Full Moon?

Today has been a weird one to say the least.

I woke up around 9 (Yes. I have MWF off. I like to sleep, so I slept in. Yes, I live like an undergrad. Might as well while I still can).

About 9:30, my dad called. He told me that he would be in town for work and that he would be free around 4 and wanted to stop by. It was fine with me, but we had laundry everywhere, dishes in the sink, hadn’t dusted in weeks. Last week kicked both of our butts and this weekend did not go as planned, so house hold things got put on the back burner.

So I freaked out because my dad is a bit of a neat freak. His house is usually always in good order and I didn’t want to hear comments about me slacking as a wife or whatever.

I had planned on spending today lesson planning. Instead, I did 5 loads of laundry, scrubbed the kitchen, vacuumed, hand vacuumed the steps, dusted the entire apartment, straightened up the place, folded 5 loads of laundry and put everything away. No idea why, but it did take me all day and our apartment isn’t that big.

But while I was doing all of that, Mr. A had a big important lunch meeting and I was anxiously awaiting his call.

When he did, I wanted to scream from the roof tops out of joy!

Why you ask? Because Mr. A got the internship for the spring!!!

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT.

He will be doing actual attorney things and it can very well lead to a job, or at very leas, a fellowship next summer while waiting on bar exam results and such. And he will be making fantastic connections and I am so effing proud of him. He works so so hard, but hasn’t always had the best of luck with some things panning out, so I couldn’t be happier that this worked out for him and I know it is a HUGE weight off of his shoulders.

He will be living at one of my parents’ houses and I should be able to make my schedule Tues/Thurs so if I want to go go or he comes down, I will have Fri-Mon. Also, he will only be 2 hours away, and knowing how wonderful this opportunity is, I will make the sacrifice for a semester.

So that was amazing, but of course we got some more bad news about his dad, so it was hard to balance being out of my mind excited, but also dealing with that drama.

But then my dad showed up and this was the first time he has seen this apartment, so I am happy that Mr. A and I have been working on making it more of a home for the last year and it doesn’t look completely like a college apartment.

Now, my family is one that doesn’t really talk about finances beyond “You should be saving your money”. I have no clue how much my dad makes or what his financial situation is. I have a rough idea what my mom makes, but not much more than that.

So when my dad started asking us what our student loan situation was, I was a little confused and kind of waiting for a lecture on it all.

But then the conversation quickly turned to how many miles were on my car and all of that. Now, I drive a 12 year old Toyota that has over 230,000 miles on it. Yeah. That’s a lot. It was my mom’s before me and when she gave it to me in 2005, it had roughly 80,000 on it, but I was going to school three hours away and made trips home fairly frequently, so the miles racked up rather quickly. 

Long story short, my stepsister is taking her mom’s car that is a 2012, I’m taking her car that only has like 65,000 miles on it and is a very reliable car, and any money we can get for mine will go towards paying for the car since hers would have some value if they decided to sell it. Eventually, we’ll pay my dad back for the car, but he put off us paying for a little over a year, and should circumstances prevent us from being able to afford it, he said we’d work it out.

I’ll be cleaning out my car tomorrow and hope is to list it by this weekend and hopefully by next week I will have a new car!!! (Or new to me, but anything is better than mine at this point.)

And the other weird part of yesterday?

Remember when I told you guys that Mr. A and I decided to go on a cruise over Christmas break since it will be our last break together?

He gets a text message last night from a good friend (and those of you that know me IRL can easily figure out who this person is, but PLEASE do not say anything about it either to him or on FB because it isn’t being publically announced just yet, but bc of logistical issues, we were told. Again, trusting you folks.). Mr. A then asked me when our cruise was, but wouldn’t tell me why he was asking.

When I told him the date, he got a strange look on his face and then proceeded to tell me that his good friend had set his wedding date for during our cruise.

Not only just set a wedding date, but the wedding will be in India.

I’ll let you soak that in for a minute.

……………

This guy was one of our groomsmen and has been a friend of Mr. A’s for a very long time. So Mr. A needs to go, but we can’t really afford for both of us, just with flights alone. So Mr. A and his other good friend (who were best men for each other’s weddings) are implementing the buddy system. Neither wife is going as a way to save some money. But believe me, Mr. A has been told he needs to be bringing me back some sweet stuff from India.

But what about the cruise?

Well if he gets to go to India, I am surely still going on my cruise. I decided to ask my MIL if she would be interested/would be able to go because she is a lot of fun and I’m sure I could handle being with her for 6 days for a beach filled vacation. She said she would check and last night she sent me a text saying that I had a cruise buddy and that she would be working on passport paperwork this morning.

