jleigh1902

I'm watching "My First Place" on HGTV. It makes me so excited to move in to our house! It's amazing to see the difference in the cost of living in different cities. The episode I'm watching now is taking place in Chicago. This guy is looking for a condo for about $350k. One he looked at was only 900 sq. feet. Sick! Anyways, I'm just so looking forward to having our own place and having people over.

So Justin has left me for the week. He's in Vegas again with his family. I was sad dropping him off at the airport last night. He'll be back next Monday night. It's not that I see him much anyway, but I really don't like going to bed without him. That's really no fun.

Justin and I went golfing both Saturday and Sunday. We both played absolutely awful on Saturday but had so much fun. We went to the range AFTER (instead of before to warm up) and I tried changing my grip. I usually just did I guess what's called a baseball grip. Instead I tried interlocking my pinky and forefinger. I guess that's how the pros do it. I never did it before because it's kind of uncomfortable, especially with my little hands. It was amazing the difference it made in my shots. I hit every single ball and was very consistent. I will definitely be doing that from now on. However, I still didn't play that great on Sunday either.

School has been going pretty well. I did ok on my last lecture test. I got a B which is just fine by me. I did REALLY well on my last lab test. I got 99%! w00t! There's not much else to discuss as far as all that goes. The one girl in my lab group said something about being 19 and it made me feel old. Haha!

I'm still getting annoyed with my job. I'm ready for something new but at the same time, my job is so flexible with me going to school. And I have benefits which is great. It's like if I had only a year or so until I could be a hygienist it wouldn't be so bad. But I have to wait two years to even get in school and then classes themselves are going to take another two years. I don't know if I can do this job for another 4 years. We'll see I guess.

Well I've got some things to do before bed so I'll see you all later!

Wow so it's been a while eh? Well like Tod, I've started writing a number of times and just never thought I had much to really update about. Now I've got lots to say and not much time to say it so we'll see what happens!

Last weekend was fantastic! It was absolutely packed with plans and driving but it was so fun. I drove home to AP on Friday after class. I went out to dinner with the fam and then my mom and I went shopping. When we got home, my mom and I rented Bride Wars. It was so cute! I stayed up way too late that night but oh well. On Saturday morning my mom and I were up early to get ready for Jenny's shower! We got to the hall right about 11am to help with the setup. The hall was super cute and just perfect for a bridal shower. Setup went really quick and there was plenty of time to socialize a bit and pin corsages which proved to be more difficult than anticipated. The food was delicious and the presents wonderful. Just a nice day overall. After the shower, my mom and I headed home to pick up Dad and Tim and go to Justin's parents' house. They were having a get together to celebrate his birthday. It was nice to see some of his family again and eat some delicious food. And Jen showed up too! I stayed at Justin's place Saturday night and on Sunday I went golfing with Justin, Russ and Dad. On one hole I got par which was totally exciting because I'm pretty sure I've never made par ever. Haha! And it was a par 3 and none of the boys made par. It was great!

This week has been a lot of fun. I met with the girls on Tuesday and picked a new book...Water for Elephats. It's really good so far. Well, I'm enjoying it at least. I've heard lots of good things about it so far. On Thursday, Justin got out of work early and him, Liz and I went to the Whitecaps game. We had 5th row seats! They were real seats and not bleachers! Haha! We only stayed through the bottom of the 7th so we could all get home and watch the Red Wings game (which they lost horribly of course). On Friday, Leah called me around 7pm and we headed to Festival of the Arts downtown. We had a really good time. We listened to some good music and ate some good food and had fun people watching. I put a few pictures on myspace if you want to check them out (got some of Jenny's shower too!).

The weekend was fairly uneventful other than working. Justin and I looked at some houses on Sunday night. We put in some offers aaaaand we got a counter offer! So we can accept and we'll have a house!!! AAAaaaahhhh!!! The down side is that it's a short sale/preforclosure so it's going to take a few months til closing. So things are exciting now but we won't be moving for a while. Holy crap!

Ok it's taken me a while to write this and I'm trying to go to bed by 10pm every night and see if it makes a difference. I pretty much have been feeling exhausted this week so I gotta do something. Nighty-night!

Well I've got just a few minutes while I'm waiting for the laundry. I had a really nice day today. I woke up early and enjoyed some breakfast and started watching this miniseries I'm DVRing. It's on HBO and about Alzheimer's. It was like watching a day in my life at work. I think sometimes I forget that the people I work with are someone's mother or father or grandparent. I do really love them all though. Sometimes it's rough to do it day after day though. Anyway, after getting ready, I headed to class for the day. We got out of lecture a little bit early so I headed to the bookstore to return my text book. Did I tell you all this story? Well about a week and a half before class started, I ordered my books online. My lab manual came really fast. And then I'm just waiting and waiting for my text. It wasn't until I actually READ the email from Amazon that I was informed it would arrive anytime between May 1-18. Well that's a pretty big window and my class started the 4th. I didn't really know how much I'd need my book right off the bat but I don't like being unprepared. So it hadn't come by the 4th so I went to campus early and bought a copy at the bookstore...for more than twice the price! Well my book came in the mail on Saturday so I was able to return the copy to the bookstore for a full refund since it was within a week of classes starting.

