What a Year!

Well, I know that it has been a very long time since I last blogged, so I thought a quick post to end the year was in order.  This is a very hard post for me to compose.  This has been a tremendous year of ups and downs, so it is hard to figure out how to write something that captures the year, but does not dwell on the sad or b

ad.

So I will quickly mention that the year started off very difficult with the loss of my grandfather, followed shortly by the lose of my best friends father.  It is hard to see people you care about go, especially when it does not come with any real warning.  The year ended with a major hurricane that caused serious damage to our home and has made the last three months an emotional roller coaster.  So that is how the year bookends, but as with any story there is the middle, and in this case that is the very best part.

The greatest day of my year was March 15, when I got the privilege

 to marry my wonderful husband.  I have no idea where I would be without him in my life, he brings me such happiness and balance.  Which given the way everything went this year I have really needed.  We had an absolutely perfect wedding that was everything a girl could hope for.  I am putting in a couple pictures because I never got around to doing it on the blog.  I had planned to do a big six month anniversary post, but the hurricane got in the way.

We then traveled to Mendocino, California for a honeymoon.  We loved our little bed and breakfast and really enjoyed all of the outdoor hiking.  We then travelled south to San Francisco, which was very different from our quiet little B&B, but a lot of fun.  

We headed to Pennsylvania in July to spend the fourth with family and friends.  My parents hosted a summer reception for us so that all of my family and our friends that could not make it to the wedding had a chance to meet the husband.  We had a lot of fun, but the trip was too short.

The last thing I want to mention about the year is Christmas.  The husband and I headed back to Pennsylvania for a few days of quiet away from the bustling world we are currently living in.  We got to see fresh snow, go sledding, go skiing, snuggle in front of a warm fireplace, and spend time with family.

The year has been very full and there are lots of things about it I wish I could just forget or at least undo...but there are also many things that made it a great year.  I am choosing to remember 2008 as the year I pledged to love my husband for the rest of my life, and found a way to get a fully remodeled house without having to save a penny (thanks Ike!).

Here is wishing everyone a wonderful New Year's Eve and a very happy 2009!

Week 5 and counting

Hopefully this will be a short and sweet email regarding our progress. Things are finally starting to really move along. So here is the quick story of progress:

• Since I last wrote we have turned in our elevation certificate to the city and it was approved.
• We have "patiently" (not really but we are trying) waited for the flood adjuster to come back to the house. He finally made it out to the house on Monday. We scheduled an appointment for 3pm and at 2:50 they called to reschedule for the next day. FOr those that know me, I am sure you can imagine my response. I informed them that there would be no rescheduling, that The husband and I would be waiting at the house, with flashlights if necessary, to meet with them on Monday. They did finally make it to the house at almost 5pm. We completed the walk through, so now we are waiting on them to provide us the draft scope which is where we will start to see the amount of money insurance will give us to rebuild...we are trying to be patient. The adjusters seemed very pleased with all of the efforts we have taken, but did ask to have the ceiling sprayed with the anti-microbial stuff. Not something I had thought about, but we are going to do it in the next week since I agree that it is a great idea!
• Monday we also had an appointment with a plumber. He came out, looked around, and we are waiting for his estimate. He assures us that the price will include a "Hurricane Ike" discount. It is really great to see how people are willing to help and work with you.
• Wednesday we met with the Air Conditioning guy about replacing our 4 month old unit. He seems really nice and was very easy to work with. He is also going to get us prices on about 3 different systems, so that we can decide what we want. The AC will be one of the last pieces, since we don't want all of the debris and dust from the construction process getting sucked up into the new system. So we are waiting for the paperwork and then we will have him do the work in two parts, removal of the current system (to allow better access for drywall work) and installation of the new.
• Wednesday we also met with our contractor, Ray. Ray is chomping at the bit to get started and I think he is as excited as we are that we get to rebuild. We went over all of the information from the plumber and AC with him and I think we are all in agreement.
• Thursday we met with the electrician. He feels pretty confident that he can pull and replace all of the necessary wire in a week. So we are going to pull the permit next week and hopefully by the following weekend we will have new wire. He is also going to replace the circuit box. He is the husband of one of the people I work with, so he is being great about the price. He will come back after drywall is done to install the actual switches... the idea is to leave them off for a while so that they don't get messed up during the construction process.
• One last thing is about the cars. I have found a used Infiniti to replace my car. I have requested that it be sent from Austin and hopefully it will be here today! So I should soon be in my new car.
• Oh, and we went out and got a new MacBook so we now have a computer all our own. We are very excited to back in the technology world, without having to wait our turn at the computer.

