*Insert Creative Title Here*

I think about writing all the time.  As I'm driving down the road, or shopping, or falling asleep, I come up with incredibly witty and inspiring blog posts.  Yet somehow, as soon as I find myself in front of the computer, it's either Facebook or Pinterest for HOURS, with tv on in the background, and I not only ignore my inspirations, but also all responsibilities.  

Like today, for example.  I have every intent to do these
little coaster thingies for a craft show...ON SATURDAY!!!  I have 4 sets done.  I'm such a slacker it's ridiculous.  I mean, I can make them, they're easy and adorable, but it's such a daunting task to mess up an entire room of my house.  I HAVE to get my ass in gear....tomorrow.  Cause at this point, it's not going to happen.  I find comfort and ease in not doing ANYTHING...what kind of a way is that to live??

SO.  THWAD's.  This is my new blogging idea...and I don't know whether or not I should start a new blog altogether or not.  I had a professor in college that taught both of my Creative Writing classes.  She had a writing challenge for every student called Three Hundred Words a Day, lovingly dubbed THWADs.  :)  This is my new challenge to myself.  I'm going to shoot for 5 days a week, but secretly hope for 7.  Just a measly 300 words.  I can do that, right?  If not, I don't deserve to call myself an English nut.  I would really like to have a theme or something, but I don't know about all that.  That will definitely be a for sure if I make another blog...
Now I'm just rambling again.  I'm not even sure if that last sentence made sense.  Whatever.

I bought a new phone today, for A PENNY!!!  Yay!  It's this one.  The HTC Thunderbolt.  I've needed a new phone for a while, and I'm kind of excited now that I finally bit the figurative bullet and bought one.  I've been putting it off because I "couldn't afford" the data plan... but apparently Verizon is doing a free double data package right now, so I got 4GB instead of 2, and that made me feel a little better.  Soooo... I'll have a $100 phone bill now.  Super lame.  I still need a real job.


I've been applying like crazy, and not getting anything.  All the jobs I apply to on Monster I "don't fit the minimum qualifications" for, and the ones that I applied to on InCircle, I haven't heard anything from, one way or another.  A girl from work (Kylee) and I were talking about how we wish Santa really WAS real, because I have a LAUNDRY LIST of things I really need.  Like when we were kids and you write out your list of nerf guns, video games, and clothes.  Now I need gas money, a real job, and maybe a Kroger card or two.  I'd like more paint for my house.  I want my family to all be closer.  I'd love for Jay to not have to work while he's going to school.  So much more than toys and clothes.  Bleh.


I need a complete attitude overhaul.

Hot Diggity Dog!

Oh...wait...hold on.  **Checks previous post to see what I haven't talked about yet**

So, I owe you, dear reader, pictures of my sweet pup...which is probably a good time to upload them to Facebook as well.  :)  Since my last ranting/venting last month, we are 100% moved into our house, and have been making quite a few changes.  :)  The bedroom is completely painted, and I am THRILLED with how it turned out.  I got to use some old paint from the apartment's living room, and a got a little depth and texture with some sponge painting too.

I'M SO DISTRACTED!!!

Over the long weekend, Jay and I did lots of lighting projects.  We found a chandelier at Home Depot that had been marked down from $80 to $29, and a matching pod light for over the sink.  I HATED the lights in the kitchen, so with a little frustration, and lots of attempts, we now have new lights!!  So, while we were on a roll, we replaced the light in the hallway as well.  They're all brushed nickel, and I am REALLY happy with the way they look.  We replaced the light bulb in the yard light, and cleaned it all up really well, so now THAT works too...and we also bought solar lights to line the sidewalk, that look REALLY nice.  Like I said, lots of lighting.  :)  We kept all the old stuff so we can put it back when we move.  Just minor little improvements that we can take with us when we move again in a few years... 

OH!  And our refrigerator broke last week, on Friday, but we didn't really realize it until about 1am, so it was too late to call Larry and get it fixed...  So we hauled everything down to the mini-fridge...well, almost everything.  We couldn't save it all.  The worst loss was my Traverse City Cherries that I have been holding on to since 4th of July weekend, and had JUST FREAKING BOUGHT pie crust Friday morning.  Crap.  Soooo... I want to buy some from the Farmers Market and make one anyway... We'll see how that goes.


Uhm, what else?!  MY PUPPY!!! This is my favorite picture of her...for now...
She's such a bundle of energy, and a little exhausting at times...  Except right now, when she's sleeping on the floor next to my feet, because she's completely and utterly worn herself out.  :)  She's in puppy obedience classes, and doing pretty well, though she's typically the "bad kid" in class.  The super hyper, overly excited one.  :)  I like her, she's such a good dog.  She's learning so well, though.  Better from just us, rather than from the trainer.  She's got 'sit' and 'down' about 95% of the time, and 'speak' about 75%.  We're working on 'drop it', 'leave it', and 'down'.  She loves to jump.  So so so much jumping.

COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF ADORABLE PICTURES

9 weeks

13 weeks

She really doesn't sleep as much as it looks like...  It's just the only time she's holding still long enough to snap a picture!  :)

SO many things I want to write about...

I haven't found the time to write lately like I want to, and it seems that the only time I write here is when I'm super upset about something.  THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER THINGS GOING ON!!!

I HAVE A HOUSE!!!  This is INCREDIBLE for me.  Jay found a great rental house on Craigslist last month, and we looked at it (as well as a few others), and it is awesome.  It's about 900 sq ft (a little bit smaller than our apartment, but we don't really use our dining room, EVER, so it doesn't make a difference), 2 bed, 1 bath, full partially finished basement with W/D, fenced back yard for Sage (which is our OTHER big news...) and an attic for tons of storage too!!!  The only downsides are...the bathroom upstairs is only a 3/4, in that it doesn't have a shower, just a tub.  The shower is in the corner of the basement, all by itself.  Just a shower stall that drains onto the floor and then over to the drain under the utility sink.  Bleh, whatever.  We're making it work.  There's also carpet EVERYWHERE.  Including the kitchen and bathroom.  Gross.  I hate carpet in sanitary places.  Since it's a rental, though, we're not going to put a ton of money into it unless the landlord pays for it, or if it impacts our rent or whatever...  I have NO problem being used as free labor if it means I get to live in a nicer house.  :)  I am a TOTAL DIY'er, so hey, that's awesome.

SAGE!!!  Jay and I have a baby!  Well... a four legged fur-baby.  She is the freaking SWEETEST puppy I have ever met.  She just wants to cuddle and snuggle and be next to you and kisses and loves and omgpuppylovekissessweetface.  She's one of the puppies from our friend Rob's litter, half pit bull and half bull mastiff.  The first thing everyone says to me is, "SHE'S GOING TO BE SO BIG!!!"  Well, yeah, I know.  Duh.  That's the point.  She's a furry security system for my house.  Vet says she'll get to be about 60 lbs, I think she'll be a little bigger, but hey, we'll see.  We've just got to make sure to keep her from chewing and whatnot once we get the furniture into the house.  :)  She LOVES to be outside, and loves to play, and jump around, and she's so peppy.  The first day or two we had her home, she was a little more lethargic, but I think a lot of it had to do with having wormies and in a new environment and what not.  She's really perked up a lot the last few days.

(I promise there will be pictures added to this post within the next few days...still no internet at the house, so I have to write at the apartment.)

She's pretty much house broken already, and we're kennel training her too.  She's great at night, no messes at all, and yesterday was the BIG test, she was alone most of the day, because of work schedules and the concert, but she didn't make any messes at all!  :)  What a good baby.  Right now, she's lying next to me on the couch, just chilling.  She's so sweet.  She's not supposed to be here, (in the apartment, I mean...) because we can't have a dog in our building...  But we've had her for 4 days, and she's never barked.  I wonder if she will develop a bark when she grows up?  Hrm.

Otherwise...my life is a mess right now.  We're living in two places, and some things are here, some are there, there's internet and tv here, but we need to be cleaning/organizing the house, but it's boring and hot, and messy, and I'm just tired of it.  We have to move our shower stuff and toothbrushes depending on which house we plan on sleeping at.  We have the W/D at the house, so most of the clothes are there, and sometimes I wear the same shirt for two days.  Only 2 of the rooms have been cleaned to my liking (I think other people are gross, and I still want to steam clean the carpets in EVERY room), so I won't fold laundry on the carpet.  Our big moving day is Sunday, and that will make things better, I think.  For now, I miss having my cat around...(who, by the way, is having a TERRIBLE time with the puppy.  She's not a happy kitty...She's very used to ruling the roost... I think she'll warm up to Sage as time goes on...)  I really want someone to just move all my stuff for me.  I don't want to pack anymore, I don't want to clean, I just want to chill out and enjoy my house.  Although I am having fun painting my bedroom so far...I just have to find the motivation to finish it.  Which is what I *should* be doing right now, but I'm exhausted.  So here I am.  Also, watching SYTYCD.  I am ADDICTED to this show, and I'm glad I get to watch it before we get our cable switched.  :)  Jay is going to have DirecTV come out on Monday morning to install everything, which will be better, because both tv's will actually be there.  :)

Anyway...  I think I've had quite enough run-on sentences for one day.  :)  I'll write more later, and like promised, add pictures.  :)

Bitching?

