Thinking...

First, an announcement. This is my 300th post. =-)

Sigh. I know that no one is satisfied with her job 100% of the time. But how long do I have to feel like I might be ready for a change before I take steps towards change? The thought TERRIFIES me! But it has been on my mind a lot lately.

I would be stupid to post complaints about my job on the internet. And that's not what I'm trying to do here. I don't hate my job. There are a lot of good aspects about my job that I am very thankful for. There is flexibility in working in such an informal environment. But I've been working here for 6 years now. I heard a statistic once that most people change careers every six years. Ha! So no wonder I am thinking... my time is up!

Sigh. I need to pray about this more. Brett and I need to pray together. I LOVE when we pray together.

And by the way, last night was MUCH better! Brett slept through the night. I am very thankful that he was able to get some rest. I'm still tired, but hey, you can't have it all!

Rough Night

Yesterday was just not a good day. Nothing catastrophic, but I woke up this morning feeling a little beat up and like I needed to stay in bed and recover. No such luck, of course. But I hope that tonight will be better.

I'm so tired. Brett's just not a good sleeper. I feel so bad. I wish that there were something I could do to help him, but I get tired WAY before he does, so how much help can I be? Even before our sleepless bedtime though, there were a few rough spots to our evening. I think I am just ultra sensitive right now. I always am this time of month. Sigh. The joys of womanhood.

I think that unnecessary criticism can hurt relationships, especial familial ones, faster than almost anything. It's totally okay to disagree and to voice disapproval if there is something to be gained from voicing your thoughts... but even when there is something to be gained, there is a right way to say things. I'm sorry that I am occasionally delicate and need gentle words, but that's just how it is. I don't break easily, but if you don't want to see me bruise, then handle with care!

I'm exhausted today. Brett just couldn't sleep. Hopefully we will BOTH be tired enough to sleep deeply and peacefully tonight. And hopefully before that time comes, we will be extra sweet to each other.

Also, I hope that the afternoon passes quickly and the meeting taking place in the lunch room is almost over because I am ready to heat up my WW 3 cheese ziti.

That is all.

I Did It!

I watched a clip from Britain's got Talent without crying! I came close, buy my eyes are dry. Of course, I thought about crying because I will never in my life be able to sing "I Could Have Danced All Night" as well as that 7 year old did. Sigh.

Monday Again

The weekend flew by again. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I can't help being a little disappointed.

Friday night we had a tasty dinner at On The Border (LOVE that tortilla soup!) and then browsed at Barnes N Noble a bit. Nothing major, but a nice mellow evening.

Saturday came and went bringing us new gadgets and lighter pockets! We got an electric grill, which we broke in Saturday night with some tasty hot dogs! It is SO nice to be able to grill on the balcony and not have to drag the grill, charcoal, food, and grill tools down a flight of stairs and away from the building. I am very happy with what we bought =-) I wish it had been $50 cheaper, but hopefully we will get what we paid for, and the grill will last us the remainder of our apartment grilling days.

And FINALLY, my husband has a fully functional phone again. Brett's phone stopped working reliably just before the wedding. The buttons only worked when they felt like it. Brett works close to home, but he parks in a parking garage. Hello! Every girl, at some point in her adolescence, is taught some self defense or at least ways to identify dangerous situations. Dangerous situation #1? A parking garage! Brett works 2 minutes from home, but every day he was 15 minutes late getting home, my first thought was that he was laying in parking garage, mugged and battered. Not cool! I would tell myself that work ran late, or he was stopping to get me flowers, but I could never shake the picture of battered Brett =-( I feel MUCH better now that he has a phone that dials every time you ask it to! It is a nifty phone and it kept him entertained for the remainder of the weekend.

I had a good Weigh-in, and it was a good meeting at WW yesterday, so I am hoping for another good week. We shopped well, and today is going smoothly so far. One day at a time!

Last night I FINALLY started writing thank you cards from the wedding. I wrote for 2 hours, and I have 20 left to write. I'm not sure I can manage all 20 tonight with the bit of computer work I have to do, but I will give it a try!

I am thankful for the rain today =-) It has been fairly quiet at work so far, and I hope that it stays that way! 

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 4.27.09

Marge: Now I'm gonna warn you kids, the next part of the story gets a little 'WB'...

Happy Day =-)

I'm so glad it is Friday! We are slow at work so far today. I would love to have something to fold! I'm not really in the mood to staple though. Actually, I just want the day to pass quickly and peacefully! I would be okay with whatever that looked like.