I think that is what is going on in a nut shell. I know I keep saying it but really appreciate all of you kinds call and thoughts. We are finally staring to see the light at the tunnel and I am almost convinced that it is daylight and not a train! We will keep you in the loop on progress. On a final note, Ray says if we get started in the next week or so we should be in the house by the end of January.

The next chapter

Let me first start off with an apology. I know many of you have tried to get in touch with us or have been patiently waiting for an email with an update, but to no avail. We are sorry it has taken so long to get to you but to say it has been crazy has been an understatement and I am sure you can all understand. The husband and I are still doing fine, but this has been two very long and difficult weeks. And to be blatantly honest, I just did not have the strength to write what was going on for most of the time. I will not go through the blow by blow, but below is a quick account of what has been going on:
-We met with FEMA, the gentlemen was very nice and told us to expect our denial letter within 7 to 10 days. Apparently FEMA has way too much time on its hands and denies all claims the first time and then once they receive the appeal they actually review the claim. We are still waiting for our denial letter, but are more than ready to fight the denial.
-The car insurance person came to see the cars. Only my car was covered by the policy because we only carried a limited amount of coverage on the Corvette. The insurance company totaled out my car (for obvious reasons) and is paying more than I owe, which means I have a down payment. My car was towed off last Monday and I got the check in the mail today. So we should be able to start car shopping soon. As for the Corvette, the husband decided to sell it on Craig's List due to the lack of time and money to fix it right now. He sold it today and I think it has gone to a good home. The people that bought it plan to restore it and give it to their 87 year old mother. They promised we could go visit it! And just because life is fun, my rental car had a completely flat tire last Monday on the driver side and now has a slow leak on the passenger side...will the fun never stop!
-The flood insurance adjuster made it out to the house Friday a week ago. He is a delightful gentleman that informed us that it would be between 60 and 90 days minimum to get an insurance check and that there was a good chance our house would have to be demolished and rebuilt at a higher elevation (more on this later). He finished the assessment part of his work and then headed out. He informed us that he would be in touch in 7 to 10 days to schedule the scope portion of his work. He further stated that we were not to do any more work on the house until he returned. Needless to say he has not returned and we have done no further work. Our house was deemed "unlivable," shocking I know, but unfortunately given everything that was not a foregone conclusion. We are also entitled to emergency funds to help cover immediate costs...we are still waiting (I am not sure what the exact definition of immediate is, but I am certain it is shorter than 22 days.)
-The wind insurance adjuster came to the house last Monday with no appointment and apparently did the whole inspection without us. We spoke with him this weekend and he is going to provide money to replace 100 feet of fence, 5 days of mandatory evacuation, and food loss due to power outage. So now we are just waiting for that check.

So that I think catches us up on all of the people that have been to visit the house. We are still at the same point with the house; it is down to the studs and has been drying for about 2 weeks...so now we just wait for the flood person.

On to the discussion of having to tear down the house and start over. Apparently following the devastating hurricanes in Florida and Louisiana prior to 2007 there were some changes in the laws regarding base flood elevation. I am not going to get into the details, but if your house is below base flood elevation and has substantial damage (damages are greater than 50% of the value of the home) then you must elevate to at or able the base flood elevation. The base flood elevation is determined by a flood map from the National Flood Insurance Program and the elevation of the homes are determined by survey and recorded on an Elevation Certificate. To make a long story short the base elevation for our area is 12 feet and our house is 12.74 feet. So we are good to go. But there was a lot of back and forth about what year the certificate had to be and whether the benchmark changed...and so it has been nearly two weeks of not knowing whether the house could be rebuilt or if we would have to demolish the house and start over.

