I am still alive

We gotta stop meeting like this.  I'm such a better friend than that.  And I do consider you my friend!


I have been lazy with pregnancy.  And then third trimester hit and the laziness went away because, oh my god, we're having a baby soon and I need to get my shit together!  But here's the thing- there is so much around me that got neglected, I'm still WAY behind!  And holy wow, people.  Third trimester is THE HARDEST to get things done.  Ok, maybe I'm forgetting all the sickness and exhaustion of first, but... I'm going with it.


AND ON THAT NOTE!


Pregnancy news!


As of today I am 37 weeks 1 day.  :)  This means full term, people!  We are all on baby lookout around here.  Not that you really want to know, but I am 1 cm dialated, and the baby's head has dropped.  This thing is for real.


And that also means that I have of course survived what I may have described as a hellacious gestational diabetes diagnosis and diet.  I won't lie, it's been hard at times.  Especially after the first few months when you start getting bored with what you eat.  But for the most part, I'm enjoying the food I can actually eat, and I'm honestly trying to think of ways to incorporate this style of eating (which is super healthy) into my every day life post baby and post GD.  It's really good for you.  And it's really been my saving grace.  I've only gained about 34 pounds, 30 of which I had gained BEFORE BEING DIAGNOSED.  That means for the entire third trimester I have gained 4 pounds.  Don't worry about the baby- he or she has been gaining in a very healthy way.  At my 36 week appointment (and ultrasound... I get them weekly now thanks to the GD) they estimate the baby to weigh 6 lbs 2 oz.


But with all said and done, I have a list of foods that I will be eating post-baby.  Included are spaghetti, a hot fudge cake from frisch's, and my birthday dinner, including cake.  Oh, and eventually pumpkin pie.  pumpkin muffins.  and breakfast foods.  I miss cereal and biscuits and french toast.


So that's the majority of the pregnancy stuff.  More to come.


Books- 


Apparently the last thing I read was the Song of the Lioness Quartet?  That really can't be true, can it?  I love to read.  I read all the time.  No way.  I said I was going to read Harry Potter... Did I do that?  I can't remember, but I honestly don't think so because I don't remember nearly as much as I would had I just read it... So I guess I need to read that (again).  BUT to help me catch up on my reading (which I thought I was behind before... that's nothing now!!!) my wonderful husband got me the Kindle for my birthday.  I'm so excited, and I have already downloaded several books.  None of which I've finished yet, but I will soon!  And happily I will be updating my 11K in 2011 list here shortly with the pregnancy book that I have read not once, but actually TWICE.


Work-


The main reason I have been so lazy!  I thought the 4 months of training for the job was a little much and kind of overwhelming.  BOY WAS I WRONG!!!  So I guess they like me?  Because they gave me a lot more work than expected... It was supposed to be temporary while someone was on leave.  But then she came back, and never took back the work!  I love it, though!  My job is so much fun, and so interesting.  Yes, I plan the production for our making systems.  Yes, to some people that probably would be very boring.  But my job is far from boring.  There are issues every day, and the schedules are ALWAYS like putting together huge complicated and sometimes incorrectly cut puzzle pieces.  Now that I'm finally adjusting (and have only 4 days before maternity leave) I can tell that the work has been a major cause behind my exhaustion.  Not that pregnancy has been enough!  It's gotten a lot easier on me now, though.  I know my job better.  I'm at that stage where I'm ready to learn the next step (believe me... I'm still on a basic level at work).  But obviously with maternity leave starting in FOUR DAYS I'm not moving on until I return.


In other news- 


My house is a wreck still.  But it's majorly improved.  Remember how I said I was lazy?  This is where it's been the worst.  I have finally gotten most of the upstairs cleaned up.  Our bedroom is by far the easiest room to maintain in our house, and I've successfully done so now for over a month.  :)  The guest room is probably just as easy and I've been doing well with it too.  I haven't gotten the office cleaned up, but I at least get in there and dust, vacuum, and clean the window every now and then.  And of course the nursery.  It's been well worked on!  More on that later.  The bathrooms have been more difficult to maintain.  My husband is messiest in the bathroom, and it's honestly a crappy bathroom to begin with.  It's definitely near the top of the major remodeling project lists.


The downstairs, however... is a disaster.  I got the dining room cleaned up last week, though.  And I got the fall decorations out- I just need curtains.  I imagine I can keep it clean enough.  My kitchen is still a mess, and I haven't even touched the living and family rooms.  Both of which have been swallowed whole by books, fabric, papers, yarn, more papers, bags (and bags and bags) and shoes.  Oh, and empty boxes from all of the baby stuff.  But the living room is seriously on my hit list tomorrow.  It's going down.


