Dear Chemistry,

You may not be posted to my transcript yet, but I have a little message for you:

IN. YOUR. FACE!

Love,

Amanda

P.S.  I got a B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(times infinity but I didn't want to waste too much screen space.)

Putz.

K. So, I know I said I would update soon, and I really had every intention to, but I wrote a whole bunch of stuff out, had some video footage posted, and wen't to save it, and the browser crashed, and *poof* everything was gone. I'm working it back up, slowly but surely, and now that I don't have school interfering with my life, I will be able to dedicate more time. I promise! I have other things coming up for the site as well, like a 30 day blog challenge to get me back in the habit of posting on a regular basis. I know you're excited, you don't have to hide it. :)

An epic of epic proportions (but not.)

So I started to write a post, but then I went back to the website to see where I had left off last time, and then I got distracted trying to add a date to all post (which I have done, success!) but now, it is 9:45, and I don’t have enough time to write out everything I had to say.  So, in regular TV fashion:

Coming up on the next episode of Jason and Amanda’s epic saga:

• Anniversary


• Blizzcon 2010 / California


• Sleep Study Results


• Phone


• Landon’s Surgery


• Brewfest 2010


• Work Drama (for both of us)

Until next time (which is hopefully soon, since I have a crappy memory…)

P.S.  Enjoy the date which is now at the bottom of every post, it took me about 13 minutes to learn how to code that correctly and not break the page.  :D

ΦΘΚ

[caption id="attachment_595" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Phi Theta Kappa"][/caption]

Broken, broken, broken.

Sometimes I feel like I am a disaster… or a disaster maker.  Everything around me seems to be breaking lately… or just… bad things are happening, and it is driving me insane!

#1 – My phone hasn’t been working correctly for a few months.  This sucks for several reasons.  First, we’ve had to take it a Sprint repair center numerous times.  This is pretty much a hassle because you can’t just take it to a Sprint store, which happens to be across the street from us… we have to drive about seven miles to a Sprint Service center, drop it off, and leave it for an hour or more, and then drive back there.  This also sucks because they reset it, and while they back up your contacts, as does Google, they don’t back up any of your customization, which takes an hour or so to re-download everything and get it set up to almost how you had it set up before (because I always manage to miss something.)  They have replaced the battery, and this last, and final time, they told me that the software was broken.  Now, I have to wait until Tuesday to get a new refurbished phone.   I have had my phone almost 9 months, and I really hope that these issues don’t reappear on the other phone.  Grrr.

#2 – We took Landon in to see a specialist yesterday.  There’s good news and bad news.  The good news is that it may not be his hip that needs to be replaced.  The good/bad news is that it may just be his knee, which also would need surgery, but it’s only about half the cost.  The bad news is that while knee surgery may help it, it may NOT be the final surgery he would have to have, but in order for them to do hip surgery, he would need to have knee surgery anyway, due to the dynamics of him only being on three legs.  Unfortunately, down time for him would be about 6 weeks, of him not only being severely restricted in activity, but he will have to be toted around in a sling for an undetermined amount of time in that period.  I would love to have his surgery next week… but we are going out of town in October and I’d hate to leave that burden on anyone, much less my mother who will be taking care of the dogs while we are gone... and I am sure he will make it challenging for anyone who tries to get in his way, including us.  He is one of the most stubborn dogs I have ever met!

I’m sure there is more to complain about… but those were the two important things.  Tomorrow, I am going to see a sleep specialist to find out why I can’t sleep.  I’m semi-excited, but also semi-nervous because I really don’t want to be hooked up to a CPAP machine for the rest of my life.  :(  Wish me luck!

Reasons why I loathe thee.

Basically, it isn't any new fact that Jason and I hate our house, and everything around it, including our neighbors, here is why:

I will start you off with this lovely diagram.  Each square represents a house and a front/back yard.  Our houses are not literally wall-to-wall on all sides.  We have a back yard, which backs up to our back-neighbors back yard, and a side yard that is next to another neighbor and so on.

