The joys of adulthood

I've been MIA in blogging, I know. I mean, HARDCORE MIA in blogging. As in, I don't remember the last time I made a post.

There have been plenty of things that have come up that I could have posted on... But haven't. It seems I'm to that lovely point of adulthood where I work 40-50+ hours a week... And then I sleep.
DH even jokes about my routine. I get up, have a bowl of cereal, go to work, come home, sometimes take a nap, sometimes read... Go to sleep. Add a shower in there somewhere, maybe add in a run - which is lovely for someone who has a number of long-distance runs coming up in the next 7 months, I know.

Nobody tells you that growing up means working a lot and sleeping instead of having a life, do they? (yes, I just rolled my eyes)

Let's see... I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but I'm kind of lacking pictures at the moment.

• Just over a month ago (on May 4th) I graduated with my M.S. in Community Counseling :D
• On May... 12th I completed the Runway Run. I was either 5th or 6th from the end, but I did it! Other than the Princess Half Marathon, THAT was the event that got me interested in running :D 7 miles in 1:29:06... I admit to being a little miffed that it was 3 second slower than I thought, but I beat my goal of 1:30:00! :D
• On May 29th, the hubs and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary.
• Two days later my hubs celebrated his birthday. No clue why I married him so close to his birthday. Shopping for gifts was a pain! :P
• Two days later was our 6-year dating anniversary. See above, but this time no gifts.
• Aaaaaaaand, good ol' June! On the 6th I apparently was issued my PLMHP (Provisionally Licensed Mental Health Practitioner). Got it in the mail on the 7th, started supervision this week to work toward a license that DOESN'T say "provisional"!
• Lacking running motivation. I think part of it is related to the heat.
• What I lack in running motivation, I make up for doing three walks a week with my clients at work to improve physical (and hopefully mental!) health. Nothing like getting out and getting moving!
• Speaking of which (see also: reminder to self) I've got clients who often pace due to not being able to sit in a group/class for 45 minutes... I need to invite them on the walks
• Today... I realized that I have walked and run at least 280 miles this year. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay less than I'd hoped to have achieved at this point, but let's face it... I'm doing better at this than I ever have. I may not reach my Moon Jogger goal of 2,013 miles this year (and I still have 6.5 months to go!!!), but I'm doing so much better than I EVER thought I would have done as far as running, walking, and overall exercise.
• Speaking of which, my ILs and DH got me registered for the Dopey Challenge as a graduation present!! SO excited. NEVER would I have thought I'd be doing a marathon. But in 7 months time, I will be sticking it out there and trying my best - and doing it. I won't be the first to finish, but it'll be a first for me. And I'm excited.

Random blurb, that I may have mentioned before: After the Boston Marathon events, I had a friend text me to make sure I wasn't there.

Let's face it, there's no way I'm getting a BQ - at least, not any time soon, not without a whole lot more effort and all.

But, HELLO, love and support. I know she doesn't know a person has to qualify, but the feeling was "She thinks I can BQ!" Add that to the other supportive people in my life, and it's all golden.

So, being an adult is busier than I thought, considering I have pretty similar hours the ones I kept in high school - only difference is I'm in bed by 11 usually. Or at 9:30 I'm asleep on the bed until DH pokes me and tells me to get ready for bed. LOL.

Oh, the joys of being an adult.

And yes, I am surprised that it's just barely 9. I thought I was 22, not 222! haha

Words of Wisdom (Teeth)

I had my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. Something I could've lived without, but nothing like the horror stories people kept feeding me with horrible nurses, oral surgeons not listening to people that novocaine won't work on them, that kind of mess.

Although I will say it was kinda weird and creepy because they had wrist clamps for heart rate/pulse monitors, and the cords attached to them (so yay, no sticky stuff!). I was hanging out around 68 or so, and then the oral surgeon walked in and it jumped to about 78.

Nervous much?

I found it rather... Humorous, for lack of a better word, that they told me to come in wearing short sleeves or something that could easily be rolled up past the elbow (for IV sedation)... Yeah, they stuck it in my hand.
The oral surgeon told me that in about two minutes the room would spin.
I only got as far as thinking "Man, my hand feels a little numb..." and then I woke up.

Yeah, I don't know what "room spinning" he was talking about.

I love my MIL. My husband has a bad habit of volunteering her for things and not telling her until a day or two before (or, you know, being "nice" and "volunteering" me for things... We gotta work on his communication! lol??), and she ended up taking me to the dentist AND staying in the waiting room for an hour and a half - all while being on a teleconference that she'd had scheduled.
Not to mention the fact that they actually showed me a video on how to care for my mouth AS I was waking up.

Totally slept through most of it.

And on top of everything else, she changed my bloody gauze, and even made me try to have some milkshake before she made me take my painkiller (nevermind that I didn't need or want the painkiller, she followed instructions and wouldn't let me take it on an empty stomach - and she wiped my coat when I spilled shake and dripped blood on myself).
With a mouth full of clean gauze, I told her I loved her. And that I'd never felt so attractive in my life (sarcasm, of course).