So today we got the good news that our elevation certificate was accepted by the city and now we just have to get permits when we are ready for electrical, plumbing or air conditioning. Needless to say a great weight has been lifted.

The husband and I want to say thank you to all of our friends and family for your willingness to help, listen, and offer kinds words and big hearts. This has been a very traumatic time, but it is much better surrounded by some many people that love us.
We will be in touch!

A week in review

Hello everyone! Well it has been a little over a week since we first got to the house. It has been a ridiculously busy week. I thought we would post a quick update and a link to some of the photos so that people can start to see what the house looked like. I think it is best to just start at the beginning and go day by day. The beginning will be a small recap for the new people.

Monday
The husband and I were able to finally get into the house late Monday afternoon, where we found out that we had about 4.5 feet of water and sewage in the house. The water had all drained from the house, but left a disaster in its wake.
We were able to get to the house and begin removing furniture and trying to grab the things we could save. We called the insurance and registered with FEMA (who ever thought we would be doing that.) Thank you to Detroit friends for helping us register long distance.
Tuesday
We started bright and early removing the rest of the furniture and most of the carpet, tile, and trim board. We also met some of our neighbors that had made contact with a contractor that was willing to work solely for our street. We were able to get the contractors name and called him to discuss the possibility of helping with our house. He indicated he would be in the area early the next morning.
Wednesday
The contractor called early on Wednesday and we met him around 7am. The contractor and his crew started to work and helped us get the last stuff out of the house. We started to tear out drywall and insulation and our interior doors were all removed.
The contractor also took the Husband and I to Lowe’s to start picking out things for the “new” house. We selected very pretty granite known as “St Cecilia Ext”, it is a yellow granite with black, brown, and copper flecks, a beautiful beige tile, and cabinetry. I think it is all going to look really good together…it is just crazy to make all of those decisions in less than an hour!
Thursday
The contractor and his crew got an early start and were able to remove all of the drywall up to 6 feet and all of the cabinets and appliances. By the end of the day we had decided to take the drywall off all the way to the ceiling…just to be safe with the mold concerns.
Friday
We got the house and the contractor had his crew working to remove the last of the drywall and insulation. The Husband then power washed all of the exposed 2x4 to remove any remaining debris. The contractor then came in to spray the first round of anti-microbial material.
Saturday
The contractor sprayed the house for a second time with the anti-microbial material. The car insurance guy came and totaled out my car. Friends from Little Elm came down and helped get the last bit of work finished with the shed and the entire yard. We were able to get everything onto the debris pile. Saturday night, the Husband spoke with the flood insurance people. The insurance people said we could get rid of the pile and that they would be out on Friday morning.
Sunday
We rested!!!!
Monday
I returned to work and the Husband returned to his volleyball practice. He was able to stop by the house and get started on salvaging some of the hand tools. He was also able to remove the big sign that read “DO NOT REMOVE DEBRIS” which is very exciting!
I spoke with the car insurance company and will hopefully be able to get into a new car by early October.
Mom started with dishes and we are going to be able to save most of our everyday dishes and china.
Tuesday
So as of today the contractor was spraying the house for a third and final time and spraying the shed. The contractor was also going to get the building permit, so that as soon as the flood insurance people finish he can start hanging drywall.

I think we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am almost convinced it is not the train! We have slowly started to go through the clothes that so many wonderful friends and nearly strangers were able to wash for us. Many things are not going to be salvageable but it is nice to at least have some of our clothes still be good. We were able to go shopping on Sunday for some new shoes and clothes.

Overall things are looking up and we hope to continue to bring good news as we start to rebuild our home and our memories.

The link to the pictures is:http://www.flickr.com/gp/26839164@N04/988c3j

Thank you all for your love and support. We have truly appreciated your kind words, willingness to listen, hugs, drying of tears, and gifts. We will be in touch soon with more news!

Post Ike Photos

I don't have time right now to blog about any of this but I have promised many people at look out the husband and my house following Ike...so here you go. These are not for the those with a weak stomach!

Frustrations

So the last few days have been very frustrating...both internal and external groups have pushed me to the brink of screaming at work. I take my job and responsibilities very seriously... sometimes maybe too seriously.

