Day 120 and 121

So the weekend is officially over!

Yesterday I went to the pointsettia sale. It was chaos! People were fighting over carts, fighting over plants! You would think it was Black Friday all over again!

I wasn't planning on getting any plants. I was just going to take pictures, but I ended up getting a white/red one that looks stellar on my kitchen table!

Then I went over to my parents' house to work on wedding programs. Soooo much assembly required. Good thing I started making them way back in summer or else I would've had a ton of more work to do yesterday. Even still we put in a good 4 hours of hole punching and paper cutting. I just need a bit more ribbon and they will be done!

Today I'm going to go work out, run some errands, and go to my first day of PM shift! I'm so excited to start my regular shift. It's going to be a crazy night I'm sure!

Talk to you all tomorrow!

Day 119

As promised... Here is the big bathroom reveal!

But I'm tired. So you will get more from me tomorrow. Enjoy!

Day 117 and 118

I hope everybody had a very happy Thanksgiving!!!

Mine was alright. Definitely not the best Thanksgiving on record. There were no large family gatherings... after all it is the first Thanksgiving without Grandma. And I was all sorts of congested... which left the feast rather tasteless.

Here is Penny... eying up the turkey. We had lunch at my parents' house. The usual Thanksgiving food was present. And per usual I walked away with lots of left overs... which is what happens when you cook a 23lb turkey!

And of course is always football, which I find it weird that it is a Thanksgiving tradition. Don't get me wrong, I like my football, but I do feel that it takes away from quality family time.

Then for dinner we went by Josh's sister's house. I didn't eat. I wasn't really hungry. I felt sickly. Screaming children worsened my headache. All in all I just wanted to sleep.

Today was a day of cleaning. :) I love the aftermath of a good cleaning. It all started when I got a text message that my Christmas present was being delivered this morning: my grandpa's electric piano. :) Listening to him play the piano growing up is the reason I wanted to learn how to play. He is such a talented player. Now that he is in the nursing home he was ready to get rid of his piano. So, my uncle had everyone in the family place bids. I couldn't afford to spend money on it, so I passed it by. My parents on the other hand won the bid by $1. And thus, the piano made it's way to my house today.

Preparation for this included cleaning and rearranging the house to try to find a spot for it. We found the perfect spot! I have it in the same room as Josh's computer. He always gets mopey when I'm not by him, so this way we can each do our own thing in the same room!

I'm soooo rusty. I haven't really played much of anything in over five years. So tonight I sat down and ran through some warm ups and pounded my way through a few songs. I'm hoping to get proficient at some Christmas carols for this year. :)

Dear blogland, get excited for tomorrow....

I will be unveiling the before and after pictures of the "Great Bathroom Makeover"!!!!! There will be no painting involved but I'm setting up the bathroom with the new decor we received as wedding shower gifts. I just wish our walls were a different color and/or the flooring was different. Oh well, nothing I can do about that, but I can make the most of what I have!!!

Day 111-116

Holy cats it's been awhile!!! So I just got done working 5 days in a row. Three of those five I've been feeling under the weather. It started with a monstrous sore throat and now I'm a sniffling snot monster. No fun. It's especially hard to concentrate and focus when I'm feeling cruddy. Not to mention Monday was the day from heck. One of my patients was legit crazy, and another was bitching everyone out. Not a good day.

This picture was from Friday. Mom always brings home the left over popcorn from work. So I share it with Penny! :)

This is a picture of new life. I stuck a leaf in the dirt way back in June. It never died... but for the longest time it was just one big ol' leaf sitting in the dirt. And now finally other leaves started shooting out! Grandma would be so proud of my violet growing abilities.

On Saturday it was Josh's 26th birthday! :)

But I worked... :(

After work we went up to his sister's house and had dinner. They also picked up this little cake. We were lacking on candles so we had to use our imaginations. 25 + 1 = 26 :)

He is my old man and I love him for it every day! Just another year of growing old together, and many more to come!

Here is my Christmas tree!!!! I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to decorate a tree this year... I refused! But Angie was getting me all revved up about her tree, which inspired me to do my own. And since this tree won't be enjoyed for as long, I decided to just set up my little tree instead of my big one.

My next dilemma was that I didn't want to use all my normal decorations. Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby's 50% off sale! I was able to go out and accessorize my tree for less than $25! Yay for bargains! I went with a purple and silver tree this year. I've been hooked on the color purple for a while, not sure why, but I love it!

And now I have four days off. What a wonderful holiday weekend! Goals for this weekend:

-finish Christmas shopping

-figure out my head count

-finish my wedding favors

-print programs

-start reading my books that arrived from Amazon (yay!!!! just when I thought I was done with school, now I start studying again!)

