2011

I was watching the news and the sound clip was about how some people couldn't wait to say goodbye to the year. But I didn't hate 2011, not at all.  I moved to North Carolina, I did a marathon, I have another dog, I got into grad school, and I got engaged (Hi honey! Highlight of my year!).  So if that's my 2011, I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring!

Happy New Year!

Gift with Purchase

Over thanksgiving weekend I made chili for dinner the night before to feed the masses. It was super easy what with just browning the meat, throwing all the ingredients into the crock pot and letting it simmer for 6-8 hours.  I've never had my own crock pot, but Mike does.  And while when I moved in stuff became "ours," we still know who came with what.

So when my parents arrived, they saw the chili simmering on the kitchen island.  And my mom, having shared a kitchen with me, knew that I didn't have one. So she says to me:

mom: I didn't think you had a crock pot Sarah?
me: I don't. It came with the boy!

Hour Glass

I got a confirmation call from the company we're ordering the bridesmaid dresses from saying they had recieved the order and everything looked good. So, woo hoo on that!

Sort of by coincidence I found the company (and by coincidence I mean I very deliberately clicked on a link that said "bridesmaid dresses they will actually love.") and chose them because they offer a lot of variety in their dresses, so that everyone could find something they look best in. After all, with five different wonderful women in the party, there's bound to be five different body types as well. Though, in my group of friends, we're sort of known for being somewhat top heavy. And even though I already have my dress, that didn't stop me from looking through the whole page of thumbnails and picking out my favorites too.

There was this one dress that I thought was super cute, and it was similar to the one style that all the ladies liked. Then I read the dress description:
"This dress is best suited for those with A and B cups."
me: Well, there goes my bridal party!

Elves

Because I work retail, I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to get much time off for Christmas.  At least, enough time to travel to Kentucky.  So it's a quiet Christmas of just me and Mike and our girls this year.  Well, quiet enough when Mike isn't cursing at his video game.  However, I did get Christmas Eve off.  And that happened to be the last home game of my Carolina Panthers, so Mike got me tickets to the game for Christmas.

If you had told me 5 years ago, maybe even 3, that I would receive, let alone be the one asking for football tickets I would have laughed at you.  And had you told me that I would be so excited and have a blast at the game I would have laughed even harder.  And yes, Mike knows how lucky he is that he found a woman who likes football.  And to make the Christmas gift even better, he got us seats 9 rows from the field. I know! 

And, because what kind of holiday would it be if I didn't put my dogs in some sort of costume, I clearly ignored my rational side and made each of them wear the Santa suit. And snapped pictures. So without further ado, I give you my helper elves:   

Naughty list: Bailey still hates the Santa suit.
(and is way protective of her stocking)

And:

Nice list: Jules was much more willing to don the suit.
(there were treat bribes involved)

A grad school letter, a super duper fun football game, and my two elves.  Christmas 2011 has been pretty good!

Merry Christmas! 

Jack of all trades, Master of none

Except. That I am going to get my masters!

My grad school letter came yesterday, finally!  After 3 phone calls and a billion nerves wasted, I was told that a decision had finally been made.  I just had to wait for the letter since they couldn't tell me over the phone.  I honestly wasn't expecting it to come after the new year with most of the staff at the school off for the holidays, but I was oddly settled and ok with waiting since I knew the decision had been made.

The letter came yesterday.  And I'm in!

Provisionally, but I'm still in.  And I'm classified as out of state too.  But I'm still in.  Mike and I will take a closer look at everything and figure out the logistics of everything soon.  What I may end up doing is deferring a semester so my residency status can change. I may go part time for a little and take a little longer to get the degree.  But we'll figure that out soon enough. Right now, I'm just going to enjoy that I'm in, and have pride knowing that I will get my masters.

Pretty good Christmas gift!

Football boyfriends

This year I'm in 3 fantasy football leagues, which includes my ladies league that's in it's 5th year. In two of those leagues, I have Aaron Rodgers, who has been bad ass this year and I looooooove him. But in my other league I have Drew Brees, who I have always loved.  Not that I've ever had him until this year, mind you. But I have loved him since our first year of fantasy football. And here's why.

In our first year it was a tight game between me and Jeanne. By Monday afternoon I was winning by 5 points, but all my players had played.  Jeanne has Drew Brees (pre Saints maybe?) in the Monday night game.  Not being that into football yet, I figured I had this game lost and went to bed.  Jeanne however, stayed up to watch the game and to watch her victory.

That particular game Brees had one of his worst games, getting sacked a few times and throwing a few interceptions, and he only scored Jeanne 3 something points in fantasy football, thus gaining me another win.

The next days smack talk:
jeanne: Drew Brees is dead to me.
me: I love Drew Brees! 

Twinkle Twinkle

Mike and I had on Jeopardy like we normally do during dinner.
The clue: bla bla something this little star is something
me and mike: Twinkle?

