Hooray For New Things and New Beginnings!

Wow-It's been awhile since I've written a post. Mainly because nothing really interesting has been going on. My life probably already seems boring enough without REALLY having nothing to talk about.
My Christmas was incredible! It was the first one my fiance and I actually spent together. That may sound weird, but we've always agreed that we should not miss out on seeing either of our families, so we've always spent the holidays with our own respective families, and celebrated together the day before or the day after. But since we are well on our way to being our OWN little family (uhhh...no kids! just me, him, and the bun!) we decided it was high time we made the holiday rounds together. My fiance was VERY tired on Christmas because he worked all night Christmas Eve (he's a nurse). But we still managed to see both his family and mine. It was great. On the way to my parents' house, I was feeling so completely happy that we were able to see everyone and spend the day together. We wrapped all the presents the night before, and Armani was very interested. He tried opening them himself! We gave him a new basket to sit in and chew on, but he wasn't very into it until the distracting presents were all gone after Christmas.
I got some INSANE gifts for Christmas this year. First and foremost, the NEW laptop I'm typing on right this second. It's not brand new, it's refurbished, but it looks and runs brand new and I love it! It took a long, frustrating time to get it set up with a wireless router, but now it's moving along just spendidly. Also, I got a new printer/copier/scanner. Which will be ESSENTIAL for student teaching. (More on that later). Also got a new camera---the old one was broken so I was very excited about that too. I got a Nikon Coolpix and so far I am really liking it. Hopefully it will last longer than my Kodak. :-(
This year was definitely the year for electronics because the FH and I pooled our Best Buy gift cards together and made our first big purchase together-a new LCD tv! It's amazing. Let me tell you, I don't think I've ever seen that boy so thrilled in all my life. We've basically been glued to it the past few days, in between work and sleep lol.
Soooo I also ordered a 88-color eyeshadow palette from coastalscents.com over a week ago and I am STILL waiting for it. Lately, I've been really into makeup-especially eye makeup. By browsing through some makeup blogs, I heard a lot about Coastal Scents and decided I wanted to check them out for myself. I still can't believe that I could get that much eyeshadow for about twenty bucks...but apparently you can and apparently it's really good quality. I still don't understand how anyone can spend TONS of money on the bigger named brands, like MAC, etc, but I do like makeup and twenty bucks sounded right to me. But, the website claims you'll receive your order in like, three days...SO not true in my case. I called FedEx today and they said I should receive it tomorrow. I guess you could say it took three-four days considering the holiday and everything. But, I am not a very patient person at times. I can't wait for it to get here! I want to see if it's actually as good as what everyone claims it is. Plus it's an easy way to get a lot of new makeup.
Sooo what else??? I have TWO days left at work. And I am feeling ready to start this student teaching adventure I've waiting so long for! I can't believe I actually start on Monday. I was reading over the syllabi for the two classes I will eventually be managing, and there are many, many books and stories I'll be reading. I kind of wish I had put a dent in all of that earlier, but it may be better to just read along at the same schedule as the students so everything is fresh in my mind. I was glad to see some of my favorite books on there-namely, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. It's going to be great to have such a wide variety of novels and pieces to think about and teach to my students. I have a feeling this experience is going to be incredible, memorable, and essential for my career as a teacher. I've been in the business world for only a few years, but even just reading the syllabus and preparing for reading and writing again is thrilling, and really makes me see that this current office life is really NOT for me. I am SO ready for a new kind of work and a new reason to get moving in the morning. I am nervous-not going to lie about that-but I think that's a good thing. I just can't wait to start the new year with this new path I'll be on-In just a few short days!
Until next time!

New News

The past week has certainly been a rollercoaster of emotions. I FINALLY found out that I am officially doing my student teaching at my school of choice in January. And it only took six months to organize!!! Sooo frustrating....but at least that HUGE worry is off my chest. For awhile, I thought that I was going to be without a job and without a student teaching placement. I always tend to assume the worst, no matter how many times things turn out of the best. That is something I am definitely working on. I don't want to spend the rest of my life freaking out over every uncertainty that pops up--because of course, there will be many of them. So needless to say, I am quite proud of myself. I feel like I'm taking a giant step to where I want to be, and the thought of beginning my teaching career fills me with nothing but happiness and excitement-I am completely certain I am on the right path for me. It is such a great feeling to know that things are finally falling into place.