My last run was two nights ago, and ended in enough time that I had a small dish of frozen yogurt, some orange juice... I think I also had my water and vitamins, or something like that... All right before the cutoff of when they told me to not eat before the surgery.
And then waking up around 8, about an hour before the surgery... Needless to say, I was crabby because I was hungry - AND I wasn't allowed to have water or anything.

The more recent dilemma has been deciding what I can and can't do. I woke up at 7, despite having the day off... And I wanted to go for a run.
Of course, I've been pretty clear-headed since the surgery (although a bit groggy yesterday, but still pretty lucid), but I know good and well that DH and the ILs would've been all "NO! NO YOU MAY NOT!!!"
And soI didn't.
I paid credit card bills. I looked up shoes for graduation for about an hour. I spent just over an hour on the phone with my FIL (and yes, the "NO YOU MAY NOT!" was confirmed). And then I was so bored (and maybe a little tired?? But mostly bored) that I slept from just after 11 until about 2, pausing for random phone calls, of course.
I was so bored I was tempted to go into work. Of course, I'm going in at about 5 anyway for an evening training.

And here I am, awake. Very minimal pain, maybe a hint of discomfort here and there... And I've been living on Ensure shakes and pudding - the kind of pudding that has to be refrigerated! (How weird is that??). And a little bit of applesauce.
Which is tasty and all, but it blows because I would go for a burger or a spicy chicken sandwich or something if I could, but I should probably avoid that for the next couple days.

On the subject of nutrition, I've been trying to figure out exactly how to take care of myself post-run for the next week while my mouth heals. I already have a hard time with GI issues post-run, and now it seems like I'm going to be on applesauce, Ensure, pudding (cold pudding! ick), and water for ages.
I feel a bit like an old person with hardcore dietary restrictions or something.

I tried looking it up, and I found all sorts of posts from people who ran a great distance the next day, or couldn't run the next day, who felt fine or had a horrible experience, and I'm just thinking "Well, I could be out and moving around instead of laying here like a lump because I'm not in pain..."

Even better, the experience I got from my other job... They called me yesterday afternoon with an open shift on Saturday - I'd already told one person I wouldn't be able to do Saturday (the day of the NCE), but that I wouldn't be able to come in to fill out the paperwork because I work during the hours the office is open. She told me it was ok.
My phone was on silent yesterday and I dozed through the call. When I saw they'd called I was going to make DH call and let them know I was unavailable for a shift - of course he didn't do that. So I sent them an email.
I called them this morning to make sure they got the message, and was told that when "something like this happens" (meaning my wisdom teeth getting taken out) I need to call and let them know I can't work.
Uh... That's not why I can't work Saturday. I'd already spoken to someone about it - I'm not working Saturday because I paid $300 to take a licensure exam. I feel perfectly fine, and I'm not available for them during the week anyway! I don't know what wisdom teeth Wednesday have to do with work Saturday - AND I was lucid enough to send an email that was grammatically correct and had no spelling errors.

Head, meet wall.

I love them, but I'm waiting to get a call to work graduation day this time around, too. I took the day off when I graduated with my bachelor's, and ended up working an overnight :-/

Which reminds me, if you all didn't notice... I'm graduating! May 4 :)
I rewrote my career counseling essay for my written exam, and I will be graduating! As in, diploma and everything! Now to find the right shoes for graduation. MIL and I will be going after the NCE on Saturday to see what we can find.

That is all. For now ;)

Marching away!

Yes, yes, that was my cheesy way of incorporating into the blog that it is now MARCH of 2013. And what an exciting month it has been so far! It's almost absurd how much excitement has been happening.

Also, as a heads up... My brain is working in bullet points in order to sort everything out. So it's all wrapped up in a nice, neat package... That is hardcore sealed with tape in every opening for security (and a little bit for fun, to watch people try to find a place to pry it open... Yes, I am THAT person at Christmas and on birthdays. No paper is left in tact when I'm around! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ok, random maniacal rant over)

