Monday, December 29, 2008

Holy Smokes!

It's been awhile since I've posted anything! We've been super busy and with the holidays this week...life has been crazy! I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

I've already started my new year's resolution...I joined Weight Watchers (again!) tonight. I have always done better when I am on the program. Something else that will help is I asked Adam for a treadmill for Christmas. He was going to replace all of my ski equipment, but I am so out of shape right now, and since we aren't sure when I'll get pregnant, I don't want it to sit in the garage for at least a year. I've been wanting a treadmill for quite awhile now and think it will help even when I get pregnant since I can still use it for walking.

We have family from Washington, DC visiting us for the rest of the week, so don't be surprised if you don't see another post soon. I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's!!!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Are you old enough?

Adam and I went out to do our Christmas shopping today. Our last stop was WalMart, where one of the items we purchased was Planes, Trains and Automobiles for my dad. Adam and I went through the self checkout since we only had 4 or 5 items and didn't want to wait in the regular line.

I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that the movie we got for my dad was rated R, since it's got some pretty bad language in it. But what did surprise me was when we rang it up and the check out screen said we needed to have our age verified by the attendant.

What surprised me even more? She didn't believe that I was old enough to purchase a rated R movie. SERIOUSLY? I looked at her, said just that, and then informed her that in 9 days I will be turning 27, a full DECADE OLDER than 17!

Now, I know that it's wonderful to be told that you look younger than you are, but at 27, I would really prefer to look my age. No one takes me seriously because they think I'm a kid. At 37, I'll be fine with looking 10 years younger. But it's insulting to me when people think I'm a teenager!

All right...I'm done ranting for the night. Hope you all have a good Monday!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Three Confession Thursday

1. I like beer. For Adam's Anniversary gift, I got him a beer of the month club...not necessarily because he really likes beer (he does, by the way), but because I was also excited to taste the different beers that came in. I just had one from the last batch...Pomegranate Wheat. WOW. Best beer I've had in awhile.

2. I'm not feeling as stressed out about work as I was last week. I think Kim and I were able to get a lot of adjusting done this week and I think we are going to be okay!

3. I'm really excited for Christmas this year. I've got a killer present for Adam this year and I can't wait to give it to him!!! I'm of course excited about the presents for me, and my birthday presents, too! But I haven't had a really good Christmas gift for Adam in a few years, so I'm excited about that!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

10 Thought Tuesday

1. My brother-in-law and his wife are coming into town at the end of this month. I haven't seen Christina since last year, and Casey since July.

2. I really wanted to do something fun for New Year's Eve. This will most likely be our last New Year's without kids, and I wanted to live it up and party like it's 1999!

3. I'm pretty sure we won't be doing that this year with the family coming into town. Which makes me so sad!

4. Jack passed his Canine Good Citizen class last night!!!

5. He shouldn't have passed...in fact...none of the dogs from our class should have passed! Each one failed some small part of the test on the first try, but passed on the 2nd. Sarah, our trainer, said that she passed all of the dogs as early Christmas gifts, we just have to promise to keep working with them.

6. Tarot's Basic Obedience Class still has two weeks left. Next week we'll do doggy introductions, then we'll do testing! I think she's going to pass. Then I think we'll enroll her in the next Canine Good Citizen class that Sarah is doing in March.

7. We're thinking about enrolling Jack in the agility class in the spring. He's such a spry and nimble little pup!

8. I bought some fun little toys for our kitties today at my new favorite pet shop. We have stockings for all the animals and I think they'll all enjoy their little presents that we have for them.

9. Adam is worried that the Cat Attack bag full of catnip is going to turn our little monsters into BIG monsters!

10. I did a whole bunch of Christmas baking this weekend and have left overs. I'm thinking a lemon bar and a glass of milk sounds mighty good right now!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Three "Not So Nice" Confession Thursday

1. One of my co-workers that just got laid off came in today to finish cleaning off her desk and computer. It should have only taken her a couple of hours, tops. It took her 6!!! Now, why do I care how long it took her? Because my other co-worker (who's still with the company) and I had plans to rearrange the office today so we could have a fresh start and be more efficient since there are only two of us now. We have to move forward with the new and can't focus on how we used to do things. AND we have to move forward now because we don't have time to wait. We have too much to do, too much to restructure and reorganize to wait. Because she stayed for most of the day, we couldn't do all of the moving we wanted to until 5 pm, and now we'll need to spend more time on it tomorrow, which we did not want to do because we actually have to get some work done tomorrow. I feel bad for her because she spent 8 years with the company and is having a hard time moving on, but she CHOSE the voluntary lay off. She CHOSE to leave the company and move forward. And it was frustrating that she wasn't allowing us to do the same.

2. I talked to another one of my co-workers that was let go and he was extremely bitter about the whole thing, which I would have been if it had happened to me. However, I got seriously pissed off listening to some of the things he was saying, like how the office wouldn't succeed with only one sales person and laying him off was a recipe for failure. He was not very good at this job. He didn't even make it to 25% of his goal for last month! I have basically been the only sales person in the office since I started with the company. He spent all of last month selling stupid $75 packages while I went after the bigger sale. He was perfectly content to only make his new acquisition goal and not strive for his revenue goal. He never listened to anything anyone ever said and was completely in la-la land most of the time. There are so many more not so nice things I want to say right now about him and his performance, but being that mean is not going to make any difference right now, so I'll stop now.

3. I honestly feel that the two people let go from the sales team is not a terrible thing. After thinking about it long and hard, I realized that Kim and I worked harder when it was just the two of us over the summer, but we were running so efficiently that when we finally had the "help" of the other two on the sales team, it felt more like road blocks than relief or help. I'm also pretty sure that if we weren't having lay offs, both of these people would have been let go anyway, and I wouldn't have been very sad about it because their lack of drive messed with my performance.

I know these thoughts aren't very nice....but I don't feel bad about them. I have a big job to do with getting our office truly successful, but I'm up to the challenge. And now that we'll be a tighter running ship again and I know my accounts, know my territories, and know my products, I have a feeling we'll be able to do it.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Really bad Tuesday

So, today was an incredibly rough day at work. The company I work for is in the middle of laying off 10% of it's workforce nationwide. Over 4,000 employees nationwide, now out of jobs. We've known these layoffs were coming for about a month.

The particular paper I work for was told that originally they were going to layoff 40 people, which is 10% of our staff. Today, which was the start of the layoffs, we found out it was not 40 people, but 67!!! I came back from being out in the field all day to find out that I still had my job, which I am extremely grateful for.

However, the main product that I sell in my territory is going to be discontinued at the end of this month, four of the seven editorial staff from our remote office were let go, our Sales Coordinator took the voluntary layoff, AND they let the other Sales Rep in our remote office go. I knew the Sales Coordinator took the voluntary layoff, I had ABSOLUTELY NO idea that the other layoffs were going to happen in our office. This puts our remote office at HALF the staff it had this morning.

Needless to say, I'm a bit off today. I've been incredibly emotional most of the afternoon and evening. I didn't get to say goodbye to anyone who was laid off today except one person, and I know the layoffs aren't over yet...we still have tomorrow to get through. At this point, I know that I am not getting laid off, but I know that I am now the only Sales Rep for the remote office with a HUGE territory to service. I also know if we do not make our main product successful, the rest of the office will most likely be on the next chopping block, because let's face it, our economy and employment situation is not going to be any better any time soon.

