Warm Moments

So, the snow is really melting.  I went out this morning and was completely shocked to see the grass...  We've been dealing with a lot of fog lately though.  So, visibility has been down by a lot.  I'm looking forward to the new year and possibly going window shopping (worth the free truffle from Godiva) and being super lazy...

Did I mention I have awesome friends who really know how to cook?  And they gave me a couple of their recipes.  I'm so excited to make the almond-flavored looking bar treat (reminds me of marzipan which I'm very much addicted to)...

My New Year's plan will be coming up shortly.  I kind of gave up on New Year's Resolutions since I rarely attempt to implement them...  So, instead I'll write down my future plans and where I'd like to see myself in the future and call that good for a resolution.  Last year, I wrote about what happened to me in the last decade instead and talked about how I wanted to exercise more (relative to 2009, I did exercise more in 2010 - haha).

Family

This will be the very first Christmas that we spend without family.  It's also the first time I will not be around for my sister's birthday.  But she opened her gift while I was on the phone with her, and she seemed to like it.  I'm just a little sad that I won't see family tomorrow...

For Christmas Eve, we're spending the evening with friends from church.  We'll go to the Christmas Eve service tonight and then to dinner with our friends.  It'll be fun.  Also, a great way to remember the reason for the season.

So, I was ranting over the week about how I wanted a house to call my own.  And I've come to the conclusion that the first home we buy will not be downsizing from our apartment.  Since we live somewhere very cold, an apartment is super nice because I rarely go outside (except to take the dog out).  I go to the underground garage to my car and then to the underground garage at work (effectively never going outside).  So, my requirements for our first house which will probably be the next place we move into will require a two car garage and more than one bathroom.  And if that means I have to wait another five years before I can afford that kind of home, then so be it...  I will just be thankful for the nice apartment community I have now.

Anxiety

I've mentioned this before, but Gizmo suffers from anxiety when left home alone.  He is such a people dog (more specifically, he is a major Amanda dog).  He wants to be around people, sit on them, cuddle with them.  He can't handle being alone or having to sit by himself.  So with Jared getting a job, he hasn't been handling that all too well.

It took him a while to get used to the fact that I'm rarely home anymore on the weekdays.  Instead, he got to spend his days with Jared.  And now, he spends some days in the kennel.  And he's not coping well at all.

Gizmo is potty trained when around people.  But when left alone, he could care less where he goes pee and whether or not he has to lay in it for hours (this is not typical dog behavior for those who don't know much about dogs).  So, needless to say, his kennel can get quite dirty.

Also, he's beginning to go back to old behaviors that he had when he lived with my mom.  And those behaviors involve peeing on the carpet in the morning or middle of the night.  So, he is now back to being kenneled at night as well to keep him from going potty when he shouldn't be.  He's not happy about it; he can't cuddle with someone in the kennel...

Some days, I wish he hadn't learned these bad behaviors.  Maybe life wouldn't have been so difficult if his mom didn't teach him to eat poo and pee where you lay.  If he still had that sense of understanding what a den (or dwelling) is and how you don't relieve yourself within it, maybe he wouldn't be so frustrating...

Needless to say, I am super frustrated with him.  And he is feeling a lot of abandonment.  My woes for the week...

Miscellaneous

So, it's been a mixture of rain and sleet today.  There's snow on the ground, but it's too warm for the precipitation coming down to take snow form.  There might have been a minute or two of light fluffy snow, but it didn't last.  It'll probably turn into snow once the sun goes down which is any minute now.  Yes, the sun goes down before 4:30 here...  Depressing, I know.

My car went into the car shop to get looked at and fixed.  Turns out the place that replaced the tires last year never balanced the tires.  Makes me really mad because I had to cough up $200 to replace the now warped tires.  It really urks me that people try to get things done as quick and as cheap as possible without taking a moment to make sure they're doing it right.  Oh well, I live.  And I let go.

I watched a movie today that I don't recommend.  But the story of it went along the lines of how living by the law and doing the right thing doesn't always return the value you can get when taking shortcuts in life.  It's based on a true story.  A guy who had just gotten released from prison was trying to stay sober and get back on track with his family. Out of desperation from his son not talking to him, he asked, "What do you want from me?"  His son replied, "I want you to stay sober.  And I don't want you to leave us again."  Then his bad-influence friend talked about a armored-car heist that would let them retire rich.  The guy backed out of it in the end and went back to his can't-even-make-ends-meet job while his friend robbed the car.  So, it was a little sad, but I'm happy the guy did the right thing in the end.  It shows that his son mattered more to him than the money and 'easy life.'

