Not Me!

It is sooo not me who hasn't blogged in a really long time....

But welcome to another Not Me! Monday!

I'm jumping the gun a bit on MckMama posting her Not Me's, but it's late/early and I didn't want to not have time before work tomorrow. Make sure you go read everyone else's!

Since my last post, I have not been online each and every day thinking "Hmm, I should probably blog about something"...and then get distracted and not post anything.

I did not roll my eyes when Donny told me he was going to buy another computer. We needed a "home theater PC," didn't we? In his defense, he has been downloading lots of shows for us to watch via our home network. Yep, that's right...we have a home network, too. We canceled our cable this past week because we realized we weren't actually watching any of our many shows during their normal scheduled times. We both work weird hours right now, so we just watch our shows when we have time. We've both become addicted to Bones & are catching up on all the seasons.

It has been super cold here lately, and I am not already tired of the snow...we live in Wisconsin so we should be used to it, right?

This is not going to be a short post because I'm not going to go cuddle with Donny on the couch and watch Bones...via our home theater PC. :)

Not Me! MONDAY!!!!

Ok, it's about 3AM...but it's Monday! I'm not missing the blog carnival this week! I sooo did NOT miss the Mr. Linky cut-off on MckMama's blog AGAIN last week. I was totally going to post on Tuesday, too...but then I finally got my college acceptance packet!

Make sure you head over to MckMama's blog to check out everyone else's!

Here are my "Oh my gosh, we're really going back to school!" Not Me's!

Me getting my acceptance packet does not mean that Donny & I will both be in school...full time...at the same time.

I am not extremely excited (and a little freaked out!) about going back...

I've only been out of school for 2 years, so I'm not at all nervous about going back.

After browsing the school website tonight, I did not tell Donny that we HAVE to go walk around the campus before I start my classes...because I saw online that the bookstore is now in the University Union...and last time I was there it was in the library. And I'm not wondering (worried about) what else has moved!

I did not get extremely excited filling out our financial aid applications...because now that we're married we qualify for so much more aid!

We have also not eagerly been anticipating January's arrival so that we can get financial aid refund checks...to buy new laptops to take to our classes and pre-pay some of our monthly bills.

I really really really am not counting the days until we can drop down to part time hours at work to focus more on school. Even though we'll both be in school full time & working part time, our schedules will still allow us to spend more time together!

What have you not done lately?

Terrific Tuesday

Well, it's official... I completely missed Not Me! Monday again. From now on, however, I have no excuse. My work schedule has finally (slightly) changed. I'll be working 2:30-11 until I go back to school in January. I'll only be getting done an hour and a half earlier, but hopefully I can get my sleep schedule back to something semi-normal.

Today's my short day at work, but I'm still not excited about having to go. Silly work...it's cutting into my blogging and TV-watching time! :)

In the spirit of Not Me! Monday, I so have not been checking out this site off and on today:

Puppy-cam!

Not Me...Tuesday? (Again)

Wow...I've been slacking lately. I didn't make Monday for my Not Me!s, yet again.

Thanks for the get well wishes! It really did take me a week to get over whatever it was I had. Good thing I still had vacation time left at work!

Over the past week I did not just basically lay around, not accomplishing anything around the house...

Donny and I did not go to Sam's Club and purchase a 7 pound can of chocolate pudding as a gag gift for my sixteen year old brother, Ryan, who stayed with us over the weekend.

We (of course) thought ahead to what would happen when Ryan did not actually want to consume 7 pounds of pudding...and now I don't have a HUGE bowl of it in my refrigerator.

I wasn't extremely excited after my obsessive blog checking paid off and I saw that MckMama posted that she had baby Stellan!

I did not get all teary-eyed and just a little jealous. I also haven't been checking her blog every time I go online to see if there are any new pictures of Stellan and her three other adorable kids!

What have you not done lately?

Not Me!

As I sit at home, NOT sick AGAIN...I'm not (truly) feeling very creative.

I have not at all been enjoying being spoiled by Donny as he's taking care of me... He says it's no big deal. I have some sort of cold/sore throat thing happening...I can't talk much, and when I do it's only in a high-pitched weird voice -which is why I'm home...I talk on the phone all day (literally) while I'm at work. I'm thinking my customers like it better this way.

I didn't try to laugh (that would hurt) when Donny told me if I needed anything, I should just make some "squeaky noises".

I am not incredibly spoiled by a husband who, last night after picking me up from work, proceeded to finish the laundry I'd started, unload & load the dishwasher, and then wash the rest of the dishes by hand! He still found time to bring me my medicine, too. :)

I'm also not extremely happy for my sister-in-law, who got a new job! Yay Jenn! Congratulations!

