Which means summer is practically over. And my wedding is in 9 days.

What. The. Hell?

So how about I fill you in on my summer, and then you can fill me in on yours. Cause I miss you guys.

So let’s start with the job stuff- I started my new job in June and I really like it. It’s really close to home, and I work mostly daylight. I work a few evening shifts here  & there but I don’t mind usually. I’m pretty lucky too when it comes to weekends. I only work every once in a while on a weekend and usually it’s just one day. Unfortunately this weekend I am working both days. Boo. The only thing that kind of bums me out about my job is I’m considered a stand-by employee. What that means is I’m not full time, or even part time. I don’t get any benefits, and my hours aren’t guaranteed. And while my boss is really awesome about giving me as many hours as possible (36-40 hrs a week), it’s always in the back of my mind that something might happen. So far, so good though and I hope it stays that way.

And then there’s the house stuff-We closed on our first house June 14th, and moved in the following weekend. Being a new homeowner has had several ups and downs and it’s only been a few months. We didn’t have a fridge the first week and a half we lived here because Best Buy proved once again what an incompetent company they are. The other appliances that were installed by our builder were wrong, but were quickly replaced with the right ones the next day. And then that one week when it was really hot? Yeah, our brand new air conditioner broke. And we found out the ventilation system in our second floor was installed backwards. I had a bout of gardening, but the heatwave killed all my plants. We have wild turkeys wandering around, and I’m convinced they’re planning an attack on us. But despite all the issues, having our own space is great. It’s nice having a big townhouse that you only have to share with one other person. Our neighbors are all very nice too. We’re still getting settled in though, so there’s still a few unpacked boxes and unfinished rooms. I’ve been bad about taking pictures, but hopefully after the honeymoon we’ll get everything unpacked and put away.

Speaking of the honeymoon-I still can’t believe in a little over a week I’ll be married. We’re going to Canada (Toronto & Montreal to be exact) for our honeymoon and I can’t wait to just relax. This wedding planning business has really been testing my patience and my sanity. On the other hand, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself once it’s over. I’ve been in wedding planning mode for over a year now, I’ll probably go through wedding withdrawal. Do they have drugs for that?

I did other typical summer things like spending the day at Kennywood, and lounging by my aunt’s pool. And of course reading.. but when do I ever stop reading?

So now that I’ve caught you all up on my summer, fill me in on yours! I’ve been terrible about reading blogs lately, but I’m making an effort to bring it back into my routine. Did I miss anything especially exciting or unusual?

But let’s face it, there’s enough negativity floating around on the internet & in the world in general. I wasn’t about to sit here & blog day after day about how I sit around most days and do nothing. I’ve probably piled some of the most stressful things you can put on yourself all at once- job hunting, wedding planning, and going through the process of buying a first house. But today I can take a step back and take a breather…

Image c/o Pink Cake Box/Flickr Creative Commons

Tomorrow I can return to my quarter-life crisis, but today I can forget all my cares.

Oh-I got a pretty awesome early birthday present..

I GOT A JOB!!!!

I really miss you today. I’ve been feeling kinda homesick for you, my old apartment, and the lake. I miss being able to walk where I needed to go. I can’t do that here. I’m usually stuck at home all day, and that makes me miss you more. Once I get a job I will fly out to see you again.

xoxo
yours truly, the former Chicagoan

Dear FatCat,

Could you kindly FUCK OFF with your digestive pyrotechnics in the middle of the night?? I can’t tell if you are attempting to be bulimic to slim down your chubby physique or if you hoard so much food you can’t take it. Whatever the reason, let’s get this under control before we move into our new house that has BRAND NEW CARPET. Capisce?

xoxo
Your annoyed owner

Dear Abs,

We worked out together yesterday & today you’re sore. *High Five* Let’s keep up the good work, eh? I’d like a chiseled stomach by my wedding.

xoxo
Recently jumped back on the fitness bandwagon

Dear Calves,

You, on the other hand, are disappointing me.  We went for a run yesterday and you were all “Ew, what is this? Pavement? We don’t RUN on pavement?” and “inclines? psh, forget about it sister. Try it and we’ll make you sorry”. So you forced me to cut my run in half, and now I’m blaming you for the fact that my pants I was planning to wear on an interview no longer fit. Suck it up, there’s gonna be a lot more running in your future.