It's been a good week. I wrapped up one of the logos that I was working on last night, and I am getting close on another. It turned out not to be a problem at all to work on so many at once because three of the ladies are busy and don't get back to me very quickly. I am going to start another one next week that sounds challenging! I hope that we come up with a logo that she likes. I'm also happy because I made enough money in the last couple of weeks to buy some Pantone books to keep at home. That will be a huge help and I'll feel really legitimate having my own Pantone books at home =-)

Brett got a bonus today and we are trying to decide the best way to use it. We have a small wish list, but none of the items are inexpensive. Of course. The most expensive item is a king size mattress set. We think we would sleep a little better if we had more room. We slept so well in the giant bed on our honeymoon... And Big Lots is having a sale starting tomorrow! We could actually afford the king size set right now, but it would take all of our extra money. The other things on our list are mostly not time sensitive. The only thing that we really need to buy this weekend, if we are going to buy it, is tickets to Rent. It is playing at Fair Park on my birthday and Brett said months ago that he wanted to take me to see it! If we don't buy them this weekend, first of all there probably won't be any good seats left, but also, we won't really have the money for it. I want to make the biggest credit card payment possible next week, so that means that I need to spend our money very carefully this weekend.

I don't really have anything exciting to report. We are doing very well =-) Still just enjoying being together. I miss a few things. I miss my family, and I miss Jennifer and Jenina. They are the only two friends that I hang out with semi-regularly and we haven't seen each other since the wedding =-( Well, Jenina picked us up from the airport after the honeymoon, but I haven't seen her since then. And I've only seen my family a couple of times. My sisters and I want us to pick a set time for us to get together regularly. We need each other!

Tonight I am going to write the thank you cards that we haven't sent yet so we can mail them tomorrow. I am going to do that while we watch The Wedding Singer. I love that movie! It's my favorite Adam Sandler movie. He and Drew have such good chemistry on screen. Very natural. And HOPEFULLY tomorrow I will get an oil change and HOPEFULLY Sunday I will clean the bathrooms, vacuum the apartment and mop the kitchen. I think I need to clean out the oven too, but I've never done that. Do I buy special cleaner for it?

It's 10:30... 6 and a half hours to go til weekend freedom =-)

Nerding Out =-)

Okay, this blog won't appeal to everyone, but I make no apologies. I've already confessed, I'm a nerd. I have a Harry Potter thought to share.

Last week when we had two days of bindery to do and nothing good was on Hulu, I bought Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on iTunes, and it has been quiet enough today that I decided to listen to it in the background while I work. I usually only do that when I am here on Saturdays, but I was bored to tears! The only job I have left to work on, I'm sort of ignoring, because it would only bring on more tears... of frustration!

So anyway, there is something that happens in this movie that I was always surprised JK Rowling didn't expand on more. Hagrid is a favorite character (top three at least) of many an HP fan. One of the first things that we learn about Hagrid in book one is that he isn't allowed to do magic. We later learn it is because he was expelled from Hogwarts when he was a student there so he never took the tests to allow him to practice magic legally. In Chamber of Secrets we learn that the reason that Hagrid was expelled is because Voldemort falsely accused him of something while they were classmates there. What? Hagrid went to school with Voldemort? That is a very interesting detail that is not brought up a single time in any other Harry Potter book. All of the facts we learn about Voldemort as a student, we learn from Dumbledore. I'm sure that Hagrid would have an interesting perspective on old Voldy. AND, Hagrid never expresses anger towards Voldemort for the whole thing despite that fact that not being allowed to practice magic is a huge hindrance on his life. I mean, I know that his overwhelming emotion where Voldemort is concerned is fear. That's true for most wizards. But Hagrid has a bit of a temper, ya know.

I just think it's strange that she wrote that story line and then never expanded on it.

That's it. Carry on.

Me Achin' Head!

I woke up with such a headache today! In a weird place too... I may have just not slept enough. Brett hasn't been sleeping very well. Last night his allergies woke him up in the middle of the night. He got up to take medicine and I kept him company while we waited for it to kick in. I asked him where the noise of thunder comes from and that led to all kinds of science fair wonders =-)

My Aleve is slowly starting to kick in. I hope it's a good day. My boss is off today, and those days are usually calmer for everyone. She is off tomorrow also. Score! And actually, Brett's boss is off too. His boss is pretty great though, so I don't think it will necessarily make things calmer or anything like that... It's been a quiet morning, and I'm thankful for that. I am experimenting with dinner tonight, and I hope it's good! It's my first go with our crock pot! And then I have some computer work today. Hopefully only an hour and a half or so, but we'll see.

I'm thankful tomorrow is Friday. We have some random errands to run this weekend, but nothing major. I hope it's mostly restful =-)

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 4.23.09

Marge: Homer, no! You'll kill us all!