Class is going well. I'm enjoying the labs although I'm kind of failing to link the info to the lecture. Maybe I'm  not paying enough attention. I just don't really get how what we're learning in the lab has anything to do with lecture. I think it's because the professor goes off on a lot of tangents. Haha and I'm not paying attention. Anyway, lab was kinda fun today and I thought I screwed it up but I didn't. I got out a few minutes early so I headed to Quizno's since I was starving. Kaleigh was there so it was kind of fun to see her again. Then I headed to see Jenny! We hung out with Chris for a few minutes while I ate my Quizno's. Once I had finished, Jenny and I went for a walk around downtown. We headed up to Heritage Hill and had some wonderful girl talk. After our walk we enjoyed a refreshing glass of water and then I headed home.

I've mostly spent my evening watching tv and putzing around the internet. I really shoud do some homework and perhaps I will before bed. I've barely had a chance to get into our book of the month. I guess I should read more instead of watching tv! Haha!

Well I thought I had more to talk about but I suppose that's all for now. Lurve!

Well it's been a few days so I suppose I've failed in my attempt to write everyday. Oh well!

I had a really nice weekend. Justin's mom and dad came to visit for a couple of days. They arrived on Friday night and we played Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader. It was just a demo version on the Xbox360 so we couldn't do the million dollar question but the girls totally beat the boys' butts. I had to work the next day so we all turned in fairly early. When I got home from work, everyone was cooking dinner...pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn! Yum! After dinner we decided to go bowling. I did terrible but we all had so much fun. I'm finding I'm more and more comfortable around Justin's family each time I spend time with them. On Sunday I had to work again. Justin's parents had left by the time I got home so Justin and I got to spend the evening together. We had dinner and then went to see a movie. We went out to Woodland and saw Taken. It was a pretty good movie. After the movie, we headed to Meijer so that I could get some school supplies.

Today was my first day of school! I was nervous about the lab because generally, I hate labs. It turns out though that a girl I know from GVSU is in my class! The professor seems pretty cool and laid back. He said 'hell' a lot during the lecture and even let out a couple of 'damns.'

Anyway, I should make some dinner and do some reading for class. Lurve!

Well this isn't going to be a real update. I'm just going to say that I don't feel like writing today. Ha!

Work was boring and girls night was fabulous.

Still no word on the house!

Lurve!

I almost forgot about my daily update! Today wasn't anything spectacular. I had to work today which was fine. The housekeeping folks were stripping and waxing the floor in our office so I had to find things to do to keep busy. And although I'm going to be working every weekend, I'm glad I'm only working 3 days this week.

And now for a house update! Justin got out of work early and when he got home he had news about the house. Somehow there was a miscommunication between realtors and our guy just found out the house we want is a short sale/foreclosure. Basically, the owners are going to be foreclosed upon so they're trying to sell while they still own it. However, it does make negotiating difficult. So after talking to Justin's aunt (who is a real estate agent) and then talking to Mark, we decided to up our offer pretty much to the asking price but asking them to cover closing costs and such. If the owners accept our offer then it will go to the bank and they also have to accept it. This can take between 1-2 months. LAME. It's unlikely that the bank will reject us (either they lose about 30k from the low selling price or lose 30k putting the home through foreclosure) but it's a possibility. Also, we can keep an eye out on the market during that time and if we find a house that's equally awesome and not as much hassle we can be like, "See ya!" So, we should know by Friday whether the owners have accepted us and it's in the bank's hands!

Well, it took me a while to type this short entry because I was also watching Biggest Loser and looking up music. It's off to bed for me!

Well I had quite a fun and adventurous day today! Justin and I woke up fairly early to meet with our realtor, Mark. Yes, we have a realtor! Haha, anyway, we went and looked at a few houses this morning. The first one was a foreclosure and you could tell. I guess when I think of a foreclosure, I would think it would be a lot cheaper. This one was a little over 100k. It needed a ton of work. It looked like someone had started remodeling and then just stopped right in the middle and left everything behind. It was a big house and I liked the layout but like I said, it wasn't worth the price at all. The 2nd house, we pretty much loved and it was the best of the day. It's a multi-level with 3 bedrooms and the master bath has a skylight and the kitchen appliances are included and it had a cool deck and a good size yard. It was great. Are we going to buy it? I really have no idea. It's so much money and a huge decision. It's a little overwhelming to even think about. I hate to jump in to anything but I would also hate to miss out on a nice house at a great price. Justin and I have A LOT of talking to do. The rest of the houses didn't compare to that one but some were quite interesting. One had a log cabin in the basement...hahaha! It was clear an old lady lived there and the best we could figure was that "grandpa" had built it as his little getaway. Right when you walked into the basement, the left wall we covered in logs. There were even windows. Inside there were some couches, a fireplace, a table and chairs, and what looked to be a little snack bar or something. It was hilarious! It left all of us speechless. Another house totally reeked of smoke. That was a quick NO. One had a really nice finished basement. And the last one was another foreclosure that we were in for about 1 minute. More on this later!