8	7	6	5
1	2	3	4

1)  We hate you, because recently, despite the lovely No Trespassing sign that we had posted (until it "mysteriously" broke) your wretched children-beasts come on to our property.  Not only that, which already upsets our dogs enough to make them go crazy... you then start waving things, such as sticks, in front of their angry little faces.  When we open the door to find out why there is such a ruckus, you run off, because obviously, you know you've done something wrong.  Last time, we caught you, you little bastards.  Jason was kind enough to hop our fence, and walk over to your house STEAMING mad.  I'm pretty sure if cartoons got the idea of an angry person blowing steam out of their ears, it was from Jason, at that point in time.  (Yes, I am saying that cartoonists traveled forward in time to figure out that's what a REALLY mad person looks like.)  He spoke to your parents, who were probably the same level of pissed off as our dogs, but nowhere near Jason.  I don't think it has resolved the issue completely, but it has lessened it a bit.

2)  Ah, the neighbors directly to the west of us.  Thanks for owning a dog.  A dog that never goes inside.  Not in 120° heat, and not in the rain.  I really do feel bad for your dog, and it really is no wonder he barks at every gust of wind.  I just wish you would get rid of him.  It make us feel like assholes if we should happen to get home late, or want to do something in our yard early in the morning when its cooler, because YOUR dog won't shut his yap because YOU won't let him in the house.  Also, thanks for providing him with that kiddie pool in the backyard that it is clear he never uses, and is also a lovely breeding ground for your other pets, mosquitoes, they sure do love that green, algae ridden standing water.  They also love us, and imagine how joyfully surprised we were when we found out the source of them.

3) That's us.  We just hate the house.  We can't really hate ourselves, although we do kick ourselves every now and then for buying this dump.

4) Ah, the overly loud obnoxious neighbor to the east of us.  Did you know that her father's birthday was on our wedding date, and that means that he not only approves of our marriage, but also that we are living in his house?  SO GREAT TO HEAR!  Ugh.  Not only that, she really is LOUD and OBNOXIOUS.  Like, to the point where we are in our house, and if she is talking to someone outside, we can clearly hear her... and so can the rest of the neighborhood.  We avoid her at all costs, but sometimes resistance is futile... because the nervous glance in her direction and then away... just won't work.

5) I don't think we have a problem with you... you just happened to get grouped in with the rest, just like poor ol' #8.

6) You know, when we discussed paying HALF to get our fence fixed because your 3-90 pound dogs continually jumped on it, we were serious?  We didn't mean for you to fix your front yard, put your dogs there, and then buy five 6-month old puppies and put them in the back instead.  We still can't use our backyard, because the new dogs also jump on the fence, pushing it more and more over.  I'm glad you got your front yard fixed though.  I'm also glad that before you moved your bigger dogs, one actually climbed OVER our fence, destroyed my above ground garden, you walked into our yard, got your dog, and didn't even bother to tell us until we confronted you about it.  Oh yeah, and thanks for all the dead birds you keep throwing in our yard too.  That's always nice to walk into.

7) You have the loudest, most yippi-yappiest dog I have ever heard.  You must be related to #2 because you NEVER let your dog inside, and at 2 am, or 11 pm it doesn't really matter the time "yipyipyipyip" is all we ever hear.  I wan't to do a special covert operation over the corner of your fence, and shoot it... and I am not an advocate for killing animals... but yours needs to go.

8) Sorry you got stuck in here with the rest of the idiots.  I like your 2 black dogs.  They are very well behaved, and quiet.  I enjoy driving by them when they are outside every now and then because they always looks like they are in anticipation of you being home and being a super owner who actually gives a shit about their dogs.

I can't wait until we have enough equity to get the hell out of this place, or we win the lottery.  Freedom!

Amazing Things

Earlier this week the site was down because of an application that I was using that was "hogging" up all the server resources.  Since it is a shared server (with God knows how many people) instead of just removing or disabling the program, my host put the kabosh on the entire site.  I was pretty annoyed because that allowed me to do things the backwards / hard way only... as I wasn't allowed access to my actual site, where I could have taken care of the problem in one foul swoop.  So the site was down for a day or so while I went to 2,310 different locations to try and solve the issue.  Let's just say I'll leave it at that, but I am a little annoyed with my host right now for not really being helpful, or timely since they said they would check overall resources in 24 hours... and that 24 hours was up Thursday...  *cough*  That's why the site is only half done, because this all went down right in the middle of me working on it...