And I finished my Vampire Academy book.  The series is over.  I'm a little sad.  I felt a disconnect with this book.  Granted, I'm a full time worker and had to read the book in the evenings when I was super tired.  And instead of reading it in a day like I could with the other books, this one took me four days.  The book did not end how I wanted it to end, but I'm okay with the ending I guess.  It didn't all wrap-up in the end and there was no honky-dory happy ending to wrap it up either.  And then it was over.

I love reading books, and I always can't wait to finish them.  But once they're over, I get a feeling of, "That's it?" And then I'm a little depressed because I'm done with the book and it's over.  But then I find another book to read (which I need to do).  I think the moral of the story for me is "It's not the ending that matters but how you get there."

Off to the next book.  Maybe I'll pick something up right away (or take another big break like I've been doing recently).

Snow

The snow has finally come...  It snowed Friday night and Saturday morning.  Gizmo was not too happy Saturday morning.  I had to uncover a little bit of grass, so he'd do his duty.  And it's funny watching him walk.  He's already missing a leg.  But when there's snow on the ground, he avoids it as much as possible.  That means holding one leg up and walking with two the whole time.  His left legs getting wet are definitely worth the sacrifice to keep the right hind one dry...

I took Gizmo on a walk today.  He was excited to go outside because it meant relieving his bladder.  But then I put his coats on (yes, two coats for Gizmo).  And he glared at me.  When he realized I was taking him on a walk in the cold with the snow out, he wasn't happy.  I had to drag him at first.  He wouldn't budge.  Finally, he started walking although it was a slow walk.  Once we got going, he was super happy.  His tail started wagging. But every time we encountered a bit of sidewalk with snow on it, his tail went between his legs, and he walked very slowly and with a lot of caution.  It was funny...

Haircuts

Did you know we spend more on Gizmo's grooming than we spend on our own combined?  Other than the shampoo and conditioner, I really don't spend money on my hair.  And Jared has a do it yourself approach when it comes to cutting his hair.  I thought about getting a haircut today, and decided I didn't want to go anywhere...  So, only Gizmo got a haircut today.  And he was super happy afterwards.  He can now see.  He's a lot cuter when you can see his eyes.  But he loves going to the dog groomer.  He shows off his new do afterwards, and thinks he's king of the world.

Why yes, Gizmo frequently mistakes his canine species for a feline one.  Sunbathing on the couch. 

Before the haircut.  We couldn't resist it.  After realizing Gizmo would fit into a stocking, that's where he went.  He wasn't too happy with us.  Oh well, it was completely worth it.

The infamous tongue sticking out.  Almost all pictures we have of him, he's got his tongue sticking out.

So far, I have very little Christmas shopping done.  Probably about fifty bucks worth which equates to some-odd 8 people.  And if I can help it, I'm solely shopping online for Christmas presents.  And I wait until I have a coupon before I shop (yes, still a major bargain hunter).  I will probably get a lot more done next week once Jared gets his discount.  And then I have to ship all of the gifts off.  Better hurry up with this non-shopping...

Money

Looking back on things, I always thought life would be easier once I got my degree.  And I would be super rich which was a definite bonus.

Well, life certainly isn't easier nor am I super rich.  Granted, I can go buy more milk and cereal without wondering how on earth I'm going to pay for it.  I can also go to the doctor's and be treated for a bladder infection without deciding which credit card I have to max out before getting treated.  With the whole money situation, Jared and I barely break even each month.  But I guess that's okay for now.

We've set aside a small portion each month to donate to whatever we want to.  And it makes me happy that we're able to do that.  Granted it's not much and most people would laugh at us for donating so little, but we're donating consistently.  And the fall-back donation so far has become something related to USU.  And maybe with time, that monthly donation will become a bigger portion.  But for now, it'll do.  I'm happy we're doing it even if it may cause a little stress to us at the end of the month (I get paid at the beginning of each month).

