Slacking
So I've been putting all my blogging energy into the baby blog and neglecting this one. Partly because my thoughts are centered around the baby and little else :) By the way, I put the link to our baby blog on the right side, under the picture of Brian and me. If you don't want to hear about pregnancy symptoms, you might want to just stick with this blog ;)
School
Things are moving along great with us. Brian's class started yesterday but he's been reading his textbook for the last week. He loves the topic (corporate real estate) and reads the book almost every night. He's excited to have just one class to focus on and a topic he's really interested in.
Bowling
This Saturday we are going bowling with my lovely sisters and their husbands. I'm so excited, I think it'll be a blast since we always laugh so much when we're with them. I love that our husbands get along so well, we are so lucky. They're all pretty good guys-most the time ;)
Beavers Rule
So if you follow college football you've heard of USC and the fact that they are, excuse me, were #1 in the nation. We (Beavers/OSU) played them last night and many people felt they already knew the outcome of the game, I mean, Beavers may put up a fight, but USC was going to win in their minds. DON'T THINK SO! Beavers won 27-21. Wow, was it an awesome game or what. I seriously wish we would've been there, it was unbelievable. Go Beavers!
We watched the game at our neighbor's house: Roxie and Nate's and they have a little one year old named Gracee. Everytime the Beavers made a good play we'd all stand up and shout, poor Gracee would get this look on her face and run to hug her parents. So after we all shouted we look at her and start clapping quietly and saying, "Yay Beavers." She liked that better than our yelling.
Where are the pictures?
I've been horrible at taking pictures lately and I'm realizing I need to change that ASAP. Mental note: take camera to the bowling alley this Saturday.
Work
Work isn't too bad right now. I'll admit, I'm having a hard time staying motivated. But overall the agency is getting a lot better and it's a more pleasant environment. Now that I have an end in sight the weeks seem to be going slower, I feel like a kid looking forward to Christmas. I still don't think accounting is my passion, but I've enjoyed learning accounting policies and procedures and increasing my Excel experience. I love Excel.
Brian mentioned how it would be great if I could find a place that needed bookkeeping help and I could go in once a week for a few hours. That would be perfect, dare to dream right?
I am feeling more comfortable with our finances. We went over our budget again and fine tuned it, taking into account a scheduled raise next March for Brian, changing his W-9, and he decreased his 401k contribution from 10% to 5%. We didn't want to reduce the 401k, but we will increase it the future, it just makes it more manageable to pay off my student loans and get ready for the baby. Anyway, things look pretty good and we both are sighing a little bit of relief.
Ok, I'm done rambling for now, hopefully I'll have some pictures to add to the next post!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
I told you so
Guess who decided to take a class this fall? My ever ambitious husband. I was completely against the idea and was going to make sure it didn't happen. But yesterday when he called and asked if we could talk about the idea of him taking a class this fall, I liked his approach and decided to open my mind.
Why I didn't want him to take a class this fall:
1.) Finances. We need to finish paying off my student loans before the baby comes-end of story. We don't have the money to fork over for a class.
2.) He is burned out and needs a break.
3.) I am burned out and need a break.
Why he wanted to take a class this fall:
1.) He wants to get done with his Masters ASAP.
2.) He planned on taking 2 in the winter and this way he can take 1 now, and only 1 in the winter without getting behind.
3.) He is focusing on Finance and not all finance classes are offered every term.
4.) He's a butt munch and likes to stress me out.
We took a walk and discussed all these things. He understood the financial part and said he would apply for financial aid today so we wouldn't have to delay paying off my student loans. That may sound pointless, paying off one debt and adding another, but we can lump his student loans together for one payment. Also, his student loans are quite high so what is another $1300?
Anyway, that made me feel a lot better. Plus, I could tell he wanted this so bad and I can't help it, I like to make that darn guy happy. Those freakin' dimples are my weakness. As far as him being burned out, taking just 1 class instead of 2 will hopefully help with that. So he's had a few weeks off which I think is good, and now he's back to being busy :( Oh well, focus on the end goal right? I will be soooo happy when he is done with his MBA.
