again.

The move is complete and I am HAPPY! It is still sinking in that I don't have to drive back "home" to Ann Arbor. Tonight Sean and I went to his folks for a late Christmas party complete with about 20 relatives on his Dad's side. Afterwards we met our friend John up at Applebee's and had a drink. On our way home I said "Isn't this great honey, we are going HOME, not to your parents house like when we would visit!"

The snow up here has been unbelievable! I knew to expect more snow, we'll get 40-60 more inches than Ann Arbor, but it has been CRAZY! We get ALOT of "lake effect snow" and apparently Lake Ann, the village we live in, gets the worst of it. It's beautiful and I love it but we don't own a snow blower yet...you can imagine the shoveling. We have some friends that live in Lake Ann as well and spent New Year's Eve with them and Sean's brother and SIL. Eric, our friend, plows on the side and mentioned that he can swing by sometimes and plow our drive for us. He's been by twice in three days and it is like winning the lotto. Sean and I stare out the window at him with joyful smiles :)

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the snow. It is 2:20am and Sean is sleeping because he has to work tomorrow. I do not but I do have a couple of things I need to do. Oh...we each got SNOW SHOES for Christmas!! I can't wait to use them although I need boots first and I've had a hell of a time finding cute/ warm/ affordable boots yet.

I hope you all had a SAFE and HAPPY New Year!

So Long, Farewell...

2009-12-29T09:09:00.007-05:00

My work!

Someone once said that when one door closes, another opens. Today, I closed the door at work. It was my last day of work at the Juvenile Detention Facility. I started work there as an "on-call youth counselor" in July 2007. I worked all three shifts whenever they needed me and whenever my Job #1 (nanny) schedule allowed. Too often I would go from one job directly to the other, staying up for 39 hours at a time more than once or twice. I LOVED this job. Why else would I deprive myself of my beloved sleep for 17 months? FINALLY, in January 2009, I was hired full time on the midnight shift. Not my first choice but if you have ever worked for a County you know how hard it is to get hired much less get the exact shift you want. I was totally content with midnights. I never really minded midnights. Sure, my social life went out the window because I had Tuesday and Wednesday nights off. No one hangs out in the middle of the week. So, I worked midnights for ALMOST a year. I made EXCELLENT money and had great benefits. That is all gone now. I have NO job now and no real prospects anymore. I will miss the security of that job. I will miss being able to go to Kohl's and buying a couple of cute tops. I can't do that anymore. I have to watch EVERY cent because I don't know how long the money I have will have to last. AND, when I do find work, I can almost guarantee that I will take a 30%-40% paycut. I was paid over $17/ hr. and now I have NO income.
That is neither here nor there. I will MISS the people. I LOVED 99.9% of my co-workers. There was ONE that I didn't like. The rest? GREAT GREAT people! I liked the diversity of the staff. I liked the diversity of the kids. I grew up very sheltered, with ONE African American kid in my high school. I am moving to a city with nearly NO African Americans. It's hard to explain the feeling that I have knowing that even though I was so sheltered as a child, I grew to be a very open minded and accepting adult. It's an AMAZING feeling to not only be accepted by a different race, but LOVED by them too. Two of my favorite black co-workers came in this morning for their shift (the end of mine at 7am) and gave me huge hugs and wanted to know all about what I was going to do. It just so happens that these two guys are two of the funniest guys I have ever met. One of my co-workers (black female) gave me a card last night with a check for $50 in it. It blew my mind. I don't want to sound like "Oh, they are black, they are different, and they LIKE me...oh my gosh!" That's what I mean when I say it's hard to explain. It's like proof that color and the emphasis placed on color is slowly fading. At that job, everyone was color blind (except that one a-hole). It's a great feeling. And I think it speaks of my character and reaffirms what I already knew...I AM colorblind. That feels good because I know that MY children will be raised with the same openness and in turn generations will be changed. Anyway, I will miss so many of those people. It takes a certain type of person to work with rough juvenile offenders. There are some VERY zany personalities and I loved that.
So, that's all she wrote for me as a Juvenile Counselor. It IS something I would love to do again. Unlike my work with adult addicts...no thanks, not my cup of tea.
My Mom is coming tonight to load up the bigger stuff in her van (TV, cat scratchpost, microwave). I will leave tomorrow morning with the cats. EEEEEK! I am beyond nervous about a 4 hour drive with two cats but it's something that has to be done and I know they will be happy at the house, which is twice as big as where we are now. I will do a short Vlog soon about the apartment. I said I would when it was all empty so you could see how tiny it is...stay tuned!