After the lovely morning, Justin had to head to work. I looked into some things at GRCC and Liz and I ended up heading downtown for a little while. I got my student ID and talked with the financial aid folks about loan deferment. Liz and I then hit up the library because she wanted to get the book for girls nights and some music for her wedding. It was a nice afternoon.

I spent the rest of the day just relaxing and doing some laundry. About 8:30 Justin called me up and asked me to meet him and Mark to talk about the house. Not that it matters, but we went to Kava House and I got a Raspberry Mocha. It was delicious! Anyway, I guess Justin had talked to a mortgage broker at Macatawa Bank and got pre-approved. So....we put in an offer on the house!!!!! AAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!11111111111 We should hear about a counter offer tomorrow or the next day. The house is 109k and we put in a bid for 100k. We'll see what happens! I'm excited and scared!

I've decided that I'm not going to discuss what happened last week or last month. There's too much that happened and I can't remember it all. You will just have to live in wonder forever and ever.

I am, however, going to attempt to write everyday for a month. Obviously my day to day activities won't be very exciting, but there are so many days when a thought occurs to me and I say,"I should write about that in my LJ." But then when I actually get around to updating, I've completely lost all of those thoughts.

Let's get started! Yay!

I had to work today which is always an experience. Weekends are nice because my boss isn't there and everything just feels more relaxed. Today was just that. The old folks got a little crazy this morning and were all trying to talk to me at once. That was a little frustrating and I was ready to go home by noon. The afternoon went by quickly enough and I ducked out at ten after four because the part time girl came in at four. When I got home, Justin and I snuggled on the couch and I ended up dozing off for just a minute until my cell rang. I let it go to voicemail and found out later that it was my mom. Her and my dad are on their way back from Cancun! I can't wait to hear all about their adventures. Anyway, soon enough, Justin and I headed to Meijer to pick up a few essentials. I also got my mom and grandma Mother's Day cards. I can't believe it's coming up so fast already! Well, it's going to be a great summer. I've got some weddings to be in, a class to take, some vacation time headed my way...I can't wait!

I suppose I don't have much else to talk about today. Justin and I are going to look at some houses tomorrow! Aaahh I can't believe I might have a house one of these days!

Let's see how fast can I whip this entry out.

Last weekend was wonderful. I don't remember much of Saturday but on Sunday the weather was fantastic so when I got out of work, Justin and I went golfing! It was a lot of fun. We first hit the driving range and I was afraid I had forgotten everything I'd learned last year. My first few shots were just awful. But I tried to keep positive and Justin gave me some pointers. Once I warmed up, I started to get some good shots off. We played 9 holes...actually we only got through 7 because the sun was going down. I did pretty well...I was only about 1 shot behind Justin on every hole. The best part was that I didn't get upset once! I kept my temper in check and I had a lot of fun. It also may have had something to do with the fact that I was doing as well as I was. I only get upset when I do bad. Haha!

The week left much to be desired. On Monday I did my taxes which was extremely frustrating. I usually have my dad sitting with me while I do them so this was a first doing them all on my own. But anyway, they're done and I'm so glad. Wednesday was of course girls night. After work, I headed to Kohls to buy some new shoes. After that, Liz and I met at the mall to have dinner and then just walked around the mall. At 7 we met up with Leah and Jenny at Schuler's. The book we're reading is The Shack. I think it's great so far. I can't put it down! I'm half way through already.

This weekend was fantastic. Justin and I were both off. We spent most of Saturday cleaning up the apartment. After a while, we went to Maple Hill golf course so that Justin could buy some clubs. He ended up buying me some golf shoes! Yay! I've been wanting shoes for a long time. Then he also bought me a used 6 iron...he wants to see how I do with name brand clubs. Once the purchases were complete, he and I headed to the range to try out a brand name driver for me. It was awesome. I hit the ball a lot farther than I do with my current driver. So Justin bought it for me. Haha he really does spoil me.

When the golfing fun was over, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a digital scale. We figured that if we're serious about getting in shape, we better have a scale that works. While we were there, Justin happened to see an ottoman that was black! I've been wanting a storage ottoman since I moved in with Justin. There was a nice one at Target but it was pretty expensive. The ones at BBB are usually either brown faux leather or suede. I was excited they had black! It's just a square but it also has a smaller one inside so we have 2 ottomans! The bigger one also had a tray on the reverse side.

Saturday night, we met up with Leah and Nick and Liz and Dan for the Griffins game. It was a lot of fun and the Griffins won!

On Sunday, Justin and I went grocery shopping and spent a lot of the day doing laundry.

Well I suppose that's all I've got for now. It's time to go work out!

UUUUgggghhhhh I'm watching Notting Hill and it's the part when they climb into the garden and sit on the bench and the romantic music is playing. I haven't seen this movie in a while. It's so cute.

