Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We spent the afternoon with my mom, step-dad and uncle and his family.  We enjoyed great food and great company!

On Friday, I spent the morning decorating our house for Christmas with the help of Kinny.  We put our tree up last weekend but we had a bunch more decorations in totes that needed to be swapped out with our Thanksgiving decorations.

Mom, I'm supervising.

 We also put together the headboard we bought for our guest room.

Where's the mattress? I'm ready for a nap.

The finished product!

 Friday afternoon, D and I braved the crazy Black Friday shoppers and went out to do a bit of shopping for our families.  While it was crowded, it wasn't completely out of control and we were able to get a few good deals.  Once we were finished shopping on Friday evening, we came home and started wrapping Christmas presents.

Kinny was in charge of boxing up the gifts.

Kinny was also in charge of bows and hiding in gift bags.

We also did a bit of Small Business Saturday shopping at Main Street St. Charles.  Thankfully the weather held out and it wasn't frigid walking around.  We picked up a few special gifts for family and I was also able to get those wrapped before we left for the Blues-Wild hockey game. D and I split a partial plan hockey tickets with my Aunt and Uncle and Saturday's game was one of our nights.  We invited my mom and step-dad to attend with our two extra tickets and it was definitely an exciting game.  The Blues ended up winning in a shootout!

Today we've tried to get back into our routine and get ready for the work week ahead.  Besides a bit of much needed sleeping in, I meal-prepped our lunches and dinners for the week, did a few loads of laundry, paid some bills and got the address labels made for our Christmas cards.

Tomorrow starts another extremely busy week at work. We're short an Accountant and we're headed into month-end on Wednesday. The extra days off for Thanksgiving were much needed but I also know it puts us behind a bit. I'm hoping that it doesn't put me so far behind that I'm working a ton of extra hours. Going into the holidays, the last thing I want to be doing is working 50+ hours a week.

I am excited for the holidays though, even though they are stressful with all of the travel we do, I am really feeling the Christmas spirit this year.

Halloween 2016

Monday was Halloween and while we didn't have near the number of trick-or-treaters as last year, we did have a bunch.  Kinny loved Halloween, well, except the costume part.  Yes, we dressed up our sweet girl again this year but it was only to snap a pic for Instagram and Facebook and then we let her take it off.

She loved seeing all of the kids come to the door and waited patiently for more to ring our doorbell when there was a lull.  In fact, the past couple nights she's still been waiting by the door for more trick-or-treaters and we've had to tell her she has to wait 365 days for Halloween.

Here's a few pics of our Halloween...

Mom, not the costume again!

Where are the kids?!?

These aren't for me, but I'll check them out anyway.

I'm ready to pass out candy!

Dad, the trick-or-treaters need to hurry here!

I'm done with Halloween, I'm going to chew my treat/

This afternoon we're headed back to the surgeon for a post-surgery follow up appointment.  Kinny has been a champ after her surgery and is getting around great and really is back to her old self. I'm hoping to learn more from the doctor based upon the results of the biopsy too.

Post Surgery Update

Our sweet girl is on the mend!

We picked her up from the hospital yesterday evening after work and it was definitely a rough night on all of us.
Obviously Kinny was frightened a bit coming home and wanted to hide right away but had some trouble since she can only hobble around on 3 legs.  Not to mention she's on pain meds and had surgery only the day before.  But, we all were so glad she was home! She's slowly coming around to her home surroundings again and we had a good day together today.

Thankfully, I was able to take today off of work.  (Actually, I was taking today off no matter what because I was not going to abandon my girl once we got her home.)  We were worried about her hurting her recovery, so she slept in her cat bed in the living room and I slept on the couch right next to her, in case she needed me.  Around 4 this morning, she woke up and had a bit of food and some water which were also right next to her bed and then let out a huge wail.  I woke D up and we all sat in the hallway for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong and what we should do before deciding to all go back to sleep in our bedroom.
D had to get up for work so Kinny and I decided that we'd just keep sleeping for awhile and that we did...well after 10 am in fact.

Thanks D for taking a pic of us sleeping this morning.

The rest of the day we just decided to rest and take it easy.  I know I have not had a day off in a few years where I did nothing besides rest; probably the last time was when I was hospitalized back in 2013. It was definitely needed on my part and I'm hoping it helped Kinny's recovery.  My mom is coming over to spend tomorrow with Kinny and then D and I will be home the remainder of the weekend.  We are relieved to put the surgery behind us and we know Kinny has quite a recovery ahead of her but we're ready to help her any way we can.  She's our baby and the best kitty girl ever!

Stress makes us stronger...or so they say

I have been meaning to post another update because so much has happened over these last 7 months but somehow I never found the time or just thought whatever was going on wasn't exciting enough to talk about.  Maybe my normal suburban life isn't all that crazy or exciting but I am going to make more of an effort to blog about it.