Mike, a job, and childcare-


So my wonderful hubs found a wonderful (and well paying) job!!!!!!  It's full time (I could sing) with not only benefits (yay!) but AWESOME benefits (YAY!!!).  So we are just thrilled around here.  We're both working on the same shift now.  That's a plus.  We get our weekends together!  And seriously.  I haven't even looked back to the days where we didn't.  How did we seriously manage that for so long?  This is so nice.


And with his new job, and a rather long commute, we had to get rid of his car.  It wasn't reliable.  And definitely not functional as a family vehicle.  So with the new job, and shiny new paycheck, we traded in the little coupe for a CR-V.  :)  We had been planning this purchase for a long while, I'll admit.  Don't think we're rich or anything (we certainly aren't).  But we knew we'd never be able to afford a car payment until Mike had a better income.


There are downsides to the new job, though.  One of which is childcare.  Our baby will be at a daycare center 40 hours a week.  But it's literally down the street from my office, so I can go see him or her at lunch time if I wanted.  And we found a daycare that I'm really excited about.  They stress education.  They start teaching them in classroom style ish at the age of 2.  Geography, Music, Math, Science, and Writing.  There may have been others too.  I can't remember.  They play too, though.  And still have nap times.  They were very organized, had lots of information and were real exciting people.  The kids were all happy, and you could just tell.  It was a good place.  


The only other downside is our poor puppy is not used to us both being gone all day.  I can tell he hates it.  But we're trying to make sure he gets a walk in the evenings or at least something.  And he needs to get used to less attention- a baby is coming after all.  It's just sad to watch.  He's adjusting well, though.  No bad behavior.  He really is a big sweetheart.  You can't help but love him.  I don't care what people say, I don't think my feelings towards him are going to change much after baby arrives.  


Ok, so I've bombarded you with TONS of information tonight!  I'm going to write another post on the nursery, and maybe if you're lucky I'll include a post on Puerto Rico (cuz who doesn't want to see THOSE pictures?).  And maybe, just maybe, I'll get something read here soon and I'll update my reading challenge.  I'm scared to look at the numbers, though... I was so close to caught up.

A new master

A long long time ago, in a world that really does seem far far away, we redecorated the master bedroom!

The idea is to get one room done at a time in this house.  A year and 4 months into living here, and we've officially finished 1.  The master will be number 2.  And now baby's room will have to be number 3.  At this pace, the baby will be sleeping on an air mattress on the floor because I'm so freakin' slow at this.

Anyways, off the tangent.

Our bedroom was blah.  Very blah.  The rooms were an ugly creamy neutral (not to be confused with the pretty creamy).  We had 1 bedside lamp that was a broken fake Tiffany's UC lamp.  One window had a goodwill curtain covering it, the other nothing.  The back window at least had nice panel curtains, though.

See how awful it looked?

This was the only picture I took of "before".  Oops.

So first we had to move the furniture around.  And THAT means we got a new bedroom, temporarily.

(That's a preview of the future baby's room, by the way).  Irony is we found out we were HAVING a baby while sleeping in that room.

So first we painted.

The three window walls are a beautiful yellow, and then the wall with the closet and doorway are a rich chocolate reddish brown.  It matches the furniture almost perfectly!  I was so thrilled.

So then we moved the furniture back in and bought new side lamps.

We also re-hung the window panels, and my mom helped me make curtains (one set... the other set is still waiting by the sewing machine).  And we also bought some nice matching frames and hung a few pictures from our honeymoon.

This is my favorite:

I really need to get a good couple of pictures of the whole room, but that would mean making the bed and cleaning up the mess.  Oh, and probably finishing that last curtain (don't worry- the goodwill curtain is still covering the window).

It's a beauty, though!  I love my new room.  The lamps are perfect, the colors are just what I imagined, and the curtains match to a T!  

Putting the Happy in Fridays

Lately my Fridays have been rather drab.  While I'm perfectly happy with that, it hasn't been much to write about.  BUT!  ALAS!  today is the day I bring back the Happy Fridays.

Here is why today is a Happy Friday-

1- Mike quit his second job last week, which means I've seen him 7 nights in a row!!!!! 
2- Our bedroom is painted!  We'll be moving back in tomorrow (hopefully.  Sans curtains, though) (Pictures to come, I promise)
3- I have finally been ousted, and it's no longer a secret- I was recently hired by Procter and Gamble.  :)  I have 7 more weeks at my current job and then I will be training!  I'm rather excited.
4- Friday is always pay day
5- We have a date night planned tomorrow.  And it will hopefully be free (thanks to a giftcard)  :)  YAY!!!!!

So this weekend will consist of rebuilding the bedroom, buying lamps and some sort of darkening shades, a date night, and majorly cleaning my poor neglected house.  :)  I'm excited. 