• On March 1st (a week ago today) I took the written portion of the test that I need to pass in order to graduate with my Master's in May. I felt SO much better about that portion than I did about the CPCE (160 multiple choice questions). The sections I got were: Careers, Groups, Consulting, and Multicultural. Pretty much everyone I've talked to feels much better about their 4 essays than they did about the CPCE.
• I believe the scores you can receive are: high pass, pass, low pass, and no pass. You're only allowed one "no pass" for an essay, and if you get one then you have to redo that essay immediately. If you get more than one "no pass", well, you have to retake the entire written portion the next time it's offered - and in this case, that's in the fall. Which would delay graduation until December, if that were to happen. But I'm fairly confident in my essays, the only exception being Careers. Seriously, they talk to us about theories in the majority of our classes, but theories specific to Career Counseling?? They were only in that class. Go figure... But hopefully I'll find out soon!
• On March 4th I met with my internship supervisor and my instructor. It's always great to get compliments; my supervisor occasionally remarks that I'm probably the most prepared intern he's ever had.
• On that same token, one of my goals to work on (and one of my biggest insecurities regarding counseling) is theories. More specifically, working to identify my theoretical orientation, and learning more about it. I have a basic idea of the theory I mesh with best (CBT - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) but often I find it hard to put into words. That and I barely got out of Theories with a B-. Originally I had a C+, but I emailed the professor and he bumped me up. If you get two C's in this program then you get put on academic probation. If you get three C's, you're out of the program. You can appeal your grades and all, but even without emailing my professor, I wasn't feeling especially confident in that particular class.
• On March 5th... Well, I went to class. And I spent time talking with one of the girls who works at my internship about possibly applying for the open position at my internship. She told me to think over it that night, but basically have my decision made the next day, because it's a vacant position they need filled and, while they like me, it'll probably get filled fast.
• That day I also went to our apartment complex office about a 2-bedroom apartment. No, nothing like a baby or anything, so don't get to freaking out! Just more space. A girl can only have so many bookshelves in a 1-bedroom apartment without tripping over stuff, right? And then I went and worked out, and I met someone in the fitness room! It was weird, he was nice AND he actually talked to me! Not usually something I get while in the fitness room, that's for certain.
• March 6th... I spoke to my site supervisor about the open position. She told me to get on the paperwork. I forget what else happened.
• March 7th (this being yesterday) my site supervisor gave me a copy of the application, and told me I basically already had the job but that I still had to fill out the paperwork. And shortly thereafter I had a staff member tell me "welcome aboard". Which reminds me, we have a new staff member on my team. She's beyond nice, and she was excited to hear that I was taking the open position.
• Even better! I got home, saw that there was mail from the department at school... The hubs had to open the letter for me, I was so nervous... But I passed the CPCE! Which means that assuming that the essays turn how how I'd like them to, I'm graduating May 4!!!!!
• Oh, and to top it all off, a book I've been waiting on finally came out. It was 2.5 months past the original deadline, due to author illness, but I'm so excited for it. I finished it tonight, and I'm looking forward to when the final book in the trilogy comes out in April or May.
• If I haven't mentioned... I'm a sucker for romance novels. The book I've been waiting on is called Armando Returns, and it's by Reeni Austin.
• Aaaaaaand today, March 8... I turned in my application for the position, as well as a copy of my resume. AT about 10:15 this morning, less than two hours after I turned everything in, I got a call from HR confirming my acceptance of the position, some super basic information, and that my official start date is Monday! See also: I'm going to be getting PAID to do what I've been doing the last few months. Also, more responsibilities, but no big. Bring it on!
• Unfortunately this means that I'll be switching teams and will be working with different consumers than I've been working with the last 4.5 months. That is, I'll be working with the same people, but less intimately with some and more intimately with others. It's disappointing, but I'll look at it as an opportunity for growth. And I know the new staff on my (original) team loves the team, and that she'll be great.

I have my first full-time job! I feel like such a big girl now! ☺

And that's the previous week of my life in a nutshell, basically. Also, tomorrow I'll (hopefully) be attending a counseling conference on campus. I'm excited, they JUST started offering it free to students. I was going to try to go before they announced that, but now I'll definitely be trying to go.

Comps and more comps

Today is my first day back in the "real world". It's been kind of nice getting back into the swing of things. I woke up a little earlier than usual - probably still used to getting up freakishly early for races??
Then I dozed back off. Of course.
Getting back to internship... It was nice. I'd already known that I was tired and everything, but walking back in and looking at everything with a clear mind and a far more positive attitude... It made me realize just how much I really needed those days off, even if they were full of running events.

Running events that I enjoyed *immensely*. Wouldn't change it all for the world.

Now to get back on track. I've got comps on Friday. Written comps, that is. I'm not particularly worried about passing those. I really feel like I'm going to do well on them, especially if I know my stuff really well for one-to-two sections and can use those sections to expand on everything else. I have four hours for four four sections, in which I have to write one essay for each section.

It's a huge difference from the CPCE. That multiple choice section... It was 160 questions, I prepared as best as I could... And I'm pretty sure I bombed it. I'm really afraid that I didn't pass. I know that people usually feel like they really failed it... But I REALLY feel like I failed it... If I have to retake it, then I can't graduate until I pass it - and the next time it's offered is in the fall. Ugh.
I can tell which sections I didn't really study as much as others. All the same, I've heard people saying that they thought the Encyclopedia of Counseling (AKA this HUGE book most all of us bought to study from) was a waste. A good book, but not the least bit helpful when it came to the CPCE...
But I am SO GLAD that I spent as much time as I could on Theories and Careers. Theories was a beast to take, and it's something that I still struggle with a bit. I lucked out with my grade; I emailed my professor because my grade was coming out to a C+ (2 C's and you're on academic probation, 3 C's and you're kicked out of the program). He bumped me up to a B-, which is the lowest grade I've gotten this whole program. I really lucked out.

Oh, and even better... I found out yesterday that I didn't get accepted into a doctoral program in Human Sciences with a specialization in Child, Youth and Family Studies (yes, without a second comma). Talk about a downer. Came back from this amazing weekend, only to discover that I didn't make it into the program... And it was my last outstanding doctoral application, which means that unless I'm magically accepted into something some time soon, I'm not going on for my doctorate in the fall.
I wouldn't even know what else to apply for. And the whole thing really does suck.