It's crazy that my last post was about the 2 year anniversary of adopting our sweet girl Kinny back in March.  She's still the best part of my life besides D and honestly she's the one who keeps me going when all I want to do is give up.

We had quite a bit of stress we've been dealing with over the last couple days with Kinny.  What should have been a routine checkup at the Vet has turned into one of my worst nightmares and I'm hoping that my faith and constant prayer will help mend her.
On Saturday, we took Kinny in for a checkup and teeth cleaning.  Thankfully we have Banfield's Wellness Plan that allows for us to take her in twice a year for a comprehensive exam and medical tests.  This was her normal checkup and really we weren't worried about anything taking her in.  She's still her same sweet, cuddly and bubbly self.

Kinny hitting the weights.

The doctor at Banfield ran all of her tests and noticed that her Potassium was in a dangerous level.  She also noticed that the tumor on her right arm, which was previously benign, had grown in size.  We have the tumor checked on every visit and in the past it was even biopsied to make sure that it was not cancerous.  We were told that it was just fatty tissue and over the years we've accepted that because it hasn't caused her any problems.  To be honest, I'm not sure if it is causing her problems right now or if she's just that strong of a girl that she's pushing through any pain and discomfort. Knowing my feisty girl, she probably just figures she's not going to let it slow her down.

In any case, we had additional tests and x-rays completed just to make sure nothing was life threatening.  The results have been terrifying.  After a biopsy and x-ray, our Vet showed us the results. The reason why Kinny's Potassium is high is due to the tumor. They believe she has Tumor Lysis Syndrome.  Kinny's tumor, if left untreated will eat away at the bones in her arm, causing her to become paralyzed.  There is not a prescription that will treat this and the only treatment available is amputation.  It has hit both D and I hard!

Our Vet also encouraged that we visit an emergency vet clinic last night to have her Potassium levels checked again.  Thankfully, her Potassium levels were back to normal but they are still fearful that left untreated her life with be shortened.
So we're proceeding with the recommendation from our Vet and we've got a consultation tomorrow morning with the surgeon at the specialty clinic.

I've been beating myself up over the past day and a half wondering what I could have done differently so that my sweet girl wouldn't have to go through this.  I feel like I've failed as Kinny's protector and mom.  My only hope is that once the surgery is complete, she is back to 100%.  I know there are a lot of animals that survive with only 3 legs and that many cats thrive after facing this sort of health issue.  My girl is definitely a fighter and I will always try to be the best protector and mom I can be to her because she's my companion and #1 fan.

Please keep my Kinny girl in your thoughts and prayers.

Our Kinny

I posted on Instagram and Facebook this morning that 2 years ago today, we adopted our Kinny.  Really its seems like its been so much longer than 2 years, she just that loveable.  She's an absolute doll and she has been the best companion to both me and D.  And really, I don't know where I would be without this little girl!!  We adopted her when I was going through an extremely rough time and my hopes were that she would make me realize that everything else is just peanuts in life.  And from the time she climbed up on D's lap at the shelter, she's definitely made my life better!  She's made me slow down and enjoy the simpler things in life and most of all she's taught me how much love I have to give.

She's bright eyed and bushy tailed every morning when my alarm goes off and patiently waits for us to feed her.  Each night after work, she's waiting for us as soon as we get home and just loves cuddles and curling up on the couch with us in the evening.  She's our travel buddy and our snuggle bug and sometimes even our dinner partner.

Hi Mom, where's dinner?

I'm still waiting for my plate.

She truly is the best and cutest kitty in the world and I'm so lucky she chose us to be her parents!







Come on Spring

Last weekend we enjoyed an unusually odd 80 degrees on Saturday so D and I decided to take a walk around Main Street St. Charles and Frontier Park.  We reminisced about our engagement pictures that we had taken at the same spot back in May and overall we had an enjoyable, fun day in the nice weather.

Wednesday they predicted snow for the area and not just a dusting, some areas were supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow.  I woke up to a text from a co-worker on Wednesday morning saying he wasn't coming into work because he had already shoveled his driveway and spun out twice in his town and it was still coming down in buckets.  His town ended up getting 6+ inches of snow.  Our city, just 45 minutes west of St. Louis, got nothing that day!  Apparently we were on the line and the snow missed us, but as I drove east to work, the closer I got to the city, the more snow there was.  The last 8 miles of my commute were awful and it took me twice as long to get from there to the office as it did the other 11 miles.

Today we're enjoying another 70 degree February day only to be faced with snow again on Tuesday and Thursday.  My sinuses and allergies are completely out of whack and while spring is usually the worse for me, I'm ready to finally see spring for good!

