Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Well, today was actually a pretty sucessful day. I went to work and that went pretty quickly and there weren't a whole lot of dogs because it was Connecticut's first big winter storm today. It was an icy one but I got to work pretty OK, it started to turn into rain after awhile, so it was a big slushy mess. I'd much rather have snow.
After work, I had to get my physical done for the WL nursing home job. It was actually nice to get checked out and to make sure I was pretty a-ok. I just have to go back and get the PPD injection checked on Wednesday. Then I just need one more next Monday and I should all set and ready to start work!
Unfortunately, I have jury duty next Tuesday, but if I'm lucky, I won't have to go. We'll see. But I had to call and confirm that, too. Also, I bought stamps for my Christmas Cards, but I'm short 8. I'll have to get more tomorrow. Otherwise, those will be all done and ready to be sent out, but I probably won't until the end of the week. I just LOVE the holidays! It's just cozy, magical and romantic. :) I can listen to "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Carmen McRae & Sammy Davis, Jr. about a million times over and over once the holidays hit. It makes me giddy...

Time To Start Over...

Thanksgiving went really well! All my food came out great, but I have to toot my own horn about my sweet potatoes! I think I could eat them 24/7. But the turkey came out perfect, and everything got out on the table on time. I was a little disappointed about my stuffing. I shouldn't have put in so much chicken stock, and cooked the carrots a little more, but the flavor was really good. Next time, I'll do it right. It was great to be able to spend a whole holiday with Jerry, too. He was able to help me get dinner out and I just loved it.
But otherwise, it's time to get starting over. I'm at my last few weeks at Planet Bark, and I start at Woodlake in a few weeks. I have to find something to supplement the hours a bit, but I have to keep looking around. It's sad, because I have to start saying goodbye to the kids. No matter how much I get mad and frustrated with how bad the dogs I being. I love them. I spend everyday with them and their like my kids, too. So to the ones that only board every once in awhile, I have to say goodbye to. I'm never good at goodbyes, because I am such an emotional person. But it's definately time to move onto something new.
I'm so excited because my parents are going away this weekend and Jerry and I both have Saturday off. It's going to be so nice to have the house to ourselves and be able to just hang out with Molly. We had a short opportunity last Saturday to do that, but work interupted us. But we won't have ANY interuptions this Saturday. I am a little jealous though, because my parents are going up to Stockbridge, MA to see the center of town get redone into how it looked in Norman Rockwell's Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas. They shut down the whole Main Street and re-enact the painting, old cars and all! I hope that Jerry and I can do that one day. It seems beautiful. My dad is a big Norman Rockwell fan, so he's super excited.
But right now, Jerry and I are super excited just to have some time to ourselves for once.
*Amy Drifts Off Thinking Of Houses*

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!!!

I love any holiday that has a combination of food and family. It just doesn't get better. And since I, by some act of a higher force, have Thanksgiving Day off, I decided that I would take on THE THANKSGIVING DINNER! I am so excited. I already have the stuffing prepped, it's just gotta get baked tomorrow. I'm doing Paprika Thyme Turkey, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes, Tiny Little Peas, Garlic Almond Green Beans, and I'm making the Gravy from scratch. :) I am so very excited. I just love to cook. I hope I never get sick of it.
Not to mention, Jerry has the day off tomorrow, too, so we get to wake up with each other (which has been rare lately), and watch the Macy's Parade and then start cookin'! Dinner's at 4:30.

But also, Big Changes... I got the job at Woodlake in Tolland, so I will be a Dietary Aide there. The hours are only 16 hours a week for now, but the HR guy assured me that a 24 hour/week shift should open and there is always opportunities to pick up extra shifts. I am so excited to finally be starting somewhere else, but the low hours means I'm going to definately have to look for another part time job. I gotta start working on that, too. But I did give the PB my notice today. My last day there is the 14th. It's so up in the air if I'm going to get my bonus or not. Our bonuses are based on attendance and I barely called out this year. I would say that since the bonus is based on past performance that she would give it to me, but since I won't be an employee soon, we will see. It depends if she's feeling generous. All I know is, that money would really come in handy.
I just really gotta get out of there. It just my time to be moving on.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to start school this semester because I didn't get all my crap together on time. I just can't afford tutition on my own and it's due on Dec. 12th. Can't come up with 2,800 by then. I have an appointment with an advisor on the 5th, so hopefully I can figure some stuff up.
Anyway, to anyone who reads this insanity I call a blog, Have a Wonderful, Safe Thanksgiving.

