Has it been that long?

I realized that I haven't actually written a blog in almost 3 months. Does that make me a dead friend? I hope this revives me again. Let's see what's going on here in good ol' Colorado?

We still have the worst roommate ever who knows how much we dislike him but still stays, like mold. We can give him his 30 days in October, we can't wait. It's hard to live with someone who you can't even rely on to take the trash out, he really is a child in a man's body.

It's finally getting warmer here and there's been no sign of snow for a few weeks, bring on summer! Eventhough summer brings on my b-day, literally. My b-day marks the first day of summer and the end of my twenties, I'm not sure I'm really ready to be 30. Plus, it's also Father's Day and exactly 3 weeks until I get married. I wonder how much of a wreck I will be at that point? Or if I'll just want to get it done and be married so we don't have to worry about paying for it anymore. The invites will go out this week sometime. They are so cute, I love them.

We still have our puppies. Kiara is getting so big and we got her spayed last month.

Her and Yogi are getting more used to eachother but they still get jealous of she gets time with Robert and I. She's pretty feisty and will antagonize the other tow bigger boy dogs. She's almost 40 pounds now, she was 24 when we got her 3 months ago.

Robert got a great job last week where he' not changing oil. He gets to drive tractors and forklifts all day at a construction rental place. They tell him everyday how impressed they are by his hard work. He finally works at a place where they appreciate him and aren't "shady" as people were at his former places of employment.

So that's what's going on right now, in other words, not much. We can't wait to see everyone in 2 months. I can't believe it's only two more months.

What's going on?

I haven't written for awhile so here's a little update on Colorado life. I have officially been engaged for a year and 5 days and I still have about 4 and a half months left. We received our blessing in the form of CALSTRS check, the CA teacher's retirement association and was able to make a big dent in our vendor bills. The Woman's Club is almost paid off and, more importantly, we were able to pay my parents back all the money we owed them. If you know about my parents you know that is a big deal! Now they can't hold it over our heads. I wanted to use more of it for the wedding but we had to cover our unemployed roommate's part of the bills. We almost had to kick him out 2 weeks ago for being a week late on rent but we gave him until the end of this month to get a job or he is out. He's been without work since November and for lack of trying. It's been stressful covering what he owes as well as our parts. The whole point in having roommates is to get help with the bills. At least we have the other one pulling in his share.


But on to happier events. We adopted another dog, I know we are crazy! I'd like to think we saved her from being a fighting pitbull. Her name is Kiara and we met her two weeks ago at a friend of a friend's house. He wasn't able to take care of her fully due to his trucking job so he needed to sell her. It was either us or the brutal people that would buy her to fight her. We took her home the night we met her, spur of the moment but we are happy with our decision. How could you say no to those sweet brown eyes? She's 3 months old and already weighs 26 pounds. The vet said she will grow to be over 50 pounds so I have to enjoy my time picking her up and letting her be a lapdog while I can. She'll be bigger than Yogi when she is full grown and then he won't be able to bully her like he does now. He's a little jealous at the moment because we have to give her more attention with her house training and making sure she's comfy in her new home. So our family got a little bigger and now we have the sibling rivalry to add to the mix.

Wedding Update

With 6 months left until the wedding I am in full planning mode, complete with a little notebook I carry with me just in case I get an idea. I am not stressed about paying for it anymore thanks to CALSTRS (California State Teachers' Retirement System). I got my annual statement while I was in CA and my mom suggested I see if I can get that money out since I don't live or teach there anymore. I called and they said I could take all or nothing and when I found out how much was "all" was I took it! I won't say how much, but it's enough to pay for the wedding and pay back a personal debt we have with my parents. This is the biggest blessing and the biggest weight off our shoulders. I would cry almost nightly wondering if we were going to have a wedding at all and now we will! I am aware of the penalties and tax stuff but after they deduct we will stay pay for 95% of the wedding. This gives me freedom to pick out invitations and favors and such. Now I can have fun and not be so financially stressed. Before, the wedding seemed to be flying closer because of the dollar sign hanging over us but now it's going to seem like forever because I can't wait for it now. Plus we have an officiant after a decision I had to make about our former one. Now Mark Schoch from DFCC will be performing our wedding. 175 days to go!

Another reason to hate Paris Hilton

So I was perusing Audrey Hepburn stuff, (what can I say I love her) when I came across this gem...



Under the picture was the caption "The next Audrey Hepburn." Seriously? What an insult to a great woman. She would roll over in her grave.

What I did on my Christmas Vacation!

1. Flew with Robert for the first time.

2.Had a long awaited In N Out Cheeseburger, Animal Style.

3.Finally met my 5 month old niece, Lisa.

4. Met up with some great friends Tuesday night and met the cutest babies ever!

5. Went to my family's traditional Christmas Eve gathering.

6. Found out who my true friends are.

7. Got spoiled by my future in laws on Christmas morning.

8. Did something crazy.

9. Picked my flowers and cake for the wedding.

10.Spent more time with my brother, sister-in-law and niece.

11.Said goodbye to a dear friend who's moving to Michigan.

12.Went to DFCC for a visit.

13.Visited with my Grandma Gerry.