Anyways, what have I been up to? Well it's been a couple weeks since I updated. It's the middle of March already! Spring is next week...yay! I checked the weather forecast and it's supposed to be 39 on the first day of spring. Lame! Haha oh well, the next few days are supposed to be really nice so I'll enjoy them while I can.

Gosh I can't even remember what I've been up to the last couple of weeks. Hmm, well the gals and I have been enjoying our Wednesday nights out. We went to the Griffins game which was fantastic! It was such a different experience without the boys. We had a ton of fun being silly and cheering and making up victory dances. Poor Leah had a boy with one of those loud plastic horns behind her. It was a little annoying but overall I think we all had a great time. Last week, Jenny, Liz and I went bowling. Leah wasn't able to make it which was a bummer. I think next week we are starting a book club and going to Barnes & Noble to pick our first book. Yay!

Last weekend Justin and I headed to the east side. I dropped Justin off at Russ and Heather's condo because he was helping them paint and move. I hung out for a little bit and then headed to my parents' house. Saturday was my cousin Angela's 12th birthday so my mom and I took her to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop. It was actually a cute movie. It was silly but not vulgar. We had a good time and it was nice to spend some time with my cousin. Later in the evening, my family met my aunt, uncle and cousin at Old Chicago. It was delicious and we had a great time. It started pouring rain while we were there and it was just crazy. After dinner we headed to Rack n' Roll to see Tim's band. With all the bands my brother has been in I've still never seen him perform. The band was awesome! It wasn't my favorite type of music but it was really good. We all had so much fun! I didn't feel so good because I had a few drinks. Don (my cousin Jackie's boyfriend) bought us a shot called Johnny Vegas...it was tasty! It was tequila, watermelon pucker and Red Bull. Haha my dad was joking about being hyped up from all the Red Bull. Speaking of my dad!!!...he shaved off his mustache! It was so crazy! My mom and I got home from the movies and his lip was bare! I've never seen my dad without a mustache....my MOM has never seen my dad without a mustache and she's known him for 30 years. Hahaha oh wow we just kept giggling.

Ok moving on...

On Sunday, my parents and I went out to breakfast. I told them about applying to GRCC and being a dental hygienist. They sounded really excited and supportive. Not that my parents aren't supportive normally but they genuinely sounded proud of me and that made me happy. More news on that later. Around noon, I went to pick up Justin from his brother's. Of course it was just filled with boxes but I can't wait to see it when they're all settled.

So, getting back to news about my future goals. I went to meet with the head of the Dental Hygiene program.  I had to ask her some questions about classes. She was so nice and I'm glad I met with her. I have to take microbiology, preferably this summer, and then I'll be put on the waiting list to start the program. There's about a 2 year waiting period. Yikes.

Well the battery on the laptop is about to die so I will have to give more details later.

I can't believe February flew by so fast. Although I am happy that spring is that much closer! I can't wait for the warmer weather to roll around. Justin and I did have quite the adventure in the blizzard last weekend. We knew the crappy weather was rolling in so we did some of our errands on Friday night. We planned on just staying inside all weekend. Saturday morning I woke up and realized I needed to refill my prescription. We decided to bundle up and brave the weather. We actually walked to the Walgreens on the corner and stopped at Quizno's for lunch. It was a lot of fun trudging through the snow. We had a much easier time walking back to the apartment.

I can't think of much else that's happened lately. Justin and I have been trying to get in shape. I've been hitting the gym a lot. I've lost a few pounds but it's slow going. I just need to keep in mind that it's a slow process and not get discouraged.

Blah. I don't feel like updating.

I'm looking forward to starting at GRCC. I need to take a microbiology class. They don't offer a class in the spring/summer. I'm going to call the school on Monday and ask them a few questions. I got a letter telling me I also had to take an organic/biochem class which I already took at GVSU. So I need to ask them what that's about.

Well, I'm officially bored.

Hopefully I can punch out this entry before the laptop dies. The power cord doesn't reach to where I'm sitting and I'm too lazy to get up right now.

I can't believe it's Thursday already. I've been waiting for the week to be over...well, sort of...I'm off tomorrow and I'm definitely in need of a break. I find that I'm enjoying my job less and less lately. It's not bad...I'm just getting bored. Well anyway...

Last weekend Justin and I visited my family. He got out of work early and we were in Allen Park just before 9pm. We just relaxed with my folks and went to bed around midnight. My parents' house in not really equipped for overnight visitors so we both ended up on couches and not getting much sleep. On Saturday we all had breakfast together and decided to go to the Winter Blast going on in downtown Detroit. It was a bit of a washout (literally) because the temperature was 46 and all the ice and snow was melting. They did have some neat ice sculptures. Unfortunately the ice slide was out of commission and the ice skating rink had at least an inch of water on it and I did not feel like falling down and having a wet butt all day. Once we were bored with the Winter Blast, we walked down the block to Hart Plaza. I was such a tourist in my own city. It was fun though! I never explore Detroit. If I go there it's for one purpose...a sporting event or maybe a show at the FOX. Anyway, when we were tired of walking around, we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe to eat. Talking about being tourists...my brother and I got souvenir glasses with our drinks. Good times!

