My Zoo

Ru woke up early this morning and started to cry. It was okay though because he was just trying to tell me that he had to go to the bathroom. It was raining all day yesterday so he didn't get to go out enough last night. It is still raining today. Hopefully this will help with the whole drought conditions. Scuro decided to venture out back when I put Ru out. It wasn't such a great idea on her part. First, she got all wet. Second, that is Ru's territory so he was running circles all around her trying to play. It was funny because she just ran back into the house on her own accord. Maybe I will let her go outside some time supervised without the dog. She seems to be so curious about it.

Mike comes home today from Switzerland. Yay! I called him in his hotel room last night, and it was 1:30 AM for him. He wasn't mad that I called though. He knows that I just miss him when he is gone.

I need to go to the grocery store today. I don't like driving when it is rainy, but I guess I will just suck it up.

God has been so great to me lately. He has answered all my prayers and really blessed me with so much. Thank you, God!

Take This Job . . .

This was my last day at my job. I am excited about having more time, but it was weird to turn in my laptop and walk out the door after over two years. I will miss it in some ways, but I really do need the time to focus on my research.

Mike is in Switzerland with no pants. Don't ask. Ru did good while I was at work today. No sign of pee on the kitchen floor.

So sleepy.

Sick

I think I am sick. I have had a sore throat for the past two days, and I haven't been feeling well today. Maybe it is just the weird weather. We spent most of the day yesterday cleaning out Mike's house. We have packed up most of his personal stuff that he isn't going to leave in the house for show. We still need to do cleaning. He left for Switzerland today, and we will miss him.

Tomorrow is my official last day at work. I am going in to turn in my laptop and have my end of the year performance review (kind of pointless, but hey). I am really looking forward to having more time to focus on research, our wedding, and just getting myself healthy. I have been tracking what I eat on MyPyramid.gov for the last week or so. I don't think I have lost any weight yet, but I have been eating a lot healthier. It helps that we have moved back to my house, and we can eat at home most nights. Mike does the majority of the cooking, but I help out. I do a lot of the shopping.

I miss my ring

We brought my ring back to Jared's to get resized. We got a 4.5 and are getting it redone at 4.25. Luckily Mike paid for the service plan for unlimited resizing because since it is a tension set ring, they have to remake the whole thing to resize it. But it feels weird now to not have my ring on. I thought it would take longer to get used to wearing it. Mike notices when he holds my hand that it isn't there too. It is kind of funny.

On another note, I gave notice to my job, and my last day will be October 23rd. Hopefully then I won't be so busy all the time.

Wedding Stress

Ugh. We got a quote from one caterer - $17,000!! That only included food, table settings, chairs, and alcohol. Yikes! We will have to figure something else out. That is just ridiculous.

On a more positive note, Mike is moving in this weekend. He is leaving most of his furniture in his house for show until it sells. Hopefully we can reduce some stress by not having to travel back and forth between houses all the time now. I think Chris found another place to stay so he is going to move out on Saturday. He was a really good roommate and hopefully we can still keep in touch. With Ru in the house, I think Ra is wishing that I took Chris up on his offer to take Ra with him.

Anyway, I think I might take a quick nap. Pam is sleepy.

Efficiency

Ah ha, I don't have to post a recount of our activities in Chicago. Kim has already done it for me!

Field Museum

Lake Bluff

Apple Festival

Done!

Along Came a Spider

I got a spider bite, and it is about 3 inches in diameter now. Hopefully it doesn't spread any further.

Just got back from Chicago, and Mike had to fly to Utah early this morning. Tomorrow he is in Los Angeles then back home. Friday I think he has to be in Philadelphia. Saturday is the neighborhood yard sale, and Sunday he is moving all his personal stuff over to officially move in to my house and put his house on the market.

I am home with the cats and dog. Feeling a little blah. There is no food in the house, so I am debating if I should get dressed and go shopping or if I should just find a drive through somewhere. I really need to be on a diet. For the wedding - and just for the fact that it would be nice to fit into all my pants again.

28

Today is my 28th birthday. Mike and I flew to Chicago to see Kim and Tony. Tony made one of my favorite meals - standing rib roast. It was a good birthday. :-)

Popcorn for Dinner

This week has been pretty eventful. Painters came over and finished most of the repairs/freshening up that Mike wanted to do to his house before putting it on the market. All he has left is to fix some of the veneer on the kitchen cabinets and PACK. He hates packing. He would rather hide in his little room sanding, spackling, painting, hardwood flooring, anything but packing!

We dropped off a whole bunch of broken electronics to some guy in South Charlotte today. He gave us a free hour massage in return. I went ahead and bought another one that way Mike and I can go some time in the future together.

We have also been posting a ton of stuff on Craigslist to try to sell. At first, I was posting everything individually, but then I just created a Flickr gallery. I am sure someone will find something they gave me and get all offended, but if you know me, you know that I hate clutter. We are consolidating two houses in to one so some things just have to go! Plus, we are trying to raise money for our wedding. Geez, weddings are expensive.

His mom is going to throw the rehearsal dinner, and his dad sent us $4,000 toward the reception. That will help a lot. I am sure mom would help if she could, but she is just too poor. Mike's sister is already planning his bachelor party. I was kind of hoping that my family would be able to be more involved, but Lisa won't travel away from her kids, and Kim is pregnant with her first kid. So they are both too busy. I guess I just think weddings are more about family than anything else. I mean, Mike and I are in love and God already knows our commitment to one another. The wedding is just about sharing that with everyone else. It meant a lot to me that Mike's mom went with me to the bridal show. His family is so supportive of him. I worry that Michele (Mike's sister) doesn't like me very much. I think it is just that she isn't a hugely warm, friendly type person (not saying she isn't nice). She is more the independent type. I feel like Mike's mom is warming up to me a lot more since she went with us to Savannah. I am happy about that.

I sent an e-mail to Bonnie to see if JR would be willing to marry us if they were able to make it to the wedding. He Baptized me, and Bonnie calls me her daughter. So I think it would be really special if he could. I also thought about Patrick and Mr. Folsom, but I don't know if they are officially ordained as ministers. I am not quite sure how that all works.

Anyway, I guess I had a lot to ramble about tonight. I should be getting to bed. I am used to having Mike next to me, so it is harder to sleep when he isn't there. (I am staying at my house tonight because the commute to work is like 5 minutes instead of 40 from his house.)

Oh yeah, we started our marriage prep class at my church yesterday. There are quite a few other couples in the class. I think I have read all the relationship books so I know a lot of the stuff they are talking about already, but I think it is really cool to go through the exercise as a couple. He is my best friend.

Anyway, sweet dreams.