Photo Scavenger Hunt Day! Or...Mommy's First Day Alone.

Well hello.

Long time no rambleaboutrandomuselessthings...so I'll just jump right in.

Tomorrow, I am taking part in my first ever photo scavenger hunt around Milwaukee with a bunch of friends.  I honestly don't really know what this entails or what is going to happen but I do know that I am probably going to have a lot of fun.

What else is tomorrow?  Well...tomorrow will be my first day out away from Sophie.  My first day that is - for lack of a better term - mine.  Yes...she is almost 7 month sold.  Up until now, I've been lucky to get an hour to myself...also known as naptime.  There have been 3 doctor appointments that I've been on my own for too, but is that time really mine?  If it was mine, I sure as hell wouldn't be spending it in the stirrups. 

I'm nervous though.  I'll be an hour and a half away because Corey is taking her to his mom's in Madison.  What if she decides she hates the bottle again?  What if the breastmilk I bring for her is bad from that excessive lipase thing again and she won't drink it? What if she won't nap?  You know and I know that the answer to these questions should probably be something along the lines of "not your problem to deal with - enjoy your day out!" but I just can't help myself.  I don't want my baby to be all unhappy and stuff. 

Between Corey and my mother-in-law I'm sure it will be fine.  If anyone gets frustrated they can hand her off to the other...but I have a feeling my mother-in-law is going to get the bulk of it.  Regardless, they are my heroes tomorrow.  In some ways I haven't thought that of it as a very big deal that I haven't had a day to myself or a date night with Corey, yet I look around at my friends with kids and feel like a freak and that it is WAY overdue.  To each their own, I guess.

Is it wrong I'm more excited about this than I would be if it were a date night instead?  Don't get me wrong - I love my husband and my baby so much it makes my heart stop sometimes, but no matter how much you love someone it's not good to be in each other's face 24/7.  If I'm going to keep being "me", I need some time to myself. 

Anywhoo...back to the scavenger hunt.  Except I forgot what I was going to say about it.  Other than Tara and I are going to dominate. Woot!

163/365. Hot Mama.

Everyone, meet Tara. Hands down the cutest pregnant chick ever. We threw her a little baby shower brunch today - great company and great food. And mimosa's. Who doesn't love those?

Some more shower pics...

I was so excited to take a bunch of cute pics of babies and my friends...you'd think I'd remember to charge the effing battery, eh?

Here's what I did manage...

My other attempts to photograph the baby shower invites...

I've never seen - nor would I have ever been able to think of making - an invitation like this. So creative and colorful! Thanks, Jenica and Barbie!

They were hard to get a picture of...here are my other attempts.

Apparently I graduated...

...and forgot to tell you all about it.

Well, I started to.  I just never hit "publish" on the blog post and didn't realize it.  Whoops!  So here is my do-over.

On May 16th I was awarded an MS in Rehabilitation Science from the school whose logo is pictured below.  I'm not naming it because I want to brag about my accomplishments while attempting to lessen the chances of someone I know from school that I've talked crap about from stumbling upon this blog.

Man am I glad that is over.  For whatever reason, you don't graduate with honors at this particular school.  If they did factor it in though, I guess my 3.81 would have gotten me a cute little "magna cum laude" after my name in the program.  Oh well.  C'est la vie.

Anyway.  After the graduation ceremony we headed back to our house where we held a small bbq to celebrate.  Corey's brother Matt also graduated with his MA in English from UW Milwaukee that day so the party was for both of us.  Unfortunately he was sick, but that didn't stop him from playing flippy-cup later in the night.

Brecken, my best friend from the army, came to town for the weekend too.  I hadn't seen her since she flew to California for my LAST graduation, so it was awesome to spend time with her.  Over the last 7 years we've gradually started moving closer and closer together.  Right now she lives in Iowa, but eventually she'll live in Wisconsin.  For now I'm happy that our states at least share a border!

Anyway, here are some pics from the day (and well into the night).  Yes, we busted out the cornhole, learned the magical joys of flippy-cup, and then came SingStar...