It seems sometimes that the only time I find time to write is when I really have nothing positive to say.  Hopefully, I can just get this out of my system, and get on with writing about things of the more, uhm, well, ya know...

...since I got to talk to Meg a little, I don't quite feel so much like bitching about that anymore.  Now I'm just a giant emotional wreck.  I'm watching Nanny McPhee returns all by myself, and crying like a little girl.  And my next planned movie?  Princess Bride.  Yes, I will be needing a nap.  I feel deflated.


On to a more positive note...  Jay and I had a fantastic time camping over the weekend.  It was cool to hang out with Joe for a while, and of course, spend time in Traverse City for the Cherry Festival.  We clearly spent too much money, but I think that's become a common thing for us on vacations now.  We went to this restaurant, recommended by one of our Brewers at the restaurant, and it was INCREDIBLE.  It was called Boone's Long Lake Inn, and it's about 6 miles from our campground.  In all honesty, I was expecting a small, almost country corner bar/restaurant from the name alone.  Had we not been looking for it (with the aid of my GPS), we would've driven right past it.  As we pulled into the parking lot, a beautiful house/lodge building came into view.  This place was HUGE.  We made our way to the back patio, which was built raised above a ravine, so we were level with the mid-line of the woods we were in.  The boys had a beer, and I had an AWESOME drink that was layered Red, White, and Blue, for the holiday.  It tasted like a melted popsicle.  It was delish.  Joe ordered marinated pork chops, Jay had a bacon wrapped pork loin, and I had chicken and vegetable alfredo.  Pictures someday, maybe.
The rest of the weekend was spent outdoors, at the beach, around campfires, and just having fun.  Lots of sun on Sunday while we were downtown and whatnot, and a little sunburn for everyone.  I made less than spectacular steak kabobs, but whatever.


I think I need to go grocery shopping.  There's no food in this house.  And I need to get off the couch, and out of this funk that I'm in.

Much love.

As promised...

Well, the lovely miss Shannon Hagemeister has been on me to get this post rollin’, so here we go.

(Warning...lots of bitching in this post...)

First and foremost, my un-solved bitching. My computer crashed. I'm so mad. I managed to get a virus (w32.blaster.worm) that infected EVERYTHING off a website that I visit every single day. It sucks. So Jay and I spent a few hours troubleshooting and trying to backup my files and whatnot, and now it won't even start anymore, just a backlit black screen with the cursor on it.

So...Jay says call Geek Squad, but I'm not sure if they will even be able to do anything. Is it possible to pull a hard drive out of a computer and then fix it?? I don't want to lose EVERYTHING I have... The silver lining in this, of course, because there's always a silver lining, is that I have at least 98% of my photos backed up on my external hard drive. Which is great, because at last count, I think I had over 8000 of them. :) And I would lose my DAMN MIND if I lost all of those pictures... Pictures are everything to me. Memories of my life, my friends, my family. Priceless.

But like I said... I did my last "complete backup" probably.....right before Christmas or so, and I think I have the rest of them that aren't backed up still on my camera. :) So I think I'm mostly safe....but I can't even check. In the meantime, here's an adorable picture of my Sweetheart and I.

Ok, on to more bitching...even though most of it has been solved already. :) We'll start with draammaaaa. My gramma was in town last week. She's really a piece of work. My mom and Great Aunt (gramma's sister) have "diagnosed" her with Borderline Personality Disorder...so for whatever that's worth, I guess that's what it is...

For the background on what lead up to last week...when my Granny (great-gramma) died (13 years ago), my mom was the one that was in charge of taking care of her estate, since Gramma lives in Colorado, and Aunt Margie lives in Maryland. Upon the sale of the house, mom split the $$$, and gave half to Marge, and *TRIED* to give the other half to Gramma. Gramma said something to the effect of "I don't want it, do something else with it, that woman hated me, I don't want anything to do with her". Mom knows better than that, so she stuck it in a bank account, and waited. About 2 years later, Gramma wanted to know where her money was, so mom closed the account, and sent it to her. ELEVEN YEARS AGO! 

Now, fast-forward to last year... While my family was helping my Uncle move into his new house, everyone else was in the basement, and my Gramma cornered my mom in the kitchen and basically berated her for almost half an hour. All about what a terrible daughter/mother she is, and how it's all HER fault that Gramma doesn't know her grandchildren, and how Mom never gave Grandma her inheritance money, and on and on and all kinds of terrible things. They haven't spoken since. Including Christmas and gramma's birthday. Mom called and left messages, which went un-returned. Oh well. So this year, when Gramma came to town, just like always, we get the classic "Oh, please make some time for me in your busy life, I don't know you anymore, just an hour...." guilt trip. She always makes such a huge deal out of "knowing" us, but then when we spend time together, it's all about her, and HER life. SO...