And reading.  So much reading.  I'm currently in the middle of Marley and Me (which is tons better than the movie).  I want to finish it this weekend.  I'm slightly behind on the reading challenge (as of Friday I was only 1 page behind).

So what are your plans lookin' like?

Health Insurance Dilemma Solved

To see part 1 of this post, simply go here.

So where were we?  Oh yes.

The dilemma was the group plans at work don't match our needs or financial means.  BUT we can't switch to an individual plan because what if our situation were to change in 9 months (because it seriously most likely... will)?

Then my mother, the genius, had one of her brilliant ideas that for some reason I didn't think of.  Not sure why, because once I saw it, it made perfect sense!

I will get a plan for myself through work.  And only for myself.  It's HSA eligible, so I can start that up as well.  And then, for Mike, we will get him his very own individual plan (because obviously he won't be getting pregnant).  And sadly, Mike's plan is better than mine (by a lot.  His deductible is half of mine with all the other benefits remaining the same) and it's only $3 more per month than what I will pay for mine.

So problem solved.  We don't have a crazy $6,000 deductible and we are only spending $3 more per month.  And, since I'm not changing plans, there is no worry about a "what if" situation- it's covered.  Plus, since Mike's plan is HSA eligible too (Health Savings Account for those who aren't up on those things), we can both use my HSA.  Simple.  Affordable.  Nicely covered.

Yay.  Now we can go hurt ourselves without the worry of not knowing what's covered/what's not.  And if YOU have any questions, by all means.  I can answer them.  I probably know health insurance policies better than some who sell them.  No joke. 

**Insert "I can't wait for the Healthcare Reform Act to fully come into play" statement.  Pregnancy as a pre-existing condition?  That's just shitty. (And we'd qualify for a credit (I think)!)"

The big fat stinking thing called Health

Insurance...


Health insurance.  Stinks.  Hard.  Core.


So my company's open enrollment for health insurance is going on, and our plans start Feb 1.  


Do you remember the dreaded first for us?  Or maybe the awful summer we had?  Yeah we have learned a LOT about health insurance in the last 8 months ish.


So I found out, after learning the hard way, that the insurance plan I picked (I had 3 choices) really did not match our needs.  AT ALL.  It was bad.  Real bad.


And it was so sad, because I think if I put a little more thought into it, and had taken it seriously, I could have figured this out when I chose the insurance... And we wouldn't have had to face the financial repercussions that we unfortunately had to deal with.


We survived, by the way.  But think of all the things we could have done with the extra money we would have saved!


Anyways.  So we are in open enrollment, and Mike and I have decided we HAVE to switch insurance.  But there's a glitch.  There is a really nice HSA choice.  If you're an individual.  For a family, it's cheap, but it would really hurt you financially if you have medical needs up around 5,000 to 6,000.  


So I was frustrated, and I was a little unsure of what to do.  We had looked at individual plans outside of what my job offers.  But the maternity clauses wouldn't go into effect for 9 months.  What if... ya know?


To be continued...

Winding Up 2010

2010 leaves much to be desired, to be very honest.  Personally I can say I have detested this horrible year, and I can't wait for it to be over.  But I must admit- there has been a lot of growing and a lot of learning who my (and my husband's) true character is.


Here's a quick recap of the year, bloggy-wise and non-bloggy-wise.


January- We moved into our house!!!!!

February- Mike was unfortunately transferred from his "temporary" full time position to a "permanent" part time position.  Blah, but I have to say it was expected.  Either way it kind of put a damper on our economics.


March- A friend of mine actually moved in with us.  Technically.  She'd actually been living with us since January, but it was only temporary... until it became permanent.


April- I started my blog and told you all about our Wedded Bliss.  I also learned that diamonds can indeed break.


May- I told you about our Mothers Day and then about learning to use Iphoto.


June- I told you our awesome news about making new traditions.  I also discovered that I detest translating, but I love libraries.


July- I was mostly sick.  But I learned I could endure several weeks of constant nausea.


August-  I unfortunately shared the bad news.  And then I lost my Grandpa.  August is a really bad month in our family.  But I learned my own strength, and that when needed I can survive just about anything.


September-  I shared the things that made me happy.  I discovered that getting away is not the same as running away.  I witnessed the Running of the Weiners.  I described Football in our house.  And we remodeled our beautiful office.


October-  I shared important shit- like what the freak are Fast Flats.  And how to budget your money.  And that thing about loving myself, which I indeed think I have learned.  I also applied for Graduate school.


November-  I began freezer cooking.  Which I love, by the way.  I also confessed my desperate need for a dayplanner.  Oh, and did I mention?  I made a freakin' turkey!!!!!!!  