Florida!

Oh hai!

So it's been awhile. I've been busy with...well...everything. I won't get into all that now. For the most part it's the same old song and dance - except for some things with my mom. I'll talk about that sometime when there is a little more to know.

In the mean time...I went to Florida! I wish I had written this post sooner - I would have felt more motivated to include more details. I needed a break, and a long weekend in Venice, Florida for a friend's baby shower was the perfect opportunity. There were 12 of us down there all together - all Freaky Internet Friends. Yes, I flew somewhere and met weirdos from the internet.

This was a group of people that I have talked to (online, on the phone, and some in person) for over 2 years now. We've grown incredibly close and I think that many of us know more about each other than we know about some of our closest friends (and that our closest friends know about us). That's nothing against our original friends - it's just more of an open forum of randomness and it all gets put out there...on a private message board of course.

Anyway, it was great to meet these women and to have so many of us in one place all weekend long and to celebrate with Vanessa at her baby shower. We spent a lot of time at the beach (and at Target), and the shower was a blast. I might have overindulged a bit at the shower - but in my defense, it wasn't your typical baby shower. There was men and alcohol and horseshoes! Not that I care about the men and the horseshoes, but booze is a change from your typical baby shower.

But what, you ask, could inspire me to overindulge at a baby shower? Well...I was on track for a night full of fun with the girls and a steady beer buzz...until V's aunt asked me when MY baby was due.

Umm...

Yeah.

Not pregnant.

At least not that I know of.

I always wondered how I would respond to that question if asked, since it is no secret that I've put on some weight. I, like both of my parents, tend to carry my extra weight in my belly. Regardless, I thought for sure my answer to this very rude and assuming question would be "I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat." but I couldn't muster that. First I stood there in disbelief...then I squeaked out something along the lines of "...I'm....not........uhhh...........pregnant." She was caught off guard. After a long pause, she stammered out something like "Oh...well...with the shirts girls wear these days it's hard to tell."

Yeah, right lady.

Luckily I recover quickly and have a sense of humor. Not to toot my own horn, but not everyone would have handled it as well I don't think.

But boy was I thirsty after that. For beer. More beer.

Although in hindsight, I was standing there blatantly drinking a beer while she asked me that. So...not only did she think I was pregnant, she obviously thought I looked classy enough to be the kind of showing-pregnant chick to stand there and drink Budweiser from the can. Fantastic.

Anyway...I had something else I was going to talk about, but telling that story again has distracted me to the point of no return I think. So instead, here are some pictures. We spent a lot of time at the beach, so obviously I played with my camera a lot. Apparently I have the ability to summon dolphins and the uncanny ability to get a certain camera shy German shepherd to be my supermodel.

If you click on the collage, it will open up larger in a new window. You can also get a glimpse of my version the shirts I made for everyone in honor of "Hoarstock '09". If I remember correctly, and you're curious, "Hoar" is a reference to an inside joke about some spoiled crazy girl on the wedding site who didn't like an answer someone (or several someones...one of them might have been me) gave when she asked advice about some family drama that she created because people weren't all excited for HER special day.

Obviously, when you don't like an answer or answers someone gives you, you call them a bunch of "hoars". It has been a group nickname ever since.

Correction:

BILATERAL Pulmonary Embolism.

She went back to the ER this morning. She felt awful all night and in the morning and was afraid to be home alone (VERY not like her, trust me). Plus, the cats and dog wouldn't leave her side which is even more scary since animals always seem to know when something is wrong.

She's back home tonight and feeling a little better. She's got an appointment with her regular doctor tomorrow for some test results and what not.

I love Wisconsin, but it is so hard to be so far away right now.

I went to the resurrection of book club tonight and had a great time. My friends here are amazing for providing a good time, good company, and a welcome distraction.

2008 Year in Review

I stole this from a few people.  I feel like I'm taking the easy way out in reflecting on the last year, but I look at it more as a "guided tour" since I just haven't been in the mood to organize my thoughts on my own lately.