I find it interesting how sometimes that when you are in the moment of frustration, or in my current case the days of frustration, the universe or a higher power (which ever you happen to believe in), steps in and repeatedly hits you over the head until you finally start to listen. That is how I am beginning to feel.

The husband and I are still trying to figure out some of the things that go along with being a married couple and coming from different religious backgrounds (I am Methodist and he is Catholic). Neither of us were very good about getting to church before we got married, but are making a concerted effort to go each week to some sort of service. Right now we are doing the one week Methodist, one week Catholic thing trying to see where we fit.

Anyway, the point is that this weekend we attended a local Catholic church and the priest spoke about not dwelling on the negative and not tearing down other people to make yourself feel better. He might as well of started the sermon with "NDC please listen to the following closely as it is very appropriate to your current situation!!!!!" As I said above there have been a lot of frustrations at work and I have noticed that my "venting" is focused on identifying what everyone else is doing wrong and dwelling on everything bad the people I interact with are doing. I do acknowledge my lack of perfection, but again the point is I am dwelling.

Then today at the gym I was watching TV while riding the stationary bike and just flipped through channels and ended up on Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture." And he was at the point where he says that he was inspired by a gentlemen with the Disney Imagineering company that used to say "Wait long enough and people will impress you." What a positive way to look at things...I am going to have to learn patience. I have decided to read the book based on Pausch's lecture as my next book, one of my best friends gave it to me for my 30th birthday. I think it is perfect timing.

So between the book, the priest, and the professor I think the universe is telling me to take a deep breath and follow the infamous words of the serenity prayer...change the things you can change and accept those that you can't.

I am definitely a work in progress, but hopefully I can learn to slow down and not get as frustrated by those people that I find difficult to deal with at times...here's hoping!

Also I am very excited about blogging before the 10 on Tuesday (even if it was on Monday).

Ten on Tuesday

Ok, so I continue to be a bad blogger, and as you can clearly see from the previous blog that I have not in fact blogged since last Tuesday.


But alas, I am back to the 10 on Tuesday.

"10 People You Wish You Could Meet"
(I am making it dead or alive...just for the record)

1. Michelangelo--cuz really has there been a more "savantish" person ever!
2. Ronald Reagan--I was not a big fan of his politics, but the things he helped to accomplish on the global scale are truly amazing
3. Alexander Dumas--I love his books and think he would be intriguing
4. Victor Hugo--ditto to #3
5. Clay Walker--if you know me you will understand
6. Jesus--to ask him a couple basic questions that are currently a topic of discussion in my household
7. John McCain--I have liked him long before he was running for President and think I could learn from him
8. the person that invented cubicles---then I could hit them and explain what a terrible idea it really was! (by the way I work in a cubicle and it can be miserable!)
9. the Founding Fathers--I know that is more than one person, but it seems wrong to break them up. I would like to ask them questions, specifcally "what did you really mean by the 2nd amendment" and why did you include religion is places but not in others.
10. Franklin D. Roosevelt- Again I think he had a huge impact on this country, most I think very positive, but some in the long run no so much.

By the way these are truly not in ANY order...just what popped into my convulted thoughts! I have also realized that it is very politically charged...I guess that is what happens when you ask a political science major to list ten people to meet.

So that is all for now, hopefully I will have something for you before next Tuesday.

Ten on Tuesday

Ok, so I have been a bad blogger...hopefully this week's 10 on Tuesday will kick start me. So here is the new 10 on Tuesday.

'10 Things You Didn't Like About School'

1. Having to wear saddle shoes. Throughout all of elementary I was required by my mother to wear them everyday!!!!


2. Group recess. I never liked the games, I was much happier to swing or make friendship bracelets with my friends.
3. Geometry. I really just don't see the purpose of proofs.
4. Team sport initiations. I was on the softball team for a little while and the "initiation" to the team was horrible.
5. Moving to new schools. Having to start from scratch three different times at the start of school because the family moved...just not fun!
6. Not having a Homecoming Dance. My high school cancelled homecoming dancing the year before I started...what a rip off!
7. Labels. It seems like there is just no way for people to just get along, everyone had to be labelled as part of a group. At my high school there were kickers, gazebites, tree people, etc.
8. Stairs. My middle school was a five story building and we were only allowed to use the stairs. Did I mention there were hundreds of students and only three minutes to change classes.
9. Math Teachers that didn't know math. I had several math teachers that were often wrong, and I spent hours doing homework trying to get to there wrong answers. Time I will leave get back.
10. And just to end on a happy note...My favorite thing about school was getting to be in class. I love being taught and learning new things!

