The bathroom saga

All I can say is measure, measure, and when you think you have it right, measure again.

Our pedestal sink ended up being too wide to fit our vanity/buffet table. I don't know what we were thinking, because we found many suitable furniture pieces that were shorter. We bought a smaller sink, and that has worked out. The medicine cabinet needed to be moved when the sink needed to be moved, so we had to notch out a stud. I need to paint tomorrow, and that is the last really big hurdle.

We are having a New Years Eve get together on Saturday, which is the impetus for getting the bathroom finished. The new toilet is awesome by the way!

I have gone a bit crazy

with Christmas this year. I guess not having a 9-5 job allows you to do that.

I am feeling sad tonight. I took the dogs to the kennel for the weekend. It makes life a lot easier on us (and safer), but I miss them already!

I wish we could take them to my parent's house, but hell would have to freeze over before that happened.

Europe pictures

I finished these albums awhile ago, but never posted the link.

www.snapfish.com/share/p=674171134840341000/l=71478421/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

and yes, I was a little obsessive with the captions. :)

Oh my

It is Thursday already!

The Badgers did manage to win Saturday night's game 6-0, so we know that they don't completely suck. Bowling was a lot of fun as well.

The bathroom is tiled!! It really was an exhausting process. So exhausting that I haven't even cleaned the bathroom up yet. It is on the agenda for this weekend.

We got a ton of snow here yesterday. The trees looked pretty. It was pretty warm today though, so the roads are all slushy.

I am finished with my light ensemble for this year. I guess Santa and his reindeer are going to have to go on the roof next year. I will try to get a picture and post it. (some jackass did spray slush on my tonight and I was putting up something in the yard, and I don't think it was on accident)

I still don't haven't gotten the picture of the animals together, must do that soon.

I am a blog slacker

In my defense, I have been working on tiling my bathroom for the past three days.

We went to a UW Badgers hockey game last night. Somehow they knew we were there and proceeded to royally suck, even though they are 16-2-2.

Tonight is bowling! We are being very social this weekend.

I hope to get all the tile cut tonight, but Duane is fading quickly.

I forgot to mention

that I left some clothes at the Indian Lakes Resort last week. My workout clothes oddly enough. I called and called and called and finally got someone who told me they would ship them to me. We shall see.

I should get a picture on here of my Christmas lights. Duane thinks that I am insane, and I must apologize to Conor as well. I agree with you about wasting electricity, but putting up lights is something that really makes me happy.

My family has lowered the dollar amount for our gifts this year and we have the option of giving a white elephant gift. We pick names as well, so that really cuts down on the shopping.

A friend is coming up at the end of the week to help with the bathroom!! Duane as admitted that he has a mental block on finishing it up. Excuse me, but I want a toilet upstairs!

I am still trying to figure out how to get a picture of the animals with a santa hat and photoshop them together. I must work on that tonight!

Something infinitely more exciting

Wow, is that a lot to live up to. Cate's weekend was infinitely more exciting than mine, but here goes nothing.

Friday night I drove back from the crappy Indian Lakes Resort. I did make a wrong turn and drove the wrong way down a road wondering why I wasn't getting to the I-90 exit. Duane called me and asked me to meet him at Old Chicago. His new (crappier) office is right next to Old Chicago, so the boys like to gather for a beer after work. I did manage to make small talk with 4 guys about 5-6 years younger than myself, so go me! They were talking about where they were going out later and I was thinking about going home and going to sleep!

Saturday did not yield anything too exciting, some shopping if I remember correctly and breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (oh and lots of snow!). The Cracker Barrel is one of the few places where you can get swedish fish (and not just the red ones). Yum, yum!

I did an open house on Sunday at the weirdest house. It was custom built in the 60's with high end materials, which do not equal high end in 2005 btw. It had a contraption built into the counter-top where you could put a mixing bowl or a meat grinder (made by NuTone). In fact, there were many things made by NuTone in the house (even the combination doorbell/clock!). This house had a central vacuuming system as well (yes, made by NuTone!). The owner (who was also the builder) put weird cabinets in all of the bedrooms and the upstairs floors were all cork tile. I had one person come in, and they didn't seem to speak english. Oh, and the Packers lost again.

I went to the gym this morning, even though it was -2 degrees out! I also went into work and made some phone calls. I am committed and I will be succesful!

You can skip the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, IL

Cate has inspired me to post, as it has been awhile for me too.

I am posted from my hexagonal hotel room at the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale (not to be confused with Bloomington) IL. The hotel website (www.indianlakesresort.com) makes the hotel look really cool, but don't fall for it.

The hotel design was inspired by Franklin Lloyd Wright and actually designed by Don Erickson. The hotel is shaped in a giant hexagon. He wanted to eliminate the stark, non-ending (straight from the information pamphlet) corridors of conventional hotels and the shoebox-like shape of the rooms. Instead of straight and endless corridors, it has twisting and turning endless corridors. The rooms are shaped like hexagons, which does provide you with more room, but also gives you a weirdly shaped ceiling. The lighting is also extremely poor in the rooms. My room faces a strange atrium, so it gets no natural light.

The conference area is also hexagonal and connected to the hotel by a LONG corridor. The corridor has large windows and very little heat. The swimming pool is also miles away from the hotel. I guess that eliminates kids running back and forth in their swimsuits.

They have a mini-bar that can tell if you take anything out of it. If you want a real refrigerator, you have to pay a rental fee.

The whole hotel recently underwent a major renovation. The bathroom has a slate floor. I did a better job of installing my slate floor!

The seminar is actually very good, but this hotel is just strange.

I promise to be a more regular poster!

A change in mindset

I had a good talk with my manager last week and a better talk with a friend on Friday.

My manager confirmed that I am hiding out in my house for various reasons. There were issues I was having all along, but changing jobs really brought them out. Sometimes I tell myself that I am too smart to be depressed, when I am really too dumb to accept it!

So Duane and I are growing in new directions and hopefully my job will grow as well. There is a shortage of buyers around here, but tons of houses for sale. If I could just find one buyer, I could find them the best darn house ever!

Cate and Conor we are totally coming to visit after the holidays!!

Taa Daaah! Here is the floor! It isn't grouted or sealed yet, but it will be soon. 

The floor has been LAID!

Yes, it is true. The bathroom floor has been laid. I have to grout it and seal it, but this first step is done. It took me four hours. Duane had to be banned from the bathroom because he was being OCD on every piece of tile I laid. I told him that it wasn't going to be perfect (we aren't professionals for pete's sake!), and please get out of here.

After the floor was laid, we rushed off to a murder mystery party that was quite fun.

Saturday involved cutting the remaining tiles. It was really nice out, so we took a drive down to New Glarus. One cannot work all the time! We took a tour of the brewery (www.newglarusbrewery.com), and had a nice swiss inspired dinner.

However, I did not do some of my real estate assignments (view open houses) and my manager will not be so happy with me on Thursday.

I will post a picture of the floor later today.

More pumpkins in the dark! (it was cold and my hand was shaking!) 

Pumpkins in the dark! 

More Pumpkins! 

Pumpkins! 

Lord have I been depressing lately

I had a good talk with Duane yesterday and today is a better day. I am still figuring out how to talk to 20 people a day about real estate and hand out 20 business cards a day, but I am working on it!

I am going to see a production of the Full Monty tonight. My sister invited a bunch of people (I think), so hopefully I will be able to talk real estate with them.

Duane might have to go to D.C. tomorrow through next Saturday. He was already scheduled to go Monday through Saturday, but they might need his genius powers early.

I am posting some pumpkin pictures, yeah!

Where am I

Pumpkin carving was great fun. I would have pictures, but someone has the camera in his car. Duane was pouty the whole day because he doesn't like carving pumpkins (and he wasn't feeling well).

Duane cut a ton of tile on Sunday, but we still have a few pieces to go. Come hell or high water the bathroom floor is going in this weekend.

I am not a big fan of it being cold here (42 degrees outside right now but it is sunny).

I am not doing any of my real estate assignments and generally being a huge slacker. You can't fail if you don't really try, right?