Changed The Header...

I changed the header a little bit, I wasn't super thrilled with the last one. But I think I like this one, but who knows. I had my interview at Blockbuster yesterday. I think it went pretty well. I'll know on Monday or Tuesday if I got the job or not. It's just a seasonal position, but I think that might actually better off for now.
Tomorrow I have another interview at the local nursing home for the dietary aide position. I hope that goes real well, but come what may. If I don't get it, then it just wasn't written in the stars for me. I'll figure it all out. I always do, no matter how much I whine and complain and freak out about everything. I keep my cool in the long run and it all works out.
But once again, I'm tired and I need to be asleep before my hubby gets home. He says he's got a surprise for me when he gets home, but he wants to wake me up. ;)

A Fresh Look For A Hopefully New Start...

Well, I finally got my name changed over which was a whole heck of a lot easier than I thought. I thought that I would have to spend my entire day in Willimantic between the Social Security Office, DMV, and going to Eastern to get my Transcript sent. But I was out of each place before 45 minutes had even gone by. I was totally impressed. So I have a new license with a much better picture ( I don't have fangs!) and it doesn't say that I'm under 21 anymore! Whoo-hooo!

Also, as I said in my last post, I have been spitting out applications at a bunch of places. And this past weekend I was getting wicked depressed because I hadn't heard from any of the places I had applied at. Very discouraging. But Saturday night, I got a call from a local DVD rental place and today I got a call from a in-town very well-known nursing home, that was looking for a diet aide. Both want interviews with me! I'm very excited, especially for the diet aide position because after 6 months, they consider reimbursing your school tuition if you are going into a healthcare field. Last I checked, that's what I'm doing! How great! It's only about a 25 hours/week job, but I'm hoping that both work out and I can do both. Anyway, I about to fall alseep on the keyboard, so I'll update tomorrow about how the interviews went...

How Time Flies...

Jerry and I are back from our honeymoon and finally back into our old routine.

I have applied to Manchester Community College for an Occupational Therapy Assistant Associates Degree. And I am currently looking around for finding a new job. I'm still not into the dog thing anymore. It's definately time to start over.

There's a great Gym in Vernon that I absolutely love. I had a membership there a couple years ago, and I was thinking about getting a job at their front desk. I'm hoping maybe I could get a discounted membership, if not a free one. Because once I get going at school and with a new job, I won't be as active as I am at PB. So the gym would pretty much force me to keep moving, which I need to do. Especially if I want to be a healthy mommy. Not that I will be one in the Very near future, but once I get through school and we get a house, kids will be on the way. Probably within the next 5-7 years.
And speaking of houses, now that the wedding is over, I am in total house mode. I watch nothing but HGTV and stare at realtor.com. But we have a lot more saving to do, and I need to get a much better job before the house will come alive.

That's all for now, I'm sure I'll be venting about something soon..

Are You Kidding Me? 3 Weeks??

Well, it's not officially less than 3 weeks away from the day that I will marry the best fella in the world. I'd love to say that I'm super excited, but right now, I can't wait to be married to Jerry and I'm excited to be his wife. But I'm not very excited for the day of, I don't think. Not yet anyway, maybe the Wednesday before the wedding when I don't have to worry about work anymore.
I have kind of gotten over the stress at work thing. I still know that I'm done with this line of work, but I'm at the point where I'll survive for the next couple weeks. Probably because I have a plan now. Once we get back from the honeymoon, I want to get my name changed right away. After that's all set, I'll get enrolled in school, then start throwing applications at some stores like Williams-Sonoma, Stonewall Kitchen, Papyrus, L.L. Bean. I'm hoping they'll be looking for Holiday help at that time. I'd prefer Williams-Sonoma or Stonewall Kitchen. I figure I'll work my ass off during the holidays and school break, then I'll start school in January. Probably still be working my ass off.

Nothing Like Fried Green Tomatoes...