When she spent time with my Brother last week, I guess at some point, she decided my little brother was worthy of being her therapist. She told him, point blank, "I feel like you're the only adult I can actually trust since my first therapist in Denver". That's a lot to pin on a 22 year old college student... So she unloaded on him about her terrible childhood, and how many people she's seen die as a nurse, and how her mother used to verbally and physically abuse her, and how my mother was such a terrible daughter growing up, and I'm sure some other garbage. My brother came home, and told my mom while PACING the room, visibly upset. So mom got pissed, and needed to do something. So I spent the week avoiding Grandma, and giving mom pep-talks, which led up to Bob Evans last Saturday.

In case you can't tell already...I don't feel like peppering this section with pictures like normal. I'm kinda pissy just writing about it. Anyway...

So I played phone tag with gramma for two days, and eventually ended up at Bob Evans for lunch with my sister. A lot of the reason it was a "double date" with Morgan, was to shield her from the potential of a repeat performance of what happened to Nolan. So I went ahead and invited mom too, because God knows, GRAMMA wasn't going to initiate any type of contact. It just got to a point where mom was pissed, cause "you don't fuck with my kids". :) I love my mother. So anyway, Gramma was LESS than thrilled that mom was invited along, but we all suffered through an awkward breakfast, of course in which Gramma talked about herself most of the time... And then Morgan and I excused ourselves, and left Gramma and Mom there to hash shit out. I'm kinda glad I wasn't present for that...Mom says it was pretty rough. More or less, mom was pissed, gramma was pissed, but at least in public, there would be no screaming or bloodshed. So at least that was good... The part that I think is Textbook Gramma is when mom brought up Nolan being Gramma's "therapist", mom told her, "You can't talk to my kids that way." Gramma's answer was, "Well, if you had it YOUR way, I wouldn't talk to them at all!" (Gramma is very victimized in her own mind.) End of story, Gramma brought up her "inheritance" again, (which mom had spent the better part of a week tracking down account numbers, and transfer dates and whatnot, and had ALL of the paper trail that she needed), and mom ended the lunch by throwing down the envelope on the table, saying "Here's your fucking money", and walking out.

YAY MOMMY!!!

I couldn't be more proud of her. These are things that she has needed to say to Gramma for probably about the last 6 years, and she's totally liberated, and totally freed from all the weight and stress it has caused her for over a DECADE!

I don't really know what's going to happen after this, but we'll see if Gramma acts like nothing happened (which is what I predict), or if she totally freaks out, and disowns us all (mom's prediction). Whatever. I know she's family, and all, but my MOTHER is my MOTHER, and I will ALWAYS CHOOSE MY FAMILY over ANYTHING else. Mom, Dad, Nolan, Meg, and Jay. End of story.

Whew... that was QUITE the little rant there, wasn't it. It's most of what my life has been consumed with for a while now. To break up the monotony, I think I will talk about Jay's school later. Plus the cable guy is FINALLY here. So Shannon (and everyone else) I adore you.

The moral of the story is: Don't fuck with my family.

Turkey, and my last hurrah!

Well, not really.  But since I'm almost leaving on vacation, this will be it for at least a week.  :)  I should really be packing right now, well, finishing, but I don't want to.  I'm still trying to gear up for work today.  It's going to be madness.  So I'm watching Glee Re-runs, and drinking orange juice.  I have a good life.

So yesterday I made TURKEY!  Jay had a turkey left over from Christmas that his boss gave him, so I cooked it!  I had taken the night off so that we could have Easter dinner together.  It didn't turn out perfectly, but it was delicious!  

The rundown:

Seasoned Naked Turkey

Stuffing

Last peek!

Mommy's secret!  Baste with a stick of butter!

Tools of the trade.  Baster and injector.

Looking good...

Done and toasty!

TURKEY MASSACRE!!!

Oh, did I mention there was dessert?

Yup, homemade strawberry shortcake!

So, all in all, dinner was awesome.  Made corn, mashed potatoes, and real gravy from the drippings.  First turkey I did all by myself.  I cooked it almost 5 hours, per my momma's recommendation, and it was still a little undercooked.  And we only really ate the breast meat.  Once I pulled the legs up, it was still pretty raw under them...  We didn't eat any of the stuffing, because it still had, ya know, turkey juices in it and stuff.  Gross.

Here's two pretty pictures of some birds.  In which I pretend to be a photographer. 

I need to get a fire lit under my ass.  It's time to get ready.  Happy Easter, everyone!  :)

Car part 3...The Final Chapter.

