A Little Life Update

A lot has happened in the last month or so...

1.) I officially graduated
2.) I passed the NCLEX and got my RN license
3.) I got married
4.) I got a job
5.) We're moving (yes... again)

These would be all of the reasons I've neglected this lovely blog creature for the  past three months or so. My original plan was to start writing on the status of the wedding and show off all the cool things I was making/doing for it. Yeah... Didn't happen obviously.. slightly disappointing but yeah. Maybe now that I'll a "regular life" with "free time" (this is what my cousin told me, but I'm not so sure it exists or at least it's been on hiatus from my life for quite some time now), I can do a little something on it but at this point it seems a little pointless so we'll see what happens, but here are a few pics anyway.

The job and the move part all kind of go hand in hand. For awhile now Brett has been driving an hour for work because our lease wasn't up and we were waiting to see where I ended up getting a job. This week I finally got said job and since this mean a 30-45 minute commute for me in the same direction Brett was going it only made sense to find a house on the other side of town. 

Today we decided to go drive around the area and see what we could find because there wasn't much online. The one that we found online we went to check out and it was SO tiny and they were asking for more than we pay at our current place. Seriously I was claustrophobic in this place, in fact I'm getting anxiety just thinking about it so lets move on. This first house wasn't far from where I work so I decided that I would take Brett by the house I found on my way to my first interview. The neighbors probably thought I was pretty creepy the first time I drove by it because I circled around like five times (no exaggeration). The next day I had a second interview and drove by about two or three more times. Stalker status! I have no idea why I kept driving by but something just kept pulling me back. Today when we went by the landlord just so happened to be out on the front deck working on the house so we walked up to see if he would show it to us. The guy was super nice and the house is almost exactly what we were looking for. Three bedrooms (large ones at that), only one bathroom (that was the almost perfect part), it's on a large lot with a fenced backyard, a large kitchen, and two living rooms (I think we're going to make one the dining room to leave more room in the kitchen). It's super old (built in 1899 but well taken care of) and has the quorkiness of an old house but I think it's really going to work well for us. The even better part is that it's only three or four blocks from my new job. Hello not having to wake up even earlier than necessary because I have to drive 45 minutes (or an hour because of traffic)! But yes, we are very excited about the house and all the new things in our life. Once we get all moved in I'll post pictures.... and in a timely matter. Promise!

One day I'll learn...

They might be cute, but lately our dogs have had the raunchiest gas EVER!!! They just come up and lay down next to you, start cuddling, and then all of sudden it hits you like a wall, the freaking great wall of China!! Literally, it's like a fire. It hits your face and then sucks all the oxygen out of your lungs. You find yourself gasping for air only to realize the only air surrounding you is the same air that knocked you on your ass in the first place. Yes, this raunchy doggy gas lingers also. I know what you're thinking and I'd have to agree, you're definitely missing out.

The reason for this sudden tirade on my oxygen supply--- I switched the dog food. We ran out of the the regular food and then we had puppy food to start feeding them. However, since we have to free feed for Lola, the puppies aren't eating solid food yet, and we don't need Boston to gain a ton of weight. I just grabbed some regular food  while we were at Costco the other day to feed until we actually need to use the puppy food. Puppy food is expensive, we're going through food pretty quick because of Lola, and yes, I'm cheap. But can you blame me? I'm a college student with no job and a set amount of money to make it on until I find a job (so September-ish if things go well). Oh and did I mention my car needs fixing?? Timing is definitely my specialty! But I digress... SO the dog food. Well I should have just skipped the Costco food and went to the store and got their regular food but I didn't. I learned this the last time I tried to switch food. I thought they would like Kibbles and Bits better. They totally did, however, it was attack of the gas part one. We switched back... after they finished the bag of course and things got better. Now we've moved onto the sequel (the much more horrific sequel at that) and we've got a solid week or two left of this McNasty-ness until we finish the bag and by then we'll probably be moving on to the puppy food. It can't be any worse right?? Well I sure hope not...

My Blog is Looking Ridiculous

As you can see the whole layout is messed up. I saw the design tools had been updated and some of them looked pretty cool. I thought it was time for a change so I started switching things up. A few minutes I realized the background wouldn't go away but everything else would change. I continued to try everything I could think of to try to get rid of it but nothing would work. Finally, after about 30 minutes of getting no where I tried to work with what I was left with, and gave up. Sooo... if you know how to get rid of this stupid shabbyblog background please help my tech-tarded self! Otherwise those few who read this are stuck looking it. Oh, and yes, I seriously contemplated just starting a new blog.

