the first day back and i am the chicken....

so today was a little hectic.... okay a lot of hectic! it seemed liked i had absolutely no time to breath- no time to do anything for that matter! the day went by quickly though which was nice because seeing as it was the first day back in classes i had no desire to be there- does anyone really want to go back after a nice relaxing break?

if you are rational the answer is no...... :0)

so i started the day off late- D wakes up for work at about 7:45 because he works at 8:30- i asked him to kindly wake me up at 8:10 but that didn't happen- and why didn't it happen? because my hubby is a freak of nature- he truly spends longer in the shower than i do- at least 30 minutes if not more.... i'm totally serious- it's completely alien to me- what guy spends 30 or more minutes in the shower? so this is why i got woken up at 8:29 instead of 8:10- that would normally be fine except for the fact i have class at 9:00 on Mon and Wed.

so i jumped out of bed... skipped the nice relaxing hot shower and jumped in my car making it to school with plenty of time to spare!!!!!

that is what i SHOULD have done, and in a perfect world i probably would have....

instead i decided to lay in bed another 10 minutes- then if that weren't bad enough i decided i absolutely needed a shower- it would relax me for my first day- and after all the shower is truly what was going to make or break my day so i went for it. i rolled into class at promptly 9:25- fashionably late right?

hmmmmmm wrong...... i didn't realize we had all of our samples for our dye unit due on wednesday.... this wednesday..... so i ran around the room like a chicken with my head caught off- until my good friend erin told me that i needed to relax- which is very true- getting all high strung and crazy over some dumb fabric really isn't worth it- a good friend always knows when to tell you to chill out- and i definately needed to chill

so then i went to the cafeteria- hubby had called so i called him back- and what a sweetheart, he called just to see how my first day back was going- these are the little things that make my husband so great- hearing his voice instantly put me in a much, much, better state of mind- i grabbed a tasty lunch of salad and a awesome veggie wrap and went to my next class- history of psych, which i was completely and totally prepared for :0) at least that's what i thought....

i took a quick peak at the syllabus and realized that i have a rough draft of my 10 page paper due next week... which i haven't even started- nor do i have all of my resources yet. why do i procrastinate? the least i could do is have my resources ya know? so now i will be spending a good majority of my weekend writing my paper- or at least a couple of pages to show her i have something- i am lucky because my teacher is pretty cool- she allowed me to hand in my outline later because i was having computer troubles- which really saved me because she is grading the paper as we go along- meaning the topic we handed in is worth 5 points, the outline is worth another 10- so if you don't hand something in along the way those points are automatically deducted from the final grade- i was totally thankful- how often is it that you get a professor that is understanding? not often at my school so i was pretty happy.

after that class i went to my art therapy internship class- and realized i had to present today- and i had not read. i didn't intentionally forget that i had to present the chapter i just forgot due to my fantastically lazy spring break. so i completely faked it.... and it worked! i don't like to do that- especially when i am going to present- i may not read everything that is assigned in my classes but if i am going to present i make it a point to read- especially because i feel like i presenting the material which is very important to not only my learning but the other students in my class. but all was well- no major slip-ups and i came out of it looking prepared which was a good thing.

so then it was time for work.... this is the only thing i have to say about that...


yea..... i hate websense..... i feel like they should change the name to web-no-sense.... okay my jokes are lame, but i am serious people! every time i try to access a site it is blocked by websense..... why? does work really need to suck the life and the fun we are supposed to have in this life out of everything???!?!?!?!

the answer is yes..... i know this but i still love to complain....

well hubby has made dinner and here i sit on my blog so i should go eat with him- is it just me or do you guys get entirely too wrapped up in your blogs as well? sometimes i don't even realize how long i've been on here!

maybe i'll just send him this card......


except i do have a blog.... and i do write pleasant things- so you see this card is 100% true! absolutely the right card for hubby :0)

doomsday

today is my first day back to school after a long relaxing vacation.... more to come after a looooong day of running around with my head cut off.

this is how i feel....



happy monday!

it's a white, white, world!!!!!

okay so the title of my post was inspired by an elderly woman i do activities with at the group home i work at. every time it snows this is what she says.....all day.....every day- until it melts. "It's a white, white, world!!!!" she says it with a tone of conviction and anger- i'm guessing winter is not her favorite season...

well, i can't help but agree with her. i've had enough- thursday was the first day of spring- is it just me or did everyone picture the signs of spring just a tad different as well? here is my idea of spring.....


generic i know but you guys get the picture. i decided that i needed a definite comparison- what spring is supposed to be vs. what we are actually experiencing....