What a great freakin' movie... Anyway.... I got to have the house to myself tonight. It has been a VERY long time since that's happened. I pampered myself big time. I used a face mask, and lip mask, and showered with a sugar scrub and did my nails. I just wanted to relax today, and I'm glad I got a chance to. I've wanting to do things so much on my days off lately, that I have feel like I couldn't catch up. But it was nice to not have to do anything.
Otherwise, my life has been consumed with mostly wedding. I've wrapped my attendant gifts and began writing my thank you's for the girls. Speaking of my girls, I talked to Robin today and I guess Asia's dress is huge on her. And that was the smallest size they had and the alterations that need to get done will probably cost as much as the dress did. I feel bad that she has to go through all that. I've also been looking for hairstyles for Robin to pick for the wedding today. She said she couldn't make up her mind, so I picked out about 7 for her to pick from. They're all pretty cute I think, but the wavy ones, I think would look best with her hair. I'm so excited and I just can't wait for the wedding. I have about 23 days left and it's coming up quick. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with the young man who is playing guitar at our ceremony and then I can put the programs together.
Then the week after that, LA's birthday is Thursday and my Bachelorette Party is on Friday. I'm so excited, but a little freaked out because after that weeked in will actually be October. Then that leaves 14 days to go. Oh my god! This is crazy. It'll be time to bake cookies before I know it!

Everything Is Falling Into Place & The Drive In

So the deadline is up. We've falling into about 94 people coming to the wedding. Not too bad considering I was a little concerned about having too many people for the room that we have, but it looks like everything is gonna work out perfect. And I'm at the point now, where I'm not freaking out about anything and just letting it roll. And everything will be fine. So far, that's working, so if it ain't broke, right?
The last few details just need to be ironed out and then we will be in business and ready for gettin' hitched! I'm excited, not so nervous, but definately ready for it all to be over and not really have to think about it anymore. I just want to be Mrs.

And last night, Jerry and I had a date night. I had never been to the Drive-In Theater before and Jerry has always wanted to take me. So last night was the night. We filled the back of my SUV with blankets and pillows. We threw up the hatch and then watched Superbad out the back of my truck. It was so nice to be able to cuddle under the blankets and then you know, make out a little. ;) We don't generally do date stuff so it was nice to be out of the house, but still be comfortable.

I'm Getting Married in 32 Days...

Last night, Jerry and I got together with our Justice of the Peace. He's so freaking awesome. He is an English teacher at a private school in Hartford, and he has just a great, jolly, theatrical personality. I think that picking him as our JP was the best decision that Jerry and I made about this wedding. And I'm glad because the actual ceremony is the most important thing about this whole getting married thing. It was great to have his reassurance that everything will go beautifully, and I love the fact that he loves the arrangement I made for the ceremony. It makes me feel very confident. The other great thing about our JP is that he wouldn't take any money, he just asked that we make a donation to Habitat for Humanity. He's just the coolest.
And today when I got home, I dyed my garter red, I cut out my hankie cards and my camera cards for the tables, and I made an appointment with the guitarist, and got together with Sam for the details for myBachelorette Party in a couple weeks! I feel accomplished today. But right now, I'm exhausted. I haven't been up until midnight in a long time...

My Second Kayaking Trip...

What an adventure we had today... We woke up this morning with all plans for Jerry and I to go kayaking today. And tomorrow I have plans to go out kayaking with my cousin and her fiance. So today we went to EMS in Manchester to rent our kayaks, just to find out that I really should have put my name down ahead of time(even though when I called them THREE times about renting, nobody suggested to me that maybe I should reserve the boats I wanted, but anyway). So after being a little disappointed, we ended up renting two 12ft boats from the EMS in West Hartford, and then took them down to Bolton Lake. Jerry actually had a really good time, better than he expected. He really started to seem like he was having fun once he let his guard down a bit.
The strapping down of my kayak onto my "sport utility vehicle", was a mess. I have dual exhaust pipes on either side of my car in the back, making it impossible to tie the stern to the back with the nylon straps they give you without it melting next to the exhaust. Which happened and I needed to pull over on the side of the highway to fix it. And then on the way back was a fiasco, too because the kayak kept shifting on top of my car because it was so windy I guess. I was so scared I was going to loose it off the top and it fly off in the middle of Downton Hartford on I-84 and cause and accident. But I got it there in one piece and I can't wait to go again, tomorrow. I'm just hoping the person in Manchester could maybe figure something out better to tie the kayak down. I really want the Thule Hulla-port rack for the kayak, because I definately want to invest in one by next year. :)

It's Looking Like I'm Using Titles Again...