My weight has also gotten out of control (big surprise) and I am feeling very flabby.

Here I am

I have been trying to get in the swing of things since I left my job, but I am not doing very well. I have been sleeping late and not getting much done.

Duane is in LA till tomorrow afternoon. The bathroom is still in progress (no toilet yet!!), but hopefully the floor will go down this weekend.

I feel like a real estate champion when I am in the office or at classes. At home I feel like a lump.

We are carving pumpkins this weekend with the family. It should be great fun, and I will post pumpkin pictures.

Someone(with a history) from high school called me the other day, my real estate web page comes up when you google me. Strange how people leave things (not contacting you for 9 years) and then just call you up. I got off the phone quickly and don't plan to call him back.

I have got to get one of my stinky dogs in the bathtub tonight and freshen him up!

I am still here

I am still here, but not feeling very talkative. My eye started twitching a bit today, so I am going to guess that it is stress related.

Since I have been home during the day, all the animals think that I must be here to give them attention. They do give back the love though, so I can't fault them for that.

Good tv on tonight, and I am looking forward to that. My life is really very simple.

Freedom

I forgot to mention that we still have no toilet. Duane was on call last weekend and ended up working the entire day on Saturday. Bathroom work will resume this week.

Something really freaky happened yesterday after I posted. The professor that is the head of my project stopped by. For the last year or so, the results of my research had been less than promising. In fact, it looked like our product actually increased HIV production instead of decreasing it. My boss had told the head of the project that he thought something was wrong with the product (peptides), but the head of the project didn't believe this. He stopped by to tell me that they HAD given me a bad batch of peptides. Bad batch of peptides = frustration = thinking you are a bad scientist= quitting your job. Nice huh?

It's the final countdown

of my last day. I was feeling rather down on myself (getting the, "don't let the door hit you on the way out feeling), so I had Duane bring me some lunch. He is very sweet to me.

Not much left to do here but I have 2 hours to go.

I was all gung ho this morning

and now I am feeling kind of tired.

I have things to do at work, so I should probably make a list. Monday is my last day.

Bathroom work this weekend. If I can remember, I will post the pictures of the bathroom.

The weather will be beautiful all weekend. We are hanging out with my brother and sister's families on Sunday, so that will be fun.

Duane has been a crabby whiney ass all week. Shape up or Ship out! :)

Is it really only Thursday?

I added some more pictures of the reunion weekend. I really didn't take that many pictures. Does number of pictures = fun factor?

I laid down thinset and cement board in the bathroom last night, MOSTLY by myself. Must be why I have that blister on my hand. Duane was whiney and crabby. He owes me (as I also cleaned up the mess and made dinner). We may have a toliet by the end of the weekend!

More fun tv tonight. We have 3 shows at the same timeslot. I am not sure which network geniuses thought up putting Smallville against Survior against Alias (although it is the last season of Alias). Duane is voting to boycott ER this season. It has gotten pretty lame.

Veronica Mars was awesome last night, although (SPOILER) her being with Duncan is weird. I liked Logan trying to clean up his act, but I suppose they do need a bad boy.

It is time to get out the Halloween decorations!!

Paul Ginder looking confused 

Kiera and Jeremy in profile 

Wake Forest fans, band, and slutty band chicks 

Ted, Tara, and Burney 

Aftermath of sucking down the grande drink 

Hi-ho, Hi-hi, it's off to work we go

I am at work and bored. I have work I should be doing and I am not doing it. I wonder if you can get therapy for procrastination? I seem to have been born with it.

If I can remember I will post some pictures of the bathroom in progress. I don't think I took a picture of the hole in the floor.

Duane has been crabby. DUANE STOP BEING CRABBY NOW. :)

I am back on WWs and planning on hitting the gym in the mornings next week. I realized one of the things keeping me from the gym is that I don't like to shower there. When I am done with this job, I will have the time to go home and shower!

Duane is worried that we will be destitute once I am done with my job.

Another group photo 

Cate's cute husband 

The group 

Duane, being Duane. 

Cate and Ted sucking down a fishbowl. 

Reunion

I have been trying to get in to blog all afternoon, and the website has finally loaded! I don't have much time, but thought I would post some pictures from the weekend.

Duane

Duane bought new glasses and new shoes last night! He is also getting his hair cut today. He will be all spiffy for NC.

Thunderstorms last night from midnight till 3 am, so I am pretty sleepy.

I am a little worried about one of our dogs. It could just be a tummy bug or the thunderstorms (he really hates thunderstorms). He wanted to go for a walk this morning and was eating treats, so he will probably be ok.

The hole in the bathroom floor will be fixed (completely) tonight!

My hair color turned out pretty well (darker brown and is more noticable). She felt the need to cut my hair again (she just cut it last week), but it looks fine.

It is going to be warm in NC this weekend. I am not going in to work tomorrow (yeah) and we fly out at 1:30.

Feeling a bit better today

Duane surprised me by coming home from work early yesterday and working on the hole in the bathroom floor. It is not totally fixed yet, but it is close.

I can also mulit-task during my 2 hour computer class by working on my picture album.

My house is still a pig sty, but oh well!

Under Pressure (insert Davie Bowie song here)

So I was signed up for an online real estate class by my manager's assistant, and she told me it was a self-paced class. Apparantly she forgot the first 3 weeks of the class where you have a live teacher for 2 hours T-F! My company pays for the class ($195) as long as you graduate within 8 weeks, and you can only miss 2 live classes.

Add this to the hole in my bathroom floor and half the walls gone.

Add that to my house being a pig sty.

Add that to wanting to get my europe pictures in an album to take to NC on Friday.

Add that to leaving for NC on Friday afternoon (missing 1 class) which will be fun and make me forget about everything else.

I am also getting my hair colored today and I can't be responsible for what I tell her to do. It will be something noticable though, since the last time everyone told me that they couldn't tell that I had it colored.

Bathroom renovation

Ok. Whoever did the tile job in our bathroom used adhesive and glued it to the plywood subfloor. I guess this is an accepted method of tiling, but in my world you use thinset (cement-like). The difference is that it could take an afternoon to take up the tile or it could take 1 1/2 days!

So the demolition of the bathroom took all weekend, instead of 1 day. We have a large hole in the floor right now where the wood was actually wet! We removed all the wet stuff and will put down new plywood. The wet wood smelled really nasty.

We did pick out some awesome tile for the floor. It is slate, so it will require a little extra care in installing. We liked it better than the ceramics than we were seeing. We also picked out a new toilet and sink.

I am looking forward to NC this weekend!! It looks like shorts are in order as it is hot there.

It is surreal to me that my job will be ending soon. I haven't finished a couple of the projects that I started for myself either. I better get on the ball.

TGIF

Update: I still haven't ordered that lightbulb that my boss needs (hee hee).

Duane and I are tackling the bathroom this weekend. It needs major renovation. If we waited until a really good time to do it, it would never get done. So, we will probably go without a toliet and sink upstairs (we have one downstairs) for awhile. The shower will remain accessible at all times (per Duane).

I am working on the pictures from Europe. I am being rather detailed with the descriptions, so everyone will just have to have some patience (the physical album will make the trip to NC).

I attended 2 lectures this morning which made me feel a little sad about leaving my career.

Please keep sharp implements away from me

So, I was very happy to be home until I came into work.

All the misery and hatred of my job came back with a rush.

I was originally told that I would have health insurance through December, which has magically changed to November while I was gone. Our benefits lady is a twit though.

No one could figure out how to order a new light bulb for a table lamp while I was gone.

The countdown is on. 16 working days till the blissful end.

Home sweeeeeeet home

Duane and I made it back home from our fabulous European vacation last Friday night around midnight. Our Detroit to Madison flight was supposed to arrive at 10:30, but we had to switch planes after they couldn't fix the brakes on our original place. Yes, I would like a plane that can stop after it lands.

I had a baby shower on Saturday and we spent most of the day apart. It was nice to talk to people other than Duane, not that talking to Duane is bad or anything. We spent Sunday hanging out with family.

