It's finally November!

Well friends, I know it's been a while.

A lots been going on.

Here's the basic rundown.

As of Saturday, I no longer work at Family Video.

I am in a last chance, can't screw up, remediation class, with lots and lots of extra work, and I MUST succeed.

Or no degree.

Yep.

So, it came down to my job or the mountains of work I'm now taking on.

It's a very scary feeling, not having a job.

We'll be okay, as long as nothing super major happens that requires tons of money.

And the worst part is, I'm still not guaranteed a passing grade.

It's a whole world of unknowns right now, and that is very, very scary for me.

But,

because it is November,

and November contains Thanksgiving (which is my birthday this year, just saying),

I'm going to focus on the positives in my life.

for the next 25 days, I'm going to post one thing I'm thankful for every day.

Mostly for me.

I need to remember all of the things I'm thankful for.

So today, I'm thankful for...

Flowers.

Last week was my last week of work (which was of course hectic) and my first serious week of school (equally hectic.) To top it all off, I was sick.

Seriously sick. Like, barely functioning sick.

So, one night, husband brought these home to me.

I love them.

They've been on our table since, and 

they are so wonderful.

They are a nice little picture of brightness in my recently bleak little world.

I love flowers, especially in winter, and am especially thankful for them today.

More things I'm thankful for in the days following.

♥

Things of late...

It's been a while.

Sorry friends!

I've been uber busy. 

Here are some new events...

I (mostly) finished the class I was retaking.

What a relief.

I got (and still am) super stressed about work.

I work really hard.

A lot.

I love painting class.

And just painting in general.

It's been incredibly soothing.

I love my husband, 

and get to see him at least a little more since my class ended.

Which has been awesome.

And things are all around, average, normal, and decent.

I promise a more in-depth post soon.

I'm just enjoying life right now.

♥

Re-committed. And tired.

Today my friends, will by day 8 of 8 straight days of work.

all of the shifts were 6-10 hours long. 

For 8. straight. days.

Needless to say, I'm ready for a break, and that is a large part of my lack of non-simple blogging.

I've been at the new store now for 3 weeks, and it has gone a lot better than I expected. I actually really enjoy it. Just not 8 straight days of it. =)

I have re-committed to being a flexitarian.  It will be super difficult when school starts, but for now it's not been bad.  I just make 2-3 vegetarian meals a week, and eat them and their leftovers at work and at home, keeping me meat free, and then allow myself fish or chicken once or twice on the weekends. 

The vegetarian section of the "Healthy College Cookbook" has become my best friend. 

I love that cookbook.

Last week I had brocolli-tofu stir fry, garlic and tofu green beans, and pasta salad.

This week I've had Sesame noodles, a different pasta salad, and today I made ginger-soy tofu over rice.

It's delicious. 

Other than massive amounts of work, things have been pretty good in this household. Recycling is taking off, which I am so excited about. It's a real eye opener to see how much we've been throwing away that we could have been recycling. 

We re-potted the mandarin tree, so there is more dirt under it now.

And we have peppers from the garden, but everything else is kind of stalled due to this ridiculous heat.

Jamie and I have been getting to spend a lot of time together lately, and it's been so nice. We've finally gotten into that summer swing. Unfortunately, school starts in less than a month. But, I don't want to talk about that yet. 

Tomorrow we are hanging out with our friends Amanda and Joe.  Joe and Jamie are going golfing, and Amanda and I are going to get pedicures. Neither of us have ever had one, so we thought we would go together to try it. I'm really excited, I love seeing those two. It's nice to have friends we can get together with, and I always feel good when I'm with them.

And I got to talk to Misty yesterday, which was so great. 

Oh yeah, and Minnie's in heat again, so you can imagine what she's been like to deal with. If you can't imagine, here is a picture from the last time.

And I will leave you with a thought from the other day.  When I was a kid, I read the book "Harriet the Spy" by Louise Fitzhugh about 50 times. I loved it.  There is a simple passage in there, in the 3rd chapter, where Harriet is talking to her best friend, that says:

"She never minded admitting she didn't know something. 'So what?' she thought; 'I could always learn.'"

I realized the other day, when the grocery store clerk looked at me like an idiot because I didn't know that scallions and green onions were the same things, that this one tiny passage has helped shaped my life. As I started to feel really stupid, and stopped and thought, "So what? how was I supposed to know if no one ever told me?" And then I didn't feel bad. It's amazing the kind of power books can give us. That one small passage has helped shape me into the person I am. I feel confident even in not knowing things, because I can just learn them later. 