Along the lines of student loans, they are getting to be quite outrageous. It feels like it will take us decades to recoop the costs of these darn things and it's very frustrating. Why can't they make college a little more affordable? Does anybody else feel like they'll never pay off their studen loans?
On a brighter note: Lance graduated from boot camp, yay buddy! My mom took some pictures at his graduation:
Proud dad (on the left), smiling mom (behind Lance and to the right) and happy stepmom (far right):
So grown up!
I can't say enough how proud we are of him!
Why I didn't want him to take a class this fall:
1.) Finances. We need to finish paying off my student loans before the baby comes-end of story. We don't have the money to fork over for a class.
2.) He is burned out and needs a break.
3.) I am burned out and need a break.
Why he wanted to take a class this fall:
1.) He wants to get done with his Masters ASAP.
2.) He planned on taking 2 in the winter and this way he can take 1 now, and only 1 in the winter without getting behind.
3.) He is focusing on Finance and not all finance classes are offered every term.
4.) He's a butt munch and likes to stress me out.
We took a walk and discussed all these things. He understood the financial part and said he would apply for financial aid today so we wouldn't have to delay paying off my student loans. That may sound pointless, paying off one debt and adding another, but we can lump his student loans together for one payment. Also, his student loans are quite high so what is another $1300?
Anyway, that made me feel a lot better. Plus, I could tell he wanted this so bad and I can't help it, I like to make that darn guy happy. Those freakin' dimples are my weakness. As far as him being burned out, taking just 1 class instead of 2 will hopefully help with that. So he's had a few weeks off which I think is good, and now he's back to being busy :( Oh well, focus on the end goal right? I will be soooo happy when he is done with his MBA.
Along the lines of student loans, they are getting to be quite outrageous. It feels like it will take us decades to recoop the costs of these darn things and it's very frustrating. Why can't they make college a little more affordable? Does anybody else feel like they'll never pay off their studen loans?
On a brighter note: Lance graduated from boot camp, yay buddy! My mom took some pictures at his graduation:
Proud dad (on the left), smiling mom (behind Lance and to the right) and happy stepmom (far right):
So grown up!
I can't say enough how proud we are of him!
My mom said it poured in Chicago the weekend of his graduation, at least it was held inside :) They had a good time though. They spent a few minutes with him after the ceremony and then about 2 hours with him at the airport before he flew off to Mississippi for his A school. Now he can use his cell phone and labtop, yay!
Oh, and you know how I was complaining about my insurance changing to something not as good? Well UPS decided to do the same thing, aw, thanks guys. Man do they have good timing, right before our little bundle is do both of our insurance is changing to plans that are worse. I don't like to talk politics, but we need a freakin' CHANGE!!!
All this financial stuff gets me all stressed out and I fear it will affect our plans of me being a SAHM. I may have to look for a job where I can work from home part-time. But that is me being negative, I need to focus on the many positives going on in our life, which are abundant. Everytime I think about the little one growing inside me all the fears and stresses go away and life gets put in perspective. We are so looking forward to meeting this baby.
Tonight we are going to Sarah and Travis' for game night which I am looking forward to. They have a Wii and we love playing it! We usually laugh for 90% of the time we are with them and the Wii only increases that, good times.
Alright, that about sums things up for me for awhile, yay for the weekend almost being here!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Detroit Lake
A couple weeks ago we joined my Mom and Randy out on Detroit lake for the day. We brought Trav and Sarah as we thought they'd enjoy a fun and relaxing day out on the boat, it was a success even though the weather started out a little iffy.
As we drove up that morning the clouds increased and it started misting, we were not so happy. When we arrived at their campsite we wrapped up in blankets and drank hot chocolate while the guys helped Randy get the boat ready. We started seeing a little blue sky as the mist went away so we hopped on the boat. Thankfully the sun eventually won and it warmed up.