i think there is a definite difference. don't get me wrong- i love these pictures- snow has a very romantic quality.....but so does the smell of fresh cut grass, beautiful flowers,the smell of the grill cooking my favorite summertime foods, the humongous olympic size pool i have in my backyard that i will spend my whole summer vacation chillaxing in...... okay so maybe the pool part won't happen and the whole chillaxing part, well for that to happen i would need to be having a summer vacation- but smelling the fresh cut grass? i'm all over it!

so as we are all digging ourselves out today let's put ourselves in that place- that place of true springtime activities- there is a lot of snow outside so i'm guessing i'll be able to be in my springtime fantasy place for a loooooong time today...

good luck guys- be careful of those snow drifts! :0)

how my paper is going and other finely crafted things....

so i decided today that i am not a very good at getting right down to it when it comes to my homework. this weekend i was going to be dedicated to getting all of my work done- instead i did a number of things.... not one of them entitled "my environmental sciences paper on cloned food" instead i will share with you what i did do- with some pictures of course :0)

1. i drank beer with my bff- neither one of us intended to drink beer before we finished our homework but then again i don't believe we intended to do our homework either. any way you slice it we had a blast! here is a pic of us and one of our favorite beers- why is it our favorite you ask? because it is cheap and it is not as bad as miller light and it is like frosty gold compared to milwaukees best... then again what isn't? we did however get a little bit of progress done on my paper- erin and i wrote the first paragraph on cocktail napkins- it was completely genius- it flowed just right and was directly related to cloned food- which was a good start. i wanted to use the word unfounded after every sentence- erin vetoed that idea and i can't say i blame her..... unfounded.... yea i said it!


this picture was taken while painting erin's house on halloween- this was not a pbr but it was a sierra nevada- which is also very very good- even better than pbr

2. we ate truffles from whole foods- now i was skeptical but once i tried them i realized they were melt in your mouth delicious!!!! it was seriously the best truffle i have ever had....EVER! they were from whole foods and were made by one of their popular brands 365- it was the best time i have ever had with a truffle :0)



3. we decided truffles were not enough and we needed gelato- from whole foods of course :0) after driving the gelato man crazy and wasting his time we finally decided on a flavor- pomegranate for me and strawberry lemonade for erin- the results were delicious- we expected no less...



4. then we decided to come home and finally work on our respective projects- however we first had to make some important stops on the internet- just for good measure.

5. after that it was 12pm- time for me to go home- it had been a fun day but now it was time to get serious- so first thing sunday at 2pm i got serious.... sort of.... about another project that is

behold my glorious project for 3D design!



so the weekend was not a waste- i finally was able to relax- laugh about everything and anything and really feel like a whole person (which has nothing to do with going to "whole" foods- although it is a funny joke!.... right?) i got to be myself and really enjoy life instead of stressing about everything from school, to work, to bills, and everything in between. i really feel like this weekend was therapeutic- and after tomorrow i have a whole week and half off for spring break- oh how glorious!!! i can't wait!

which means my blogger friends that i will be out and about- and sharing more wonderful tales with you on a more frequent basis!

happy tuesday- i believe american idol is on tonight- no matter how dorky it may be i am kind of addicted- i wonder if there is a club t-shirt? :0)

shoud i stay or should i go now.....

so i am having a little bit of a dilemma and i was thinking maybe, just maybe my wonderful blog readers would have an idea as to what i should do about his dilemma- it is small but it is important.

should hubby and i take a road trip for our one- year anniversary of being married?

i know that this may sound like an easy question but really it isn't for many reasons. i decided to make a list- well because i love lists and possibly it will be easier to understand for you then me babbling on and on and on and on..... okay here goes

PROS OF TAKING A ROAD TRIP
1. We desperately need a trip- things have been waaaaaay too hectic in our lives this year and we really haven't been able to spend uninterrupted quality time together as much as we would like. i believe this trip would definately do our relationship some good and give us the time together that we need and deserve

2. We would probably have the money for it- i assume that after renting a car (which hubby found out would be about $220 dollars for unlimited miles for one week), getting a hotel room (which my mom and aunt said they may be able to pay for as a present for my b-day which is in july), food, gas (which they say should be about $3.50 cents or more by summer)and miscellaneous expenses that may arise we are looking about between $600 and $800 dollars for this trip- realistically speaking. We could swing it only because d and i will be working full time this summer.

3. We vowed when we got married that we would take a trip every summer because traveling and spending at least one week a year- COMPLETELY ALONE- was very important to us.

4. We will someday in the near future start trying to have kids- i don't want to pass these opportunities to travel up now because we may not get them again for awhile.