Well, long story short, the first motor I had put into my car was faulty, and fortunately, the man I had for a mechanic was willing to replace it with a second for only $200, the cost he would've charged me to replace a head gasket.  SO... Now I have a functional (albeit loud) motor, and my car is running again.  It's a lot to get used to, the motor shifts and accelerates differently, but it's fine.  :)  It's loud, because there's an exhaust issue.  Tim thinks that the motor that's now in my car was from an older (98-99) model.  My motor had a heat shield that covered the entirety of the exhaust manifold, and this one doesn't.  So therefore, it sounds like I have no muffler.  Whatever.  At least it's done.

Oh yeah!  Jay got a new car!!!  He just got fed up with putting money into his car, and having to schedule our car maintenance around each others' crap.  So at least we have a reliable car now.  He traded his in, and he had a few sad moments where he ALMOST regretted it, but he's SO much happier now.  :)  A 2007 Saturn Aura XR.  The one with the bigger engine and worse gas mileage.  Though on our way back and forth to Tawas yesterday, he was getting an average of 28.5 mpg.  :)  He's pumped.  It's Blue, but that's what it looks like.  It's an AWESOME car.  I'm jealous, but I can't afford the car payment.  Or ANY car payment, for that matter.  Boo.  So as much as I wish this was MY car, Jay keeps saying "I bought US a car" and he makes me happy.  :)  He takes such great care of me.  <3

Stupid Car part 2.

Alright.  So like I said, my car is 'sploded.  :)  I managed to get a good deal on a motor for $400, and also found a friend of a friend who would put it in for $400.
So my base price was $800.  Much better than the $1300-1500 I was quoted by the shop it was at.  Well, shit, I owed the shop $75 for looking at it and whatnot.  Crap.  Now we're at $875.  Then, once Tim (the mechanic [a Al Serra Certified Mechanic] who's putting my engine in) got into the nitty gritty of my engine, he called and let me know he wanted to replace oil pan gaskets, intake gaskets, and the thermostat.  For $250.  And I'm going to give him an extra $50, because he took his trailer and picked up my car AND replacement motor for me, rather than having to pay for a tow truck, and borrow my brother's truck for the motor.  So $1175.  Plus the $70 I put in Jay's car for gas running back and forth all over God's green earth for all this crap.  So, now that all is said and done, I still saved myself a few hundred dollars, and that makes me happy.  Any deal is a good deal.

Speaking of good deals, I have my coupon class Saturday morning.  So hopefully, I will start saving a TON of money on groceries and whatnot.  I'd Love it.  The only thing I'm worried about, is whether or not the things I buy all the time will be available at good deals like everything else.  I don't need mass quantities of chip dip, frozen dinners, bread...  There's only 2 of us.  Tons of yogurt and sour cream and whatnot will just go bad.  I'll have to shop in smaller quantities I guess.

I've gotta get moving.  Bank, get Jay from work, go get his coil springs, Genesys Banquet Center for an Alcohol Management class for work, and then, finally, home with my baby.  :)  Love you, blog world.

Stupid car.

So.  My car is fucked.  Sorry for my language, but not really.  While I was driving home yesterday on 475, my car just died.  RPM's dropped, everything cut off, and I was coasting down the highway.  I pulled over, called Jay, and got it to start once again.  I made it about another quarter mile, and it died again.  Jay came and rescued me, and after he got out of work, we had AAA tow it to CARS, our repair shop.  I just got off the phone with them, and apparently the piston rods are trying to break through the bottom of my engine block.  The mechanic says sometimes on a 3800 engine like mine, the oil pump just *stops* working.  For no reason.  Which may be what happened, or may not.  He wouldn't know without tearing the motor apart completely.
So the plan, for now, is to try to find a cheap (ish) motor from a salvage yard or something for hopefully around $500, and then try to find someone to put it in for about the same.  I **SO** do not have the money for this shit right now.  I'm so strapped for cash it sucks.  My saving account it supposed to be for things like, a house or a wedding, and that garbage.  Happy things.  Things worth spending a thousand dollars on (and more).  I'm super upset.  And I hate it.  I'm so emotional about everything.  I've been so tight on money lately.  This taxing garbage from Redwood is awful.  I'm losing, like, $70/week.  I know EVERYONE pays taxes and whatnot, but I just can't get my head wrapped around it.  It kills my budget like nothing I've ever known.  And I can't seem to catch up.  It's been a month now.  And my Bar shifts haven't started, I'm not making the cash flow I need to...  I even closed last night and still only made $75.  I'm boned.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I've been LOVING having mornings off to myself all week long.  Jay's schedule got switched around a little, so it's all about me in the morning!  I've been watching my tv shows, doing a puzzle, listening to good music, running errands and whatnot.  :)  Just some good ME time.  I don't necessarily always LOVE being alone, but it's been a comfort this week for whatever reason.  I'm almost done with my puzzle, and it feels great.  I really like doing them, and I've forgotten that, because it's been SOO long.  :)  Also, I found a Pandora Station that plays just Solo Piano.  Some classical, some pop-rock-whatever covers, but it's just great.  It makes me so happy, so calm.  It's a total Zen thing I think. 

