Dance in the Rain

Yesterday L and I went running when I got home from work.  This is a big deal.  I do. not. run.  Therefore, when I ran without stopping for a distance greater than I have ever done before, even in elementary, middle and high school when you had to take the physical fitness tests, I was so happy.  We walked and ran some more.  I went home and got the dogs and went back to meet Lee and we took them for a walk.

Before we had gone though, I defrosted some chicken and put it back in the fridge so we could grill it for dinner when we got home.

After our long run and walk, we got home and it was about 8:45.  A little late for dinner, but alas, we were starving.  I took the chicken out, unwrapped it and placed it on the counter.  L went to start the grill and check his email quickly.  He called me into the other room to show me something and minute later I heard some noise.

I went running down the hall toward the kitchen and saw Shep standing there looking at something.

What was he looking at, you ask?

Oh yes.  That’s right.  Dixie jumped up on the counter and ate 2 of the 3 RAW CHICKEN BREASTS that we were going to make for dinner.

I was in disbelief, though I’m not sure why because the night before she ate a salad that I had made for myself. Right out of the bowl on the counter. 

Anyway, she of course got yelled at and L came rushing in to see what she had done now.

Seriously.  Two BIG. RAW. chicken breasts.

We googled to see if this was going to make her sick.  I know some people feed their dogs raw diets, but she’s never had it anymore, plus I feel like chicken is one of the worst.  We couldn’t find a straight answer on the Internet, so we called the emergency vet who told us she would most likely be fine, but just keep an eye on her incase she started acting funny. 

This was the second time we had to watch her and make sure she hadn’t acted funny.  You know.  Since she’s 7 months old and we’ve had to call the emergency vet TWICE about her so far.  Luckily she always fine.

That dog.

She’s cute, but she’s FAR from innocent.

We’ve been having some pretty wicked thunderstorms the last few days.  It’s as if the sky just opens and the rain just pours down.  Lots of lightening and a lot of people have been losing power.  I like thunderstorms, as long as they are not in the middle of the night.  Then they scare me.  They just do.  In fact, L woke me up one night last summer because I was shaking in my sleep during a storm.

Anyway, they seem to be coming a just a fabulous time (note sarcasm) - rush hour.  Seriously?  Why then?  Haha.  We desperately need the rain, and these storms are helping, but why at 5pm?  It takes me about 45 minutes to get home and I go in the opposite direction of traffic, but when buckets of rain are pouring down on the highway, and the wind is blowing it sideways, and you have your hazard lights on, your winshield wipers are going at full blast, and everyone has dropped their speed from the normal 70mph down to 35, it takes a lot longer.  Ugh.

But yesterday, the storms came earlier - around 4 or so - and by the time I left, it had all cleared up.  I was driving down the highway and saw a rainbow.  ‘Ohhh, a rainbow, how pretty!’ I thought to myself.  It was faint, but you could see the whole thing in a perfect arc.  As the road curved, I was surprised.  Just “below” the faint rainbow, there was a second one!  I didn’t even know this could happen (actually, I don’t think I ever really thought about it, but it seemed pretty cool that I was seeing two completely separate rainbows in the same place). 

This was probably the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen.  It was so. big. and so. bright.  I could actually pick out ROY G BIV (I’m such a dork, I know!).

Anyway, it was a nice way to drive home rather than the two days before it.

It also took me back to when I was little.  I had this big set of books (I don’t have any idea what they were called) that were educational/informative.  Each book was tall and narrow, and not too long.  They came in a large box with a carrying handle and were illustrated.  They might have all had something to do with science, but I could also be making that up. :)  I think they were also narrated by some kind of animal or something. ha.  I remember reading one on thunderstorms and rainbows a lot, and I think that is one of the first times I learned that a rainbow was ROY G BIV and that you’ll never find the end.

Now, as I think about it, in my Grandma’s “library” (her spare bedroom where she had an entire wall lined with bookshelves that were packed with books), there was this one book that I always like to look in because there was a picture of a rainbow.  The book often was left (by me) on an end table in the room and the spine eventually got creased in the spot of that page. 

This is strange to me, because I wouldn’t think that I really had a “thing” for rainbows, but I guess as a child I did.

So here’s to a relaxing and enjoyable weekend - maybe we’ll see another rainbow!

I was perusing our major daily newspaper online this morning when I saw the headline, “Did you hear? Clt sends a bunch of txts”, so I read on.

The article relays the statistics that can make Charlotte one of the “textiest” cities in the Southeast (their words, not mine.  Also, textiest?  Come on now, I think we’re trying a bit hard!) in April alone, Verizon Wireless customers in Charlotte sent and received 103 million text messages.

That’s a lot of text messages - in 30 days!  But I guess I’m not really surprised.  Often times, it is one of my preferred ways of getting in touch with people.

In college, it was Instant Messenger.  Trying to figure what dining hall you want to meet you friends at?  IM them.  What they’re wearing to the bar that night?  IM them.  That you’re going to miss class and hope you can borrow their notes?  IM them.  When all you needed was a quick answer, it was way easier than calling.

And even when it wasn’t a quick answer.  Catching up with a high school friend at another college?  IM was the way to go.  It allowed you to multi-task in my opinion.

After I graduated college, my IM-ing days soon dwindled and now I couldn’t tell you the last time I had signed on.  Probably like a year and a half or two years ago by now.

Now “txting” has taken its place - even though I definitely used it in college, I’m pretty sure I use it a lot more now.

A friend of mine in the Marines was coming to visit me for a few days while he was on leave.  We planned the entire trip via txt.  He got all the info from me that he needed to fill out paperwork and we coordinated his flights too.

It’s great when you’re at work too.  Just saying hi to L.  Making plans with the girls for later.  It’s so convenient.