xoxo
C25K parcipant

Dear dreams,

I’m already stressed enough about my wedding, and I don’t need you throwing in extra stress. This dreaming of ways my wedding could go horribly wrong has got to stop. Thanks to you, I am now concerned with not being able to find my shoes, my mom picking up the wrong tuxes and bringing back the orange ruffled messes a la dumb & dumber, my cake being featured on cakewrecks, not making it to the church on time and having the priest refuse to marry us, and my bridesmaids not caring about throwing me a shower. Oh wait- that last one DID happen. You’re off the hook for that. But still, can’t we dream about peace & tranquility and lying on a beach? Let’s work on that.

xoxo
restless sleeper

• I started out on Easter Sunday (after the festivities) by walking around the neighborhood for an hour. Sounds relatively easy, and it is, but there are some hills you practically have to hike to get to the top. So um, yay for different inclines?
• On Monday we waited a little too long to do the same walk again, so we cut it short once it started to get dark. The plus side I guess was that we went on a different route.
• Tuesday I decided to start keeping a food log again. I have to admit I’m pretty bad at this but I’m trying. I’m currently using Evernote, Daily Burn & their foodscanner app for the iPhone, and journals. Why so many? Besides the fact that I’m crazy, if I forget to put something in one and not the other, I can always go back. I’d like to think that if I had to keep it up in more than one place then it will reinforce the habit for me. Daily burn & the foodscanner app are really good for being on the go, and on the Daily Burn website it calculates your fat/carbs/protein ratios and shows you the ranges you should be in for the day. I have to admit though, once I got to the weekend I failed at keeping track. Starting fresh today though!
• Wednesday was a HOT day here in Pittsburgh, and my evil mother refused to turn on the AC. And today of all days I decided to attempt day 1 of the 30 day shred. Well I made it through only about 15 minutes before I gave up  (I’m totally blaming the heat here. I did NOT sign up for bikram Jillian Michaels). So I switched gears and did a 10 minute yoga session. Later that evening my friend Jess & I went for a walk on the Montour Trail.
• Thursday-ugh. Not gonna lie, I was in so much pain in my arms & legs from that stupid Jillian Michaels. HATE HER! I worked out with a trainer for a year & a half, and I NEVER hurt that bad afterward. But whatever, maybe she’s on to something. I’m vowing to give it another go soon.
• Friday-yep still in pain. Didn’t do much but complain about it all day.
• Saturday-Spent the day with some of my lovely blogger friends. Since Julianne & Julie are into running, they’re good go-to girls for pointers. Chris & I walked on the Montour Trail that evening, and even threw in some jogging.
• Yesterday was a gorgeous day so Chris & I headed for Raccoon State Park and did some hiking. Me + the outdoors just sounds kinda silly, but I actually really enjoyed it (minus the bugs and poison ivy plants). A little later in the afternoon, we went back to the Montour Trail and started Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch-t0-5K program. The program is great! I didn’t have to think about anything, it would tell me when to walk and when to run. It was over before I knew it. The only thing bad I can say is that it doesn’t keep track of distance so I wish I knew how far we went because then we turned around and walked all the way back to our car. I’m going to estimate it was at least 3 miles. Not too shabby.
• Today I’m back in the food logging swing of things and later we’re going for a walk. I’m not sore at all except for my left ankle. Tomorrow is C25K day 2.

This week I’m going to focus on finishing my first week of C25K, and finding things to do on the off days besides just walking. I also am going to focus more on what I’m eating and make a conscious effort to stop putting crap in my body. And perhaps by putting this out there on the internet, I will have more determination (and support) to keep it up.

I’ll check in with you guys next week!

(for all you non-HGTV watchers, he’s the super hot host of Income Properties. Yummy)

So basically I sent him a tweet today wishing him a happy birthday & telling him I wanted to have his babies. Okay, maybe the last part is just a little exaggeration. But I totally think that in my head anytime his show is on. (Look away Chris)

I went out to eat with my friend Jess, and I literally squealed with delight when I saw this:

*Faints*

You all are invited to our wedding.

Last night, I received an email from an advisor at a school I’ve been considering attending and it jump started my desire to go back to school. I love being a student. I love textbooks and note-taking and everything else that goes with it (yeah I’m weird). So Chris and I started discussing it. Tuition is $2900 per semester-which isn’t too horrible-but I don’t exactly have all kind of extra funds lying around especially with buying a house. It would take about 2 years to complete, and the fact that it’s all online is very convenient.

Obviously the benefits of me getting my bachelor’s degree would be great. I could move up to management positions or teach. Or I could then pursue my Master’s and become a Physician’s Assistant.

There are so many considerations that will be going into my ultimate decision though:

• Can I afford the tuition? Could I be eligible for financial assistance and how much would it cover?
• Would my (future) employer provide any sort of education compensation? (When I worked for UPMC they had a great tuition assistance/reimbursement program)
• How will family planning factor into this? If Chris & I decide to have a family before/during, will I be able to keep up with demands of returning to school?