Please check out MckMama's blog to read everyone else's (ok, maybe not everyone -there are sooo many now) Not Me!'s...I'm definitely not super excited for Stellan being born in 2 days! I really am wishing MckMama and family all the best!

It's Not Me! Time Again...

Please go check out MckMama's blog for everyone else's Not Me's as well!

I definitely didn't break my promise and not post until another edition of Not Me...but at least I'm posting on Monday & not Tuesday this time!

I wasn't sick again last week, and I didn't secretly enjoy staying home from work & sleeping on the couch ALL day.

I am not super excited for the midnight release of Fable 2 for XBox 360 tonight! Donny's going to pick it up for me...I mean, us...since I'll still be at work.

While writing my Not Me's, I so did not drop a pretzel on the floor and, just for a second, think that maaaybe I didn't have to pick it up because the dog will eat it soon, anyway... :)

Have you not done anything recently?

Not Me....Tuesday?

We've had another busy week, and I'm sorry I haven't posted since last Monday. Hopefully this week won't be the same...

Make sure you check out MckMama's blog for everyone else's fun posts! Please be sure to also keep MckMama and baby Stellan in your thoughts and prayers, since MckMama's been admitted to the hospital again.

Here's what I haven't done recently:

This past week I certainly did not put off writing my school application letter day after day because I'm kinda nervous about going back to school...

I did not spend almost all day shopping on Friday with my wonderful friend, Nicole.

While I wasn't shopping, I definitely didn't encourage her to buy the most adorable baby clothes ever for four month old baby Ian. ;)

I also did not volunteer Donny and I to baby-sit my friend Jessica's two year old cousin sometime soon because "Donny needs the practice..." and really it's because I used to work at a photography studio and I really miss working with kids!

It is also not 2AM and I am not finally making dinner (chicken cordon bleu casserole -I'll let you know how it is!) I'm actually getting quite tired of working until 12:30AM and not having a normal schedule!

Being that it is now not 2AM on Tuesday, I have not missed the deadline to link to this post on MckMama's blog!

Not Me!

Yay for Monday! Once again, head on over to MckMama's blog to read everyone else's "Not Me!" posts!

I did not spend multiple hours of my vacation this past week playing games on our XBox 360...

I also did not sleep in every day of my vacation.

I definitely didn't get extremely excited when Donny told me he'd go clothes shopping with me...and he promised not to complain once! (He bought some computer equipment this week that was really cheap -a school in the area closed and had a TON of stuff. I gave him the OK to buy some things, so he said he'd go shopping with me.)

I did not once (okay, multiple times) think "I should blog about this..." and then didn't because I was too busy being lazy!

Have you not done anything recently?

There's no way I'd do that!

It's once again time for "Not Me!" Monday!

Jump over to MckMama's blog to check out everyone's posts!

Since last Monday, I did not make the decision to take some more time off work. I'm a professional and I don't get burned out.

There are waaaay more than four pieces of apple crisp left...I made it on Saturday, and we definitely don't eat junk food that often! (I'm also not planning to make oatmeal apple cookies during my time off this week...) :)

I have so not been procrastinating with our wedding plans...I mean, there are eight months left before the reception and I totally have purchased my dress already.

I most definitely haven't been putting off doing things around the house today to watch shows like "Bringing Home Baby," "Hidden Potential" and, of course, "Jon & Kate Plus 8" reruns...

It also has not taken me almost an hour to post this short post because I keep getting distracted!

Fun Fall Day...

We had a very busy day...one that we actually got to spend together. Our opposite work schedules don't allow that to happen often, and this week we actually get two days off together!

After Donny had a follow-up eye appointment, we visited an apple orchard, something I've been wanting to do for quite awhile. We bought a bag of apples, some cider, a yummy mix to make apple crisp...and some caramel apples. :)

After the orchard, we drove down to the bay...

Not Me! Monday

"Not Me! Monday" is being hosted by one of my favorite bloggers (MckMama). It's so much fun to read everyone's "Not Me! Monday" postings...I have to say that my friend Danielle got me hooked on blogging. I've been reading her blog for awhile now and I didn't even tell her about it. I think that means I've been a lurker! Sorry Dani!

Here goes:

As not previously mentioned on my blog, I most certainly did not take our entire bathroom sink apart on Saturday to find my husband's lost contact lens (which I did find!).

After I did not take the sink apart, I definitely did not forget how to make all of the pipes fit back together correctly...I have expert plumbing skills, so that's just silly!