Hopefully you will hear from me before next Tuesday!

Ten on Tuesday

10 Best Movie Villains

as suggested by my SIL...(see the itty bitty things blog)

In no particular order...

1. The Joker (The Dark Knight)
2. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
3. Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
4. Voldemort (Harry Potter)
5. Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz)
6. Alien invaders (Independence Day)
7. Tom Ripley (The Talented Mr. Ripley)
8. Porter by Mel Gibson (Payback)
9. A majority of the cast (The Departed)
10. Commodus (Gladiator)

This was a really hard list to come up with...but it was fun to think about!

One World, One Dream...

Ok, so I have become an Olympics junkie! It is the first thing I look for when I get home from work, and it doesn't really matter what the event is.

I have to say that the opening ceremony in Beijing was the most impressive performance I have ever seen. I am also completely amazed by the facilities. My mother had an opportunity to visit China recently, while they were preparing for the games. She was surprised at the lack of progress they had made toward being "Olympic ready"...and now here we are a few months later and it is truly amazing to see and watch.

I was sitting tonight watching men's synchronized diving, who even knew that was a sport, and I got to thinking about how amazing it is that we are watching an Olympic games in China. It just amazes me that we are seeing a country that has been known for centuries for their privacy and secrecy has opened their country to the world and are letting us all stomp around on their land and judge them more openly that usual. I would like to say that I believe that the experience of hosting the Olympics will really make a difference in the Chinese approach to the world, but I guess you can call me a cynic, because unfortunately I think once the world games are over things are likely to return to normal. But that is enough of the politics...no matter what happens I love the Olympics.

It is the only time that you can see three US young women sweep the medal count in fencing, watch two people dive off a platform in nearly perfect harmony, watch male gymnast stop their entire weight with just their biceps, and most excitedly watch the women of the US gymnastic team fight injury and misfortune to move forward in the series towards the gold!

Yeah for the Olympics and Go USA!

Ten on Tuesday

Ok, so I am going to try something new...old to many but new to my blog...10 on Tuesday
The topic this week is "10 things to do when it's too hot to go outside"

1. Read a good book
2. Have a really cold glass of lemonade
3. Eat a big bowl of ice cream
4. Plan a trip to a cooler locale
5. Go workout
6. Catch up on DVR recordings
7. Do house chores
8. Take a long cool shower
9. Take a nap in the air conditioning
10. Work on the long delayed dissertation (it may never get hot enough for that to be a top choice)

That was fun...I am going to try and commit to doing this on Tuesday.

By the way...happy 50th birthday to NASA!

A Week in Waco

Well I have been in Waco since Monday and I am leaving tomorrow. I am here for a work conference and I have to admit that it would not have been my first choice for locations. It is an EPA sponsored conference for our region and I figure we should be able to find someplace between New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana that is not quite so desolate, but apparently not!

So I probably did not come into the city with the best attitude, but I have to admit it is kind of a neat city. I did not spend much time driving through Baylor, but from what I saw it is a beautiful campus. I am also impressed that there seems to be so much redevelopment in the downtown area, I am a big fan of revitalization of cities.

Here are a couple of the neat things that I did while I was in Waco:

The Cameron Park Zoo

It is a really neat small town zoo. I of course forgot to bring my camera, so all of the animals were crazy exciting. There was a black bear swimming in a pool, big tigers using a log as a scratching post, a capybara just hanging out under the water fall, and meerkats that were just too cute.