Homer: Or die trying...

A Small Celebration

So since we had been married a month yesterday, I thought I should do something special. Brett and I always celebrated "monthiversaries" when we were dating. It was just an excuse to do something nice for each other. We had already had our meal planned, but I decided it might up the nice factor if we ate outside on our patio. We haven't used our new table yet. So I went on my lunch break and got Brett's favorite drink, Orange Crush in glass bottles, so that I could put it in the fridge and it would be chilled by dinner. Well he came home for lunch yesterday, so there goes the surprise. Ha! But it was still nice to eat outside. And he appreciated the crush.

I set up our table with two of the chairs from our dining room. I bought $5 flowers at Wal-mart for a centerpiece and a sweet card. Dinner was nothing fancy, but it was a beautiful evening. We have a lovely view of the creek from our apartment, and we like to watch the ducks. We call them "Clancy". It's probably multiple ducks that we see, but whenever we see one alone, we assume it's Clancy. Our little friend.

After that, I had a little computer work to do and he had a play date with Gary. It was a fun night =-) He didn't sleep very well, but maybe that will make him tired enough to sleep through the night tonight. I hope so!

Done and Done

I changed my name today =-)

It was easy! I went to the DMV first and the woman there was so nice! She made sure that I understood that I didn't have to change my name and told me how to switch it back if I changed my mind. And then she complemented my hair in my new and old DL picture. Isn't that funny? But she was so nice!

And then I drove to the Social Security office in Grand Prairie. It took me a minute or two to find it, but when I got there, it was so easy! I checked in on a little screen and then filled out a form, and then I only waited about 2 minutes! The woman who I first sat down with had to send me to someone else because we had the same name, and she's not allowed to make changes on someone's SS info when they have her name. Also funny.

I'm so glad that's done. I'm SO married now!

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 4.22.09

Marge: Homer, is this how you pictured married life?

Homer: Yeah, pretty much, except we drove around in a van solving mysteries.

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 4.21.09

Rev. Lovejoy: I remember another gentle visitor from the heavens, he came in peace and then died, only to come back to life, and his name was E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. I loved that little guy.

Here I Go Again

Okay, this is my second post this morning. I really should be a little more involved in my "work" by now, but... I got nothing.

Okay, something else that makes me cry EVERY TIME: those Britain's Got Talent clips that are on Yahoo once a week. They put the dramatic music in the background and it's filmed so close up. And the singers are so great! I seriously cry every time.

But hey! Who are those two guys? It's the guys from Love Actually. I love that movie. I watch it a lot. And I've always wondered if those two guys were real TV personalities. Well I guess they are because they are on Britain's Got Talent! Nice!

One Month Married =-)

A month ago today, I said "I do". Well, actually, there was no actual "I do" in our ceremony. So I guess I should say that a month ago today I took Brett as my lawfully wedded husband. I can't believe it's already been a month. Time flies!

It's been a good month. I can't say that it was or wasn't what I expected, because I had no idea what to expect. I don't know how it happened... I never would have imagined that this was possible, but somehow, being married made me love Brett more. I am just so thankful. It's a little ridiculous. The silliest things make me emotional. I come close to tears so often. Happy tears, but it's so funny. Last night sitting on the couch watching Star Trek with Brett, I wanted to cry! It's just so nice to BE there. To be with Brett and not have to leave. He is mine forever, and I am utterly bewildered by God's blessings.

I love when we laugh together. I love sleeping in together. I love staying up together. I love every minute of it. I know that these feelings will fade over time, at least most people say that it will, but right now, I am so thankful for this joy.

Tomorrow I am going to get my name changed. Eek!

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 4.20.09

Homer: (Bart must take a penalty shot against Lisa) Oh my God, Marge, a penalty shot with four seconds left! The winner will be showered with praises, and the loser will be taunted and booed until my throat is sore!

2 Food Facts

Fact #1: Dark Chocolate Sugar Free Jello Pudding is pudding perfection.

Fact #2: Today is National Lima Bean Respect Day. It's true.

A Whirlwind Weekend

My weekend wasn't non-stop action, but goodness gracious! It flew by!