December- Mike turned a quarter of a century, and I am finally able to say that I have found what makes me happy.  Oh, and I have registered for my first semester of grad school.  :)


And by the power vested in me, and speaking for several others, I say "Goodbye 2010!!!! We've learned our lessons.  Now it's time to move on.  May we never see the likes of you again!"

Happy Friday!

What makes my Friday so happy?  You mean outside of my weekly pay day and Mike's double-bi-weekly pay day?


I have an adorable pup curled up with his head on my heart.


And we're staying in to cuddle.  By choice and much to the sadness of our friends (who are at shadowbox Live as we speak).


I have a cute and warm rice bag on my toes.


My Christmas cards are finished.


And my hubs is on his way home.


What more could a girl ask for?


Happy Friday, everyone!

Grown Up Christmas List

mostly grown up, anyway....

All I want for Christmas is........................



POWER TOOLS!!!!!

jigsaw blades, a carpenter square, a tool belt, clamps, drill bits, screws, a nail punch, a sander, a workbench, saw horses....

BOOKS!!!!!

Brave New World, Atonement, Memoirs of a Geisha, Winnie the Pooh, Moby Dick, Five People you Meet in Heaven, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Three Muskateers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...

And gift cards

Jo Ann Fabrics, Home Depot, Restaurants...

But the motherload of all things?

Despicable Me.  For real.  I saw it, loved it, and it was amazing.  I want my own little set of minions one day, I swear.

I'm so excited about Christmas, but so not... I'm very excited about my list, but I'm really bummed about Mike's Christmas gift.  First, he got a super awesome birthday present just a few weeks ago (an Ipod Nano), but the condition was that I was spending twice as much as budgetted, so his Christmas gift would be (lots) smaller.  So it's sad already.  But then?  He tells me he wants this really nice thing from where he works that costs over my limit BUT if HE buys it, he can use his employee discount and it's NOT over budget... So he got that.  For himself.  So now I have a grand total of $15 to spend on him on something that will surprise him.  I'm at a loss.  Help?

Other than that, more things to come!  Including a beautiful hand-knit scarf that I just so happened to make for my mother.  For her birthday.  It's a nice and easy pattern that looks like it's not.

What's on your list this year?

Wedded Wednesday- When Sickness Sinks In

Mike... Is sick.


You see, Saturday was the last home football game of the season.  If you remember, we always go.


Except Saturday it was snowing.  It snowed early, and snowed all day.  And it was freakin' cold.  I stayed home.


But Mike- he went.  He kind of has to.  It's kind of his job to record things, and the last game is Senior Night for the band.


And as a result- he's sick.  But not like normal sick.  Oh no, this time, he can't stay home, and he has 2 jobs.  I haven't been able to take care of him, because he works while I'm at home, and I work while he's at home.


It's kind of been a sort of torture.  I hate not being able to take care of him.  I hate that I sit there wondering how he's feeling, and hoping he doesn't feel guilty because he can't do things, or hoping that he's not doing things because he really shouldn't.


And the worst of all?  Mike never gets sick.  So if he was able to catch this, then I will most definitely catch this.  He never gets sick!  I do every year.  This just isn't looking good for me.

All I Want for Christmas- Cards!

So when you're less wealthy than you'd like to be, the best thing to do for the holidays are cards!!!!


But some can get kind of expensive.  Although I have a friend who bought 32 for $2, I have yet to find them... Sad. 


So as a childless woman who loves fun projects- I decided to make my own this year!


Items needed- All bought at Hobby Lobby


1 pack of cardstock- 5" x 6 1/2" (I bought ivory colored)
a stencil of some holiday design (I chose snowflakes)
paint (I bought light blue)
a foam brush


I used basic word to make my saying for the inside, used photoshop and the internet to come up with a few pictures to go with my saying, and printed them off.


I used the paint and stencils to create a very pretty front.  I wish I had a little bit of glitter, though, because the paint came out to be slightly less than what I wanted, but oh well.  Still very pretty.


Voile!  Pretty pretty Christmas cards.  I'll post a picture later, as I didn't take any and have already sealed up the first batch I made.

Wedded Wednesday (Thursday again)- Birthday time!

I did not post this last night because I was enjoying the evening with my husband instead.  It was his day after all.

My hubs hit 25 yesterday.  TWENTY FIVE!  Do we officially count as adults now?  Because seriously.  I could vent a HUGE ONE about all the "you're too young" problems I have.

Tangent aside, it was a great day, minus the present.  Last year we were in the process of buying a house.  So instead of a birthday gift, we said the house was the big gift and I made a cake and decorated the apartment with $1 ribbon and balloons.  It was sad, and I felt bad, but it's all we could do.

So this year I wanted to make up for it.  I spent $100 on his gift (which is twice the normal range).  I went out and splurged on a super awesome Oreo ice cream cake that I just KNEW he'd love.  I even planned to make his favorite dinner.