What did Duane and I both learn on our trip? We learned that Duane does not listen to me, even when he really should. Will that change? Not if this weekend is any indication. He stayed up late Friday night and was up early on Saturday. He didn't take a nap on Saturday, and slept 7 hours Saturday night. I did tell him he would get tired. He scoffed at me and then proceeded to fall into a coma like state around dinner time on Sunday.

I also thought that he should not bring his wallet on the trip. He insisted on bringing his wallet. At least he let me keep it in my zippered and tightly regulated bag. This did not keep him from leaving his wallet in he post office at the train station in Vienna though, which was really the only bad moment of the trip.

I am going to try and set up a picture album thingy and will link to it when I get it set up.

I am going to say that I no longer have to pay to go to the bathroom in public and beer is no longer cheaper than soda or water.

Dreams

Duane and I will be having dinner and going to a movie tonight. We are a little stressed out about our trip, so we thought we could use some mindless entertainment. I thought I was feeling better about being ready to go, but I had the same dream three times last night.

The jist of the dream is that I arrive in Prague and I have no clothes in my bag. Somehow I got distracted and never packed my suitcase. Duane was going to fly home and get me some clothes. Prague was very pretty in my dream. It was bad having the dream once!

My mom is going to take one of the kitties, so they all have homes now. I think my sister wanted to take one (her kids would have loved it), but her husband was stressing out about it. He is a little OCD I think.

I am trying to figure out which kitty would be best for the two other people. I probably shouldn't think about it so much, but 18 days is a long time.

Twitch

Well we are more prepared for going to Europe. We have two kitties taken care of, and one to go. My mom said she would take one, but I am leaving that as a last resort.

I have had a twitch in my lower right eyelid for a couple of weeks now, and it is driving me nuts.

Gas prices in Sun Prairie are up to $2.65 now.

Back from Oahu

Unless you really like hot weather, expensive food, traffic, lots of people, worrying about your stuff getting ripped off, shopping at expensive stores, and lots of people--don't go to Oahu.

I did see rainbows almost every day and had some really good food. Being by yourself for 10 hours a day gets rather tiresome, especially when there is no HGTV or FoodTV on the hotel tv.

The flight sucked on the way there and the way back, mostly due to the crappy DC10. I still can't believe that you can have an 8 hour flight where there is no free food, not even a snack! Unfortunately, Northwest has Pepsi products, which I don't like. The flight to Europe should be better, ie not on a crappy DC10.

I think I am going to have to send my blog to more people, although do I want other people I know to read this? Maybe if they will leave comments.

Anyone want to watch a dog or kitty for 18 days? Our dog watcher (who we asked months ago) can no longer watch the dogs or check on the cats while we are in Europe. We leave for Europe in two weeks and are not prepared.

I am going to Hawaii (Oahu)!

So I am going to Hawaii with Duane. He will work during the day M-F so we will have evenings and then we will have all of Saturday and most of Sunday. He brokered a deal to get my ticket with frequent flier miles (he didn't quite have enough), and we even get to be on the same flight! This is all very surreal. Luckily we have a friend that can watch the dogs and cats on this short notice.

I may be listing a house for sale! As I get further into real estate, I am starting to believe that this is really something I can do (well)!

Weather is nice again!

I might be going to Hawaii next week!

Duane is traveling to Hawaii for work next week. My mom and my sister think that I should go. It seems that I could get a ticket for around $1000, which is a lot of money. The hotel would be paid for though, minus any extra days that we stayed.

I might be listing a friend's house! I am going into the office today to find out how to do a market analysis and figure out the best price (which reminds me that I better know the address of the house!).

It is no longer hot here. We had thunderstorms roll through last night along with some Canadian air. It is gloomy out, but not hot!

I was wrong

I was wrong on Friday, apparently it can get hotter. Yesterday was a high of 99 with a heat index around 115! The heat is supposed to break this week.

Duane is home from NC. I missed him!

Party at my boss's house yesterday. It wasn't terrible. The house is over the top (lots of weird and nude artwork), but what else is new.

30 days till vacation!

hotter than hell

The temperature is supposed to be 97 tomorrow. We have not been able to turn off the air conditioning in forever. I hate not being able to have the windows open! I have outside projects that I haven't been able to work on either.

Duane will be gone so I will be working on inside house projects and real estate stuff.

We got a great box of veggies from CSA this week including fennel, summer squash, broccoli, basil, and beans. I will post any new recipes I try.

Rain

Does the weatherman ever feel bad when he predicts storms for later today and they actually arrive at 9am?

Duane is traveling to NC this weekend. His grandma was diagnosed with stomach cancer, so he is going to see her.

My boss is having a party at his house on Sunday, which I really don't want to go to (especially alone).

36 days

36 days till Duane and I go on vacation!

The campus looks like a war zone with all the construction that has been going on. The bus that I take in to work started a new detour this morning. It took 40 minutes to get into work, as the bus driver was thoroughly confused.

I also found out that I won't have to deal with one of my coworkers anymore after this week. She is going to Columbia for two months. I had to listen to her try to convince her dentist to squeeze her in this week after she forgot her appointment (but I am going out of the country next week! I am sure the dentist cares)

Duane still has a cold that he picked up in San Fran last week. He was rather crabby on Saturday, but better on Sunday. The weather has been insanely hot (95 yesterday) with no end in sight.

I did an open house on Sunday. I got myself all worked up about it, and it was really easy. Duh.

3:30am

So I got up this morning at 3:30am to let the dog out, to keep him from peeing downstairs or in the bathroom. As I am letting him out, Boots gets out. I was very tempted to let him frollick outside till whenever he came back, unfortunately I was reminded of the $70 I paid to get him back the last time.

Luckily we have a motion sensor light in the backyard, otherwise I would have been out there with a flashlight. He was in the middle of the yard when I came back from putting clothes and shoes on. I stepped outside and Hershey proceeded to chase him to the back of the yard. I did get him back in the house.

I did a load of wash last night. I checked on it after cleaning up two spots of pee and some poop to discover that someone did not unload their shorts pockets. Usually I check, but I was tired last night. I thought I caught them before I dried the clothes, but I missed one. It got ink on the inside of the dryer and spots on many of my clothes. I washed them again last night, but I may have to buy new shirts.

Duane comes back tonight (thank the lord). He may go back to San Fran in 2 weeks though, seems they liked having him there.

Oh, I also got some pictures taken today for my real estate business cards. I thought they turned out horrid, but I hate all pictures of me.

I am pooped out.

I am feeling a little less blah

I still have to go to UPS and pick up the package, but at least I know that I can pick it up.

I am trying to decide on a domain name for my new real estate webpage.

mymadisonagent.com (I live in Madison)

careypiersonc21.com (I work for century21)

careypierson.com

Maybe when I make the big bucks I can have someone clean my house for me. I think I am stressing about other things as well, and I should just go home and hug my dogs and cats.

Blah

I am feeling very blah today. Duane is in San Francisco till Thursday night. I spent 2 hours cleaning the house last night, and it really irritated me.

Now I am dealing with getting our rail passes from UPS. I think if you order something worth $600, you probably should have it sent to your office (and not make your wife deal with it).

I am heading down to Janesville tonight to hang out and probably have a knitting lesson. My mom really wants me to knit. She has not given up this quest, so I think I will finally give in.

Maybe Duane could stop using all our cell minutes too. That would be great.

This is an, "I am irritated with Duane" day. That is all.

Everybody's workin' for the weekend

Things I will not miss when I leave this job:

1. Parking ~1 mile from the building I work in and having to pay for it
2. The crotchy bus driver
3. The people on the bus who reak of B.O.
4. Being crammed on the bus like sardines
5. Missing the bus by 10 seconds
6. Construction on campus making a it less than wonderful place
7. The female students who dress like hootchies
8. My boss

Things I will miss when I leave this job:

1. The campus, when it is wonderful
2. My nice computer with the huge flat monitor

I should do my work today and leave early, instead of dinking around all afternoon like I usually do.