Today was a much better day at work, even though I had to be there from 6:30am to 7:00pm. I used the Rescue Remedy Pastilles before I went on the floor with the dogs, and I really think that it helped me hold my patience and tolerance longer. After about 2 hours, I started feeling irritated at some of the dogs again. But for the most part, everyone had either gone into naptime on the morning shift, or left on the afternoon shift, by the time those 2 hours were up. Today was only my first day using it, but I have confidence that it will help me for now and I guess that's all I really need. I'm just trying to get by at this point.
Jerry came to visit me at lunch today and brought Panera. I originally wanted this Strawberry Chicken Salad with Poppyseeds, but apparently that was just a summer thing. Instead, he brought me this really freakin' awesome Asian Sesame Chicken Salad. It had cilantro in it and the dressing was to die for. I was tasting it the whole rest of the day. It's a definate "get it again". And then when I got home, he had a wonder salmon dinner waiting for me. It was really good, too. It had a honey balsamic mustard sauce with roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. He's the best.
I didn't have much time to do much else today, I showered and meditated. I'm trying to make meditation a daily habit for me, at least once a day, if not twice. Morning and Night. I found a couple podcast guided mediations that are helping a lot, but I still have a lot of work to do before I can relax enough to allow my body to surrender. I didn't do to well tonight, but I'll try again tomorrow.
I think I'm going kayaking again this weekend! Yeah! Jerry said he would go with me on Saturday, and my cousin LA and her fiance want to go on Sunday. I'm so excited to go again. It's gonna be so much fun. But I gotta get up early in the morning again, so off to my sweet sweet slumber.

Three Strikes

All the stress and pressure that I had been feeling about work this weekend, were absolutely tossed in my face today. I went out with the dogs for the first half of the afternoon, and my anxiety level was at an all time high. I was grinding my teeth(which I noticed that I have been doing a lot of that lately, all the time, not just at work), and just lost all patience. All the dogs were awful with each other and I just felt like I had absolutely no control over the situation at all. With that being stated, I feel like I'm close to another break down and this would be the third that I have had just being at this job for 2 years. Unfortunately, this third one doesn't seem to be fused by my other coworkers as it has in the past. This time it's the dogs. I don't feel a connection with most of them anymore. Of course, there are the few that I absolutely adore, but most of them, when I look at them, I get nothing but a feeling of frustration. And that's not healthy, for me or for them.
Three strikes and I'm out. I realized today that it's time to get looking to move on. And like I said yesterday, I'm scared, but it's something that I really have to do to regain my mind and soul. This job was supposed to be awesome for my psyche. I was going to have constant contact with animals. But I think that there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing" and dealing with 50 different dogs everyday is like working the lunch patrol in a high school where all the kids do shitty things to each other and no one has any idea why. I hate high school kids, I hated high school kids when I was a high school kid. It's just not something I have the patience to put up with. I guess, it's just time to move on. There is a physical therapy office in town that I'm going to see if they need a receptionist/secretary. Just to get my feet wet in the therapy industry. But we'll see if that works out.
Until I do find a replacement job, I found something that I hope will be able to get me through an ordinary work day. I went to Whole Foods after work today to get some shitake mushrooms for a stir fry I am making on Thursday, and to see if they sold books(which I didn't see), and I had heard about a Bach Flower Remedy called Rescue Remedy from my old Naturopathic Physician I went to. She never suggested it to me, because I was never is super stressful situations that I couldn't handle then. But I knew it came highly recommended by her so I looked for it in the vitamin aisle. Now I only remembered it in liquid drop form, but the sales girl there, showed me that they had little pastilles, that you can suck on or just put under your tongue. So I figured that would be a lot easier for me to do before and while being with the dogs, rather than the drops. So I purchased them, and I have all intentions of trying it out tomorrow.
Another thing I am doing to try to combat the stress I'm feeling and just to just try to get back into my own head, is meditation. I have discovered the wonderful world of Podcasts. They have awesome guided meditations and have done a few so far and I seem to like it. But I have written alot already today so I'll talk more about it on a day that I have nothing to talk about.