Creeper!

There have been many times where Brett has turned on a movie and I have no clue what it is so of course I ask. Tonight was no different, but the conversation was one to share.

Me-- What movie is this babe?

Brett-- "15 Minutes" It came out when I graduated high school. It's rated R.

Me-- Oh that's why I haven't heard of it. I wasn't allowed to watch rated R movies when I was 12.

Brett-- Thanks babe... way to make me feel like a creeper.

Me-- Anytime love!

So the six year age gap was quite apparent tonight. Brett does get a little sensitive about it, only because it makes him feel like an old man, but you know me, I have to poke at him once in a while :O)

Puppies!

Last night at 6:10pm I saw this gush of fluid come out from behind Lola (who of course was on my bed). At first I thought she had peed on my bed and I was pissed, but then I remembered what I had saw and realized there was no way that could have been pee. Then I looked behind her... Sure enough there was puppy in it's little sack hanging out back there. Wanting this process to happen on the blankets we had bought and set up less than five feet away, rather than on my bed, I had to figure out how to get Lola and the new puppy, that was still attached I might add, over to said blankets. All I can say is thank goodness for nursing school! I grabbed one of the blankets, shoved half it under Lola, rolled her a little bit to pull out the blanket on the other side, and then picked up the blanket and moved her. She laid there for a bit cleaning off this little one and twenty minutes after the first one we had a second one.

By 8:40pm we had two more little ones. I was thinking with the size of Lola and the size of the babies, there was no way anymore could be in there. 

So I moved her once again to crate Brett had cleaned up when he got home, and their permanent location. Not too long later, we had number five make it's appearance. Wanting to eat Brett and I went down stairs and about thirty minutes later Lola was down there. I was very surprised to see her, but I guess I should have figured she would have to go to the bathroom sometime. So she went outside, did her business, and then went back up to her puppies. Thirty minutes later I went up there to check on them again, and as I was moving them around I realized I had moved five puppies and there was still one left... SIX PUPPIES!

So that was our excitement for the night. Lola and the puppies are all doing great! It's amazing how she knew exactly what to do, and she continues to be very attentive to them. It's funny cause she wants to come sit with me like she normally does, but about five minutes later she'll run back and check on the puppies. I'm sure we'll be posting more pictures as they get older but here is some from the last 24 hours. Enjoy!

...Although Boston still isn't too sure about this :O)

Rules to Follow When Going Out.

Last week I had my "summer vacation". Towards the end of the week I decided to make a little trip back home. While I was down, I ended up getting in touch with a couple friends, Alyssa and Sarah, who were also in town and we decided to go get a drink Saturday night. There were several funny parts to this adventure that definitely went no where near planned. Number 1: We were going to leave like around 10ish... then we got the call that my brother and Alyssa's sister were on Prom court so we decided to make a detour with our moms to the Prom to see this. Our new departure time: 11:45ish. Number 2: Alyssa had been up since 6am and said she probably wasn't going to be out too late and I was thinking the same thing (although I hadn't gotten up nearly that early). What really happened?? We ended up running into Brandon (who Sarah and I used to hang out with) and his friend John. One drink turned into... well I think four-ish.. And I hadn't drank in awhile... but more about that later. Oh and what time did we get home?? Well it was about 4am and then I decided to stay up until 5am (...and paid for that for the next two days).  Yeah, obviously things went to plan right?! Haha.. Well, even though things didn't go as planned, it was definitely a fun night with friends I hadn't spent time with in awhile. I also learned a few things from my "light-weighted-ness" so I thought I would share with you to hopefully help you avoid my mistakes:

1) Derek does not like it when you call him Frank. Even if you are horrible with names (like me) and  legitimately thought his name was Frank (like me again), but after a few times he may get a little angry. So... yes, Frank is not a good name to call people when you don't remember their name. It's probably best just not to say anything. 

1 1/2) It is okay to call Antonio, Fernandez. He doesn't care like Frank, I mean Derek, does. Of course you'll remember that his name is Antonio, which will further anger Derek.

2) The man pictured is not Santa Claus. In an inebriated state you may be convinced that this man is Santa Claus' clone. Yeah... looking back you'll realize this man is SCARY!! And if this was what Santa Claus looked like the whole Christmas things would be over in a hurry! 