SO. Yesterday was just bizarre. So many weird, but good things going on and this next year will be a bit of a whirlwind.

Now to just hope and pray and cross fingers and toes that next year we both have jobs and that we aren’t unemployed and living in a box. Because we all know I need my hair straightener and access to twitter. ;o)

Newest Member

If you follow me on Twitter, I apologize.
All I have talked about since Saturday is our newest member if the family and.
We have a new kitten.

This is Truman. He is 3.5 months old and born on my birthday.

This…was not planned. We were not under any circumstances considering another kitten.
For years now, Mr. A and I have enjoyed going to pet adoption drives at Petsmart. It’s something we’ve done on Saturdays or Sundays for a long time. When we couldn’t have a pet, this helped fulfill our desire since we got to play with all the animals and ooo and ahhhh over them.
As much as I love soft and cuddly things, and as much as I wanted them, I was logical and went about my business.
So we went to our favorite pet store while home this past weekend. Mr. A went to the restroom so I went to go look at the animals.
I walked past the kitten with a stub tail. Past the boisterous little guy that was reaching his paw through the cage and tapping the kitten next to him to get him to play. Past the all white little girl that was shy but sweet and super pretty.
I walked all the way down the aisle and there was a little black kitten in a cage on the end. He was napping but as soon as I walked up, he lifted his head and was looking me in the eyes.
I reached in to scratch his little head and then asked if I could get him out to hold him. As I picked him up, he immediately snuggled into me and was a purring machine.
I felt an instant connection to the little guy that I didn’t feel with any other animal except Scout. Of course I read the info sheet and saw that he was born in my birthday. He had all his shots and already spayed. He kept snuggling and purring and I just knew he needed to come home with us.
Long story short, after some discussion and thought, we went back and made the little guy ours.

He is a snuggle bunny. He loves to be held and played with and wants to be with us all the time.
Unfortunately Scout isn’t sold on him yet. She isn’t violent to him, but hisses and then runs away and hides. We’ve had a couple small breakthroughs and we’re planning on putting them together a lot more this weekend to make her realize that he isn’t going anywhere.
So for now, if we aren’t home, he stays in the bathroom but he’s allowed out as long as we’re there. We keep him from going upstairs for now so Scout feels like she has a safe space and Truman isn’t just taking over all of a sudden. I sleep on the couch at night and check on him periodically. Our hope is that by this weekend we can leave him out all the time and that he and Scout will be friends.
So any good kitty vibes you want to send, will be much appreciated.

Patience is a virtue I do not have

Wouldn’t you know, I feel like blogging AND I’m in a good mood. So you get a happy post. I’m sure everyone has missed those. I sure did. ( even though my page views goes up exponentially when there is a crisis or something bad is going on)
Anywhosit…
I am so stinking excited because Mr. A and I have made the very adult decision to go on a cruise right after New Years and just before the spring (and Mr. A’s last ever And the last for this degree) semester.
Makes me giddy just thinking about it.
Our original plan all along was to go back to Mexico after he took the bar exam, but upon further thought and realizing that we will be in the middle of moving and either new jobs or job searching. Too much is up in the air to plan a big trip, so we’ve moved it up. We both will be finished with classes in December, so it will be nice for us to have a little vacation together and refresh. I will be finishing my thesis and he should be working for credit, so a nice cruise will be perfect.
I have been on one before, but due to a family member that can’t control how much she drinks, I did not have as much fun as I should have. I liked te cruise itself and the excursions, but my travel company was less than desirable. Mr. A has never been, so he’s looking forward to something new. We were originally going to do a 7 night cruise, but with it being his first, we decided a 5 night would be more manageable for a first timer.
Any of you been? What tips do you have? Also, everyone needs to kick my butt into saying with counting calories and working out because there is a beach calling my name and I do not want to be confused with a beached whale.
Also, January is too effing far away…

Pick Me Ups

Everyone has bad days. And if you are someone who never does, well then you are lucky.

But I’ve learned with grad school and teaching, there are some days that just truly suck. There is no better way to put it. But I have to find ways to work through them since I love what I do and others are depending on me to buck up.

One of Mr. A’s sweet things is that he will send me funny videos or pictures to cheer me up. Isn’t he a sweetheart?

I figured that this time of the year people are getting a little restless. The days are short. It’s cold. Summer is too far away. We don’t have Christmas to look forward too. We’re trying to lose some of the extra winter “heating” we’ve put on.