A few days after hearing this news, I went into panic mode for another reason. Friday night, I was playing with Armani when I decided to do my weekly health inspection. Every week, I check him all over to make sure he looks healthy and everything seems normal. I don't think most people do this with their pets, but it is something I think everyone should do. A lot of times you hear stories about sicknesses that were caught too late in animals. Because they obviously can't tell us what is wrong in words, we have to be on the lookout for tell tale signs of illness. This is especially true in rabbits; because they are prey animals by nature, bunnies will instinctively hide their illnesses and not act sick. If they did act sick in the wild, this would make them more susceptible to predators. But for owners this is bad news!!! I've become extremely vigilent in checking for problems with my little bun. Even though he is an indoor bun and not as prone to illness as outdoor rabbits or a house of multiple rabbits would be, he's still able to get sick--as you'll learn from the following story. So...as I was saying, Friday night, I was giving Armani a little checkup and noticed, to my SHOCK...what I could have sworn were a few tiny worm-like things moving on his bottom. Gross, I know. Well I also saw some of these tiny white things in his litter box. Ryan didn't notice anything. He thought it was just the paper based litter we use in his potty...but it wasn't. I was supposed to hang out with a friend later on that night after Ryan went to work...but when I was literally about to walk out the door, I checked his litter box again and there was no doubt in my mind that what I saw was pinworms. Disgusting. I immediately called the emergency vet in my area after calling my regular vet and finding out they were closed. They told me to bring him down so they could check it out, so I ended up having to cancel on my friend. Sooo...a little while later, after meeting (and frightening!) several LARGE dogs (what is there to be afraid of? he's a five pound pile of fluff), the doctor was finally ready. Of course, I wasn't smart enough to bring a poop sample with me, so I ended up going back home to get some. I know this sounds gross, but it's been the major event in my life the past few days, so bear with me. So, coming back with the sample, they ran some tests and found out he tested negative for worms, but they did see the ones I was talking about. So, they gave me two doses of panacur (a parasite medicine for animals) and told me to inject it into his mouth!!! They obviously don't know how difficult that is to do with a rabbit. Well, they sent us on our merry way, and I was left to my own devices. I tried several methods to get him to take the medicine, and finally, after much head shaking, fussing, and general panicking (maybe that's why the medicine is called panacur?), I got most of it in his little bunny mouth. And voila! Four days later, no wormies. I haven't seen anything since Saturday morning. We even brought him back to our usual vet (who called me a "worrier"...like I need to be told that), and said that he his most likely A-OK. They said the medicine will clear it all up. And I really think he's ok...because I've checked him out about twenty times since then...lol. Plus cleaned the house from top to bottom. I just feel so guilty thinking that I might have somehow given him something to eat that was contaminated, or when I let him play outside at my grandparents, if he picked something up that way...I just feel so bad. The vet said he could have gotten it from anywhere...even could have had it since he was a baby! :-( To some, a rabbit isn't a pet, but Armani is definitely a part of our family and we care about him sooo much. I don't care if I am a worrier...he's my baby and he's my responsibility. I'm just glad everything is turning out well in the situation.

Well I'm getting pretty tired so I'm going to go relax after a lonnng day at work. Until next time!