And I love that.

♥ 

happy 4th of July (garden update)

Happy 4th of July to everyone who's having fun today.

My day has consisted of working alone in my garden, because Jamie works 9-9, before I go in for a 4-midnight shift.

For the 3rd year in a row.

But, I did enjoy a couple of hours in the garden this morning, and then of course some time on the hammock.

I've been working really hard in the garden these last few days.

It feels good to put a lot of work into something and then be rewarded with results. I think that's a large part of why I have found gardening to be so enjoyable.

Anyway, the entire right side of my garden now looks like this.

Umm, heck yeah!

Now if only I can get the left side looking that good.

Crab Grass is quickly becoming my greatest enemy. 

It is really difficult to pull up by the root, and it multiplies and grows crazy fast.

But I am determined to win.  

While weeding today, I made friends with the cutest little inchworm.

He's pretty nifty. 

I bought this neat little seat to use when I pull weeds.  It's made it loads easier on my back and legs, and I can get a lot more done at one time.

Jamie calls it "the potty seat." hahaha

Everything is growing pretty well, except my strawberries, which never came up, and all but one of my green bean plants.

My mandarin tree has grown like crazy.

Considering how little it was when we first got it, it's doing awesome. 

Also, one of the palm tree sprouts from Florida (the ones I expected to die instantly upon coming to Indiana) is taking off. I am shocked, but pleased. 

Jamie is super excited about it. 

As for the rest of my veggie plants, here is a rundown...

Basil is growing really well, and smells really good.

One of my asparagus plants is starting to flower, which I think is cool. I can't wait until we can actually eat them in a couple of years.

My tomato plant has tiny baby tomatoes on them! 

My one lonely green bean plant is flowering. I'm not sure if I'll get beans off of it or not this year, we will have to see!

The corn is waist high and thriving (minus the one the bunnies ate).

The tops of my onions are growing like crazy. I'm hoping this means the onions under the ground are getting big too.

And my lettuce can be cut and eaten any day now, which is way cool.

So that's where we are at today, folks.

I'm off to get ready for work, and I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm getting holiday pay, it's worth it. 

I sort of believe that.

oh, and I definitely need to start using my camera more than my iphone. The pictures from today are so much better.

♥

It's almost here...

To get the days off for my vacation to Chicago this weekend, I have to work 7 straight days.

I just finished day 6.

I need this vacation.

Can't wait.

♥

My world in the form of improper fractions...

Last Time I saw my husband

Sunday

+

Next Time I see my husband

Saturday

=

Massive Sucky-ness

this blows

eighteen hour day

Today

+

four hours of sleep 

tonight

+

eighteen hour day 

tomorrow

=

really rough couple of days

horrible

Welcome to my life, people. These two weeks of 80 hours may kill me. 

Oh, and I have spent 5 hours a day for the past 3 days teaching fifth graders how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions. 

I'm having trouble turning it off.

Sorry.

♥

A Cuddly Saturday

Today has unfortunately been less than productive. 

I had all of these things I wanted to get done today, and i got very few of them done, and none of the ones that had to do with school. Dang it.

But, Oh well, it was a nice day none the less.

Jamie and I spent the morning catching up on this past week, and being all cuddly. Then we made pancakes for breakfast (when we got up at 10) and then took an hour long nap. =)

He's at work now, and I have to go in about an hour.

Even the pets have been feeling extra cuddly.

Minnie, who is acting more like herself, although not quite 100% yet, decided this was where she wanted to take her morning nap.

And then as soon as she left, here comes Emma!

Despite my lack of productivity, it's been a nice morning.

But, I'm going to regret it for the next few days, when I am staying up until all hours of the night doing homework.

Oh well.

♥

The sick monster speaks..

Blogging while watching Ellen. 

It's a good morning. 

But, it's been kind of a crazy week.

This past friday, we took our kids to the vet.

What. A. Nightmare.

Seriously, how could these cute, sweet, adorable little faces...

Become such monsters!

It was so awful, the vet actually suggested that we "pre-medicate" next time.

As in drug them.

Yeah, that bad.

Minnie (yes, my 5 lb. baby) had to be muzzled, and they had to hold Emma down with a towel over her head. Awful.