At the same time, you sometimes lose the personal connection if all you do is txt and never speak with the people.

This was random, I know, but the article was interesting to me.

Happy Txting!

I’m tired of it all lately.  I’m tired physically.  I’m tired of hating my job.  I’m tired of being ridiculously broke, and I do mean ridiculously broke.  I’m tired of not being able to get an interview at a job in a related field that I think I would really love.  I’m tired of not being entirely sure of what I want to be when I grow up (because I’m convinced I’m not there yet).  I’m just tired.

When I woke up yesterday, I was exhausted.  I slept, but not well, and felt like I hadn’t slept at all.  I should have been at work at 7:30 so I could take summer hours on Friday, but that just wasn’t happening.  When I got to work, I did what I needed to to get by for the day and little else.  Surprisingly, the day went by pretty quickly.

I went home to L and made dinner and we ate together.  Shep sat nicely, longing for one of us to drop something.  Dixie, well, Dixie is bad when we eat.  Although she didn’t bark non-stop at us like usual, she was very pushy and kept trying to take food off of L’s plate.  In the end, she was held in place while Shep got to lick the plates for being good.  I know that she probably doesn’t understand why he got it and she didn’t, but oh well.

We lounged and watched TV.  I was so content just sitting there with L, but he kept asking me what was wrong.  I told him nothing, because as far as he and I are concerned, it is nothing.  But in reality, part of my life is falling to shambles and there’s not much I can do about it.

My parents don’t have a lot of money.  We never have.  I grew up in a nice town.  In a small, but nice house.  I went to good schools growing up and I danced for 16 years.  They provided me with everything that I needed and tried their best to give me a lot of the things I wanted (within reason).  I’m the only one.  I have no brothers or sisters.  Some say I’m spoiled.  And I’ll admit that I am.  But not with material things.   

My mom always made my bed for me.  Did my laundry - even when I brought it home from college.  Cooked all of our meals.  Brought me to and from school when I didn’t want to take the bus.   To and from dance, and play practice and cheerleading practice.

Then it was time for me to go to college.  We drove all over CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, DE and even DC and NC looking at schools.  There was no question that I was going to go to college, but cost was an issue.  I only looked at a few schools that were over $20,000 a year.  In the end, I went to a state school in NC.  It was less expensive than going to UCONN and I had no interest in going to any of the other CT state schools.  Mostly because I wanted to get out of CT.

My mom took care of researching and applying for financial aid.  Each semester, I signed the green forms accepting my student loans.  They weren’t much (in the grand scheme of things) - $5000 for the entire year.  But what I didn’t know at the time, were the other loans that were taken out.  Student loans, but not the government funded kind.  All of these covered the remainder of my tuition for the year, books and housing.  These too are in my name.  Co-signed by my grandmother, who no longer has any assets and lives in a nursing home on Title 19 aid.  My mom wasn’t able to get them in her name because of her and my father’s financial history, but somehow, she was able to get them in my Grandma’s name.  My grandma, of course, knew about this and agreed.

When I graduated college, my parents agreed to pay for all of the loans.  And even if I wanted to, I can’t pay them.  I just don’t have enough money.  At all.  I am so broke these days, I’m not even sure how I get by.  I don’t spend my money friviously anymore.  I check the grocery sales.  Often decline invitations to go out on the weekends.  And all of these trips and weddings and everything else I talk about?  I save for those.  For months and months and months.  We’re going to the beach next weekend.  I’ve allotted spending, eating and gas money.  I can’t even tell you how long it has taken me to save that.  Each month I put a grand total of $300 in savings.  All for allotted things.  Christmas presents, car tax, etc.  My general “just in case” savings has dwindled to zero.  I’m not able to participate in my company’s Simple IRA program - which I know is the absolute worst thing I can do.  Trust me, I know - because I can’t afford to lose another penny from my paycheck.

Last Wednesday my cell phone rang while I was at work.  The number came up as restricted and I figured it was L’s mom (her phone comes up like that for some reason).  When I answered, it was not.  The gentleman on the line asked to speak with [Kris DanceintheRain].  I confirmed that’s who I was.  I knew it was serious when he said is this [Kris DanceintheRain] whose Social Security Number ends in [1234].  Yes, I said.

Ms. [DanceintheRain], I’m calling from Company X to let you know that your student loans are 60 days past due and have been turned over to us, a collection agency. 

Fuck.

After making some unnecessary comments about how he had to do ”research” to find me because I had moved out of state, but hadn’t changed my mailing address (you know, since my parents take care of them), I told him I would have to call him back.  I was not able to put the $1000-plus payment on a credit or debit card like he was requesting.  I told him my parents took care of this and I would have to talk to them.

I called my mom and let her know.  And immediately she had this irritated tone in her voice.  I was short and to the point, only because I was about to start crying.  For me.  For my mom.  For this whole thing.  She told me she would call them the next day when she wasn’t at work and take care of it.

And she did.  She made a payment to bring the amount due to a certain amount and then I got a verbal forebearance (sp?) that basically is supposed to make this all OK for a brief minute so my mom can get caught up and back on track with it.

Please do not get me wrong, I am so so SOOO grateful that my parents are doing this.  Especially when they don’t have the money.

But at the same time, it is ruining my credit.  I have been turned over to a collection agency.  I can’t even get a credit card to transfer and consolodate two other cards on to in an effort to pay them off.  I haven’t used them in months and even though I make more than the minimum payment each month, it’s like I get no where.

I’m 25 years old and I can’t make any kind of major or semi-major investments like so many of my peers.  There is no buying a house or condo or anything like that.  And I know that this will take some time to clear from my name.