Missing Childhood

The past week has left me feeling sad, nostalgic, and worried for the future. I was hoping to end the week feeling refreshed, happy, and motivated. but instead I find myself feeling frozen by so many things. I spent part of the week at my grandparents', and although I always love to go there, I often find myself wishing that I could turn back time to when I was a child. Going there brings back a lot of memories from childhood, probably because it has been such an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. I find myself wishing I could do some things over again, and I wish I was able to put into words how much my family means to me. I feel like some connection has been lost in that department. I feel that time is moving way too fast now, and I wish I could gain back that feeling of happiness and security I felt as a little girl. Lately, I've been interested in finding children's books I read many years ago, but coming across them online, although fun and interesting, has strangely been a sad experience as well. It has only heightened this feeling that time has escaped me. It brought back memories of playing in the Little House my grandfather and uncle built for my sister and me, running through the field on long summer days, and not realizing that childhood someday does end. I can only hope that the changes coming up will help to bring back my happiness and feeling of "rightness" to my life. The past few days, I have found myself crying out of nowhere as I think of all the things that seem to be going wrong lately, and all the things that used to feel so right. I wish that the next month would somehow be over so I could feel that progress is being made. Lately I've had a very bad feeling from work and I am so ready to start this new student teaching thing. Helping people to learn about the things I get so much joy from will hopefully bring me more happiness than sadness and discontent, which is all I am feeling at the moment. I don't mean to sound depressing but I just had to get these feelings out on paper.

Until next time.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

Yessss!!! My long-awaiting vacation is here. Well..almost. I have to work tomorrow for a few hours, but Saturdays are always quiet. I have been looking forward to some time off for months now. There comes a time where I feel like I just can't do any more work without taking a well-deserved break.
Yesterday we had a little cake party for my birthday at work. I didn't even know anyone knew it was my birthday. Someone was sneaky and found out! As much as I feel ready to move on and try something new career-wise, I will certainly miss my work pals.
Today is yet another unseasonably warm November day. I FINALLY went back to the gym today after a very, very long hiatus. I found that taking such a long break has put me back where I started, where after less than a mile run, I found myself winded and ready for a drink of water. Somewhat embarrassing, but I am really going to try to start going again on a regular basis. I did do some ab and arm exercises as well, so all was not lost. While a lot of my reasons for exercising again stem from my wedding (and wearing of my dress) being less than a year away, I really just want to start feeling more healthy and more energized.
Later on today we are meeting with our priest to go over some stuff for RCIA. I still find myself really unsure about becoming an official Catholic. My fiance is Catholic but really isn't that into it. And I find myself swaying between feeling very comforted and happy with my experience there, and questioning if it is really the right path for me. I still think at this point I will not end up going through the entire process of baptism and everything, but time will tell. We can still get married in the church since my fiance is Catholic, and that is what we are planning to do-because it is important to him from a family and tradition perspective. At first I was really not into the whole thing, but I realize that marriage is a lot about comprimise, and if it is important to him, I am ready to have a Catholic wedding. For me personally though, I feel that my religious perspective is still in the making. I'm just glad that the church we attend is so welcoming and understanding-I really didn't know what to expect when we first sat down with the priest to discuss our intent to marry in his church. Things all in all are really turning out wonderful when it comes to our wedding! I find myself becoming more and more excited every day when I think about the ceremony and reception. I can't wait to just spend a whole day with everyone I care about most, and I can't wait to be finally be married to my fiance.
Well...that's all I have for now.
Until next time!

A Balmy Birthday

I turned 25 today. As someone so kindly pointed out to me at work, "You're halfway to thirty!" Just what I want to hear. But seriously, I don't really care. Unless it means I get savings on my car insurance! (Which I wholeheartedly intend to investigate on my day off Friday!)