A Long, Overdue Update

Where have I been and what have I been up to?  Wow...there are so many ways to answer that, but I'll try to provide the condensed, non-boring (ok...not too boring) summary.

After the wedding and the weeks that followed, we tried to start getting our house organized.  We bought our new furniture and started turning our house into our home in the few spare minutes we had on our weekends.  Somehow it seemed like every weekend we were going in multiple directions throughout the month of September. 

Finally in the beginning of October, D and I decided to get back into our fitness routine and joined the gym right down the street from our house.  It's another location to the gym I used to go to before I moved in with D downtown so I was excited to get back into the groove.  With the wedding and craziness leading up to it with the move and new jobs and blah, blah, blah, neither of us realized that we hadn't really devoted much time to actually getting decent workouts in so when we had an orientation session with trainers our first week, we both realized we're not the spring chickens we used to be.  And with that, we opened up the wallet and each purchased 6 months of training with a personal trainer.  So far, its going well and it's pushed us to be more dedicated with working out. I look forward to those Tuesday and Thursday night butt-kicking sessions every week!

The holidays rolled around soon after that.  For Thanksgiving, we stayed home and enjoyed the holiday with both sides of my family.  We drove to Michigan the week before Christmas and spent time with all of D's family throughout the state, making our drive back home on Christmas Eve.  We actually got to enjoy Christmas Day in our own home for the first time ever and we had my mom and step-dad out to spend the afternoon with us.

Headed to my Company Christmas Party

Road Tripping Back to Michigan

Kinny Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

Going back to work after the holidays was less than fun.  It was extra long work days and prepping for year-end close.  You would have thought coming back to a company after leaving years ago, I would have some idea as to what we needed to get done but it just seemed like this year was 10 times harder than years past or I just forgot how crazy it really is!

D's cousin came down to spend New Years Eve with us and my cousins and we had a blast ringing in 2016 at my aunt and uncle's house.

NYE 2015 - Go Green!

Happy 2016!!

I don't know where the month of January went.  Seriously, the month was gone before I had a minute to think and with that, I turned 33 on the 29th of the month.  33...never imagined being that age and never in a million years would I have thought I'd be married, with a mortgage, living out in the 'burbs with our kitty.

My co-workers all came out to help me celebrate my birthday.  It was so much fun reliving some of my younger days out dancing to a great band at a spot not too far from my house.

Work has pretty much been non-stop for both D and myself over the last few months, we've done our best to try to hold everything together though, but it's been rough.  Weekends have been catching up on household chores, meal planning, grocery shopping, running errands and working out.  It hasn't left us much time for fun or planning our overdue honeymoon. 

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel at work.  I took last Friday off of work and I have a few more days off over the next couple months to tackle some projects around our house...you know, things that we wanted to do when we moved in but didn't find the time to complete.  And, believe it or not, I was really excited to take off and paint trim work!  Right now, getting all of our projects started and finished is my main goal....D probably thinks otherwise though....say like planning a honeymoon!

Enjoying a warm February day!

PIVOT!

We're settling nicely into married life so far and finally focusing on getting our new house in order now.  A week after our BIG day we decided to visit my bro and see what kinds of deal we could score on some new furniture for our house.  Luckily for us, we came in at a good time and were able to get a new dining room table and a new sectional for our living room.
Since D and I both have small cars and aren't able to transport a table, let alone a sectional, we opted to have our new purchase delivered to our house at a later date.
The store my bro works for set up delivery for this week, Tuesday to be specific, which left D and I to move our current sofa and loveseat to the basement living room on Sunday so we could make sure the delivery wouldn't be compromised.  I figured moving a sofa and loveseat wouldn't be that big of a deal.  Sure, they are a bit heavy but D and I both work out and I figured if anything we could walk them outside and around our house to the walkout basement.
D had other plans....he thought we could take them down the basement stairs and through the doorway that separates our downstairs from our upstairs.
I don't want to say "I told you so" to my new husband, but D, "I told you so."  Yeah, it didn't work so well.
Anyone remember that episode of Friends?!?!  D has never seen it and the entire time we're fighting with the loveseat to get it down the stairs and through the door, I'm yelling over the loveseat, "PIVOT!"  I was seriously perturbed but at the same time I couldn't stop laughing.

"PIVOT!"

"PIVOT!"

"PIVOT!"

D did not find this as funny as I did as I'm yelling "PIVOT!." But really, it was our own Friends episode.

After about 45 minutes of fussing with the loveseat, we finally got it back upstairs with the legs of the loveseat taken off and we walked it around the house to the walkout.
Once the loveseat was situated we started moving the sofa.  It was a bit heavier and longer and I knew that it had to go around the house to the basement.  We started the trek and after stopping 4 times for me to get a better grip around the sofa, we got it to the door.  We opted not to take the legs off of the sofa because we were sure it would fit through the door.