L and I talk about getting married more and more.  What seems like a bajillion times a day sometimes.  He’s even said that based on when he thinks he might ask me, maybe it will be 2010 when we actually get marrried.  Now, I know it’s about the act of marriage and not the big party, but how are we supposed to  have a wedding if neither one of us has any money and neither do my parents.  He knows that I don’t come from a family that is very well off, but I don’t think that he really gets it when I tell him that. 

All of my bills are paid on time and in excess of what they need to be.  All in an effort so that someday we will be better off than my parents, but as they try to help me, it’s hurting me as well.  

And I can’t do anything about it.  Because I just don’t have it.  And if I did, I would contribute in a heartbeat.

It’s just so depressing.  And frustrating.  And makes me want to cry.  And most of all it stresses me out, which is probably why I’m not sleeping well and why I am so tired.

Ugh.  Sorry for the tangent.  I wouldn’t even share somethign so personal, but I just have to get it out.

My weekend was exactly that, uneventful, but nice.  Because there was hardly anyone at work and I really had nothing much to do, I took it upon myself to leave on 4:30 on Thursday.  If only I could do that all the time.  A half hour really makes a difference!  L was working, so I just kind of hung out at the house.  I cleaned up some, did laundry, put laundry away, picked out an outfit for Friday, painted my toes, etc.  The night went by very quickly.

Friday, L came home after work for a few minutes before he had to head up to the station in town to get ready for the parade.  I love when he comes home and crawls in bed with  me.  It’s the best part of him working the night before I have a day off.  Once he left, I got up and got ready and met him at the station at 9:30.

Side note:  I had read an article on MSN about lazy summer hair-dos.  One of the featured ones was those loose messy, but pretty curls that I love but can never figure out how to do.  They suggested showering and pinning hair into two buns on top of your head and sleeping with them or sitting in the sun.  Then the next day you take them down, toussle and voila!  Except, not.  They obviously didn’t have girls like me in mind when they wrote that tip.  Specifically girls with really thick hair - mine was still extremely wet the next morning, although I could see how it had potential.  Maybe if I dried it with a difuser.

Anyway, I rode in the parade with L and a couple other firefighters, and as I had mentioned in my last post, it was more fun this year since I knew a lot of people.  It’s a quick parade, nothing too fancy, but there were a bunch of people.  We hung out for a few minutes afterward and then headed back to the house.  We went out and grabbed lunch and then just relaxed the rest of the day.

We headed over to L’s friends house at about 5:30 for a cook out and some fireworks.  We didn’t really know anyone else, it was mostly the guy’s neighbors, but we had fun regardless.  Our Cornhole was a hit again!  Later on we all went down to the end of his neighborhood where they were going to set off some fireworks.  They were actually really good!

But there was a brief moment of panic.  L’s friend had set out all of his fireworks and lit them in a careful order.  Once his were done, two of his neighbors were lighting some off in the same spot.  The friend’s Jeep was parked right there and there was a paper shopping bag with some fireworks about two feet next to it on the ground.  When one of the neighbors went to the bag to get more fireworks out, apparently the wick they had been using to light them fell into the bag.  The bag slowly caught on fire and I was running down the hill.  I could just see the whole bag exploding and catching the Jeep on fire.  Luckily that didn’t happen though.  Everyone backed up and someone ran for a nearby fire extinguisher for the Jeep just in case.  The fireworks in the bag went off, but I guess there wasn’t much in there.  It eventually put itself out before they came back with the fire extinguisher.  Still scary in my opinion.

L’s friend, who was very safe and professional about the whole thing, said that that’s exactly why he wanted to be the only one to set them off.  Oh well.  It’s a story to tell and no one got hurt.  That’s the most important part.

We headed home around 1:30 and went right to bed.  L had to work Saturday and I somehow slept until noon.  Ok, not really, I woke up several times, but laid in bed watching TV for a long time.  It felt good to finally catch up on rest from the wedding weekend last week.  Saturday was uneventful.  I went grocery shopping, finished cleaning, etc.  Oh!  I did buy new sheets though.

Originally I wanted these pink sheets with green whales on them by Tommy Hilfiger that I found in TJ Maxx/Marshall’s/Homegoods, but I could never find a queen.  But they did have green striped ones with pink flamingos on them.  L was totally cool with it, so I bought them.  Then I put on a green striped duvet from Pottery Barn that I got on Ebay last year for a ridiculously cheap price.  The bed looks so pretty and grown up  now.  I love it.  I was so excited to sleep in it and just look at it.  L even said how much he liked it when he got home the next day.

Sunday he came in crawled in bed with me, but only for a few minutes again, he was working part-time at the station in town.  I went and brought him lunch and while we were eating a big storm came through.  Him and the other guy there decided they were going to ride out to a dispatch that they were probably going to get called to eventually.  So I went home and hung out with the puppies. 

A few hours later I hear a strange horn beep outside the house.  A horn that sounds like a firetruck.  Low and behold, I look out the window and L is driving by and turning around.  He comes to the door in his bunker pants (which was hot!) and was soaking wet from the downpouring rain and the call they had been at.  He didn’t come in, but asked in this really cute voice: “Can we have two glasses of Kool-Aid and two brownies?”  So I got the requested snack for him and the other guy and they were off to go back to the station for a couple more hours. 

I just thought it was so adorable.  Especially since it was Kool-Aid and not, like, a soda or water or something.  I love that boy for things like that.

When he came home, we ate and hung out.  I slept horribly last night.  I don’t know why, but I kept waking up and couldn’t get comfortable.  Every time I woke up and moved around he would grab me and pull me close and in his sleep (I told him this morning and he doesn’t remember) he told me every single time how much he loved me and how much he wanted to marry me.  I don’t know, we say and talk about that all the time, but for me, it’s so much more real when he says it at times like that.  When he’s asleep and has no inhibitions.  I know he really means it.  Not that I ever thought that he didn’t… I don’t know, do you know what I mean?