AND I found out my grandma on my dad's side got into a bad car accident this morning and broke her back. She's in a rehabilitation hospital in Sacramento right now, and I think I may be going to visit her this weekend. From what I understand, she still has sensation in her all of her body, but she is in immense pain and is completely doped up on morphine. In a couple of days she is going to be fit for a back brace. Thats about all the information I have right now. I'm hoping to have more info tomorrow.

To top off my day, I thought the possibility of being pregnant was out of the picture, but I'm not sure it is (hence the over emotionalness of the day), so I'm dealing with that possibility on top of the new responsibilities at work. Yes, I know I just posted how I want it to happen asap and how impatient I am for it, but with the day I had today, it would really just be too much for me to handle right now.

Adam just walked through the door with ice cream, so I am going to go indulge...and tomorrow is a new day.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Patience is a virtue...

....that I rarely exhibit when I want something to happen! Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, moving into our house, etc....I get very excited and have a hard time waiting for them to get here.

Well, now we have entered into a new waiting game that I have already begun to hate. Adam and I have decided we want to add onto our family. November was the first "official" month of trying. Unfortunately, no go.

Now, I know this was only the first month of trying, and the whole "trying" part is the fun part, but I'm still sad it didn't happen on the first go around. Adam and I both truly thought it would during our first month. I know it will happen when it's supposed to, but that still doesn't make the waiting any easier!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Ten Thanksgiving Thought Tuesday

I love Thanksgiving dinner, and I love to host it at my house. This is the fourth or fifth Thanksgiving we've hosted (well, minus the first one I hosted by myself in my college apartment). There is nothing healthy about our dinner, at all. And to prove it, here is our menu for the big day! Mmmm...I can feel my arteries clogging up and the Triptophan getting me ready for nap time.

1. Turkey. Adam usually brines the turkey a day or so before Thanksgiving. Brining a turkey makes it very moist when it cooks. Adam also puts an apple, onion and rosemary in the turkey, making it extremely flavorful.

2. Gravy. Probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner (besides #4). The recipe is my Gramma's, and is the best gravy I have EVER had. It starts with Giblet Soup...I take the giblets (heart, liver, kidneys, neck, and I'm sure some other disgusting thing) and cook them for a couple hours with onion, celery, water, and a few spices. After the soup has cooked, I take the broth and mix it with the drippings from the cooked turkey. I bring it to a boil and taste it to see if I need to add any boulion, pepper, worschestershire sauce, and maybe a little "brown" flavor. After it's ready taste-wise, I add the cornstarch to thicken it. I put it on pretty much everything!

3. Green beans. Should be healthy, right? WRONG! I cook the green beans until they are just a tiny bit crunchy and drain them. While they were boiling, I've cooked up a few pieces of chopped up bacon, which I add to the beans with a little bit of the grease after they've been drained. I also add a bit of pepper to them. Tasty!

4. Sally's potato casserole. OH MY GOD! Everytime we host a holiday meal, I ALWAYS ask her to bring her potato casserole. Even my little bro, Sam, requests her casserole! She's managed to cut half of the butter out of the dish, but I can't tell. It's always so amazing!

5. Hockey pucks. AKA dinner rolls. I'm not 100% sure why Adam's family calls this particular roll a hockey puck...I think it has something to do with the first time Sally made them...they were rock hard and shaped like a hockey puck. All of the hockey pucks I've eaten were quite tasty!

6. Green Jello. Another one of Sally's dishes. I don't even know what she puts in the green jello, some kind of cheese, nuts, maybe a type of fruit...All I know is it is so tasty! And it's green...does that make it healthy? *Papa, you would really like this dish! I know how much you like jello!

7. Gramma's stuffing. Mom is making this dish this year. It has the best flavoring and just makes me happy! Paired with Gramma's gravy recipe, I think this could make the world a happier place if everyone just took a few bites every day!

8. Salad with dressing from Cafe Girasole. Feild greens and the most amazing raspberry vinagrette made by my good friend Leslie DuPonte, owner of Cafe Girasole. Such a simple dish, and yet, so good!

9. Cranberry Sauce. Homemade. Not from a can. That stuff will kill you! Off course, it's an Alton Brown recipe that Adam found for our first Thanksgiving dinner 4 years ago. It uses real cranberries, orange juice, a little bit of sugar, and some other ingredients I can't remember off the top of my head. Last year we had some cranberry sauce leftovers...Adam sat down and ate the rest of them on Friday before I even had a chance to have any. Won't happen this year! I'm going to hide them!

10. Pie - Pumpkin AND Pecan. Adam makes the pies every year...no matter if we host or not! The Pecan Pie is awesome! I'm sure the Pumpkin Pie is very good. I would personnally be happier if he just made more Pecan...never have been a fan of the Pumpkin. It's the perfect way to end a blissfully decadent meal...of course, pie is usually served a few hours after dinner!

So, as you can see, we have a very full day of cooking and eating ahead of us on Thursday. Maybe I should boycott food until then! If I don't blog again before Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Scarf Swap!



This is a great idea! Click on the image to go to the sponsoring website if you want more info or want to participate.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Ten Thought Tuesday

1. I spent way too much money on things I didn't need today.

2. I think dressing rooms have special mirrors that make you think what you are buying looks good on you.

3. Which means I hated pretty much everything I bought today when I re-tried it on at home.

4. Which means I'll be taking all of the things I didn't like back tomorrow.

5. I hate it when that happens.

6. Although this time, I'm okay with it happening because I really didn't need to buy this stuff today!

7. I miss Adam. He left this morning on a business trip and won't be home until VERY late tomorrow night.

8. I have a really hard time sleeping when he's not home. Snuggling with a pillow just isn't the same!

9. I have a really early day tomorrow with a breakfast meeting at 7 a.m., which is hard on a good day, but is even harder when Adam is gone AND when I've stopped drinking caffeine!

10. Geeze...I miss caffeine!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

I'm having a blue night...

I've been looking at my friend lists on MySpace and Facebook tonight, and see many people that I used to be so close to, and have lost touch with. It makes me sad to know I'm no longer close to these people who I spent so much time with. They helped shape me into the person I am today. I wish they were still such a large part of my life, and I wish I was still such a large part of theirs.

My newest project is to try and get in touch with some of these people and see if I can reconnect. I think it's important to let the people who mean so much to me know that they do and that I think of them often. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to rekindle some of my friendships that have lapsed over the years...and I won't be so blue!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

10 Random Long Thought Tuesday

1. My work schedule this week and next is insane! I belong to the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Carson Chamber of Commerce, the Young Business Professionals Association, and the Downtown Business Association of Carson City. I'm also thinking of joining Women Entrepreneurs of Nevada. Between all five of these associations, I have two events tomorrow, one on Thursday, one on Saturday, three next Wednesday and one next Thursday. Yowza!

2. I LOVE being this involved in my community and this busy! Yeah, I'm a little tired after these kinds of weeks, but it's worth it when everyone knows who I am and I know them. It's weird because the networking saying used to be "It's all in who you know." Now it's "It's not who you know, it's who knows you." I'm going for both!