Sadly, it did not and we continued our little debacle in the backyard.  Finally after taking the legs off of the sofa and pivoting a few more times, we got the sofa into the basement as well.  Mind you, the task that we both thought would take us 30 minutes top, took us close to 2 hours.

Once we were finished, I found the clip of the Friends episode to show my husband.  Yeah, he still doesn't find it as funny as I do.
Thankfully we get our new sectional tomorrow, maybe I can get him to watch the whole episode with me and then he'll think its absolutely hilarious.

"PIVOT!"

Just call me Mrs....

10 days ago I married my best friend.  It's been 10 whole days....so crazy!  And so far we're enjoying marital bliss!!
Since our marriage license came in the mail yesterday, I was able to officially change my name today!  Yay!!  Maybe people will stop calling me by my last name when they address me in an email. Who wants to bet that I'll still get called by my last name since it's also similar to a man's first name just with an S on the end?!?  It'll happen I'm sure...

We had a few issues arise about a week beforehand (not us, others who tried to complicate our pending nuptials) but everything happened nearly perfectly and it is the best day of my life! There is nothing that could top the feeling I had all day long.  While the STL can sometimes be extremely brutal weather-wise in August, the day was mostly comfortable.  Sure, it was hot taking photos in the middle of the afternoon outside in Forest Park but I wouldn't have changed it for the world!

I could go on and on about everything but let's just say, we had by far the greatest bridal party ever! Our group was a combination of both of our families and longtime friends and from what I could tell, everyone had so much fun together. Usually weddings can be stressful, but the few days leading up to the main event were actually calm and it was so nice having everyone together. We missed Grandpa R who couldn't make the trip from Michigan but we were able to live stream it to him so he got to watch it from the comforts of his living room.  (Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he still is trying to recover.)

I owe a good part of my sanity to Shell who was my superhero maid of honor!  I'm forever grateful for our friendship that spans 25+ years and thousands of miles!

Our photographer was amazing as well and truly captured everything I could have asked for.  I wanted to post a pic or two but I couldn't settle on just a couple so here's a montage of our day:

First Look!

We're Getting Married!

Don't Drop Me!

Just hanging out with the groomsmen

Me and my girls!

Dustin just hanging with the bridesmaids!

The Flying V

Everyone Jump!

Our adorable ring bearer!

We're husband and wife!

Mmmm, cake!

The best cake ever

Our first dance, Nickelback "Never Gonna Be Alone"

Dancing with my Dad

Photobooth time!

Me and my sweet Nicole

My awesome Maid of Honor

How many can we fit in here?!?

In case that isn't enough wedding fun for you, click here to watch our ceremony.

And if you're really into our wedding, click here for our first dance.

With the house and now wedding complete, D and I have to figure out what sort of excitement we're in for next or maybe we'll just enjoy the quiet for now!

The dam wedding

I'm going to vent here because at this point in time with so much going on, I haven't had very much time to catch up with friends and well, Dustin is tired of hearing all of my complaints regarding this topic and Shell, well this is too long to type in a Telegram message, so here we go...
I have never gotten married before, nor do I plan to do this more than once in my life and with that being said, I think of August 15, 2015 as our day and that people should be catering to us that day.  It is the only day out of my 32 years of life, that I expect to be top priority, along with my soon to be new husband.  I don't feel like my request puts me into a "Bridezilla" category because my requests are not extreme.  I'm a fairly simple girl.  I've taken necessary measures to plan this wedding and have included most of our families and some of our friends throughout the process.

But as we're nearly 2 and a half weeks away from the big day, family members seem to feel like I have nothing going on but to cater to their every whim.  They would be wrong.

Now is not the time to present requests to me regarding such outlandish items like bringing a food processor to the wedding and making sure they have gravy and A-1 sauce because you just had bariatric surgery.  I'm sorry, if that's such a big deal, then maybe you should take responsibility for this beforehand.

It is also not the time for me to make sure that my hairstylist can do your up-do with extensions and match your hair color exactly with products they have on hand.  Maybe you should contact the salon with the phone number, email address or website that I have provided to you when I asked everyone if they wanted to set up appointments.

When I formally sent out invitations with pre-addressed stamped return envelopes, I wanted all RSVP cards returned by the July 18th deadline.  Whether you figured you would be attending because you are immediate family and you didn't need to return the card because "we would just know" you'd be there, you'd be wrong.  I wouldn't have wasted so much money on stamps for you not to return it.