Friday was tricky. We had exciting plans! I was going to leave work and go pick up Madi for a slumber party! Then she and I were going to pick up Brett and then head to Chili's to eat with some of our favorite amigos, Kelly, Steven and Alexis. Then we were going to all go see Monsters Vs. Aliens. Not only do I want to see that movie because it looks super cute and we watched a "making of" on our honeymoon, but I haven't been to a movie in a long time, and I love movies! I love going to a movie. I love sitting in the dark, completely invisible for two hours, and entering someone else's world for a bit. But early Friday morning it was apparent that those plans were not going to work out exactly. Brett had a really rough day that was unfortunately, proceeded by a couple of rough days at work. It wasn't a good week. He knew by lunchtime that he wasn't up for socializing. But I couldn't cancel on Madi, and I didn't want to cancel on Kelly! I feel like I've done that too many times, and I don't want to wear out my welcome =-( And my week wasn't exactly easy either, so I was really looking forward to some time with friendly faces at the end of my work week. So we compromised. Madi and I went to dinner with the Prices (Madi LOVES Alexis) and then we went our separate ways. It was really good to see our friends. Kelly and Steven always make me laugh, and they can be so sweet to each other without even thinking about it. I liked watching Steven play with Kel's hair. =-)

So after a very tasty and very entertaining dinner, Madi and I went to pick up Brett. I was hoping she would cheer him up, and at the beginning of the evening, she definitely did the trick. A little less so when it was late and she was fussy but not wanting to sleep yet. But we had a lot of fun. We went to Target to look for toys for all of us =-) I got the new Hungry Girl cookbook, and Madi got a Littlest Pet Shop set and a $5 movie. After Target we headed to Best Buy because Brett didn't find the game that he was looking for. We didn't find it at Best Buy either, but we did find Pinocchio on Blu-Ray, which Brett really wanted. On our way home we stopped at Sonic for ice cream.

It was a fun slumber party. There was a little drama surrounding our movie situation. Madi is going through a very interesting phase. She can't stand to watch anything or anyone get hurt. A few weeks ago when the girl in Sandlot 2 punched a boy who was teasing her, Melanie and I had to stop Madi's hysterics by showing her how to fake punching someone. Actually we showed her the hand by the face slap. There was also a break down last week when the lion in Madagascar eats a baby duck. Madi loves baby ducks! Well, in our movie Friday night, a boy pretended like he was going to feed a mouse to a snake. Oh dear. Bad news. We had to stop the movie. Madi's tears didn't get too out of hand, but there were a lot of questions about what Aunt Jenna feeds her snake! I told her different snakes eat different things and left it at that.

Saturday we had a wedding to go to. My cousin Michael got married at 11:00. I love early weddings because when they are over, we still have most of a day to do other things. After the wedding Brett and I went to lunch and then to a comic shop where we found exactly what we were looking for! The rest of the day, we took it easy, playing games and watching flicks and reading. I love just BEING with Brett. Just relaxing. It was great.

Sunday we rested. I did some cleaning and coupon cutting and we made a grocery list. Then we rejoined Weight Watchers, which I am really happy about. Then we went to dinner at my parent's house. We couldn't have Easter dinner last week because Jenna had her wisdom teeth taken out on Good Friday. We had a great time yesterday hunting eggs that Madi hid (while we were all sitting and watching her. It was hilarious) and eating tasty ham.

Brett and I ended our weekend by praying together for direction and peace and guidance. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend. I hope that this week we see God's blessings around us and in our life.

Holy Cannoli!

I just saw the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I am REALLY excited! And my countdown widget tells me that I only have 90 days to wait! Eek!

Sorry I haven't posted more this week. We are slammed at work, so I am exhausted when I get home and then I have logos to work on. Logos are going well though, so that's good. The house isn't as clean as I'd like it to be, but all of our weekend plans should be over by 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I will get down and dirty and clean things up this weekend! Maybe even hang a few pictures!

I'm so thankful it's Friday. I'm even more thankful it's 4:40 p.m.!

Oh Dear

Kim is a crazy Kim! Just when I am getting into a normal rhythm, I decide to pick up a few new balls and check on my juggling skills again.

I just emailed 4 new clients to let them know I am ready to get started on their logos. FOUR! And I am already in the middle of one. I am just asking for trouble! These people have all been so patient waiting for me to get through with the wedding... I don't want to keep them waiting so long that it puts them in a bad position.

BUT... the logo that I am in the middle of... she is taking her time. We have actually been emailing for over a month. I sent her proofs last Monday and she is still gathering her thoughts to get back to me. And one of the ladies that I emailed tonight told me that she has three kids and moves at a snail's pace, so I think that I will have some flexibility with those two. After these 5 I have one more waiting. Hopefully I can get two of these done this week and start on number 6 next week. The one I finished last week was the biggie. Now that I am done with that client, I should be able to focus better on these.

If God is testing me, I pray that I don't fail! Lord, help me to balance ALL of the blessings that you give me. Help me not to neglect one while I focus on another. I love you Lord, and I do it all for your glory. May you be honored in my work.