So hey.  It's St Patrick's day.  Eh, whatever.  I'm not enough of an alcoholic to REALLY love this holiday like most people do.  I am going to go find myself a shirt to wear to work later though.  I don't think I've EVER been drunk on St Patty's... Jay and I had a great night of hanging out and drinking the other night @ Redwood and @ Kyle's.  That was a lot of fun.  It started out just being a "Let's listen to Luis' band play!", and ended up with he and I, Kaila, and Smo hanging out and bullshitting until (thanks to DST) 3am.  SO much fun.  :)  After that, we ended up at Kyle's house til about 5am, and STILL had fun.  It was just a great day.  Those are the kind of "drinking" nights I like.

I have to get movin' on some of TODAY's errands, now that I've been raving about how much time I have for ME!  Lol, I have to go get more birth control, a shirt for work, and my paycheck around 2.  I asked about 4 different people to have lunch with me today, but apparently, they're all SUPER lame, so whatever.  I'm on my own for lunch.  :)

I've completely lost my motivation for the gym.  After all the "100 day Skinny Girl" drama, I pretty much abandoned that, and that kind of sucks, because that was a serious source of accountability...  Even if no one would call me out on it, I would still post EVERY day, because I didn't want to let them down.  So once I got sick, combined with the drama, I spent 2 weeks out of the gym.  I went Monday, skipped Tuesday and yesterday, and I'm going to try to force myself to go this afternoon.  But I'm back to the place where it's REALLY easy to talk myself out of something.  I think I'll just go to Walmart during my errands and exchange my Jillian dvd.  Yep, that's a great idea.  :)

I've gotta get off the computer before my battery dies.  :)  Catch ya later!

Continuation...

So.  Hopefully I'll be able to get through a complete entry without distraction.  Here goes nothing.

Like I said in the last post...blah blah blah, gym, weight loss, yadda yadda.
There's so much more going on.

Jay's grandpa had Open Heart surgery...what, 3 weeks ago now I believe?  The 1st of Feb I think.  Jay's mom came and stayed here with us for a few days, and it was really good to have her around.  Little less dog barking, and it would've been perfect.  :)  Otherwise, I wish she lived closer, and we could see her more often, but we do what we can with visiting her and whatnot, and otherwise, there's facebook and phones.  After Karyn stayed for a few days, Grandma came too.  We had many nights of unexpected house guests.  It was ok, though, cause it's family.  There's always room for family.  
Preparing for Grandpa's surgery was stressful for Jay and his mom.  Grandpa was a very very high risk patient, and since Karyn is a cardiac nurse, she knew firsthand how dangerous of a surgery this was.  Jay adopted the attitude that "I just have a feeling everything is going to be fine", and for a while, I was afraid he was just in denial, and scared for him in case things took a turn for the worse.  I didn't want to be that Debbie Downer, though, and shake him back into reality.  I couldn't do that to him.  I know how devastating it would have been if Grandpa had not made it, but thank God, everything turned out fine.  We just visited him yesterday (he also had surgery on his leg...something that he's needed to have done for years now...) and it's astonishing how well he's doing.  He walked us up and down the hallway in McLaren's rehab unit, and showed us the gym and whatnot.  It was great to see him doing so well, and I know it puts Jay's heart at ease too.  :)

Also.  I finally left my job at Da Edoardo's.  Thank God.  It's like I've been telling everyone else... I like the money, I like the restaurant, I LOVE the people I work with, and (most of) the customers, it just got to the point where I couldn't handle working for Eddie anymore!  He's so disrespectful and rude, and I genuinely believe that he thinks every member of his staff is completely replaceable.  Yes, replaceable, NOT irreplaceable.  It's like he doesn't understand that the only reason his restaurant is as successful as it is is BECAUSE of his servers.  All of them, even the dumb ones.  :)  Anyway, I work at Redwood Lodge now, where Jay works.  It was a relatively easy transition, because I already knew most of the people there from Jay working there.  Combine that with a few managers that CONSTANTLY tell me how much they like me, and what a good job I'm doing...this job has trumped any amount of money I was making at Da Ed's.  For now, I'm okay not making AS MUCH as I was, because of the lack of stress in my life.  :)  Last night, two managers fought over me.  They love me.  I love being appreciated for the job I do well.


