August already?

Why is it that I've seemed so busy, yet I don't feel like I've done anything productive? lol

So the rest of July...

The MLSs came, along with Marissa's boyfriend, Kyle. He seems pretty cool. We had lots of food from Dad's new grill, and on Friday Marissa, Kyle, and I went to the fair. Saw the animals & stuff, rode some rides. On the way home Marissa wasn't feeling well so Kyle drove. We had the windows down cos it was hot/Marissa was still dizzy from the rides, and as Kyle (slowly) turned onto the highway, my aunt Marti's glasses flew off the dashboard and out the window... so we pull over, and then a semi flies by & I see glass fly up. We found one lens that was semi-scratched, and nothing else lol So that was an adventure.

Then that weekend was Chicago w/the Reynolds, which was awesome. We left Sunday morning and hit up the Lincoln Park Zoo, got rained on for a few minutes, it was crazy. But then the rest of the day was hotttttttt. Saw some pretty cool animals. Then we ate at the Rainforest Café, next to some fishies! Then Jacob & I found an Onion newspaper dispenser, which was awesome. Then we just chilled at the hotel. Watched the Cubs win. Got some McDonald's.

Monday morning we ate at Ihop (and they wouldn't give me cinniminions... jerks), then went to go find the metra. We saw one leaving, and then took forever to figure out where/how to park, then had to wait an hour for the next one. I got lots of reading done in Love in the Time of Cholera, though. When we finally got to the city, we took a water taxi to Navy Pier, and I finally got to see more of that place than the last time I was there. Unfortunately there wasn't much else to see, but it was still fun. Jacob, Kara, and I rode the Ferris Wheel, which didn't seem to know its cardinal directions. Ate some delicious chicken piccata... the best I've ever had in a restaurant. Then we took this cute trolley bus to the red line, and headed over to Wrigley. That place is totadorbs. I wanna live there lol and then the Cubs lost of course, cos they won all the times that week when we weren't there haha but oh well, it was still fun. Left in the 9th inning to get back to the metra before the last train. Had to wait again, but we got icees this time lol then back to the hotel & bedtime.

Tuesday morning we ate at this family restaurant place & I had the best ham I've ever had in my life. Then we went to Wal-Mart, which was the most awesome Wal-Mart I've ever been in. Got a bookshelf with Kara's discount. Then we hit the road. We were kinda worried that Jacob wouldn't get to work on time, so he called and had someone come in an hour early to cover him, but by the time we got to Clinton we had cut an hour off our ETA lol so another Wal-Mart stop. Then Jacob helped me put together the bookshelf and headed to work.

I went to 6 different Wal-Marts that week. The one in Bolingbrook, the one in Clinton, Thursday night Jacob & I went grocery shopping at the south one in town, then Friday Mom, Dad, & I went to Bloomington and went to one there, one in Spencer, and the east one all in one day. Bolingbrook was my favorite, with the east one close behind. lol We were in Bloomington for my last punch credit even, which I swore started at 1... we get there, and it doesn't start til 7... so we killed some time with shopping at Best Buy, Target, Dad got a haircut in the mall, went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond (where I got a hook for the bathroom, a clock for the living room, and reusable ice cubes so my drinks won't get diluted!). Then we ate at this place downtown which was really good. I even got bread pudding! Dad had a coupon for $25 off a $35 or more purchase... which was a pretty good deal I think. Then we went to Office Depot, and then that's when we went to my 4th Wal-Mart of the week. Found the lamp I wanted but not the rug, so that's why we stopped in Spencer, where I found another clock I liked better than the Bed, Bath, and Beyond one, but no rug, so then we went to the east Wal-Mart and Mom got me the rug, and a plush blanket for the living, room, and the clock I liked better! Then she said that's the last purchase she's making for our new apartment lol but it's starting to look a little more put-together now.

Last week was band camp at South. I had a blast. The kids are so great. They put 2 whole tunes on the field with music! That's over half of the drill learned. 29 pages in 4 days. They rock. Well technically they learned them all in 3 days, and the 4th day was spent cleaning/adding "dance" moves/learning how to march on the grass. I was the only female non-guard staff member lol it was weird. We all had fun though. Thursday after the performance and potluck dinner some of us chilled at the Murphy's.