On our way home we stopped over at my cousin's new house. Her and her boyfriend just bought it. It's in Allen Park...definitely a fixer-upper. It doesn't look like much  now but she showed us some ideas they had and I guess they are doing a lot of the work themselves. They plan to move in about a month I think. Justin and I didn't have much time to relax once we got home. It was off to Canton to be with his family and celebrate his brother's birthday. We met everyone in Canton and headed out to dinner. After dinner, we went down the road a bit and saw his and Heather's new condo. It's really nice. It's plain right now, like an apartment, but they have some plans to paint and such. I think they are moving at the beginning of March. Finally, to end the evening, we drove our butts towards Ann Arbor and went bowling (Russ and Heather currently live in Ypsi so it was closer to them). We were at Belmont or Belmark Lanes...it was right by Q16 which I remember because Liz and I met there to see LOTR forever ago! Haha good times. Anyway, we bowled 3 games and I did terrible but it was a lot of fun.

On Sunday, my mom and I had some time to ourselves which was nice. I miss my mom a lot and I almost feel like we're growing apart. Maybe I'm just growing up. I don't know. I felt weird telling her that I wanted to marry Justin and that we looked at rings a couple of weekends ago. I thought she would be excited but she wasn't as much as I thought she'd be. I think she's worried I'm getting swept up in all the wedding plans of my friends. Maybe I am a little bit...it's kind of hard not to when I'm going to be in 2 weddings within a month of each other. How can I NOT get caught up when I go to a bridal expo and see all the flowers and dresses and I've been with my boyfriend just long enough that the topic of marriage has come up on more than one occassion and we've looked at rings and so on and so forth??? ANYWAYS, we spent the afternoon shopping and went to see "He's Just Not That Into You." It was cute, not great, but cute. I guess apart from Brad, I've never dealt with a guy giving me mixed signals so I couldn't really relate. For dinner, we all met my aunt and uncle at Amigo's for our traditional meal. My family goes there like once a week but I only get to go when I'm home so I'm always very excited. After dinner, Justin and I pretty much just packed up and headed back to GR.

In other news, I've been accepted to GRCC (like I was worried). The really good part is that I'm considered a "resident" which means I get cheaper tuition than someone who lives in, say, Holland, or whatever. So that means cheaper tuition...yay! Let's see, what else? My doctor called yesterday but didn't leave a message other than to say to call them back so I will be doing that tomorrow. It's hard to call them when they are only in the office 9-4 and don't answer between 12-1. Like, when the hell am I supposed to call?! But I'm off tomorrow so yay. I'm hoping to get my oil changed and then I'm meeting Liz to do some dress shopping! Weeee! Oh and we're FINALLY getting cable! Now I can watch Biggest Loser without the static. Speaking of TV...did they seriously move back the date to go digital? I don't know how much longer I can stand those commercials about getting a tuner or a new TV or whatever! They've been talking about this for over a year! If you're not ready, tough shit. I was so looking forward to February 17 when I didn't have to see those commercials anymore...and now I have to wait 4 more months. Throw me over a river.

Well the cable guy is coming tomorrow morning so I guess I better clean up the joint a little. Of course Justin, being the goon he is, scheduled the guy to come when he's at class so I have to be here. Yeah, thanks. Haha oh well. Have a great weekend all!

I can't believe January is almost over already. Time has really flown and I haven't updated in a few weeks. Well, I just hope the next couple of months fly too because I am ready for winter to be over. I hate being cold all the time!

Justin and I have been busy playing host on our weekends off. A couple of weeks ago Justin's brother, Russ, and his girlfriend, Heather, came into town for the night. We went out to dinner at Chili's and then headed to the bowling alley. We bowled a couple of games and I actually beat Justin in the 2nd game. Afterwards, we headed to Jen's party. It was an interesting party to say the least and now we all know things about each other that perhaps we never wanted to know. Needless to say, I'm sure Russ and Heather are welcome to our parties anytime.

My birthday was last Monday. Yes, I'm 25 years old now. I feel weird saying that but I don't feel old. I suppose I'm not where I thought I'd be at this age but I'm ok with that. I really like where I am now. More on that later...

On Monday, Liz and I went to lunch at Craig's Cruisers. We had a ton of fun riding go karts and playing Deal or No Deal. When I got home, I relaxed at the apartment and watched chick movies.

Work has been going well. Nothing to report there.

Wow I really thought I had more to talk about. Well, I guess I can share with you all that I'm looking in to going to GRCC to become a dental hygienist. I'm actually really excited about it and hope everything works out. On another fun note, Justin and I have been talking more and more about getting married. We were at the mall today and stopped to look at rings! We actually looked at rings 3 or 4 months ago just for fun but now the prospect of getting married is more of a reality. I'm so excited and just can't wait for Justin to propose! I am so in love with that man.

Well I suppose that is all I've got for now. I suppose I will try to update more often so that I can record my thoughts when I actually have them and not 3 weeks after the fact.

