Annnnnnnyyyyyway, school for me starts this Thursday, and I already feel overwhelmed.  I ordered my books weeks ago and I have one.  One out of four.  I got an email yesterday saying I had to go to Target to buy one since it was way cheaper than going through the book store.  Thanks teach.  So technically I guess I have two, even though I haven’t actually gone to get it yet.  However, I called the bookstore and told them “Hey, this book has been sitting at West Campus for a week and a half… you think you could ship it… and what about this other one that’s been pending for a week… what about that one?”  The response I got was less than pleasurable with one book being dropped off by FedEx the day before my classes start, and one book being on backorder, despite the fact that they have 15 in stock for people who are picking up, until after classes start.  I ordered my books on the 3rd, how long do you wait for people to pick up their books… an eternity?  So yeah, totally sucks.  I hate being unprepared.  Jason’s school starts on the following Monday, and he’s already picked up his books, easy peasy.

A few months ago, I ordered a little device called a FitBit.  It took forever to get here (on backorder… just like everything I ever order) but I finally got it Thursday.  It is amazing to say the least.  It tracks sleep, and calories burned, and has an entire website to track all that and more.  The only thing I am truely disappointed with… is my results: (click it!)

The sleep feature is what really sold me on this little device, and so far this has been my worst night out of three.  My first night I was awoken 12 times, but got about 8 hours of sleep.  My second night I was awoken 23 times (!!!) but got about 7 hours of sleep… last night was obviously the worst because when I was woken up, I stayed up instead of being up for a minute or two.  The website also tracks your caloric intake, and water intake based on the foods you entered in, so it is really interesting to see the total caloric intake of what you eat versus what you burn as well.  So far I am in love with this tiny little helper, but I’m giving it at least a month before I give an absolute recommendation as I’ve seen a lot of pros as well as cons on their forums.

That’s pretty much it for now.  I’m off to force Jason to clean with me… we defrosted/deiced our freezer yesterday (easy to do in this heat) and now its off to organize the kitchen!

Thats right.  They all have their own little bins with their own little categories.  Jason’s favorite is the ‘Osama Bin Ramen‘ bin, which sadly enough is actually filled with ramen.  I really don’t know what we’re going to do with all of it… more to come…

1. Update this more often then once every few months. (Whoops!)
2. Organize! Organize! Organize! I have been reading a few blogs, and I think it may be an epidemic. You read one blog where someone organizes, and you’re like, wow, why didn’t I think of that? And then you pick up a magazine with new ideas on how to save space as well… and it just starts a whole mess. As we are trying to save money right now, we have to start small. I’m starting in our pantry, which is a closet full of mess! I really wish I had taken before pictures because it would make even the slobbiest of slobs cringe. I read in some magazine that you can use wire or see through bins to help organize into categories, and I was hooked at that very moment. I have’t been able to find any cheap wire or see through bins (sad) so I am stuck with some plain ole’ plastic ones. Target had some on sale for $2 each, so I snagged a few. However, they only had black, fuchsia, and lime green. We took the last four black ones at that store, and plan to pick up more tomorrow. I already see an improvement in space and it feels great. I think it will also help with our grocery shopping issue where we just buy frivolously and in excess because we don’t know what we even have. Some of the space issue was old stuff, and we literally had items that expired before we even moved into this house. Eeesh. I plan to tackle the garage sometime soon as that is also a big disaster and we can barely even walk in it, much less get a car in it. However, I will have to wait for it to cool down before I take on that job. The kitchen, and our den need some work also, but I figure baby steps are a good thing.

Honda is still trying to work something out with us where we can trade Jason’s car in for a new car, but we keep the same payments… but they are having to do a lot of… uh… magic to work around it, since we got kind of robbed on his car in the first place, and we still owe so much on it.

Anyway, here is ‘No Name’: (well what No Name looks like since we didn’t get out of the dealership until 9:45)

School has been keeping us both busy, well more so me now than Jason. I got a break while he finished, but now I am being buried under geology (yuck) and he is finished.

Anyway… I have more to do, but I hope to get him to update this sometime soon… maybe…

It seems that as of my last few jobs, I get right to the 3 year mark, and I bail.  I just get so fed up with / sick of them.  I am nearing that at my current job… and I honestly don’t know if I will be able to make it much longer.  Without going into great detail… I feel worthless most of the time.  I am made to be more versatile than I want to be.  I can cover many people’s jobs, and no one seems to care if mine is done or not, until they need something, and then it is “WHY ISN’T THIS DONE!?”  There are a few specific people that really get to me, but no matter how much I complain, no matter how wrong they are, when it comes time for punishment, or time to fix the problem, nothing happens.  Ever.  I just hate it.  I am told constantly how “valuable” I am, and how I am irreplaceable, but when co-workers make my life harder, no one seems to care when I get upset or frustrated or have a problem, ever.  It’s like there isn’t even a point in complaining anymore, because nothing ever gets done.  It’s really shown in my attitude lately, because I simply just don’t care, and I don’t want to help.  I have been making minimal talk with the majority of my co-workers, but again, none of them seem to care unless they need help someone.  I feel like I am drowning.