And the best financial part?  Our credit card balances are not going up.  They're going down.  Granted, it's a super slow process, and I spend some moments wondering why I'm making a big payment on it when I could be using the money on something else.  Or how I'm tied to my student loans for the next ten years.  And if I pay double the amount due, I'm still strapped for a few more years.  There's no immediate gratification to paying debt off.  But I'm sure the day I pay off these credit cards and student loans, there will be a lot of gratification and lots of rejoicing...

What I did the last four years was worth it all.  I'm happy with where I'm at.  And while I'm not that super rich person that I envisioned being, I can live without worrying about money.  And it's nice.

Happy Birthday Jared!!

To my dear husband

Happy  birthday!!!!!

23

You're old.  Well, older than me anyways...

And since my Happy Birthday song by the Birthday Massacre (my new favorite band) is already on my blog, I'll post a song from their newest album....

Books

Here's an update on the books I'm reading...

I read this in October.  It was super sad.  Predictable, but sad.  I need to see the movie now.  This book also helped me appreciate my childhood moments in the hospital.  They weren't life-threatening visits.

I have seen the movie for this one.  And now I'm reading the book.  It's okay as far as nonfiction goes.  Definitely not the normal reading for me.  But I'm enjoying the funny moments.  But this book is also making me a little baby crazy (the mood will pass, I'm sure).

I haven't had a whole lot of time to read lately.  So, I've been slacking.  I have a ton of books to read.  And for the two books that came out that I need to read and will read eventually?

I started this series in May.  It is definitely young adult fiction, but I enjoy the books.  This book's from the Morganville Vampires series.  Another twist to vampires that I really enjoy reading.  I will probably read this after Marley and Me.

The Blue Bloods is another young adult vampire series.  This one isn't as great as the other ones I read, but I still enjoy the story.  The last book I read in this series, I was so lost until right at the very end.  It left me confused and bored.  So I have a feeling I'll be rereading the whole series before I start this book to make sure I'm up to speed with everything.  This series definitely has a twist to vampires.  They're the fallen angels that must spend eternity on Earth separated from God because of Lucifer's deed.

Weekend

I have survived my twelve day work-week (done in two weeks, haha).  And my reward?  I got Friday off.  So, I've enjoyed the day being lazy and sleeping in for an hour and a half.  Gizmo had some major issues this morning and peed all over the floor.  I swear in some ways, Gizmo is slowly preparing me for kids.  He gets himself into trouble and then tries to hide from me once I've seen the mess.  And then he spends the next hour trying to please me to get back on my good side...

Anyways, Jared had the day off today also.  We went to Borders and the mall.  i realized two new books from a couple of series I've been reading came out.  I bought one of the two and will wait to buy the next book once I've caught up in reading.  We went to the mall to get our free truffles from Godiva (free with the rewards program which also free -recommend it if you want a free truffle every month).  We went to Kohl's and did a little Christmas shopping also.  I applied for my Wisconsin driver's license today.

At the DMV, one of the workers was missing hands.  I thought about asking him if it was ABS, but chances are it wasn't since he had nubs (ABS people tend to not have nubs).  And besides that, he was working and it's not like I need to be rude and point out the fact that he's different from other people.  I still haven't come up with a nice way of saying, "Look, we're the same...  Weird, abnormal hands!!"  Awkward silence and then transition into the childhood horror stories we've experienced.  I don't know.  It's just too hard to group yourself and someone else based on some abnormality because then it just constantly points to your abnormality.  Maybe I'll make a group called Abnormal Hands United and make it exclusive.  Only cool people with abnormal hands can join.  Somehow, I don't see many members joining that anytime soon...

On a more depressing note, the USU Bowling coach died last week.  It's super sad.  It's hard to believe he's gone.  He helped me improve my bowling skills (well, he helped me actually keep the ball from guttering constantly).  It's just sad.  My heart and prayers go out to his family and the USU bowling team.

Well, now that I have some free time on my hands, maybe I'll be able to clean the house...  It's a disaster zone right now.

Home

I am home for a couple of days...