The rooms. Each kid has their own room and the "units" are co-ed.

The "dayroom". Lunch is served here. The room to the left with all of the mirrors is the "control room", which is where I spend 8 hours each shift. The controls for EVERYTHING are in this room. Lights, water, doors...all controlled with the touch of a finger on a touchscreen monitor.

Isn't it pretty?? When I was in college I used to take the public bus past the building, as it was being built. I told myself then (2000) that I would one day work there. Dreams do come true.

Nada

2009-12-27T04:30:00.001-05:00

I hope you had a great holiday.

Absolutely nothing to talk about.

THREE more days until I move. TWO more nights of work.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T22:40:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays to you all!! I am done with pretty much everything. I JUST started shopping this morning and am done with everything wrapped! It wasn't so bad actually. I even managed to get to Lowe's and ACO to get a light globe and burner plates for the apartment before I move out.
I went over to my Mom's to make our annual Apple Pies. FROM SCRATCH! Crusts and all! They are so delicious. I have one in the freezer that I will bake when I move up north. My mom is making an awesome Christmas brunch tomorrow complete with: applesauce, orange rolls, cinnamon rolls, orange juice, and OUT OF THIS WORLD Bob Evans Breakfast Scramble Casserole. We will then exchange gifts and my brother and his GF will be there this year!
After my Mom's I will head over to my sister's to celebrate with my Dad, brother (again), sister, and niece. Kaydence is now 10 weeks old and weighs 9.6 pounds. I am hoping that the froggy outfit I got her (0-3 months) will fit her. I assume it will because she is still pretty small, some babies weigh almost that much at birth. We'll see. I just can't wait to get a hold of that lil' stinker, I've missed her so much! How can you resist this face?

A fun(ner) post.

2009-12-22T09:04:00.008-05:00

So, I've decided that talking about all of my stress isn't any fun to read.
Since I don't have anything NON-stressful to talk about I will just tell you a little story and then go.

I went to Eastern Michigan University. In the middle of the campus is a water tower. ANYONE who has EVER gone to EMU or lived in Ypsilanti (the "Y" is pronounced like an "I" "Ip-Sa-Lan-Tee") knows what the water tower is called. Can you guess?

Anyway, I have always been a petite girl. When I started college (at 21 years old) I probably weighed about 115, same as now. However, even a dainty lil' thing like myself fell victim to the "Freshman 15"...or in my case "Freshman 20-25". I'm not sure because I have NEVER owned a scale but I do remember the number 137 at one point, either at the Dr. or at the gym when I finally decided enough was enough and started working out on campus.
How did I do it you ask?? THREE THINGS. And here THEY are.

I lived in dorms called "The Towers". I lucked out and scored a single room for the three years I was there, moving from time to time but just into a different "tower" (there were three). In the courtyard of these towers was an A&W. If you've ever gone to college and stayed on campus and had the "food plan" you know that they ALWAYS gave you WAY too much money for food per semester. I mean, towards the end I would go to the campus store and spend $400-$500 of my allotted money on my brother. I would buy him all sorts of things and take it to him. My point is, when you have hundreds of dollars that you will LOSE is you don't spend it, you feel like you should eat A&W every.single.day. Not only that, but why not go for the bacon cheeseburger? That's what I did, and that's where the pounds came from. That, and Sugar Babies and Reese Sticks.
I tell you this because this morning I stopped into Wal-Mart to get my dad his Old Spice gift pack (no joke, he LOVES it) and grabbed myself a big box of Sugar Babies! YES! I'm allowed now because I lost the college weight and literally haven't touched a Sugar Baby since 2003. They are DELISH!