-Eat turkey!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :)

Day 109 and 110

So today I got done with computer training early! Yay! I ran down to the jeweler's and picked up my ring which got soldered. It is sooooo bling-y! Lots of sparkle, lots of shine. I can't wait to wear it in less than a month!

So last night I got to thinking. Around this time of year, many children are starting to make Christmas lists to Santa. Last night I made a prayer list to organize my thoughts. I'm going to list it here, in case any of you feel like tacking on one of these people to your prayers. :)

-I want Cody to have guidance. High school is a tough time and you have to make a lot of choices.... some of them are not always good choices. I hope he finds himself and can decide what direction his life will take. Right now is a major turning point and I hope he makes wise choices.

-I want peace for Conner. That poor little boy has been through so much. I've never met him, and probably never will, but my heart aches for him. He was born prematurely into our friends' family. He has been in the hospital for over 100 days. Should he get out of the hospital he will have intestinal issues, cerebral palsy and blindness. I just want him to be at peace and to be happy, especially with all of the difficult things he has gone through.

-I want more than anything for Duke to have progress with this therapy.

-I want my grandpa to have happy days. He doesn't like the nursing home and is constantly at war with all of his medications. I just want him to be happy for even a minute.

-I pray for all of my patients and their health.

-I pray for my friends and their struggles. Some struggle with work or school. Almost all have relationship struggles, whether it is break-ups, disagreements, or long distance. I just want the best for all of my friends.

-I pray that my parents have the knowledge to handle issues with my brother. That they can get through to him without having him close down.

-I pray for Josh (of course). I pray for his safety everyday when he drives to work. I pray that his heart is filled with my love. I pray for his happiness. :) <3

-And I pray for myself. That my life is filled with more forgiveness of others (a continuous struggle). I also ask for more acceptance and trust in God. That no matter what happens in life I can count on Him to help me through.

"The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

<-- This is what my silly puppy is doing right now. She has been laying on the coffee table a lot lately. :P

Day 107 and 108

Hey everyone!

So I've been working the past two days. Nothing too exciting. I switched floor and am now orienting on my next floor of my rotation. I'm only on the floor for half days this week because I'm spending the other half of the day training (computers and education, etc.). So far so good.

So check out my pretty box. :) Guess what it is....

It's my wedding gift from Josh!!!

I heard of this neat website (see photo below) that makes personalized jewelry. Personalized with dates, names, etc. I browsed the site and found quite a few items I liked. I pointed out to Josh a few necklaces I liked; ones I'd consider getting to give as gifts.

So this package came in the mail yesterday. And because Josh is a bad secret keeper, I got to see my necklace. :)

Not sure if he is going to let me wear it before the wedding or not. Why not really? I've seen it. So why let it sit in the cupboard and not be flaunted??? :) We shall see.

Tomorrow I get to meet with the priest to go over the wedding program and make sure all the details are ironed out. Then come Friday I get to have my final fitting, pick up my rings, meet with the DJ, and pick up the marriage license.

AND a good chunk of my Team Tipple is coming to the wedding!!!! I'm so excited to see them again! This wedding is going to be a kick-ass party!

25 days and counting!!!

Days 102-106

Well, it's been a while. A very busy while. So I have many pictures to make up for it!

On Wednesday we celebrated our 7 year anniversary. :) Our last anniversary as fiancées. I can't believe we have been together that long. We have been through so much, the good and the bad, and even the ugly. I truly feel like we can handle anything life throws our way.

I worked Wednesday morning and then we went to Chili's for dinner. (Nothing special I know, but the best part of the night was yet to come!)

Then we went to Dane Cook with Nikki and Jamie. He had three opening acts which were pretty good. He used a lot of new material and it was hilarious as usual. It was a great anniversary!

Thursday I had a half day of work and then met up with the event coordinator for our reception. We hashed through details of the wedding and I think everything is squared away. Then I talked to the DJ on the phone for 30 mins. He serenaded me with music over the phone and we picked out songs for every thing. I meet in person to finalize things this coming Friday.

Friday I worked. After work we met with the photographer, who is by far the nicest guy ever! :) I'm so excited to see his work.

Saturday was a day of cleaning. I scrubbed floors and vacuumed and straightened out the kitchen. Then my mom and I drove out to Wausau for the Playbox concert!!!!

Before the concert we met up with Jody and Jana and went out to eat. The food gave me a major upset stomach but it was better after seeing the girls.... as in Jana's cute daughter, and then their two Australian Shepherds. I can't wait until my dogs are a couple years older and hopefully as calm as their dogs are. Then it was off to see Playbox!