CONS OF TAKING A ROAD TRIP
1. We will have the money but should we really spend it on a road trip? We do have other bills to pay- is it irresponsible to take a trip when we have other obligations? I think that we may be able to do both- pay off all our outstanding debt as well as take a trip- but what if we can't? should we still take the trip?

2. I would have to take a week off from both of my jobs- i don't have PTO or vacation pay so i would be loosing a weeks pay. D has vacation time so that should be fine.

3. D is going to be having his plumbing apprenticeship interview on April 14th (which we are very excited about!) after that interview he gets placed on the May list and then is taken off the list and put in a apprenticeship based on his interview and test scores ( his test scores not only met the standards but exceeded them by a very very large margin) so my question is- what if he doesn't have to wait long for an apprenticeship? what if he gets called sometimes this summer- will his new job let him have a week long vacation? i guess it won't be too bad if we had to cancel because we would just be renting a car- so we could cancel that and cancel the hotel- but if there were penalties that would suck! D seems to think that if he is upfront with his employer right away he will be able to still take the week off- i am not so sure- but that could just be me being pessimistic- "Hi my name is Negative Nancy!"

So those are my pros/cons- i'm not really sure what to do! part of me wants to be responsible and not take a trip but most of me wants to say screw it and take the trip.

Also if we do go on a trip- where should we go? again because i love lists and pictures to brighten my blog i have decided to show you lovely blog readers some of the places D and i are contemplating road tripping to.....

1. The Beautiful South Dakota- i have never been but D has and he says it is absolutely gorgeous!


2. Maine- i have always wanted to go to Maine- ever since i was little- i even wanted to live there for a while before i decided to go to College ( which i never regretted!)


3. San Fransisco and or Napa Valley- D and i considered going here for our honeymoon but decided on Vegas instead. We absolutely love wine, good food, and beautiful sites- so i believe this could be a great option- but also very expensive.


4. Boston- D really wanted to go to Boston i'm not sure if i'm sold but it does sound really beautiful.


So those are the places we have been pondering over- we haven't checked out any prices yet as far as activities in those areas, hotels or bed and breakfasts- so i'm not sure which is the most cost efficient- if any of them are at all.

If anyone has any suggestions i am definately open to them! Places to go, how to go on a road trip with a tight budget, and of course whether or not we should even take a road trip- i love honest opinions and i know all of my blog readers will be honest with me- i can take it!

well hubby just got home and is anxiously awaiting for me to get off my blog and watch the new season of Top Chef with him- i have to say the competition looks fierce this year.... i can't wait to see it- now every time D and i go to a restaurant we are so critical of the food- just call us wanabe Tom Colicchio's!

a picture to brighten up this place

so i know i am slacking a little but i felt like my blog needed a fabulous picture to brighten it up a little while i am running around tonight making healthy pasta for old people.... i know that doesn't make sense but it would if you had my job :0)

this picture reminds me of summer, why? because the fourth of july is by far one of my favorite holidays! For the past 6 or 7 years of my life my friends from high school and I have gathered on the 50 yard line of our high school football field to watch the fireworks. it is a beautiful thing for many reasons- mostly for me it's brings us all together- no matter where we are in our lives- this brings us together. it's amazing to see how we have all changed and at the same time remained the same in each others eyes.

i promise to write again later- right now the grocery store is calling my name!

miscellaneous change

so i realized today as i was cleaning our extremely messy one bedroom apartment which looks more like a studio when it is at it's worst. you guys know what i mean- one little pile of "stuff" makes your apartment look like a tornado hit it! so i decided today was the day- i was going to take my day off and clean the apartment- after some well deserved internet surfing and chick flick movie watching of course :0)

i realized from cleaning the house that not only do you find things that you wanted a loooooong time ago but could never find but also things that you never knew you had- like a brand new toaster- apparently a wedding gift D and i never knew we had received- how lame is that- i really really hope i sent out a thankyou note on that toaster...

another thing i also found was A LOT of change! i mean there was nickels, dimes, pennies, even quarters absolutely everywhere! D and i must have found at least 50 dollars worth of change! i felt like i was on the hunt for gold! naturally after finding so much change we decided to check the car for change and one thing led to another and we become billionaires...... you don't believe that do you? didn't think so.... but we definately came out of this "hunt" with a little extra cash- more cash then we had when we woke up! so i guess the moral of this post is every time you clean your house- also clean your change- not literally but you get the picture! just from looking in the car and in the house we filled 1/2 of a jar! that to me is amazing- all that change just lying around! i think that this jar will be our official change jar- what will we save for? oh i don't know.... the possibilities are endless- and since i like to make lists and fantasize about someday having enough money to make these things happen i will share my list with you fine people :0)

1. a house- something old with a lot of character and history- beautiful natural wood and two stories- a nice finished basement and possibly a nice attic that could be renovated into a master bedroom :0) and of course a hot tub ( a little bit of a stretch huh?)

