What a week

Man, it's been a long week.  I'm starting to get used to being busy all the time at work - it's a little hard, as I was used to having some free time to talk to people and take some breaks.  I'm ready for a three-day weekend, that's for sure.

Our city is doing an inspection of the apartment complex tomorrow, so we had to get the apartment all spiffed up for that - they are doing random inspections of apartments, so you don't know if they're going to show up, and of course, we're both at work tomorrow, so we can't be there. 

I got to go to my first hockey game this week, too!  One of my co-workers has season tickets, but couldn't make it to the game, so she offered the pair of tickets to another co-worker, who then called me to see if I had any plans for the evening.  It's rare that we do have plans, so I was able to go.  It was a fun time!  I'd never been to the Xcel center before, and I'd never seen a hockey game before, not even high school or college league.  I'm really glad I got to go, it was an awesome time (and you can't beat free tickets!!).  So thanks to Karolyn and Lori for that.

I've been slacking on my working out.  When the softball games started, it interrupted me being able to go work out every day during the work week, which threw me all off.  Then, it got really popular after about 5pm, and I usually get home around 4:30pm, so I have to get home and change as soon as I'm home (which keeps me from sitting in front of the TV and not going at all...), but it feels rushed.  I might start going into work half an hour early, and then leaving at 3:30pm, so I can be home by around 4pm, and not have to worry about the rush.

Well, I guess that's it for me, just wanted to do an update since I hadn't done one in a while.

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Alrighty

It's been a while since I updated, so I thought I'd add some pictures and just general stuff in this post.

I have a full caseload at work now - I've been very blessed that the first eight months at the company that I have had a relatively small caseload, in order to get used to the system, the rules, and to find my own way of managing all of this. One of my co-workers is moving from the short term disability department over to long term disability, so I have taken on all of her groups, as well as the ones I was already managing. So instead of getting one to two new claims every couple of days, I'm getting four to seven new claims each day. I am busy, that's for sure, but before, I didn't really have a lot to do, and was constantly looking for other things to keep me busy throughout the day. So this will be a nice, brisk change of pace that I am looking forward to. This all started on Monday the 15th, so this was my first week with the full caseload. Whew. I made it through alive.

I found out about a company called the Paper Depot through a co-worker of Aaron's. They specialize in creating your own invitations, for anything from parties, to weddings. They have tons of samples of other works that have been done there, they have workshops, and all the supplies you could ever need to make your own wedding invitations. Paper punches, stamps, embossing powder, glue, envelopes, all kinds of paper, etc. It was very cool. I stopped by there after work some time this week, and played with a bunch of the paper punches that they had - they have sample paper that you can use to test out the punches, which I thought was really cool. Here's some of the ones I liked the best:







Those are not the colors I would choose, but I just picked out the red as a sharp contrast to the off-white colored scrap paper they provided. I was thinking more orange and brown or green for the invitations, or all three. And maybe red. Who knows.

Then, this morning Aaron and I had an appointment at the Earle Brown Heritage Center to view the rooms to be rented and the grounds. We'd already been to the grounds when Aaron's folks were in town a couple of weeks ago. I never put pictures up because I just was too tired after that weekend, and was still recovering from my cold. When I took the outdoor pictures, there weren't any fall colors yet, but there are a few starting to show up now.










The indoor pictures were taken today. It's a nice room, with a lot of history. Not sure if the tapestry and case with old horse equipment is going to go with the theme, but we can work around that, and cover it up, if need be. We just can't take it down.

The woman who gave us the tour was nice, but didn't have a lot of information for us as far as renting went, which was fine, because it was nice to not be pressured into picking a date or anything like that right away. I still want to talk it all over with Aaron this weekend, but I think that's the place for us.

And then here are some new pictures of Odin, playing with his new catnip-stuffed toy I made for him this evening. He was drooling all over it once I finally finished it and let him play.




Oh, and on Monday this week, I met up with a florist - I work with her mom at the insurance company. The three of us had lunch, and I showed her pictures of the flowers I am thinking of using for the wedding. I want flowers that aren't "traditional" and that have lots of texture and personality. She agreed that a lot of the flowers that I picked out were great for the time of year, and that we could do a lot of fun things with them, so that was exciting. Every time I go into the grocery store, I wander by the floral department, and usually have my camera in my purse, so I've been trying to get some pictures of them, even though I might not know the names of them, a florist would. I'll post pictures later, maybe.

That's it for now!

I think we've got it figured out

Alright, I think we have our wedding venue picked out!  I told Aaron earlier in the week that I wanted to have a venue picked out by the end of the month, because there's only about a year to go until the wedding.  We still don't have an exact date, but I want it to be during the fall colors.  They are just starting to show up on some of the maple trees.