I also do not appreciate you deciding at the last minute (ie, today) that you are changing the number of guests now coming to the wedding.  There is a reason I put a deadline on the RSVP card a week before the actual due date because I had to pay the venue for our final headcount.  Did you know I paid $50 a plate for you and your guests and now that you decided to decrease your family count, I'm out at least $50?  If not more, if your entire family decides to not show up.

It would be one thing if all of these shenanigans were happening and members of our families were actually paying for our wedding and then made these special requests but all of this is coming from immediate family members who haven't pitched in a dime nor have they offered to help us with anything.

Besides my parents who have done more than anything to help us with our house maintenance along with giving us some money to buy essential household items and the decorations handled by both my mom and step-mom, we've handled everything.
It's pretty sad that we're hosting our rehearsal dinner at our home the night before our wedding and the family that has offered to help is D's sister and cousin, both who have had babies in the past year.  Two people who have their hands full with small children but are going to make the drive and come early to help us with the last minute preparations.  And the other person offering to help is my childhood friend Shell who's flying all the way in from New Zealand for our wedding.  That's a huge sacrifice and undertaking in itself!

It's just astonishing to me that others can not make any sort of effort to lessen the stress but then comment, "you two have experienced 3 of the most stressful life changes in just a few months time."  Yes we have and yes it's been more than we could handle at times but somehow we've gotten through it, just D and me.
So, pardon me if I'm not always chipper and I don't answer every phone call or text sent within 30 seconds or I seem like I am not being helpful to your every whim, I would like to think that August 15th is my day and I'm allowed to be just a bit more self-centered for at least a few hours.

At least D has been able to make me laugh in spite of all of the stress.  I threatened to cancel the STL festivities and hop a plane to Vegas to get married after receiving one of the numerous requests.
His response, "It's not too late to go to Vegas again! But if we do can we go to the Hoover Dam again? It would then be our dam proposal and dam wedding. lol I just want you to be my dam wife and us to be so dam happy together!  Love you (so dam much)!!"

The Hoover Dam might just be our dam honeymoon after all is said and done!

Exhausted!

The last 8 weeks have been nothing short of exhausting and while we have a few more weeks of insanity, hopefully after this weekend, we can actually breathe for 5 minutes. 

I've never made so many trips to Home Depot in my life and yet over the past week and a half, I think I've spent more time there than just about anywhere else.  Paint, fire alarms, a new faucet, a washer and dryer, patio furniture, parts for this and that, you name it, we've checked it out and spent hours visiting multiple stores in multiple municipalities around the STL.  We've spent ALOT of time driving as well.  While our new home is only a 15 minute drive for each of us to work, it's a 45 minute drive from our loft. Driving 45 minutes, with a carload of our belongings gets tiring when you do it multiple times a week let alone multiple times a day.

It's funny that we weren't going to do much in the way of maintenance and repairs before moving in and now we've just about redone every room in one way or another.  The kitchen and living room both needed a new coat of paint and while we thought there was enough extra paint to touch them up, we found it was just easier to repaint everything in similar colors.  This past weekend, we got all of the carpets cleaned, built our new patio furniture, had the washer and dryer installed and pulled weeds from the partially overgrown landscaping.  And now, the big furniture is ready to be moved in.  I think we're both ready for it after all of this hard work!

It has become a bittersweet move for me though.  I didn't think I'd have any sad feelings towards moving from downtown, but over the last day, I've had a few moments where I know I'll miss being in the loft.  D and I have a lot of special memories together in the loft.  It's where I hung out with him before we started dating.  Memories like our first work Christmas party where he held the "pre-party" and "post-party" at his loft; the "pre-party" before the pre-season Rams game a few years back; our first actual date on New Years Eve 2012 where he cooked me dinner and we rang in 2013; our walks to work in the bitter cold and extreme heat; our first few dinner dates where we had to sneak out through the alley to avoid running into our former coworkers who frequented the bars below so they wouldn't find out we were dating just yet; and bringing Kinny home after we adopted her.  I know we'll have a lot more great memories in our new house but it does make me a bit emotional leaving the loft.

I will be happy to be settled into our house and I'm excited to show off our place to our family and friends.  We've worked extremely hard to be able to afford such an awesome home!

A house update

We officially closed on our new house last Thursday afternoon.  Now the real fun begins.
Thankfully we knew we would be doing a deep clean of the entire house, repairing the few items listed on the home inspection, getting the carpets cleaned and touching up the paint before moving in. We set our move in date as August 1st and figured we'd keep the apartment until the end of the month and hopefully get out of our lease here with little to no hassle.
We've little by little started moving stuff into the new house over the past week and Monday night my dear friends Mimi and MaryAnn helped me clean the entire house.  We purchased our washer and dryer with the help of my Mom and Step-dad (the washer was a wedding present) and those will be delivered next weekend.  We also got a patio set from my Dad and Step-mom as a wedding gift.