Jumping Hurdles?

So even though I've had a pretty good last few days, I don't feel right. And I'm thinking that I'm going through a transitional period in my life. Of course, I am, right? I'm getting married in 40 days. Sure, that's a big thing, but that is the last thing on my mind right now. I'm worried about changing career fields and how to go about it. I plan on going back to school in the spring, but I don't know what to do while I'm there for work. I think it would have to be more afternoon and night work, because the classes run during the day. I've never done that kind of work before, restaurant, retail, etc. , I've always been an AM shift kinda girl. And I guess that worries me, but I'm also very worried about moving into another career. I've been doing this for 7 years, since I was 16, my entire work experience is in the pet care industry. Getting away from that is a little scary to me. But I just don't feel like I used to when I was with the dogs. I feel me losing my patience with them quicker and I just feel emotionally beat up. I think we just have too many dogs that are unstable and it's transferring into me. Not to mention, it's pretty dead end. I make pretty good money for what I do in this industry, but don't let me fool you. That is still not enough to make a living on. That's another reason why I don't have a desire to just try going somewhere else. This was my dream job. And now I know I should have never put it up on a pedestal like that. But at the same time, maybe I'm just feeling like I got over that hurdle and accomplished working what I thought was my dream job. And maybe it's just time for a new hurdle to jump.

Culinary Queen

When I was on my way home from work yesterday morning, I felt so good. I was organized at work and and the air was nice and crisp. So I stopped at the Farmer's Market on the Green and felt inspired. I saw some beautiful, fresh butternut squash and then instantly thought SOUP! I love making real Butternut Squash Apple Soup. So I picked up the squash, some apples, and celery. So I spent most of my Saturday making it. It was really good!
Then today, my dad was going to make Meatloaf for dinner, and since his way of making meatloaf is mixing ground turkey and salsa together... I put a kibosh on that. I made the meatloaf with carrots, celery, onion and garlic, plus other stuff, but that's what makes it good, I think. And then Dad asked what we were going to have for dinner. So I said we have red potatoes and I still had some Havarti Dill Cheese and light cream left over from other creations so I put those together for Mashed Potatoes. Oooo... Those ended up being real good. Just needs a little bit more cheese next time, but otherwise very good. Not sure what's gotten into me, but I love it. I think the fact that it's not so hot out, the kitchen doesn't get uncomfortably hot. But anyway, we'll see what I cook up tomorrow!

Not too much has gone on in the past few days.
Tuesday, I had my dress fitting, which went pretty good. The only big issue was the shoes that I bought for the wedding. The day I bought them, they were great. I wore them all around and for 3 1/2 inch heels, they were pretty comfortable. But then, I took them to David's Bridal to get dyed because my dress isn't a total pure white. Now, I know this was probably pretty silly of me, but I didn't think of trying them on again. So I put them on when I had my dress fitting and MY FEET HURT SO BAD!!!!! I almost couldn't handle it. So, I'm going to have work those shoes in big time. Otherwise, the dress has to be taken in, and the hem length is perfect, so I'm happy otherwise.
Yesterday, Jerry and I drove down to Glastonbury to get our Marriage License. All that went great and then we went to lunch at this place called Houlihan's which is just right across the street from the hotels all the out of towners will be staying at. Perfect dining recommendation. :) I had pot roast with absolutely awesome red bliss mashed potatoes. They were so good. And the atmosphere is really nice, too. Modern and clean with dark wood and green tones. Absolutes gorgeous. It's what I would want my master bedroom suite to look like if I ever get to have one. *sigh*

Ok, so it's still like in the high eighties out, but the second that I started to see red and orange on the trees, I get giddy. I love fall, I love autumn, I love the harvest season. And next week is September and that's close enough for me. And when that happens, I have a tendency to want to listen to nothing but bluesy natural music. Acoustic? Even better. Just something about the season makes me want to listen to music with raw, beautiful, emotion. It helps me feel natural and free.