2. kids- D and i have been talking about his more and more lately- we agree that right now wouldn't be the best time- we are thinking of sometime in the near future though so it is definately something i would like to save for. i know my mom struggled with money when i was younger and i want to be able to provide for our kids what they need- i don't necessarily want to spoil them but every once in a while couldn't hurt :0)

3. a trip to Peru- D and i also talked about this- we LOVE to travel! the first year we were together we saved every bit of money we had- and i mean EVERY BIT of money we made- D's tips from bartending, my measly salary at school and anything else we could scrape together! we took that money- which we also kept in the same jar we are using now for our change (good luck? i hope so!) and hit the road to Florida! i had never been there and it was an amazing trip- one of the best we've ever taken- memorable and absolutely breathtaking- the scenery was gorgeous and my trip mate wasn't bad either :0). wherever we end up going on vacation i know it will be fabulous- our 1 year anniversary is coming up august 11th- i hope this jar gets us to somewhere romantic and warm!

4. a new car- now this one as you will notice is lower on my list- because well i don't really care about what i drive. however i do know that i will need a dependable vehicle not only now for work and school but also for when we have kids. i don't need anything flashy- just something that will get me here and there and will last us for quite a while!

5. new furniture- living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom- again these things are lower because they are more indulgent, guilty pleasures. D and i love furniture- he loves the classics- post century modern all the way- i love funky furniture- my favorite store to browse? IKEA- definately IKEA! who knows? maybe our jar of change will get us that awesome new couch we've been eying up :0)

and more practically.....

6. new clothes for both D and I- we desperately need to update our dress- i have had a lot of the things i wear for work for faaaaar too long- D too. i really like the styles they have right now at target- and yes target is the kiss of death, especially to your paycheck and or pocket book- but i still am forever in love with that store- they have everything i need!

so that is my list- not a big one (well at least not toooo big right?) but it definately is a list! i can't wait to start making a little more money so we can finally start ourselves on the right track! D and i talked about today how we could save money- we accomplished the jar idea but what else is there? here is my challenge for my fellow blog readers- i love love love your comments- they are always insightful and heartfelt- this is why i turn to you for this :0)If you could answer this question it would definately bring more insight to not only me but also to all the other readers- i think we could also use a few savings tips and i look forward to hearing what you have to say!

HOW DO YOU SAVE MONEY? WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T?

well girls- speaking of money i have to hit the road- off to work :0) didn't i say this was my day off? well my semi- day off - no day is really complete until i have made at least one trip to either one or both of my jobs!

happy thursday! :0)

sunday sunday

so today is sunday and because of it being sunday i feel the need to blog- well i feel the need to blog everyday but that doesn't always happen! blogging truly is something i enjoy- every single day i have something i could blog about- but something else always gets my attention.... like this for example



what is this you may ask my friends? well it truly is the best mexican soda in the WORLD! okay so i know what everyone is probably thinking- " you just blogged about soda Harmony! blog about something new, exciting, and fresh!" well to tell you the truth it doesn't get much more "fresh" then this soda! D and i went out on friday night after we did our Swing Dancing Lessons at Carroll College (shameless plug to sell our talents to follow in later posts). there aren't too many places to go out that late at night in Waukesha so we did our best- and found a very cute, very tasty mexican restaurant called "The Ranch". now i'm not sure if this is the actual name or a nickname the "cool kids" of Waukesha made up but it's good enough for me! The food is tasty and this Senorial Sangria Soda just made my night! I usually would never cheat on my all time favorite soda- Jarritos... but i just had to



drinking Senorial Sangria Soda is like drinking real Sangria- minus the alcohol- which was fine with me seeing as i was just sweating like a complete pig while shaking my groove thing :0)

well guys it's time for dinner with the in-laws....in racine....at 5pm- hmmmm it's 4:50 right now? yea that's how we roll- late as always :0) it really is a horrible habit to be late- sometimes it's fashionable, sometimes it's just ridiculous- i think D and i walk that fine line!

i will blog more later because there is much to blog about- this weekend was chalk full of awesome activities, good friends, good food, good drinks and a lot of bad 80's music along with some dancing :0)

you will all have to be in suspense :0)more to come!