3) Avoid short guys wearing red hats, with no game. They will drag your friend Sarah up to dance and due to friend code (the creeper section in particular) you must go save her. Then said creeper will try to dance with all of you and it will be awkward. Evasion tactics will not work because this guys ego is bigger than he is, even if your evasion tactics are painfully obvious. Also, it's handy if you have a friend named Andrew. He will save your friend Sarah after you have failed. Said creepier may also apologize to said friend Sarah for you and other friend, say her name is Alyssa, for being b-words... no that doesn't stand for beautiful. 

4) You're waiter will just look at you funny if you say your ice water isn't cold enough. You may think he would bring you more ice, but he won't. He'll just give you a "yeah... I'm going to go in the back and make fun of you in two seconds" look. He'll think your group is even stranger when your friend sitting next to starts drinking directly out of the pitcher instead of her glass... no matter how thirsty she is.

I'm sure there were more, but I think we've hit all the major, life-saving points :o) Instead I'll leave you with a few pictures!

Brandon, John, Me, Alyssa, and Sarah.

Our "funny picture"... The boys didn't get the memo apparently.

I Did It... Well Almost!

This past weekend I graduated!!! Well I did the ceremonies anyway. Because I officially graduate in August and my school only has one graduation and pinning, this weekend was the big day. But only two more classes, my capstone clinical rotation, and the NCLEX predictor ATI stand in may way between regular Courtney and Courtney, BSN! Woo hoo!! For all of you who may be wondering where your graduation announcements were, I didn't buy them because I didn't see the point of paying $60 for invites when I only had six tickets for graduation. But no fear! When I actually graduate at the end of the summer I'm going to make some kind of announcement, and plan a little shindig. In the mean time, I'll just make sure I'll just make sure I finish up strong!

(For more pictures see my Facebook)

The No Pants Dance

Watching play off basketball has made me very aware of this commercial, and even though I've seen it more than fifty time during the last two weeks I can't help but laugh every time. I mean who wouldn't laugh and the average American male marching around a wheat field in his tighty-whitey's, singing a song about wearing no pants? So if you have been have been hiding under a rock and haven't seen this commercial (apparently it was on during the Super Bowl.. I definitely missed that one) or you just need a little comic relief, I have ever so generously posted it here for you... Saggy butts and all  :o)

Nothing Like A Little Spontaneity

This last weekend the boys, dogs, and I decided to make an impromptu camping trip. By impromptu I mean... well the email conversation went a little like this:


About 1pm....
Brett-- I WANT TO GO CAMPING!!
Me-- Me too.. only one small problem with that... Our tent is broken. Although I guess we could always go get a cheap one. Also it's supposed to rain tomorrow... just saying. I wouldn't mind but yeah..Let me know what you think, I'm sure we could throw something together
Brett--I wouldn't care about the rain, and I could pick up a cheap replacement for our tent situation.
Me-- Why don't you just call me...


I start to do some research on where we could go. Unfortunately our favorite place is seasonal and doesn't open until May so I had to look up some new spots. Of course I wanted to head towards the coast but the only camp sites I could find didn't say whether they had any openings, gave a number to call to check, and you could only make reservations 2 days in advance. So finally about 2:15ish I get a call from Brett, I tell him about the dilemma and we decide to just go for it when he got off work. Our reasoning: We got in our first camping trip last year because we went for it at the last minute and ended up getting the last spot in the campground. 


In my head I was thinking we were really pushing our luck on this one, but wanting to get out of town myself I headed for the store to get food, a tent, and some other supplies. Two and half hours later (half an hour spent in line at Fred Meyers... of course their debit/credit system goes down as soon I got up there) I was back at home finishing getting things together. Brett got home, we finished packing, and after a stop for wood and an air pump we finally headed for Nehalem Bay State Park at about 8pm. We made it in at 10pm and luckily for us, there were plenty of open spaces.


Once we got there and got unloaded I started working on the tent and Brett started a fire and then him and Jason headed into town to attempt to find ice. Yes, I said attempt and no they weren't successful. Surprise! In a small town, nothing really stays open that late. The only good thing was that Brett had got some dry ice so we were set until morning. About an hour later they showed back up and there I was with no tent set up and no fire. Pretty much as soon as Brett left I looked over and fire was out. Being the ex-camp counselor I am I tried everything in the book I could to get that fire going again. After a half an hour, I threw in the towel and figured I wasn't going to be able to get it so I mine as well go back to working on the tent. Then the boys showed back up. Brett tried the fire forever and I was starving so I fired up the grill to cook a brat. Then all of sudden Jason gets the fire started. We still have no idea how but I'm pretty sure it's cause I was almost done cooking on the grill.