War of the Worlds

I saw War of the Worlds last night. I think it could have been better with someone other than Tom Cruise, but it was pretty entertaining. I have not read the book, so I didn't know what was going to happen. I also didn't know that it was going to be so scary (as I do not like scary movies).

I am meeting with my manager's assistant today, should be interesting. I bought a stupid planner (as she suggested) and left it at home.

The weather looks to be really hot again next week. Duane will be in San Fran enjoying the cooler weather.

I have to remind myself to get a picture of Boots on here.

I don't have my first class tonight.

So I don't have my first class tonight, but I still have a meeting tomorrow. I swear they told me last week that the class would happen tonight, even though the class leader is out of town.

It is only 48 days till we go on our vacation and 68 days till I am done with this job.

I know the reunion will be fun! I am just hoping we don't have to do anything *edited to protect the innocent* like visit in-laws. We really don't have time for that.

Naughty Boots!

That kitty just loves to go outside! He raced from the basement and out the back door this morning when I let the dog out. He kept evading me by ducking into the bushes, but I got him back in the house eventually. I would love to fence the backyard so the kitties could go out and we wouldn't have to worry about them.

We had a good weekend. We worked on the outside of the house on Saturday, did some retail therapy in the suburbs of Chicago on Sunday, and hung out at my brother's on Monday.

We are definitely going (the tickets have been purchased) to NC in September for Duane's 5 year college reunion. I had to give up going to an awesome craft fair in Chicago with a friend, so the weekend better be fun! I am looking forward to some Hero House yummies.

I have my first "class" at Century 21 today. They have in-house classes to help you get started. I don't know what intelligence level they set these classes at, so it could be really boring.

Duane is making dinner tonight!!

Boots is back!

So Boots was hanging out at the humane society, and everyone there was loving him. He is super friendly and cuddly. They told Duane on the phone that the charge would be $25, but it was really $70! No more running away for Boots!

I am getting started with Century 21. I can't really do anything until my license goes through, which will be next week sometime. I do have classes to attend. I was a little annoyed by being told that I should try to attend both classes when they meet on the same day (11:30-6pm). Hello...I have a full time job.

Duane and I were also overestimating my cut of commissions, but I think we were being a little unrealisitic.

Have a great 4th!

The new kitty may be found!!

The humane society just called Duane and they think they may have found the new kitty! Duane is coming to pick me up and we are going to go see if it is him. I did not have much hope of finding him, so I am really happy!

Wed-nes-day

I meet with my real estate company tomorrow and (hopefully) find out where things go from here. It is exciting to think of a career change, but what if I suck at it? My mom and dad don't think it is the greatest idea (although they have been pretty tactful in saying so). 3 months till I am finished with this job, but that includes an 18 day vacation.

I am getting a hair cut today. My hair has been rather scary with the humidity lately. I didn't want to freak out the real estate lady tomorrow.

I also watched My First Mister yesterday with Leelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks. It was a good indie type film.

I am a HUGE REAL ESTATE ROCKSTAR!

I passed my test this morning. They don't tell you your score when you pass (only if you fail), so I don't know if I rocked it or passed by the skin of my teeth. A pass is a pass though!

Duane won't be home till 11pm or so tonight, so he will have to take me out to dinner tomorrow night.

The heat and humidity may be gone this weekend! I have wanted to go golfing (and other outside projects), and it has been too hot to do so.

I had chinese food last night. It reminded me that I hate chinese food.

I can go back to my house projects and stop obsessing about the test!!

p.s. thank you Cate for the real estate vibes and thank you Conor!

Freaking out

My test is tomorrow morning and I am slightly freaking out. I feel like I haven't studyed enough (which I probably haven't). I am studying this afternoon and tonight. Hopefully I can cram all the info into my brain. It is too late to change the date of my test without forfitting the money, so I might as well take it.

Duane is in LA, otherwise I would probably be driving him nuts.

Testing

So my test is scheduled for next Tuesday morning, 8am. It looks like they may have scheduled me for the wrong test though, so I have to straighten that out. You are supposed to get there 30 minutes beforehand. I am so not a morning person. It will be over and done with though.

Duane has to whisk off to LA on Sunday night. It will be ok since I will have lots of cramming time and then we can celebrate when he gets back Tuesday night!

I am hoping to go see Batman begins tonight! I am a sucker for comic book movies, even if they aren't that good (like Hulk).

It is SUMMER

The kitty is still missing. I checked out the humane society yesterday, in case someone had brought him in. No dice. Duane and I put signs up in the neighborhood last night.

My test is set for next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. They were supposed to get back to me within 24 hours, and they haven't.

Off to go home and clean the house for a guest coming tomorrow.

Missing Cat

So it seems that the new kitty got out on Friday night, and has been missing ever since. I let Hershey out on Friday night before I went to bed. I didn't see the kitty get out, but we have looked all over the house and he is not there. :( We are sad. We have contacted the local humane society in case he shows up there, and I am going to put up some signs today.

I am going to schedule my test for next Monday.

Weekend was pretty good.

Not too chatty

I am not too chatty, but I am still alive.

We did get the new kitty. I will have to get his picture up. Mr. and Miss Kitty seem to almost be over their rightous indignation at a stranger joining the household. Unfortunately, he likes to go outside and disappear (which he did this morning). Hopefully he is being a good kitty.

Hopefully taking my real estate test next week. A new career is so scary.

I foiled the vending machine

and got my water from the cafeteria. Why don't I always go to the cafeteria? Laziness, as the cafeteria is way on the other side of the building. :)

I had a good visit with my Mom last night. We picked up our CSA box. She said she thought the farm would be more glamorous (my word, I can't remember exactly what she said). It is a small family farm. It was much more expensive for the bigger farm in Madison.

I have some mizuna, spinach, and lettuce for a salad today. Tonight I am going to make some greens, swiss chard and beet tops. I also have some rhubarb to use. I was dissapointed that we didn't get asparagas this week.

My cellphone is possessed, but will at least allow me to make calls. Last night it was cycling on and off all by itself. It also changed the ring tone, which was a little freaky when the phone rang.

Duane is still in CA till tomorrow afternoon. It seems like it has been ages!

Pisstacular morning

My cellphone has decided to flip out on me. It tells me it is in service mode and requires a power recycle. Funny thing that the manual doesn't mention this at all.

My mom is supposed to come visit me today, and I have no idea when (and she can't contact me on my cellphone).

I had to pull grass out of Hershey's butt this morning on our walk, and pick up poop in the basement. That dog needs to eat less grass and get an attitude adjustment.

Most of my house is messy, so I am sure my mom will say something and want to clean it up. I got a last minute invite to dinner last night, and I would rather spend time with friends.

Miss Kitty has been darting outside (which is usually ok), but she has been refusing to come back in. It is hot and humid here, so she shouldn't be outside for long periods of time. I left the garage door open a little and put some water in there. Stupid kitty.

I still haven't heard back about the possible new kitty either.


Ugh.

I might be getting a new kitty!

Well I missed out on the kitten recently posted on freecycle, but another post was put up for two cats. I may get one of the cats, if another person doesn't want both. Oh, I did talk to Duane about this before he left, so I am not ambushing him with a new kitty. :)

No one but me at work today, so I should do more studying. I was jittery yesterday (should probably cut out the 1 caffeinated soda per day), so hopefully I can get more done. I feel like the house selling season is passing me by.

I am still trying to decide about my last day at work. I am wondering if it should be my last day of vacation or if I should come back to work after vacation. It should probably be the last day. Who wants to go back to work after vacation?

Scattered thunderstorms for the next 7 days.

Animals

If you are going to adopt a pet, please realize that you have the responsibility of this pet for its lifetime. Do not adopt a pet if you will get rid of it because you are: a) moving, b) having kids (allergies and dangers aside), c) too lazy to take care of it, and d) etc. Drives me nuts.

Duane is in CA this week for work. I am hoping to get some things done around the house, as well as more real estate studying. I am visiting with my Mom on Thursday and picking up our first box of CSA.

Duane left me his car this week. It is a lot nicer to drive to work in his car than in mine!