This past weekend Jacob & I (mostly Jacob) had to clean his old apartment... which was a nightmare. At least we're done with that place for good now. Hopefully he'll get at least some of the deposit back... we'll see.

Then Sally moved in on Sunday and I feel like I've hardly seen her lol Also, Jacob brought home the new Super Mario Bros and Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 for the wii, since Sally brought hers with her... so that's pretty much all we've been doing this week. We both finished year 2 last night and Jacob was starting on year 3 when I left for work this morning haha it is so much fun!

I only have 1 week and 1.5 days left of working in the office... it's crazy. We've been working on getting offices put together for the grad students & whatnot, which is ME! I know my office number & officemates now :) Now if I could just find out my teaching assignments... but oh well. Also, Deb seems to think that we get 9 hours waived, which means I would only have to pay the Rec center fee of $100 for the fall... I already own one of my textbooks, and 2 of my classes don't have books, so this semester is looking to be pretty inexpensive. That means I can use some of my loan money to get a new laptop, which is desperately needed...

Ok so now that my novel is finished I will go back to work now lol hopefully Sally will come in so we can work on getting furniture in the offices :) 20 days til school starts!

busy...

So July has been a pretty busy month so far. We're all moved into the new apartment. Haven't unpacked everything yet, though. Sally's room is still full of buckets and boxes...

I dogsat Pebbles last week while my family was in Memphis. We had fun I guess. She got a bath on Monday and is very fluffy & smells nice!

Spain won the World Cup, so that's awesome :)

We have up to channel 74 at my apartment, and I am shamelessly getting addicted to HGTV, ABCfamily, etc. I mean, I already was addicted to ABCfamily shows, but now I can watch them live... Hopefully they don't go away anytime soon.

The MLSs aka my dad's brother and his family are coming tonight for a couple days, so I'm pretty pumped about that. Too bad Jacob works the next two days :( But then he has Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off cos on Sunday we're headed up to Chicago!!! Cannot wait!

I feel like there should be more to blog about since it's been a couple weeks, but I guess I've just been doing nothing lol oh well... I'll have more to blog about after this weekend :)

NEW APARTMENT!!!

WE MOVE INTO THE NEW APARTMENT TODAY!!!

In other news...

The Rex game last week was awesome... I was kinda feeling bummed in the first inning cos they got a run and it was just sucktacular... but in the 3rd inning we got 3 runs... and in the 4th we got 8!!! 8 RUNS!!! It was an awesome game, and I was almost confused when the game was over after 9 innings... haha felt weird. We got Ritter's afterward, which was delicious, of course.

Friday I went home for dinner... my dad grilled pizza on the new grill. It was really good. Then Mom & I replaced my air filters by ourselves :) There was minimal arguing and we didn't even have Dad help us. He was mowing. haha but definitely saved $35 by doing it ourselves instead of having the Station Break guys do it, and it's pretty easy to do.

Saturday was laundry day. Oh yeah, saw the Danville Symphony play. I was pretty impressed.

Sunday was finish laundry day... watched Mexico get beat by Argentina... packed some.

Monday cleaned out my car... found my favorite black heels! haha and a buncha other random stuff... had THCB practice... Have I mentioned that I ♥ the 4th of July concert? cos I totally do :)

Tuesday was work, which was watching Paraguay beat Japan and part of the Spain/Portugal game... which I finished at home lol vamos España :) then dinner w/Mom and Jacob at Applebee's, and the Rex game... who lost this time (to the same team they beat on Thursday), but they play them again on Saturday so we'll get another chance :)

Yesterday Bri, Cate, Aubrey & I went to the zoo for Aubrey's 4th birthday, which is Sunday :) Her golden birthday! Can't believe she is that big already... we had lots of fun, although Aubrey was quite grumpy all day lol

Today... I am at work for another hour... and then at noon I am getting the key to the new apartment! ahhhhhhhhhh so excited! taking off the rest of the day to move stuff in before Jacob has work at 5. I cannot wait. It's finally here! I can't wait to move stuff in & set everything up & put kitchen stuff away and all my clothes in my own closet and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm so pumped I'm about to explode.