Anyway, that was the weekend.  I can’t wait for this day to be over.  Soon though.  And I still have to take lunch, so that will help the afternoon go by some as well.

How was your 4th?

So, I haven’t been writing much and I still don’t know why.  I miss you guys.  Although, I do keep up with all my reading, even if I haven’t been commenting.  Since I do most of my blogging at work (tsk, tsk, I know) and I’ve been so fed up with work lately, I just haven’t bothered.  It’s like whenever I am here, I’m miserable.

But I’m going to try to get back to doing this regularly.  For real this time.  Here’s a quick update from the last month.

• At the beginning of the month the department that L volunteers/works part-time at had a training fire.  They burned a 30,000 square foot house that otherwise would have been torn down.  He asked me to stop by for a little while if I wanted to.  Before I got there, he called to tell me that I would have to take care of him that night because he burned his ear pretty bad.  Apparently, the fire got bigger and hotter than they had intended and they were actually fighting to save the house for awhile, rather than just doing some training exercises and controlling it as it burned to the ground like normal.  Good thing there were like 3 other departments there training as well.

Part of the house as they were letting it burn to the ground

Nasty blister from the burn - and it got even bigger than this

After it popped - ewwww - glad it’s back to normal these days!

• After the fire we hung out with a bunch of other people at one of his friend’s houses.  We swam and ate.  It was a lot of fun.  And I’m glad that we’re actually hanging out with his friends now.  I know he says that they’re a lot older than us (most of them in their 30s with kids), but they still have a good time.  I feel a lot better these days that I’m actually meeting these people and they know who I am.  It’s not like he was hiding me from them or anything, we just never did anything socially with them.
• We went to a Toby Keith concert with some friends.  We got there at like 4 so we could tailgate for longer and cook out.  It was a lot of fun.  Until I went crazy that night (but we’re all good now).

At the concert

• Shep and Dixie have finally started obedience training.  They are 6 1/2 months old - can you believe it?!  They have gotten so big, but they’re probably only about half of their full-grown size.  They are getting private lessons and the trainer comes to our house.  We practice with them a lot, they’ve only had two sessions (out of 5 or 6) so far, but the trainer said they’re doing very well.  Although, he did mention that he thinks Dixie is going to be a challenge and that Shep is more submissive and already knows that we are the boss.  Haha.  I’m excited that they’re doing well and it’s even kind of fun to work with them.  Pretty soon I’ll be able to take them on walks by myself again.  Right now, they are too strong for me to take both at once on my own.

They had just gotten a bath two weeks before.  Then they decided to dig a hole next to the A/C unit where it was muddy and this is what happened.  Gotta love Carolina red clay!  Shep was dirty too.  They got another bath.  Immediately.  Because I was not letting them in the house like this.

Shep

• This past weekend was my friend, KO’s, wedding.  She looked absolutely stunning.  They had to cut some extra things out of the ceremony at the last minute because it was outside and a thunderstorm was on it’s way, but everything was beautiful and they are MARRIED!

My friend A, from California, took this picture.  I think it belongs in a bridal magazine!

We danced and had a grand ‘ol time, but there was no liquor at the open bar and no beer that the boys liked - so they spent a lot of time at the hotel bar and every now and then we would go out for a drink, to visit and to pull them in for a dance!

• And just when I thought wedding season was over.  Tuesday I check my personal email and see that N, one of the FLAVA high school friends sent me a message on Facebook, so I went to read it.  Shadylady that she is chose Facebook to tell me that she just got ENGAGED!  Woohoo!  I’m very excited for her.  So sometime next year, we’ll have another wedding to attend.  She’s the first of my close HS friends to get married.
• And then I get jealous because I want it to be me.  But I know it will happen, becaue L and I talk about it constantly and the only reason it hasn’t is because he needs to save his money to  buy some sparkly.  I just can’t wait to start my new life with him.
• We don’t have any big plans for this weekend.  L is working today and Saturday.  Tomorrow is the 4th of July parade in the town we live in and he’ll likely be driving one of the fire trucks which means I will likely be riding along.  I went with him last year and had a good time.  I think I’ll enjoy it more this year that I actually know some people.  Oh and last year, the photographer snapped this totally candid shot of us.  I love it.

         After the parade, one of his friends is having people over for a BBQ, so we’ll go there.  He apparently has $600 worth of fireworks he is going to set off too.  Yikes!  Should be a festive night.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July!  Hopefully we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming.

When I originally started this blog, I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to be anonymous or not.  So I took the passive route and posted the link in my Facebook profile.  If people saw it and read it, fine.  If not, that’s fine too.  I did tell one friend about it.  Just randomly. Hi Rach.  But that’s it.

I never told any or my friends.  I never told L.  And I eventually took the link out of my profile.  Well, I mostly did that because L’s sister friended me on Facebook and I had made reference to people telling me she was a bitch, so I chose to not make this available for her to read.

Well, as of Saturday, L now knows about it.  Long story short, we got into a bit of an argument on Friday night after a concert.  It was my fault again.  And there was no real reason.  I starting obsessing over his ex-girlfriend and it just turned into a crazy mess.  And by crazy I mean we were in the parking lot arguing until 2 a.m.  The concert ended at 11.

As always, things are fine.  I’ve come to the realization (for real this time), that I need to get the fuck over this.  I’m not sure why it still bothers me.  But, it’s time for it to stop.  And frankly, the way I keep ruining fun or important nights… if I don’t stop, I’ll probably ruin the night he proposes (we’ve been talking about that lately.  A lot.  I don’t know when it will happen, but I know it’s not as far away as I thought it was going to be.  But it’s still not close, so don’t get too excited).