We had dinner out with friends last night. I thought the food was good, but my stomach didn't think it was so hot. It is not a restaurant we usually eat at, and I don't think I will be going back.

Vending machines

So I usually bring my water from home, but my water bottle needs a run through the dishwasher. I went to the vending machine to buy a bottle of water. I had a bad experience with Deja Blue (tasted bad), so I was going for the Aquafina. I put in my dollar and 25 cents. Well the stupid machine didn't register my dollar, and wouldn't give me back my 25 cents either! I almost turned around and went home.

My lovely husband brought me a bottle of water and lunch today. We sat out on the Terrace by Lake Mendota and had a nice lunch. I wanted ice cream (from the University dairy), but Duane's tummy has not been feeling well lately.

Our weekend was busy but nice. We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday, which we haven't been to in quite some time. My parent's 40th anniversary party was a bit hit, and all of my food turned out perfectly! We ended up spending some late night time at the Terrace hanging out with Chris and Katie.

Sunday was the baptism and party. It was fine. Long and tiring though. We ended up skipping our fancy dinner for our anniversary due to tiredness and tummy problems. We did have an awesome pizza instead though!

Words

We are pretty busy this weekend. We are celebrating my parent's 40th anniversary with a party at my sister's house tomorrow evening. Sunday is my new niece's baptism, party, and the dinner to celebrate my 1st anniversary. Duane is having such a difficult time with the idea of buying a gift of paper. He stresses out about gifts way too much (hello...a travel or home decorating journal??).

Chris and Katie are coming to town tomorrow (they called yesterday). Unfortunately we will not have any time to spend with them since we are booked with family plans.

I need to change my calendar to June.

I made some awesome butter pecan and lemon ice cream for the party tomorrow.

I can't decide when my last day of work should be. Our vacation hours reset on September first. We get (and can use) our hours before we earn them, but I am not sure how quickly we earn them.

I have been checking on accomodations for our Europe trip. Sheesh! No wonder people stay in hostels, everything else is pricey.

Whoops

I let the cat out of the bag regarding Star Wars. :)

Nothing else too exciting. Alone at work, so I should do some real estate studying.

BTW, Jergen's has an awesome lotion with a bit of sunless tanner in it. It takes a couple of days to get the color, but you don't end up orange or all streaky. It is great for people like me who tan in some places (my arms) and not in others (my legs).

It is Wednesday already?

Well the long weekend was a good one. We ended up spending a lot of time with family, and a little time working on the house. The main house project (new walkway) did get finished (and the weather turned out to be ok).

We picked up the patio furniture. I haven't had a chance to sand it down and stain it yet. We had dinner back in Janesville after returning the truck (that we borrowed to pick up the furniture). My dad is pretty funny with a drink or two in him.

Sunday was breakfast at the OCB (it works well for the kids) after church. Yes we went to church and it even happened to be the day that the priest reminded everyone that you need to go to church every Sunday! Our new walkway pavers had been delivered when we got back so we worked on that.

Monday we finished up the walkway and went to Janesville to babysit. The kids were great and we had fun.

We went to see the latest Star Wars on Thursday. I really wanted him to not turn into Darth Vader!

Long weekend

It is me, myself, and I at work today so I am leaving early. I will be having lunch with my fabulous husband. He made a great score of some wood patio furniture (from IKEA) at a rummage sale today. Go Duane!

I am hoping to get my house in good shape this weekend. The weather forecast is odd. It could rain maybe at sometime/anytime any of the days. The forecast is fabulous for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week though (figures).

I haven't figured out my official leave date yet, but when I do I am thinking of posting a countdown.

Another day of sun!

It is sunny again here today. I find that it really boosts my mood. It makes me plan many ambitious outside projects for the weekend, which I am pretty sure Duane does not want to do.

Work has been quiet.

Did I mention that my brother planned his new baby's baptism for the same day as my 1st wedding anniversary? This day also happens to be my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. I am sure that must have been the only Sunday available in the history of time. So my 1st wedding anniversary will include lots of other people. We are going to dinner at a very nice restaurant though. I am trying to think of a good "paper" gift. At least there will be no house projects for that weekend!

Also, Duane has two trips to California this month. They are a week apart at least, and he does bring me good presents. :)

But I want a kitten!

So Duane has this weird pet limit. We can only have 4 pets. I could have gotten a calico kitten for free, but Duane says no. Duane is no fun.

So yesterday when I wanted to do no work has become today. I did actually do a little bit of work, but I am planning on leaving early.

Duane and I went for a bike ride last night to look for tennis courts. It seems that the only tennis courts in our little city are at the high school. Two parks have plans for tennis courts, but they haven't been put in yet.

The 3 cheese stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut is not better than the regular stuffed crust pizza, even though it looks really good in the commercial.

This is Cate and Conor's awesome house! 

This is Tobie, Cate and Conor's other minature poodle (and Duane). 

This is Barlow, Cate and Conor's cute minature poodle. 

I got to pet a baby horse today!

I decided to walk into work today from where I park my car (about a mile or so). I was rewarded by a very friendly 3 week old foal. I walk past some of the agriculture buildings, including a barn. The horses were outside, and I love horses. He was super friendly, nuzzlying my hand and nibbling on my fingers.

I am doing some work today, even though is it so tempting to goof off and then go home early.

Cate did an awesome review of our trip to visit them in Missouri.

Mizzourah

So Duane and I had a fabulous time in Missouri! We drank wine by the river, sang karaoke, and canoodled with their cute, cute mini poodles. Pictures tomorrow!

My dogs seemed happy and healthly after their trip to my sister's. I wish they could write little diaries because I am so curious as to what they did! She said they were good, other than a trip into the river (which she was warned about in advance).

We ended the weekend with my niece's 5th birthday party. My 4 year old nephew asked me if we went to church! Good grief!

Catharsis

So, I had a long talk with my boss today. Oddly enough, he was very supportive. I just don't understand why he can't be like that ALL of the time.

We talked about how I really haven't done any work around here, and why that is. We talked about what direction I want to go in (he knew I had applied for other jobs), and what he can do to help me. He said he wouldn't give me a bad reference, even if I haven't been as productive as he wished I was.

I think there was agreement in that I wished he had been different as a boss, and he wished I had been more proactive in my job.

I can kick myself wondering why I haven't been more proactive and confrontational. I know why though. This is not what I want to do with the rest of my life, no matter how much I thought it was when I was in college.

I know now exactly what my boss wants me to do before I leave, and he knows that I am planning to leave.

Not so bad

I haven't mentioned that I have been doing well on my real estate studying. I am over half way done, and should be able to take the test in early June (which reminds me to schedule the test).

I am also doing pretty decent on Weight Watchers this time. I have lost 5 lbs in 4 weeks. I wish it was more like 8 lbs.

Work is ok, probably because I am taking Thursday and Friday off this week. On Thursday I am taking the dogs to my sister's, so Duane and I can travel to MO too see Cate and Conor! I am excited for a road trip.

A craptacular Friday

Well my boss decided to remember that I work here today. He is putting the hammer down, which is just so hypocritical after not talking to me for months.

And I am not kidding. My boss does not talk to me for months at a time.

Hopefully I can placate him, because it would be nice to have a salary for a few more months before I quit.

I am not trying to excuse the fact that my work ethic is not existant here.

I can only hope that my full sanity returns once I escape from this place.

Baby Elisabeth 

Hello, it's me again!

Hello! I haven't posted in awhile, so here I am again.

My new niece was born on Saturday, all healthy and everything. We went to see her on Sunday, after breakfast at my parents for Mother's Day. My sister-in-law just had a baby, and still had the gumption to ask Duane and I if we went to church. She doesn't seem to get that Duane is NOT Catholic. Oh and I am not getting up at 6:30 am on a Sunday to go to church (my family goes to 8:15am church and they are 45 minutes away).

I took a sick day yesterday. My right tonsil and lymph node were swollen, so I decided to rest. I got pretty sick last year around Thanksgiving, and I don't want to repeat that.

Cloudy and cool weather today and yesterday. I am hoping to get some outside work done this weekend.