The next day was Jason's birthday and Brett really wanted to take us crabbing because Jason and I had never been. After an hour or so of searching for a spot and a sweet kite purchase later (I was inspired by Laura's dollar tree kite story) we finally found a spot. Things were looking pretty good. We were listening to the Blazer game (and they won!) and just chilling on the dock. Brett and I had pulled up our pots a few times but hadn't pulled any keepers and Jason hadn't been able to catch anything. Then I noticed that Brett had got pooped on. Of course I laughed and pointed. Who wouldn't right?! Not even ten minutes later Brett starts laughing at me... Yes, I had gotten pooped on also. Then even better, this little monsoon rain storm started. Not only was I already cold from the wind, now I was soaked. Although our crabbing trip doesn't seem like it was that successful, Jason was able to catch one keeper. So we cooked it up, melted some butter, and mmmm! Delicious!

Pulling my first crab pot

My first crab pot

Showing him my angry face!

Before the rain....

 ..and during

 

We battled the rain the rest of the night and I battled the smoke from the campfire, and then Sunday we packed up and headed North to Seaside. I was finally able to fly my super cool U.S. Navy Angels Jet Plane kite. Although it was a cheap ten dollar stunt kite, I made sure to try to keep up with the more expensive ones. Yup, I was looking pretty ass out there with my super cool kite. Haha.. not really, but I kept myself preoccupied for awhile. For some reason Brett and Jason had no interest in flying my kite so I flew it until my 10 year old heart was continent. Then I took the dogs and ran into the ocean for a bit and then we were headed home.

One small hiccup that happened was after Brett had folded up tent I asked if he had pulled my debit card and license out of the pocket inside the tent (I was at the shower while he was folding it up). He hadn't, but at this point we decided just to deal with it when we got home. Once we finally made it back into town, I pulled out the tent in our poor excuse for a front yard. Of course the neighbors were outside and Tara came up as I was half way into the tent (with no poles in it mind you, so I was army crawling into it) and said, "Miss camping already or just playing hide and seek?" After explaining my predicament, I was able to find my cards inside the tent. As annoying as it was to have to get back into the tent, I would have definitely been super mad if it wasn't in there. Unfortunately, I then had to roll the tent back up. Did I mention that Brett had forgot to roll up the rain fly with the tent during the first go around? So now I had to get that in also. I definitely was not successful and being over the whole tent situation, lets just say the tent is rolled up and sitting in the garage, not in the bag it came in because it didn't fit and I wasn't going to re-roll it again. So here's to next time!


Overall for a last minute, weather not optimal camping trip, it went pretty well. Now that we're back we have to do all the cleaning we were going to go over the weekend to get the house ready for everyone who's coming into town for graduation. One thing's for sure, busy weekend ahead!

Dusting Off the Ol' Camera

I've started to notice with the last few blogs I've been posting that I haven't put any pictures in them in quite some time. Thinking about that made me realize that I just haven't taken any pictures period in a long time. I realized this a week or so but as you can guess I just kept thinking about it and not doing anything about it (Like how I always think about writing blogs but never get around to it). So this morning I got a little text message from my friend Katie. Her mom wanted a picture of her in her scrubs and such to send out with her graduation announcements. Being a college student, she was looking for something in the cheaper price-range (i.e. free) and remembered her dear old, ex-roommate, photographer friend, Courtney. Her mom wanted a picture of Katie in her scrubs, with her stethoscope, and with the badge on her scrubs showing (there is some family rivalry going on but that's a whole other story). We started out in our practice lab, then went outside to get some "nice" shots, and then felt like being smart-asses and started taking the stereotypical awkward senior pictures. So without anymore boring dialogue here are some pictures from today :O)

"Let's go poke someone with a needle... Yay!"

"Mmm.. Ear wax..."

Meds with a smile :O)

"Stinky baby... I think I'll set you back down."

The quality photos

She was supposed to be "pointing longingly toward the future"... Then she started laughing at some weird kid.

We thought her mom would be proud of this one..

And finally a nice little spring shot I messed with quite a bit in a new photo editing program

I Created Another Soup Monster!