Not to mention, the moon tonight is absolutely gorgeous. She's as full as She can get and just glowing. I couldn't be more in love with the moon. She is just so beautiful... I love to just sit underneath Her and bask in that light. It invigorates me.

So the combination between those two things today have made me feel alive. It's that feeling that sits right below your heart and it just feels so full you feel like you could cry; but a good cry. The kind of cry that makes you feel real. I only get to feel this way for a short time. It starts just about now and will last until the new year begins. I guess that it's kind of a long time, but I just wish that I could get this feeling year round.

Tomorrow is Macaroni and Cheese day! Jerry and I bought this cheese(forgot what it's called but it's real sharp, not cheddar, though) at the Farmer's Market a couple weeks ago and tomorrow we're going to introduce it to Dill Havarti Cheese and Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheese. Once those meet, then they will get to meet heavy cream and macaroni! I LOVE THIS STUFF!
I can't wait.

What a wonderful day I had today. Granted it was pretty humid out, which generally slows me down, but I woke up at about 8am and just felt like today was going to be good. I had a nice big bowl of cereal and then took Molly for a walk. It was a nice long walk, and it has been awhile since I took her for one. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to hold the leash good enough since I hurt my fingers, but it all went well. She was so exhausted by the time we got back. It felt real good.

Then at lunch time I made an awesome parmesan and basil crusted tilapia filet with whole wheat pasta and mushroom marinara sauce. It was really good, but I think next time I'll try for a white or lemon sauce for the pasta. I can't wait for school to start for Mom and Dad so I can cook dinners again at night. I love cooking for Jerry and I.

And then today was the day that I got to go kayaking with Samantha! I had so much fun. I can't wait to go again. Jerry said that he would try it and see if he would like it. I really loved the feeling I got afterward. My arms and abs feel like I really got a workout. I really think it would be great for my spirit and my body. It was just so beautiful and it started to lightly rain and you could see all the droplets in the water. I also love the dragonflies that hang out on the water. I think this is the kayak I would eventually like to invest in. It's a Dirigo 14 Kayak by Old Town®. It's nice because it has a big cockpit for my big butt and hips. It's a medium lenth so I can do a little bit of everything in it. I couldn't be more excited about being a paddler.

I had a pretty accomplishing day today. I paid off both the photographer and the DJ today; very exciting stuff. I also made a trial appointment for my hair for the wedding. Today is 50 days until the wedding. Less than 2 months. Wow...
I also tried on the undergarments for my dress today... A little disappointing because of my back fat. My back fat is one of my biggest pet peeves about my body. Now I am a big girl, and I know that, but I feel like I'm pretty proportional, but when I put on corsets or slimmers, it pushes all of my back fat up and looks awful. So I'm a little disappointed that I didn't exercise more and take care of that when I still had time. I'm still gonna give it my all, but not much is gonna happen in 5 weeks. I did exercise today and I'm wicked excited to go kayaking tomorrow. Yeah! Trying to get over the back fat issue.
I'm kind of on the look out now for some comfy white robes for Jerry and I on our wedding day and honeymoon. I haven't really seen anything I like in a decent price range, though so I'm kind of sad about that, too. If anyone knows of any place please comment and help me out! :)

Everything went by so fast today. I can't believe how late it is already. We went out to Angellio's for Auntie's birthday. It was very good. I had a Penne dish with broccoli, mushrooms, and chicken in a Gorganzola Cheese sauce. Also, I had their French Onion Soup. Now that was good. Jerry would have loved it. He really like French Onion Soup.

After dinner, Tina and I went to EMS and I saw some very cute water shoes. Perfect for paddling. They were on sale for $25. I love them. :)

Falling asleep now..

Today was a long tired day.

I'm so happy to be home. Though there was a good news today. Jerry is going to be transfered about a half hour closer to home. I'm so happy, it's about time they moved him closer because an hour is just too long.

Otherwise, I'm ready for bed and still can't wait until Saturday so I can sleep in!