The boys had a blast out there and the crowd made the show really fun. There were lots of people dancing and there was lots of crowd interaction. Unfortunately being in Wausau we had to drive over and hour there and back and I didn't get home until 3am! *yawn*

Josh and I relaxed and cuddled all morning today. We took a little snooze laying on the couch with our puppies. My little bit of heaven on earth! :) Then I went over to grandma's house to work on some wedding projects and now I'm just relaxing the night away and getting caught up on things.

It's going to be a busy week. I have 4 days of work (mostly computer training *yawn*) and then Friday off and then 5 more days of work. I do have Thursday through Sunday off on Thanksgiving weekend and I can't wait!!!! I hope the weeks just fly by! Oh and next Friday all of our RSVPs are due back!!!!! I can't wait to get all that finished. The time after that will go so fast, I can feel it already!

Night ya'll!!!! Hope you can all kick back and relax tonight!

Day 100 and 101

So this is not cool.... I go to look at my blog and my photos are mini-sized. Sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't. Blogger is kinda acting up for me right now.

So unfortunately for the landmark days of 100 and 101 of my photoblog I'm having no photos. They are on my camera, but I just can't bring myself around to pulling them up.... I'm kinda in a mood right now.

Yesterday was a busy day at work, kinda hairy and crazy. But it is good to have some of that on orientation because I have someone backing me up.

Today was my day off. I got up early (thank you inner time clock) and started my chasing around. I went to return some things to Hobby Lobby. Then came the scrub store. FYI GB has a HUGE scrub store! I was in heaven. They have tons of sale and clearance scrubs and just about every brand you can think of. I got some really cute scrubs: 5 tops and 2 bottoms. Then I went to Old Navy because they had all their winter coats at 50% off. I got a cute black peacoat. :)

Being a Tuesday, I dropped into my swim class to visit my ladies. They had so many questions about boards and my job and wedding plans. They were super excited that I came!

Then I drove to Appleton to get my ring soldered. I'll be able to pick it up next week, probably on Friday cuz I don't have to work. Technically I'm not supposed to wear my ring until the wedding, so that means: more shopping! I went to the mall yet again and got a place-holder ring to wear in the mean time. Then Josh got home and we went grocery shopping. I think it was the most successful grocery shopping trip ever. There will be no wasted food this time. Sometimes we have fruit go bad or whatever, but not this time! We planned out a bunch of meals and just bought enough food for that.

Now I'm just chilling for the rest of the night. Tomorrow is our 7 year anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long. It is pretty amazing. The only 7 year itch I have is the itch to marry this man stat! I work tomorrow and then we are going to see Dane Cook! It is going to be the best last anniversary as fiancées ever!

I will have lots of fun pics tomorrow I'm sure! :) Good night, sleep tight!

Day 98 and 99

Hey ya'll!

This was my first weekend of working. Overall the weekend wasn't too bad. I had the same patients since Friday and I will continue to have them through Monday. A couple of them may go home tomorrow. One may die. :( We didn't think she would make it to today.

I'm so excited about my career. Many people complain about the hours and working weekends, but I think it will end up being the perfect career for raising a family. Once we start having kids I can just cut back on how many hours I want to work. You can work anywhere between 1-5 shifts per week. And the different shifts allow for some variability in rearranging schedules. Josh is a huge hater of day care and doesn't want other people raising our children. So I will be able to be home all day and work minimal PM shifts and then when I go in for work Josh will be able to come home. We always said whoever made less money will be the stay at home person during the day. Luckily that just happens to be me! :)

Tonight is the Packer game. I'm going to try and stay awake for the whole game, but I make no guarantees. I do have to work in the morning. And then I have Tuesday off! I'm so excited for my Tuesday. AND my Wednesday. Wednesday is our 7 year anniversary. I need to find something to get Josh yet.... I work on Wednesday and then I'm sure we will go out to eat before going to the Dane Cook performance. Exciting week coming up!

Oooooh Packer's just got an interception! Time to go watch them score!!!!!! Later!

Day 97

So this isn't a recent picture because obviously it is cold outside. But it is a picture I took a year or so ago that I feel is fitting.

I just need to get this down so that I don't forget. I never kept up with my wedding journal so I guess I'll write it here.