Anyway, I’m not getting into specifics, but something came up on Friday that I apparently was less than truthful about.  And when it came up, I might possibly have changed the details a bit.  Saturday he was at work and I couldn’t deal with the guilt I felt about not telling him the whole truth.  Especially after I have given him so much hell about something he had been dishonest about in the past.

So I texted him and told him there was something I had to tell him when he got home on Sunday.  It eventually came down to him calling me and making me tell him then because he couldn’t wait.  I was in tears.  I told him and he wouldn’t say anything for what seemed like forever.  Even though he said he forgave me (after lots of stern comments - which were deserved) he told me he was still disappointed that I lied, but everything was ok.

After going to Hallmark.com to send an e-card (love them!), I decided to email him with the link to this.  So that he could see how much he means to me by reading my posts telling the whole world how much I love him.

When he got home on Sunday, he was amused by some of them.  And things are great.  We talked about what we needed to.  I know that me getting upset is for no good reason.  And probably just for attention and to hear him tell me how much he loves me (even though he does it every second anyway).  And I know that part of the reason is because of how much I’ve been hurt in the past and the insecurities that stem from that.

But what I do know for sure is that he is my best friend.  He is the love of my life.  That if he didn’t love me, he would never ever put up with any of this shit.  That I want those church doors to open and I want to see him at the end of the aisle waiting for me.  I can’t wait for that day.  I can’t wait for the years and years after that.  I know that we were meant to be together.  That there has never ever been anyone in my life (not my mom, not my best friends, not anyone) that I could spend SO MUCH time with without getting tired of them.  You know what I mean, when you just need some time to yourself?  That has never happened.  In fact, I could spend 24 hours a day, every day with this boy, and that still wouldn’t be enough.

Anyway, that’s enough.  I’m sure you’re tired of me gushing.  But I’ve never felt like this about anyone before.  So, I don’t know if he’ll read it anymore, but if he does - Hi, babe!

I’m on summer hours again this week.  I work 7:30 - 5 and 8:30 - noon on Friday.  Yesterday went by super fast.  In fact, I was even mentioned to L how quickly the day went by and how quickly the days seemed to go by 2 weeks ago when I was on summer hours.

I think I jinxed myself.

Today is not going by fast.  Not. at. all.  I can’t believe that, as I write this, it is only 10:13am.  How can it only be 10:13am.  Surely I have been her for nine million hours already.  Eek.  And to top it all off, it’s only Tuesday. 

Damnit.  Two and a half more days to go after today.

Anyway, I’ll probably be back later in an effort to suspend my boredom.  I’ll tell you about the 30,000 square foot house that L’s volunteer department burned as a training fire on Saturday.  You know, in the record breaking 100 degree heat.  How the Crazy, except it wasn’t really the Crazy, came out a couple weeks ago and we talked and things are amazing now, how I hate my job more than ever, the insane puppies and Shep’s excessive barking and other ramblings that probably aren’t that interesting.

L just called me.

L: I have a stupid question.
Me: okay…
L: How old am I?
Me: [laughter] are you serious?
L: Yeah, I was trying to think of how old I was going to be this year and then I was like, ‘wait, how old am I now?’

Ohhhh, man.  He is such a silly boy.

Again, it’s been awhile since I posted.  I’m pretty sure that I am in the middle of a quarter life crisis here and lately, I just haven’t felt like doing anything.  So, for anyone still reading, here’s an update since we last spoke.

Last week was somewhat uneventful.  Work sucks as usual.  I hate my job.  I hate the clients I work on.  I had a meeting with a client who may or may not be bipolar in my opinion.  The meeting was going really well, we were successfully selling him a new internet site.  Then he got up to get more coffee mid-conversation.  That is nothing unusual though.  When he came back, he sat down and starting in on how he doesn’t think he is getting what he pays for in the line of PR.  Which, even though I am the PR/Marketing account manager on his account, PR is my main job.  My boss didn’t seem upset by any of this thank God.  Even when the client threatened to pull the PR budget.

Well, buddy, it’s not my fault you don’t have any hits in the publications.  I can’t do the interview for you, and when you blow off not one, but two interviews in a row.  Well, that’s why you’re not included.  Thanks.

In the end, I think he was trying to test us.  To instill fear in me.  When we left, my boss said, ok, so we’ll reallocate your PR budget.  The client says, well don’t do anything just yet and winked when he shook my hand good bye.

Thursday, we had plans to go to Speed Street, a festival in downtown Charlotte here to entertain all the fans of the Coca Cola 600 that was in town.  They have food, vendors (that give away lots of cool, free stuff) and music.  Good music at that.  Gary Allan was playing Thursday night and L and I were going to go.  But we were having a cookout Saturday and had stuff we needed to get done.  So we skipped it.  I’m still kind of bummed even though I know we never would have got the stuff done if we hadn’t done it then.

Thursday night we painted out beer pong table.  I’ve talked before about the pink and green beer pong table that my old roommates and I had.  But they kept it when I moved out.  L has had his table for awhile.  One of those 8′ plastic banquet type tables.  We take it to all the concerts, etc. and people have signed it.  Well, now he wanted to paint it.  Actually he has wanted to for awhile and this party was his perfect reason.  Now, since it is partly my table too, he let me decorate one half of it.  Naturally, I chose pink and green.  It is pink with a green turtle in the middle.  I actually took a picture of my turtle tattoo that is on the back of my right hip, printed it out, blew it up on the copier and created a stencil from it.  It came out really good. (More pictures to come, my camera died while we were doing all of this).  L’s half is black with a red stripe down the middle.  This is the thin red line which honors fallen firefighters.  He is eventually going to print out pictures of FD patches to put along the edges.  FDs that he has/does work for.  The whole thing actually came out really nice considering it was spray paint on plastic.  We may make a plywood top and repaint it in the same design and attach it to the top of the table so the balls bounce better than they do now.

