Monday, January 24, 2011

Week 20: So much to do

Yes, I realize the previous entry was "not much to do". It's amazing how different weeks can be. I think the reason it felt so busy this last week was because it went by so quickly. And I was exhausted. I took a nap when I got home a couple of times, but when I was awake I couldn't sit down for very long.

I was supposed to get my hair cut (to donate to Locks of Love) on Wednesday but rescheduled when Craig came home saying he got tickets from a friend at work to go to the Intel Ball. So, 30 minutes and  $400++ later, he had a really nice suit. an hour later I emailed and scheduled a time to try on dresses from the director of Miss Sacramento County's pageant closet for the Wednesday I was supposed to get my hair chopped off.

I think the busiest part for me at least was the weekend. Friday I went home, took a shower so I could start over with makeup and hair. Now, I wish I would have still gotten my hair cut because my hair was too long to do anything with. I still have it scheduled to be cut, but it would have been nice. Anyway, the ball was awesome. They had a cocktail part in the front and the dining area was hidden behind wall to wall white flowy curtains. They did the big reveal when the time came but we didn't see it until we went between two curtains. hahaha. The decorations were great, the food was great. I finally found some mashed potatoes that rivaled my dad's. Which I thought was impossible. The best part?? 2 free drinks at the bar... not 1 not 1 per person... 2 per person (as long as you have the tickets of course). Oh wait... I guess the best part would be that besides Craig's suit, it was free. Though, next year it can be free :D

One thing I noticed that bugged me was that there were more people wearing short dresses than long. When I think of a Ball, I think long flowy dresses, not the short, sometimes skimpy or extra tight dresses you'd see at a girl ask boy high school dance. ugh. anyway, besides that! Craig and I danced, drank, laughed, and all together had a blast. Our friends we met up with there stayed at a hotel next door and I think, since we won't have the suit to buy anymore, we might have to do that. That way I don't have to worry about sobering up hours before. I did that. I knew I was sober hours before we left, but I wanted to make sure I was comfortable and Craig was comfortable with me driving.

Saturday was the busiest day of the week. Saturday morning I went to the Miss Sacramento County meeting. We were doing practice interviews since their interview is this coming Saturday (and the pageant for that matter). I was on the judging panel with a previous Miss California, a few previous Miss Sacramento County's and a current Miss San Francisco. Talk about pressure! The other room had a couple previous and mom's of the previous title holders, but they interviewed the teens, so it's probably better that way. It was fun to be back in on an interview. I really want to get it next year so they have at least 2 more interviews during the program.

Saturday night I went to the Miss San Joaquin(??) Pageant with the Miss Sac County director and her daughter. They crowned 4 girls that night. It took just as long as Miss Auburn used to but it was only 1 night. We left at 5 and I didn't get in to bed until Midnight. I almost had to stop a few times to throw up because I was so tired. When I'm beyond exhausted and still awake I get a migraine. when I get a migraine I get a stomach ache... when I add the being tired, it's like I'm dying. But this time I was able to hold it off until I tried falling asleep. Which by that time, when I closed my eyes and let the feelings finally get heard, I was sleep within a few minutes.

I did get to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning without feeling rushed. But from me being gone all Saturday and Craig cleaning the whole apartment, then him doing something that I would have been fine with if he'd asked... we got into a 5 minute fight. I'm glad it was short, but it was like all the emotions I tried keeping at bay all weekend and even before then and his frustration with me being gone and not being able to help him clean, it all came to an abrupt halt and needed to be let out. We talked through it and were okay quickly (hence 5 minutes) but that feeling of "we just fought" and "he's right, I'm awful" (not as a whole, but what he was upset about), stayed with me as I went to the Mrs. California Orientation/workshop.

So I was tired (from the lack of sleep all week and weekend and from crying because I was so frustrated with what we were fighting about) and couldn't think or process things clearly. So I was half there, extremely blunt and wasn't at my best "social" mode. I didn't get a chance to build up in to my social mode, which yes, I need to do that. I've become so anti-social that I have to get in to a small talk kind of mode. Anyway, I learned how to pop in my stance and I learned that I may have a food allergy since I start out skinny and end up a fatty by the end of the night. So the nutritionist that was there said to try a gluten free diet for a week and see if that helps because it sounds like a liquid weight. She said first to everyone to cut out sugars, but I can't eat sugars because it hurts my teeth. The only tolerance I have for it is in coffee. So something else must be my downfall. I don't know if I can do the gluten free diet, but maybe I'll start incorporating some of it in our... already diet?? But bread and pasta are my absolute favorite, so I doubt I'll be able to do it full on.

Anyway, I came home, Craig amended to going out with our friends (previously declined though I wanted to) and we ate some delicious pizza (yep, really going full on with the gluten free), went home and I went to sleep right away. And woke up tired. So that's where I start at on Week 21... Which you can read next week. yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! blah

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Week 19: Not much to do

Over the weekend Craig washed all of the carpets. I vacuumed before hand, but he did most of the work. The carpets look so nice now though!