Plus, I'm on vacation still.  Sorta.


1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?


Married someone for the RIGHT reasons. 

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year I decided that 2008 would be the year I quit smoking.  I did.  Cold turkey...and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.  Yes, from time to time I had a cigarette while out drinking, but over time I have become more and more disgusted by even that.  If I try to have one without at least a couple beers, I end up dry-heaving and feeling sick for hours afterwards.  That helps making it easy to avoid.  At this point I can't even really have one while drinking without feeling sickly.  I also don't drink very often.

Now if only Corey could do this so easily.  He's starting the patch (for the 12th-ish attempt) again tomorrow.  We'll see.  I feel bad for not having a lot of hope.

This year I resolve to get healthier and active and to a healthy BMI.  I also resolve to be a better wife.  I don't think I've been very attentive.  We need to spend more quality time together when we have it instead of being next to each other but in our own little worlds.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I have quite a few friends that had babies this year, but the one I am probably closest to is Sheila and her son K (name abbreviated to protect the innocent).  I spent most of the summer babysitting the little guy and got to see a lot of his early development and we had a lot of fun together.  He was particularly fond of my Lil' Jon impressions. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

I wasn't close to him - I probably haven't seen him since he was in grade school, but my cousin Zach was hit and killed by a train in Oregon due to some really stupid drunken behavior. You can read about it here if you want.
5. What countries did you visit?

I didn't get to go anywhere else this year, unfortunately.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

A full time job, a fetus, and some motivation would be fantastic.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Probably just July 26th - our wedding day!  I can't think of any other "special" days.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I don't think I really achieved much this year other than planning the wedding.  I lived through another year of annoying grad school but I'd hardly consider that an achievement.

9. What was your biggest failure?

My new running hobby at the beginning of July.  EPIC FAIL.  I ran ONCE.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not exactly.  I had a lot of insomnia/sleep quality/fibromyalgia medication trial and error.  I feel like I might finally have a winner with the Lyrica.  Maybe.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I'm in sweet sweet love with my Canon G10.  Isn't it pretty?  Shiny!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

This is hard.  My family and the great friends I've made here are not celebrated enough.  I am grateful for them all!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I'm going to have to jump on the Sarah Palin bandwagon here. 

14. Where did most of your money go?

Gas, paying down my debt, and to Bare Minerals products. Sad but true.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Having so many of our friends and family in one place to celebrate our marriage with us.  Moving in to an awesome duplex in a great neighborhood.  Going to San Diego for Christmas and getting to take a nice detour to Portland to see my dad and grandma and drunkles (even though I didn't have luggage for 3 days).

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Either Sittin' At A Bar by Rehab or Love In This Club by Usher.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier

b) thinner or fatter? 20+ lbs fatter :(

c) richer or poorer? Richer (because I've paid down a lot of my debt)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I wish we would have explored more of Milwaukee and that I'd been more active.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Stuffing my face, working harder than I needed to in grad school since it's so lame and easy, bitching about a few things/people that pissed me off. 

20. How did you spend Christmas?

With my family in San Diego, watching movies and eating cookies.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Yep, all over again.  The moment that stands out in my mind is the time Corey and I spent alone in the car after we did our family pictures at the park but before the ceremony back at the house.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Heroes and LOST.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I wouldn't say "hate", but I definitely feel different about a few people.

24. What was the best book you read?

I'm going to have to ride on Krista and Sara's bandwagon and say the Twilight Series and The Kite Runner.  I loved them both but in very different ways and for different reasons.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I got on a big Bitter:Sweet and Shiny Toy Guns kick.  I can't claim the discovery of either one.

26. What did you want and get?

Some of our flight to CA paid for and a tripod for my sweet new camera!