The Cheesecake Factory has this amazing cream of chicken soup that they only serve on Saturdays. I'm not even a soup person and some how the waitress roped me into trying a bowl a few months back. Since then, I've been hooked. Last week, I was a little overloaded with school and such and called Brett and said I was really in need of a soup date, so we made plans to go that Saturday after he got off work, as we were headed out of town on our way down south for Easter. Unfortunately, last Thursday Brett's Uncle Ron passed so all of our plans were thrown up in the air for a few days. It ended up that we were still going to head south for the weekend but I had totally spaced the soup date until I got this brilliant idea to bring the soup to Brett's dad and grandma on our way through Salem. I made the order right before we left and we swung by on our way out of town to grab it, and then made our delivery. I had also promised Brett's dad and grandma a slice of cheesecake... I mean what else is better to cheer a person up than amazing soup and cheesecake?!? So we make our delivery and sure enough everyone loved the soup, but I didn't realize how much until this afternoon when I got a call from Brett. He had talked to his dad earlier in the day and he was saying how much his grandma couldn't stop talking about how good the soup was and how she wanted some more so she could freeze it. So Brett's dad asked if I could get a bunch more for her. Of course I said yes, but unfortunately for her she's going to have to wait until Saturday to get it (since that's the only day they make it). But I have a feeling I've got another person hooked on this magnificent soup and this won't be the last of our soup deliveries.

My dog the air humper...

For the longest time we thought Boston was not interested in the female persuasion. The only dog he ever seemed interested in was Brett's mom's boxer, Diego (a boy). Even after we took over ownership of Lola (a girl mini schnauzer who is about a year younger than Boston) from Brett's sister, he showed no interest.  Whatever makes the little guy happy! I just was under the impression dogs would hump whatever they could get their little paws on and that Legally Blonde II was just a joke. But with Boston's lack of interest, I was starting to believe it was possible.

Well then a few weeks ago Brett called me to let me know that Boston got interested. Unfortunately for him, Lola just thinks he's playing or just wants nothing to do with him. Boston finally got over this short phase of trying to mount her all the time (it was funny until he started doing it every chance he could, then it was just annoying)... or so we thought. Yesterday his man mojo must have turned back on cause he's at it again and this time Lola is more uninterested than ever and he's more persistent than ever. Lola doesn't even try to fight it anymore she just lays down. Boston hasn't quite figured this whole thing out so he just continues to stand over her and carries on his humping motions.... with the three or four inch gap in between them. At times he even steps to the side of her and continues to air hump. It's pretty funny to watch but sometimes I feel bad for the poor kid cause he finally gets the itch and just can't quite piece it all together... Maybe one of these days he'll figure it out!

Dead Fish

The other day we were at Petsmart getting some new fish because our Oscars finally had it... Well the white one (Lulu) got bigger than the black one (Pierre) and basically beat the crap out of it awhile ago, and then within the last week we noticed that Lulu's eyes looked like they were going to explode. Not really much we could do except for wait and see. Then the other day we came home to find her (although she was probably a he) floating...well kind of. She was floating with her nose at the bottom and her tail to the top of the tank (so long ways). We think she got a parasite from the feeder fish, which we were warned about because no one really cares about feeder fish except for that they have a lot of them.

After the deaths of our little French named fish, we decided Harvey (our little sucker fish [there's a scientific name but I don't know how to spell it and I'm to lazy to look it up]) needed some friends... and some little fishy waste to eat. I made the executive decision that we weren't getting carnivorous fish this time. Although they are fun to watch when they eat, we suck at going to get feeder fish and obviously our luck with feeder fish is not to great. So after about an hour at Petsmart we finally decided on 2 creamsicle Mollies, a silver Mollie, a dalmatian Mollie, a couple blood fin tetra, a couple neon tetras, and then a couple buenas aires tetras. And then!! The coolest fish there and my new pride and joys-- The ghost cat fish (you can pretty much see through it which is super cool when it eats..there's a picture of it below) and the upside down catfish (it swims upside down).

Well when we bough the fish the cashier lady said, "You  have a 14 day period that you can return them if something happens." Of course I had to ask, "So you really want us to bring back the dead fish?" And the answer, "Yes, we have to know your fish died." Well thanks to my silver mollie, I get to go try this exchange policy today. I'm definitely going to feel awkward walking in with a dead fish, but that's what they want so who am I to deprive them of that?? Plus, it's free to replace it so who am I not to take advantage of that?! :o)

If it's not one thing....

My luck with expensive things seems to be running out lately; exhibit A: my car debacle a few weeks ago. Well ladies and gentlemen of the court, we now have a new piece of "evidence" to present: the crashing of my computer.

It was a rainy, dreary afternoon here in the good ol' pacific northwest. One of those days where you'd rather stay inside. Not me! ...mainly because I new if I stayed inside that I should work on my research paper that's due Monday. Instead, I went in search of paper and stamps for our wedding invitations.  The trip was a huge success and I was excited to come home and finish designing my sample on my computer and then trying out the new stamp. That excitement was ended quickly when I tried to start my computer. Especially when two hours later, I was still trying to start my computer.