The Dr Pepper Museum

I had a plan to just go to the gift shop and skip the museum, but I am glad that I went through it. It was really interesting. I found out that Dr Pepper was invited at a drug store here in Waco and originally people would come in and ask for "a Waco." The museum explained how soda pop became known as soda pop, why the first soda fountains were in drug stores, and why there is no period after Dr in the name. And the best part is at the end you can go into the Soda Fountain shop and order an original Dr Pepper. It is made with the syrup and then soda water is added...it is the best Dr Pepper I have ever had!!!

So I guess the morale of the story is you can't judge a city by its lack of reputation!

Fabulous Fourth with Fantastic Fireworks!!!!

Let me just start by saying that the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. I love it for several reasons...

1) Fun food that you get to grill

2) Celebrating with family and friends

3) No pretense of gifts that take away from the real meaning

4) It celebrates independence, which being a political science major is a pretty amazing concept

5) Almost all Americans agree on this holiday, it is not overshadowed by race or religion or any other opposing views

6) Fireworks are super fun and I never get tired of seeing them!

This Independence day my husband, sil, sil's boyfriend, and I headed to Pennsylvania to hang out with my family. My grandparents have a house in a lakeside community that my parents have recently inherited. The lake house is one of my favorite places because it is surrounded by huge trees, deer, whistle pigs (also known as groundhogs), and has good recreation. We have a boat and typically spend a lot of time cruising the lake or riding on an inner-tube.

This fourth weekend we headed out on the boat to watch an amazing fireworks display over the lake. It was a great time and I really enjoyed spending it with my family and friends.

We also had a post wedding reception at the lake house. It was really great, I got to visit with people that I seldom get to see at a happy event. One of my oldest friends drove in from upstate New York...we met in sixth grade, hard to believe we are even better friends now then we were then. In the recent past I have only seen most of them at my grandfather's funeral. It is nice to have new happier memories. I also got to see, or shall I say meet, family that I have not seen since I was very young. Isn't it strange that after 25 years, the most original thing people can find to say is "I remember when you were this big" (visualize a hand being held out a waist height). Sadly, I say the same thing when I see people younger than me! I guess it is all part of being an adult.

Although there were trying moments during the weekend, spending time with the extended family while dealing with places that I associate closely with my grandfather, it was really a great weekend. I am glad that my husband and sil were able to see the lake house, since it has so many great memories for me.

Oh, and one random shout out goes to Troyer Farms Salt 'n Vinegar Potato Chips. I know many of you think not only who are Troyer Farms and why would anyone eat Salt 'n Vinegar potato chips. Troyer Farms is a small little potato chip company from Waterford, Pennsylvania (home of my mom). And they have the best tasting Salt 'n Vinegar chips ever!

You can only find them in a very limited area in Pennsylvania, so I had to make a special request for my aunts to bring me some. And boy were they good! They never disappoint.

And do you know what is even better, my husband went online and found out that I can order them online! ROCK ON!

New Addiction

Ok, so as I said below the husband is off traveling around Europe...while I sit at home going to work. So this weekend I hung out with my sil (sister-in-law). We ran some errands and just hung out. The sil has a boyfriend that owns a Wii and for his birthday he got Guitar Hero. At the time I thought well that is nice, and I am sure he will have fun with it, but probably not a game I would choose for myself.
Well the sil and I decided to just hang out around her house since it was pouring down rain and she asked if I wanted to Wii. I said sure, thinking it would be a fun way to pass the time. She put in Guitar Hero and let me just say first off it is really hard! There are color coded buttons that have to be pushed in time with the symbols on the screen...and they have them in a strange order, green then red then yellow. I had a really hard time wrapping my head around that since my head thinks red, yellow, green is the right order. But I persevered and after more time than I think it should have taken to learn, the sil says..."I think you are ready for your own band!" That was a very exciting moment for me! So now I have become addicted to making it through song after song to make my band famous! Just what I needed a new addiction...now I just have to figure out how to convince the sil's boyfriend to leave the Wii here so I can keep practicing!
But I think the best part is that I am at least for right now better at a rocker guitar game than the husband!!!