Annnnnnnyyyyyway, school for me starts this Thursday, and I already feel overwhelmed.  I ordered my books weeks ago and I have one.  One out of four.  I got an email yesterday saying I had to go to Target to buy one since it was way cheaper than going through the book store.  Thanks teach.  So technically I guess I have two, even though I haven't actually gone to get it yet.  However, I called the bookstore and told them "Hey, this book has been sitting at West Campus for a week and a half... you think you could ship it... and what about this other one that's been pending for a week... what about that one?"  The response I got was less than pleasurable with one book being dropped off by FedEx the day before my classes start, and one book being on backorder, despite the fact that they have 15 in stock for people who are picking up, until after classes start.  I ordered my books on the 3rd, how long do you wait for people to pick up their books... an eternity?  So yeah, totally sucks.  I hate being unprepared.  Jason's school starts on the following Monday, and he's already picked up his books, easy peasy.

A few months ago, I ordered a little device called a FitBit.  It took forever to get here (on backorder... just like everything I ever order) but I finally got it Thursday.  It is amazing to say the least.  It tracks sleep, and calories burned, and has an entire website to track all that and more.  The only thing I am truely disappointed with... is my results: (click it!)



The sleep feature is what really sold me on this little device, and so far this has been my worst night out of three.  My first night I was awoken 12 times, but got about 8 hours of sleep.  My second night I was awoken 23 times (!!!) but got about 7 hours of sleep... last night was obviously the worst because when I was woken up, I stayed up instead of being up for a minute or two.  The website also tracks your caloric intake, and water intake based on the foods you entered in, so it is really interesting to see the total caloric intake of what you eat versus what you burn as well.  So far I am in love with this tiny little helper, but I'm giving it at least a month before I give an absolute recommendation as I've seen a lot of pros as well as cons on their forums.

That's pretty much it for now.  I'm off to force Jason to clean with me... we defrosted/deiced our freezer yesterday (easy to do in this heat) and now its off to organize the kitchen!

This is just the beginning...

Some of you may have heard from Jason that I went a little crazy with some bins... here is just one small portion of what I have done:

Thats right.  They all have their own little bins with their own little categories.  Jason's favorite is the 'Osama Bin Ramen' bin, which sadly enough is actually filled with ramen.  I really don't know what we're going to do with all of it... more to come...

Personal Goals

So I have made two recent personal goals:

1. Update this more often then once every few months. (Whoops!)


2. Organize! Organize! Organize! I have been reading a few blogs, and I think it may be an epidemic. You read one blog where someone organizes, and you're like, wow, why didn't I think of that? And then you pick up a magazine with new ideas on how to save space as well... and it just starts a whole mess. As we are trying to save money right now, we have to start small. I'm starting in our pantry, which is a closet full of mess! I really wish I had taken before pictures because it would make even the slobbiest of slobs cringe. I read in some magazine that you can use wire or see through bins to help organize into categories, and I was hooked at that very moment. I have't been able to find any cheap wire or see through bins (sad) so I am stuck with some plain ole' plastic ones. Target had some on sale for $2 each, so I snagged a few. However, they only had black, fuchsia, and lime green. We took the last four black ones at that store, and plan to pick up more tomorrow. I already see an improvement in space and it feels great. I think it will also help with our grocery shopping issue where we just buy frivolously and in excess because we don't know what we even have. Some of the space issue was old stuff, and we literally had items that expired before we even moved into this house. Eeesh. I plan to tackle the garage sometime soon as that is also a big disaster and we can barely even walk in it, much less get a car in it. However, I will have to wait for it to cool down before I take on that job. The kitchen, and our den need some work also, but I figure baby steps are a good thing.

Happy Birthday Lucy Bob!

Why yes, yes I am one of those crazy people who celebrate their dog’s birthday, with a beef and bacon cupcake!  I can remember when I first picked up Lucy, in Tucson, and Jason wanted NOTHING to do with her (because he hadn’t seen her yet) and now he can’t spend a day without her.  I can’t believe she is 3; she is growing up so fast.  *sniffle*

<3 the Lucy Bob

P.S.  I will be working on this theme over the next week or so, so don't worry, you won't be blinded by this hideous bright green forever.  :)

So...