Easter Weekend

I know I've said this before, but seriously, the problem with not blogging regularly is that when I finally sit down to post I have so much to say, I don't know where to begin. I can't think one thought without chasing 5 rabbits that spur from it. For instance, I want to tell you about my weekend. But my weekend was so different. My head is still processing this new feeling... this new state of being. It's hard for me to explain. But I think, I'm not positive, but I think that for the first time, I started to feel married this weekend. 

This was the first weekend that I didn't see anyone but Brett. I mean, I saw random strangers on Saturday when we went to run a few errands, but I didn't see my family. I didn't see any friends. I only saw Brett. My husband. And I felt married. WEIRD! I mean, really weird. I know that at some point we will both get tired of this. Of wanting to be with each other every minute and do every little thing together. But right now, we are still in that place. We are SO thankful that our 3.25 years of dating are over. They were fantastic. But I LOVE being with him at night. Not having to drive away when our evening winds down. I am so blessed.

Okay, enough gushing.

Friday night I was sick. Actually, all day Friday was pretty rough. I had some allergy issues last week that turned into a bit of a sore throat, but I was feeling decent when I woke up Friday morning. But here's what happened. I got up (a little early because we were taking Brett's car to the shop before we went to work) and got ready like I always do. I took a shower and then while my hair towel dried, I made a little breakfast. I made the Ragan special - peanut butter toast. It was great. And then I went on with my day. But I was tired. It was a full week and I was a little run down from not feeling my best. So after we took the car to the shop, grabbed breakfast for Brett and took him to work, I decided to drive through McDonald's for an iced coffee. Bad choice. It was too much. A large iced coffee with Vanilla and Hazelnut is most of a meal in itself, and I had already eaten breakfast. It made me sick, and it only got worse as the day progressed.

By the time we got home, I was miserable. All I wanted to do was lay. So I did. Brett was amazing. He brought me water and my book and a pillow. And eventually I felt better. We had a slumber party, and it was a blast! We ordered pizza and watched a true 80's classic – Adventures in Babysitting! I LOVE that movie. I haven't seen it in a LONG time so I had forgotten just how great it is. But it is great.

Saturday morning we slept in a little and then took our time getting ready. I did the dishes and a little laundry... it was nice. An easy Saturday morning with my man. Then we went to one of our favorite places for lunch. I heart Pappasito's. They make a mean chicken taco! After that our plan was to run a few errands and then grocery shop. We were hoping to find an old Lord of The Rings game that has been marked down, but we didn't have any luck. We checked Best Buy first. No game, but the seasons of X Files were on sale for $19.99. A GREAT price! We got the next two seasons on our list (5 & 6) and then headed to Fry's. Fry's didn't have the game, but they had The Wedding Singer on Blu-ray for $14. Nice! 

We were also hoping to find patio furniture. We have been wanting to get some while the weather is still good and we decided it would be a good Easter present to each other. Now this was interesting. We checked Wal-mart and then Home Depot. There was a nice, comfortable set at Wal-mart that was a good size, but it was $50 more than we were hoping to spend. Everything at Home Depot was too big, and too expensive! So we decided to check Target. We found some chairs at Target for a good price a couple of weeks ago. They are comfortable and only $30! We wanted a small table to go with our chairs though. It's not a huge patio, but it's big enough for a small table and chairs if we want to enjoy a sunset view of the creek during dinner one night. Last time at Target, we didn't see anything we thought was the right fit. But this time, we did! There was one table, leaning against a wall. That table, and the two chairs that we found there were $30 less than we had budgeted! So we grabbed them!

Here's the funny part. It was just starting to rain when we left Target. It had sprinkled a bit while we were in the store, and it was threatening to do a lot more than sprinkle as we rolled our new patio furniture out to the car. I was sure that the three pieces would fit in my car. I had no doubt in my mind. But goodness! Those chairs were bigger than I realized! The legs were just too tall, I couldn't fit them in my trunk or get them through the door. So we put the table in the trunk and took the chairs back inside. As soon as Brett got back in the car, the sky opened up and dropped an ocean onto us! I am VERY thankful that Brett didn't get angry about the chairs not fitting, and EXTREMELY thankful that the rain waited until we were both in the car.

When we got home, we watched two really good episodes of season 2 of The X Files and then played around a bit before going to bed. No grocery shopping and no game, but a good day still.

Today was Easter. Our first holiday as "The Bacons". I wore the dress that I bought to leave the reception from. It's so pretty =-) We had plans to eat lunch with Brett's mom, but she wasn't up for it. My family isn't celebrating until next Sunday because my poor sister Jenna had all four of her wisdom teeth taken out on Friday. So after church, we took lunch to Brett's mother, went to Johnny C's and came home for an Easter nap.