In other news nothing is happening.  When we’re not dealing with the daily grind of work, we’re dealing with the nightly grind of homework.  I just want to be free, and not have to work, or have to go to school, just have the ability to do what I want, when I want.  I’ll keep dreaming though…

For our first Valentine’s Day as husband and wife, nothing really happened.  We ran our errands, as Sunday is pretty much the only day that we have available to do so, and that was about it.  We exchanged gifts in the morning, Jason got Heath bars, and a big fat book, and I got a stuffed frog, and real frogs!  We actually bought the tank a week ago, and I have been adding to it slowly.  I’ve always wanted a fish tank (beyond a glass jar) and we found a really nice 2 ½  gallon one with a filtration system, light and the works.  Currently, I have two African Dwarf Frogs, an Otocinclus (which looks like a mini shark, but he sucks all the algae out), and 3 Glass Shrimp.  Sadly, I think the shrimp are the most exciting.  They are so active, and so comical.  I fed the frogs today, which is basically little pellets of food, and the shrimp all grabbed a pellet and looked like they were playing with them.  The frogs are active every now and then… and the Otoconclus just sucks… haha, but he looks pretty cool, and I am happy with the entire set up.  So cute!

That’s it for now.

We need a vacation.

She is a super sweet dog, and very timid.  I saw her running around the neighborhood but couldn’t get her to come near me so I just kind of left it.  She had a collar, so I figured someone had to be looking for her.  She circled the cul-de-sac a few times, and some jack-ass, driving like they always do, came flying around the corner, and decided to use the cul-de-sac as their race track, and almost hit her.  So I decided to beg Jason, who never wants to take them in, to help me get her, because I could not imagine having someone find one of our dogs, and just let them roam free without trying to find their owners.  He slowly approached her and gained her trust, and we put a leash on her.  We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and talked to more neighbors than I think we have the entire time we have been here, and everyone said she belonged in a different direction.  Ugh.  We tried to get her into the car, but she wouldn’t jump into either one.  Jason went back to his homework, and I grabbed some homemade treats as he wished me luck walking out the door.  They aparently, are really good, because it got her into the car in no time, something the other treats I was giving her wouldn’t do.  I screamed for Jason to get out there, and we headed to PetSmart.  Unfortunately, even though she had a collar, she had no tags, and no microchip, so we posted at PetSmart, and I posted on Pets911.com in the hopes that her owner missed her as much as she misses them.  She did not enjoy the shot car ride, and kept trying to jump into the front seat with us, and at one point, was climbing over my shoulder to do so, hence the name Dorkus that Jason gave her.

She is not a neglected dog.  She was very clean, he teeth were super clean, and he nails were trimmed.  She shed a lot, but I think that is because she is stressed.  She is super cuddly and is currently whining in our backyard because she doesn’t want to be alone.  :(  I think that if we don’t hear anything back from anyone tomorrow, we will have to call the Humane Society.  :(

We painted a room in our house, goodbye ugly green, hello nice blah bland colors <3!

Looks lovely!

Looks great with all the brown (yeck)

We finally built the sewing/craft table Jason got me for Christmas:

Spaaaace!

Aaaaaand I now cook fancy schmancy things at home like Chicken with a Reisling-Orange Sauce.  All.  Made.  From.  Scratch.  Check me out:

I also learned today, that dad, no matter how hard he tries, is NO MATCH for momma’s comfort in a thunderstorm.  I love our puppies.

• A 13 minute “recap” of the night. A highlight reel, if you will. (There is sound)
  (You do have to download a small program to run it, but I promise, it is ok. (It also doesn’t like Macs, so beware Mac users))
• Wedding Pics (Professional)
• Wedding Pics (Non-Professional)
• Disposable Cameras
• Honeymoon Pics

I have started to flip out about our caterer.  She seems vaguely crazy, and controlling.  I just figured out tonight, that when she wouldn’t let me round up when I asked, she actually rounded down, and I don’t know if we are going to have enough place settings for everyone.  I spent most of yesterday flipping out about how I had 18 spots of bridal party and family to seat in 16 seats, and totally missed this one.  This also messed up our table decorations as we got enough for 6 tables of 10, and she has given us 7 tables of 8.  I also forgot to decorate the sweetheart table for Jason and me.  These are the kind of things I hate because you can’t really know until the very last minute exactly how much you need.  I’m super frustrated because we have some “definite maybe” people that we still don’t know if they are coming or not, and I hate to say this, but I hope they don’t because we will be screwed if they do.  I’m sorry, but don’t wait until we track you down almost 2 months after the RSVP date, and then tell me you may be coming, and that you’re still not sure.  I am pretty sure bridezilla will come out on October 3^rd, and she will not be pretty, and heads will fly if I see someone who is not expected to be there.  Just sayin’.