Merry Christmas. I will be back with holiday picture posts after the festivities have passed :) Enjoy yours!

A lull

2009-12-21T02:26:00.002-05:00

I have nothing to blog about really, I just feel the need to say SOMETHING.

I have yet to go Christmas shopping. I will go on the 23rd when I get paid. Things are TIGHT this year due to my impending unemployment (unless something happens). I just wrote down all of my gifts and I will only spend $265. I am buying for: brother, sister, niece, mom, grandma, dad, and Sean. I did get a few things MONTHS ago for my brother (an herbal heat pack), niece #1 (Twilight blanket and boardgame), and Sean's two nephews (jack-in-the-box and a set of books). Here is what I am buying:

Brother Brandon: Dane Cook DVD ($20)
Father Steve: two sweatshirts, socks, and Old Spice ($35)
Mother Debbie: an office chair mat and Farmer's Almanac ($40)
Grandma Joyce: a bottle of cheap wine ($10)
Sister Gwen: $30 cash (she needs it)
Niece #2 Kaydence who is 2.5 months old: Baby Einstein DVD and some sort of toy ($30)
Sean" "The Hangover" and a gift card towards an external hard drive ($100)

That's it folks. Normally I would spend double that but I have TWO paychecks left until I am unemployed so I really cannot do it this year. It sucks. I really do like giving more than receiving. Thankfully my Mom, brother, and sister are also VERY broke and will not spend much on ME either.

I have to get a couple of things for the apartment before I move out so that I get my security deposit back. I have to replace the ceiling fan light globe and WANT to replace the stove burner plates. That's it! That should insure that I get my $650 back, which will be helpful towards unemployment bills. After that, my income tax return will soon follow, which will be another several hundred dollars. I totally plan on having a job by then but I am not planning on being paid nearly as much. It wouldn't be ridiculous to end up taking a 30%-40% pay cut. Not good.

I am beginning to stress out a bit about the wedding plans, or rather, LACK of wedding plans. I have no idea what we'll do. Sean isn't crazy about Mackinaw Island, even though that would cost us $200. I have been looking into places in TC and the cheapest I have found would still cost between $7000-$8000. That's not including decor, centerpeices, and all of the other extras. In my mind I see a ceremony on the Island followed by a reception at OUR HOUSE. Catered or us having a HUGE BBQ spread. Even that poses problems though because who knows where everyone would park, or if our Association would even allow that. It is all WAY too much to think about but if we end up doing it at a "wedding place" we would need to decide soon and book the date. Those places fill up FAST and I am not too excited about waiting until 2011. It's just too much. The linens, flowers, chairs, lights, decorations....I DO NOT WANT TO PLAN THIS ALL! I don't even want a "bridal party". I don't want a "head table". I don't want alot of things. We really need to sit down and talk this through because it's a stress I don't need right now. Of course, it's hard to sit down and talk it through when Sean is 250 miles away. We WILL iron it out when I get up there in.....EIGHT DAYS!

Okay, enough of my grumbling. I have NO idea how brides do this crap and ENJOY it. I would totally be a BrideZilla.

PRAYERS NEEDED BADLY!

2009-12-18T19:37:00.003-05:00

Okay, tis' the season for giving. I know that MANY people have WAY bigger problems than I do. Right now, my biggest problem/ concern is being unemployed in TEN days!

I just posted about the job with Lutheran Child and Family Services. I would be SO happy to get that job....OR one other job. The second job prospect is SO big, SO perfect, SO wanted that I have yet to go into detail about what it is! Seems I am a bit superstitious and I am afraid that if I blog about it, how great it is, and how DESPERATELY I want it, it won't happen.