3. I found a great Pet Supplies and Gifts store yesterday. They carry the brand of food we buy (and it's cheaper than Petco!) and they have a lot of cool products, some of them by local companies. I prefer to support small local businesses when given the opportunity.

4. I hope Jack passes his Canine Good Citizen class. We're working with him a lot on the 10 areas he'll be tested on. I'm a little bit nervous about it...The good news is he gets a practice test in two weeks before his real test in three weeks. If he passes the practice test, then he passes the class and doesn't need to take the real test.

5. Jack was pretty cute at training last night. We're actually enrolled in two classes. Advanced Obedience for Jack (which started two weeks ago) and Basic Obedience for Tarot (which started last night). Since last night was the first Basic class, we didn't bring Tarot. But the Basic class is right after the Advanced class, so we still had Jack with us. He got to be the Demo Dog and I am proud to say he did a GREAT job! He just about turned himself inside out every time Sarah, the trainer, needed him to do something. She runs the rescue shelter we got the dogs from, and he just loves her like you wouldn't believe! I'm pretty sure he would go home with her if he could.

6. I learned at our Advanced training last night that you can bring well behaved, leashed dogs into Bed Bath and Beyond! We walked Jack around the store last night during class to get him used to behaving in a new area. There's actually a number of stores that you can bring your dogs into, two more of them being Lowe's and Home Depot. Part of our homework is to take Jack to different stores to practice his new skills. I'm thinking tomorrow night will be Lowe's, Saturday will be Bed Bath and Beyond, and Sunday will be Home Depot.

7. I'm watching Good Eats with my husband while I'm typing this up. My husband loves this show, and I like it too. The cheesy (no pun intended) themes are entertaining and the recipes (Adam has made several of them and has all of the Good Eats cookbooks) are pretty good. However, it cracks me up how he says "Thusly" at least two times in each show. He always says it after he shows a step in the cooking process. Example from tonight's show: "We will apply a fork, thusly," which he said after forking holes into his grahm crackers before baking. I just heard the second one for the night: "And the wet goes into the dry, thusly," which came after he added the wet ingredients to his dry ingredients.

8. I keep having dreams that the dogs and cats are finally getting along. I know that isn't happening because I usually wake up to the dogs jumping the baby gate that keeps them away from where the kitties hang out and start barking and chasing them around. I'm pretty sure the war will continue for many years. Every now and then I find a cat claw shell stuck in one of the dogs' faces.

9. I've completely lost interest in this season's Dancing With The Stars. I'm not really sure why I don't enjoy it any more. Maybe it was the fact that Kim Kardashian and Brooke Burke were on it...One is a socialite space cadette and the other is a skanky topless model. I guess it just takes the fun out of a family show. However, I am eagerly awaiting the next season of So You Think You Can Dance. I truly love that show! In fact, Adam bought tickets for us to go see the tour when it came to Reno for our anniversary. It was so amazing, I'd love to go again next year if they come to Reno.

10. And while I've completely lost interest in Dancing With The Stars, I've completely gained interest in the renewed 90210!!! It's my new guilty pleasure on Tuesdays. Usually I can get away with watching it without Adam knowing...but he doesn't have class tonight because of Veteran's Day, so I'm busted! It brings me back to when I was younger (Jr. High and High School) and my mom and I would have a girls night and watch 90210 and Party of Five. Ahhh...the days of teenage angst and drama I never have to go through ever again!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I'm evil

I got home about an hour ago from a business meeting that I attend once a month for the Downtown Business Association of the city I live in. I've worked my a$$ off to get into this group, put together proposals so the company I work with can partner with them as their official print sponsor for their association and the events they hold. Because of the hard work I've done, I'm a respected member of their group, my company is the official print sponsor of their association and the events they hold, and I'm like family to a lot of them.

So why am I evil?

Well....my competitors also attend these meetings that I attend. And the only reason they started attending is because they found out I was going to present the program they are currently running with my company. They tried to get onto the same agenda I was on when I attended my first meeting and pitched my proposal. They were shut down. They pitched a horrible program at the next meeting...they were put on hold. They pitched again tonight. They were totally blasted by the majority of the Association.

So why am I evil?

Because I have enjoyed every second of it! I have loved that they are shooting themselves in the foot because they're scrambling now that they finally have some competition in town. I love that they're getting shot down and majority of the group doesn't want to advertise with them. I love that they're fuming because I got the sale.

So, I know I'm evil and I'm enjoying this way to much. But you know....my competitors have been around for awhile and have become comfortable with being the "only pony show in town." I've heard stories from clients that the level of customer service they receive is terrible and are glad to have another option now. I think it's good for them to have some competition to make them re-evaluate the service and products they provide. So maybe I'm not too evil...I'm just working hard so I can encourage them to do the same!

Riiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggghhhhhhhhhhht!

Happy Friday to everyone! Be evil and give your competition something to worry about!

Monday, October 27, 2008

"It's just another Manic Monday...."

I totally wish it were still Sunday! Today wasn't a bad day at work, just a super busy one. The kind of busy where you feel behind on everything you are doing, and you have at least 20 stops to make during the day and not enough time to make them all....

And tomorrow isn't going to be much better because I have to go to the Reno office in the morning for training. I guess I would feel better about it if the training was longer than 20 minutes...especially when the person doing the training is just going to read her Powerpoint presentation verbatum and could have just e-mailed it to me. I know the training they give us contains good information and all, and it's extremely convenient for the sales reps in the Reno office, but it makes me grumpy when I drive 45 minutes each way to go for 20 minutes of training!

Oh well....I'm done being grumpy now...and it's not like I need the sales for this month. I'm already 41% over this month's goal and all of my new acquisitions are met. It's just hard for me to get into the swing of my day at 12.

I hope you all had a happy Monday and a great rest of the week!

Friday, October 24, 2008

My favorite corner


This is my favorite corner of the house...well, so far! It's a corner in my living room that has my grandma's corner hutch in it. In the hutch is my collection of antique teapots that were owned by two different great grandmas, plus a few I've picked up along the way.

When I look over at this corner from the couch, I always smile because the lamp that is there gives a lovely golden light and that makes the hutch's wood look really beautiful.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A nice surprise!

***Note to Multiply readers...My posts automatically are transferred from my Blogger account, and the pictures don't always transfer with the post. If you can't see the pictures for this blog, please click here.***

I got home a little bit late from work tonight and was looking forward to a quiet couple of hours before Adam got home from school. I was home for just enough time to take out the container of low-fat cottage cheese, turn on my favorite taped soap opera and enjoy a few bites of my healthy snack when the doorbell rang.

Slightly annoyed, I got up to see who it was and was pleasantly surprised to find my across-the-street-neighbor, Byrle, standing at my door holding this:
A basket full of fun Halloween decorations!!!! (Sorry about the super bad picture...the cellophane didn't help) Apparently a man stopped by to deliver the basket earlier in the day, but wouldn't leave it without a signature. Byrle was outside (as usual! Remind me and I'll post a blog about him) and told him he'd give it to us when we got home.
Upon further opening and unpacking, I found a card telling me who it was from....Our Real Estate Agent! She sent it to congratulate us on our first home, and knowing that our neighborhood is a serious hot spot for trick-or-treaters, as well as decorations for Christmas, picked out this basket full of stuff for us! She sent us a light up ghost that changes colors, two sets of orange lights, a haunted house that you can stick a candle in, a set of pumpkin spice candles, star lights for outside, and a big light up star for the point of our house!
That was so sweet of her to do for us! She was always very nice and helpful, answering all of our questions, taking us to the houses at the top of our lists, and knowing 1. what we wanted in a house, 2. what we definitely DIDN'T want in a house, 3. what our general spending limit was (not the banks, but ours!) and 4. not trying to upsell us into a house that was too expensive or not what we needed/wanted.