I know the saying is that the longer you wait to go back, the harder it is to force yourself to do it. There are so many “ifs” that come into play, but if everything works out I’d like to enroll in the Spring of next year. I don’t want to keep postponing something I really have a desire to do.

Have you had experience returning to school after a gap, or going back to advance your current degree? Would you have any advice you wish you knew before you started the process?

Password: 

The shitty thing is, I no longer belong to a gym. When I lived in Chicago I was a member at Xsport and I loved it. I had a personal trainer who was mostly awesome (occasionally we would butt heads) and we worked out together 3 times a week. Despite that, I never lost much weight. I blame myself because I would never do cardio on our off days, and I would fail at keeping my food log for longer than a week at a time. I’m one of those people who just hates working out. I’m the type of person who would rather get that extra hour of sleep in the morning, or instead of going right to the gym after work I’d rather go home & take a 2 hour nap.

Yeah. I’m that bad.

I’ve decided I need to change that mindset. And since the weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately why not take advantage of it? Last night Chris & I went for a walk around our neighborhood. I can’t believe how much different it is than walking around Chicago. For one thing-Chicago is flat, Pittsburgh is NOT. But it’s so much more relaxing. You can listen to the rustle of the leaves in the wind and birds singing. You don’t have to worry about your safety or a homeless person coming up to you every other block. Anyway, I got Chris to agree that as long as the weather is pleasant we will walk every evening. Tonight we are going to walk along a trail to try something different. Eventually I want to start jogging even though I hate the idea.

But beyond that, I’m kind of stuck. Since a lot of you, my bloggy buddies, are what I’d call fitness mavens-What can I do at home or even outdoors that will help me get in shape, lose some weight, and get more healthy? Anything that doesn’t cost a lot of money-Bonus points if it’s free.

Oh, Easter. We meet again.

I have to say, Easter has always been one of my least favourite holidays. Despite the fact that the weather is beautiful and I’ll be spending the day with my family, I’m in a crappy mood. I didn’t go to Easter vigil nor did we wake up on time to go to Mass this morning, and I’m feeling awful about skipping it. Even the prospect of the Piñata we’re about to assault isn’t cheering me up. (And for the record, the piñata was Chris’ idea. Don’t ask.) I’m feeling bad about the fact that I have a whole basket full of candy which I know I’ll eat even though I shouldn’t. I have a wedding dress to fit into & my self esteem is definitely on the lower end of the scale lately.

I hate to be all mopey, but DAMN I need some Prozac.

Anyway, I hope you lovelies have a wonderful Easter/Passover with all your friends & families!

• 3 bedrooms
• 3 full bathrooms 1 half bathroom
• 2 car garage
• 2200 square feet
• Finished basement w/ study

Floor plans:

2nd Floor

The only thing I’m super bummed we weren’t able to get was the upgraded bathroom. That damn soaking tub is all I really wanted but because the house was considered a spec house we couldn’t make any structural changes to it. We came to a compromise with the builder that I could get the oversize tub though. Down the road Chris & I plan on changing it to look like the upgraded owner’s bath. He’ll lose his walk-in closet but mines big enough for the both of us (for now). We do have the his & hers sink (yay) and the tray ceiling.

1st Floor

We didn’t get the fireplace, but we did get the powder room. We picked out our flooring on Monday. I’m not too crazy about it ,but it didn’t make sense to spend a ton of money that would be built into our mortgage. Since Chris is the one on the mortgage (since I’m unemployed at the moment) we had to be conscientious about the cost. If we upgraded too much he wouldn’t be approved and then we wouldn’t get the house. So for now, there will be carpeting & vinyl (gag) in the first floor. Eventually we will put hardwood throughout. We also plan on upgrading the countertops to granite down the road. Again, just not in the budget right now.

Basement

The main selling point of this house for us was the fact that we got the finished basement with the optional study & full bath. Had we wanted to do it ourselves, it would’ve been close to a $30,000 upgrade.

I realize that no house is perfect. Is this my dream house? Not quite. But once we make the changes we want to, it will be. We have plenty of space to grow in this house.

Our house is still being built, but it will be complete in June. We close June 14th so we’ll be eligible for the $8000 first time buyers tax credit too! I’m so excited.

I took some pictures of the model home and put them up on flickr so check them out. (Keep in mind ours won’t look exactly like that) Or if you’re more into the interactive thing, they have a pretty cool Virtual Tour you can check out as well.

So what do you think?