Sean has a friend that works within the County of Grand Traverse. The job I want is for the County, that's all I will say. There are many county departments, Sean's buddy works kind of near the department I applied for. Sean put in a call, I put in an e-mail (to two different friends working for the county), I called the morning I submitted my application (had to search for a number since it's pretty hard to pinpoint specific people within a county), and I just called Wednesday to follow-up. The phone calls and friends are "secret weapons" when it comes to certain jobs. It's sometimes "who you know" and not so much "what you know". Because I work for a County now, I know how difficult it is to "get in". I applied FOUR times and waited 6 months before I got an on-call position for the County. After that, I applied for a full time position for a Youth Counselor in the Drug Treatment Program. I came in "second place" but there were 144 other applicants so second isn't bad. It wasn't long after that that I landed the full time midnight position.

What I'm saying I guess is that THIS time, I CANNOT come in second. This is BIG people. Sean's friend called someone today in the County and found out that they received 90 applications and have pulled TWO so far, mine is one of them. The other is some guy. I am assuming they will pull more and I may get a call next week. I am also hoping that my employee evaluation from this month, great references, and two letters of recommendation will help out. But most of all, I need prayers and good thoughts sent my way...badly. This is the difference between possibly being unemployed or having a full time job, doing something I would LOVE, and being paid more than I am now. People are always telling me "Sarah, good things happen to good people." I am truly hoping that this proves true this time!

Thank You!

I am editing this post to include my recent favorite song. I have had this album for awhile but just recently fell in love with this song, #9 on the album. Angels and Airwaves (lead singer is the old Blink 182 singer). their first album is also rockin', just an FYI. Enjoy!

I suck

2009-12-18T08:26:00.011-05:00

So, I didn't get very many pictures, three to be exact, from this last trip. I wanted to take one of the house from the street but I didn't. I wanted to drive to the Traverse Bay and I didn't. The traffic down by the bay (which is "downtown TC") is pretty bad and the last thing I want to do after driving 250 miles and living in a city with traffic all the time, is drive to more traffic. So, eventually I WILL get some shots of the bay, just not now :)

The interview went okay. I felt like I answered all of the questions good, very honestly and genuine, but didn't feel like she HEARD me. I felt like the entire time I was talking she was thinking of something else. She was taking notes so that's a good thing. Also, she didn't seem to notice that in my nicely prepared folder that I turned in, I included references, an employee evaluation, and two letters of recommendation. Those were the three things I felt spoke volumes and I don't even think she looked at them before I got there. HOPEFULLY she looks at them sometime. The job sounds very cool. I would be working with families that are on the verge of having their kids taken away for various reasons. I go to their homes, work on goals with them, help them with resources, and work with them for about 6 months. My caseload would be UP TO 12 families and I would work ABOUT 40 hours per week. Half of my time would be spent in TC and the other half in Kalkaska, about 45 minutes away I guess. I don't know how much it pays, I didn't ask, and I can't find it online anywhere...we'll see. They may call for a second interview for next week, which means ANOTHER trip up.

I also may be getting a different car. The CR-V fell through, which was fine because Sean would have had to lend me alot of money for a down payment, which I wasn't entirely comfortable with. I test drove a Dodge Caliber while I was there. Sean's uncle (and God Father) is a car salesman and thought of me. I may have blogged about a Caliber before...I've been eyeballing that car for at least a year. I love those cars! They are smallish, sporty, have a high clearance, and I like the hatchback feature. The one I drove and may get is a STICK SHIFT (YESSSS!) and SILVER (DOUBLE YES!!!). My Accord is silver and a stick too :) It drove okay. Not as smooth as my Accord but it's only $8500 and only has 34,000 miles on it. Would I rather drive a CR-V, yes, but a Caliber would be my second choice.

Okay, I'll spare you the rambling...but first I have a serious question. It pertains to the Duggar Family, you know, the family with 19 kids? Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have ALWAYS said that they will have as many kids and God blesses them with. So, Michelle had an emergency C-Section recently and the baby was born at 25 weeks. She is in the NICU and should survive, although she may have some problems down the road. My question is this: If God blessed them with this pregnancy and Baby Josie DOESN'T survive, how will they explain that? I'm serious. I'm not religious but I wonder what religious folks say? If he's giving this blessing then isn't it him that takes it away? Why bless someone with a child and then take it away? I don't like the explanation that he DID give the blessing (or child) to them but he's NOT responsible for taking it away, I feel like that let's God off of the hook for MANY things. I've heard people say that God only does good...so why does this happen? Josie may be okay but there are MANY babies that are born to very religious parents that end up dying. I don't get it. Feel free to "school me" :) I'm asking because I really want to know how religious folks justify this, deal with this, or think about this. Thanks!