My poor husband also did not have to shave his face yesterday using a bowl filled with water from the kitchen because of my bathroom sink mishap. (Sidenote...I have now fixed the sink & we didn't actually have to replace any O-rings). :)

I also definitely did not stay in bed for as long as I possibly could today, make my husband bring me the mail in bed, and ask him to wake me up in "fifteen more minutes" about three times. Nope, I would never do anything like that!

Continued...

As promised, I'm finishing my post now that the laundry is done. We're so lucky to finally have a house with a washer & dryer...but I still hate putting everything away after it's folded.

What I've been meaning to post, as previously mentioned, are the details for our vow renewal & reception next May (and the reasons why we're already married). So...here goes.

The first reason is that we lived together before we were married, and planned to have our wedding in the church I attended while I was growing up. When we met with the pastor to discuss our plans, he told us that in order for us to be married in the church we'd need to first be married either in a civil ceremony or a private ceremony at the church so that we would no longer be living together without being married. He stressed the importance of getting married as soon as possible. Our second reason was that my grandpa was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer this past winter, and wasn't doing well. He'd been in and out of the hospital a few times and we could tell he didn't have much time left with us. I'd always hoped he'd be able to be at my wedding (he'd had heart problems since before I was born), and so we picked a date.

On the morning of June 7th, I'd gotten up early because I was standing up in the wedding of two good friends of mine later that day and I needed to start getting ready. As I was getting ready to get in the shower, the phone rang. It was my grandma, so my mom answered. We knew my grandpa had gone to the hospital the night before, because he was having trouble breathing (his lungs had been filling with fluid for a couple of months). As soon as I saw my grandparents' phone number on the caller ID, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. My fears were confirmed a few seconds later...Grandpa had died shortly after midnight.

As much as I wanted to be with my family, I went ahead and stood up in the wedding. My friend Angie was completely understanding, and I couldn't miss out on her big day! Donny didn't come to the ceremony as originally planned, but I went and picked him up so we could go the the reception together. We stayed until shortly after the grand march & then went to my grandparents' house to see my grandma.

The next few days were pretty rough, but we decided to go ahead with our wedding on the 12th. Grandpa's visitation was on Tuesday and the burial was on Wednesday morning. Thursday night was our wedding, and just our immediate families and the few members of our wedding party who could make it--one of my best friends had her baby just the day before!!

It was one of the longest weeks of my life, and even though Grandpa couldn't physically be there, we all knew he was there with us. Thursday the 12th was also just two days before what would have been my grandparents' 55th wedding anniversary, so that made it special for us, too. Grandpa had definitely given us his blessing, and had even left me a letter telling me so. He wrote that he was happy for us, and that his not being there wouldn't matter...he just wanted me to know he thought it was very important that we be married.

We are now planning a vow renewal ceremony and wedding reception on May 24th of next year, and are very excited to have our extended families and all of our friends celebrate with us. We're planning a casual, fun day at a park near my grandparents' house. We're having a pig roast and are hoping to just have a great, memorable time.

A Trend?

Hmm...

Last Saturday I wrote that I hadn't posted for a week...and here we are again. Hopefully things will settle down soon & I'll have more time to blog. I'm thinking this post will be in two parts...it's going to be a long one.

It's been another crazy week. We both had eye exams, since my husband was FINALLY added to my insurance (sure, it only took two months, three phone calls & multiple emails to HR at work...but who's keeping track?). Donny decided he wanted to get contacts instead of glasses, so for those of you who know him, it'll take a bit of getting used to. He's had his glasses forever! Even the eye doctor said "these glasses have seen better days..." It was definitely time for something new.

Immediately after getting his contacts, we had to go shopping in search of new sunglasses. We'd also gone to Steve & Barry's before our eye exams, and he bought more clothes than I did (and wants to go back)!! I'm definitely biased, but he looks pretty good. :) Here he is with his sunglasses and new outfit.

Sidenote on the contacts...we are now on day two & Donny has managed to take them out last night and then put them in today...but was only able to get them both in after he dropped one down the sink drain! I, the handywoman I am (yeah right...but I guess I have my moments), literally sat down on the bathroom floor and took the sink apart to find the lost lens while my husband got dressed for work. He told me I was crazy and said I would never find it, but ten minutes later the contact was cleaned off & in his eye. He thanked me, kissed me goodbye and left for work, and I was left to clean up my mess. Who would have thought I should have taken everything out from under the sink before I tore everything apart?? Note to self: The pipes under a sink contain water...water that when coming out of said pipes will also come out with random dirt and hair that's been in the sink for who knows how long (gross, I know)...that will go EVERYWHERE. We now have to replace the O-rings that sealed some of the pipes, but I'm guessing the fact that they crumbled into multiple pieces when I took the sink apart meant they needed to be replaced anyway. :-)

Tonight after Donny gets home from work we're going to eat dinner and then at midnight we're going out to celebrate my friend Jessica's 21st birthday. We won't stay out for too long, but it'll be lots of fun!