14.Ate at BJ's, mmmmmmmmmm Pizookie.

15. Saw Bridget Moynahan at LAX.

16. Unfortunately, had to fly back to reality.

17. Reunited with our Yogi! We missed him so much and he missed us too.

18. Realized that a week is not enough time to see everyone we wanted to see. We are sorry if we missed you.

I'm slacking

If anyone still reads this, I haven't written for a few weeks. I guess I'll bring you up to speed. We were adopted by our roommates family for Thanksgiving. His mom even referred to us as her "kids" which is weird since we're getting married. They were very welcoming and we had a fried turkey, which I haven't had for a few years. It was all delicious and nice to be part of a family, at least for the day.

I'm still subbing and applying for jobs as they come, but there aren't many right now. I'm meeting principals when I can and trying to be "memorable" so when they see my resume they'll remember me.

I got some wedding things straightened out. All my bridesmaids actually agreed on a dress to wear. I was amazed, I'll have some in Marine and others in Sterling. I also had to change the wedding date to July 12th to save some money, still at 3pm. I arranged to meet the flower lady when we are home for Christmas and we will see the guy in charge of the Woman's Club too to pick the cake design and flavors. I tried my dress on again, just for fun and to make sure I still liked it. The results? I had the moment I should have had at David's Bridal, the tears and image of my walking down the aisle in it. Better late than never. Now I'm waiting to hear back from certain people regarding the wedding. I wish people would return phone calls.

We finally got our first decent snow last week which resulted in my first scary spin out. I went 180 but, thank God, ended up in the middle turn lane on the highway and not in the opposite lanes of traffic. That happened on recently plowed roads too. But the snow was beautiful, glistening in the sun. Yogi likes to play in it too.

I think that's it, we'll be out in CA from December 22-29th. Let me know if you want to hang out. I miss everyone very much, but cannot see everyone I want to in a week with Christmas in the middle but I will try. Call me up! (970)449-3414

I've become a crazy dog owner!

I never thought it would happen to me. I get a dog and get the idea that he's my kid. I know Yogi is not a four-legged human but he's our kid. We refer to ourselves as his mom and dad, we like cuddling with him, and I am even reading dog training books by the Dog Whisperer. I am learning how to train him with a clicker and how to understand his "energy," according to Cesar Millan. We are even going to take our Christmas picture with him! I am the person I used to make fun of because I didn't understand how someone could love an animal so much, just like a child. But we do love him just like a child, we've already had to worry about his health and are responsible for his medicine. I used to make fun of my mom for getting Sable her own stocking and here I am now looking at what to put in Yogi's and find myself a little sad that we will miss his first Christmas living with us. We can't take him with us to CA for the holidays. Don't worry, since he is a mix I won't be getting pads of paper and other stationary with his breed on it, I've saved myself there. I take back everything I've said about crazy pet owners and look forward to our Christmas picture this year with our new "kid." Should I get antlers or a Santa hat for him? Hmmmmmm...

Wedding crisis averted, for now.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who commented and tried to think of a place for us to get married. I knew I had to call Ed, the head guy at the Woman's Club to cancel on Monday. So I called him after I subbed all day and told him we couldn't pay what he wanted by the end of this year. He asked to release the date and I said yes, since we couldn't hold it. Then he said something that didn't even cross my mind before that moment... "You can have it on Sunday and just pay everything the week before." Sunday? I had Saturday permanently in my head, and it was an east date to remember, 7/11. But I figure a 3pm to 8pm wedding wouldn't be too bad on a Sunday, it's after church and ends early enough for work the next day. So now our wedding is July 12th at 3pm at the Woman's Club of D-town! Make a note of it. Then I asked him about the menu, we had a deal for a hot dinner and he suggested a cold sandwich buffet instead and that took $700 off our original contract price! This guy is awesome, the whole quote is based on 100 guests eventhough he knows the guest list is 120. It all goes back to my wonderful Grandma Nancy who got me the hook up to begin with. I was also lucky to have my DJ and photographer avaliable that day too.

If anyone wants our new address, here it is:
215 Robin Dr.
Loveland, CO
80537

Back to the drawing board

So, here's a news flash... weddings are too expensive!!! Especially when you have to pay for the majority of it yourselves. Plus the economy is in the crapper and all that equals to the fact that we can't afford to pay what we need to keep our venue, the Woman's Club of Downey. The due date crept up on us and now I have to call them and say sorry, I have to cancel you and find a free or cheaper place to have my big day. Like that will happen. We have other things that took up our money, getting out of our crappy, crack head infested apartment, and getting our four legged "kid." Then he got sick from being in the shelter and now we are at a place where we had to choose to go home for Christmas or try to pay The Woman's Club. We hope we can afford to go home though, Christmas last year was pretty lonely so we want to change that this year. So back to the wedding, we need a place to get married and celebrate with all of our friends and family that we can afford and that isn't ghetto. Don't say Vegas, our grandparents are too old to make it there, it has to be in So Cal. We are desperate and I have been so upset that last week. If you have ever been a bride than you should have some inkling of how I am feeling. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

White people and our President-Elect

What race card? I voted for Obama!