27. What did you want and not get?

A hand vacuum.  You can bet I'll be buying myself one within a week :)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I rarely meet a movie that I don't like. I'm easily amused.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

This was the year I turned 30.  I spent the night of my birthday at work with the girl's basketball teams.  A few nights later, Corey and I went to bd's Mongolian Grill - it was delicious!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Not having to be in grad school.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

The typical athletic training uniform (with the addition of jeans): polo's, khaki pants, t-shirts, windbreaker pants.  Other than that I wore sweats and pajamas.

32. What kept you sane?

Finally being able to sleep and my friends (local, long distance, and of the freaky internet variety).

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I honestly can't think of any. 

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

No issue in particular.  My only issue was the ridiculousness that was Sarah Palin.  This was also the first time I didn't vote Republican.  Shh...don't tell my family.  Hi family!

35. Who do you miss?

All of my family in California and Oregon (and the 2 in Georgia!).  I also miss the army.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I am not actually sure I even met any new people this year.  Although I did finally meet some more of my FIF's in person for the first time last week and that was great (and overdue!).  Hi Jess, Anne, and Becky!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Suck it up and drive on. 

I actually learned that in the army a long long time ago, but it still applies.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Baby, it's cold outside.

Oh hey - We got married! Part 1: Family day and Bachelorette Party Day

I've put this off for FAR too long. So long I have not been posting OTHER stuff because I hadn't written this.

Our wedding and the days leading up to it were days I will never forget spent with good friends, family, and a whole lot of fun! I will break this up into a couple posts.

Our first houseguest on the Tuesday before our wedding was my bridesmaid April who lives in Los Angeles. Wednesday early evening brought my mom and stepdad and two little sisters (also bridesmaids). Thursday morning brought my Maid of Honor Melissa, while the evening (on a 4 hours late flight) brought another bridesmaid, Melissa.

Wednesday night the girls and I had a great time running around outside with a jar catching fireflies. I'd never seen them until we moved to Wisconsin and the girls had never seen them at all, so we had a blast running around outside like idiots trying to fill a jar with them.

Thursday afternoon's plan was to hang out with the family, have some drinks, and play a little cornhole and we did just that! Everyone had a blast and it got quite competitive, but in a friendly way. Shit-talking was kept to a minimum, and Melissa was a natural.







And of course some hanging out on the stoop.

Thursday afternoon we took a whopping 20 minutes to sit down, have more drinks, and turn on the wedding favor factory (super difficult tying a tulle round full of Oregon salt-water taffy with ribbon). April decided to wear her mojito in the process.



Thursday night, once we picked Jo up from the airport, it became bachelorette party night. Parents and children were sent off to bed and a friendly game of Pin the Junk on the Hunk was started (not by me - I swear I would not have chosen this myself). On my turn, I closed my eyes, was spun around by Melissa, and decided I was pinning this junk on his nose. He looked like a dick-nose.



Then we walked down the street to a local bar to warm up with the intention of taking cabs downtown for more drinking. Well...we never left. There were only 4 people in there when we went in, so we essentially doubled the population. We immediately took a round of jaeger bombs and I got in on the next game of pool...then proceded to run the table for about the next hour! I was drinking, so I was steadier...and I was smoking...because I was drinking (yes, I'm still a non-smoker, but c'mon, it was my bachelorette party!). Here I am displaying the hi-klass drinkingsmokingbilliards zone I was in:







Massive amounts of beer, jaeger bombs, and spins of the Wonder Wheel (Melissa and Jo each won $20 gas cards!) continued until the lights came up and we staggered the whole one block home...

And collapsed in a fit of giggles in our front yard, like so:





Which woke up our upstairs neighbor. Whoops. I guess he was going to come outside and hang out with us but first we ran across the street to frolic in the yard of the catholic church, and when we came back, some creepy guy was out there talking to us. He didn't want to be a 2nd creepy guy out there with us...which would be understandable if he was creepy.