Church was amazing. Our new old music minister (he was our music minister when I was in high school, and he just came back!) put together a really stunning music selection. He really knows how to bring out the best in a group. And how can church not be great on Easter Sunday? The story of Christ's triumph will never not be life changing.

It was a good day. God is so good. I am so thankful for his love. I pray that I will be a blessing to someone this week. I pray that I will have endurance to accomplish all of the tasks on my schedule. And I pray that Brett and I will be loving to one another.

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 4.10.09

There was another update on my Simpson's Quote generator =-)

Moe: Gee, this hotrod is souped up six ways from Sunday. Never had you figured for a gear-head, Homer.

Homer: Oh, yeah. I'm a real expert.

Moe: (Opens hood) What is that, a six-barrel Holley carb?

Homer: You betcha.

Moe: Edelbrock intakes?

Homer: Nothin' but.

Moe: Meyerhoff lifters?

Homer: Oh, yeah.

Moe: I made that last one up.

Homer: I see.

Gushing!

Oh goodness. I am reading Midnight Sun again at work while we have down time here and there, or when I am folding a job. I just read a line that melted me. Edward is talking to Bella in the cafeteria after their first "date" (for lack of a better word) in Port Angeles. She just told him that she thinks that she is obviously not good enough from him because she is so plain and he is so NOT plain. And Edward thinks to himself "Her existence alone was excuse enough to justify the creation of the entire world."

SWOON!

I've had an interesting day. I went to a luncheon with the two females in the family that I work for. They go every year. I've never been invited before. This year they had an extra ticket that they couldn't find a taker for, so they told me to go.

It wasn't terrible. And it was supporting a good cause. I didn't win the raffle, but it was fun to see the prizes and listen as they called out the numbers on the three things that I tried to win. That mirror would have taken our home to a whole new level!

The luncheon was at Brookhaven Country Club. I felt so odd there. It is just strange to sit by the giant window that looks out onto this insane pool area and think about the people who spend their time there. For normal things. Not luncheons, but just summer days with nothing to do... they go the country club. It makes me think of Dirty Dancing. (It's different, I know, but country clubs make me think of the last scene in that movie. Always have.)

That is not a life I can place myself in – in my mind or in reality. It was very strange to be there for a few hours surrounded by hundreds of women, dozens of which are probably members.

All in all, it's been a fair day. It's almost 5:00 and I'm very ready to go. I want to see my husband, and we have a yummy dinner planned tonight! I hope it's a good night!

Good News =-)

I slept last night. I mean really slept. I don't know if Brett tossed less or if I was just tired enough to sleep through it. But I had a solid 7 hours or so. The alarm actually came as a surprise today. I'm usually peeking at the clock for the hour leading up to the alarm. Today  I stayed in bed for five minutes after it went off!

And I had a dream! A weird dream, but an actual dream that I remember. It's been a LONG time since I've remembered a dream. It was really bizarre, and it had two parts. I think that the first part we were celebrating my birthday. Friends were meeting us at a chicken place. Like fast food chicken. But it wasn't like a drive-thru/walk-up Church's chicken place (my favorite) it was more like a Subway. And a guy came in who was going to rob the place. I think. He had a mask on, so I know he was up to something. "People in masks cannot be trusted." We all noticed him, but we didn't know what to do, so we sat and kept eating while he waited in line with his mask on to get to the front counter. The only people I remember being there were Jenn, Jage, Krista, Laure, Jennifer and Lucas, and Jenina, Chad and Aubrie. We were still waiting for people to show up.

Then I was on some kind of ship, I'm not sure if it was a nautical ship or a space craft, that was about to take off, either to sea or into orbit, and it was sort of a city. People had bought spaces on this craft to go be part of a new world. I was trying to think of a job that I could do. I thought that I would become a maid. (That made me want to go see Happy Cleaning. The trailer looked good and I heart Amy Adams!) There was a college there, and I ran into Jeff Moss and his college roommate, so I was glad to see him there. And then I passed my family at a restaurant, but it was just my mom, dad, Madi and Jenna. Laura and Melanie had decided not to come and that made us all very sad.

Weird dream. But at least it was a dream! I wish I could go back to sleep right now and have another one...

It feels like it should be Friday. I'm tired enough to feel like I've already worked four days this week instead of three.

Okay, I'm going to try to make myself work now. Blah.

I Can't Help It...

I'm living with a crazy lady... ME!!!

I don't know what's wrong with me today. Actually, it's not just today. It comes in waves... the last few weeks I seem to be... I don't know. Too serious? Making a big deal out of things that aren't a big deal? Or am I just noticing how significant things are that I used to consider part of a normal day?