Thanks for all your help Elizabeth!

And because I can, I put the ribbons that tied the whole package on the puppies and made them pose for a picture. Yes, I know...I'm evil! Just wait until I have kids!

***No puppies were harmed (physically or mentally) during this photoshoot! ;-)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Christmas Swap

My friend Katrina is putting together this Christmas Swap. I think this is an awesome idea and I'm hoping some of my readers might be interested in doing this as well. If you want more information, go to her blog. Deadline to sign up is November 7.

I remember Whens-day

I was going to take the lead from my good friend Kippy's blog this week and do a "I remember Whens-day" about the month I spent studying abroad in Germany during my sophomore year of college, but it's not possible at this point. So instead...

I remember when everything I owned had it's own place and I actually knew where those places were!

I remember unpacking at each place I lived in during college and making that place my home by unpacking everything, even if I was only going to be in that place for a short amount of time.

I remember when Adam moved in with me during my last quarter of college and how excited we were to be taking that next step.

I remember looking at places in Reno when Adam and I started thinking about moving to Nevada when I was almost done with school. We picked out an apartment and even picked out paint for it!

I remember when we moved to Nevada three days after I graduated and my parents offered to let us stay with them until we had jobs lined up.

I remember when Adam got a job offer from a company in Minden and we decided not to take the apartment in Reno.

I remember 5 months after we moved to Nevada we moved into our first apartment for just the two of us in Carson. I remember thinking that place was HUGE when we first moved in and hadn't unpacked everything!

I remember when we moved out of the apartment two years later and into our rental house. We were so excited to have more space and knew it was a step closer to owning our own home.

I remember when we closed on our house almost a month ago and how exciting it was to move in!

***I promise, I'll post about something other than our new house and our dogs soon!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ten "I love my house" Thoughts Tuesday

1. First...I love my new house!!!

2. The house has great flow and the layout is really functional.

3. I love that the living room and office have vaulted ceilings, making the rooms feel even larger than they are.

4. Adam and I painted the master bedroom a deep blue and chocolate brown before we moved in...and it is such a nice relaxing room to hang out in.

5. The living room is sunken down a little bit from the rest of the house, which really lets it be it's own room.

6. The fireplace in the living room is awesome and is definitely the main focal point of the room.

7. The dining room and kitchen have pergo flooring, which looks like real wood but doesn't require the real wood maintenance! It also looks really nice with our dining room table and hutch.

8. Our master bedroom closet is HUGE!!!!!!!!!! And it's got built in shelving already, so when I finally go through all of my clothing, I actually have a ton of space to put them all!

9. The front and backyard are completely landscaped and are just beautiful! We've got mature trees and grass, and the bulbs are already in the ground for next year. I'm pretty sure we'll even be able to hang out hammock between two of the trees in the backyard once it's warm again.

10. Our dogs love the house and the backyard, too! They run around all day long and are always so tired at the end of the day from running around and playing that they sleep ALL night long!

Yay for the new house! Once we're a little bit more moved in, I'll post some pictures. Maybe after this weekend when I've decorated some for Halloween, too!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Ten Halloween Thought Tuesday

1. I love Halloween!!!!
2. I love to dress up in costumes and get to be a different person for the day!
3. I love seeing the Trick-or-Treaters' costumes and handing out candy!
4. I hear we are in a totally awesome Trick-or-Treating neighborhood that gets kids by the carload!!!
5. I bought two BIG bags of candy at Costco a few weekends ago to prepare for the carloads of kids.
6. I'm super excited to decorate the house and front yard this weekend.
7. I can't wait to carve pumpkins and roast the seeds for tasty snacks.
8. I am guilty of buying my fur babies Halloween costumes.
9. Tarot, my little girl, is guilty of loving her pretty princess skirt and carrying it around in her mouth until I put it on her, then wearing it for hours until I take it off.10. Jack is guilty of HATING his scary skeleton costume (but looks damn cute in it with his little stubby tail poking out the back). Isn't he FURocious? teeheee

Monday, October 13, 2008

Shout out to my pregger friend!!!

OH MY GOSH!!! My first official pregnant friend!!!! Congratulations Katrina, Josh and baby!!!! Adam and I are so excited for you!!!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Three Confession Thursday

1. I haven't done any real unpacking since we moved everything over from the old house last weekend. I'm really excited to get settled into the new house, but I've so enjoyed taking a break from having so much work in every aspect of life to do! I've come home every day from work and have just relaxed and done nothing!

2. The old owners of the house left the most wonderful wind chime, and it's right outside the living room window. Tonight it's been pretty breezy, so it's been great listening to the chimes.

3. I have had the most AMAZING week at work! Actually, it's just been the last 3 days that have been amazing. I've brought in three new accounts and over $13,000 in ad sales since Tuesday! I'm way over my goal for the month, only need one more new acquisition (I'm 4 for 5!) and can now focus on setting things up in my pipeline for next month. I still love my job and it's nice to know that given the right atmosphere and tools, I'm really good at it!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Moving day....

...is tomorrow!!!! I've been packing all day and I think we'll be ready to go. Hopefully it won't rain as much as people think it's going to. People say that when it rains on your wedding day, it's good luck. I'm just going to say that it's the same thing for moving. Of course, I'm pretty sure that's what people tell the bride to keep her from totally freaking out....so I'll just keep telling myself it's good luck so I won't freak out....Yeah....

Wish us luck!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

3 Years of Marriage

Today is Adam and my three year wedding anniversary. I wanted to do a whole picture dedication thing, but I didn't even get home from a work thing until about 9p.m. So...no picture dedication thing tonight.

This last year has been so amazing and wonderful! It went incredibly fast, which means we must have been having fun along the way! We have made some very big steps in our life together this year. We made huge purchases (new car, new house), we have expanded our family by adopting two wonderful dogs, have continued to become a better team/unit, and deepen our friendship and love for each other.

I had to work late tonight, so we are celebrating our anniversary on Saturday evening, when we go to So You Think You Can Dance, which I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo excited for! I absolutely love that show and can't believe we are actually going to see the dancers LIVE!!!!
Adam forgot he bought the tickets to SYTYCD, and decided to spoil me rotten by getting me a Nintendo Wii!!!! I really wanted to set it up tonight and play, but I am showing some self control and am going to wait until we get to the new house before I put it together...mainly because I wouldn't get anything done if I set it up tonight! His gift should be arriving soon, the first installment of his "Beer of the Month" club!

Here's to a great year and many more to come...now it's time to go snuggle with the hubby!

Kitty Came Back!

Yay!!! Tonight Adam and I were bringing some boxes in from the truck when I heard a very faint noise that sounded like a cat meow. I asked Adam to be quiet for a moment because I wasn't sure if I was really hearing what I thought I was hearing. I followed the sound (coming from the bushes in the darkest part of the front of our house) and guess who I found?!? TIGER!!!!