I'm off to fold some laundry and check on dinner (yay for slow cookers!), and then I'll post part two!

Lazy Day Off

It's Saturday again (and I haven't posted since the last one), so I decided it was time. I've been enjoying my day off (currently I have off on Fridays and Saturdays), reading some fun blogs and just plain old relaxing.

Over the past week we have:

a) decided that we we both be going back to school soon
-For me it's because I withdrew nearly two years ago because the classes I needed were not offered. I since have gotten caught up in my job and just haven't gone back.
-As for my husband, he said he came to realize that he didn't want to have a bartender's schedule when he's 30, because it not always going to be just the two of us (and no, I'm not making an announcement...) :) He loves building computers and is extremely intrigued by all sorts of technology, so he'll be going for a Computer Information Technology degree. On another note, he also told me that he would love for me to someday be able to quit working and stay home with our kids. I completely agree. His mom stayed home with him & his older sister when they were young. As for my mom, she's a teacher, so she'd work during the school year and then spend her summers with us kids. It was always lots of fun, and I'd love to someday be able to stay home and just enjoy watching my kids grow.

b) contemplated getting another dog
-We'll see if this actually pans out. What we would love to see is a calm, relaxed Kahlua. She's only two, and still very excitable. When we do decide to have kids, things will need to be much different. We've heard that having a second dog actually helps to calm the first dog down, because they'll play with each other...so we'll see.

c) had a mini get-together
-Last night we had a few friends over for a small housewarming sort of party. It was nice to actually be able to have friends over...it's something that was nearly impossible at our old apartment. It was too small! We didn't have enough seating for more than just us, really.
-We were going to have a bonfire (with our never-been-used firepit in our backyard!) but due to the wet almost-Fall weather, we moved it indoors. Donny & I now have to find a way to consume two bags of potato chips (I'm not a chip person, really), two bags of marshmallows, two boxes of graham crackers, a pack of Hershey bars (this I'm not worried about...I'm most definitely a chocoholic), four bags of hot dog buns, and 32 hot dogs. Hmm...it may be time for a visit from my sixteen year old brother. I still don't know how my mom manages to keep food in the house.

That's all for now...I hope to post some wedding planning details next.

Introductions...

Where to begin...things have been pretty crazy lately. I am a 23 year old married woman and "mom" to a 2 year old black lab mix named Kahlua. I work full time as a customer service supervisor/assistant team leader at a call center for an online travel company. My wonderful husband, Donny, and I were married in a very small ceremony in June (for two reasons--more on that later) and we'll be renewing our vows and having a big celebration in May of next year.

Since the wedding, we began and then quickly ended our search for our first house (to rent). The mother of one of my husband's friends happens to own some rental properties. One ten minute tour & we were sold. The house actually was for sale, with a fantastic price. The one major drawback...only one (fairly small) bedroom. Our new landlord would really love for us to buy the house, and we would too, but our long term plans include children...and that just wouldn't work here. The house is located on a street that, in eight years, all the homes will be purchased by the city to expand the street. I've been told that that is a HUGE advantage of buying the house, because the city will pay "top dollar". We did toy with the idea of remodeling a bit & adding a second room...we'll have to see.

Our lease started September 1st at the new house, while the lease for our apartment ended August 31st. We were having issues with some too loud neighbors there, so we asked our landlord (through her son) if we could possibly move in a bit early. Through some careful negotiations, she very willingly agreed. The terms: two 30 packs of Busch Light...and we switched all the utilities into our names. The Busch-not my choice, but hey, in exchange for moving in a week early, I was more than willing to make the purchase. She has been more than accommodating...she even let us paint. We enlisted the help of two of my siblings to help paint during my birthday weekend, and we think it looks pretty great!

Here are some pictures!

Our entryway-before we moved in, we installed the new floor. Yes, we're just renting, and yes, it's just vinyl...but for less than $10, it made a HUGE difference.

Before:
Yuck.

The fun, yellow kitchen I've always wanted.

One of my favorite parts of the house...our dining area. We didn't have one at the old place.

Our "cabin" style bathroom. I've done what I can to it. :)

Part of the living room - my husband would be proud, I made sure to include most of his home theater system.

No pictures of the bedroom yet, since that's really my one unfinished project. I promise to post some once I'm done. As late as it is, it's time for me to start dinner...we eat late & go to bed late around here. Yay for second shift schedules.