I need... I don't even know what I need. A nap? A three day weekend? I mean, I just came back to work! I had a week off! The only thing that I want when I am feeling like this is Brett. I feel better when I am with him. I need a Brett hug. What is with work/life taking time away from my husband!? I'm ready to retire. I want to be a full time wife. Sigh.

I really just need to mellow out. Try to get into a routine. Maybe that's it. There's been SO much MAJOR change lately. I haven't really settled in yet. I am waiting for the room to stop spinning... Surely I'm allowed to be a little disoriented for at least a month? I'm not TOO pathetic, am I?

Don't say anything!

Star Trek and Love

Somehow they go together. I have a Star Trek story about Brett, but it is from when we first started dating, and, honestly, I don't remember all of the details anymore. I'm not great with long term memory. (Happy Jenina? I totally admitted it!) And there are details that I never knew to begin with. I had to block out some of Brett's words to keep from laughing.

I've told him this before, so I don't feel bad mentioning it here. We had not been dating very long, and we were both fascinated by the depth of our love for each other. We loved each other and we loved that were in love! So we pondered on it sometimes...

One night, we were at Brett's apartment sitting on his couch and he said something about how our love was like the Star Trek Voyager. I completely lost it. Only on the inside though. He was being totally serious, and I'm sure that whatever he was saying was super sweet, so I didn't want to make him feel silly. But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, I wanted to DIE laughing! I LOVE that my man is nerdy. I am nerdy. I love Harry Potter and Twilight and HGTV... I'm a full fledged nerd. I wear ponytails. A lot. Is it cute? No. It's practical. And I'm a nerd, so it's allowed. But that night, I was fighting the laughter so hard, I didn't hear much that he said.

I'm telling this story because last night, guess what we were watching? Star Trek! Man! I am totally digging that show! I had watched parts of a few episodes before. It's kind of unavoidable when you grown up with only UPN and Fox to keep you company at night. I wasn't allowed to watch Married With Children, so sometimes I would watch a few minutes of Star Trek. Now that I am adult, I realize, there is nothing wrong with Star Trek. It's not nerdy, it's an American Icon! Brett digs it, and we have been recording it recently. In the episode that we watched last night, Wesley Crusher fell in love for the first time. It was really sweet. And at the end of the episode, Whoopi (sorry, I don't know that characters name) told him that he would never feel the same way about someone again, because love is different every time you experience it. 

What a simple truth. I started to reflect on what I would consider to be the "loves" of my life. The faces that enter in my mind when romantic references are flying... The guy in junior high who I was friends with but secretly held much stronger feelings for. The guy in high school who was completely wrong for me, but who made me laugh and was always there at at time when the last thing you want is to be alone. The guy in college who I knew was all wrong, but I couldn't stay away from. The guy in college who I wanted to be the right one, but who fell in love with my roommate. The one in my twenties who is, to this day, one of the greatest guys I know. And then Brett. THE one. The one that God made for me. The one that fits me so completely and so perfectly, I can't help but laugh because my joy is overflowing. My other lego. My BFF. Our love is like the Star Trek Voyager. Somehow.

See, Star Trek. It's good for all kinds of things.

ZZZZZ

Goodness gracious, I'm tired! Thank goodness we rested yesterday! I was SO not prepared to get up today when the alarm went off. And we weren't up too late last night... I was probably asleep at 11:00!

I had a rough allergy day yesterday though. Very sneezy. I guess from moving Brett's mom. We looked for new allergy medicine last night. I can't remember what we ended up getting... any suggestions on something that works and doesn't make you sleepy? Has anyone tried Alavert? (Is that how you spell it?)

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Once Again...

So much to say, and now that I finally have time to sit and blog, my thoughts are totally scattered.

Married life is so bizarre. It's going well so far, I really don't have anything to complain about, but my reality has shifted so completely... it's hard to wrap my mind around.

Sometimes I feel really relaxed, and sometimes I feel really busy. Brett comes home and collapses. At the end of the day, he doesn't want to clean up, he doesn't want to do activities (activities? like what, quilting? I don't know, that's the word that came out)... he just wants to be mellow. Play a video game, watch a show... which is totally okay! In fact, that's probably what normal people do! And it's good for me. When Brett comes home, I can relax with him. Mellow out and just be. And I feel so safe in his arms. Like Bella in Edward's iron grip. I am completely safe with Brett. Able to let my guard down and be myself and be loved. He loves me so thoroughly. So honestly. And I am so thankful that I will spend the rest of my life trying to love him better and better.

And then there's the flip side. I am busy. I can't get away from it. I'm just a busy person. 