So Wednesday night, we began the Christmas festivities. Dinner was amazing. After dinner we played a game with presents. You rolled the dice and whatever you rolled, determined whether you kept your present or gave it away. It was really fun and I ended up with a stationary set and a candle. The rest of the night was pretty relaxed. On Christmas morning we had a delicious breakfast and watched Jackson (he's 2) open and play with some of his presents. I think it was after breakfast that we played Cranium. It was hilarious! We had 3 teams...me, Aunt Cathy and Erica; Justin, his dad and grandpa; and Justin's mom, grandma and Cathy's husband Darren. And the team we all joked would lose (mom, grandma and Darren) ended up winning. It was so fun. Haha! I don't really remember what else we did on Christmas Day.

Friday was a fun day. Justin and I headed to Freemont Street. If you've never been to Vegas, it's basically where all the old casinos are...Golden Nugget, Binions (formerly Horseshoe), and a few others. Anyways, we walked around there for a little while and since we had a while before the show (they have this big light up screen they built over the street) we drove out to where Justin grew up. He wanted to show me that he lived in the ghetto. It was definitely a shady part of town and I would not have liked living there. We grabbed a bite to eat, headed back to Freemont St. but decided not to stay. When we got back to the house, they had started a fire and were roasting hot dogs and brats. It was a lot of fun but I still haven't gotten the smoke out of my jacket. We didn't stay up too late Friday night because we had to get up early Saturday to catch our flight back to Michigan. We had a long layover when we got to Minneapolis so we explored the airport and got a bite to eat. We were supposed to be in GR at 7:30pm but didn't get in until about 8. Leah and Nick came to pick us up which was super nice.

The last week was spent playing host to John and Nikki. It was fun to see John again and I'm glad Nikki was here this time. It's nice to have another girl around when the boys get into their video games. They got here Tuesday night and we all just chilled out. Wednesday was super fun. a bunch of us headed to a Griffin's game. We won 6-0! After the game we all headed back to Jenny's until about 11pm. Then we headed back out to Rosa Parks Circle to watch the ball drop. There were SO many people...it was ridiculous. We had an interesting time but I don't ever plan on doing that again.

On New Years Day, John, Nikki, Justin and I headed to Craig's Cruisers for a few hours since they were having a special. It was a fun night. After that, we went to see The Day the Earth Stood Still. It was ok. I don't think it was violent enough for the boys haha! When we got home, we stayed up a little while just talking. On Friday, Justin had to work and John and Nikki headed home about 3pm. Liz and I got together for dinner and shopping. It was a really nice night. I miss Liz a lot sometimes.

Yesterday was mine and Justin's one year anniversary. =D I had to work but when I got home, Justin had dinner going and candles all over the apartment. It was a wonderful romantic night.

Well, I should be off. But before I go...

( Year in Review )

But I've still got some things from 2008 to talk about.

First of all, Las Vegas was amazing! Jenny and Chris were so wonderful and braved the blizzard to drop Justin and I off at the airport. We were worried that our flight would be cancelled but we were only delayed about a half hour. We had to make a stop in Minneapolis. Our flight out of there was delayed too. We finally arrived in Vegas about 1am where Justin's grandpa met us. That night we stayed at Justin's Aunt Cathy's house. Her house is absolutely gorgeous! It's huge and very nicely decorated. Of course they have a pool and hot tub. Unfortunately we didn't have time to take advantage of that. Anyways, Monday morning we slept in and lazed around until about mid-afternoon. Then we headed down to the strip to check in to Monte Carlo. We didn't have a view which was a bummer but not a huge deal since we didn't spend much time there anyway. We mostly just walked the strip, taking lots of pictures, and stopping in the casinos. We're not much into gambling which is good I guess because we didn't lose too much money. We went on the coaster at New York New York, ate at the buffet at Excalibur, and walked down to Luxor and Madalay Bay. We also stopped over at MGM and saw the lion exhibit.

Tuesday morning Justin got up a little early and tried to get cheap tickets to a Cirque Du Soleil show. They were sold out but Justin called the ticket office at Treasure Island and they still had some available so we got some for that night! Yay! Then we packed up and checked out of Monte Carlo and took a taxi down to The Mirage. Our room was amazing there! We were on the 24th floor which you had to have a room key to access. It was just a fun room...I really liked the decor and the pillows were effing fantastic. After checking in we spent the day exploring The Venetian and walking around more of the north end of the strip. We went to dinner at the buffet at The Mirage and then got all dolled up to see Cirque Du Soleil. It was so fun! After the show, we headed back to the room, changed again, and headed downstairs to watch the volcano show. It was really cool. I got a video of it but had trouble putting it on myspace so I'll have to try again later. Then we headed down to Bellagio to see the fountain show. It was cute because it was to "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Johnny Mathis.