So I’ve decided to post some of my favorite videos or pictures to cheer you up. I’ve done it before and it always makes me smile.

End of Ze World!

 

Dom vs Hipsters

 

Funny Cats

 

Pencil VS Picture<—- Pretty cool images

 

The Closet Prank

 

Giant Water Balloon

 

Last but not least….

Gets me every time….

 

Hope you all have a great week!

Frequent Flier Miles

These next six months are definitely going to earn me some frequent flier miles, as well as make our checking account cry.

Typically, I might go somewhere new or exciting once in a year. Between January and September, I will visit 3 states that I’ve never been to, (and at least one repeat trip to WI), a trip to Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, and Kentucky. LOTS of travelling.

A few weeks ago I went to visit a twitter friend in Wisconsin. (HI R!!) And while I didn’t fly, it was a 7 hour car ride, each direction, but oh so very very worth it. We had a blast and it was like we had known each other for years. And she has the cutest pregnant belly ever.

I applied, and was accepted to present, at a conference in Boston. I was SUPER honored and now very nervous, but I know that as a grad student, it’s very important to present at conferences and I can’t wait to maybe meet some famous authors too!

Today I got approval both from my boss and department chair for a second conference in Orlando. I’m not presenting, but no less than 15 of the panels fit into my thesis topic PERFECTLY. So after talking with Mr. A, we decided that since I want to start reading for and writing my thesis this summer, I needed to go. (He’s so wonderful and understanding and supportive. I think I shall keep him.)

And these conferences are 2 weeks apart. Guess my students will have a lot of in class work days while I’m gone.

After Boston, we have a wedding of close friends to go to. Then Mr. A’s best friend’s wedding (which will involve rehearsal dinner and such). I just got an email about a bachelorette party out of town a couple weeks after that. I will get a month in one place before school starts back and then we have yet another wedding. Mr. A is in 2 out of 3 of these. So lots of showers, bachelor parties, rehearsal dinners, and weddings. I’m thrilled for all of them since they are very close friends, but SO.MANY.EVENTS.

And those are just the places that I am going. Mr. A has bachelor parties in other cities, one of which he’s in charge of planning, and who knows where he might be this summer for internships and such.

I plan on making the best of all these travels. I’ve never been to Boston, so I can’t wait to just walk around and see all the old cemeteries and historic buildings. Might even try to go to a Red Sox game. (I’ve been told wearing a Cards jersey to that won’t go over so well. Maybe I’ll just wear red and they won’t know the difference.)

I now need someone that owns an airline to either adopt me or just give me some free flights because HOLY COW flights are expensive. It’s insane.

Lottery ticket, anyone?

And I Introduce to You….

“Hai. I’m Scout. I’m kewt. An fistee”

Okay, I’m terrible at Lolz.

But yes. This is Scout. She is our new little kitten. And we love her. Despite the fact that her new favorite game involves attacking feet and ankles at every opportunity. I’m hoping she grows out of that. Right?

This is the only awake picture I have of her. She is a very active little thing.

But she does eventually tire herself out. And then she’s all snuggly. And makes cute faces while she sleeps.

I guess I should back up to how in the world we ended up with a kitten since not all the long ago I wrote about deciding to wait for a pet.

Well, that obviously didn’t happen.

You see, I was discussing advertisements in class. We were talking about how advertisers appeal to emotions. I used the example of the ASPCA ads with the Sarah McLaughlin song in the background. I made a huge dork out of myself saying that it makes me tear up seeing all those sweet little animals in tiny cages and blah blah blah. Hey, sometimes it helps to make yourself look silly. Kids like it.

So on Friday, one of my students approached me because his friend had a kitten in the dorms, but got caught with it and had to get rid of it.

I was torn. I obviously needed to talk to Mr. A, but figured he would say no, so I told the student no, but if he didn’t find anyone over the weekend to let me know on Monday.

Of course it was all I could think about.

Eventually, I brought it up to Mr. A while we were driving to Mville for the weekend. He was really receptive and I told him that we didn’t even have to keep it, but he and I would be in a better position to find a good home for the kitten than 2 college freshmen who are in a rush to get rid of it. He agreed.

And then he said that really, we would never let the kitten go. Squeeee.

I was so flipping excited.

So I e-mailed the student on Saturday night and then proceeded to check my email every 20 minutes. Like a crazy cat lady person.

Nothing. Nothing Saturday. Or Sunday. Or even Monday morning.

I figured he found someone and just didn’t want to tell me.

I was ready for it.