Well, last night after I wrote about wanting to go back to school, I did some more research. I went to MCC's website first because I knew that would probably be my best bet. So as I was checking out their degree programs, I came across something that I think may actually be perfect for me. I think I want to be an Occupational Therapy Assistant. Occupational Therapy is basically what can help a person who is disabled or in recovery to make independance possible. It will help people relearn and teach their bodies how to do basic motor skills to live their lives and get back to work if necessary. I just think that it would be an incredibly rewarding job, and it's a job that's pretty high in demand here. So it shouldn't be too hard to find a job. Yeah! I'm so excited. I'm going to call and make an appointment to talk to the OTA advisor at MCC and try to get more information about the course.

Also, Sam and I are going kayaking on Sunday! I'm so psyched! I've been wanting to learn how to kayak for years now, but I haven't had the money to take a course. But when the new L.L. Bean went in, they have this thing called Walk On Adventures, where you pay $15 and they shuttle you out to a local pond and teach you the basics of kayaking. It includes everything including the equiptment. I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!

Otherwise, I have had a pretty lazy day. I had plans to do more laundry, but I have to work all day tomorrow so I wanted to relax. And I am, but I did exercise again today! GO ME!

I Think I'm Giving Up On Titles...

Well, today was OK. My morning at work went by really fast, which was good, I guess. But it was more like one of those fast mornings that you don't have time to get anything done, then feel obnoxiously unproductive. I get over that pretty quick though, because I worked my ass off to get as much as I could done.
Then on the way home today, I couldn't help but think about going back to college. I don't know why because this thought almost never gets into my head. I think it has a lot to do with my being confused about what I should have as a career. I guess I feel like that will help me, and I know I could get a better job. BUT.. one of the reasons I left school (and believe me, there were a lot of reasons), was that I feel like I didn't have time for my family including Jerry and Molly. And I don't want to start something and then end it again because of that reason. I'm already tired most of the time and I generally can't wait to get home so I can just hang out. So I guess I just don't know if I have the proper motivation. Not to mention, I have no idea how I would afford it.
When I got home though, I became pretty productive, did laundry, made the bed, I ACTUALLY EXERCISED! I did both cardio and strength training. It's been a long time since I did that. I wanted to make sure everything was good for Jerry when he got home, too. He left at 4am and didn't get home until 7:00pm. That's a long day and I knew he'd be tired.
And now, I've stopped. My body has shut down and I'm tired. I still have a load of laundry in the dryer I need to bring up and put away. It better be dry soon, or my procrastination will set in.

I'm Not So Dramatic Today...

I'm just so happy that this weekend is over. I just need to get through the rest of this week and then peace. I didn't do much today, but this morning when it was just Molly and me, we cuddled on the couch with the BIG comforter and watched a horror movie. Nothing better. Then I went to work and it sucked. Then I came home and did nothing but pretty much make my final decision on the Wedding music.
Here's the rundown:

Ceremony(acoustic guitar)-

During Arrivals- Hang – Matchbox Twenty
Reflecting Light – Sam Philips

During Bridesmaids Walking Down Aisle - Deer Hunter(not really sure what this song is about, but I really like the way it sounds)

During Bride Walk Down Aisle- Mona Lisa – Grant Lee Phillips

During Bride and Groom Leaving and While People Leave-
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something

Reception-

Introductions – I’m Gonna Be(500 Miles)-The Proclaimers

First Dance - Love Song- 311

Cake - What I Like About You-The Romantics

Parent Dance – All You Need Is Love-The Beatles

Anniversary Dance - Into The Mystic-Van Morrison

Bouquet Toss – Another One Bites The Dust- Queen

Garter Song – Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen

Last Song- Viva Las Vegas-Elvis Presley

Must Play List:

Fat Bottom Girls-Queen

Rock Lobster & Love Shack-The B-52’s

YEAH! I'm so excited...

Career Move?

Nothing huge really going on. Jerry and I have just been hanging out. Last night we went out to dinner with a friend of his. We all had a really good time. We were there talking for almost 5 hours, but it was nice intelligent and amusing conversation. We need that every once in awhile, I think Jerry and I have a tendency to not talk much because we see each other all the time, so it feels like there's nothing to talk to most of time. Not like that hurts our relationship or anything, we talk about the important stuff, of course.