On Wednesday after checking out of the hotel, we headed to The Stratosphere. I had wanted to go on one of the rides but once we got up there I totally chickened out. Plus it cost like $15 on top of the $15 it cost just to go up to the observation deck. We had fun and the view was pretty cool. I bought some souvenirs there for my family. Justin's mom and grandma came to pick us up from there and we headed back to his aunt's house to begin the Christmas festivities.

Well, I'm suposed to be meeting Liz for dinner soon and I'm getting kinda tired of typing so I'll have to finish later! 

What a weekend. I need another weekend to recuperate.

I was so looking forward to this weekend that the week could not go fast enough. On Friday, Justin's parents went to my parents' house to pick up a love seat to bring to us out in GR. They got here later in the evening and we set up the love seat. Then we opened Christmas presents! Yay! His parents totally spoiled us. They got us such nice stuff for our apartment. We got two barstools, shelves, a collage picture frame, and other little things to put on the walls. I love all of it! I love that we're really making this apartment into a home. I can't wait to get things organized and have everyone over to hang out! After presents, we all just veged out in front of the TV for the rest of the night.

Bright and not so early Saturday morning, we got up and headed to Bob Evans for breakfast where I had the best blueberry pancakes EVER! Then we headed to my apartment to move my furniture to the new apartment. We also grabbed a few boxes and other things. Then we came back to the new place and dropped some stuff off and took some things from here to our new mini-storage. Woooo! What, like you thought all my furniture would fit in this one bedroom apartment? My bed and desk went into storage along with some boxes. We've got more to take over there. We just need to sort it all out. We went back to my old place for a second load and by the time we got everything out of the truck and semi-organized my family arrived! Justin's parents had only met my mom when they went to their house on Friday so we had quick introductions and then just relaxed in the living room for a while. Justin's parents headed home shortly after and my parents went to check in to their hotel.

Around 6pm, the five of us headed downtown to celebrate my dad's birthday. He's 50 now! We made him wear a hat that said "50...Been there, done that, can't remember" and a pin that lit up. We went to Bobarino's for dinner where the service was terrible but the food was delicious. After dinner, we headed up to Dr. Grins to see a show. It was so hilarious! The headliner was Tim Cavanaugh and he totally reminded me of Tod in that he kept pullin' out his acoustic guitar and singing totally goofy songs. I could just see Tod up there singing Racist Grandpa. Haha! After the show, we just headed back to the apartment since everyone but Justin was feeling sick. Even though I don't live at home anymore, I somehow manage to get sick the same time as the rest of my family. Anyway, when we got back, we sang Happy Birthday to my dad and he opened his presents. Tim got him a CD he wanted and I got him Phase10 which is like his new favorite game. The rest of the night was once again spent vegging out with some Guitar Hero thrown in. My parents left around 11:30pm, I went to bed, and Justin and Tim stayed up late playing video games.

Sunday morning, we got to have Christmas again! Since, Justin and I will be in Vegas during Christmas, we celebrated with my family this weekend. Once I was up and dressed, Justin made me go to Meijer because he really wanted to have hashbrowns with breakfast. Justin and I spent the morning in the kitchen, cooking up some awesome breakfast, while Tim played the Xbox360 and my parents marveled at the graphics. After our delicious breakfast, we opened presents! I definitely got spoiled this year. Justin got me an mp4 player (not an iPod but I don't care...it gets the job done), my parents got me a new digital camera and my brother got me a new winter coat. Between Justin and I, we got lots of movies and frames and gift cards. My family left around 2 or 3pm. Justin and I spent the rest of the day getting things unpacked and organized. It took the rest of the night and there's still more to do.

So now here I am, exhausted and sick again. I've either got a nasty cold or something else...I don't even know. I've been sick for about a week now. My throat doesn't hurt anymore but I'm all stuffy and gross in my nose. I took some decongestant but it doesn't really feel like it's working. I hate not being able to breathe. Lame.

I'm so looking forward to Vegas! A week from now I'll be living it up! Haha! Gosh I haven't been on a plane since high school. It should be quite a trip. And now I've got my new camera I'll be taking lots of pictures!

Well, I should head to bed and get as much sleep as I can. I hope I'll feel better tomorrow.

Is Thanksgiving over already? I was lucky and got to go home and spend time with my family. Justin got out of work early on Wednesday night and we headed over to the east side. We stopped at his aunt's house in Canton so that he could drop of his car to store it for the winter. We got to my parents' house around 10pm and just relaxed. Thursday morning I was up early and watching the parade on TV. By the time the parade was over and we all got moving it was almost 1pm. We all helped my mom finish up Thanksgiving dinner. My grandma and uncle came over around 2:30pm. My mom made a great dinner. She's always so nervous about it turning out bad but she does such a good job. Everything was delicious! About 6pm, my mom's side of the family started showing up. I finally got to see my cousin's new baby who is now about 6 months old. She is SO adorable. After a couple pieces of pie, Justin and I had to head out. We got in around 10:30pm on Thursday.