Working 12-hour night shifts is hard.  It's also super easy to get lost in a hospital.  Trying to sleep in the day doesn't work.  I slept three hours and my mind told me the sun was up and it was time I got out of bed. I got about six hours of sleep that first morning.  Then my second night shift came.  Then I headed to the airport.  And I passed out in a very uncomfortable chair.  My phone woke me up, and I thought I had missed my flight because there were different people sitting by me.  Fortunately, it was just the flight before mine.  But needless to say, I didn't sleep well at all since I was en route to Madison.  And then I went into work for 1.5 hours and then home.  Even though my brain had shut down early on, I was surprised to see how well I was functioning yesterday.  I basically went without my bedtime, so I could readjust back to normalcy.  I went to sleep at my normal sleep schedule (I'm positive that I was out thirty seconds after putting my head on my pillow), and then my alarm woke me up for work.  It didn't feel like enough sleep though...

Overall, I very much enjoyed work in Georgia.  It was a lot of fun to work with medical professionals.  And it was informative to see how they do things.

I leave for Ohio on Friday.  Fortunately, these shifts will be during the day.  Although I'm coming to the conclusion that night shifts make it easier to check out the city and be a tourist (even though you get very little sleep).

The outside of my hotel.  It's a fountain.  And yes, it's outside even though there's a roof (hotel's above you).

An old, awesome looking Catholic church.  The front above and the side below. 

This was a either a Methodist or Lutheran church right across the street from the Catholic one.  I love old buildings.

I stink at taking pictures.  So, that's all I got.  But I'll end with one of my moments on the plane...

Having nightmares stinks.  But what's worse than that is realizing the nightmare you're having isn't a nightmare but actual reality.  Dreaming about the plane crashing only to awake to really rough turbulence scared the crap out of me (so the nightmare wasn't reality because the plane didn't actually crash)...

Rain

It rained this weekend for the first time this Fall.  It was nice.  Of course, it wasn't so nice when I had to take Gizmo potty.  I tried to hide under a tree, and he decided to do the same instead of going potty.  He doesn't care for the rain nor the snow.  He doesn't like to get wet nor get cold.  Boy is he in for a surprise come winter time.

From what I've heard, this Fall has been a fairly dry Fall for Wisconsin.  But then I also heard the Summer was a wetter Summer than normal.  So, who knows?

Job Update

Jared has been offered a job at Best Buy.  It kind of stinks that he has to resort to retail and various other crappy jobs after getting a bachelor's degree.  But oh well.  He needs something to occupy his time.  He's still waiting to hear back from a bank before he accepts the Best Buy job.  Working at a bank would at least give us our holidays together.  I guess we'll see.

I also found out that I'll be taking a third trip in November for work.  I'll be in Georgia in a week.  I'll get to hang out with my family on Saturday and then off to work the night shift starting Sunday.  As soon as I'm done with my shifts (Tuesday morning), I'll be on a plane headed home and back to work in no time.  I've yet to figure out how my sleep schedule is going to pan out.  I know two out of those three days will probably consist of no sleep since I have to adjust to the night shift and adjust back to the day shift.  And then I'll be in Ohio in two weeks.  Fortunately, it's the day shift.  And the weekend after that, I'll have off.  Yes, I will be working for 12 days straight starting a week from tomorrow.  Anyways, the week before Thanksgiving, I'll be in Reno.  Hopefully I'll be home in time for Jared's birthday.  Let's hope I'm not too exhausted before it's all over.

And then Thanksgiving will be here.  Jared and I will probably do something low key.  I'm still debating if I want to attempt shopping the day after Thanksgiving before going into work.  I'm not sure.  Probably not, but we'll see.

Cast Pictures

A reminiscent post.  And it's about casts like it says.  First up is Gizmo...

This picture was probably taken the first week we got him (May 2009).  His leg had been broken for three months I think.  And he hadn't had a haircut since his leg was broken.  I had to call around to find a dog barber who would deal with a dog with a cast.

This is him after his haircut.  The bones in his leg wouldn't heal back together.  His leg was removed a month later (very horrible experience and I hope to never have to relive it).  He also happened to chew up this bed completely.  It was a nice bed until he ruined it.

Next up...  Me (because I like my baby pictures, haha)...

One of the first ( if not the first) surgeries done on my hands.  And if you honestly have no idea why I had surgery on my hands, then you don't know me too well (I have amniotic band syndrome just in case you really didn't know).

You can barely see the cast in this picture (it's the pink blimp on the left).  Being a three-year-old girl choosing the color of my next 5 casts with one simple word ("PINK!!!!").  And that is how I ended up with bright pink casts; I don't think other colors existed to me back then).