I tried everything. I tried scanning the hard drive (it said it was fine) and doing the PC recovery; nothing! I then set the computer aside and drowned my sorrows in a box of samoas for about thirty minutes. I knew I could take it in but I new that fixing a computer is almost as expensive as going to doctor or fixing a car, but realizing I was out of options and in great need of my computer I had no choice. I ran up the Geek Squad up at Best buy where I was told by a man with a long beard, white shirt, and black tie, "with everything you've told me it's probably the hard drive or possibly even the mother board. To diagnose the problem, that's about $70. Then whatever the cost will go up from there depending on what you have to replace, but you're looking about $200 or more." My thought: Awesome! Then he said my favorite part of the whole conversation, "However, with a computer this vintage you're probably better off to just go buy a new computer."

Okay dude, seriously?! Vintage?! It's not like this was the first laptop ever made. It's like four years old. It probably looks older than it is due to the fact that there's a button missing (it came off after I had just replaced a different key and I refused to replace it because I knew as soon as I did another one would come off) and there is electrical tape wrapped around the powercord. Anyway I was trying not to laugh at this guy who was being super nice, but a small chuckle definitely got out.

After this conversation we decided to go check out the computer section to see how much this new computer was going to run us. Because we want to get a Mac desktop in the near future (and we didn't have the cash to drop on it currently), we weren't looking to spend a ton. After talking with a guy, we were able to find this lovely little Compaq that I'm currently coming to you from for $350. It's actually slightly better than the computer I had and will definitely do the trick. So Brett and I talked it over and decided it was definitely our best and probably only option and as you probably already know, purchased it.

Now I just have to take my computer back in to hopefully (HOPEFULLY!!!) get the stuff off the hard drive. I really wasn't worried about the pictures because I'm fairly certain I have all the ones I wanted, saved off of the computer. My music, well with all the music I had on there/money spent getting that music I would be stupid not to care about that. However, my biggest worry of all was not these first two things other people would be worried about (or all my school documents that are on there, which aren't a super big deal because the one's that are in progress are uploaded online), no it was all the wedding stuff, especially the addresses. So fingers crossed that when I go back in there, they will be able to get that stuff off of there. If not, at least they'll refund my money on that part...

When it rains it pours... and then the sun comes out :o)

I was sitting in class today when I got a text from Brett saying "Your boy chewed up something of yours. He's been scared and outside all afternoon." (your boy meaning Boston, the dog) Then I had to know what it was. My first thought was my power cord to my computer. This dog has a thing for cords... well only cords to my stuff like my cell phone charger or my Wii remote. It was definitely a plausible thought. Luckily it wasn't my power cord (I'm assuming it would have been a lot harder to replace). Instead it was my shoes that I wear for clinical. Normally I would just say, "Oh well I have other pairs of shoes and I didn't really like them anyway." Unfortunately I have to have all black or white shoes for clinical and those are the only all black shoes I have and I have clinical Thursday. I had planned on getting new shoes anyway because these shoes squeak when I walk in them (yes.. every step... annoying!), but I was trying to hold off until after gradation so it wouldn't matter about the whole color thing. However, events folding out as they did, today was the day.

On my way to get shoes I realized I needed to get gas and since I still had a Cheveron gift card from Christmas I stopped there. When I pulled up though, the guy was right there and I was frazzled and couldn't find the gift card so I just gave him my debit card... Not really a big deal. I get my gas, head towards the road, get ready to pull out into traffic, and then realize my car is smoking... Awesome! Put the car in reverse, pull next to the vacuum stand out of the way, and pop the hood. Upon opening the hood I realized my radiator cap is missing. I look through all that under the hood junk trying to find the cap; not there. Get on the ground and look under the car; not there either. Realizing that I'm less than 100ft away from the Cheveron, I decided that I'm just going to walk over there and see if they have a new cap. I then closed the hood, look up, and realize there's a Jiffy Lube even closer and they are more likely to have a cap. So I walk over there, the guy comes to check it out, realizes that yes I really am missing the radiator cap, and then goes to check and see if they have it. And yes they did. He finds the cap in the stock room and then we head back to the car. After putting the cap on and realizing there is fluid all over the place, I asked, "Do you have antifreeze?" He says, "Yes we do, but we'll totally do that for free." He runs over and grabs the fluid and starts filling it up and says, "Yeah so don't worry about this it's free." I replied, "The fluid right?" Then he said, "No the cap too, it's on us. Save the money and go wash your car off." Freaking sweet!! I thank the guy like a million times and then hop in my car and get on the road to Dick's to go get my new shoes. I was thinking to myself as I was driving that when I got done finding shoes, if I still had time I should go back and get my oil changed at the Jiffy Lube as a "thank you". But of course that didn't work out because..........