He came home!!! I'm so happy! We gave him lots of loving and he went straight for the food when we brought him in, and water...oh man did he drink a lot of water!

So, the whole family is home and well, and getting ready to move on Saturday!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

My sweet boy, Tiger, has been missing for the past few days. I think he got out when Adam and his parents were moving things out of the old house on Saturday. He hasn't come home yet, and I'm so worried he won't come home before we move. I put food out front, and it was gone when I got home from work today, but I don't know if it's him eating it. I've left the back door open so he can get in if he comes home, and no luck.

Come home Tiger!!! We all miss you and want you home!!!


10 Great/Not Great Thought Tuesday

Surprise, surprise....another TTT focused on house stuff....here we go!

1. We closed on the house last Friday!!! And that is GREAT!

2. Adam and his parents painted a few of the rooms at the new house, and they look GREAT!

3. They also put in new electrical outlets in the bedroom so they aren't icky yellow, but bright white...and they look GREAT!

4. When they turned off the electricity to the master bedroom to redo the outlets, they crossed some wires and now we don't have power in the bedroom, walk-in closet, and bathroom....And that is NOT great.

5. My dad is going to come over and fix it on Thursday....and that is GREAT!

6. The previous owners of our house didn't do any cleaning what-so-ever before they left on Friday...and that is NOT great.

7. I hired a cleaning company to come clean the new house today so I wouldn't have to do it. And that is GREAT!

8. I also hired a carpet cleaning company to come professionally steam clean the carpets in the new house tomorrow so I don't have to do it....and that is GREAT!

9. The two companies are also going to clean the rental house when we are done so I don't have to....and that is GREAT!

10. The two companies are giving us a great deal for both houses...and that is GREAT!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Loan secured!

Adam and I signed all of our loan paperwork for our new house this afternoon!!!!! The only thing we are waiting on now is the ex-husband (well, not really an ex-husband since the sellers weren't married, but did have a common-law marriage) to sign his portion of the documents. Apparently he is quite the stinker and is being difficult. All I know is he better have his stuff done by next Friday when we are scheduled to close or I may go up to Washington myself and kick his butt!

So our next step is to finish up (or rather really start) packing everything at the old place to make moving day easier.

Yay!!!!!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Pictures of the house

Since the link to the listing is no longer working, here are pictures of our new house!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Jason and Crystal's Wedding - The Visual

I had a request to post pictures from Jason and Crystal's wedding...the best way to do it is with a slide show, so here we go!!!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

3 Confession Thursday

1. A good friend of mine joined Weight Watchers today and it inspired me to stop pretending to be on the weight-loss-train and actually get on! I'm going to start using the Weight Watchers website that I've been paying for.

2. I made this decision after I had ice cream and salami (not together) for dinner.

3. I have forgotten my old mantra, "Don't give up what you want the most for what you want in the moment." I want to lose weight and be healthy the most, I don't want to give it up for the delicious but fattening food that beckons me.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

10 House Thoughts

1. Adam is freaking out about the whole "We're buying a house and closing in 16 days and I don't know if our funding is taken care of" thing...

2. I'm surprisingly calm about the financial part of the whole thing...

3. Because when I've talked with the Mortgage company we're going through, they've told me we're completely on track and good to go.

3. I still haven't done much packing...

4. I'm starting to worry about that part of the whole "We're buying a house and closing in 16 days and haven't packed more than 4 boxes" thing.

5. Our landlord still hasn't responded to our letter telling him we are giving our notice...

6. Which worries me that he's going to cause us some problems with getting out of our lease...

7. Even though the wording says we can give 30 days at any time without having to pay forthe rest of our lease.

8. We've decided we're going to paint our master bedroom in the new house...

9. We have not decided what color to paint it.

10. I can't believe we are closing on our house in 16 days!!!!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Ten Thought Tuesday

1. We chose our lender for our house today. Another step closer!

2. I found out our official closing date is September 26!

3. Holy smokes that's super soon!!!

4. Oh my...I just realized I have an entire house I have to pack before then!

5. Tarot just ran into the living room carrying the kitties' big tiger they like to play with...the thing is bigger than her and she RUNNING with it in her mouth!

6. I should get some organizing done tonight on my work laptop, but there are so many other things I need to get done.

7. But I have so many other things I could be doing tonight...

8. Like packing my house!

9. I've got to get my nails done soon. They are looking pretty bad. Probably won't happen tonight, though.

10. Since I'll be packing my house!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Jason's Wedding

Was amazing! Adam and I got in on Wednesday, August 20, and were the first ones to arrive. It was fun to hang out with Jason and Crystal before the madness began. We had KFC and lots of beer!

Thursday, everyone started to arrive, friends, family, everyone! Auntie Deb arrived first, then some of Jason's friends. We all took a trip to Walmart to shop for the afternoon's bbq. It was so much fun hanging out with the guys! And it was really fun watching Auntie Deb hang out with them too, since they are all like her other kids. Jas made us some great burgers, the grandparents joined us, and my mom, dad and Sam finally got there! Good food, good booze, good company!

Friday we really started getting down to wedding business. We had the rehearsal dinner at an excellent restaurant called "Hot Rod Cafe." Afterwards, all the kids went out to The Shanty, a local bar. We all had a rip roaring drunk time, closing the bar down!

Saturday was wedding day. The place was beautiful...a nice little location in the woods, which is perfect for Jas and Crystal. The ceremony was beautiful, if I do say so myself! I cried a lot, but amazingly, everyone said they couldn't tell from my voice, which is good. The reception was so much fun...we ate great food, danced to good music, had great cake. We all decorated their truck with balloons, streamers and, of course, shoe polish on the windows! After Jas and Crystal drove off, we all broke down the wedding site and met at Walmart so we could give the newlyweds some time to, you know! We decided to meet at The Shanty again for karaoke, and once again, shut down the bar! A very good time was had by all, and the bride and groom joined us for the fun.

Adam and I flew home on Sunday, a bit hung over, but glad to be back. The kitties were happy to see us. We had about 4 hours before we could pick up the puppies, so the cats came and laid with me the whole time. When we picked up the puppies, they ran to us and just about turned themselves inside out with excitement. Life definitely didn't slow down as the next day we found our house!

So, that's the wedding wrap-up...sorry it's a little late!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Home Sweet Home!!!!

They accepted our offer!!! We start inspections next week and should be able to close escrow within the month of September....just in time to move in for our 3 year wedding anniversary! We are sooooooooo excited!!!

We are going to start packing this weekend...well, not so much packing as going through what we already have in the garage that either needs to be donated, tossed, or repacked. Once we have that cleaned up and have surveyed what kind of packing materials we have left from when we moved in to our current house, we'll start going through the house room by room sorting through everything so we can, again, decide what to keep, what to toss and what to donate.

We're giving 60 days notice at our rental so we have enough time after we close our house to do it slow and RIGHT so we don't pack and haul all sorts of crap we don't need like we have ever other time. Also, it will give us enough time to clean both houses so we 1. move into an awesome, new, clean house and 2. get our security deposit back from the rental.

What an awesome way to start a three day weekend!!!! Hope you all have a good one like I will!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Home Sweet Home?