Something Worth Praying For

Part of what annoys me about Tebow is that constant praying.  I'm not bashing his faith, but praying to win a football game is such a trivial matter.  Like throwing yet another erratic pass is going to help the world.   

I'm not really one for praying these days. I've never had a very strong faith base and religion hasn't ever been a huge guide post for me. And to be completely honest, I lost a lot of the little faith that I had when my dad was officially diagnosed. 

Dementia is the most heartbreaking thing.  Everything about it is just so hard.  Slowly loosing someone over time, putting you in a revolving, yet never ending stage of grief.  The helplessness of knowing you can't do anything.  There are drugs out there that slow down the disease, and those are wonderful.  But there's still nothing out there that can repair the damage or that would cure it.

Until soonish.  Because this super pill could be a real possibility. Something that would fix memories and heal brains.  Something to hope for, in a disease that has no hope. This pill, if possible, is worth praying for.

What's In A Name?

This weekend my sister walked at her masters graduation (woot!).  As they read off all 4 of her names, (first, middle, maiden and married) it reminded me of the conversation that I had with dr soc after he saw my full name at my graduation last year.

mike: Your middle name is Anna?
me: Yeah...
mike: Oh. I thought it was Ann.
me: Nope. It's Anna. Pretty sure of that.
mike: Yeah, yeah that is something you would know wouldn't you.

Crafty

So, get this. Flowers? Are expensive. And totally not worth the money in my opinion.  I know they matter to some people and to each their own, but me? Not so much.

I finally contacted some florist for the wedding and was told that for a wedding my size, flowers would cost somewhere between $2000 - $3000, which to me, seems ridiculous.  Like the flowers will be the detail everyone will talk about, let alone remember. (We're saving that for the grooms cake) I'm not trying to belittle anyone's work, even though that's what it sounds like.  Florist have a skill set that I don't have and I'm glad to hand over the reigns to them.  But I don't want to sink a ton of money into something that I doesn't matter to me.

I don't want to go all DIY on the wedding, but it was looking like I may have since budget was the main driving force on this part.  But with some sleuthing around on the internet and a sketch pad, I figured out what to do.  I'll still use a florist for the people flowers, but I can make the rest of the decorations.  I have the time, I have the skill set, and, most importantly, I have the internet and Martha Stewart* weddings has everything online.

*Oh she most definitely still terrifies me. But like a moth to a flame I flocked.  She's sorta like heroin, only more legal and less injecting-y.

Smart Appliances

me: Let's take the dogs for a w-a-l-k.
mike: Sure. But let me stop the dryer before we go.
me: Why?
mike: You should never run the dryer when you aren't in the house.
me: What? I've never heard that before.
mike: It can start a fire when you're not home.
me: Well, here's my question. How does the dryer know if we're home or not?
mike: --sigh--

Vaniety sizing

--Mike was trying on coats*--
me: That one fits really well on you. --I look at the size tag-- Oh, it's medium.  Do you want to try on the large to see how it fits?
mike: Sure --tries on the large-- Hmm, are the shoulders off on this one?
me: They do seem a little to wide for you. I think the medium looked better.
mike: Ok, cool, we'll go with the medium.
me: Can I just say, how much that I appreciate that you have no problems with a medium and don't have a Napoleon complex where you think that by not wearing a large you are less of a man?
mike: Uh, ok. The medium looks better, why wouldn't I get it? 
me: I'm just saying. I mean it's really just vanity sizing in male/reverse form.
mike: Vanity sizing?
me: Yeah, women buying smaller sizes because it makes you feel better. I do it. For example, I'll try on a 4 and a 2, and there may be no difference whatsoever in how they they look on me, but I will without fail buy that 2 because it is a 2 and not a 4.** So for guys it's buying a bigger size because they feel more manly in one.
mike: That's stupid.
me: I know. --Sigh-- Don't judge me.

*It's his Christmas present that he already wore. The practical side of me says he should wear it now since the point of a coat is to wear it. But the holiday side of me says he has to wait until Christmas!
** Sigh, I know. The plight of being small.

Grey or Gray? Either Way, It's Not My Favorite Color

Apparently being too terrified to get the mail and doing nothing but worrying about getting into grad school was too much for Mike to handle.  So he made me call the grad school for my admission status this morning since classes start in a month.

I was right to be worried.

Someone in the grad school office looked up my name and the reason the decision was taking so long.  And then I talked to her supervisor to explain things. I was told that a decision has been made, but there are still some questions about my gpa.  So my application has been forwarded to the department head's attention.  Who is in Dallas the rest of this week and not looking at my application. So as of this moment, my admission status is still in a "gray area."

That? Is not a yes. It's not a no either, but... it's not a yes.