Now, for some pics! Some were taken earlier. If I blogged them already forgive me, my brain is fried and I am tired.

My niece Kaydence. Four weeks old (she is now 8 weeks old).

The "guest bedroom". The quilt was made for me by my Grandma. It may or may not stay on the bed. Probably not in the Winter since it's not warm enough. I will use my down comforter in the Winter, which is currently on my bed here, in Ann Arbor.

The road (in Lake Ann) going to Traverse City (TC). This is really not fun with snow on the ground, curving roads, and a 4X4 pick up snow plow truck tailgating me, which always seems to be the case because no one in their right mind drives a car without 4wheel drive up there!

Lake Ann Grocery store! I haven't been inside yet but this store pretty much symbolizes how I envision "up north" to be. I love it! And, Lake Ann Grocery actually has a Facebook page! Too funny!

This was the only picture I got of Lake Ann. I don't know the area well enough to know where the good "photo spots" are. It's not a HUGE lake. This is on that same curvy road that I drive everyday.

Sean and Glenn goofing around. Glenn and his wife Sarah came over for pizza two visits ago. If you've been reading for awhile you will know that Glenn is the guy that was in the fairy door pictures with Sean a couple of years ago. He was the first friend of Sean's I met :)

The guest bathroom. This will also be my bathroom. I told Sean he is too messy to use it so he has to use the Master Bathroom as his bathroom. I keep things clean so I know it will be presentable for guests at any time...Sean's bathroom would not be and I refuse to clean up after him more than once a week :)

Hmmm...wonder where all of the cat toys went?! This is the floor UNDER the couch after we moved it. I could NOT believe this! I knew their toys were under there but Good Lord! Hilarious!

This is an actual box in our garage from the move. Obviously it's Sean's. I HAD to take a picture of it. No secrets between us apparently :) It may or may not have made it inside ;) No, I didn't throw it away but I thought about it.

Stuck in a Honda Accord.

2009-12-14T21:54:00.002-05:00

Welp, no CR-V for me. Someone else STOLE it right out from under us! It's alright, I'm actually less stressed now since I don't have to worry about that, and paying Sean back the decent sized loan he would have had to give me. I'll be okay in my Accord. Of course new tires will be needed but I need those anyway.

I am all packed up and ready for ANOTHER four hour drive in the morning. I will be back on Thursday afternoon I think. Wish me luck at the interview! And send some good vibes that the REALLY AWESOME job calls sometime this week for an interview. The posting online was updated on December 2nd and says they are "reviewing applications". This job is for the County so it does take a little longer. Until the posting says "all applicants up for consideration have been contacted" I will hold out hope that my phone will ring!

Sean got locked out of the house today. Who knows why he didn't put the key on his ring. He ended up having to climb through the attic space in the garage and enter through the office, or "yellow room" as we call it.

I want to try to get some new pics and maybe a few short videos (because long ones take too long to upload) while I'm up there. I may head down to the bay or get a few pics of Lake Ann, which is the "village" we technically live in although I will still refer to us in Traverse City.

I plan on heading to Gander Mountain while I am there too. It's an "up northy" store that sells alot of hunting stuff and seasonal apparel. I have a giftcard that I had planned to use to buy snow shoes but I decided I need winter boots instead. I haven't owned boots since middle school so I guess this is a good time to snag a pair. They are expecting more snow so we'll see how that goes too :)

Have a great few days!

THANK YOU to some of my new visitors and commentors! I WILL visit your blogs soon I swear, a little overwhelmed right now.