He came into class and never acted like he knew anything. So when he came up to my desk to ask me a question about the homework, I asked him if they had found someone for the kitten. And wouldn’t you know, they hadn’t!

In the most excited 12 year old girl voice I said, “We’ll take it!!”

Again, dorky me is coming out.

He seemed excited to no longer be hiding a kitten, but also seemed to think we would be a good home for it. He would be done at 11, so we arranged for me to meet him in front of his dorm at 11:30 that day.

That mean that when I got out of teaching class at 10, then I would be the proud owner of a kitten in an hour and a half. Which meant that I had to go buy a few things. And since Mr. A and I have never owned a cat, there was a lot of very quick Googling “first day with a kitten”.

Yes. I actually googled that. Whatever. You would have done the same.

Mr. A and I drove to the dorm and since I didn’t know which of the 27 doors he would be at, I started walking around the building like a creeper. He and his friends walked out with the kitten in a carrier and a box full of her things. I guess they got her from another girl, so they gave me everything they had for her, which was nice because then she would have some things that were familiar in a very new place.

The boys were so sweet. Her actual owner said good bye and looked like he was getting choked up. I felt awful, but I also knew a kitty deserved more than a life of being hidden in a dorm room.

Her first day here went well. She was a little timid, but very quickly got over that. We are keeping her in the bathroom while we aren’t home and while we sleep just because she is so small. And she could very easily hide in very small spaces. Have I mentioned she weighs no more than 2 pounds?! Yeah. Tiny. We’re thinking 8 weeks.

“Mom, I’m napping! The flash is so bright! They can see pictures of me later.”

I shall pause for squeees…

So yeah.

We named her Scout, from To Kill a Mockingbird and the name fits her personality to a T. She’s been very adventurous today and has decided that her new favorite game is to hide under the bed, and while I’m folding and putting clothes away, she will attack my feet and then run back under the bed. She’s a spunky one.

We really don’t know much about raising a kitten, but thanks to some awesome online friends and my new grad school friends with cats, everyone is giving us wonderful advice. Scout says thank you.

Basically, I could just keep writing about her and her cuteness and the funny things she does and the fact that she doesn’t quite have her balance so when she runs down the stairs, she gets too much momentum and ends up tumbling.

I could tell you all of that but I won’t.

For now at least.

But be ready for kitty to make an appearance on the blog via a vlog soon. Maybe she will do her super adorable squeak.

And I have become the stereotypical English woman with a cat.  I just need to quit while I’m ahead.

Back to School Goodies

When I was a kid, one of my favorite days was when I received my teacher assignment in the mail. Now only did I learn who I would be spending my days with, we also received our school supply lists. It was like Christmas in July.

Visions of new notebooks and pens and folders would dance through my head.

It was like a whole event for me. My mom would always start the trip saying that we would get what the list said, but we shouldn’t just buy frivolous things or the most expensive things. (I realize now how freaking expensive it can be to buy ALL those supplies. And some things on the list are ridiculous.)

I would wander the aisles, meticulously picking out notebook colors and coordinating folders. Searching to make sure I didn’t repeat colors, because how else would I tell the difference between my social studies and my math notebooks?!

The lists always said no mechanical pencils, but my mom usually gave in, or we compromised. One pack of regulars and a couple mechanicals. Pretty sure the regular ones ended up smashed and broken in the bottom of my backpack.

And then there were the crayons.

You could tell who was cool in grad school simply based on the crayons, colored pencils, and markers. Crayola folks. Crayola all the way. Those crappy Roseart ones were too waxy and never colored properly and their colored pencils were a strange color. Luckily, even my money conscious mother understood the importance of Crayolas. Even better? The package with the built in sharpener. How else can you precisely darken your outline and shade in the interior?!? Life in grad school sure was hard…

And this love affair with new school supplies has not decreased as I’ve gotten older. If anything, it’s gotten worse. I can now not only just go to Walmart with mom to get everything, I can go to Target, Office Depot, Staples, Barnes and Noble AND search the internet. The options are endless.

I mean, when Barnes and Noble and Target didn’t have any of the Molekines that I wanted, hulloo internet! (And side note- cheaper from moleskine’s website usually than the store.) Our living room is full of shopping bags from various stores filled with binders and planners and pens and highlighters and other silly things that I probably don’t really need, but man they sure sound important right now! I mean, colors and patterns and 1 inch or 2 inch binders and how on earth will I decide which pens I want to mercilessly butcher grade with?