Trav and Brian
MJ and Sarah
On the trip back Brian was battling the current so it was slow going. Apparently too slow for MJ. When they were about 10 feet from the boat MJ shocked us all by jumping in the water! I don't think she realized what she was doing as her eyes doubled in size. She swam to the platform and we picked her up. At that point I of course had put my camera away so I couldn't capture the hilarious moment, but we won't forget it.
I can't believe the summer is coming to an end, I'll definitely miss our beautiful sunny days. But I am looking forward to Fall and football season :) I always get excited when Halloween comes because it's the beginning of all the fun Holidays. I LOVE decorating for Halloween, I think it's because it's been so long since I've had holiday decorations up. This year Halloween falls on a Friday which is kind of fun, hopefully there are some fun Halloween parties going on. Although I enjoy staying at home and answering the door to cute trick or treaters. I just don't like when the teenagers put on a hat and expect to get candy. If I wasn't so scared they'd come back and egg my house I'd wrap up rocks to give to them. On second thought, how would they know which house it was. Hmmm, not a bad idea.
:)
As we drove up that morning the clouds increased and it started misting, we were not so happy. When we arrived at their campsite we wrapped up in blankets and drank hot chocolate while the guys helped Randy get the boat ready. We started seeing a little blue sky as the mist went away so we hopped on the boat. Thankfully the sun eventually won and it warmed up.
Trav and Brian
MJ and Sarah
We spent all day out on the boat which meant no grass area for MJ to go potty. We tried to get her to go on the swim platform at the back of the boat, but she wasn't having it. So Brian put her on a tube and swam her to shore, such a good dad. As soon as they were close to land she hopped off and squated, she had to go BAD.
On the trip back Brian was battling the current so it was slow going. Apparently too slow for MJ. When they were about 10 feet from the boat MJ shocked us all by jumping in the water! I don't think she realized what she was doing as her eyes doubled in size. She swam to the platform and we picked her up. At that point I of course had put my camera away so I couldn't capture the hilarious moment, but we won't forget it.Brian was determined to get Trav out on the tube regardless of how much Trav resisted. If you know Brian, you know he doesn't give up easily. So after a few beers Brian won and Trav hopped on the tube.
Randy gave them the rides (multiple) of their life and it was awesome. Trav was being whipped around like a rag doll and I was laughing so hard. Everytime Trav slammed into Brian, or Brian slammed into Trav, Trav would go flying off. Poor guy, he held on pretty good though, he definitely got better as the day progressed. Sarah said he couldn't stop talking about it the next day so I think he had a good time to say the least. I'm glad Brian convinced him to go, even though I felt bad he was pressuring him so much. In the end it was a good thing.
I can't believe the summer is coming to an end, I'll definitely miss our beautiful sunny days. But I am looking forward to Fall and football season :) I always get excited when Halloween comes because it's the beginning of all the fun Holidays. I LOVE decorating for Halloween, I think it's because it's been so long since I've had holiday decorations up. This year Halloween falls on a Friday which is kind of fun, hopefully there are some fun Halloween parties going on. Although I enjoy staying at home and answering the door to cute trick or treaters. I just don't like when the teenagers put on a hat and expect to get candy. If I wasn't so scared they'd come back and egg my house I'd wrap up rocks to give to them. On second thought, how would they know which house it was. Hmmm, not a bad idea.
:)
Monday, September 08, 2008
At last
I have uploaded all our pictures to snapfish, yay! So I was able to delete all our photos from the memory card and we no longer have to worry about losing pictures or filling up the card. It is such a huge relief to have that done. The next thing I need to do is order prints and luckily snapfish gives me the first 20 prints free, sweet!
The rest of our vacation was heaven. We enjoyed relaxing, getting pictures uploaded, spending time with Craig (he stayed with us for a few days), shopping, and a movie. It was wonderful and it makes being at work today even harder, but isn't that always how we feel after vacation?