So, Adam and I have been looking to buy a house for awhile and started actually going to view houses with our agent. Well, last night we found "the house" and put an offer on it today! The couple who owns it is getting divorced and need to liquidate their assets. I took some pictures of the house, and then realized they are the same pictures that are here.

Take a look and let me know what you all think! We're super excited!!!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

10 Thought Tuesday

1. I was up most of the night with a tummy ache.

2. Which aided my decision to skip the gym this morning because I was exhausted.

3. Today was a somewhat unmotivational day at work. I'm taking a half day tomorrow and then I'll be out for the rest of the week for my cousin's wedding.

4. I bought a cute little nightie today. I'm tired of sleeping in tank tops and my new nightie is soft and comfy.

5. I also bought another pair of shoes today....I'm planning on not telling Adam.

6. Today's weather has been SO nice! At one point, I was actually chilled a little bit.

7. What am I going to make for dinner tonight? We have meals in the freezer, but I'm just not sure what sounds good.

8. I have over 40 hours of Olympics on my DVR...I'm slightly overwhelmed by this and have no idea when I'm going to get to it...and by the time I do get to it, I'll probably have another 40 hours to watch on top of the original.

9. I got my minister's certificate in the mail today...which is good since I think I need it to perform my cousin's wedding.

10. I really don't feel like packing tonight for our trip to Idaho, but I have to get it done tonight since we're leaving tomorrow!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Rude People

Today I stopped in on a few businesses in my territory to introduce myself and find out what kind of marketing/advertising they do and discuss possible solutions that RGJ can offer. Instead of politely telling me they weren't interested, they decided to be incredibly rude about it.

Part of being a sales person is to have a thick skin, so I don't take it personally when people tell me they aren't interested. In fact, I appreciate them not wasting my time by leading me on. It doesn't even bother me or hurt my feelings that these people were rude. However, as a CONSUMER, I don't plan on doing business with these people. It's too bad, too, since they carry awesome products and I'm sure I would have spent a good deal of money with them over the next few years. I don't do business with rude people, and I don't recommend rude businesses to my friends and family...quite the opposite, actually.

So, if you are a business owner, here is some advice...It's good to remember that sales people:

1. are consumers, too, and can be your best customer. I have lunch at a client's restaurant several times a week because their food is amazing, I like patronizing local, non-chain restaurants/businesses, and she and her husband are so incredibly nice.

2. know a lot of people and can bring in business. Because my client and her husband are so incredibly nice (and their food is so dang good), I recommend them to EVERYONE! I've taken their food to business lunches, and have recommended their catering services to friends.

3. know a lot of people and can discourage business. Sales people get around and meet A LOT of people, especially in a small town. If you have horrible service, I guarantee I'm going to discourage everyone I know from spending their hard-earned money with you.

4. are knocking on the doors of your competitors. If they are polite, whether they say "no thanks" or "I'm listening," guess who I'm going to choose to do my business with? That's right, your competition.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

3 Confession Thursday

1. I hate Advertising Agencies. It feels like all the one's I have worked with never have the client's best interest at heart. They take their money and stick it in the first thing that comes along, even if it isn't the best option for them. And when an ad salesperson comes along with a REALLY good program, they won't give that person the time of day because it involves actually working! Lame.

2. Today I got to visit an Alpaca farm. It was soooooooo cool! What neat animals they are. If we already had a house and money to spare, I would totally invest in them.

3. I really dislike people who are sent to help, but have absolutely no interest in helping and show an open disdain for being asked to help. If you can't help, go home and quit wasting our time!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Dehydration...

Last night was an extremely long night. Adam was feeling fine until about 9:30 p.m. Then he started feeling nauseous. We were both really tired so we laid down for bed. In the middle of the night, Adam started throwing up, a lot. He got up several times and each time, threw up. By this morning, he had nothing left in him, and his back was hurting extremely bad from all the heaving.

He was supposed to go on a business trip today to Las Vegas, but that was obviously out of the question. He went to the doctor's and called me at work to let me know they needed to put him on an IV for dehydration and could I please pick him up because he was to tired and weak to drive himself to get the IV done. OF COURSE! I said.

So, he spent two hours hooked up to an IV to get hydrated and then I took him home. He's been resting ever since. He's got to do some more tests tomorrow, and Friday he has a follow up appointment to see what his blood tests from today showed.

Please send happy thoughts of good health Adam's way. As soon as we find out what's going on, I'll let you know.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

10 Thoughts

1. I love my dogs! They are just too cute and make me happy every time I come home to see them.

2. Adam and I are going to look at some houses on Friday in our neighborhood. I'm really excited! There are some nice ones in Sunridge (where we live) and in Jacks Valley (close by) that we have on our list. We also have some in South Carson, Middle Carson, and North West Carson....basically, all of Carson!

3. My friend had talked about coming up to visit us this weekend, and when I talked with her today, she said she can't come up this weekend. I'm sad because it's been awhile since we've had some time to really hang out and I was looking forward to it.

4. The lovely parking meter maid in Downtown Carson decided to grace my vehicle with a parking ticket for being parked in the same spot for over two hours. Luckily it was only $15. It also made me realize that our 2009 registration tag is no longer on our car! One of three things could have happened...1. we didn't really register (not likely) 2. It came off in the many car washes I've gone through since I started my new job (possible) 3. Someone TOOK it off our truck (possible as well). Hopefully we'll be able to get it replaced without spending a fortune.

5. Adam and I are leaving for Idaho one week from tomorrow for my cousin's wedding! I can't believe how quickly it got here!!! I have to finalize my part of the ceremony by tomorrow....yikes!

6. We started doing the at home version of Dream Dinners where we prep several meals all at once an then freeze them until we are ready to eat them. Last night we had our first one, Stir Fry Steak Verde! Wow, was it tasty!!! Tonight we are having Baked Chicken with Apples and Leeks. I'll let you know how it turns out!

7. It is bloody hot in our house! I decided to try to keep the house cool with open windows this afternoon...That was a huge mistake. 86 degrees when I got home! Ick!!!

8. I've been taping the Olympics and have been watching a lot of the events. My favorites so far are swimming, diving, gymnastics and rowing. I'm sure there are a ton more to come since things have just gotten started.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Tagged!

I got tagged by Katrina!! Here I go!

8 Things I Want To Accomplish Before I Die - In no particular order

1. Have children and raise them to be successful adults...of course with kids of their own that I can spoil rotten.

2. Travel abroad, specifically to Greece, Germany (again), France, England, Ireland.

3. Earn my Master's degree...in what, I'm not sure yet.

4. Get fit and healthy again, and stay that way!

5. Buy a house that is big enough to comfortably accomodate Adam, me, our kids and all our crazy animals.

6. Be a successful business woman so I can retire early.

7. Write a book...most likely a historical fiction from the Elizabethan period.

8. Live happily ever after!

I'm tagging Kippy!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

3 Confession Thursday

1. I'm secretly sabotaging my good work at the gym by eating at Cafe Girasole during lunch. AMAZING sandwiches!! They are located right next to Wasabi's, if anyone is interested. Tell them I sent you to "Minden's best kept secret!" www.cafe-girasole.com

2. I've been watching a lot of Sex In The City lately. It makes me miss my girls, Gwen and Katie, and our girl nights where we'd make dinner, have cocktails and watch this show and gab about life.