My moleskines arrived on my doorstep today and I was like a little kid ripping open the box and looking at my pretty new notebooks. Thinking about the notes I would take in them about Beloved and Turn of the Screw. Yes, I am a complete nerd and I’m good with it.

But I figured I wasn’t alone in my obsession. I mean, how could anyone not like getting new things before the start of a new school year?

So, here I am with a Back to School Giveaway!!

Yep. Just for you wonderful readers.

I truly love giving gifts and just wish I had a never-ending checking account so I could send things to ALL of you. I really do. Unfortunately, until I win the lottery, I can only give one prize package away. (But don’t worry. The holidays are coming. I will come up with something!)

So here is what you can win:

I found some fun things that I thought would be great as the new school year starts. Even if you aren’t a student or a teacher, I think these things are usable and might just put a smile on your face.

Yes, that IS a Berenstein Bears coloring book in the back! Who doesn’t love to color? It’s a nice little stress reliever and I loved those books when I was a kid. So of course there are some Crayola crayons. (And hey, nice to have around in case any nieces or nephews or friends’ kids come over. )

I’ve been talking about these notebooks so much, that i just figured it wasn’t right to share. And I picked black because never know which color the lucky winner would like. Black goes with everything.

There are some pens and a pack of Sharpie pens. They are ultra fine and just great for notes and such.

And whether you’re headed back to school or not, a calming candle is great. This was a unique color combination, but it smells amazing. Might be nice after a long day, accompanied by a glass of wine.

This is a fun dry erase weekly calendar. Would be perfect for an office or a refrigerator. And black pens are boring, so i threw in some fun colored dry erase markers as well!

 

These were some fun Post-its. The blue says, “I’d rather be shopping” and the purple has some shoes.

And this was so fun that I bought one for myself. It’s a girl statue that holds two pens in her hands. She’s fairly sturdy, so shouldn’t tip over, even with the fanciest of pens.

So there it is!!

Now, for the rules:

To enter the giveaway, you must post a comment with one of your favorite school memories. Anything at all. Naptime, recess, school shopping, lunch, art class. Anything! Just tell me a fun story and you are entered!

For a second entry, leave a comment with your blog address and your Twitter name! (if you don’t have either, just leave me your email address!)

This contest runs through 11:59pm on Tuesday, August 9th.

I will use a number generator and announce the winner on Wednesday, and hopefully get it in the mail Wednesday as well!

**None of the companies that make these products paid me or paid for the products. These were just things I found and liked, so I bought them myself.

Good luck and have a great school year to all the students and teachers! And just have a great rest of the year for all you non-school people!

Magic

Last night, I, along with some friends, lined up in front of the movie theater at 5pm to see the very last Harry Potter film.

We’ve had our tickets for weeks. We weren’t lining up to buy tickets. My mom did not understand the point in getting in line 7 hours early.

But everyone does it. Everyone wants the best seats. Everyone wants to be a part of the whole event. A movie like this isn’t just a 2 hour cinematic feature. It is an event.

This whole series has been unlike anything else for me.

I have read these books from the beginning. I waited in line at midnight for the release of the newest book. I would stay up until I finished the books because I couldn’t imagine going to bed without knowing what happened. I’ve reread them and found something new each time. I noticed mentions in the first book that become so important in the end. These books were written so well that I can’t believe she was able to weave such an intricate storyline that the first scene ties in with the end.

Call me a nerd. Fine. I’ll accept it. But I truly love this story.

And last night?

It was magical.

Anyone who has been to a midnight showing of a movie that they have been anxiously awaiting knows this feeling.

You can feel the excitement in the crowd. Every person there is just as excited as you are. There is a common thread running through all those hundred of people. People you wouldn’t normally talk to or interact with or think that you have anything in common with, these are the people you are bonding with.

You make so many friends while in line. You get to know those around you. People will share food and drinks and snacks. People will ask if you need anything when they run across the street to Wendy’s or the gas station for more snacks. People bring games and before you know it, 20 strangers are laughing and and joking while playing Taboo or Catch Phrase. One group even brought chalk and was decorating the sidewalk. They even played foursquare for a while. One group had a tent set up and grilled burgers for people who were towards the front of the line.

In this day when people are less willing to help strangers and you have to be more cautious, it’s events like this that show me there is still some good in people.

And then you finally get into the movie. Everyone is talking and antsy because we’ve been waiting hours for this to start. I normally get so nervous that the people around me are going to talk during the movie. It is my biggest pet peeve.

But as soon as the lights go down, everyone cheers and then a silence settles over the entire theater.