Today, we received word from our property manager at the loft that he's begun showing our loft and he's got a potential renter who would like to move in sooner rather than later.  So we're trying to bump up our last day downtown to August 8th.  So much going on in such a short amount of time and as my luck would have it, D will be out of town the next two weekends for his bachelor party and the annual Ribfest in Chicago.  Leaving me on my own to continue to pack and slowly move totes and boxes to the new house.

We're hosting our Rehearsal Dinner at our new house on August 14th so I'm hoping the move and all of the fun that comes with it isn't too crazy.

On the wedding front, with only a month to go, I've got most of the planning complete and we just have to finalize the guest count (RSVPs are due Saturday), get our marriage license and finish putting together the schedule of events.  We bought our wedding rings finally and started paying off the balances for our vendors.  We've spent more money in the last two weeks than I think I've spent in my entire 32 years alive but we're heading in the right direction.

Hopefully I'll find a second to breathe throughout all of this!

Getting ready for summer

It's been a month and 1 day since I re-entered the transportation world and quite honestly, I couldn't be happier about my decision.  Things have finally started to fall into place and while I know that I had to leave back in 2011, I know my heart never left the position and friends I made while working here.  I'm so glad to be back!

Besides working, D and I have knocked a few more wedding to-dos off of our list, including ordering our cake, buying our unity ceremony supplies and sending out the invitations.  We still need to shop for rings but we will have to wait for a few weeks before actually making our purchases.  We've been so on the ball with most everything and you're probably wondering why I haven't jumped the gun and gone out to buy those already too.  Well, we had another major purchase take priority in the recent 2 weeks.

I guess I should mention that 4 weeks ago D was offered a position as a Logistics Manager at a new company and officially started his new job on June 1st.  With security in knowing we would be staying in the STL area, we decided we wanted to finally lay down some roots in an area closer to where each of us is working.  We met with an awesome realtor who has been a huge help in answering all sorts of questions we've had regarding first time home buying, securing a lender and getting pre-approved.  Not only that, he personally met with us before we went to check out any houses and helped us decide what we really were looking for and most importantly, where we wanted to look.  After scoping out houses online and then checking them out in person, we found a place out west that we just fell in love with and 12 days ago, we made an offer.

Our offer was countered....we countered back.  Then we decided to withdraw our counter and accept their counteroffer.  We scheduled a home inspection and on Tuesday we waited at the house while the home inspection took place.  The inspection came back clean and now we're just waiting for our closing on July 9th.  So, wedding rings are waiting until we close on our new home!

We're so excited and ready for the move and we've started the process of packing up all of our treasures. I'm getting used to moving (3rd time in 4 years!), but D has lived in the same place since moving here 4 years ago and has acquired quite a bit of stuff in our loft, so we're taking the purge then pack approach in hopes that we don't have an insanely large moving day later this summer. Thankfully we've got the space to start packing totes and getting everything organized, hopefully making the move right before our wedding just a tad easier.

New jobs, new home, marriage, I don't know what more we can take on in 2015, but we've done a darn good job of packing in a lot of excitement this year.

Another chapter of 2015

Seven weeks ago I started my new job.  I got all of the 2014 books up to date and even got 2015 off to a great start and have been keeping up with it on a daily basis.  It's been a good run so far, in spite of losing the "space" manager 2 weeks after I started, having multiple part-timers helping out, catching a new "space" manager up on everything happening in the office and working with a management team that was also focused on a municipal election for the area.  But, all good things must come to an end and that end is tomorrow afternoon at 5 pm.

Yes, that's right...I'm leaving the new job I just started seven weeks ago.  Not for good just yet, since I'm going to be working there on a part time basis for the next few months, but I have been given another opportunity that I just couldn't pass up.  It is an opportunity that I've crossed paths with before...it's even a position I've held before.  In fact, I know my former employer hasn't even changed some of my usernames and accounts I set up nearly 10 years ago.
Yes, I'm heading back into the transportation world and picking up where I left off 4 years ago.
My former and soon to be boss again contacted me when the Accountant that replaced me put in his notice about a month ago. While I wanted to jump at the opportunity, I also felt a tad bit of guilt for even thinking about it since I just started my new job.  But given the circumstances with D losing his job and being able to ask for the benefits and salary necessary to provide that extra security for our future, it made the most sense to accept this.  Not only that, I've got the chance to make huge strides with the executive team and I get to work with some of my favorite co-workers and my good friend and PPC partner, M.

Since I still want to do something to help the community and my boss, I've offered to work for him in my spare time to keep his bookkeeping going while he looks to hire someone.  One day each weekend, I told him I'd come in and work for 4-5 hours to keep everything up to date.  It's about all he needs right now with the system I've set up and I think I can handle it at least for a few months. And really the job there isn't that overwhelming.