Being a girl

Ok, so I have never really thought of myself as a girly girl. I was not one of those girls that cried at movies. But apparently I have become one of those girls. This weekend has been very emotional and difficult for me.
As many of you know my grandfather passed away in January. He was an incredible man, and I can only hope that I have just a few of his many great characteristics. He was the ultimate granddad, he would do whatever he could to make me happy. From making he dentures move around his mouth like they were toys, despite getting in trouble with my grandmother, or letting me drive the four wheeler or getting me my first color television with a remote (even though my parents had said no). He was just a wonderful man, and the world is a little less good without him in it. Anyway, I mentioned that is was a hard weekend, not just because it was Father's Day but also because Friday was his 93 birthday. I am still struggling with what it means to not have the only grandfather I have only know, and this weekend was really hard.
On top of that I had to kiss my husband good bye while he goes off to a wonderful 10 day vacation with some of his best friends to Germany. And here is where it will be very girly...I really miss him. I know it is just 10 days and he just let last night, but it will be the longest we have been apart since we met two and half years ago. I am really glad that he went, he will have a wonderful time and everyone should get a trip to Europe. But I miss him and can't wait to see him again. I really don't like empty beds!

So sore...

This has been one of the longest weeks of work I have had as an adult...A little over a week ago one of my co-workers fell and broke her foot. Not good, but at least she doesn't need surgery. So the question becomes how does one person falling lead to a long week for me. Well here is how the story starts. There was a huge project at work that she was working on, and with her out for an undetermined amount of time there was a huge opening that needed to be filled. So my director talked to me and asked if I would be willing to step in and help. I said no problem. So the week started off slow, just gathering some information and writing up a document for the head of my company. I got all of that done and sent it out for a quick review before it was sent to the head of the company. No big deal huh, wrong we had to have public affairs review it as well as legal. Needless to say very few people met the established deadline and I was at work late that night. The next day same story, continued working on it, and had to stay late. Last night we finally thought we were getting somewhere and after a short 13 hours of work, I finally headed home. My head hurt, my back ached and my shoulders were stiff. But I felt like I had done a good job and had met the expectations of my director.
So I thought I would reward myself with a massage. Yea, sounds like a good idea right...wrong. I did the deep tissue, which is my usual and I think that it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I don't think that I have had so many knots in my life!
At the end of the day, it was probably better to start working them out now...but needless to say my reward was not very relaxing! Maybe this will help me get that long anticipated ergonomic chair at work.

Ode to 30!

Well as you probably can guess today is my 30th birthday. I would like to say that I know how I feel about that...but I am still not sure. Overall it has been a very good birthday as birthday's go, but it is weird to think I am starting a whole new decade. Today it became abundantly clear just how lucky I truly am to have the family and friends that I have.

My day started with my husband giving me my birthday present. It is an incredibly beautiful lighthouse kaleidoscope. This is awesome for a number of reasons, but mostly because it shows that he really pays attention to me when I talk. We were in Mendocino for our honeymoon and I just fell in love with a lighthouse kaleidoscope at a shop, but did not think it was prudent to get it. So he found me one very similar that is absolutely beautiful. And of course kaleidoscopes make me smile, constantly changing and always fascinating.

Next I went to work where my lovely friends and co-workers welcomed me with this...

It was awesome.

I think one of my favorite parts of the day was that I had cake for breakfast, cake after lunch, cake for dessert after dinner and then my parents came over with more cake. For those that don't know... I LOVE CAKE!!

So as I said overall turning 30 looks like it was not all bad!

She does exist...

I know, I know...it is amazing. Pick your jaw up off the floor, apologize to those around you for the crazy outburst of excitement and get ready for a new blog entry! TA DA!
Ok, so when I decided back last summer to have a blog, I knew I would not be one of those people that updated the blog daily or even at a highly predictable interval. But even I will admit that I did not think it would be over nine months between posts. As my last post (I know it is hard to think back that far, but just scroll down) said I got engaged...and boy was it engaging. There are a ridiculous amount of decisions and details that come along with that little ring! Needless to say I got all the details handled and had the perfect wedding in March. I am currently working on uploading pictures to send around to friends and family from the event and I will post some on the blog!
I am going to try very, very hard to blog more consistently. So hopefully you have not given up on me completely and will check back from time to time to see what is going on.