But, at least they have their shots, and we don't have to do it again, for a year.

Thank goodness.

On a different note, my husband is an awesome handyman.

We have been wanting to put another counter in our kitchen, so I had more counter space. 

Because I have little to none. When I baked, I would use the stools of our breakfast table to mix on.

So, a few nights ago, Jamie put in our new counter! 

It's awesome, because we can use it like a bar as well, so we still have kitchen seating.

Yes, it's missing a stool in these pictures, I was using it as a table in the living room.

Also, he picked out our new washer and dryer, (because i work ALL the time) and he did a fabulous job. And, they came yesterday!

They are amazing and wonderful! 

They are high-efficiency, so good for the environment, and are practically twice as big as our old ones.

They have digital selection screens,

My dryer has a light in it, 

And it has lots of fun features, like spinning the washer once every hour to keep your clothes from mildewing if you can't get them out right away. 

Wonderful. Absolutely awesome.

On an crummy note, I have been sick.

Really really sick, again. I got a cold on Saturday night, and then yesterday, it was hideously awful.

My nose was running, I couldn't breathe, and it had moved into my eyes, so they were constantly running, and my nose was rudolph red, and painful.

And I still had to go in for a 9 hour shift. 

But, I was working so slow, and my boss, lord love him, came to help, and while he had good intentions, he added about 1 & 1/2 hours worth of things to do. 

It became an 11 hour shift. 

I was absolutely miserable. And then I got in trouble this morning by my other boss(ish), we're technically equals, but she has 4 years seniority, for having help come in.

Well great. Thanks for that.

Anyway, I didn't take a picture of myself, because it was hideous, but this is the sign I made for Jamie as I was falling asleep, hopped up on Nyquil.

We often make signs for each other, as we miss each other due to work, school, or sleep.

And yes, ladies and gentlemen. 

This is how I looked yesterday. At work, and at home.

It was so horrible.

But, today is a new day, and I slept for 12 hours, so I am feeling quite a bit better.

Thank goodness.

One last thing, I got my bridesmaid dress for Amanda's wedding!

It was a lot of fun.

She did what I did, picked color, length, and fabric, and then we picked the style. Here is the dress I picked!

I was the only one who picked a non-strapless dress. This is the sample, so it was a size to big, and was clipped in the back. 

Here is the dress in the right color, on the size 2 (barf) DB model.

I'm excited.

School starts next week.

Trying to enjoy my time as much as possible before that. 

Here we go.

♥

Everyday Adventure, and Random Thursday Thoughts...

Our Washer broke last week.  

Seeing that it is 20 years old, and we bought it at a garage sale,

I'm not shocked.

But, I had already not done laundry for 2 weeks, because of the craziness of work and final projects.

So, our lovely little washer, decided to break the day I was going to do laundry.

Thanks for that.

Well, while we've been trying to figure out what to do about it.

I ran out of clothes. 

and Jamie ran out of clothes.

And we were out of clean towels. 

and using our last pair of clean sheets. 

So yesterday morning, I got fed up, and decided that we should go to the laundromat, and then buy a new washer this week. So, we took an everyday adventure to the laundromat!

You may think I'm kidding about the volume of laundry, but I have proof.  This is every dirty article of clothing in the house, and we took it all to the laundromat with us. 

It was ridiculous. 

When we got there, I had to run and pick up laundry detergent, because of course we forgot it. 

And then we put all the laundry in.

We took up ALL of these industrial washers, including the giant one on the end, PLUS one more, and an equal amount of dryers.

Again, ridiculous.

By the time we were done, Jamie had only 30 minutes to leave for work, which he was super grouchy about.  We ended up having an argument about his attitude, which he called and apologized about. 

Crazy morning.

________________________

I know in the blogging world, randomness is usually saved for "Totally Random Tuesday" (as can be seen here and here.) But, I'm an individual, and decided to do it today. Plus, I don't want to wait until Tuesday to share my thoughts. 

_________________________

Got my parent's Christmas Card today, and they used on of my wedding pictures on it! I thought it was really cute.

I love that Dex is on their card, when they teased me about my furry kids. haha

_________________________

Minnie has it made this winter.  Last year, Jamie had to shovel her a big flat spot for her to potty in, every time it snowed, so she doesn't drown in the snow.

This year, he took our screen off before the first big snow (not like we will be using it this winter) and made Minnie a "potty hut."