Thank goodness I was neurotic about the wedding planning early on, huh?  Who knew I'd be volunteering to work a 2nd job with only 3 months until D and I tie the knot.

It's another exciting chapter for us with so much on the horizon, yet we always manage to get by.

Oh March

I should really start to get on a better writing schedule but as soon as I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel, life throws a wrench in my plans.  I decided I needed more excitement and decided that it was time to move on from my ever stressful, never-ending, always on my mind job and I officially quit my job.  Thankfully, it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made (its right up there with accepting the job 3 years ago so I could meet my love; agreeing to go on that first date with D; and the most important and BEST decision, saying YES! at the Hoover Dam).  In the meantime, I've secured my new job which is more of a position I am equipped to do with less stress and more control over the Accounting functions and it’s with a company I truly believe in.  I start next Monday, the 23rd and I’m excited to work for someone who is actually trying to do some good in this city of ours.  St. Louis has gotten a bad rap lately and while there has been a lot of bad national publicity, I know there are great things also happening here that I want to be a part of.  My new position and boss are a great example of that and I’m ready to be a part of that crowd.

My resignation actually happened at a good time…if any time really is a good time.  But, as luck would have it, over the weekend the company I left and where D still works, has agreed to be acquired by another company and the corporate office will be leaving the St. Louis area around the time we’re getting married.  It means that unless D is one of the “lucky” 19 people (out of 50) asked to relocate to an area about an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh, he will be on the hunt for a new job as well.  For us, we do have the flexibility but we also are trying to figure out what is best for us (living in the middle of nowhere doesn't sound like it’s the best though).  It’s amazing how much money talks to some people and how the rich just keep getting richer even if it means shutting down an office and costing employees their jobs.  I’m not sure how these types of people can actually live with themselves knowing that their current net worth of billions just isn't enough and they need more.  (Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox.)

We knew life would be changing but we just didn't know it would be this much.  We’re still trying to plan our Easter trip to Michigan to meet our new niece that was born on March 7th, finish wedding plans (less than 5 months to go!) and figure out where we’re going to live once married (Buy a house & where? Stay in the loft another year?) along with dealing with this new stuff.  Oh and in the meantime, I became an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay and I’m trying to grow my little business with scheduling skincare and makeup classes in my spare time.

Yes, life is crazy but despite that, we’re all getting by. 

Snow day and taxes

Yes, it snowed here as expected and while I think we only had 4-5 inches around the metro area, other areas farther north and south got 10-12 inches.
Work was like a ghost town for the first few hours but about 75% finally made it in by 10 am.  The rest took a "snow day," including the guy that has officially given his notice and is quitting next week.
Perhaps it is rude of me to say, but according to my co-worker he was already talking about the potential "snow day" before he left early Friday afternoon, when there was all of a dusting predicted for Sunday night so I wasn't too surprised when my boss told me he opted to stay home. 
Guess he figured since he's on his way out anyway, no need to bust his butt and try to get any work done in his remaining 6 days.  Wonder if he got to do any sledding on his day off today?!?

In other news, after being a slacker, I finally finished my taxes and D's and got them filed tonight.  It may have been the only productive thing I accomplished today.  I had all intentions of taking both of our returns and creating a joint return for giggles.  Actually, I wanted to see how screwed we would be not having any deductions.  Typically I get a refund which is like bonus money for me (more wedding funds!) but D make sure that he nearly breaks even.  We'll see what getting married does to us for 2015....and we'll see if I actually get around to our "mock" joint return for 2014.

First major snow of 2015?

Source

Even though it seems like everyone else has been hit hard with winter and snow already, we're just getting started here.
First winter storm of the season is supposed to hit STL later this afternoon into tomorrow evening.  The snow was first predicted as a dusting to 1" and as of this morning its now 3" to 6" but with a possibility of as much as 10" for our area.  Fun, fun, fun!
I'm holding out to see what really happens but at this point, I'm wishing it will snow enough to keep me from walking or possibly driving the 8 blocks to work.  (Yeah, really wishful thinking!  Can you tell how much I don't want to deal with work tomorrow?!?)

We'll see what happens....

Cracking jokes

As probably everyone knows D and I work for the same company and in the same group even though we do two completely different jobs.  He recently moved into Export Logistics from Domestic Logistics and for the past 2 years I've been the Export Sales Accountant.  Export isn't much harder than Domestic, there is just bigger sales and a few more details to worry about when loading a vessel rather than a train or barge.  I've been showing him the ropes over the last month as he's the Logistics Coordinator I work directly with in order to get a good portion of my job done.
D sent an email out at work this morning notifying the sales, logistics and accounting group about a export vessel nomination. The vessel name is Tana Sea. 