My favorite part of these midnight showings of movies that people know so much about is that when a bad guy dies, everyone cheers. When something happens to a favorite character, you can audibly hear everyone gasp. The entire audience laughs at jokes that maybe casual watchers wouldn’t catch or wouldn’t find it as funny.

And since this was a movie based off of a beloved book, we are all waiting for those scenes that are our favorites. We want to know how they put it together. Does it look like how we thought? Are the emotions portrayed how we expected? Are those lines that are so crucial kept in the script? (And let me say, King’s Cross, in my opinion, was spot on. I couldn’t have imagined it any better.)

It was so fun to clap and cheer with 300 other fans was amazing.

Yes, it was 2:30am before I got home, but there was so much adrenaline and excitement that it didn’t matter. Not once during the movie was I concerned with what time it was or felt tired. My eyes were glued to the screen. I watched through misty eyes during those scenes that just broke my heart. And for once, I was the only one crying in the movie. I could hear a girl behind me crying and I passed her some of my tissues.

I’m not doing justice to all of the emotions I had last night. I know that. I can’t seem to focus while writing this, but this has been such a big deal for me that I want to write this. No, I wasn’t one of the people that dressed up, but I definitely was just as excited on the inside as those people.

I’m a little sad that it’s all over. Actually, I’m really sad. Since I was 11, this has been a part of my life. For 13 years. That’s unreal.

So for now, I will relive last night. I will go see this movie a couple more times. I will reread the movies. And a part of me is very sad that I have no more Harry Potter to look forward to. Excuse me while I go cry in the corner. And look up how hard it is to take care of a snowy owl.

A Million Things

I have about 20 different blog posts that I want to write, but things keep happening so quickly that I can’t keep up, so I’m doing a brain dump post in hopes to touch on all of it. I don’t have the time or patience to write full posts on each of them. (Also, if I have a million typos that I miss, my pointer finger on my right hand is all messed up since my fingernail separated from the skin. It hurts pretty bad, which makes typing hard, so forgive me. I’ll try to catch them.)

 

* This past weekend I headed home and it was one of those rare weekends where everything went well and I got to spend some great time with some of my favorite people. My best guy friend A graduated from grad school this May and is at home before he leaves for California in a couple weeks. He was one of my bride’s men in our wedding and I was so excited to see him. I had dinner with him and his parents on Friday night at my favorite wine bar. And they have the best brick oven pizzas. His dad was the one that married Mr. A and I, and since A and I have been friends since 5th grade, we go way back and his family is just so wonderful.

Saturday morning I got to have breakfast with my very best girl friend R, and we got to catch up. She and I may not see each other for a couple months, but when we do, it’s like nothing ever changed and we just fill each other in on everything that has happened. She is dating an amazing guy and engagement and a wedding is in their very near future. I now have 3 weddings for next year and all are for very close friends. I might be more excited to get to be there on their special days than I was on mine. The pressure won’t be on me and I will get to relax and enjoy.

Saturday night, my mom got some free baseball tickets, so my brother, his girlfriend, A, and I all went and had a great time. My team came back and won in the 9th inning. Always makes for some excitement and fun. And, hello, NACHOS! heh

* I tweeted last week that my brother was being sneaky and was talking about some sort of surprise. The hints he gave immediately had me thinking that he and his long time girlfriend were going to get married. It would not be surprising if they just went to the courthouse and did something very small. However, this was not the case. His surprise was taking me to see The Little Mermaid being performed by the off Broadway touring company. This may seem goofy, but my brother always jokes that he knows all the words to it and The Lion King since I used to watch them over and over every weekend. He thought it would be fun for us to go now that we are older, friends, and could have a beer while watching. It was a sweet bonding night for us and I truly have THE most amazing big brother. He will get his own post one day soon. He deserves it and so much more.

* Speaking of weddings, my butt needs to get in gear because I will need some very cute dresses and these arms need some good workouts.

* Unpacking is taking its sweet sweet time. And torturing me along the way. Kitchen and bathroom are the only two rooms that are completely unpacked, organized, and free of clutter and crap that still needs to be gone through. Not sure what to do with stuff in the living room yet. The bedroom and office upstairs are going to be the biggest projects, so I think I am going to tackle those and plan on getting them done before I leave to visit Mr. A next week. Here’s hoping.

* And I’m waiting to post apartment pictures until I get things organized and put away so I can do before and after pictures at the same time. No point in posting pics of an empty apartment with no way to show all the work that’s been done to fix it up. It won’t be fully complete for a while because I need to stretch the buying of a few things over some time so that it doesn’t break our bank account. I know I will need some decorating help.