Now, why did I post pictures about casts?  Honestly, I have no idea why.  Life is boring, and I found these pictures.  And just in case you happen to fall into the category of "My dog's leg broke and is going to be removed" or "I'm about to have a baby with amniotic band syndrome," I can loan a shoulder to cry on and ears to listen to your worries.  And I can also tell you it'll be okay and life does go on.

Scarf

So, I haven't really had anything new and exciting going on lately.  Life has been boring but good...

I just finished making my scarf.  Did I mention I took up knitting recently?  Well, the cheating kind anyways.  I have to use a loom.  Maybe one day I'll be good enough to knit on my own (or maybe that just takes too much time to figure out).  But the fact that I can knit with the fingers I have, I'm satisfied...

My scarf is pink.  And I have some yarn left over to make a hat if I really wanted to.  I made a whole lot of mistakes with my scarf, but good luck finding those mistakes.  I'm happy with my scarf even though most people will consider it mediocre.  And, the best part?  Jared asked me to make him a scarf.  So, next up is Jared's red scarf (red for UW Badgers).

A funny story from the week.  Jared had an eye appointment, so he can get more contacts and stuff for his eyes.  Anyways, when I got home, he was still waiting for the dilated eyes effect to wear off.  And the funniest thing was looking at his eyes in the light.  One was back to normal and restricted just fine.  The other was completely dilated.  So, looking into his eyes that had two different sized pupils was a little odd and unsettling.  It made me laugh...

I guess I'll end with a few funny pictures of Gizmo...

I wanted to see Gizmo's eyes.  His 'bangs' are too long.  Unfortunately, he wouldn't go along with the hair clip.  It was funny watching him try to pull it out.

Why yes, I did shove Gizmo down Jared's shirt.  And the best part is neither one of them complained.

Books

I just realized I haven't given a book update since the end of July.  So, here's for my massive book update.  Since finishing school and getting a job to fund my habit, I've been extensively reading as of late...

The Mercy Thompson series (by Patricia Briggs):

   

   

Another series involving the supernatural. That's what I enjoy.  This series deals with vampires, werewolves, and the fae.  I enjoyed the books.  Her next book comes out in January next year.

The Alpha-Omega series (also by Patricia Briggs):

   

I enjoyed the Mercy Thompson series more than this one.  Maybe it's because I can connect more to her character rather than the main character in these books.  Unfortunately, the next book for this series doesn't come out until Fall of next year.

The Dark Swan series (by Richelle Mead):

   

I very much enjoyed this series.  These are strictly related to faeries (or the Gentry as the book refers to them).  Kind of weird that I liked the bad guy in this series (well, he's only the bad guy inasmuch as he's not human...  so not much of a bad guy other than he wants to take over the human world).  The next book comes out in March of next year.

The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins):

   

The second book was by far my favorite.  Usually, it takes me half a book to get into a new series.  So while the first may have been good, I thought the second was better.  The books are about an overpowering government and how people bring an uprising and start a war.  And while I immediately fell in love with one of the main male characters, I despised the other male lead the whole way through the series.  Also, the series does tend to hit a gigantically huge climax and just end.  It took me a week to completely digest all that had happened  and after that, I appreciated some of the characters more (yeah, I'm weird).

The Kushiel series (by Jacqueline Carey):

   

I am currently reading the second one of the series.  My sister-in-law recommended this series to me.  From what I can tell, there's an original trilogy and then more books follow afterwards from another character's point of view (I could be wrong).  These books involve a lot of political intrigue and are set in what I can tell as the olden days (maybe 100-200 AD - again could be completely wrong).  Oh, and the main character is pretty much a prostitute with a pain fetish (but the author makes it sound a lot better).  I'll let you know if I continue on with the series (the books are huge and take a lot of thought processing to catch the subtle clues).

And here's to the number one book I am anticipating at the end of this year:

This one is the last of the Vampire Academy series (by Richelle Mead), and it comes out in December.  This is probably one of my favorite series to read.  And while I recommend these books to everyone, if you plan on starting the series, then start it in November so you don't have to wait too long for the last book...  Super excited!!

So, any recommendations for my next series to start?  Unless my plans change, I'll probably start the Otherworld series by Kelly Armstrong.