It's been a sort of strange week. My fiance has worked the night shift this week, which leaves me home alone to my own devices. At times, I enjoy being alone and being in the quiet of things, but lately, I just want us to spend more time together. Last night, my attention was diverted between keeping Armani out of trouble, reading my latest library book, and keeping an eye on the election results. Being a member of the more conservative persuasion, the results did not quite give me the birthday present I had wished for. YES, there are some young people out there who have conservative values! Surprise, surprise! Anyway...as disappointed as I was, it IS an exciting time we live in, and I am eager to see how things pan out from here. I thought I would be more upset/angry about the results, but I was not surprised by them, and was more so taken aback by my less-than-heated reaction. While I do not agree with many liberal and Obama-esque ideals, I hope to keep an open mind and hope for a bright future for our country over the next years. What does everyone else think about the election results, and the entire election season in all?
The weather today was not November-like at all. My fiance drove down to my work and we went out for lunch. And we even ate outside! Although I am a little weird and like cold weather, the occasional balmy day in late fall/winter is quite a treat! We almost (almost) didn't need our coats. But, I am ALL SET with wearing my thrifted ($6) 70's-ish tweed coat. I would wear it inside all day if it weren't for the boiling temperature of my office! I've been really into bargains lately. Probably because I know I won't have money once I start student teaching and leave the pay-roll world behind, but also because I am sick of the stuff I see at the mall. For awhile, I was starting to get into this sort of angular, austure, Victoria Beckham sort of look. But like so many times before, I quickly tired of that. Just by looking at a few blogs online, I've become inspired to really find my own style and my own way of dressing. A few months ago, I started scanning the racks at various thrift stores in my area, and I just had this sort of clothing epiphany. Usually, I'll buy clothes in bulk a couple of times a year, and almost instantly experience that dreaded BUYERS REMORSE. But after that latest shopping excursion at the beginning of fall, I just felt fulfilled and comfortable in my own skin. Partly because I spend A LOT less than I normally do, but partly because I felt like the things I bought were really reflective of me, and the things I like. I am trying to not shop as much altogether and think in terms of what I NEED instead of what I WANT AT THAT MOMENT. I think that by looking in these thrift shops and more unique places, I'll not only find things that I am more excited about, but also things that are cheaper yet last longer because of the difference in quality. Everyone knows that clothes (and a lot of other items as well!) were made better years ago than they are being made now. So, it all seems like style common sense to me. My priorities may have shifted to a more career-oriented way of thinking, but that doesn't mean I still can't look cute-and uniquely myself-at the same time.
Does anyone else enjoy thrift and antique shops as much as I do? The thing about these shops is, even if you don't come out with anything in hand, it's soooo much fun to just poke around and look at all the interesting-and often quirky-little items stuffed on the shelves and racks.
Well, this post has dragged on past its prime so...until next time!

Hello to You!

Well, I've never actually had a blog before...except for back in the days of Livejournal...which only a few people could see anyway. So this is a bit intimidating! A friend actually showed me hers and told me it was theraputic---which is EXACTLY what I could use a bit of right now.

Let's see...I should probably tell you all some things about myself. I am turning twenty-five next week and looking to be an English teacher next year. I work in the "numbers" field of things, which has been real, but...it's time to do something that really makes me truly happy. You spend AT LEAST eight hours a day at work--you should be able to spend those eight hours talking about poetry and Emerson if you want to, right? Somehow I can't picture factoring Brit lit into conversations about interest rates and such, can you?

What else...I am getting married next year. David Bowie's "Changes" has been running through my mind a lot lately. I've lived with my boyfriend for over a year now, and we've been together for over three...but it's still a big deal! I never thought I'd be obsessing over a shade of red...but there ya go. We are getting married at an beautiful old church in our city, and then having our reception at a lodge-y type place on a mountain. I still can't believe it. My friends can attest, I was completely anamored with my fiance before I really even knew him. Love at first sight at its finest!

We live in a nice lil' apartment with the one, the only, Armani the bunny. Seriously, this little guy keeps me smiling no matter what. He may not always like to be held (I think he has about a thirty second time limit before he's bounding out of my arms), but he really is just a fluffy puff of love. Pets really do make all the difference in one's life, don't you think?

Soo...currently I am kind of teetering on the edge of a few big life changes, which hasn't exactly had a positive effect on my nerves. I've had problems sleeping lately, which doesn't make for a great day ahead of that...I'm going to try to snap out of it as best I can...but insomnia really is my version of hell. Usually, the thought of a long night asleep in my cozy bed is about the best thing ever. But lately, because of a few sleepless nights, I DREAD bedtime like a little kid. Which makes it even harder to wind down and fall asleep. It's just a horrible cycle. Has anyone else experienced what I am talking about? What do you do when you can't sleep?

Well I am actually quite excited about finally joining the bloggin world! Hopefully this first one doesn't sound too much like a crazy melancholic rant...there will certainly be more posts to follow-and hopefully not sleepy ones!

Until next time!