Mr. Kitty 

Miss Kitty always blinks! 

I am a horrible wife

So Duane and I have been watching Veronica Mars this season on UPN (awesome by the way). I set up the vcr to tape it last night, since we were out golfing. I set it up to tape at the wrong time!! Bad me. Duane found someone at work that taped it, so we can borrow her tape. I did another boo-boo though because I sent him a synopsis of the episode before I knew we could watch it. Bad me again. I think I will have to bake some cookies or something.

Golfing last night wasn't too bad. I am a beginner, but I did manage to hit par on one hole (a par 3 course).

I had an awesome dinner. We went to a restaurant that we love, where we usually get pizza. I ordered something else this time, and it was so good. It was a ton of shredded salami, ham, and pepperoni in a balasamic cream sauce. Yummy!

Pictures of the kitties today too!

I figured out how to post pictures!

So I figured out how to post pictures, in my quest to make this blog more interesting and less depressing.

Hershey will be 12 this year, and Brisco will be ~3. Hershey is a chocolate lab mix, and Brisco is a treeing walker coonhound (a breed not recognized by the AKC).

I will post pictures of the kitties tomorrow.

This is Brisco, the young guy in the house. 

This is my oldest dog, Hershey. 

Congrats!

I forgot to say congratulations to Brian and Beth who got engaged last week. They don't have a date yet, but I am already excited for it!

Dinner out and bowling with friends last night. One friend is traveling to Alaska to work on a salmon fishing boat for the summer! I had a great peanut stew which was supposed to be spicy, but wasn't. I think a little more spice would have made it excellent.

It's May!

Thursday night we went to see Sin City. It was visually stunning and very cool. I love movies about comics though, even the Hulk! It did cause me to have a weird dream though.

Friday night we went to the 26th anniversary dinner of Epic Systems (where Duane works). The food was tasty. Beverages were boring because they always do a non-alcoholic thing. We had a great dessert of chocolate mousse in a tiny chocolate cup.

On Saturday we painted the ceiling in our bedroom. My great invention (stupid QVC link that doesn't take you to the item) from QVC sucked ass, so Duane had to go buy a roller cover. Duane said I can no longer watch QVC. It says that it is perfect for textured walls and ceilings, and it really isn't. It needs a second coat, but otherwise turned out well. Now I just have to sew the curtains, duvet cover, and pillows! I also need to stencil the walls.

The murder mystery toga party turned out to be pretty fun. It kept us up late though, and made us tired for going to Chicago.

Chicago was kind of a bust, due to the weather. We went to the Chicago Antiques Fair. We knew that it cost $12 to get in. I guess we should have figured that it was going to be super snooooty. I thought I might be able to buy something small, but everything there was megabucks.

We went somewhere to eat (www.annsather.com), and it was only ok (although the cinnamon rolls were fabulous!). We did a little more shopping, but the freezing, windy weather sucked. I did buy a paperweight. It is a log with tiny turtles on it made out of iron.

I think I am going to try and be more interesting here, instead of depressing.

OH, found out today that my boss is actually interviewing to hire someone to replace someone that is leaving.

No headache

The headache seems to be gone today! The sun is out as well, although it is still chilly here.

I am going to a murder mystery toga party on Saturday. I am trying to remember why I agreed to go to this.

On Sunday we are going to Chicago to see friends. We will check out Millenium Park, eat good food, and shop!

Headache

I have a headache that started Monday night. Advil makes it kind of go away. I went home early from work yesterday. I got a good amount of work done around the house, and my headache went away. It came back last night though and has stuck around this morning. I might go home early from work today too. I have tons of sick time, so no big whoop.

Congrats to Cate!

Crappy weather

It is funny how I don't feel like posting sometimes. It could be because I don't feel like being introspective, or I just don't have anything exciting going on.

My sister-in-law is going to be having a baby soon (due date is May 5th but she usually goes early), and this is number 5. My brother's family is keeping the gender a secret, but Duane and I swear that he slipped on Friday night and said "him". He denied it, saying that he said "them", refering to their twins. We shall see!

We did some work around the house this weekend. I really wanted to work outside, our landscaping is a disaster. The weather was sunny, but very windy and chilly. We got some things done inside the house as well as cleaning. Funny how I can clean 3 rooms to Duane's one. :)

That weird thing on my ankle is still there, but my thyroid test came back normal (it took 3 weeks to get the result!).

The weather all week is rather crappy here. It got really nice and warm for a couple of weeks, and then BAM! crappy weather.

I have to do some real estate studying this week as I am constantly reminded as to why I hate my job.

The Usual

Just the usual going on here.

I did have lunch with my boss for a coworker's birthday on Monday. He managed to make a few derogatory remarks about Catholics (we were talking about the Pope), and went on and on about some medieval crap no one was listening to. He was also decked on in white pants, pastel plaid, and a lime green, orange, and yellow golfing cap. He is never without a hat or sunglasses (even when he attended my wedding).

Same old, same old.

Freecycle

I love the concept. I have stuff that I no longer need which is cluttering up my house. I can give it to someone who needs it, and they may even come pick it up from my house.

The reality is that there are some rude people out there. People who will say they want your stuff, but then change their mind and never contact you again. I have been trying to pass some things along for a week now, and it is getting frustrating. I have someone coming to look at some doors tomorrow, hopefully they will take them.

Hanging out with friends tonight, which should be fun. Tomorrow is a birthday party for a cousin I rarely hang out with, but my little sister seems to want us to go.

Sunday is going to a Brewers game, which should be a lot fun.

That's all I got

I did do some work yesterday, but can't say that I feel like doing any today. The weather is beautiful!

Blah

I will do some work today.

Zzzzzz

I am sleepy today, despite not going to bed too late and sleeping in a little. I wasn't sleepy yesterday when I got up early and went to the gym.

I still haven't heard back from the lab on my thyroid test. I am going to assume that nothing is wrong with my thyroid. Why am I so darn tired then? The weird thing on my ankle hasn't gone away yet either.

I had a good visit with our friend that has returned from Iraq. He is thinking about going back next spring. :(

I wish I had my own office with a bed in it.

Yello

How did Monday come up so quickly?

We found out that a friend of ours has arrived back in the country from Iraq. We are having lunch with him today, which should be nice.

The birthday party was fine, but I forgot that I had to babysit for my sister. We didn't get home until 11pm.

On Sunday we cleaned out the garage, and Duane put together this miter saw table he bought. I have a piano in the garage that I have to figure out what to do with it. I would like to find out how much it would cost to tune/repair it, and then decide if I want to keep it.

I didn't study this weekend. Bad me.

p.s. the new car is awesome

It is Friday!

So the car purchase has been made. Duane got the car he really wanted, which I know will make him happy for a long time (it better!). We bought a 2002 BMW 330i. It is certainly a nicer car than I have ever driven in in my life.

We will have to keep a tighter eye on the budget, and probably cut one or two things.

The cabaret last night was interesting. We didn't stay for the whole thing because it was getting late, and it was really smokey. I finally got to see Martin Price of Wake Forest fame in action. Quite amusing.

We have my twin niece and nephew's birthday party tomorrow, and then will hopefully work around the house the rest of the weekend.

Yes I am really

going to a cabaret show with my boss. Yuk. We are meeting at 9 and the show doesn't even start until 10 (and is supposed to run 2 hours). I was planning on getting out of there at 10 (oh and it costs $6). This is supposed to be for his birthday. I agreed to go when the plan was to go to a "bar". I can handle going to a bar, there is alcohol there anyway.

Still working on the car thing, in case anyone is breathlessly awaiting our decision.

Is it Friday yet?

Cars

So Duane really is driving me nuts with this car thing. He can't decide how much he wants to spend, can't decide on a car, is obsessing about it, etc.

He told me that we would just buy the car I wanted, since I knew exactly what I wanted. Oh, he changed his mind about that last night too.

While a Hummer would certainly fit in around here, we don't have that kind of cash. :)

We did look at a Prius the other day. The interior is pretty crappy considering the jacked up price. It does get great gas mileage though, which is one of our concerns.