We did receive some very annoying information in the mail. It was from my insurance provider-Samaritan Select. I love them, we have great insurance and I seriously have no complaints. There are no copays and it was going to cost like $300 for labor and delivery-that's not including Brian's insurance which is my secondary. Anyway, we got a letter in the mail saying they were no longer going to be covering State employees (and many others as I found out) and we are being transferred to Regence Blue Cross come January 2009. Of course, why woudn't that happen the month before our little one is due! Ugh, I'm quite frustrated about this whole thing. Regence does not seem to have as good of coverage at all and we'll end up paying quite a bit more, plus copays. I'm trying to look at the good side and realize that at least we have most of the pregnancy with Samaritan Select, and my doctor is a preferred provider for Regence as well. But it's hard when the most expensive part of the pregnancy is going to be covered by Regence. Ick.
Pre-season games for the Beavers have started, let's just say we are still working out the kinks. But we've only had two games and the Beavers always improve as the season progresses, I just hope they improve quickly :-) I am really getting excited about football season, Brian and I love sporting our jersey's.
Speaking of the Beavers, you do know that Michelle Obama's brother is our new head basketball coach right? After the Democratic National Convention where her brother spoke and put in a little Go Beavs, OSU was the most googled topic. Glad people are taking an interest to our school, or maybe they just think a Beaver as a mascot is pretty funny, either way it's good publicity.
Lance graduates from boot camp at the end of this week, yay buddy! All of my parents (Mom, Dad, Stepmom, Stepdad) are flying out for his graduation and I'm so excited for them to take pictures so we can see what he looks like all cleaned up ;) From there he goes straight to A school in Mississippi for 3 months. I'm thankful we get him back in time for Christmas. I miss him so much already! I've written him a few letters and I try to keep them light hearted and funny so hopefully I make him laugh.
I think that is about all for now, have a wonderful week.
The rest of our vacation was heaven. We enjoyed relaxing, getting pictures uploaded, spending time with Craig (he stayed with us for a few days), shopping, and a movie. It was wonderful and it makes being at work today even harder, but isn't that always how we feel after vacation?
We did receive some very annoying information in the mail. It was from my insurance provider-Samaritan Select. I love them, we have great insurance and I seriously have no complaints. There are no copays and it was going to cost like $300 for labor and delivery-that's not including Brian's insurance which is my secondary. Anyway, we got a letter in the mail saying they were no longer going to be covering State employees (and many others as I found out) and we are being transferred to Regence Blue Cross come January 2009. Of course, why woudn't that happen the month before our little one is due! Ugh, I'm quite frustrated about this whole thing. Regence does not seem to have as good of coverage at all and we'll end up paying quite a bit more, plus copays. I'm trying to look at the good side and realize that at least we have most of the pregnancy with Samaritan Select, and my doctor is a preferred provider for Regence as well. But it's hard when the most expensive part of the pregnancy is going to be covered by Regence. Ick.
Pre-season games for the Beavers have started, let's just say we are still working out the kinks. But we've only had two games and the Beavers always improve as the season progresses, I just hope they improve quickly :-) I am really getting excited about football season, Brian and I love sporting our jersey's.
Speaking of the Beavers, you do know that Michelle Obama's brother is our new head basketball coach right? After the Democratic National Convention where her brother spoke and put in a little Go Beavs, OSU was the most googled topic. Glad people are taking an interest to our school, or maybe they just think a Beaver as a mascot is pretty funny, either way it's good publicity.
Lance graduates from boot camp at the end of this week, yay buddy! All of my parents (Mom, Dad, Stepmom, Stepdad) are flying out for his graduation and I'm so excited for them to take pictures so we can see what he looks like all cleaned up ;) From there he goes straight to A school in Mississippi for 3 months. I'm thankful we get him back in time for Christmas. I miss him so much already! I've written him a few letters and I try to keep them light hearted and funny so hopefully I make him laugh.