I finally got my test results back from my MRI, and that was also not good.  It wasn’t “bad” just not good.  I have a 4mm tumor on my pituitary gland.  Sure, 4mm isn’t big, but when my pituitary gland is only 9mm, it is pretty large in comparison.  Jason and I have seen my regular doctor, who couldn’t (or wouldn’t, I’m not sure) tell us much; but she referred me to a neurosurgeon to discuss options—the appointment isn’t until the 14^th of October, but it just adds to my list of worries.  She also stated that there is a likelihood of having to be rescanned and several more tests.  Not what I am looking forward to.  I do not want another MRI.  If you have never had one, they are horrible.  I felt like I was in a lighted coffin with jackhammers on top of me.  It was so close, and so noisy, I seriously felt like this device was meant to drive people to insanity.  Mine took 45 minutes, and it felt like hours or pure hell.  I left with one of the worst headaches that I have ever had.  There are a few things that bother me about this entire situation.  My insurance denied this claim.  Why?  They went through my records, and found out that I was on a specific drug that can elevate levels of prolactin.  Fine.  They did not go through my records enough to see that I hadn’t actually used this prescription in over a year.  Not fine.  They did not notify me (and my doctor) until a month later, at which point, I had already had the MRI done, and paid out of pocket for it.  Also not fine.  The original denial was just that I was on a specific drug, not which drug, so I didn’t know to stop it, for how long, anything.  Neither did my doctor, or the facility that I was going to get the MRI at.  I called them last week to see if I could get reimbursed, and they basically told me to screw myself.  I am glad this is not life threatening, because they honestly expected me to wait a month, and wait for them to tell me the drug, then schedule with my doctor, then wait for my doctor to write a note that I wasn’t on this drug (or that I had stopped it for a week) and to resubmit the referral, then wait for them to approve or deny it again, and then wait for my actual MRI to take place.  Thanks for being a quality insurance company.  No thanks.  Another scary thing was that the list of drugs was long.  Some of it included anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, stuff for bi-polar people, stuff for people with ADHD, etc.  I’m sorry, you’re an insurance company and you want people to stop taking drugs that they (sometimes) need to survive their life, and function in society as normal people for a WEEK?!  Are you kidding me?  Seriously, I’m not one for naming names, but Aetna is a JOKE.  Now, here’s the kicker.  I finally found a doctor who examines every possible angle in every situation, and I really like her.  She may have found the solution to many of my health problems, including the massive weight gain over the last 4 years… and if I drop my insurance to go to Jason’s insurance (which is beyond awesome) I will lose her.  If I take Jason’s insurance, most of my medical procedures are covered with a small fee; surgery would literally be like $75; if I stick with mine I have something like a $3,500 deductible before my insurance kicks in.  I’m sure with all of my doctors visits, blood draws, and tests I have at least half that covered, but it is still so frustrating.

I have three days of work this week, and then a week and a half of freedom from it.  I wouldn’t say freedom from work though.  Freedom from the 8-5.  This week is still going to be a ton of work I am sure.  I am going to try and see if I can maybe get Wednesday off as well to tie up some loose ends here and there.  We have people coming in starting Wednesday.  I am so excited, and so nervous because there are so many things still up in the air.  Eeek!

Lastly, on a note not about Jason and I:

If you like to eat, and you like to feel good about doing good in your community, I would like to offer you this:

Monday, September 28^th, 2009, is St. Jude’s Day at Chili’s.  One HUNDRED percent of your food and drink bill goes to St. Jude’s on this day.  Please eat, not only to fill your bellies, but to help childhood cancer research at this wonderful facility.  Just think about it.  For two people you could be making a $30-$50 donation, and you’re getting a meal out of it!  Please eat out at Chili’s today, Monday, September 28^th, 2009.  There is seriously, no easier way to donate, and you have nothing to lose, but your empty stomach!  You can read more here:  St. Jude’s.

*Last year, Jason and I unknowingly went, and sadly the restaurant was empty.  We ended up racking up close to a $70 bill, all of which went to St. Jude’s.