I've had wedding dreams the last two nights. The first one was that I was at a wedding, I believe it was my wedding. I was laying down across one of the pews and looking up towards the aisle. Along comes the people handing out programs. One was my aunt Keri, she skipped right passed me laying there. And the other was Aunt Pat, she smiled her big warm smile at me and handed me a program. I was so in shock at seeing her that I nearly woke myself up. I tried falling back into the dream, but just then my alarm went off and I had to get up for work.

Last night my dream was me standing at my wedding watching people come in and sit down. My grandpa was sitting alone in the front row in his wheelchair. All of a sudden my grandma walked in looking beautiful yet confused. I went up to her to escort her to her seat. I gave her a hug and as I hugged her she said "Hi honey, you look gorgeous." And then just like that she snapped back into her Alzheimer-self and was super confused as to who people were or where she was going. And I walked her to a seat near grandpa. I woke up crying my eyes out. Luckily I feel back asleep rather quickly.

These dreams have such deep significance to me. I cherish the thought of them, despite the tears that come with. I wish they could be at my real wedding so badly. I know they are there in spirit but it just isn't the same...

Day 96

So no picture by me today, because I was the one being photographed!!! :) Josh and I were models for my cousin's photography class yet again! (He was less than thrilled.)

Today was a pretty chill day off. I started getting more wedding things in line. Then I laid around and watched TV all afternoon. And then.... are you ready for this???.... really really ready????

I made my appointment with THE MIDWIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, now, hold your horses! No I am not preggo! This is just for my yearly physical and a 'getting to know the provider' appointment, since I haven't met her before. I'm soooo pumped. I figure why not start going there now for my vag health so that when the time comes for babies her and I will be on the same page and comfortable with each other. :)

OMG I'm so excited about it I could pee! It's going to be my most highly anticipated pap ever! lol. Hopefully this awkward enthusiasm wears off sometime in the next two months before the appointment.

For all of you out there (like my mother) who are unfamiliar with midwifery you should definitely check out the movie The Business of Being Born. Awesome movie. After I'm done with this post I'm going to go watch it for my 5th time. (It is on Netflix instant watch. I recommend dropping everything and watching it right now.)

Speaking of Mother, she was surprisingly receptive of my appointment with the midwife. A little back story: I brought it up to her over the summer and she freaked... legit freak out. She can't understand why someone would not want to have a baby in the hospital. So I talked about it with her and she continued freaking out. So I dragged her butt to my house and we sat and watched the movie. When she left I could tell she still wasn't totally comfortable with the idea, but she will have time to adapt. She better if she wants grandbabies! After the wedding I'm starting my doula training also and I think that will help her be more comfortable with all of this.

Now off to watch my movie yet again!

Day 95

Dear blogland, I have strep throat. I've never had strep before. It sucks. I have been feeling like crap the past two days so when I woke up still feeling bad I knew something was up. My doctor's office couldn't get me in, so I went to a fast care center. They choked me out with the gag stick and told me I was one of the fastest positive streps they've ever seen... yay?

So anyway, I have to be quarantine for 24 hours until my antibiotics kick in. It kind of works out nice seeing I have off of work tomorrow, although Josh and I are supposed to be models tomorrow night for the photography class.... I need to start feeling better so I can have real smiles and real love for the pictures. I need to not feel like a bag of ass. Arg.

I did get to skip out of going to the convent today... which is good and bad. Good: I didn't have to feel like shit so far away from home. Bad: because I think they will make me go again later, I'm sure.

Tonight was lots of chicken noodle soup all thanks to my babe. :) Tomorrow will be a day of lounging and maybe wedding planning if I feel up to it.

Until then, I will try not to breath on you via computer.... good night hopefully healthier bloggers!

Day 93 and 94

Hey everyone.

So I really have no pictures for you. Yesterday I felt miserable and was in bed by 7pm. Today looks like a repeat performance..... I have a killer sore throat, I alternate between sweats and chills, I'm absolutely dragging. It sucks. Work yesterday was a disaster, I was so not with it. Today was a bit milder since I wasn't on the floor, just doing chemo intro training. I plan on being asleep and in bed by 8:30 tonight.

Not sure how sickness will affect weight loss. I have been eating a decent amount but my appetite is super picky. Which leads to less snacking. I also have been sleeping more than normal, that needs to help. Who knows? Maybe if I have a good week I'll pick up running again next week.

On the bright side! I have next Tuesday off so I get to go swimming and reconnect with my favorite water ladies! I'm super excited to tell them all about my job! They will be excited too, they just don't know it yet!

Well.... time to start getting ready for bed. I need to feel better tomorrow!!! I have a retreat to go to, aka on a bus, aka 30 minutes away, so I just can't leave work whenever I feel crappy. :(

Good bye bloggettes, Hello Nyquil!