All we have to do is keep the "entrance" clear, and she's good to go.

She said "Thanks, Dad!" by licking him in the face 80 times.

Oh wait.

That's normal. 

Well, either way, I know she appreciates it. 

_________________________

I hate mandatory overtime. 

(That's such a stupid concept to me anyway. How can you REQUIRE someone to work overtime?)

Thanks SDI, for stealing my husband again, just when I was excited school was out so I could see him more.

But no.

He now has to work 3PM to 3AM until the end of the year.

Awesome. Back to falling asleep alone.

Grrrr.

So, because I haven't seen him at all this week, I took Asia Wok (the best Chinese food in town) out to him last night, and we ate dinner together! 

It was awesome.

I tried on his hard hat, and safety glasses. I think I'm going to start wearing them daily. Not. 

_________________________

Monday (yes, the day after that big snow) I was still required to drive to the east side of indy, to go to a meeting at my school for student teaching, because IPS only closes if it's a weather emergency. 

What should have taken me 30 minutes took me an hour and ten. 

When I got there, the meeting lasted 20 minutes, so we went upstairs to meet our mentor teachers, and mine was gone, on her first sick day in four years. Awesome. 

So, I drove home (it only took me 50 minutes that time).  What a lame morning. 

But, I did get to see the school, and get oriented with it. 

I will be in a fifth/sixth combined math classroom.

Oh man.

Talk about a challenge. 

Sixth graders and math.

But, I'm kind of excited about it, at the same time. It's going to be something new and fun.

Just wish I could meet my teacher, so I could stop worrying about that.

_________________________

My Ball State roommate Sarah got engaged this weekend!!

She and Jared have been together 6 years, (so it's about time!) 

She called me the other night to tell me about it, she is on cloud nine!

I am so excited and happy for her, he's a great guy. 

She told me her mom has already made a list of venues, lol.

And, I am going bridesmaid dress shopping with the lovely Amanda, for Amanda and Joe's wedding next year!

We are all going over Christmas break.

So Excited!!!

They are seriously the cutest couple ever, and I am so excited to be a part of their day!

_________________________

Well, I'm out of here.

Have to go clean my house. 

Yay....

♥

Dexter-ific!

Been working a lot.

Weekends are always that way.

I worked 30 hours from Thursday to Sunday.
Craziness.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job.
But, like any other job, there are issues and struggles.
Hoping things get a little easier.

Because of all of my work and school, and his work and school, and just our busy-ness in general,
I haven't seen much of my husband lately.
Trying to find a day to have a date night.
Not looking like it is going to happen very soon.
Maybe for my birthday in a couple of weeks.

I miss him a lot, even though we live in the same house.
It's sad and strange.
It makes me feel lonely, and I wish more than anything we had more time together.
Love him.

We did get to go to my parents for lunch yesterday after church, which was nice.
And I got to see my little brother Dexter,
Who is getting to be a big boy.
I love him. He is going to be the most spoiled dog ever.

 

Hahaha, the poor guy was so tired by the time we left, he could barely keep his eyes open.

He is such an awesome dog.

I love that he is part of my family.

Okay, I am off. 

I am completely and utterly overwhelmed by homework.

I'm doing my best, but it doesn't seem to be good enough.

My reading teacher wants to have a meeting about my paper on Tuesday.

Not. Good.

It's just so hard right now.

I am going to try and get as much done as possible for the week, since I will be super busy.

Doing my best to stay positive.

Uggggh, it's hard.

♥

Saturdays are the best.

This is what my life has consisted of lately.

School, school, and more school. 

And then some work.

But, I got off work at 3 yesterday, and...

Voila!

I made us a 

"1/2 way through the semester" 

Celebration cake!

And I put it in my pretty cake holder that I got at my wedding shower!

I surprised Jamie with it when he got home from work!

We both enjoyed it. A lot. 

 Hey, you have to get excited about the little things, right?

We had "Adopt-A-Pet Day" at work today!

I was in charge of planning it, and i think it went great!

We also had Gentleman Jim the balloon man in to make animals and hats for everyone (us included)!

It went super well! We are hoping to get into the Board, which is the communication from home office to all 700 stores!

We had a great turnout, and it was a lot of fun!

Going to my friend Amanda's 22nd birthday celebration tonight! 

It's going to be a wild and crazy time!

I even bought a new shirt!

Pictures to come!

♥