So yesterday showed up nice and cold on our front door step.  I sent him the Good Morning Happy Birthday text (because we don't see each other in the mornings).  And then I hoped that JUST MAYBE his gift would arrive today while I was at work.

Nature gave Michael a gift in the mean time- snow.  The first snow of the season.

2 pm comes and I realize that I forgot to start his crockpot dinner this morning... Well shit.

4:30 rolls around... No gift.  No email saying the guy I bought it from off of ebay has even shipped it yet.  Nada.

So I head home, and promptely cook what is normally a crockpot meal via stove.  It was actually pretty good, I must say.  Dinner was Chicken and Dumplings with broccoli and peaches.  Followed by amazing Oreo ice cream cake.  Michael was in heaven.  :)  And he got to open 2 birthday cards, so he at least had something.

I told him what his gift was, and he's super excited for it to arrive, but I'm honestly starting to worry that the guy scammed me.  He had an excellent rating from all the people who had bought from him, though.  Maybe it was all a hoax?  I'm worried, but I put it on paypal with my credit card, so to be honest, I still can complain and get my money back.  I'm just nervous and I really wanted that ipod.  I'm hoping he just shipped it instead of emailing me.  Only time will tell I guess.

Happy birthday, Michael!

Wedded Wednesday- Stay at home dads???

Disclaimer- we have no children, in case you are new.  This is mostly hypothetical.

So Mike is officially back to working only 1 part time job.  He wants to get a second one asap, but I'd prefer he doesn't.  I didn't get to see him at all, and to be honest we can survive a little while without it.  Not to make things difficult for us, but sometimes time is worth more than money, ya know?

So on that note, somewhere down the lines I had been discussing the options of having a baby with a few people, and I was absolutely shocked when they ALL made it very clear that the dad HAS TO have a full time job.  Period.

Now, to be honest, I kind of agree KIND OF.  I would prefer to be a stay at home mom some day.  Or work from home.  Or have a small part time job.  Whatever it takes so that I'm the one at home with the kids.  However, I'm very realistic, and I don't see that happening.  I honestly see both Mike and I working full time while raising our kids.  And I'm not opposed to daycare at all- in fact, if you find the right one, it can be the best thing you do for your child.  A lot of them help teach kids the social graces of life.  And they get a jump start on their education, which I'm all about.  Not that I couldn't do that on my own, but a girl's got a lot to do already, you know?

The one option that's more realistic at the moment, however, is Mike staying at home and keeping his part time job.  IF and this is a BIG IF we were to get pregnant now, it might even be more beneficial for Mike to NOT get a full time job.  He works third shift.  I sleep while he's working.  He sleeps while I'm working.  We're both home in the evenings.  With a little adjusting, we could actually raise a child without daycare this way.  It would work well, especially since I carry the health insurance and I have disability leave, etc etc. 

Why is it, though, that this idea just absolutely HORRIFIED these women?  I mean, the answer was very much, unabashedly, big fat in your face NO WAY IN HADES.  I was really shocked.  I thought in today's world that more people would be more open minded.  And the reasons were pretty vague.  Maybe they just didn't want to work?  I just don't get it. 

Now true, I will say that I would have issues with the lack of cleaning, the lack of organization, and the lack of probably a lot of things that I would be doing if I were the one at home.  But financially, it's a very viable option.  Too viable to not even consider it.

Now, of course, if Mike is discovered and then strikes it rich, we will be singing a different tune and I'll be able to have my dream home with my dream kitchen full of freezer meals a beautiful baby and NO JOB.  But hey... He's gotta be discovered and strike it rich first.

Happy Friday!

Fridays are my favorite and least favorite days of the week.

Favorite- it's pay day.  it's also "new line on the budget" day (meaning I have spending money again, or at least we hope).  it's also the start to the weekend (which is actually my favorite time of the week).

Least Favorite- It's pay day.  And in accounting that means that anyone who's check is off by a penny blames me.  I get a lot of complaints. 

But it's Friday!  :)  I can endure the complaints as long as I get my weekend.  And Mike is officially done with his second job today.  :)  This makes me extremely happy.  Poor?  yes.  Happy?  Extremely.

So what's the plan for the weekend?

I'm going to be running tonight after work.  And then doing a "minor" workout (I think it's a major workout, but Shorty SWEARS it's hardly anything at all...) So afterwards I plan on reheating a freezer meal (Beef stroganoff, anyone?  or maybe spaghetti?).