During his cleaning spree, I sat on the bed with our kitty and researched schooling that would make a difference in our life. I looked at Ultrasound Technician/Sonograher and Radiology/X-ray Technician but the schools that are accredited (and you can't get a job otherwise) are far away. The closest, an hour and a half. near San Francisco. Plus the schooling for just 2 years is extremely high. The pay is decent, but not worth the gas and time in just transportation.

So I moved on to nursing, finding all of the accredited schools through the California Board of Nursing website. I looked at the degrees and the different nursing certifications and their benefits. I wasn't too sure, but I did more research throughout the week.

I found out that the schooling down here is sooooo cheap ($26 per unit/credit for residents... it was at least $75 in WA when I went 4 years ago). I also found that the pre-requisites for the Associate of Science in Nursing as it is for the Bachelors of Science in Nursing. AND... the 2 years it takes to complete the Associates is the same as Bachelor's programs down here. so 3-1/2 years of schooling for Associates and 3-1/2 years for Bachelors. I noticed that the ASN is much less intense as the BSN though. So I looked at the benefits of them both.

The ASN is easier because of the intensity level being lower, you still get the opportunity to do take the test to get licensed. But the ASN, as easy as it is, it's on a lottery system if you're accepted in.

The BSN is tough. Tough to get in to, tough to be in, but it's an application process, not a lottery. You need to have at least a C to get in, which is doable, but the average is a 3.75 GPA. This also gives you an opportunity to sit for the licensing test. RNs with a BSN degree get paid a little better then an ASN. They get promotions quicker and have the opportunity to get in to management positions. And get in to positions an ASN can't get in to without working years to get there, which I won't be able to do.

I don't want to end my photography, I really like that, so I'm continuing as much as I can. Plus, if I go to school, I might be able to get more photo shoots!

Week 18: New Year!!

Hmmm... New Year's Resolutions... Save money! That's our New Years Resolution every year. This year we've added:

- Amber to school or never talk about it again
- ENJOY Harry Potter World :p
- pay off my last credit card
- pay off my car

And I can't think of what else we have on our list... I know we had a dollar amount for what we wanted to save, but it won't be achievable if I go to school.

Week 17: More Chaos

Man, I'm so late...

So week 17.... We stayed in Seattle that week. Missing our kitties more and more. It snowed a bit for us, but I still made it to work every day. I liked being in that office. It felt really nice to be in a clean office with a clean bathroom. The office I'm in down here is in the front part of the warehouse and the bathroom is between the office at the front and the warehouse... (98% of the building). The 3 stalls are shared by at least 100 women and it gets really disgusting. If I didn't drink so much water during the day, I wouldn't use it at all.

Anyway,

The week went by way too quick. We had our old friends and their girlfriends over at Craig's parents to party for New Years. We had a great time. Talked, played games, just got reacquainted with our old friends. Craig did get the chance to hang out with them before then, but that was a guy's only thing and though I missed them, it would have been inappropriate and "unfair". Though it was great to catch up with them all, I must admit, I'm glad we aren't so close. There's way too much drama surrounding the girlfriends and I'm happy to not be a part. Craig said he's happy too because I would be an absolute terror if I got involved. As it is, one did try to start drama (drunk drama) and I just didn't want anything to do with it.

We went home Sunday morning and were so happy to see our kitties!!! Craig cuddled with them all day. It took a little bit for Isis to remember us, but not too long. She had definitely gotten fatter. So we got her back on her diet and started chasing her around for exercise.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Week 16 -- busy busy busy

I don't think we've been so busy before. It felt like the week before our wedding, without the nerves. I was trying to finish up all our homemade gifts, pack, laundry, repack, hope to hell we didn't leave something important like: a gift, undiebears, chargers, etc. And make sure our kitties would be well cared for while we were gone. Of course we knew they would be, but we're worry warts sometimes!


We flew in to Seattle Thursday night after work. It was so friggen cold!!!!! We left Sacramento at 54 degrees and arrived in 44 degree Seattle weather. Talk about a crappy trade. The flight only takes an hour and a half. We did think that maybe we were being overzealous about calling Seattle's weather out, but by Monda, it was snowy. Which means it was even colder.


Craig spent Christmas Eve with his parents and I picked up Sammy and took her to meet BFF at the HP Exhibition in Seattle. They had so many props from all the movies they've released so far. Hermoine is the size I was in highschool. Harry is smaller than Ron it bulk. But still. It was pretty friggen cool to see it all. We couldn't touch or take pictures of anything. EXCEPT! We could pick up rubbery mandrakes by the ears and they'd scream at us. Thinking back, I should have passed out. hehehe. That would have been funny.


Christmas was.... chaos. We started out with my mom's at 6am (yes, 6am). Finished up around 8am then went back to Craig's house to have Christmas with them. At about 11am I finally got in the shower and did my makeup in the car on the way to Julie's. We got there at about 12 and ended up being sooo hungry. We hung out there for a while then went to my dad's for th rest of the night...

Like I said, busy