I think that is about all for now, have a wonderful week.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Labor Day Weekend
Washington was so much fun. We had a great time with Dave, Kim, and their girls: Courtney-12 and Kaitlin-5. They were amazing hosts and made us feel right at home.
Dave scored tickets to the Seahawks game so Friday night we got to see a pro football game! The seats were unbelievable, they were about 13 rows up from the field. We had a lot of fun cheering the Seahawks on and being in the middle of downtown Seattle.
Saturday we got to enjoy a day out on the lake. The weather started a little cloudy but soon cleared up and we got to relax in the sun. We went out on Lake Washington and they gave us a tour of Seattle from the lake, it was awesome. We saw Bill Gate's house, University of Washington's football field, and the Space Needle from the lake. Not to mention all the homes that were on the lake, UNBELIEVABLE. The houses were beautiful and of course consisted of walls of windows in order to enjoy the view of the lake.
That night we had to watch the Duck game (University of Oregon, our rivals) since that is where Dave graduated, but we wore our Beaver (Oregon State University) jersey's to represent.
Sunday was spent at Pike's market and Fremont street, it was fun walking around to the different shops. We even got to go in the very first Starbucks, we would've gotten something but it was jam packed to say the least.
The birth place of UPS is in Seattle so Kim looked up the address and we went to visit it. It was actually a pretty cool little place with a waterfall and everything, pretty impressive :)
Monday was another day out on the boat, although the sun only came out for about 10 minutes. Brian and Dave still enjoyed some wake surfing and we toured Lake Sammamish. Again, beautiful houses on the lake.
We had such a good time there and felt so comfortable, they really were incredible hostess'. Their girls were so cute and energetic. Kaitlin enjoyed watching me get ready in the morning and helped me pick out my outfits for the day. Courtney was nice enough to let us have her room while we were there and also babysat so the adults could do a few things. She is so smart and outgoing, and a wonderful big sister.
Bill Gate's house, most of it is hidden:
University of Washington from the lake:
Space Needle from the lake:
Dave and Brian looking at the houses:
On Lake Washington:
Dave scored tickets to the Seahawks game so Friday night we got to see a pro football game! The seats were unbelievable, they were about 13 rows up from the field. We had a lot of fun cheering the Seahawks on and being in the middle of downtown Seattle.
Saturday we got to enjoy a day out on the lake. The weather started a little cloudy but soon cleared up and we got to relax in the sun. We went out on Lake Washington and they gave us a tour of Seattle from the lake, it was awesome. We saw Bill Gate's house, University of Washington's football field, and the Space Needle from the lake. Not to mention all the homes that were on the lake, UNBELIEVABLE. The houses were beautiful and of course consisted of walls of windows in order to enjoy the view of the lake.
That night we had to watch the Duck game (University of Oregon, our rivals) since that is where Dave graduated, but we wore our Beaver (Oregon State University) jersey's to represent.
Sunday was spent at Pike's market and Fremont street, it was fun walking around to the different shops. We even got to go in the very first Starbucks, we would've gotten something but it was jam packed to say the least.
The birth place of UPS is in Seattle so Kim looked up the address and we went to visit it. It was actually a pretty cool little place with a waterfall and everything, pretty impressive :)
Monday was another day out on the boat, although the sun only came out for about 10 minutes. Brian and Dave still enjoyed some wake surfing and we toured Lake Sammamish. Again, beautiful houses on the lake.
We had such a good time there and felt so comfortable, they really were incredible hostess'. Their girls were so cute and energetic. Kaitlin enjoyed watching me get ready in the morning and helped me pick out my outfits for the day. Courtney was nice enough to let us have her room while we were there and also babysat so the adults could do a few things. She is so smart and outgoing, and a wonderful big sister.
Brian's got pride for his company:
Bill Gate's house, most of it is hidden:
University of Washington from the lake:
Space Needle from the lake:
Dave and Brian looking at the houses:
On Lake Washington:
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