Anyway, I really liked both Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, and the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center.  Aaron hadn't seen the Centennial Lakes Park because I went there after work one day and took pictures, and all I could find was a small tri-fold with information about renting.  I had contacted the Earle Brown Heritage center via email and requested a rental information packet from them, and received a very nice one, which had information about all the food and drink they serve, detailed pictures of the rooms and layouts of them, etc.  Aaron didn't want to waste time going down to Edina yesterday to look - he said we should just go with the Earle Brown because the costs seem very reasonable, and it's VERY close to where we live. 

So we started breaking everything down, and I think we can definitely do something VERY nice that is within our budget.  I'm really excited.  I sent an email to the woman who sent me the package (since it was Saturday, after all), and let her know we were interested in a certain time frame, and asked when we might be able to go and visit.  Hopefully I will hear back from her early in the week.

Aaron and I have really been enjoying our weekend so far - all we've done is some grocery shopping as far as getting out of the apartment.  We did some cleaning, as we hadn't really done that since BEFORE the boys showed up for Labor Day Weekend.

We're going to reinstate Game Night on Wednesday nights - we played cribbage for the first time in a LONG time last night.  Aaron figured the reason Game Night disappeared during the summer was from a multitude of things.  Being busy, it just being unreasonably hot in the apartment, Aaron starting to play World of Warcraft again.  So it'll be nice to have our Game Night back!

That's about it for now.  Until next time!

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Tooth Dream

I had a dream this morning that my bottom molars on the right side were coming loose, but just the tops of them, not the whole tooth.  I needed to get to a dentist, and I was in this overly large office building of some sort that had every kind of store, office, shop imaginable, but it was so big that I couldn't find the dentist. 

Plus, I had been wandering around trying to find Aaron, and I found him on a deck/porch with a bunch of friends, smoking a cigarette with them!  I was SO mad.  He hadn't smoked in at least two years, and there he was, doing it again.  I stormed off, still in the pursuit of a dentist. 

I ended up finding a bathroom to check out my teeth in.  The tops were so loose, I just pulled them all off, so I wouldn't accidentally bite down on them and break something.  I wrapped them in a paper towel, to save for later, but underneath the tops of my teeth were wires, sprouting everywhere!  They were the nerve endings.  I had to be careful not to bite down on them, either, and I couldn't move them around easily, there were so many, and they sprouted up so tall.  How could all of those fit under my tooth??

And that's it...so strange.  I seem to be having a lot of tooth dreams lately.

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dreams

I kept having these dreams last night / this morning.  I was back home in Gillette, at my parents' house, and you could see lots of airplanes in the sky (which isn't unusual here in Minneapolis, but back home, it was, especially flying this low).  Occasionally, you would see a plane dip beyond the horizon, and could hear it crash.  We lived in a little valley, so there were lots of horizons around us.  Eventually, a plane crashed right in our neighbor's yard, almost hitting his house.  I couldn't tell if there was even anyone in the plane, there didn't seem to be.  As we were getting closer, ANOTHER plane crashed on top of that one! 

Just about that time, Aaron was coming to bed.  I had to wake myself up to stop dreaming about airplane crashes, it was awful.  I fell back asleep again, and started dreaming about it again.  Only this time, whenever a plane crashed, it unleashed some horrible monster that was eating people. 

What the heck??

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Testing

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One Year

Today, September 1st, 2008, marks my one year anniversary in Minneapolis. I can't believe it's been 12 months already since my parents helped me pack up the U-haul, drive 13 hours across two states, and unpack into our tiny apartment (which we've managed to fill with even more junk in those 12 months). Here's a run-down of my first year in Minneapolis:

September:
Getting used to city traffic was easier than I thought. Easier than finding a job, that's for sure. I started job hunting right away, but couldn't find anything. We went to a wedding, Aaron got kidney stones, and had to go to the hospital, we had a huge storm, lost power, and almost set the place on fire because Aaron leaves things on the stove, and we didn't turn the electric burner off when we lost power.

October:
Aaron's parents come out for a visit, and they are the first in our families to see the apartment all set up. I was still looking for a job, and had a couple of interviews. A friend heard about an opening at a clothing store, so I interviewed twice, and was offered the job. Didn't start until the end of the month, but finally, after two months of searching and filling out applications, I had a job, even though it was a 30 minute commute without traffic. I'd also applied at an insurance company that I knew had an opening through one of Aaron's co-workers.