The weekend will definitely include:
Walking Romeo (probably both Sat and Sun)
Laundry
Groceries
Cleaning (bathroom and kitchen.  Ew, gross)

The weekend SHOULD include at least something from this list:
Washing the car
Sorting through the garage
Re-arranging furniture
Organizing/Editing pictures
Organizing recipes
Creating an Address book
Raking leaves
Cleaning gutters
Date night
Mapping out Christmas and Thanksgiving
Writing (thank you notes, journal entry, blog post, something)

The weekend will MOST LIKELY include:
TV
Reading

So my wish for this weekend?  Relaxation.  Last weekend was just way too busy.  I apologize for not having a blog post.  It was too busy for pictures, and we lost the football game.  And our halloween costumes didn't turn out as well as we hoped.  Oh well, we'll do better next time!

Have a happy weekend!

Wedded Wednesday- Voting

Since yesterday was election day, I think it's appropriate to discuss politics just this once (ok... I'll probably discuss politics a lot in the future, but I try not to).

I'm very opinionated, and when it comes to politics, I'm extremely opinionated.  That being said I lean one way with politics.  Not because I was told to, but because I am very informed, and I've found that I line up almost exactly with one specific side of things.  From reading my blog, you might even be able to take a gander at which way I lean, but if not, I refuse to tell you because quite frankly it's not relevant.  Just know I do have a very specific leaning.

My husband does not.  He hates politics.  He's very apathetic.  I'm pretty sure he only votes because I make him.  ;) No, I don't make him vote my way.  He does, though.  For his own reasons.  We even argued last night over one of his votes (we disagreed, but his reasoning was because the ad was done so well (in film-speak).  I WILL argue with you if you vote for stupid reasons, such as filmography).

A lot of people believe that it's not polite to discuss politics.  Indeed, I have learned that politics is a bad subject in group setting.  I don't discuss politics with my friends unless I know which way they lean and that we agree.  It's just nicer to have a conversation when you agree, ya know?  I respect their opinions if we don't, but I also put in the effort to avoid a disagreement.  This means that politics are (mostly) a no-no with some specific people, including an aunt and uncle, my cousin, and 2 of my closest friends (yes I have bi-lateral relations).  Also almost everyone I work with.

However, in a relationship?  We discuss politics, but rarely.  Mike doesn't care, really, and I try not to push my opinions on him.

But what if Mike and I didn't agree?

I personally find politics to be one of the BIG RELATIONSHIP TOPICS to discuss prior to marriage (right up there with "how many kids, if any").  If we don't agree, or we automatically start fighting over politics, it won't work out (obviously, it worked out fine with Mike.  This is a what-if).  I've been there and I hated it.  I can respect your opinion, but I don't have to live with it, and I won't.  For myself, politics in a relationship need to be on the same page.  This is definitely something I was wary of when I was dating, and I'm, quite frankly, very happy with the outcome.  It has nothing to do with different opinions.  Mike and I are very different in several areas of life.  It has everything to do with how I relate politics with your character and how you live your life.  As a friend, you have your own thing and I don't judge.  As a boyfriend/fiance/husband, your life and mine are intertwined too much.  And in practicality, to be very honest I never found someone from the opposite party that was really appealing to me as anything more than a friend.  I'm not sure if that's pure coincidence or what the reasoning may be, but it is what it is.

I am very curious about YOUR opinions on the matter, though.  Are you in a relationship with someone of a different political affiliation?  How do you handle politics in your house (whether you agree or disagree)?  Also, what do you teach your kids regarding politics (we don't have them yet, and I'm curious)?

Please do me a favor, though.  I don't want a comment battle or anything, so leave out party affiliations as much as possible.  KThanxBai

Wedded Wednesday on a Thursday (again)- Budgetting

Oh EM GEE What a big topic to attempt!

And I promise I'll eventually post more pictures, because that's what we all really want, isn't it?

So my mom is an accountant (wowza, you're snoozing already, I bet).  And as the daughter of an accountant, I had my own bank account and budget at 16 (SIXTEEN people!).  The format has never changed.  I love it that much.

Anywho, when Mike and I began discussing money as a couple I quickly learned that my situation was rather unique.  Mike didn't have a budget.  Didn't know how to really manage money.  So we basically just adopted my budget.

Still, I doubt Mike really knows how to manage our money, how the bills are paid, etc.  I basically handle it all.  I need to fix this, but that's for another day and time.

Oh, what?  You want to know how our budget works?  Gladly.  I love it.  I keep an excel sheet.  I have a separate column for each week, dated on pay day, because quite frankly that's just easiest.  At the top I have a separate row for what's in the bank and each type of income- My job, one for each of Mike's jobs, a babysitting line, a freelance line (Mike does freelance here), and then a misc other line.

Below the income section I have a bills section- a separate row for each bill- cable, insurance, mortgage, credit cards, internet, car payment, bajilions and bajilions student loan payments, etc.  And then I also have a separate row for weekly expenses like groceries, gas, pet stuff, dates, car maintenance, etc.  Things that are variable.