* I hate admitting this, but it looks like the husband and I are planning on staying in this apartment for the next two years. I love the apartment, but it doesn’t allow dogs, and I REALLY thought we would get one next year. Actually, i originally thought we would get one this year, but since we had to sign leases in January, and money and everything else was so up in the air, that we couldn’t fathom agreeing to pay more for an apartment when we weren’t even sure we would have the money to even get a dog. And after this moving nightmare, we really would like to stay in the same place for more than a year. I haven’t live in the same place for more than a year for the past 6 years. I moved every year or every semester at times. It will be nice to actually set up a little home and decorate and all that. And maybe we will be able to save money so when we graduate, we can move to a nice place in whatever city we decide on and then get a dog where we settle.

* The thought of not getting a dog for another two years truly breaks my heart. It’s something I’ve wanted so badly for so long that I actually ache inside thinking about it. Lame? Yes. But also very true. Our apartment does allow cats, but I am crazy allergic to them. I have considered just taking a Zyrtec everyday and going for it, but my cat allergy is pretty bad and I would hate to get one and then it still make me miserable. I don’t ever want to be one of those people who get a pet and then can’t take care of it.

* Still on the pet thing, very tempted to get a bunny. I JUST WANT SOMETHING FURRY THAT I CAN PLAY WITH AND SNUGGLE AND TAKE CARE OF!!! Gosh. Any of you ever had a bunny? Thoughts?

* The cars in our family decided that they too hated Mondays and thought it best to screw with Mr. A and I. Mine started doing this thing that when I put it in reverse (I drive a manual), I lose my entire dashboard- no speedometer, no fuel gauge, no turn signal, and worst of all, no blowers or air conditioner. It wouldn’t even blow hot air just to have some circulation. So I would have to change the fuse after I reversed my car out of whatever parking spot I was in. And I would have to do this every time I had to back up. So today, I drove back home so that I could switch cars with my step-dad and the shop he works for can work on my car and try to get it fixed. Nearly 5 hours of driving roundtrip after making the drive home yesterday did not make me a happy camper.

And then Mr. A’s car got towed. He says the spot had lines like every other spot, but they claimed he was in the exit ramp of the parking garage. He texted me a picture of the spot where he had been parked and it looked legal to me, but since he had no bargaining power since he’s an out-of-towner with no other way of getting around, he had to pay the $200 fee to get his car back. After paying for a cab to take him to the tow place.  He was not happy at all. Especially after his car got locked in the parking garage on Friday when he left it there while going to the baseball game with people from work. It was not his weekend with cars.

* This upcoming weekend is going to be a great one. On Thursday, I head to Mville. Mr. A’s best friend G’s girlfriend, C and I will be getting in line around 5pm to see the midnight showing of the last Harry Potter movie. We already have our tickets, but people start getting in line to get good seats. Also, it’s just kind of fun to be with a bunch of people who are all as excited as you are about the same thing. We will get food and bring books and magazines and cards and entertain ourselves. My mother in law said she would bring us food if we wanted. Last time, people ordered pizza to their place in line. And then I will ball like a little baby when the movie is over. Not only because the ending is sad (no, I didn’t give a damn thing away, so chill out), but also because this is the end of an empire and a huge chunk of my child and young adulthood.

Then, I will sleep in on Friday since I probably won’t even get home until about 4am. That night, my MIL and I are going to see Bad Teacher. We both wanted to see it and since my step-FIL is not the type to go to the movies, we’re making a date night out of it. And then I will giggle at the people who will ultimately be in line for the HP movie on Friday. Maybe I should shout out the ending for those who didn’t read the books…  ;o)

Saturday my awesome Mville hair stylist has fit me in for a Brazilian Blowout. I know there was some controversy, but I did my own research and asked her a MILLION questions, and I’m going with it. I’m excited since my hair is truly unmanageable in this horrendous humidity. I can spend an hour straightening and smoothing and putting product in my hair, and 10 minutes outside and it looks like I just rolled out of bed. It’s infuriating since I do want to look like I care and try to look nice. And with heading to the very humid southern state next week, I  thought this would be a good time to do it. Also, I still have the rest of July, August, and September. All still hot months. I don’t plan on doing this constantly, mostly because it’s expensive, but if I like it, it might become a summer thing.

And after my fun hair appointment, my MIL and I are headed to the pool for the rest of the day to sun, drink margaritas, and have a girls’ day. Her friends are meeting us there and it should be a blast. Sunday will also be spent at the pool before I head home Sunday night. Hoping for a little sun on my pale skin and to just get to relax.