On that note... I got to see Bunheads yesterday? I think it was the season 2 finale. Yay for ending on a positive note. It was a good episode.

Last first day of class!

As far as we know ;)
Tonight is the first night of my Human Development class.

I have a confession to make: I'm that weirdo who has not only printed out the syllabus already (in my program it's not TOO weird! haha) but I've already read it, highlighted some parts, and I've already planned out what my two "additional" projects will be.
The class has a total of three projects/papers, as far as I'm aware. One is a 4-5 page paper on a topic related to life-span development. I'm still contemplating what the subject of this one will be. For example, subjects from the past have included middle age and cosmetic surgery, pros and cons of breastfeeding, and expansion of adolescence into the 20s.
The closest idea I have for a topic at this time is something related to the drinking age. Real original, I know.
The other two projects, which I've already started, involve a 2-3 page summary of our experience, gathering information on a couple topics our professor has put on a list. From there we'll be doing a 15-minute (max) presentation. The plan is that I'll be doing one on the changes newlyweds have experienced since being married. I'll be combining two other topics, since they're so closely related, about the changes that parents have experienced since having a new baby, and what the birthing experience was like. I'll also be including people who have already had kids but now have a new baby, and what kind of adjustment has been taking place.

I really am excited for this. I reach out to my Facebook friends, as I know a lot of them are married/newly married/new parents. So far I've had 8 new parents (specifically new moms) agreeing to participate, 3 moms with new babies (maybe 4, I'm not quite sure), and 7 newlyweds.

What I'm really looking forward to is seeing what questions they'll answer. That is, I know some of them will have more than one section apply to them (newlywed with a new baby, that kind of thing). I'm looking forward to seeing what they consider maybe being a "new" baby or being a "newlywed".
I know that from personal experience I stopped feeling like a newlywed not too long after we got married, mostly because it was back to "real life" - no honeymoon, lots of work to be done, husband taking summer classes, etc. It's like there really wasn't downtime. But we've been married just over a year and a half, and some people would still consider that being "newlyweds" because it's been less than two years.

Apparently there's a show called The Newlywed Game, and the cutoff for eligibility is if you've been married more than 2 years.

Well, we're now up one newlywed and one new mom (or... new baby, already has kids... I'll figure that bit out later)! :D
I almost didn't expect it to come together so quickly/nicely, but I should also know from experience that a lot of women like talking about/remembering their weddings, talking about their birth experiences, etc.

What's especially funny about this whole thing is that I'm not doing a thesis. And getting such enjoyment out of people willing to participate in research makes me wonder just why the heck I'm not doing it! And then I remember that I'd be cranking out a thesis in under 4 months. Not impossible, but I would probably run screaming by the end of it if I procrastinated on it, and I would have to gather a committee, first!

The last first day of my program!

I'm gonna be completely honest, I hope wasn't my last first day of a semester in my education ever. I think I mentioned a while ago that I'm currently waiting on a decision from three doctoral programs... I'd forgotten what it was like to just... Wait. I've been checking on my applications for over a month now, and the status shown online still says the same thing:

Submitted.

It's a relief to see that word when you're concerned about whether or not a test or homework assignment got turned in, but not when you would like it to say "Under Review". I'm hoping to find out something (positive) soon.

Today (that is, Monday, not Tuesday, since it's after midnight) was my first day back at school this semester. And my last first day for my current school program!

The day as a whole started off pretty nicely. Got to my internship, did our morning meeting, ran my group... Then I started on paperwork and I thought I was going to die.

Ok, not that bad, but long story short? Cramps + IUD don't mix. I kinda felt like I was being crushed from the inside.

I should clarify, now that I have the IUD my menstrual cramps don't feel like the usual menstrual cramps. Hell, if I have them I don't notice them. All I notice is THE SQUEEZING FEELING. Yes, all bolded, larger font, and in caps is a start at being sufficient enough to describe it. Note that I said "a start".

I ended up heading home before lunch to hopefully find some food I could stomach so I could take 800 mg of ibuprofen (yes, you read that correctly: 800 mg), and get some sleep with the hope that I wouldn't oversleep my first class back. Or, you know, vomit.

I have to say, nothing makes me feel quite as... Pathetic. Yes, pathetic. Nothing makes me feel quite as pathetic as knowing that not only did I bail early because I had cramps, but that I had to take a doctor-approved dose of a pain reliever (a pain reliever that often isn't recommended for runners, unless I'm mistaken - I've heard both ways) so that I would quit feeling like my uterus was about to be sucked out of me. Which already sounds forceful and gross and agonizing and all that other (not-so-) fun crap.

On the plus side, I restarted a book I'd read (and loved) previously. Any romance novel fans, Jennifer Crusie fans, or... I don't know how to define what Bob Mayer writes, but Bob Mayer fans... If you haven't checked out Agnes and the Hitman, I HIGHLY recommend it. Especially if you've got a good sense of humor. Southern mob, a hot hitman, good food, a dog named Rhett (yes, Rhett, as in Gone With the Wind Rhett), and swingin' frying pans!

Then I got my nap, and all was well.