Work was no where near as busy as I expected it to be this week. Turns out, they were all being a bit melodramatic about being swamped while I was gone. Either that, or I do WAY more than anyone wants to admit. Or a mixture of both. We are steady, but not crazy busy. Soon we will be really busy. But for now... work is okay. 

But I am MOVING! I still don't have all of my things at the new place, and the things that I brought over last weekend? Um, I'm still unpacking. And it wasn't even that much that I brought over. I filled my car a couple of times, brought over the essentials I guess. But Friday night was the first time that I did a good bit of unpacking. I think that I have all of the wedding presents put somewhere now. And I unpacked everything that was easy for me to unpack of my things. And I am hoping to do the rest today.

Yesterday was exhausting! I can't remember if I have mentioned this here yet, but Brett's mom had her apartment broken into a week before the wedding. It was the second time in a year that she had a break in and this time she decided to move. We were very fortunate and she found a new place immediately. She packed for a couple of weeks and yesterday we moved her. MAN! It was a tough move. She has a lot of things. She's lived in that apartment for several years, and she's LIVED for a long time, so she just has a LOT of things! She had done a lot of packing, but there was a lot left to pack. We are SO blessed to have friends who are willing to give up a Saturday to help us help her. Without Jared, Jonathan and Yvonne, we would still be moving right now. We would still be moving next WEEK!

Today we are resting. Sort of. The biggest challenge we are having so far is sleeping. We are both used to sleeping in our own bed, spread out and comfortable, and now we are sharing a bed. AND, as if that weren't a significant enough sleep obstacle, you know, we're newlyweds... so tired or not, sleep isn't the first thing that we think of when we get in bed. So we are really sleepy. On Friday Brett said that he really needed to rest today and that sounded good to me. We slept in, then he made us brunch, then we watched an episode of Inside the Actors Studio that he saved for me because it was one of my FAVE actresses! Drew Barrymore. And then he played a little Halo while I did dishes. Now he is back in bed and I am blogging while I try to figure out the best way to get a lot of things done today. We need to go to the grocery store, but I really want to finish unpacking today. So I guess I am going to go sort through what is stacked on and around the dining room table. I have some computer work to do, but I will put that off as long as I can!

Okay, I'm off.

Our First Marital Issue

I knew this would be a problem. I think that we will find a solution, but so far the only thing hurting us, causing any kind of problem in our marriage, is my alarm clock.

Brett hears it, and I don't.

When I say Brett hears it, I mean he is startled awake, sometimes with a jump and a holler. And when I say I don't hear it, I mean that I hear it, but it only registers enough for me to reach up and hit it, not enough to wake me up. Not good.

We've tried a few different things. On Monday, I wanted to get up early so I could make cupcakes to bring to work. It was my first day back from the honeymoon, so I just wanted to do something nice. I also wanted to use my groovy cupcake carrier that I got as a wedding gift =-)

I set my alarm so that I could hit snooze once. It went off at 6, I hit snooze, and when it went off again at 6:10 I got up. It didn't seem like a big deal that day. It woke Brett up, but he fell back asleep almost instantly. I did the same thing on Tuesday, but I didn't need to get up as early. At 6:10 when it went off a second time, it scared Brett to death! And then I turned it off and stayed in bed for another thirty minutes or so and he had trouble falling back asleep. That was the day that I learned that, the alarm going off is bad enough on poor Brett! So no snoozing. Yesterday, I set the alarm for 6:30 intending to get up when the alarm went off, no snoozing. I turned the volume down hoping the alarm would be quieter. It wasn't. I also didn't get up at 6:30 and Brett had trouble falling back asleep. Today I used my cell phone alarm instead of my alarm clock because it is much quieter. It still woke him up. I turned it off. No snoozing. But I stayed in bed and Brett couldn't get back to sleep.

SOOO, I think that the key to Brett having a more peaceful morning is for me to get up when my alarm goes off. Get out of bed, so he can fall back asleep peacefully. He is too captivated by my beauty to fall back asleep with me next to him. Either that or my morning breath keeps him up. Eww!

I want him to have good mornings =-( I'm just not good with alarms. I never have been. And I married a really light sleeper.

That's my story.

Seriously?

It's been difficult this week to get back to making good food choices. We ate whatever we wanted to on the honeymoon. Not overly large amounts, just tasty goodness. I always have trouble going back to english muffins and fruit when I have been carefree for a little while.

I get the Hungry Girl newsletter everyday. At the bottom there is a little blurb that says "Today is National ____ Day". Like national banana day, or national blue cheese day, or national pineapple upside down cake. Just random trivia.

Today is National Eat Everything In Sight Day.

That's just great. That's Hungry Girl. Thanks.