So the new job is going incredibly well, and I think that's about it on my life updates, too.  I want a vacation.  I feel like crap right now, apparently decided to get sick while I was at work last night, and now I just want to stay in bed all day.

I feel irresponsible with how much I have been blowing off the gym the last few days...  but God knows I'm not a morning person, and I haven't been able to find the motivation lately.  It kinda sucks.  I think I want to go sit in the sauna for about an hour today too...see if I can sweat out this whatever-the-hell I have.  I slept in past my Turbo Kick class this morning, which sucks too, because I miss that class.  I couldn't have handled it today though, not the way I'm feeling.  Lol.


I think that's it for now.  I'll be back when I have more garbage to talk about.  =]

Rambling incomplete updates...

Well, I started out today by sleeping in much longer than I wanted to.  I meant to leave the house in time to make it to a 9am Turbo Kick class at the gym, but I was so tired from this weekend, that I slept til 11:45.  Oops.  Oh well...I've been so good, I deserved a chance to sleep in.  So after I felt so guilty for sleeping in, I did the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, and made Steak and Potato soup.  Yum.  I just tried a little bit of it, and it's delicious.  So, let's backtrack to my life a few weeks ago.  :)

Weight loss goodness.  Like I said, I have joined 2 separate weight loss challenge thingys.  One is at the gym, lasts 6 weeks, and there are cash prizes for the top 5 finishers, by %.  I had super high hopes for this when I first started, but now, not so much.  I apparently don't know as much as I thought I did about diet.  Sure, I know the differences between french fries and good food, but as far as balanced diet?  Meh.  I don't eat very much to begin with, so eating "Healthier", but the same amount ended up backfiring on me.  My most stressful weigh-in was the day I found out I had gained half a pound, rather than losing ANYTHING.  Boo.  Apparently, I don't eat enough calories to successfully lose weight, so my body thinks I'm starving it.  So I'm back to eating a LITTLE bit of crap, and making sure I hit between 1200 and 1550 calories a day.  I've also abandoned my calorie counters on MyPlate (bad Lauren, I know), but it's so time consuming.  

I really feel like I should go to the gym right now, before Jay gets out of work...  I'll come back to you later.

Anyway.  I'm really glad I felt guilty for not going to the gym.  Today is the first day that I've actually GONE when I get that feeling.  I finally feel like I'm able to hold myself accountable.  :D  That's a super big deal.  So the other "Weight loss challenge" isn't so much a competition, as it is a support group.  It's a bunch of women that I have never met, and we're all just trying to be a little healthier.  One just wants toning, one does P90X, one is doing Just Dance workouts on the PS3, and I'm just using my gym every day...well, almost everyday.

Please see next post for more updates.  :)

Well hello there, Blog!

I've darn near forgotten about this, with everything that's been going on as of late.  Where to start!?

I joined TWO weight loss programs; one over Facebook that lasts 100 days, with some girls I have never met, but who seem to be great company, and very good support...and the other at FitZone, which lasts 6 weeks, and has cash prizes for the top "winners" by percentage of weight lost.  First place = $1000.  Whoa.  The things I could do with $1000!  

This post is POSTponed.  Lol, pun.  I have a boyfriend who needs serious comforting.  I'll finish within the next few days.

December Baby, Pt 2

Yeah, well, I was a little distracted yesterday during my post.  I was doing too many other things at the same time as I was trying to write, so nothing really came out the way I meant it to.  Let's recap.

I made money like WHOA over the last 6 weeks.  I averaged $700/week.  My best week was almost $900.  I have NEVER made money like that.  And yes, I worked my ever-lovin' rear end off for it, but I came out unscathed.  Yes, I did splurge a little bit, but I was responsible with the majority of it.  Now that I found someone that will do my hair for less than an arm and a leg, I will be able to get that little bit of "spoiling myself" out of my system and not break the bank.  Bills are paid in full, PLUS a little bit...quite a bit is packed into my savings, and Christmas is paid off.  I already paid Jan's insurance, and I will pay rent tomorrow, and have money left over.  I've got my big girl panties on, and life is great!

I really am blessed in my life.  Boyfriend takes INCREDIBLE care of me, I have a loving, supportive family, and I have friends that mean the world to me.  I already talked about how much fun I had with my family over the holidays, but not about my "stuff".  I got plenty of good presents from my family.  