And then at the bottom I have the total rows- a total for income, a total for expenses, and then a total of what's left.  Yay.  Simple?  It actually looks really scary, but it's not.

We have everything we can think of budgeted, but our problem is there is just not enough money.  Ever.  Especially with Mike working part time.  I have the budget trimmed as much as we could.  We can survive.  For now.  Which is the important part.  The problem is, though, the budget is trimmed a little too much- we can't stay in budget.

And it's usually because of groceries.  How do you people eat healthy on a budget?  We just can't do it.  We can't get everything we need and still make the budget.  So then it comes out of our spending money, so something else gets cut (like my haircut... it's been pushed back way too much).

Anyways, eventually the goal is to have a comfortable amount of income.  At that point we will have 4 separate accounts in our house (cuz that's how we roll).  We think the ultimate goal is to have 1 checking and 1 savings account for the family.  Then when we are making enough money to exceed our daily needs, we will each have a separate account for what we have left over.  This will mainly be for things like buying gifts or other such luxuries (books in my case).

How do we decide how much each contributes to the joint expenses?  We'll determine that when we're actually making enough, I guess.  My assumption right now is that it'll be set up to where we each are getting the same amount of money for our own separate accounts- so who ever is making more will contribute more to the bills.

I'm curious how your house runs, though.  Money is one of those wedded subjects that no one normally wants to talk about.  It's sticky.  What have you found that really works?  What have you found that really doesn't?  How do you divide things when the income isn't even?  How do you handle things when the money is just plum gone?  Because I'll be honest- we are rather young, and we're still a young couple.  We are still testing the waters, and we're finding the pool is deeper than we thought in this particular category.

Wedded Wednesday (On a Thursday)- Running a Race

Do you ever feel like you're running a race through life?  Like you're always looking ahead at that next freakin' step?  So much so that you forget to enjoy the last step you accomplished?

THIS is my biggest problem, I think.  I see that I'm 24 years old and I automatically think "Holy SCHNIKEYS I'm twenty-freakin-four!" and almost panic because I'm nowhere near where I want to be.  I don't think Mike panics like I do, but he's certainly not where he wants to be either, and I know it weighs on him.

But I'm TWENTY FOUR!  I have like... a bajilion years left (oh dear, please please don't let me jinx myself!).  I have a stable job, even if I don't like it.  I have a college degree, even if I'm not using it.  I even have a husband.  :)  He has a college degree.  He may only be working part time, but at least he's using his degree.  We own a house (we own a freakin' house, man!). 

So why do I feel the need to rush into the next step?  That baby craze is awfully contagious, and it's awfully hard not to think "oh gosh i want one of those".  (It also doesn't help with the tragedy that happened in Aug).  Part of it is all the babies around me- they're on tv, they're in the office, and they're all over my freakin' facebook (OMG my generation is fertile!).

For us, we are waiting a little while, I think.  Mike is still part time, so financially we're not as stable or as prepared as I'd like to be.  I also would like to go back to school and get my Masters.  Plus, we have a bajilion house projects we would like to work on.  So I'm doing my best to NOT RUSH MYSELF!  It was SO HARD there for a while.  I felt like I was running out of time.  But you know what?  I can still be having children in the next 10 - 15 years.  THAT'S A LOT OF YEARS!!!

Because there is so much to enjoy at our age.  I have a husband I can spontaniously go out with.  I have friends I can party with until dawn without a worry.  As the first in our group to have a child, would we even see them much afterwards?  We have a dog who is all about getting all the attention, and can actually get it.  I get my fill of children by babysitting, which I love and would hate to have to give up.  I can get my Masters now, start a job I'll actually LOVE!  I would regret it later if I didn't take advantage of these things now, while we still can.

Why do people feel the need to push and push and push you to move on to the next big thing?  I think we should really commend the generation ahead of us (and our own) because I think we're breaking that pattern.  Lots of people are skipping steps, taking the steps backwards, or just completely changing them.  I think we get a lot of criticism for it, but I'm actually very happy with it.

I think our life will be a lot happier because we'll make decisions based on when we're ready and when we want to, no matter how much pushing and shoving there is on either side of the issue.  I'm really glad to finally be able to see that and fully embrace it.  I'll be honest- I wasn't before.

Pst... This is NOT linked up like I normally would, but if you wish you can visit the others here.

Wedded Wednesday- Dates on a Budget

This is more of a fail, than a how-to.  FYI. 

My hubby and I love each other very much.  :)  But he works a TON right now, and opposite my work hours.  Plus, we don't really like the same things that much, so we don't spend a lot of time together. 

So we have begun to have weekly date night.  Every Saturday night.  The problem is we always end up spending all of the cash budgeted for the week on that one night.  NOT GOOD!!!