Other awesome things this weekend? Lindsey's wedding on Saturday, and the 4th of July concert on Sunday :) It will be a good end to this week to party & celebrate :)

P.S. I almost forgot! Jacob and I have been together for 2/3 of a year today :) So much win!

St. Louis is awesome!

No, seriously, I am like in love with St. Louis right now. but I will get to that.

Monday got my oil changed & my back wiper replaced! but it's still getting stuck, so that sucks? Lunch at the Crossroads Cafe, where I hadn't been in years... had delicious chicken salad on a croissant and lots of fresh fruit on the side :) I was pretty proud of myself after the weekend of Holiday World, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and movie popcorn...

THCB was FUN! I ♥ the 4th of July concert more than anything. Best piccolo music ever! and the Coopers are back, which is cool. We went 2 1/2 hours long for rehearsal and STILL didn't get through all the music... haha should be a fun concert.

Tuesday was work! So sleepy as always. Also met with our new landlord, signed the lease, & paid the deposit :) so it's official! I am so pumped! we move in 1 week from today!

Then I went skating that evening w/some derby girls. I am getting pretty good on turns, but I need to make my turns sharper & not as wide. Even learned some other tricks from Katie, one of the girls. I wanna get my own gear so I can practice more! We went to Wigwam, where I'd never been before. It was smaller & cheaper & less crowded, which I liked. I even did a couple laps on my own! and Katie cheered me on on my turning skills :) and although I did fall once... it was only cos I tripped going from the wood to the carpet on the place where you're not supposed to lol so it TOTALLY doesn't count.

Yesterday no work! We went to my house to watch the USA/Algeria game. It was pretty crazy. 0-0 for 91 minutes, including a goal we got taken away because of offsides (I sound like I know what I'm talking about, don't I? haha) and then we scored a goal! yay go us!

Yesterday evening we headed over to St. Louis to see Passion Pit (and Tokyo Police Club and Brahms). The street the place was on was adorable & had all these shops & restaurants! I wish we had had more time to look around. We were looking at places to eat and most of the menus looked pretty expensive, but we stopped in front of this Chinese place that was actually pretty reasonable, and the lady came outside & told us to come inside cos they're the number 1 Chinese restaurant lol we got free soup out of it! Which had a bunch of stuff in it I don't want to know what it was, but it was pretty tasty minus the cilantro. I hate cilantro. I got sesame chicken & Jacob got sweet & sour chicken, which were both delicious. Then we killed time by walking up & down the street. Found a cute furniture store & an awesome record store. Definitely need to go back there sometime. And the concert was pretty awesome. The under 21s were cut off from the balcony, so it was pretty awesome to go up there. We left at midnight since I had to be at work this morning. I was only 30 minutes late!

So I definitely want to go to St. Louis for vacation sometime. I haven't really been there since like 1997 or something like that, besides going to Six Flags in like 2001 or something. And I love that place! And I love the arch! So cool!

Now I think I am going to take my lunch & go visit Jack :) Rex game tonight!

sad news

yes, I have to begin this post with some sad news :( I lost my fishy friend, Pedro Klaus Steppe I. He'd been sick for a few days and I had been giving him medicine & stuff but I guess he just couldn't pull through. I had him for 1 year, 7 months, and 2 days.

in other, more happy news, Holiday World was fun. Except that when we got there our tickets were messed up & we had to stand around in the sun outside the park for 30 minutes getting them fixed. But once inside Jacob & I rode (in order) Frightful Falls, Raging Rapids, Pilgrim's Plunge, the Voyage, then headed over to Splashin' Safari for the lazy river, Wildebeest, Bakuli, and Zinga. Then we had pizza for lunch from Jungle Jake's then headed back to the dry stuff and rode Revolution (I did not know the name of that ride until I looked it up, and I LOVE that ride), Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, the Lewis & Clark Trail, and then didn't have much time left so looked in shops, ate ice cream & got fudge to take with us. I got a flower hair accessory thing but it's kinda dumb. it was only $1.79 though so I figured it'd be ok. I wish we had had more time. We tried to do the new stuff/things we love the most. Maybe we'll go again this summer. Then on the way back the bus driver didn't want to go to the Flying J cos it wasn't half way between the park & the Haute, which caused some problems, but oh well. Then we we got back we met up w/Kurt & Steven at bdub's, which was fun. I love those guys & I wish we got to hang out more.