My tattoo that I made a stencil out of

L painting the red line

Friday, L was working at his part-time job, the firestation in town, and while he was there, he made some touch ups to the table and built Cornhole.  I had never even heard of this game, but last year when we were tailgating at a bunch of concerts, everyone was playing it.  So I decided we needed one.  They were kind of expensive to buy, but I think once we bought all the materials, we probably spent the same amount of money - about $60 or $70.  They are really easy to make (well, if you’re a boy and have a saw).  We painted one black and it will eventually have a gold stripe down the middle for Wake Forest, which L is a fan of.  And the other is green and will eventually have a gold stripe down the middle for UNC Charlotte, my alma mater. 

I took on the task of sewing the bags to throw.  We got canvas from Walmart and i hand sewed - double stitched - all eight of those bags.  Four of which I did at work on Friday.  I held them in my lap and pretended I was reading a paper.  Like I said, I really hate my job right now.  Then I went to Tractor Supply to buy cornfeed to fill them with.  I’ve been to this store before (they sell dog crates and food too) and L always tells me I’m not allowed to talk when we go in.  My Yankee accent and all. (Even though I don’t have an accent.  I’m from CT.)  Well, I went to the store near my office.  By myself.  In clothes I wore the the office.  And heels.  And I bought corn feed.  In a 50lb bag.  Because that’s all they sold it in.  We only need like a pound or two.  Luckily, it was only $10 for the whole bag though.  To my surprise, none of those people offered to carry this 50lb bag for me though.  But I did just fine.

Friday night we painted the cornhole and got everything somewhat together.  We had gone food shopping earlier in the week.

Saturday, I cleaned the house while L cleaned up the yard.  People started coming around 5 or so.  We had a great turnout - about 30 people.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs and lots of sides that people brought.  We played cornhole and beerpong.  Everyone had a good time.  My friends left around 11 or so, while a lot of L’s friends stayed till 12, with the last leaving around 2.  It was the first time we had a party with my friends and his.  It was kind of like a middle school dance though.  They stayed kind of separeated.  Then again, my friends are in their mid-twenties, and even though L is a year younger than me, most of his friends are 30+ and married with kids.  They all work for the fire department.  Go figure.

Sunday, we cleaned up, but didn’t have much to do.  The beauty of the 30+ aged friends.  They clean up after themselves.  While we were picking up the the tables and stuff in the yard, we ended up playing cornhole for like 2 or 3 hours.  Just the two of us.  It was great - my new favorite game.  Then we just chilled the rest of the day and I enjoyed Monday off with the puppies - L had to work during the day.

The rest of this week at work sucked per the usual.  I had to be in at 7:30, instead of 8:30, because we’re doing summer hours.  The good part though, is that I get to leave at noon today.  Woohoo!  Too bad L is working 24 hrs. today.  Oh well.

Yesterday the puppies got fixed.  I dropped them off at the vet at 8 and L picked them up around 4:30.  I was nervous that they were coming home because any other animals I’ve had they kept them overnight, but this vet doesn’t do that.  And apparently, it’s not out of the ordinary.

We kept them in separate crates in separate rooms to try and keep them calm.  But they took care of that on their own last night.  We let them out for awhie and they just kind of sat around.  You could tell Dixie was feeling it more than Shep (obviously, her’s was a little more invasive), but they’re good.  The vet said they did great.  I felt bad though because they had these sad looks like, ‘what did you do to us?’ But obviously, it’s for their own good.  Ours and the population of the animal world too!  As Bob Barker always said, “Spay and neuter your pets!”

“I still love you mom - even if you did do this to me”

They just layed around a lot

This morning they had a little more energy and ran down the hall when L came out of the bedroom.  I’m glad that they’ll only be home for a few hours on their own today.

No big plans for this weekend.  We might get together w/E and LM, but nothing crazy.  I need to make plans to go see the Sex & The City movie,  but none of my friends here are as big of fans, so it’s not really a priority.  Although, I’m pretty sure I can talk L into going to see it with me if I promise to go see some “boy movie” with him.

Next week I’ll update you on the three jobs I’ve applied for.

In the meantime, happy weekend!  And I’ll try to start posting more regularly again.  Maybe it will help get me out of this funk!

It was a good weekend, with lots more stuff going on.

Friday, I left the office at 1:30 to go to a client meeting on my own.  The first time I’ve ever done that.  Things went well and everything that I needed to get accomplished there, I did.  Because the client is so close to where I live, and rather far from the office, my boss said I could just go home afterwards.  So I was home by about 3:30.  Perfect.  I was planning on leaving early anyway so I could go home and let the dogs out.

A few friends and I bought a Country Mega ticket.  I bought L his for our 1 year anniversary back in February.  It is basically tickets to all the country concerts during the summer at the local amphitheater.  This year will be Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Brooks n Dunn and Martina McBride.  I’m so excited!  We did the same thing last year and it was a blast!

Friday was the first concert - Tim McGraw.  L was working, but was able to get someone to cover the night part of his shift so he could go.  The concerts are near where I used to live and not far from where I work - but about 45 minutes from where L and I live now.  Got all that?  Well, I went home and fed the puppies and early dinner and let them run around and get some exercise and energy out.

Then I headed up to LM and E’s house where L met us and we all headed over to the concert to tailgate for awhile.  It was a little cool out, but we still had a great time and the concert was awesome.

Tailgating at the concert

L and I dropped the girls off at their house and then headed home.  We didn’t get home until after midnight and I had to get up early.