Rain in the forecast tonight, but we are supposed to have a fabulous weekend.

Duh

The post that I thought I lost last Friday really is there.

The doctor determined that I do not have a blood clot, vasculitis, and another condition that I cannot remember the name of. We may never know what it is. She had a funny way of discribing my blood pressure and pulse (lowish blood pressure, weakish pulse). I did give blood to get my thyroid checked, and now my arm hurts.

I started studying for my real estate exam.

I am having lunch with Duane today and it is nice out. Yea!

Duane can't decide what kind of car he should buy. I think he is going to drive me crazy with this. :)

Crap

I had written a post up on Friday, but I did not save it and it did not post.

The new news is that I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning to check out what could be a circulatory problem. I have had an odd bruise like thing on my ankle for about three weeks. I did think it was a bruise at first until it didn't go away. I talked to my sister's mother-in-law (a nurse) and she was very worried about it. Exciting.

Duane will be buying a new car. Dispite the nature of his car accident being quite tame, there is extensive damage to his car. It is more than the car is actually worth, so the insurance company will just give him the value of the car. I was thinking of buying a new car, and now Duane gets to. It will be something slightly used though, since it is such a rip off to buy a brand new car.

Duane was in San Diego last week, but no more traveling for awhile.

We had my niece and nephew's first communion on Sunday. It was nice, but required getting up very early. Duane thinks Catholics are a strange bunch.

I haven't started studing for my real estate exam. I think I am afraid that I won't be good at it. I will conquer that this week.

OH, and it is WARM here. 73 degrees of warm, and I am sitting in my office. I am being quite good though and doing a lot of work.

I have a hair appointment tonight for some highlights. Not sure what I am going to do with it. Hopefully it will turn out well and funky looking (not suburbia looking).

I think I am caught up now. Any questions? Leave them in the comments section.

A week later...

I haven't felt much like writing lately, should be a sign to me that I am feeling out of sorts.

The insurance company has decided that it will cost more to fix Duane's car than it is worth, so now we are trying to figure out what to do. We don't know how much it would cost to make the car legally driveable versus how much it would cost to totally fix the car. I would just buy a new car (since the car I want is on the low end of price), but I don't think Duane is ready for a new car. He also hates my car (manual transmission), so that doesn't help things.

Duane has also been in San Diego this week. He comes back tomorrow afternoon.

I have to figure out what my feelings are on the whole realtor thing. I haven't started studying for it yet, so I know there is something holding me back.

Sunday is my niece and nephew's first communion at 8:15am. This means we need to be ready to leave by 7:15am, which means getting up at the ass crack of dawn (especially since it is Daylight Savings Time this weekend). Ugh.

It really is supposed to be warm next week.....

It is still pretty cold here. The sun is out for the most part, but the air temperature is chilly.

Duane managed to have a little fender bender this morning. We were going to the gym (in separate cars), and it was taking him forever to show up. I went to the car and checked my cell phone (the gym discourages cell phone use inside), and he left me a message that I better come home because he hit someone. My first thought was that he ran someone over!! It was actually a minivan that blew a yield sign right by our house, and Duane hit her. The accident tore off his bumper and did a fair amount of damage.

Luckily (for insurance and money purposes), it was totally her fault. I gave him a ride to work this morning, and I will tomorrow too. He was loving that.

We are going shopping in the Chicago area on Saturday. Lots of furniture type outlet places. If you have any favorite places to shop, please leave a comment for me.

Partly cloudy Tuesday

At work we are going out for lunch for my birthday today. I don't really want to go. Some days you feel like being social and some days you don't.

We had a guy come to the house last night to give us a window estimate. We have a gigantic window in the living room. One of the sides doesn't open and moisture builds up so you can't see out. The estimate: $4000!

Duane and I are going to Poland, Czechslovakia, Austria, and Hungary in August. If you have any suggestions of what to see, where to go, or what to do, please leave them in the comments section.

Sleepy.

Sunny Monday

So I wrote a post up earlier, but it never posted. I realized that there were a few things that I didn't mention in the first post, so here we go again.

I had a nice dinner with my sister's family. My niece and I made chocolate lollipops and my nephew made gummy candy.

I took Friday off. I got a few things done around the house, but then I got lazy. Duane got stuck in Minneapolis so he didn't get home that night.

On Saturday I did a few things around the house, and then I was lazy again. I sat on the couch for too many hours for me to say. I haven't done that in a long time though.

Sunday was a shopping day, although we should have gone grocery shopping. We got a good deal on a table for the miter saw! I also got some wood to make two shelves with. We had an awesome lunch, but then we got really lethargic and giddy (hence no grocery shopping). We watched Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It was a cool movie that could have been so much more!

I also watched Uptown Girls. I thought it was going to be very stupid, but it was actually quite good. I also watched Princess Diaries 2. Princess Diaries 1 was much better.

I have to start studying for my real estate license.

C'mon get happy

So I didn't fall asleep until 1am last night, which led me to sleep late this morning. Certian aspects of life are much easier when Duane is here.

The sun is not shining today and it is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow.

The real estate company is ready to bring me into the fold, which is not too surprising since it is not much of a risk for them. You are an independent contractor. They give you a lot of schooling and support, and then take a percentage of your money (which oddly enough she didn't mention at all). I am going to go for it. I can keep my job while I am doing the schooling part (ie not earning any money for a few months). Hopefully I will be successful in selling some homes right away, so I can leave this job. I have decided then that I need to be much more productive (or just plain productive) at this job, since I will need it for a few more months.

The happy part of today? I am taking off tomorrow, so today is my Friday. Oh, and I will be having dinner with my sister's family tonight.

On a more positive note...

I think I can be more positive today. The sun is shining!

I have an appointment with someone from a real estate group this afternoon. Hopefully it will be interesting.

Duane is out in California staying at the Ritz and eating $100 dinners. Rough life!

My mom is coming to see me today. She says she doesn't care if my house is totally clean, but I know she does.

I made an awesome recipe for dinner last night. I always make things that Duane would never eat when he is gone, and this one was really tasty.

I have really been slacking at work lately, but then I hate this job anyway.

Mood

Sometimes I believe that if you don't have anything good to say, just don't say anything.

I got nothin' today.

Sleepy

I couldn't fall asleep last night, and then had a series of weird and horrible dreams. I was also cold because Duane took all of the blanket.

Duane saw that Conor had titled his link to my blog as, "Life with Duane", so he asked me to change it. It is more accurate than just Life. :)

I need to call the real estate lady about making an appointment. She emailed me on Thursday and then called me on Friday. I emailed her back, but she didn't respond to that (maybe she didn't get it?).

Duane and I spent Saturday in Janesville hanging out with my parents and my sister's family. It was fun. We scored some good things at Big Lots too!

Duane watched basketball on Sunday and we watched Dodgeball. Duane said it wasn't as funny the second time around.

And the beat goes on....

I took a realtor simulator test yesterday. I turns out that I did pretty well on it, and will meet with someone next week about career possibilities.

I am hoping for a good fish dinner tonight. Last week we went to a "supper club" where the fish was very good. No free refills on soda though, how archaic is that? A supper club in WI is an old fashioned type place full of blue hairs and brandy old fashioneds.

Duane goes to Pasadena next week. It gets a little lonely, but I don't have to share the tv. At least I know he will bring me back some See's candy!

Apathetic

Discribes how I feel today.

Duane had the stomach flu the past two days, so we didn't go out somewhere cool for dinner. He owes me next week. He did send me flowers at work though! He also bought me a very cool mickey mouse watch, even though he has something personal against mickey mouse.

My house is a mess, even though I have been home most of the past two days keeping Duane company.

I know my apathy is a result of my job situation. Dammitalltohell.

I looked up getting your realtor's license. If you through the WRA (wisconsin realtor's association) it cost $400!

What if

What if I could go back to being 21? There are choices that I made that I wouldn't make again, but it would mean that I wouldn't end up with what I have now. Would I give up what I have now, to change things in the past?

There are choices I need to make about my career, but I am not making them. I am hoping another job will come along, and keep me from having to make any choices.