Once inside, April laid down with only her upper body on the couch and went to sleep, and I went to the bathroom and threw up anything and everything I'd ingested in the last week.
Then, for the first time ever, Corey kicked me out of bed because I swore my side smelled like cat piss. He thought I was nuts. I went out to the couch and less than 2 minutes later GUESS WHO WA STRIPPING ALL THE SHEETS OFF THE BED BECAUSE THEY SMELLED LIKE CAT PISS? Yep. You guessed it. Corey! I guess he believed me then! I moaned a big fat "I told you so" and rolled over on my big comfy couch :)

Apparently our anti-social cat was a little peeved at all the people around and wanted to punish me for leaving the litter box 2 feet out the door of our bedroom.

Anywhoo...I digress. Bachelorette party was a blast (even with the slightly embarrassing light-up bachelorette sash, and matching penis necklace and bracelet) and I met some great people from my neighborhood at that bar. I paid the price that night but felt pretty damn good the next day!

That's more than April can say for the next day (in the McD's parking lot):



Coming soon: Rehearsal Dinner and Bachelor Party

Stock the Bar Shower

On May 4th my friends here (formerly known as iFriends) in Milwaukee threw a Stock the Bar Shower for my friend Tara and I. Tara is getting married in New Orleans a week before us.

For those of you who were wondering, Stock the Bar = Best. Bridal shower idea. Ever.

Instead of usual shower gifts from the registry, people bring booze and their favorite drink recipe to go alone with it. The awesomeness can be summed up with one glorious photo:



Isn't it beautiful?

There was an amazing spread of delicious food and OHMYGOD A VODKA LEMONADE BAR! They also had really cute cookies made for us by the happy cookie lady:



I'm craving one of these cookies right now, actually. I'm hoping to get them made for our wedding, but we'll see. I guess I should get on that soon.

Here I am modeling my cookie...



Here is a picture of my co-showeree (is that even a word?) with the newest adorable baby in our group:



Thanks again to the awesome hostesses and to everyone who came!

Today in a nutshell (complete with bullet points)

• My new (but the same), larger wedding dress came today.


• It fits just as bad as the old one did because I've gained 10 pounds since I started taking Trazodone.


• I feel disgusting. I've been 20 lbs heavier than I am right now and I feel worse than I did then.


• I have no motivation to work out when I actually have the time to work out. When I'm busy, I itch to work out. Like "ohmygodI'minthemiddleof10thingsrightnowbutandhourontheellipticalwouldfuckingrock."


• Did you catch that?


• I'm up to 6 people that cannot make it to our wedding.


• 3 of those I expected.


• 3 are disappointing, but I understand. Like my grandparents. And my matron of honor, who is still in the army.


• Our new save-the-date cards came today. They look good.


• Except now I have to address them.


• I have approximately 15,974,277 wedding things left to do.


• It feels that way, anyway.


• Tomorrow I have to help train a new person at the clinic who is technically a little higher on the food chain than I am there (I'm just an admin clerk there).


• Awkward.


• I think that is all I have the patience to get into right now.

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. I only work at the clinic until around 12 or 1, and then I'm meeting 2 iFriends for the first time and going to a fish fry and brewery tour at some point tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, I have a long and annoying day of work on Saturday. Then on Sunday we'll be heading to Madison to celebrate Corey's older brother's birthday and his younger brother's girlfriend's birthday (say that 3 times fast). I also have some homework to accomplish at some point by Sunday at midnight. Oy.

$5 says that somewhere in all that I'll have the urge to work out and won't be able to.

[By the way...the people who were formerly known as iFriends have been real friends for quite some time now. They have played an amazing part in my sanity since moving here and in many ways have been a solid rock that I know I can trust and could count on for anything - laughs, support, a shoulder to cry on, honest opinions - anything.]

Please go vote for this adorable baby! GO!

Bonjour Badger's little boy Thomas (#6 on the voting page) wants your vote! Go here! You can vote more than once!

Fall break? That never existed in my day.

The phrase "Fall Break" is something I dreamed about as a kid. Never ever in my life did I think it actually existed! Fall break is alive and well in the two places that affect me the most: The high school I work at, and the college I go to. As a graduate student I don't actually get a fall break, but the undergrad student athletic trainers that work with me at the high school do. They are getting almost a full week off from work. Guess who their favorite athletic trainer in the world is right now? Yep. Me!