Saturday I went to Charleston with LM and E and a few other girls for a bachelorette party.  All 10 of us were meeting at 8 to leave - it is about a 4 hour drive.  When we got there, we walked around downtown Charleston and the marketplace area, did some window shopping and had lunch.  We went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and bar hopping.

Dinner was quite yummy.  We went to Fleet Landing, had some drinks, K (the bachelorette) had a shot with our waiter, and then we headed out.  All of us in black dresses, K in a white dress.  Oh.  And decked out in whistles, shot glasses on a necklace, glow in the dark bracelets and name tags with anything but our actual names.

After Dinner

I think we walked all of Charleston that night.  We hit a roof top bar, and daquiri bar, an oyster bar, and some bar that the manager sought us out on the street and offered us free drinks if we came to his bar.  His was kind of dead and I think he wanted us to attract people.  Which we did.  And had a great time doing it.  Dancing and singing to the live band.  K had a deck of cards with tasks she had to do - and she was really funny about all of them.

Dancing the night away

It was a great night!  We got up for our free breakfast at the hotel on Sunday and then headed back just before lunch time.  I stopped by L’s station to see him at work and then headed home to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with the puppies.

All in all, it was a fun weekend.  Except my allergies are crazy again.  I’ve never had them until this year and they are not fun!

I’ve been so busy these last couple weeks that I’m exhausted.  I can’t wait for a weekend when I have nothing to do.  Not this upcoming one though.  L and I are having friends over for a cookout on Saturday.  Which I’m pretty excited about.  Yay!!

Happy Tuesday ladies and gents!

A couple weeks ago L and I bought a contraption to tie the dogs to outside.  Just a huge metal spiral thing that you screw into the ground and two coated wire leash type things to clip onto the dogs’ collars.  They like to lounge outside sometimes and we thought this was a good, temporary way to let them do that until we have  a chance to build the fence we’re planning on.

They don’t spend too much time out there by themselves.  Usually only a half hour to an hour.  I hate when I see dogs tied up all day and all night.  These are a part of our family. 

The ties we got are about 18′ long I think, so they have a good amount of space to run and play.  And that they do.

In the mornings when L has already gone to work, or not gotten home from the day before, I get up, take them out, give them breakfast and then usually put them outside while I get ready.  Gives them some time to go to the bathroom, play and get some fresh air before I have to go to work.

So that’s what I did this morning.  It rained last night (thank God, we really need it!!!) so the ground was wet this morning.  When I went to bring them back in after I was ready for work they were wrestling with each other, which is nothing new.  I’m glad they were getting some energy out.  But were they wrestling in the grass?  No.  Our yard backs up to some wooded land and at the beginning it is really just all dirt and no grass, which they can just barely reach with their leashes on.  And that’s where they were wrestling.  And what happens to dirt when it gets wet?  It turns to mud! 

And now we have dirty dogs that really need a bath!

Take note of Dixie’s dirty paws

“Mom, we’re just like kids.  We like to get dirty!”
You can see Shep’s dirty nose, if you look closely at his paws, you can see how muddy they are too!

They look so much dirtier in person, too!

L just sent me this link - you guys have to check it out!  Look at this crazy beer pong table that some guys at WVU made.  Let the video load and then skip to 2:15 to see the finished project.

http://www.geekologie.com/2008/05/ridiculous_beer_pong_table_is.php

The title, what can I say?  I like alliteration.  Anyway…

I’m back from Atlanta, and wish I was still there.  The 4 days seemed to go by so. quickly.  Wednesday afternoon I left work at 3:30, hit the tanning bed and then to have my hair done.  I’m still not in love with this hair dresser, but she does a reasonable job and it costs much less than what it would probably cost to have my hairdresser from CT and her family relocated to NC, so I’ll stick it out.  Ha.

L and I packed that night, and although I was exhausted, we went to bed much later than I had wanted to.  Our plans were to leave the house by 7:25 Thursday morning and drop off the puppies at a local vet to board for the weekend.  Then hit Bojangle’s for some breakfast and be on our way.  Atlanta is about 4 hours or so from our house and we had tickets to a 1 p.m. Braves game.

We were close to schedule - we left the house at about 7:40.  I didn’t want to get out of bed.  I was excited to go, but I was also soooo tired.  All of the issues at work that week (which I may or may not write about - maybe when it’s all done) had drained me.  And it was raining.  It’s always so hard for me to get up in the rain.

We put our bags and the puppies in the car and were on our way to drop them off.  Our vet doesn’t board animals, but this one is only about 2 miles from our house and is spoken highly of.  Other than their fees.  They’re expensive, but I have to say, I think the boarding was about average. 

The people weren’t super friendly or excited to see them.  Umm, hello?  Have you seen my puppies?  They are adorable. :)  Also.  You work at a vet.  You are supposed to obsess over every animal that walks through that door.  We handed over their food and a bag of toys and said bye-bye to the puppies.  Quick stop at the drive through and we were on our way to battle the traffic through Charlotte.

It wasn’t too bad, could have been worse.  Once we got past the city, it was smooth sailing.  Until we hit Greenville, SC - about 1 1/2 hrs from the house.  “Oh, shit,” I though.  I forgot the wedding present.  On the kitchen table.  Where is has been wrapped and sitting for at least two weeks.  Oh well.  I would just mail it when we got back and get another card to leave on the gift table explaining.

We weren’t going to be able to check into our hotel until 3, but I called to see if early check-in was available, and it was.  We got to the hotel, The Renaissance Downtown, about noon, checked in, dropped off our stuff, freshened up and left for the game.  We were about 4 miles from the stadium I think.  I wanted to be closer so we could hopefully walk and not have to worry about how much we drank or parking.  But hotels in Atlanta are expensive.  $120 a night was about the cheapest near the stadium and reviews said, “it’s ok if you’re just staying the night after a ballgame.”  OK, that’s what we were doing - but I didn’t want to spend that much money for reviews like that.  Luckily, E and LM’s younger sister started working at a hotel a few months ago and could get us an employee discount.  $50 for the night.  Not too bad.  Not too bad at all.  It was such a nice place.