One of my dogs slipped on some ice this morning and fell on his butt. It was pretty funny.

I really need a new job

The HMO job fell through. They were looking for someone who has computer programming experience. I told them that I was sure I could pick it up quickly, but they didn't sound optimistic.

My boss put an email on my desk (why print it out when you can forward it?) from our collaborator. He is wanting to know why an experiment hasn't been done, and why he is missing data. Oddly enough, I had no idea he was still interested in receiving any data from this lab. The experiment has not been done because it involves monkeys and is my boss's responsibility. I can get most of the data to him quickly, but I am not looking forward to my boss yelling at me (which he usually does when things are his fault).

My birthday is on Wednesday, but I wish it wasn't.

Happy Birthday to Duane!

Um...yeah

So I got a call today from the temp service. Oddly enough that job was only offering 10-11 dollar/hour. This job isn't not horrible enough to take a $10,000 pay cut. We are going to do a phone interview in case there are other "opportunities" that I match up with.

I got a call yesterday about a job with a local HMO. They saw my resume posted on a site and called me. Oddly enough she mentioned having computer programing skills, which is not on my resume anywhere. The job sounds interesting so I will call her back. I hate calling people.

I scored a victory at Home Depot today. I want a particular ceiling fan for my bedroom, but it isn't sold with a light kit. It will be replacing the overhead light in the bedroom, so it needs to have a light. No one at Home Depot knew anything about a light kit for this fan. This fan is not in any catalog or on their website. After a few rounds a Home Depot, they finally found this light kit (which is a special order). Yea!

No big plans for this weekend. Going to a home products show, which will probably be fun, and a pancake breakfast!

Still Cold

I followed up on the job from the other day. It is a temp service, so they are really vague about the job until they interview you. I did not get the impression that the money would be there, but we shall see.

I am glad that my Trading Spaces calendar has really bright colors on it. It makes me think of Spring, even though it is pretty cold here.

I am making Cincinnati style chili for dinner tonight. Yummy!

I am still pretending that my birthday is not next week.

Chilly day

It is pretty chilly here today, even though the sun is starting to feel warmer. Spring cannot get here fast enough for me, well I am not looking forward to muddy dog feet, but otherwise bring it on please!

Duane's new idea of a possible job for me is to be a realtor. There are parts of this job that I know I can handle, and others I am not so sure about. I am not what you would call a pe0ple person, but maybe a challenge would make the job more interesting.

Side note: I have reserved a tape on playing pool at the local library and I am number 2 on the list. I have been number 2 for about a month and I have had the hold placed for about 2 months. Hello! I want to learn how to play pool!

This morning felt like a Monday

Well my haircut turned out pretty good. At least people tell me they like it, which is always a good thing. It is a little short for me, but cute. I liked the new salon as well.

I did get a phone call about a possible job yesterday. I need to follow up on that.

Nothing else exciting today.

You have got to be kidding me

So my boss sent his wife and her two elderly parents off to vacation in CA by themselves. He can't handle that much time alone with her extended family. Supposedly he is going to go on a little skiing trip by himself.

How nice.

Haircut today!

I have a haircut scheduled for early evening today. My hair is so overgrown it is not even funny. I was supposed to have a haircut at the beginning of the month, but I decided that I didn't like my stylist anymore. She cut my hair strangely the last time I was there, and the salon prices went up at the beginning of the year. Hopefully this new place will be nice.

I went to the gym this morning. Yea me! The stairmaster machine is really hard. No wonder I am out of breath after a couple of flights of stairs.

I ate crap all weekend. Fish fry on Friday (yummy), new Pizza Hut pizza on Saturday (yummy), and doughnuts yesterday for breakfast. Also consumed a good amount of beer as well. We went bowling on Saturday night, which was fun.

Watched Rushmore last night instead of watching the Oscars. It was a cute, quirky movie.

I will be looking for jobs again today. At least my boss is on vacation for the week!

Hey, it is Friday!

We are having a potluck at work today. I made steak and chicken for fajitas and it turned out fabulously! I have never made this particular recipe before, so I was very happy. Beer was included as well, so that is always a good thing.

I fixed my resume yesterday and uploaded it to a bunch of job sites. Is it unrealistic for me to want them to call me today with tons of job offers? I suppose so.

Lots of home improvement planned for the weekend. I got a new painting contraption from QVC, so hopefully it works as they claim. Duane would like to sloth on the couch all weekend, but the house is a disaster area.

My boss and his wife leave on Monday for a 10 days in CA. Yea!

My birthday is coming up, but I am pretending that it isn't.

Is it Friday yet?

We didn't end up eating the cake the other day, but we did eat it yesterday. It was an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery. It was my suggestion to get the cake from there (plus picking it up and paying for it), and it turned out to be an outstanding cake. It was really yummy.

I stopped by the grocery store last night for some light alfredo sauce, which turned out to be gross tasting by the way. I bought a magazine, and lo and behold it was not in my bag when I got home. A large percentage of the bag boys at this grocery store are very nice and competent, but the one last night was neither of those things. I don't buy magazines very often, so I was disappointed.

Washington D.C. was an excellent time. I can't wait to go sometime and see the cherry blossums (we were too early this visit). I bet it will be great in June!

I was thinking about my resume yesterday, and realized that I should change it. I left out a block of time where I worked at a bunch of temporary jobs, and I don't think HR people like to see that missing time on there.

I had a dream that my current job suddenly got better. Wouldn't that be nice?

I am going to fix my resume and look for some jobs to apply for today.

Sooooo tired....

Back from an impulse trip to Washington D.C.

It was so great to see D.C. and spend time with some awesome friends. We flew back this morning at 6:30am, which is about the worse idea ever. The dogs were very happy to see us (they were at a kennel), which is always nice.

I am at work now, for no other reason than eating this birthday cake that I brought in about 4 hours ago (for someone else's birthday).

No word on a job I sent in my resume for a couple of weeks ago (beyond the standard we received your resume email). Darn it.

Surprise!

So I wasn't expecting anyone to find me typing away here, but the two people who inspired me to create a blog did! Thanks for the support!

I have always enjoyed writing, and this is a good place to do it. I don't have much to do at work anyway.

I managed to lose half a pound last week, but I don't imagine that this week will be remotely successful.

I haven't been sleeping well for the past 5 days. I thought it was because Duane was out of town, but it has continued since he has been back. He thinks it is because of the stress of hating my job, and not being successful in finding a new one. Could very well be.

Weight Watchers

So I managed to do Weight Watchers for two whole weeks. If I skip two days of journaling, then it all goes to hell. I don't feel like catching up on journaling, so I don't. I don't go hog wild on eating, but I am sure I go over my points since I am not counting.

Tomorrow is a new week. Perhaps I will get lucky and lose a bit. I should really start a routine of going to the gym. Really really should.

Job

I was thinking about this blog today. I think this will be a good place to complain about things that people in my life are really tired of me complaining about. The fact that people are tired of me complaining about it (not that anyone has said anything to me) means that I should do something about it. I feel like I am stuck.

I need a new job. This job makes me angry and or sad on a daily basis. I think the sad part comes from the high hopes I had for this job in the beginning. The angry part comes from the crappiness of the job. I have to pay $400 to park my car in a lot that is 1.5 miles from the building I work in. I take a bus to get to work, which I miss by 30 seconds half the time. I sit on the bus with students and smelly people, and deal with jack off bus drivers (although most of them are nice).

My parents want me to go into nursing. This would be a good job, defined by the ability to find a job and the pay scale. I want to get my teaching certificate. This would be a so-so job. Teaching jobs are hard to find around here, and the pay scale is less than nursing. I could also do something in interior design. This would be a so-so job. I could work for myself, but it would be difficult to get started. All these things require more school and money.

I wish I could find something that paid an equal amount of money to what I make now, and didn't make me angry or sad on a daily basis. I have debt that needs to be paid off. I shouldn't just quit my job without another job lined up. I know this. I tell myself this every day. I just need to find this other job. Where is it? What is it?

Today is the first day....

This is my first post. We shall see how it goes.