As far as classes go, I'm really looking forward to this semester. Not just because it's my last semester before I graduate with my M.S. (knock on wood! Comps are next month!), but because so far classes are looking good! Granted, I've only got two classes this semester, and I've only had one. But the benefit to being so far along in my program is that my internship class? There are only 8 of us, if you include our (pretty cool) instructor. My Human Growth class is on Tuesday evenings, so I have yet to experience it, but I hear it'll be pretty easy. Mostly writing. And I took a Human Growth course in undergrad, so here's hoping that helps.

It's interesting, though: There's no required book for this class. The Blackboard shell isn't even online, so I don't know who is in my class, although with some hunting I can figure out how large the class is... It looks like there are 24 people (including myself) in the class.

My internship may very well end up leading to a job. I'm unsure of how I feel about it. On the one hand, I spend 30+ hours a week there, and it would be lovely to be paid for it. On the other hand, I know good and well that not only am I waiting on doctoral decisions, but that if I get accepted I may not be able to work there. Or if I do, it will have to be part-time - which I suppose isn't horrible. Let's be honest, that's not bad at all.

Now on to running!

What, you didn't think I could make it a whole post without talking about this journey, did you? ;)

Ok, ok, I thought I could, but we're getting down to crunch time with the countdown, and I'm just excited to be going to Disney next month! Everything is just under 45 days away. About 44 days and 23.25 hours, actually - according to the runDisney website, of course!

I didn't get a run in tonight like I'd planned. Too easily distracted by the fact that I'm making our running tutus. And they. Will. Be. AMAZING! I'm going to post pictures and everything when I finish them, because the ideas I've got are so exciting!

Another reason I *may* have put off running, in addition to a lack of time and all that fun jazz when compared to everything else going on right now, is probably nerves surrounding my lovely running fuel. Since Friday's awful post-run episode of GI distress, I've gotten a couple other types of running fuel to try. I've long since established that Gatorade is not my friend. I'm adding GU to that list, although I don't know if that includes the GU Chomps, which I'd already purchased. I've bought Hammer Nutrition gels (one in Apple-Cinnamon flavor, one in Tropical), and some Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem Solids in Strawberry-Vanilla, which I don't have to worry about mixing into a drink.

And excitement of excitement, Jelly Belly makes sport jelly beans! Now THOSE I'm excited to try!

There are some other brands of fuel I was looking to try. I've heard from lots of people that Honey Stingers is good, and that Nuun has really been nice for people with sensitive stomachs.

Speaking of supplements, I picked up some Calcium Magnesium Zinc, which my dermatologist suggested when I talked with him about the half a few months ago. He didn't tell me that they'd be so large!

(That's what she said)

Although I don't know what I was expecting. But it certainly wasn't to take 3 a day.

Before I go, I think I've decided on a new name for this blog. I'm thinking it's going to go from "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" to "A Runner in the Making". But it's been over a year so naturally I've grown attached to the current title of this blog, even though I don't dance even half as much as I used to. Not even close. I'm lucky if I'm gettin' down in front of the bathroom mirror nowadays.

Well, I've rambled on quite enough for the night. It's bedtime. Toodles!

"We built this city on rock and roll!"

I must say, the last 24 hours have been extraordinarily good to me. I've been rocking out to Rock of Ages since I did my hair last night, hence the post title.

I relaxed my hair last night... Got it all nice for the hubs's graduation tomorrow! Now I can comb my hair without wanting to cry!! And I managed to come away with only one burn that doesn't really bother me, which is always nice when compared to the alternative. And it's easy to not realize just how long my hair has gotten, especially since last September it was chin-length(ish) in the front and a bit shorter in the back.
(See the picture included. My hair does not normally look that nice... This is easily the best relaxer I've ever given myself.)

Today was just all sorts of full of positive surprises.
At my internship I lead one of the (mental health) Relapse Prevention groups and... It went over SO much smoother than I'd thought it would. It's to the point where we're going over a lot of the same things each time, but it really depends on how you manage to spice it up. We spent a lot of time talking about triggers and how things can snowball from little problems to huge problems. Complete with a bad dry erase board drawing illustrating things snowballing, and verbal descriptions of what was going on throughout the day to encourage said snowball effect.
We were having grilled cheese for lunch (or rather, grilled ham and cheese), and I used that as one of the examples. Everyone in my group likes grilled cheese (as far as I'm aware. But who doesn't? Haha) and so one of the examples was "You get to lunch... And they've just run out! So now you're in an even worse mood."

And then, yes, lunch was grilled ham and cheese. It was wonderful. They also had vegetable beef soup, and one of the staff members has a box of the mini Premium-brand saltine crackers, and she shared :)

The exciting part to lunch (other than the sandwich, of course!) is that I'm learning names. There are about 300 consumers at our location, and I'm on a team to work with about a third of them... But it's important to know every consumer. And I was pretty on the ball with names. There are still some that I don't know, but it was really good. Better than a month ago, that's for sure.