We saw the leaves change colors in Stillwater and Taylor's Falls with Aaron's folks, Aaron suffered a head wound due to not paying attention to where he was walking (no scar on his forehead...amazing!), Halloween costume party at a friend's house, and we started looking at puppies and kitties on the weekends at the animal shelter. We also ended up in two or three different garages in that period because they kept giving me a garage that someone ELSE already had. Jill came out for a visit, we carved pumpkins, and made pork pot stickers. Mmm. I started working at Von Maur near the end of the month.

November:
I interviewed at the insurance company this month, but never heard back from them. I had to go through the hassle of getting Minnesota license plates for my car, as the Wyoming ones were expired. Trouble was this: the registration I had was in my dad's name, the title to my car that was in my name was in Wyoming, and my parents were in Australia. We found a temporary fix that allowed me to get my plates, but more problems arose from that later on, which lasted for six months.

December:
Second interview at the insurance place - my first one was for long term disability, my second one for short term disability. I hear back from them right around New Years that I got the job and can start in January. Aaron and I try to become vegetarians (with the exception that we are allowed to eat fish, like during Lent), and I get my new Nokia 6120 Classic smart phone, straight from Singapore. Work at Von Maur is very busy, as Christmas is almost upon us. We can't make it home for Christmas, as I can't get the time off, and we couldn't afford to fly, and didn't want to drive back there in the winter. We had ham dinner with Jamie and Karlie, which was most excellent, and employed "Game Night" on Wednesday nights, so Aaron and I wouldn't be ignoring each other all night long.

January:
Two weeks left at Von Maur before I start training at the insurance company. Inventory happened after Christmas, which was the longest day of my life - we had to scan every item in the entire store with little hand scanners and it was just long and terrible, and they didn't even play music on the overhead speakers. Lame. I started training at the insurance company, which lasted a total of three weeks before I started working on some stuff on my own. It was exhausting - my brain has never been so tired. I have my first office job, my first desk, and I almost feel like a grown up. Almost.

We also adopted "Juno" from the animal shelter, to be renamed later as Odin. He was a sickly little guy when we got him, so sweet and snuggly. That was all about to change after a trip to the vet and some medicine.

February:
We ordered SoftPaws for Odin because he likes to use our furniture as scratching stations, and I don't believe in declawing a cat. Odin's energy levels increase exponentially after he gets better from his cold - he starts howling at night and bothering us at 2am. There will not be a sound night of sleep for us until July. Our dishwasher has sucked since day one of moving into the apartments, and no matter how many times the handyman comes over and runs dishwasher cleaner through it, it still sucks. Odin thinks it would be fun to eat the soap-covered crumbs out of the bottom of the dishwasher, and then start foaming at the mouth. Mmm, Mmm, Good! Total lunar eclipse occurred this month, and I got to see my junior high friend, Brittany again for the first time in years - she happens to live about 10 miles from me. Crazy.

March:
We found out that Aaron's parents had to put their dog, Buffy, to sleep. He was 18 years old, and having lots of problems. Very sweet dog, I miss him when we visit back home. We took Odin for his first car ride, to see how he would fare - we wanted to take him back home with us when we went out in June to see our families again. Aaron and I celebrated 3 years together this month. Aaron's car is giving him problems continuously, and he starts researching for a new car. Aaron wanted a hatchback, and we test drove a lot of cars. The Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Kia Spectra, etc. Aaron finally decides on the Mazda 3 5-door hatch in Galaxy Gray. Very nice. We went to a beagle's 4th birthday party, as well. Interesting, but fun.

For Easter, we spent it with Nathan, his now ex-girlfriend Natalie, and Nathan's family - not before indulging in a night of drinking before going back to Nathan's apartment. Our friend Brandon joined us from Iowa, and a good ol' time was had.

April:
Aaron's folks come out for another visit. We get to go to our first baseball game ever! After that, we instantly become Minnesota Twins fans. The best part about this month: Aaron proposes to me. Not in the most romantic fashion, but I got the titanium ring of my liking, and am a happy girl. We also got Aaron sized for a ring, but haven't purchased anything for him to date.

May:
I cut Aaron's hair (or anyone's hair aside from my own) for the first time - he didn't end up with a bald spot - go me! Our bath tub gets clogged and we have to bring in the handyman to fix it because we can't do it on our own, and Odin gets his first ever bath, and becomes somewhat of a hit on YouTube. Aaron and I see our first movie in the movie theater in TWO YEARS - Iron Man. Odin gets a kitty carrier in preparation for our trip next month to South Dakota and Wyoming.