3. My cousin is getting married in two weeks, I'm officiating the ceremony, and I haven't started working on it yet! It should be at the top of my priority list, but somehow at the end of the day, it ends up at the bottom of the list....

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

10 Thought Tuesday

So, as I mentioned last week, my friend does this on Tuesdays. I did it last Thursday, but I figure I probably have enough to do it again today, freeing me up to do the actual Three Confession thingy on Thursday.

Here we go...

1. I walked into the house tonight to the amazing smell of pulled pork!

2. I really didn't want to clean the house up tonight, but because we have company coming over, I figured it would be a good idea.

3. My dogs are running around the house chasing each other. It's actually really cute, Tarot has Jack's ducky and is playing keep away with it.

4. The 4 on my computer sticks a little bit, making it so I have to type it a few times to make it stick.

5. I sold some ads today...I love it when I do that! It's that whole instant gratification thing that really does it for me!

6. Adam made the most amazing ice cream this weekend...Super Chocolate and Mint Chip....mmmmm....it's SOOOOOOOO tasty!

7. Yay! Adam just got home! I love it when he gets home from work.

8. Speaking of amazing ice cream, I just went and snuck a taste of the Mint Chip ice cream...WOW!

9. I got 4 magazines in the mail today. Shape (x2, sadly), Bead Style, and Motorcycle Product News, which I used to get when I was at the magazine. I should probably cancel all of my motorcycle trade pub subscriptions...I don't read them any more.

10. I used 7 exclamation points in this whole post, and I even went back and took 3 out. I think I have an exclamation infatuation!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

10 Thought Thursday

I have a friend that does this on Tuesday, but felt like I'd try it for today.

1. I really love my new job and how busy it keeps me.

2. I also love the fact that South Lake Tahoe is in my territory....I got to spend the whole afternoon there!

3. I really need to make a point of packing a lunch each day so I 1. don't gain a ton of weight from eating out each day and 2. don't spend a ton of money from eating out each day!

4. I love juicy summertime fruit! Costco had some awesome looking nectarines today, so I bought a flat. I also got mango and blueberries.

5. My mom and dad have been doing these pre-assembled meals they get at www.savingdinner.com. It's this really cool program (like Dream Dinners, but you do it at home)
where you purchase menus that include recipes, shopping list, pre-assemble instructions and cooking instructions. You prep the five meals in a few hours and freeze the ingrediants until you are ready to use them, then you have an already put together meal that you cook really quick. All of the prep work is done making dinner easy. I'm gonna try it out.

6. I like it when Adam cooks dinner and I don't have to, like he did tonight!

7. Being super busy is exhausting...I'm ready for bed and it's 7 p.m.

8. I am in a Peddler's fair this weekend, and while it's fun, it's a lot of work.

9. Because I'm in a Peddler's fair this weekend, I won't get to do any relaxing until NEXT weekend.

10. I have to leave soon to go over to my mom and dad's to help my mom pack her car for the Peddler's fair this weekend, and I really just want to stay home and go to sleep!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Busy busy busy!!

Holy smokes I've been a busy girl! This is the fourth week at my new job and I've fully submersed myself in it. I absolutely love what I'm doing and my days are just flying by!

Originally when I started, I was going to handle Territory 12, which is northeast Carson, Dayton, Virginia City and Washoe Valley. It's a great territory and there is a lot of great business to be done. However...one of my co-workers is leaving the company to go sell TV ads for Fox TV, which will leave her territory open, Territory 18. After discussing it with my other co-workers and sales manager, I will take over her territory (officially) next week. What I really love about this new territory is that is Douglas County, which includes the very south part of Carson City where I live, Minden, Gardnerville, Genoa, Topaz Lake and South Lake Tahoe. It's a totally awesome territory, and I know a lot of the companies in Carson, Minden and Gardnerville since I have lived/worked in that area for the past three years.

So, I've been working Territory 12 this week and last to get some new businesses to run (I got 8!), and I've also been going around with my co-worker to introduce myself to her accounts. And to make life even more interesting, my other co-worker has been out of the office due to back issues (and will most likely need surgery), so I've been working in his territory as well to make sure we stay on top of reaching our monthly goals! Crazy times! After this week, I'll be the only sales person in the office until Troy recovers from everything he's going through...definitely busy, but I LOVE it!

We went camping last weekend at Sly Park with some friends. It was so much fun! The dogs had a good time, too. Jack swam and swam and swam. He ran to the water, jumped in and then swam in circles, only taking short breaks when we forced him to! Needless to say, he slept very well! Tarot is not crazy about swimming. She went in a few times, but with a lot of coaxing, and only stayed in the water when I was carrying her around! We mainly brought her into the water so we could clean her off since she was soooooo dusty.

This weekend I'll be in the Bay Area for the Martinez Peddler's Fair to sell jewelry with my mom and aunt. I'm hoping this will be a good money maker for us, since I still owe my mom for some of our business' overhead. It's going to be a busy weekend, whether we make money or not. I think after this weekend I'll have a few weeks to relax before my cousin's wedding, which will be really nice!

I hope everyone is having a great week! I'll try to update this again soon, but I'm not going to make any promises!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Loving the job

I've been in the Carson office (my "home base") for almost a week now, and I'm loving it! The team I work with - two other sales executive and an account manager (our right-hand, go-to person in the office) - all really get along well. They are all great people and have made me feel extremely welcome. They have also been amazing at answering all of my questions and even sending me stuff to help me organize and get me on track.

I've met with some of my clients this week and will be making many more appointments for next week and the weeks to come. I've received some great advice on how to make a good impression on my clients and new accounts from other new sales executives. Next week I'll be in complete control of my appointments and getting things going...And I can't wait to hit the ground running full steam ahead!

One thing though...I'm EXHAUSTED!!!! My brain has reached maximum-plus-some capacity for the day. I'm pretty sure I will be down for the count soon enough to recharge for tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a great week just like me!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Sweet weekend

Sam, my 13 year old brother, spent the majority of this weekend with us. We had a lot of fun. Friday we rented a bunch of movies and had Papa Murphy pizza. It was nice to veg out after my first full week at work.

Yesterday we took Sam to see Hellboy II. It was actually pretty entertaining! We had rented Hellboy I for Friday night so we'd know what the premise of the movie was. The first one was...eh, okay. But Hellboy II was pretty good. After that, we came back to the house and did some more relaxing.

Today I took Sam to the Minden Swim Center. He joined the swim team about 3 weeks ago and has been loving it. When we got there, he challenged me to a race...I totally won, not once, but three times! Of course, I'm sure it won't take too much longer of 4 day a week practices for him to be able to kick my butt! Dad met us there a little later and we went down the water slides for a little bit and then played H-O-R-S-E for awhile before laying out in the sun. After we were done hanging at the pool, I went home and Adam and got our grocery shopping for the week done. Now we're getting ready to grill up some steaks for dinner.

Overall, a very relaxing weekend with the fam! I'm ready for tomorrow, though. It'll be my first day out in my territory. Hope you all had a nice relaxing weekend and have a great week, too!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Second day was great!

This is just a quicky...Second day of my new job was great! I was busy for the majority of the day, which was really nice. Tomorrow I'll have a few more training meetings and Thursday I'll actually get to go out in the field to "shadow" one of the other Sales Reps. I'll finish the week up with more training on Friday, then next week I'll be in the Carson office, which is the office I'll work in normally, and will go with the Regional Sales Manager to meet with my accounts. I'm really excited to finish up this week and really get to work.