I have the high school football team to thank for these days off. They lost their playoff game on Tuesday so now the season is over. That made me jump up and down and squeal with delight very sad for them - they are a great bunch of kids. Better luck next year!

Anyway.

I'm having the laziest, most awesome day off. I woke up at 11, and that was only because I wanted to watch the drama unfold on The Young and the Restless. I finally took a shower around 1, and then I put on my sweats, plopped my happy ass down in the papasan chair, and started getting caught up on my stories (Private Practice, CSI, Grey's Anatomy). The most action I've seen today was when I got up and did the dishes and wiped down the counter while Corey went grocery shopping and to pick up some good ol' fashioned Taco Bell. Mmm mmm mmm!

My friend Caron sent me a text message to let me know the Fresno State vs. Boise State game is on ESPN2 so that is what I'm doing now. I'm obviously still in the papasan. While I don't remotely miss Fresno, I miss Fresno State a little bit. It's a good school in a hot and shitty city. It's so funny to watch TV and see people I know in the frame at all times. The players, the coaches, and especially the athletic trainers. I miss the athletic trainers. Some were my bosses or teachers, some were my friends, some were both - and here they are on ESPN. I'm getting nostaglic. Over Fresno. Let's take a moment to define "nostalgia" for a moment, shall we?

Nostalgia: a longing for the past, often idealized.

Idealized. Exactly. I do this for the army too. Anyway....

I was on ESPN once. Wanna see? I was hauling ice bags. No, the dude was not pointing at me. He was motioning to the ROTC kids and the crazy student section. But there I was. Right on time. Some of the ROTC kids were looking at me because I was the one that kicked them out of the cart I needed to use to get that ice. TWICE. They gave me a lot of lip until I told them I knew more about the army than they ever would.



Here is another thing that made my day brighter. Some of you may or may not know anything regarding the interesting living situation Corey and I were in the last 6 months we spent in Fresno. Long story short: We lived in a house. With 2 other couples...4 dogs, and 5 cats (2 of the cats are ours). It was...interesting. I won't go into too much detail but we did learn a lot from it. For example...we are not the live with other people kind. Sometimes it was a great time, some days I wanted to choke people were not so easy. It was definitely the contribute to the deliquency of minors party house. We're not big partiers anymore. Or excessively sociable for that matter.

Anyway, I digress. A little bit ago I had a messaging conversation with Pat, who is a very good friend of ours and who I was stationed with at Ft. Lewis. He is working on becoming a corrections officer (which is awesome, btw). Because Pat is working towards becoming a corrections officer, the other couple that was there while we were is moving out. They are paying $180 per person to live in a house with no lease, no real landlord, and no pet rent or deposits.

So WHY are they moving out you ask? Well...let me tell you.

They are moving out because they CAN'T SMOKE POT there anymore. After all, it's Pat's fault for having a goal. Shame on him.

I wish them the best of luck in finding another living arrangement that sweet for them. :D

Awesome huh? Yeah, that's who we lived with. I will say that neither of them are bad people. They are nice kids. Maybe a little misguided. But still kids.

Finally reading Harry Potter!

I’m pretty excited about this. I started it yesterday on our way home from Madison and I’m halfway done. I wish I could sit and read the entire thing…stupid work and school. Blah.

Anyway, Corey’s best friend Gary drove up from Tennessee this weekend and we had a great time. I will post a few pictures when I have more time.

Help Melissa

My best friend Melissa is trying to win an iPod shuffle in an amateur photo contest, so if you are reading this, please click on this link and go vote for her. The picture is of a beautiful sunset in New Zealand, and while she was there her mp3 player was ruined. I know most of you don't know her, but click on the link and help her out if you like the pic. Thanks!

http://www.picture.com/voteforme/photovote1.asp?PID=7417662