In my recreational therapy group... I actually had people! It was right after lunch, so usually a lot of the people have headed home or are getting started with clean-up or something. One time I had only ONE person show up for the first 5-10 minutes.
That one's a hard one to navigate because I have TONS of activities to do, but I have to pay super close attention to how many people are in the group to determine what we can do. But today I had about ten people! The activity we did was just a fun 12-item survey about Christmas, which encouraged reminiscing. After we filled out our answers we talked and laughed, learning who's been hit in the face with a snowball, if anyone's ever seen a partridge in a pear tree, and who was ever afraid they would die when sledding. It was a great conversation piece.

Afterward I made my outreach calls and did my documentation, and now I have over 1/4 of the hours I need for my internship... By graduation time in MAY! I'm feeling good about this, and I didn't hear people griping at each other about who said what (ok, I did hear it, but I'm in such a good mood it's easy to forget, and there wasn't much of it anyway).

Then I learned how to lock up, even though the intern has no building keys (lol?), and bought me and my husband some of McDonald's Peppermint Hot Chocolate on my way home... Now if only he'd get here to drink his, because mine's almost gone and I'm not going to take his! I just love this stuff.
(And... A picture! Lol)

And to top it off, my husband's bringing me dinner. Nice, huh?

Oh, and my fudge and peanut brittle from two days ago that I fixed last night? Turned out wonderfully. Set just the way I wanted them to. I probably heated the peanut brittle a little too much, as there's somewhat of a smoky hint to it now... And maybe I should've lined the fudge pans with foul... But they're pretty good, so I'm not complaining!
(And... Yet another picture!)

Well, that's all, folks! Just another day in the life :)

I feel like a kid on Christmas!

That fudge I made last night? (That is, the night of the 12th)

Yeah, one batch didn't set well at all and the other was only PARTLY the way I wanted it to be, but not hard enough at all.

So fabulousness of all fabulousness, I just decided to stick both pans in the oven!
No, I haven't burned them. Yet ;) They seem to be coming along fairly well, as far as I've checked, so I've got pretty high hopes that they'll set just the way I want them to after this round :)

...
I also had to do the same thing with my surviving peanut brittle. It turned out perfectly except for one eensie weensie little detail: as soon as I got it out of the cold and into a comfortable room temperature, the stuff took that as a cue to melt all on itself. And I'd already had it broken apart.
So what did I do? Shove the (microwave-safe) bowl the pieces were in into the microwave. So far, so good. I've already laid it out onto a baking sheet and stuck it in the fridge. We'll see how it goes when the next hour or so has passed.

Alright, time to check on the fudge.

Note: Fudge and peanut brittle are two things that should NOT be made during finals week, especially during the same night. They require absurd amounts of attention, and apparently far more heat and stirring than the recipes specify. Seriously, "stir constantly"? That only tells me so much.

(Also, I'm DONE with school for the semester! YAAAAAY! Although I would've loved it if these desserts would've been available for my classmates to eat at that time, but, uh... I wouldn't feed anybody food I was embarrassed of. lol?? And my wonderful husband graduates from college TOMORROW, as it is after midnight on Friday here!)

Ok, for real this time. I'm going to check on the fudge. Here's hope that A) it's doing amazingly and B) I haven't burnt the bajeezus out of it. Cross your fingers! :)

It's been a long time. Well, sorta.

Ok, so it's only been about a week since I've posted, but I really feel like it's been so much longer.

FH and I moved into our apartment on Friday. The view is certainly something else.

I'm not going to lie, though, the moving has been a pain in the butt.

But it was an eventful weekend! First moving, then seeing a baseball game that night! Now, normally I don't like baseball, but I had fun.
And the tickets were completely free, which was kinda weird, but we definitely enjoyed it!
FH and I also got our marriage license that morning. You know, before the packing and unpacking, and sweating it out.

And it seems like nothing is going according to plan.

I'm more than a little frustrated.
I've been getting called for work more often now, which is awesome. My next paycheck will be looking quite nice. And I should've taken some of the other offered jobs, except for the fact that then it would've left me either half an hour or an hour and a half between shifts!

I feel like I keep nitpicking about everything, and not just about work. I have to remind myself that I'm learning to live with someone, and I haven't had to do that in 2 years because I lived with the same 3 females last year that I did the year before!

I have noticed that there are some things that are my way or the highway... And I've stopped to think about whether these things are really all that important. And while they may not be "all that important," they do bug the hell out of me.
So like a good little girl, I speak my mind now because if I don't then I know there will be hell later when I finally lose my mind.

And let's face it, I despise cleaning. But I like having clean places.

I graduated from college on Saturday. To make a quick summary of it:
I got there at 8:15 for line up, stood around until ten, my feet hurt, I got my diploma cover and smiled, there was a wasp on the kid in front of me (FREAKY!!!!!), a kid in my row killed the wasp with his diploma cover and the other guy's mortarboard, I strutted back out for the recessional (and I do mean strutted. There's this wedding picture of my sister and her husband where she looks smug as can be - I'm pretty sure I had the same facial expression).

Apparently I can't post that picture, so instead here's a picture of me and one of my roommates!

Oh, how I miss cheese and potato time... And we match, too! But I'll be seeing her in a couple of weeks, so it's all good!

Now that graduation's over, it's been about getting back to work.
And cleaning. Ugh.