Saturday I slept in! Hung out with Jack all afternoon, then tried to go to Red Lobster w/Jacob's parents but their power was out, so we went to Olive Garden instead. Then went to the Rex game, where I stayed for about 30 minutes then had to go to my concert, which went really well! I had a few solos and I kicked butt. Plus it was 85% Disney music, so you know I was happy :) Then I headed back to the game, which was tied 4-4 in the 8th inning, and remained tied for the next 5 innings until the Rex finally got a run in the 14th! So that was fun.

Sunday went to Red Lobster (for real this time) with my fam and Grandad. Then we headed over to Paris to see Toy Story 3, which made me cry multiple times, including the short beforehand. Oh man those people know how to make a movie. Then more Jack time, then headed to Brazil to eat at the Brazil Grill and stopped by Forest Park & the concert to show Jacob around. Got to hear my daddy play a solo, so that was cool :)

And right now I have to go sign my timesheet before I pick up Mom for an oil change date... how romantic? anyway

fail.

whoa so, what have I been up to... all month? I knew I hadn't updated in a while but I didn't think it was this bad.

So mostly my routine has just been work, cleaning, watching TV/movies, and the like. Last week I helped out with South's music camp and have been dogsitting for Dr. Phillips.

Got completely burnt at the Rex game on Sunday. my back is starting to peel and I am not happy about it.

Going to Holiday World tomorrow with the band :) We were supposed to go this past Saturday but the weather was horrible. Yesterday was the first day without rain in a while.

Oh and I'm taking up roller derby. It sounds so lame out loud, erm, typed out? But I went skating last night for the first time in years and I did not fall once! so that's a good sign, right?

Ok I can't really think of anything else right now but I'll try to come back sooner next time :)

7 months!

Happy 7th monthiversary to Jacob and me!

so Sunday after Jacob got off work we made a grocery list, stopped by Kroger for a side dish, then headed home & started cooking. I think the quesadillas were well-received. Despite Bri's protests to refried beans, hers were gone before everyone had sat down to eat. She claims she just needed the nourishment, but I think we all know Jacob and my cooking is just too much to resist. :) Mom iced the red velvet cake and we had some of that for dessert so it didn't go to waste :) Then we did our grocery shopping and went home and watched some of the Discovery Channel's Life documentary, which was amusing/educational.

Yesterday we made waffles for breakfast! We were afraid they weren't going to turn out so great, but they turned out pretty well, so go us! Watched some more Life, chilled most of the day. I took Jacob to work early since he got holiday pay for it being Memorial Day, and then I headed to Jeffrey Alans. Good thing he wanted to go to work early because they closed at 5! But I got some awesome stuff, including a storage container for my paper so Jacob won't mess it up anymore :P Then I came home and started making thank you cards but I ran out of adhesive after 2 cards lol also, I attempted to get my pics off my camera so I could post my cards on here, but I hadn't reinstalled my camera's software after Jacob installed Windows 7, so I was too lazy to do that... lol so soon I promise!

I also kinda started my workouts last night. I had tried to do the hundred pushups challenge at hundredpushups.com, but I never followed through with it. Jacob said he wanted to try it, so we're both doing that, and then I found that they also have twohundredsitups.com and twohundredsquats.com, so I did my initial tests for those. I knew I wouldn't do well on pushups... I could only do 2 good-form ones... but I did 40 situps and squats each! Thank you, dance! haha so we'll see how well I can do with those. Jacob & I are both watching what we eat as well. I'm limiting myself to one sweet a day, which is really hard for me. I did well yesterday, though. I also have lots of fruit and yogurt and cereal handy for if I need a snack between meals. I bought this adorable sun dress at American Eagle over Christmas break, and I am determined to fit in it by the end of the summer. I would like to be able to wear it in July, but I'm not sure that is physically possible.

In other news, I actually got to work a little bit early this morning! I was exhausted as I always am on Tuesday mornings, but I got myself up & fed & dressed in time to get here before 9, so go me!

And as the title shows, today is Jacob and my 7th monthiversary! That's more than half a year! And he doesn't have to work today so we can do something fun to celebrate, yay!