As I'm driving and getting closer to Dick's I look at my temperature gauge and realize it's getting really close to the red line... Not good. As I pull into the parking lot the gauge is on the red line so being me I just turned it off and went into Dick's since you can't really touch anything when the engine is that hot. I find the shoes I want pretty quick and then the guy tells me about this protection plan. He says "You can bring these back no questions asked within the next year and we'll give you a credit for the price you pay today and you can new shoes." Then I interrupt and say, "even if your dog chews them up?" and he replies, "Exactly! That's actually the example I usually use. But basically you can get yourself a new pair of shoes every 6 months if you want and all you need to do is buy the protection plan for another $12." I was sold! Got my shoes, some new socks (I needed some new ones anyway), and the protection plan and then it was time to head back to my car. I pop the hood again and check the fluids. Everything looked okay and then I went to start my car. Yeah... that wasn't exactly happening. Pop the hood again, check all the fluids this time including the oil. Everything looked okay again so I went back to try to start it again and was still having issues. But finally with a little persistence and gas I was able to get it.

Driving home I was freaking out a bit because of the whole temperature deal (unfortunately I had a lot of experience with this over the summer). I had almost made it home and then it started red lining again. So I pulled off a side street and of course it starts to resolve itself so I finish the drive home and just shut the thing off. I walked in pissed (understandably) and start ranting about how I want a new car but of course I can't get one right now. Skip through the next hour where I was still pretty mad... Then Brett and I decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for what I like to call my "happy meal". As we're sitting there we start talking about all the madness going on with capstone placement requests and then just the stuff that had happened on the way  home. We then decided that maybe it was the cap they gave me or maybe it was because he only filled the reserve chamber, so that it might be good to stop at a parts store on the way home (We're genius when we put our minds together ;o) ) We got the parts and some antifreeze, popped the hood yet again, and found that the caps were exactly the same; so not the problem. Then we filled the reserve chamber again (cause what was in there had been sucked back into the radiator) and then filled the radiator itself... Half a jug later we decided we should go on a test drive. Fifteen miles later, ten minutes sitting in the driveway, and no overheating! Unfortunately past experience has taught me that it'll take a longer drive to make sure, but for now I think we solved it.

Finally, at the end of the night, after a deep breath...well many deep breaths... and some conversation, everything appears that it is working out. Whew! Tomorrow... if all goes well and my car doesn't overheat and I have time I hope to go get my oil changed back at the Jiffy Lube! We'll see if the plan works out :o)

Brett's Got a New Girlfriend!

Saturday, Brett and I went out for a little lunch date and to register. While we were eating he informed me that I had some competition. Apparently there is this little 18 year old Venezuelan girl that came into his work not to long ago to open up a checking account. Then Saturday she showed back up with her friend to open up an account for her friend. Brett was actually oblivious to what was going on until they had left because the girls were mostly speaking Spanish, so another employee who did speak Spanish, Claudia, was helping with the process. After they had left Claudia informed Brett of the topic of conversation, him!  When the girls walked up, the original one got all red in the face and said, "There he is!" Throughout the time that Brett was opening the account they were talking about him, although he had no clue because when they would talk about him it was in Spanish. After hearing the girl say that she liked Brett, Claudia decided to interject and asked, "Don't you think he's a little old for you?" The girl replied, "No, I'm old enough." Then Claudia asked why she liked him. The girl then replied, "Because he's older and looks experienced."  When Brett told me this part, I couldn't help but laugh and say, "Well that's why I picked you!" The best part was that Brett was literally right there and had no idea what was going on because of the language barrier. Claudia also told Brett that she thought about telling the girl that he was engaged but since she keeps bringing in new accounts she didn't want to stop the flow of business. Sounds like a good business decision to me as long as the girl doesn't show up in the neighbors bushes with a pair of binoculars!