Our place isn't anywhere near as much of a mess as it used to be. Thank God.
The mound by our front door has greatly diminished, but I still have some work to do on it since it's my stuff.
At least, it was last I checked. LOL I'm sure FH doesn't have a bag of nail polish.

And now for a quick wedding vent from yours truly:
Why don't people send in their RSVPs on time?
Let's face it: my dad's the one paying for the food, so it's not like it's my money.

But at the same time, why should I waste my father's money because someone has decided not to stick a pre-stamped card in the mail with their name(s) and a number on it.
For that matter, why should I waste my father's money at all? That'd be rude of me, and it's frustrating when the RSVP date was a few days ago.

Granted, the date was Sunday so I've got to give it some slack there.
And slack I give.
But for real. I don't like surprises, and neither does my father. And at $13/person, surprises of extra people showing up are NOT good surprises on the checkbook, no matter how nice it would be to see them (that is, see the people).

On top of other things, but we're not even going there.

Well, now it's movie time and Starbucks for Frappuccino Happy Hour with one of the roomies and then more of us just being AWESOME!

"On the road again. Sing it with me, Shrek! I can't wait to get on the road again."

Well, Donkey might have been anxious to get "on the road again," but if we're being completely honest... I think i'll do just fine without it.

Don't get me wrong, I love traveling, but when you're packing to go anywhere - especially when you're moving! - it's pretty much just one big pain in the tuckus (check out an episode or two of The Nanny if you don't know what that means).

Ok, so let's see...
Apparently FH forgot that we were going to go apply for our marriage license on move-in day. We discussed this and agreed on it, and when I mentioned it to him today he looked at me like I'd grown an extra head. Lovely.
We figured it out, though, and we're going to try to meet at the courthouse in the morning right when it opens, before heading to the apartments to sign the lease.

We actually got our first wedding gift yesterday! I was exciting, and so nice and unexpected. I'd planned on not working at my job close to school after graduation, and have only been there since January and I only started actually getting hours in the last month. I figured when my boss said "gift" that it was something small as a sort of "thank you for working" type gift. Nope, it was two fruit bowls! They're actually quite pretty. I might actually have to start buying fruit!
And then to go with that... a thread I'd read talked me into peeking at our registry, and I saw that somebody had bought us a gift... of course, target.com is lame because they won't let me look at the overview to see *if* anything was bought, so I actually clicked to see *what* was bought, and to my surprise there actually was something purchased! and the best part is that what was purchased... wasn't fruit bowls! So someone else got us a gift! It's all kind of exciting!

I finished my finals yesterday. I am so glad to be DONE! I'm done with my undergrad, and I'll be walking in the ceremony on Saturday at 10 in the morning! I'm so excited!
... Although I'm a little irritated. I missed points on a final that I shouldn't have missed, because I was waiting on someone to do their job... It's a long story, and I really don't want to get into it.

I'll miss my roommates, but if we're being truthful?
...

I'm perfectly ok not having to room with girls ever again. EVER. AGAIN.
Don't get me wrong, I love them. But there are some things that I have just had ENOUGH of.
Who seriously moves someone else's stuff into a room they share with someone without asking? There's a whole lot MORE to that story, but I'll save you the drama.
I got the head's up while I was out to dinner with FH, FMIL, and FBIL (the younger one, that is), and I swear my head about exploded.

But I'm all moved out, so I shouldn't let it bug me. But still! This mess is FAR too ridiculous.

Anyway, we're moving into our apartment tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited!
At the same time, however, I'm starting to get into my "Ech, I'm over it" mode. I'm assuming that's the lack of sleep talking, but we DID just move a ton of stuff today.
FH made two separate trips with my stuff before my dad came and then we all left with a load (well, mine was technically just a trunk-full). I almost feel weird saying that, and then I remember that we lived in a dorm that was more like an apartment. So in addition to movies, books, clothes, and stuff of that sort, I also have bathroom stuff and a bunch of kitchen stuff.

On Sunday FH took my engagement ring back from me after I got off work. And then either Monday or Tuesday (somewhere along those lines) he took it and my wedding rings to the jeweler to get everything soldered.
I should have them back no later than the 12th! So essentially 6 days, if you count that it's the end of the day.

FMIL and I may be looking for her dress for the wedding this weekend. No idea what we're looking for, though.

Random question: what do you buy as a Mother's Day gift for someone who isn't very feminine and would probably prefer a mop bucket to a diamond necklace or bracelet? (more specifically, someone who would prefer something USEFUL).

Two of FH's wedding presents came in the mail! I'm really excited to see them. I didn't open one, and I took a quick peek in the packaging of the other one so that he wouldn't see what I got him.

You know, I'll have more to say next time I post (which hopefully won't be as long of a wait as it was for this particular post), but right now I'm just exhausted.

Here's hoping that everything goes smoothly when we go to move into the apartment in just over 8 hours!

Almost through with college

As it comes to the close of my final "Dead Week" as an undergraduate in college, it makes me realize...
That if I want to, I can just say dead week ended yesterday, since most people don't have classes on Fridays.
Then again, I DO have a paper due today.