Best of the best?  
**A faux mink feeling dual control electric blanket from my mom, and an awesome pair of boots that are half a size too small.  Boo.
**Daddy got me a power drill with all the drill bits and screwdriver heads a girl could EVER dream of, as well as a "basic" tool box with screwdrivers, pliers, clamps, wrenches, sockets...  It's a DIY'ers DREAM Christmas!
**Jay's dad gave me $100 for JC Penney, which I promptly spent on a pair of slippers, a new hair straightener, a mezzaluna chopper, and an onion chopper.  :)

My sweet boy got me a Nook Color!!!  (Uber Excited!!)  I am so impressed by not only the fact that he came up with the present all on his own, but also the possibilities of this tablet!  It's brand new, so the "Extra's Marketplace" (read: App Store) is still under development, but it runs Google's Android OS, so the capabilities are worth waiting for.  
It comes pre-loaded with Pandora, Chess, Crossword Puzzles, Sudoku, and also the ability to load your own photos and music and customize.  The amount of free books is pretty mediocre so far, but I'll look into it harder later.  There's a "Lend Me" feature, which allows you to borrow and lend books for 2 weeks with a friend, as long as you've swapped e-mail addresses.  :)  There's web capabilities, and for the 2 weeks that I had my Nook and a bad laptop battery, I basically ignored my laptop in favor of my new "toy".  The typing is a little awkward, it's a querty touch keyboard, but it'll just take some getting used to.  As an E-Reader, I've purchased (and borrowed) a few books already, and just today downloaded my free 14 day trial for a magazine.  You can also purchase Magazine and Newspaper subscriptions for the Nook, and they will automatically download the day the new edition is released.  Pumped.


So.  Hrm.  I have to pump myself up to deal with the next 2 days... then another 4 days off.  Or so.  :D  Anyone that has ever worked in the Restaurant or Retail industry understands what I've been going through the last 2 months, and it's rough.  I'm just bitter now, lol.  
**The man on tv just froze a banana with liquid nitrogen, and smashed it with a hammer.  I am amused**
Anyway....what was I saying?  :P  I got burnt out.  I'm still kind of burnt out.  I'd really like to win the lottery, (237 million right now I think!?) and just not work for about a year.  Travel.  Pay off bills, loans, and my parents' house.  Buy a house for myself.  Fix it.  I'm rambling.

I love the holidays.  I'm not looking forward to wearing a tuxedo shirt to work on Friday.  I am, however, looking forward to ringing in a new year.  
New possibilities, new beginnings, and new chances to make my life even greater than it already is.  I want to stick to my gym membership, and stop letting that go to waste.  (Or go to waist?)  I have to pay for it, I may as well use it, right?  I'd like to drop another 15 lbs too.  Hopefully all from my thighs, but we'll see how that goes.  I'm not usually one for "New Years Resolutions"... I believe that if you want to make a big change to your life, just do it.  You don't have to wait until January for "inspiration" or whatever...  Jay and I will celebrate our 3 year anniversary in April.  I will turn 26.  I'm hoping for a pretty shiny ring at some point in 2011... I think it might happen.  Hoping, but not holding my breath.  

Anyway...  There's a December update with SUBSTANCE!!  :D  It's time for bed now.  Well...a tootsie roll pop, THEN bed.  TAKE THAT, cavities!

December Baby

While I sit here and wait for my new Facebook Photo Album to load, I figure I may as well fulfill a December post obligation.  I hope everyone's Christmas was as great as mine!!  We'll start off with my incredible brother and sister, and the ONE out of 14 pictures that turned out well.  Well... they all turned out fantastic, but this is the "real" one.

And hey.  My family.  Can't beat them.  The first picture is "normal" for my brother and sister.  I love them.  Second, the first family "portrait" we've had in years.  Without tongues stuck out and eyes crossed.  Third, my sister and momma.  Big big love.

We ended up with 4 family get togethers this season, Thanksgiving, Fakesgiving, Big Family Christmas, and Christmas.  Spectacular, spectacular!  I got to see the majority of my family, meet new baby cousins, and spend time with cousins I haven't seen in years!  :)  What a fantastic season!  We also moved my little brother out to Kalamazoo to get ready to start his classes in January.  Jay and I stayed the night out there the first time we were there, and it was an all around good time.  It was great to see all my family, and that was most assuredly the highlight of the month.  
These are the babies.  I love them.  Well, obviously...who DOESN'T love babies.  Left to right is Allee and sister Alexis, and then Madison, and baby sister Nevaeh.  Allee is the only one that I've met before, but she was too young to remember me.  We had so much fun.  We colored, decorated cookies, played with toys...  Not to mention, I got my baby fix by kidnapping Nevaeh for hours.  So much love for that snuggly little girl.  She's such a happy baby.

Other than family, my holidays were pretty uneventful.  I worked WAY too much, but I made a TON of money.  Packed as much money as I could into savings, paid all my bills, and STILL had enough money to pay for all the Christmas presents.  :)  I love when all my hard work pays off...literally.  :)  

Anyway...  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Much love.