Saved by the Butt

No this is not some new, weird TV show; just a clever title in the midst of procrastination! In the middle of studying for my lab tomorrow I needed a little bathroom break, so I ran down the hall to the bathroom.  After living with two guys for almost six months now, you would think I would have gotten in the habit of looking down before I sit on the porcelain thrown. Well, not so much.  Especially lately! I'm not sure if I'm just in a hurry or what, but these occurrences of a unexpected hindquarter rinsing are becoming  a little too frequent for my liking! Luckily today I was saved by what my mom so loving referred to during our dress shopping adventure as "double the trouble" (see previous posts if you're a bit confused). This time instead of landing in the water, I was lucky enough catch the outsides of my hips to the outer rim of the toilet bowl. This was much preferred over landing in the water or my favorite getting stuck on the under side of the rim.  Yes this really happened.... not one of my finer moments and once again due to Brett leaving the seat up. I actually fell into the water and in trying to get out, got stuck because I was just parallel enough to get stuck on the under side of the rim. It took a few tries to get out, but I made it out alive... just barely!

Well I suppose I should get back to my lab prep.  In the study guide they gave us, it said not to wait until the night before to start preping... I'm sure you can guess how well I listened!

Beer Head

Jason was opening up a bottle of Guinness tonight and asked, "Why is there a ball in Guinness?" I had my computer open so the first thing I did was Google it. 


The answer: 
"If you are talking about the small plastic ball, it's called a 'Widget'. It's a small ball that is full of nitrogen and is used to keep a good head on the beer."


My first thought, "this has to be somebodies idea of joke!" Then Brett proceeded tell me that the foam on beer is called the head. Of course this then led to Brett and Jason making comments like, "Can you really have bad head?" ......and we'll leave it at that.  But yeah now everyone has been educated on beer head :o)

Say Yes to the Dress

The whole wedding planning deal seems to be kicking in to gear a bit more with the dawning of the new year.  This past weekend my mom and Roy came up to visit. Prior to their arrival, I attempted to make appointments to try on dresses at a bridal shop here in town (Charlotte's Bridal) but of course this didn't happen until the last minute. They ended up not having any appointments for Saturday, but put me on the waiting list in case there cancellations. The whole reason for even trying to get an appointment is due to (1) between my mom, sister, and I, our schedules don't mesh well; (2) I had made an appointment at Memory Makers in Roseburg for the weekend we could go home but then my mom realized she couldn't go because she had a work meeting all day (the schedule thing again); and (3) I was trying to make sure my mom could go dress shopping at some point because I didn't think I was going to get back down there before March (when I needed to have my dress ordered by) and not sure if she could get back up here.  So since I failed at the first place, I just decided to make an appointment at David's Bridal and hope I would get a call from the first place about an opening.  Well my luck must be with me this year because Saturday morning (after I had given up hope of them calling) Charlotte's called and asked if I could come in at three. I said, "Heck yes I can!" Then called David's and made some dumb excuse that my mom was sick and cancelled there (the appointments were at the same time anyway so there was definitely no way we could have made it).

Since the appointment was so last minute, Melissa and a couple of my other friends in the area were already busy so it ended up just being my mom, Roy, and I, but at the end of the day we were successful! I ended up getting the first dress I put on, although I tried on at least ten others.  I think the most frequent comment made was, "Well I like this one, but the first one was better!" One really funny comment was made during the appointment while I was getting measured. The girl took my measurements and then was looking at the size charts and goes, "Well your a four in the bust, a four in the waist, and an eight in the hips/butt area..." To which my mom responded, "Double the trouble!"  The worst part about having the dress is that I can't show the one person I really want to, Brett. He won't even let me tell him about it. I have a hard enough time keeping a Christmas present a secret for a few weeks (although this year I did really good) and now I have to keep this to myself for nine months.... We'll see how that goes!

Now we have a date, a place, and I have a dress. This weekend we are headed to a bridal show up here in Portland to try to get some ideas and then the next weekend we're heading south to go to the bridal show at Seven Feathers.  It'll give us a chance to visit the family and hopefully we'll find some vendors and get more of this planning business out of the way! First things first though, I should probably finish picking/asking my bridesmaids!

One Project Down... Almost

Our first do-it-yourself project is almost done! Since our big day is September 4th, Labor Day weekend, we thought it might be a good idea to send out save-the-dates. So Saturday after Brett got off work we went up to a nearby park to take some pictures. We were going to take them ourselves but then a lady who was walking by offered her assistance... Totally appreciated! Thanks random lady!! Then I came home, made up the design, and sent it to Costco to get printed. In addition to being a closet graphic designer, I also found my inner professional label maker during this process. I officially have all of the ones that have to mailed out sent, now I just have to get the other ones distributed (trying to save on postage!). All in all, I think they came out pretty good! Hopefully all the rest of these projects turn out this easy!