I've come to realize multiple things:
1) I hate all-nighters. Really, I do.
I stayed up until about 3 last night, trying to work on my term paper. I was going to try to watch the Royal Wedding (yes, capitalized!), and I thought it came on at 3... And then I realized that it didn't come on at 3. Some station's coverage of it came on at 3! But at about 2:45, I was just exhausted. No freaking way was I going to do that.
2) Yes, I do that typical college student thing of staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning. Just because I do it doesn't mean I like it. I just dislike going to bed, because that means that I actually have to take the time to do it! Yup, I'm just that lazy. But also, the time I spend getting ready for bed... I could be doing other things!
3) I have no idea WHY I decided to take my very first 8AM class during my last semester. Other than wanting the exercise and the fact that I knew the class would have an awesome teacher, I really don't know why I did it. You know what misery is? Misery is me trying to get my butt up out of bed, and then having a moment where I realize that I have ten minutes to get to class, and I haven't even showered or gotten dressed yet!
4) I don't like going to class in my pajamas. Sorry, but no thanks.
5) I don't like people in general. It's just the way life works.

...
So, just over 7 hours later, I remembered I was typing a new blog post. Oops?

Ok, so we'll sum it up this way:
I'm glad to be graduating college. I am READY for it! I'm ready to be through with some of the crazies.
All the same, the last 3 years have been awesome, and I'm glad I didn't transfer out after my first semester.
There's at least one professor I'll be glad to not have to look at ever again. And for that one, there are at least 4 faculty members that I'll miss.

But we move into our apartment a week from today!
Actually, at this point in time we'll actually be heading out to go to a baseball game! And no, I don'e like baseball... But I thought it would be fun. I'm an American Red Cross volunteer, so I get into the game for free, and I get to bring guests for $5/person.
I'm really quite excited for the game. i've never been a big fan of it, but I think it would be an experience. I haven't been to a game in at least a decade... I like the pretzels and nachos! (although maybe I'm just thinking basketball and football, but let's just leave it at I like the pretzels and the nachos). Hot dogs are pretty tasty, too. I'm not going to pretend I don't like the food.

Well, away I go. It's been a long day, so now I'm just trying to concentrate on everything.
And unless I'm mistaken, we should be heading to the grocery store some time today or tomorrow.

While watching "A Few Good Men" (and then the remake of "Hairspray")...

I decided I would write a new blog!

So last night while buying some fabric in Wal-Mart for a project I wanted to do, I decided that I would buy some of their "instant dress" fabric and make my own dress for graduation.
Well, the dress turned out super cute.
I added in a little slip to go underneath the dress because, let's face it, I hate wearing slips.
Yeah, the slip part ended up not being quite so cute.
Because it was a stretchy material over the bust, I just a few inches off the width of the dress in order to make it fit well. That didn't exactly go over too well with my hips.

The dress itself fit nicely around the hips, but I was afraid of ripping the built-in slip while trying to sit down, so I just cut a slit up the side of it.
At least my underwear won't show through.

And worrying about the slip ripping is saying something, because I don't worry about my stitches coming out.
And I don't say that with an attempt to boast or under false modesty or anything. I say that because when I sew I don't do typical sewing. When I sew I do it as though I'm embroidering something, so I use three pieces of embroidery thread (3 of the 6 that come in a skein of embroidery thread) and I sew as though I'm embroidering something.
I can comfortably say that my stitches are quite sturdy.

I think that after I get off work I'm going to go buy some more fabric to make one more dress.
And, you know, I'll take a picture of the one I've already done. Just give me about an hour or so... Here we go! (this is what I get for starting a blog and not finishing it until later) And please ignore the bra straps.

I'll wait on buying a bunch more, but wow I could really get into making and wearing sundresses, especially because with the fabric (and the embroidery thread I already owned), well, making that dress only cost me about $12 and 2 hours of my time. And that included me trying to get the right amount of fabric

Mind you, the other dresses I liked were $25 - and that's 50% off!! Nothing like saving some money :)

Now as for other things, FH called me this morning and told me to check my email.
He forwarded me probably one of the sweetest messages that a guy could ever get from his boss.
Uh, that is, in a manner regarding getting work accomplished and also talking about significant others.

"You do what you need to do to finish off your semester.  As for your fiancée you might want to consider using her as an island of sanity in a sea academic insanity.  I'm sure she recognizes you're stressed and only want to be a source of respite for you.  Bottom line, treat her like the treasure she is and take her completely into your heart. Just some advice from an old guy who has made more mistakes in his marriage than he wants to remember.

Let me know when you will be back.  There is a promotion on the horizon that we need to work on."

Um, yeah. Even half-asleep at about 8:40 in the morning I thought it was really sweet. I can guarantee that's an email I'll be saving.

And for real, who has a boss that awesomely nice? FH has been swamped working on a project for the past week or so, and even with schoolwork and all they've been pretty good about recognizing that school is important.

Ok I really have nothing else to talk about right now. Anything that I did want to talk about, well, either I already talked about it or I forgot about it. Go figure.

Oh, and if I had the opportunity to be in Hairspray I would totally have dibs on Little Inez.

Or Amber or Mrs. Von Tussle, but I'm not exactly light enough for those parts. If you know what I mean.

Just saying.