Lack of anything better

2009-12-14T00:13:00.009-05:00

Hidee Ho Neighbors! Did y'all ever watch Home Improvement? I used to love that show. Anyway...that was a stupid start...

Okay, it looks like I WILL get the 2003 Honda CR-V. Yes, it's pretty old, especially after driving brand new lease cars for the past 7 years. The cool thing about it is that it only has 58,000 miles! Anyone that knows Honda knows that these cars drive forever! I know plenty of people that have 150,000-200,000 miles on their Honda and they are STILL going strong. So, 58 is nothing. It should run well beyond the four year financing term. I will know for sure tomorrow but it's looking good, thanks to Sean helping me with a down payment. Could he possibly do ANYTHING more for me? Engagement ring, house, and now this. I feel awful but we already agreed that I will pay him back. He really doesn't feel comfortable with me driving my Accord up North. I offered to do that but he insisted on the CR-V. Here it is! I got the picture off of the dealership website. So perty. One owner, car fax is clean, and it drove well. By the way, Car Fax is showing an accident on my Accord. This is completely untrue. I have been in ONE accident and that was back in 1998 in my Dodge Shadow. So, I have no idea why it comes up but I alerted my saleswoman. She said sometimes there are mistakes which makes me wonder how many times accidents DON'T show up on Car Fax when in fact there HAS been one. What is the point if it's not accurate?

I leave to head North again Tuesday morning. I may or may not have Internet this time around. Sean found one of his wireless modems or routers (don't ask me, he's better with computers) and is able to pick up a faint signal at the house. I will try to take more pictures although there aren't many more to take that you haven't already seen. Perhaps I will cruise down to the Bay and take some shots down there? To give you a better idea about the move, I wanted to show you a map of my great state! I am currently in Washtenaw County (Ann Arbor). I grew up in Oakland County (South Lyon). Our new house in JUST inside of Benzie County, about a mile from the Grand Traverse County line.

YaYa gave me this next idea. Her favorite color is orange and every so often she does an orange post full of really cool orange pictures. My favorite color is GREEEEN! Blue is a close second but I am in love with the color green, specifically "grass green" although I like all shades, even "puke green". If you happen to come across ANY green things please feel free to e-mail me your finding @ scolby1977@hotmail.com. I would LOVE to include them in my next green post and if I get enough I can do a weekly thing like YaYa! What's your fav color???

That's What She Said!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Weird

Well it's about time!

Coming soon...

Not much but it's something

Got the wedding pics back!

The good stuff...

Introducing Baby D! Also known as "Bo"

The Big Chill

Surprise!!

Weekend Wrap Up

Was is the weekend or heaven??

Picture Post

Really trying

Too damn busy

Dissociative Disorder

Happy Memorial Day!

Crazy neighbors and faral cats

Booooooring

Springtime in Northern Michigan :)

Checking In

Spring Slim Down fun?

Title Here

Boy names

So glad he was born :)

I am not dead...

Reporting In

I'm alive!

I knew I shouldn't have done it...

The most wonderful time of the year....

What to do, what to do?

Video of my "I think I may die" cute niece...volume up!

Busy, busy, busy

My achin' uterus...

Catching up!

Taking pause

House sitting with a panty eating dog named Tupac

Lots going on :)

Lots lots lots

Dear Someone...

Whew! I heart the Olympics!!

Wonderful weekend

Happy Hearts Day!

Test taking and beer tasting

Who needs a treadmill...*ouchie*

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Okay, let's get real

SuperBowl Success!

I am a Master...

Uh-Oh...Oooops

Crock of *hit

100 Followers...WOOT WOOT!

Highlights of my week!

Eeeek!

Dear Someone...

Random Tuesday Thoughts

A good weekend...

What a wuss

Random Tuesday Thoughts

The Vlog! FINALLY!

A Lovely Picture Post!

Apparently my New Year resolution was to blog less?

I'm alive!

So Long, Farewell...

Nada

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

A fun(ner) post.

A lull

PRAYERS NEEDED BADLY!

I suck

Stuck in a Honda Accord.

Lack of anything better

Who needs a treadmill...ouchie