So how do we fix this??  Does anyone have any great date night ideas that are low budget?  We usually do dinner.  It's easiest.  But with wine and dessert it always costs a fortune.  Plus it gets boring.

So here are my ideas for the upcoming weeks- this week we have plans with friends to go to Shadowbox Cabaret.  Next week I'm thinking bowling?  Or maybe putt-putt?  I know... cliche, right?

Maybe we should do a picnic in the park one week while it's still nice enough to do that.  And we could take Romeo.  Not so romantic with the dog, but lots of fun.

UGH.  I wish we were rich.  That would just solve all most of our problems.

Also- Happy 50th post.  WOOPIE

Tis the Season....

FOR FOOTBALL!!!!! 

And when I say football, I clearly mean MARCHING BAND!!!

And by that I am dead serious, because, folks, this house is chuck full of band nerds.  I mean it, 100% of the three adults living under our roof are born and bred true band geeks.  History lesson?  Michael plays sax- alto sax, bari sax, and even tenor sax on occasion.  In high school he was drum major for 3 years (although they were called field commanders.  To me this is just weird).  He lived for his KK Psi brothers (the band honorary fraternity) at UC.  He worked hard with equipment crews and band room duties and fundraising activities.  We were at every event from dawn til dusk (exaggeration, but seriously- we were usually one of the first there and last to leave).

Me?  I was a pianist before I could say my name.  I later learned flute and piccolo, and then joined the colorguard.  I wasn't quite as devoted as Michael, but I still worked hard.  I was section leader.  I was voted best musician.  I played a solo at state merely days after knee surgery while I was hyped up on vicadin and STILL was only 1 point away from an excellent rating!

Ahem... Anyways.  Yes, even now, years after graduating and leaving the college world for adulthood, we are still band geeks at heart.  We show up 2 hours before the game (usually earlier).  We haul equipment, wear uniforms and bright shiny field passes, push prod and haul band kids into formation, and then watch a football game from the sideline (where you can see approximately nothing).  We listen to really loud music right next to us while shouting at refs and cheering with the squads.  At half time Michael takes his camera to record while I haul equipment.  We watch the band do their thing while most are getting pizza.  We haul everything back and then feed them all like toddlers, because they always need a sugar rush to survive the third quarter lull.  We lose our voices.  At the end we haul everything back, shake hands, watch the band kids dance, comment on the game, then go grab a beer with the other alumni (who are incidentally doing the same thing as you are).  However, before we can leave the field we always pay tribute to the Alma Mater- heads held high, arms linked together.  

This is our football season.  We root our BEARCATS on every game.  We're there in the rain, or with serious colds (possibly the flu).  Sometimes both (see: this weekend).  We love our team, even when they lose (or lose their coach- see: Notre Dame lost and I want to gloat).  Hell, we even make our holiday plans around our team's schedule.  Last year Mike and I celebrated 4 years in New Orleans, band style, cuz that's just how we roll.  This is what we do.


I wouldn't change it for all the money in the world.

Married Mannerisms II

"Your notebook says hot chocolate on the front?"

- "Yes"

"Am I your hot chocolate?"

- "Hahaha.  Yes.  Yes you are."

Taking a quick break

I know it's been over a week.  I apologize.  The idea behind this blog is to discuss happy things, and we've had some major issues of our own and I'm not quite down with bringing everyone down.

For a quick re-cap, though, if you are at all interested, we found out last Monday about the miscarriage.  However, there were complications, so I had to go in for a quick surgical visit THIS Monday to clear up some issues.  For the record- between the fear of the complications and the pain of the loss, last week was probably the worst week of my life.

That's in the past now.  To be honest, I might not feel so good now had I not had last week to compare this week to.  It's been bad as well.  Unfortunately whilst I was in surgery on Monday my grandfather passed away.

PLEASE don't go thinking I'm running emo on you and turning into a depressed sour puss, but it's just been a little rough.  In all fairness, however, I must say that my grandfather has been extremely sick for a very long time.  He's been in and out of hospitals, rehab, nursing facilities, more hospitals, etc etc for going on 4 years now.  He was doing pretty well until about March, I'd say, but since has been in quite a lot of pain and really taken a turn for the worse.  It's almost a relief to see that he has passed on and is no longer in pain.  We will certainly miss him, though.  He always had a smile and a wink.  He told everyone just how good lookin' they were.  He always had a laugh, and he LOVED his Reds.  I hope they continue to kick butt this year, just for him.

Basically life has been a little chaotic lately.  I'm going to probably not write for another week, but when I come back I promise to be on cue for happiness and the fun quirks of life, simply because it has to go on.  It does go on.  Who knows, maybe I'll even have an organized plan for my blog!!!!  We'll see... we'll see...  Oh, and I'll have pictures.  I promise.