* If you have figured out or I’ve told you where Mr. A is, and where I will be visiting next week, PLEASE send me an e-mail with some restaurant suggestions, places to visit, etc. PLEASE. Mr. A hasn’t gotten out much, and I will have all day long while he’s at work to entertain myself, so I need help. HELP.

 

I think that’s it. A lot is going on, and before I know it, GA training will be starting and I’ll be in class once again. This summer is just flying by. And I’m pretty much loving it, but cannot wait for my husband to return. Sure do miss him.

Moving: The Aftermath

I really can’t believe my marriage has survived this.

Actually, I can. I’m being dramatic. But I’ve had moments that I wanted to pay for a second apartment so I could have one on my own.

I loathe, just like most people, moving. LOATHEEEEE.

There really aren’t words strong enough for how much I hate it.

Probably also comes from my moving back and forth between houses every week when I was younger.

AND YOU GUYS. How in the world do two young people have so much crap?!?!

I mean, we’ve lived in college dorms and college apartments. We still live in a college town in apartments that aren’t that big, yet we probably have enough things to fill a small house.

Luckily, we weren’t moving very far, so it was a little easier on me since I had to do it on my own. Even better, my MIL lent me her SUV to use instead of my teeny tiny car, and that made a HUGE difference.

However, if I ever get to pick a move date in the future, it will be during the winter when it’s nice a cold. Moving in 94 degree temperatures with 100% humidity is pure hell. Add in steps to the front door and now having an apartment with a second floor, and it was NOT fun.

I started moving on Tuesday, and by Friday, I thought my lower back was going to explode. I still need to schedule my massage…

Mr. A came home Thursday night and we finished moving things. I had basically everything done except for furniture and some miscellaneous things. We moved the televisions and set up the air mattress and stayed in the new apartment.

Also, pretty sure we put the fewest miles EVER on a rented Uhaul. A grand total of SEVEN. Seven miles folks. We only had to put one gallon of gas back in it. It was more miles back and forth to the rental place than between our apartments. We were done with the truck in 3 hours. Too bad they don’t prorate when you don’t use it for a whole day.

We got things mostly functional, but I didn’t want to spend my last day with Mr. A unpacking, so I told him that I would deal with it after he left so we could enjoy some time doing fun things.

BIG MISTAKE.

Yes, I’m glad that I got to spend time with him, but holy crap. Unpacking might be worse than packing.

The kitchen is the only room that is completely unpacked. The rest of the apartment? Not so much.

This fun pile is definitely still in our living room. Do I know what’s in those boxes? Not really. The stuff in the background is blocking a closet door. Luckily, the closet doesn’t have hardly any space, so I’m not missing much. Someone want a rockband drum set? Because I’m ready to just get rid of it. We played it for a while, but now, not really. It’s in my way.

These are the stairs. Doesn’t look too bad. Those two boxes are things that I need to take to Goodwill and such. Mr. A will freak out if I turn the stairs into a catch-all, so I’m trying to not get into that habit.

But the first pile is immediately to the right of the stairs, and until it’s moved, I can’t put our entryway table there, so the stairs it is. And they are quite convenient for purses and things that eventually need to go upstairs. 🙂

And the upstairs.

Please don’t report me to Hoarders.

This is utterly embarrassing. But this is currently what a corner of our bedroom looks like.

It’s clothes and miscellaneous crap that I need to find a home for. We went from a two bedroom apartment where we basically used the second room as storage for things we never planned on unpacking. We now only have one bedroom, and while there’s more room, we no longer have a room to jam stuff.

And I’m just being lazy and enjoying my time off. I promise it will  get put away. Probably early next week, but only because I’m going home this weekend. I’m in no rush because I know what works for me and how I operate. The longer I stare at it, the more I will hate it and will ensure that I take care of it the right way, and not just half-ass it. It’s a process folks.

Also, I’m coming off of just PACKING AND MOVING all of this. I give myself a week to not have to touch it. Eventually I will need more clothes, so it will happen. (And by shaming myself here on the blog, it will have to get done so I can take real apartment pictures to post for you all!)

So, there’s been a lot of sitting on the couch this week. Yes, being lazy, but I’m allowing it for myself. Do I deserve it? Doubtful. But my husband doesn’t come home until August 17th. As long as it’s done before then so he doesn’t leave me for being a lazy bum, it’s all good. I just won’t show him living room images on Skype. No need to worry him.

For now, I will watch SATC, drink wine, order takeout, and schedule my massage. I sure am lucky.