This has to be based on my uc gpa. Because my uk cumulative gpa was a 2.9.  I have nothing to show for my 6 years at uc except a low gpa.  And there is nothing I can do to change that.  So now I'm just wishing and hoping and praying that cincinnati hasn't kept me from something I want once again.  Last year when I walked at my graduation, I believed I had finally triumphed over that school.  I had nothing to be embarrassed about anymore. I could hold my head high and say I earned this, and cinci couldn't take anything away from me anymore.  I should have known better.

Needless to say, I'm even more anxious now.  I've said that I would apply again and look into other programs if it didn't happen this year.  But if my gpa is the reason for their hesitancy, there's nothing I can do to change that and this is just going to keep coming up, no matter what school I apply to.  I'm still at the mercy of other people's acceptance.  

Gray sucks.

Statue of Limitations

--while we're registering--
mike: An $80 plate?
me: Yeah, it's a good "couple" gift to give.
mike: Couple gift?
me: A gift you give if you're a couple.  Too much for one person to give, but not quite big enough for it to be a group gift.
mike: oh I see. So the mixer is a group gift, but the fancy platter is something that we give.
me: Exactly.
mike: Still, $80 for a plate.
me: I know. Like the time I gave a $70 something silver platter as a wedding present and signed 2 names to the card.  And I had already spent $30 on her shower gift. Then the couple goes and divorces less than 2 years later.
mike: Ouch.
me: Yep. To be honest, I kinda want my gift back.

Puppies

mike: Brian was trying to distract Kelli from the baby talk for a while there by promising her a puppy. 
me: Ah yes! The distract the wife from the baby talk with a puppy plan.  Foolproof! Which, by the way, that won't work on me.
mike: No? No distracting you getting puppy talk?
me: Nope.
mike: You don't want a puppy?
--I shoot him a knowing look--
me: Hell no. You know Bailey was enough puppy for a lifetime.  Plus I'm way too entrenched in that baby wagon*. No matter when you ask me, puppy or baby, I'm always going to choose the baby.

--fast forward a few days later as we're discussing Christmas presents--

me: You know, when I was in early college, way before I ever actually had a dog and Bailey, I really wanted my future husband to get me a puppy for our first married Christmas.
mike: Really?
me: Yeah, I didn't know any better. Now, you know better than to get me puppy.
mike: Don't worry, I won't get one. The kids however...
me: The kids better not get me a puppy!
mike: You know eventually they're going to want one...
me: No! The kids won't want a puppy!
--mike snorts--
me: sh*t. We're going to get a puppy.

*not anytime soon though. Not because I'm not ready. It's because my wedding dress has no seam allowances whatsoever for a baby bump.

Lurk

I admit that I lurk on some of the knot message boards.
I'm looking for a seamstress in Charlotte and a florist in Lexington, so I've been using the local message boards for vendor reviews and names.  And then of course I go play in the tulle vortex and lurk on the rest of them reading about rsvp drama, and cake nightmares.  Good times yo. I do not, however, post on the message boards.  Partly because I don't care enough, but also because I don't know the lingo.

But there was one time I was tempted to comment.  A bride not familiar with Lexington asked if anyone knew anything about a particular venue.  Oh I knew something alright. I know that until a few years ago, it used to be a funeral home.

It was completely remodeled, they put on an addition and from the pictures on the website it really is very pretty.  But because I went to middle school next door to it, I know what it used to be. For a building located in the historic district, there seems to be bit of history about the facility missing from their site. (Do you blame them though?)  Knowing what I knew about the previous use, I couldn't possibly get over the icky factor of it and didn't even bring it to our table of possible venues, even though it fell within our budget.  Mike was curious* about why I wasn't researching this place more since I had scoured the internets for details for everything else and asked why. So I told him exactly why and that it was bad juju.  He needed no other explanation, agreed with me promptly, and we didn't discuss the venue further.

But just because we didn't want this venue for that particular reason, doesn't mean that I have to ruin it for someone else with my knowledge.**  So I didn't comment.  First because I'm not a commenter on these things, only a lurker.  And second, I'm not an asshole.

*this was in the very early days of wedding planning and he was genuinely curious. And didn't know any better.  He asked a question and was completely overwhelmed when I launched into a 30 minute detailed explanation of god knows what wedding related.  He's since learned that when it comes to the tulle vortex, he is just let me swirl around in there and only pull me out if I start causing some damage.

**I think she ended up booking it.  I lurked back on the message boards and she had posted an update.  Fun times for her!

Calender daze

Hold up, it's December? Where did 2011 go?

Maybe between the moving to North Carolina, exploring a new city, applying for grad school, getting a part time job, getting a dining room table, running my fifth half marathon, finishing my first full marathon, hosting thanksgiving, getting engaged,planning the wedding and registering, I must have missed a few dates here and there on the calender.  

Sheesh! If things keep going at this rate, the next thing you know it'll be time for Mike to retire!