Bright and early on Friday, Justin dragged me out of bed and made me go shopping. We got to Meijer around 4:45am. We grabbed a few movies that were cheap but there wasn't much else we wanted. Next we headed over to Target since it's right next to Meijer. Well they didn't open until 6am so we were standing in line for about 40 minutes. It was so cold. I was not a happy camper. The rush in Target was crazy. We first hit up the cheap DVDs. Overall we probably got a dozen movies. We also grabbed some seasons of Friends since they were only $12. Justin went to grab a season of The Simpsons and this old lady grabbed it at the same time. Of course Justin is a gentleman and let her have it. He went back the next day and it was still on sale so he got it anyway.

Around 7am we headed over to Bob Evans for some breakfast. Then we headed over to ABC Warehouse because Justin wanted to get a portable DVD player. They hadn't opened yet and the line was already around the building so we decided to skip it. We just headed back home and went back to bed. Justin had to go to work later in the afternoon and I ended up going shopping more later in the day.

The really not fun part of last week was that I caught a cold. I was miserable but made it through. Well in the evening on Friday I got really sick. I don't know what happened. I don't know if I ate something bad or just had a bug. I hadn't eaten anything since that breakfast at Bob Evans. But I couldn't keep anything down. I had to work on Saturday and I felt ok when I woke up. But immediately after my shower I got sick AGAIN...of course I hadn't eaten anything so I was just dry heaving which is almost worse. So obviously I ended up calling in. Now unfortunately I'm going to miss out on my holiday pay because I didn't work my scheduled shift before and after the holiday. Oh well. I didn't get sick all day Saturday or yesterday so I guess I'm ok now. I did work yesterday.

Well this week will be a short one since I picked up the weekend for the other girl I work with. I work just three days and then have to work the weekend again. On Wednesday I have my final exam. This weekend is the Christmas party which I hope people are coming to! Then the following weekend my family is coming out to help finish moving and celebrating my dad's birthday and Christmas. And then in just another week we are going to Vegas! This month is going to fly!

Well it's been a couple weeks now since I last updated. There isn't much to talk about besides the usual day to day stuff. Last week at work, the state surveyors were in so things were a little crazy. The last couple of weekends, Justin and I have been out shopping for our apartment. Speaking of which, we are officially roomies! I signed the lease this past Saturday. Yay!!! On Saturday we went to see Bolt. It was way cute. On Sunday we shopped and cleaned and put up the Christmas tree. It looks perfect in the corner of our tiny living room. I can't wait to get the rest of the furniture in here.

So my crazy professor told us last week that we could rewrite our lab reports if we wanted to. And if we couldn't stop in his office to pick up our first draft then we could email him. I emailed him on Thursday or Friday asking him to send me feedback so I could fix things. I emailed him again yesterday because I still hadn't heard from him. So today I finally got an email back. And I'm supposed to have it turned in by tomorrow. Yeah like I'm going to have time tonight to do it all. I'll try to fix some things but I guess I'm going to have just deal with whatever I get.

I guess I should get working on that paper then!

Baby it's cold outside. I felt like calling my mom this morning and saying Merry Christmas because it sure looks and feels that way outside. On the news this morning they said that in 2005 our first snow of the year gave us 8 inches. I'm glad we had just a nice dusting. Justin and I have had a nice weekend cuddling and drinking hot chocolate and tea.

Last weekend was Frankenmuth which was absolutely perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better day weather-wise. It was cool but sunny. I was so glad to be able to take Justin there for the first time. Zehnder's was delicious as always and we all had fun laughing about our food babies/comas. Of course I wanted to buy every souvenir and knick-knack in the city but I refrained. We did get some fudge, half of which we pawned off on my family. We also got some fun ornaments at Bronner's. We got a really cute one with a reindeer couple and got it personalized with our names and the year. I didn't want to put "Our First Christmas" on it though. I'm not sure why...I guess because I just associate those ornaments with being married. Obviously in this day and age a lot of couples live and spend holidays together but I'd like "Our First Christmas" ornament to be our first Christmas as a married couple. Anyway, after a long day in Frankenmuth, Justin and I headed to my parents' house for the remainder of the weekend. I was so glad to be able to spend some time with my family. We played games and ate delicious pizza. On Sunday my mom took Justin and I to see Eagle Eye. It was a really good movie. It reminded me a bit of I, Robot. I told my parents about not continuing at GVSU. They seemed to understand. They understand what it's like to struggle from check to check.

Also to save money, Justin and I decided that I'm going to move in with him in the one bedroom apartment. It will stink to have a smaller apartment but I'd rather do that for a little while and maybe be able to pay off some loans or save more for a house or a wedding or whatever. Pretty much all of my bedroom furntiure will go into storage for now. We spent a little time yesterday rearranging the apartment to get an idea of where some of my things would go. I know we'll make it work.

I guess there's not too much else to report. I don't know what to do as far as a Christmas party. Now that I'm moving in with Justin, I can pretty much start moving my stuff now. I mean, most of the stuff in the common areas of my apartment is Liz's so it's not like it would be empty. I just feel a little stressed about planning a party. I'll still do it but I'll let you guys know it's going to be very laid back.

Ugh, I went to the eye doctor today and they dilated my pupils. It's so annoying.