June:
Aaron and I go to the Department of Motor Vehicles on a Tuesday (after taking the day off) to get Minnesota driver's licenses. I barely passed mine, Aaron just failed his. He was quite frustrated, and I don't blame him. Someone had repeatedly backed into our garage door, and now it doesn't open easily. I attempt to give blood for the first time in four years, which doesn't go over well with the vein they pierced...a ginormous bruise is my only souvenir.

We drive out home and spend a week in South Dakota and Wyoming, visiting friends and family, barbecuing, and spending most nights in Spearfish at the local Irish pub. Good times, good times. Odin does fairly well on his first big car trip, but was happy to be back home, and not sharing a house with another cat.

July:
Aaron and I go see fireworks, and I got some pretty good pictures, if I do say so myself. We make plans to go visit Jill in Fargo for the first time since moving out here. Ashley starts bothering me about wedding planning, stating if I have it during the school year, she might not be able to come because she would have to miss school. She'll find a way out here. We plan for August/September. Aaron begins to threaten to get rid of the cat. He hasn't gotten a full night's sleep since we got him in January, and he can't continue like this. I come up with some suggestions - wearing him out before bed - works for one night. Then we decide to start kenneling him - which has been working great. Full eight hours of sleep!!

I start working out, needing to get in shape and lose some weight for the wedding. I have a year to do it, but I don't want to try to put a lot of pressure on myself to get it done in the last few months, so I start as soon as we get back from Fargo.

August:
My company has a fall softball league that I joined. We haven't won a single game yet, but we did tie one! The month has gone by pretty quickly. Aaron and I start looking for wedding venues, and start thinking September/October for the wedding - cooler outside. I find out about a trunk show for wedding dresses by a designer I like, and pick out my gown! Only 20 weeks until it comes in! The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is in full swing, and we have three guys staying in our one bedroom apartment over the weekend. Our air conditioner has never been busier.

And that's my year in Minneapolis. Whew.

Day Two

Day two, Sunday, began a little later than day one - we'd all had a long night, and needed to catch up on some sleep before heading out for another day in the sun.  We finally arrived around 11am, wandered around a bit, and headed to the court for Vilification Tennis, so we could see Karlie.  Karlie had to work that afternoon, and we didn't get to see her the day before, nor would we get to see her the day after, so this was our only shot, and we only had a window of about 45 minutes before she had to leave. 

More wandering around on day two.  It felt much warmer than the previous day, and possibly a little more humid.  There was more cloud cover yesterday, which helped, and we got to sit down for the insult wars, so I wasn't on my feet as much all day yesterday.  I think that helped me be a trouper and not want to go home so early.  I'm such a wuss.  I just get so used to not being on my feet all day, that when I'm forced to wander around aimlessly for 7 hours at a time, I get a little whiny. 

I had myself a giant turkey leg for lunch at the fair.  It was very good, not a ton of flavor - I probably should have put some salt and pepper on it, but oh well.  I ate almost the whole thing before giving up.  That was around 1pm, and I didn't eat again until 1am...and I still wasn't THAT hungry at 1am!

The reason why we were eating at one in the morning is the next part of day two.  There was a Finnish metal band playing downtown in Minneapolis called Finntroll, who sing in Swedish because apparently it sounds more troll-like than Finnish.  Austin is a fan, and Q had got tickets for us all.  We waited in line for a good half hour or longer, apparently one of the opening acts' bus broke down in Wisconsin earlier in the day, so they were late. 

Now, I've been to a Swedish metal concert before, which was actually quite enjoyable, but it was pure metal, fantasy-like songs, and I could actually understand the lyrics.  The concert last night was quite different.  I was obviously very out of place, wearing my brown t-shirt with pink ponies on it.  Apparently that is not as metal as black shirts with crazy fonts on them for the band names that you can't read unless you stare at it for about a minute and concentrate really hard.  Oof.  There were three opening acts, and they progressively got better.  Then Finntroll came on, and they were three times louder than any of the other acts.  Near the end, Aaron got some toilet paper from the bathroom to stuff in my ears because I didn't have ear plugs.  Needless to say, it was intense.

We left fairly late, stopped at the Cub grocery store on the way home, picked up sandwiches, sushi, and chips, and headed back to our place to eat dinner before crashing.  Which was around 1am. 

Aaron and I opted not to go to the Renaissance Festival today, two days was enough for me, that's for sure.  I'm wiped out from being in the sun for two days in a row (I should have a decent tan in about a week, after the pink goes away), and tired of walking around aimlessly on lumpy ground that hurts my ankles.  The boys are headed out there right now, ready for another day of mead, expensive food, and cleavage.  Hope they have a good time!

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