So I sent him a side email:
How does someone from the deep south say the name of the state where Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville are located?

Tana Sea

I was expecting he would groan at my bad joke but instead he sent me back an email....

Good one!  That was really funny!  :)

 

I'm not known for cracking many jokes and he's usually the one that makes me and everyone else laugh around the office (and at home for that matter), but I had to pat myself on the back for being clever enough to come up with that one.

Not impressed

So I was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel this week at work and I had even started working out at lunch again after a LONG hiatus and what happens?  My work world comes to a screeching halt once again as the newbie hired a mere 4 weeks ago already turns in his notice because the job is just "too much responsibility" for him.  Really?!?
When we (me and another co-worker) interviewed him in mid-December, we used almost scare tactics to see if he could handle the position he was applying for and ironically he impressed us with his ambition and everything he had already learned in such a short work history.  We explained, you come in and hit the ground running and our boss does not follow up to make sure the job is getting done, you step in and create your procedures to get your work done and pretty much handle everything from start to finish, he was ok with that.  He struggled through close last week, to the point where me and the other co-worker had to step in to finish his facilities, but we still were will to help and just figured it would take him a bit longer to fully learn the ropes.
Nope....
He was done even before he really got started and he pretty much told our boss that yesterday.  So now, we're back to square one and finding another new person and me training someone else for 4th time in 7 months.
Guess taking lunches or lunchtime workouts and potty breaks will be at a premium again.

32

Today is my 32nd birthday.  Not quite sure how I got here and I definitely don't have much idea as to what the future holds but I'm hoping to get through the day as best as possible given how exhausted I'm feeling from the work overload right now. 

Last year, I was fighting my way back to STL from New Orleans after the crazy ice storm that hit the south and two years ago, I spent a quiet evening at home taking my 30th in stride.
Tonight, I'm combining a bit of both of those birthdays and spending time with my little fam. 

D is again cooking me a birthday dinner like he has done for me the past two years and per my request, we're having gumbo.  Guess NOLA does have a special place in my heart.

January at a glance

The past month has been nothing short of insane but productive as well.  I guess the only way I seem to be able to survive is to be going a mile a minute.
D and I got through the holidays, spending nearly a week in Michigan and then coming home to work a few days and ring in the New Year with my family.  It wasn't much of a holiday as we both spent a good portion of our time off working and I even spent all of January 1st at work trying to prep for year-end.

Besides brain storming a guest list for the wedding, we really held off most of the planning until January rolled around and since then we've gotten a good portion of the details nailed down in the past 3 weeks.

Date: Saturday, August 15th, 2015
Colors:  Michigan State Green (Emerald) & Silver
Wedding Party:  Decided and Notified!
Venue:  A beautiful banquet facility a mere 10 minutes from our loft, Booked!
Reception dinner:  Tasted!
Photographer, Photobooth, DJ:  Booked!
Wedding Website:  Set up!
Save the Dates:  Ordered and Getting Mailed!
Flower Bouquets, Boutonnieres and Corsages for the Moms:  Purchased!
Wedding Dress and Veil:  Purchased!

YAY for wedding shows and bridal events!!  They provide an overwhelming amount of info but for me, it was way easier going to one place and getting info we needed rather than having to call for info/prices, compare multiple vendors and then hopefully make the best decision for our wedding needs.

We're working on finding our officiant, choosing bridesmaid dresses, finalizing tuxedos, cake tasting and ordering invitations over the next few weeks.  With those out of the way, most of the major decision making will be complete and I'll work on a few details as they come along.

I don't know how I've managed to get as much done as I have considering I've been working 12 hour days and some weekends but my determination must be stronger than what I've previously given myself credit for.  (I'm guessing the lack of sleep will catch up with me eventually too....)
Right now I'm the veteran Sales Accountant at work and besides actually doing my normal responsibilities, I'm now training another new (think: green) person to be a Sales Accountant, being a mentor for the another Sales Accountant that was hired in November and trying to clean up all of the issues left when the prior "veteran" was terminated on January 5th for not doing her job for the last 11+ months.  Why did it take my boss 11 months to realize the other veteran was a train wreck?  I'm not sure but it's not helping now that I'm left picking up the pieces and holding the department together.  I may be turning 32 on Thursday, but with this work schedule I feel like I should be near retirement age.  Let's hope I don't have another 30 years of a schedule like this!

And even though, I'm heading into another stressful week with month-end close to cap it off, at least I'm not going on a work trip like I had to last year at this time.  The best feeling in the world is knowing I'll be home with my fam and not 677 miles away searching for any way possible out of NOLA.