I've been feeling a little confused lately. I really love my job and I love the people I work with(most of the time), but I feel like I'm at such a dead end. I'm making pretty decent money for the doggie daycare and kennel attendent industry, but it's not the kind of money that you can start a family with. And not that Jerry and I are planning on having children very soon after we're married; we want to get settled first. But we need to be able to be prepared for it. It just feels like I'm not pulling my weight financially in the relationship. He pays most of our bills, and I pay for my student loan, car loan, and my credit cards. He covers everything and I do feel bad about that, but I just don't have the cash. It just sucks because, yeah, he makes almost double what I do, but it's not enough to pay for a mortgage and everything else that goes into buying a house. And sure I know that Mom and Dad would let us stay in the house as long as we need to be here, but we don't want to have to be here for long after we're married. I think it will just be weird. So, anyway, I need to figure out what my next move is. But it's hard, because this is all I know. I've only ever worked with dogs, and I have no interest in doing veterinary work. And being a college dropout(ouch! never thought of myself like that before), that doesn't help. I don't know. I just need to keep what to do next on the back burner...

Getting Psyched For The Wedding (and Honeymoon)

So the past couple days, I've been trying to get organized for the wedding and the honeymoon.

I've been making revised check lists and itineraries so that everything will go smoothly. I really have to make sure I get the timing down pat for the wedding, especially the ceremony. But, I'm sure everything will be fine regardless.

But what the best thing to make check lists and itineraries for is the HONEYMOON! And I know that it may seem anal to make an itinerary for the honeymoon, but there is so much to do in Vegas and we want to make sure we see as much of it as possible while we're there. Plus, so we don't waste a bunch of time waiting in lines for stuff, we want to buy tickets for everything we want to do so we have more time to enjoy it. And I know that it won't all go as planned and I'm totally OK with that. I just want to leave with some sort of game plan. Honestly, we just can't wait to have a nice long vacation. We need it so bad. We just wish we had our own home to come back to afterwards. But we'll get there.

A Great Day...

Today was a really good day. Jerry and I both didn't have to go to work and we had a lot of stuff to get done. We didn't accomplish all of it(darn laundry always gets in the way), but it was so nice to be able to just spend the day with each other. When we first got up, we headed outside to get some yard work done before it got too hot, then came in and took nice cool showers. There is nothing better than getting all gritty and dirty and then getting in the shower and feeling fresh.
Then we took a ride out to the new L.L. Bean store to check it out. It makes me want to learn to kayak more than ever now. When I think of the peace and serenity of going out on a lake in a kayak really early in the morning, it makes me swoon. Then we checked out William Sonoma to see if there was anything that caught our eye. We got two $50 gift certificates as a Bridal Shower gift and we want to just keep an eye out and make sure we don't miss out on something that would be great to have. We're still getting a bunch of shower gifts in the mail. We never dreamed that people would spoil us quite as much as they have. All of our family and friends are so incredibly generous and we love every single one of them. We also went to Target to check out luggage but it all sucked. We'll check out Kohl's someday. Jerry also bought me a NEW cell phone. It's so pretty and red and slimline and just great. I'm so excited to have a new phone, my other one was getting pretty grody. It looks almost just like his, but his is gunmetal grey.
Then we came home and relaxed. I finished up all of my thank you notes from the shower and those will go in the mail tomorrow. Hooray! I love sending thank you notes. I think people appreciate a hand written letter nowadays. They seem to be quite rare.
Well Jerry is on the Wii, but I'm Falling Into Dream Land....

For Some Reason, I'm Bored...

And I'm not sure why. I'm getting married in exactly 61 days and I just feel like I have nothing to do. Although, I probably have stuff I SHOULD do, but it's a matter of wanting to, I guess.

I just missed having the Internet know all my thoughts. This new blog will hopefully last as long as the wedding and then beyond into married life. I can't wait to be married to Jerry. Everyday I think about how lucky I am to have found someone to spend my life with at my age. 22 may seem like an OK time to be married, but we've been together for 7 years. That means we've been together since I was 15 years old. That just seems crazy to me. But we're just as in love now as we were then. At least we live with each other now and at least we're in the same state! When we met, Jerry lived in upstate NY and I in CT. I've never known anyone else to ever have met the person they marry on a random instant message on AIM. It just really makes me believe that there is something so much bigger than us out there. Even if it's just something making sure love goes right.