I hope everyone else is having a good week, and have a happy hump day tomorrow!

Monday, July 7, 2008

First day of work and the hubby's birthday!

Today is Adam's 28th birthday! Even though today is the actual day, we've been celebrating pretty much since Thursday. Adam's brother, Casey, flew in from Washington, D.C. late Wednesday evening for the occasion. Thursday we hung out at my in-laws' house and bbqed pork chops and played card and dice games.

Friday, everyone came over to our house for 4th of July fun. Adam made homemade pizza and we played Mexican Train, a really fun dominoes game. Casey stayed at our house Friday night, and we stayed up until about 1a.m. playing Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Here II. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Casey...it's been about 7 months since we've last seen him.

Saturday, Doug and Sally (my in-laws) came over for brunch. I made coffee cake, which was delish! Then we played more Mexican Train...Doug lost horribly the night before and wanted to redeem himself...which he definitely did! I skunked everyone Friday, and on Saturday, Doug kicked all our butts, and I was in last place by A LOT! I also gave Adam his birthday present...a hammock! We already had the eyelets on the pillars on our patio, so I thought it was the perfect gift. Well, it would have been if 1. the eyelets were the right size and 2. the pillars were cemented into the ground or actually connected to something. Adam set it up and went to lay down and one of the pillars almost came tumbling down, which would have collapsed the entire pergola! So now we'll have to buy a base to hang the hammock from because the pillars that seemed to be perfect for a hammock have now been proved otherwise....oh well!

Saturday night, after games and hammock fun, we went to Q's for dinner. They have some amazing bbq!!! Adam and I always get the tri-tip sandwich, and Doug and Sally always get the pulled pork sandwich. After dinner, Doug, Sally and Casey went back to Reno and Adam and I went to Lowes to get some chicken wire to set up a dog run for our pups. We finished off our project and then played some Guitar Hero II before heading off for bed.

Sunday Adam and I went to Reno to hang out with the family some more. We ended up going bowling at one of the casinos, then we ate at the Atlantis buffet. So much food and so super tasty! After eating until our tummies bulged out, we played some table black jack. The house took us for all we put down! We finished out the night by playing some slots, where Adam recovered a tiny bit of our losses! After that, Adam and I went home so I could get ready for my first day of work!

Which brings me to today! Today was my first day at my new job. It was the typical first day...not a whole lot to do, some training, but not as much as I was hoping for. I'll start in my territory next week, which is what I am really looking forward to. I should be getting my laptop soon, which will help with my training this week because I'll be able to look through my accounts and see who's doing what and so on. I'm excited that I started and ready to get into some real action soon! When I got home from work tonight, Doug, Sally and Casey were already at our house and Adam's birthday dinner was in the oven! We had lasagna, garlic bread and salad...mmmm it was tasty! The fam left pretty soon after dinner, so Adam and I have been able to relax and have some time just the two of us...and that's how I was able to finish not one but TWO posts tonight!! If you didn't see, I posted a blog about the wedding I went to last weekend with lots of pictures!

I hope everyone else had a great weekend like me and a good rest of the week!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Finally, wedding photos!

Sorry it's been awhile since I last blogged. I know I promised pictures from the wedding I was in last weekend, but that was before I took 250 pictures!!! I've been sorting through them all and have come up with some of my favorites from the weekend, which are below.

To recap, one of my best friends from college got married last weekend. I was honored to be one of her bridesmaids and to be part of such a beautiful day. She was absolutely STUNNING! I flew into San Diego Saturday morning and hung out with the Groom, Neil, and his family for a little bit. Such nice people! Then he took me to the Bride, Gwen, and I jumped into helping her family prepare food for the "After Wedding Brunch" that they were hosting on Monday. I can proudly say I am now the queen of peeling and cutting carrots! As friends and family started arriving into town, they all came over to Gwen's mom and dad's house for a catered lunch. We hung out and laughed, talked, and had a great time! We did a practice makeup run on Gwen, and then Katie, another bridesmaid and very good friend of mine, and Gwen's sister, Jen, went out for a "last night as a non-married woman" drink, then brought back to her parents house so she could sleep in the bedroom she grew up in one last time. After that, Katie and I went to the airport to pick up her boyfriend, Dan, who was flying in from New York. The three of us went back to our hotel suite and crashed, since it was about 1:30 when we got back!

Sunday the three of us went down for the hotel breakfast and ran into all of Gwen's aunts, uncles, and her grandma. We joined them and had a great time chatting and telling stories about Gwennie. Then it was time to go upstairs and get ready for the wedding! We got to the wedding site, the Wild Animal Park, around 1:30p.m. and met up with Gwen, Jen, and Emily (another bridesmaid, who is awesome!). I took a ton of pictures of Gwen getting her hair and make up done. After we were all ready, the photographer took us all over the park for pictures. When it was wedding time, a golf cart drove us on our own personal tour of the park. That was really fun and other park guests congratulated Gwen during our tour. The wedding was beautiful, their vows were so sweet...I cried, of course! In fact, I cried a lot...when she was getting ready, during the wedding, during their first dance, during my toast and everyone elses!

After the ceremony, we took our pictures, then went to the reception. Everyone had a blast at the reception, the food was amazing, the music fun...There were even two animal shows for us all to watch! The party lasted until about 11p.m., then we went back to our hotel. We invited some of our friends over, with the intent to keep the party going, but we didn't get there until 11:45 and were all exhausted by that point. We sat and talked in our suite and then our friends left around 12:30.

Monday we headed back over to Gwen's parent's house for the brunch. It was fun to see the newlyweds and talk about what a great wedding it was. I have a few friends in San Diego that attended the brunch, so when it was over, I hung out at their house for a few hours before my flight home. It was nice to relax with them and catch up. When Adam picked me up at the airport, he had the dogs with him, too, and I got lots of excited puppy kisses to welcome me home! So, that was last weekend! I'll have another post soon about this weekend....until then, enjoy the wedding photos!

Gwen's amazing dress.
Hair and Make Up
Gwen's sister, Jen, did her make up.
A toast to the bride!

Gorgeous hair!
Gwen's aunts, grandma and mom.
Me!
The Bride's and Maid of Honor's flowers
The one and only Katie Woodside.Lacing up the Bride.
The only formal picture I took after the wedding....kinda forgot I had my camera! This is Neil's family.
During the reception, we were treated to two animal shows. The first one was with this porcupine, and the second was with an anteater.
Katie and our good friend Dave on the dance floor.
Dave and I
Dennis and Kate
We definitely took advantage of the "cocktail" hour....we stocked up on drinks since we only had an hour!
The girls: Julianne, Erin, me and Kate.The beautiful bride and her childhood friend, Em.
The cakes were amazing! The flavors were lemon, chocolate, strawberry and caramel. YUM!
Cutting the cake.
Back to dancing!!
Gwen and her nephew, HaydenGwennie and me
The happy couple!
My good friend, Julianne, and her new beau, Jason.
Kate and I
Katie and her fabulous boyfriend, Dan.
There was this awesome bronze rhino...of course we had to ride on it! Erin, me, Julianne and Kate.
This one is the "Bridesmaid Rhino Ride"

 
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