We got to the game.  Got a beer and something to eat and headed to our seats.  Field level on the first base line about 25 rows back.  Awesome!  They were playing the Padres and it was a fun game.  We ate, we drank, we sweat because it was 84 degrees and we were in direct sunlight.  And I got a little tipsy.  Oh, and the Braves won!

At the Braves Game

After the game, we headed back to the hotel with plans to go out later that night.  Except we kind of fell asleep and I woke up at 8:30 wondering why it was so dark in the room.  Then apparently fell back asleep until 9:15.  Ha.  We finally got up, showered quickly and went to the sports bar downstairs in the hotel for a light dinner.  Neither of us was up for going out, but we had a blast earlier in the day, so who cares.

Friday, we took our time getting ready and checked out at about 10 or so.  We drove around and saw some sites, then picked my parents up at the airport.  We checked into the two-bedroom suite we had at The Georgian Terrace where the wedding was taking place.  Walked with my parents to a corner diner for them to get something to eat and then headed over to the Olympic Park to walk around.

In the Olympic Park

There were lots of fountains that were probably beautiful when there was water in them, but due to the continuing drought (you know, since like last summer), there wasn’t any water.  I did make Lee go down a slide with me at a playground.  Which he kind of enjoyed.  We eventually went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.  We would be meeting up with the wedding families and other out of town guests at the hotel bar after their rehearsal dinner.

It was great to see everyone.  Lindsey, the bride, and I have known each other since kindergarten and were best friends for the longest time.  Our moms were very good friends too and we always had a good time together.  Their family moved to Florida the summer after we were in 7th grade because Lindsey’s dad’s job was transferred.  We visited several times and Lindsey and I even travelled to Europe to visit my cousin in high school, but the last time I saw her was after sophomore year of college - about five years ago.  The last time my mom saw her mom was about 8 years ago.  It was so, so good to see them.

Lindsey and her mom and younger sister and dad are all the same, and it felt as if it were yesterday that we saw each other last.

We mingled for a few hours and then finally retired to the room.

Saturday we got up early for breakfast and then went to tour CNN studios and The World of Coke, a big museum-type place about Coca-Cola.  In the tasting room, L and I tried just about all 70 different Coke products from around the world.  And some of them were so gross.

We all went back to the hotel and started to get ready and then went down to the wedding.  It was much smaller than I thought it would be - only about 100 people.  But it was absolutely gorgeous.  Lindsey had a beautiful dress with a long, long vail and the bridesmaids wore plain, long, black gowns.  The flowers were pinks and greens and oranges.  And Lindsey and Alan looked so happy.  The ceremony was followed by a cocktail hour and then the reception.

Ceremony site

Mr. & Mrs.

The tables at the reception had those tall centerpieces.  It was just so pretty.

I loved the centerpieces

Better shot of the colors

As L and I talk more and more about getting married, I of course think about what our wedding will be like.  And as I’ve gotten into reading everyone’s blogs over the last few months, I’m always drawn to those of you who write about your weddings.  They all sound so beautiful and I worry that mine won’t be how I imagine because my parents don’t have the means to provide a huge budget and L and I don’t really have a whole lot of extra. 

But after seeing Lindsey’s wedding.  I’m not as worried.  I’m sure hers was on the expensive side, but everything she had was classy, elegant and simple.  The right things were accented to make it perfect for her and I have more confidence that with the right planning and decisions, that mine will be perfect how I, L and I want it.

Oh, and it was open bar.  I might of had a few drinks.  And then L and I went to the hotel bar afterward with some other guests and family.  Where I had a shot with Lindsey’s dad (and many others who joined in) and apparently L had to help me back to the room and put me to bed.  I woke up the next more recalling nothing after the shot taking incident.

We packed up and headed downstairs where we ran into Lindsey’s mom and dad, and said goodbye.  We wanted to go to Underground Atlanta to check it out.  It’s basically a bunch of shops underground - cool, but nothing special.  We headed toward the airport, got lunch and dropped my parents off.

I was excited to come back and pick up the puppies - I really missed them.  And they seemed pretty excited to see us.  I was happy.  We spent the night hanging out with them and playing some Wii and Rock Band and then hit the sack.  I was so tired and wished I was able to stay home with L and the puppies today.  But, alas, I came to work.  And played catch up all day.  Luckily I get to leave about 3 or so to hand out press kits at an event.  Maybe I’ll be there long enough that it won’t be worth it to come back to the office.  Who knows.

Anyway, I hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

 PS - I loved my dress - thanks for all your help!  And, more pictures to come.  WordPress is being dumb again.  Or maybe it’s just me!

Well, after another hellacious day of trying to fix problems (as noted in my last post), it is finally time for me to leave.  An hour and a half early.  So I can get my hair done and hit the tanning bed.  To make me feel better.  Oh, and because we’re leaving for Atlanta tomorrow!!!

We’re going to the Braves game in the afternoon and am sure we’ll find some way to entertain ourselves (read: find a great bar) tomorrow night.  My parents fly in Friday afternoon, we’ll pick them up, get dinner and are meeting the bride-to-be’s family for drinks at the hotel with other out of town guests.  I’m excited.  I haven’t seen the bride in about 4 years and her family in like 6.  Saturday is the wedding and we’ll be back Sunday evening.

So excited.  Plus it’s supposed to be beautiful weather.  I’ll be sure to pack my SPF so I don’t get weird tan lines at the baseball game.

So to all… have an awesome weekend.  I’ll be back on Monday with pictures!