I was (sort of) forced to put my car, James, bless his little blue heart, out to pasture, and we bought a new car Friday night.  The entire process took forever, and while I am excited about a new car, I am not excited about having to make 2 car payments... as mine has been paid off for the last two years.  :(

Honda is still trying to work something out with us where we can trade Jason's car in for a new car, but we keep the same payments... but they are having to do a lot of... uh... magic to work around it, since we got kind of robbed on his car in the first place, and we still owe so much on it.

Anyway, here is 'No Name': (well what No Name looks like since we didn't get out of the dealership until 9:45)

I'd like to say I didn't

But I totally forgot about this site for a while.  Whoops!  :P

School has been keeping us both busy, well more so me now than Jason. I got a break while he finished, but now I am being buried under geology (yuck) and he is finished.

Anyway... I have more to do, but I hope to get him to update this sometime soon... maybe...

Superstar!

One of my friends, my lovely bridesmaid Jo actually, was visiting her mom in South Dakota, and decided to Yarn Bomb downtown Rapid City.  She's been doing it a couple of weeks, but she made the news today:

http://rapidcityjournal.com/image_73f978f3-a488-5484-81a3-d12f79e517f6.html

http://rapidcityjournal.com/image_a6379cab-f475-58d4-83c3-47a5f844135b.html

Congrats Jo, you're famous now, don't forget me when they find out who you are :P

The 7 Year Itch... Only Shorter

And no, I am not talking about Jason.  :)

It seems that as of my last few jobs, I get right to the 3 year mark, and I bail.  I just get so fed up with / sick of them.  I am nearing that at my current job... and I honestly don't know if I will be able to make it much longer.  Without going into great detail... I feel worthless most of the time.  I am made to be more versatile than I want to be.  I can cover many people's jobs, and no one seems to care if mine is done or not, until they need something, and then it is "WHY ISN'T THIS DONE!?"  There are a few specific people that really get to me, but no matter how much I complain, no matter how wrong they are, when it comes time for punishment, or time to fix the problem, nothing happens.  Ever.  I just hate it.  I am told constantly how "valuable" I am, and how I am irreplaceable, but when co-workers make my life harder, no one seems to care when I get upset or frustrated or have a problem, ever.  It’s like there isn't even a point in complaining anymore, because nothing ever gets done.  It's really shown in my attitude lately, because I simply just don't care, and I don't want to help.  I have been making minimal talk with the majority of my co-workers, but again, none of them seem to care unless they need help someone.  I feel like I am drowning.

In other news nothing is happening.  When we're not dealing with the daily grind of work, we're dealing with the nightly grind of homework.  I just want to be free, and not have to work, or have to go to school, just have the ability to do what I want, when I want.  I'll keep dreaming though...

For our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife, nothing really happened.  We ran our errands, as Sunday is pretty much the only day that we have available to do so, and that was about it.  We exchanged gifts in the morning, Jason got Heath bars, and a big fat book, and I got a stuffed frog, and real frogs!  We actually bought the tank a week ago, and I have been adding to it slowly.  I've always wanted a fish tank (beyond a glass jar) and we found a really nice 2 ½  gallon one with a filtration system, light and the works.  Currently, I have two African Dwarf Frogs, an Otocinclus (which looks like a mini shark, but he sucks all the algae out), and 3 Glass Shrimp.  Sadly, I think the shrimp are the most exciting.  They are so active, and so comical.  I fed the frogs today, which is basically little pellets of food, and the shrimp all grabbed a pellet and looked like they were playing with them.  The frogs are active every now and then... and the Otoconclus just sucks... haha, but he looks pretty cool, and I am happy with the entire set up.  So cute!

That's it for now.

We need a vacation.

The Fascination

I don't really know what it is. I don't even know if it is "us" or if it is just the house... but we can't seem to stop being home to stray dogs! We have found another one, making it three in the last year. The first one was found on Valentine's Day last year, and the owners, despite the fact that they live two houses down, and we left a note on their door inquiring about their dog, took foreeeever to get back to us. The second one was Dude. Dude was cool, however, dude had poo issue, and Dude was not fun. BUT Dude had tags which made it easy. This time we found, what Jason fondly calls "Dorkus".



She is a super sweet dog, and very timid.  I saw her running around the neighborhood but couldn't get her to come near me so I just kind of left it.  She had a collar, so I figured someone had to be looking for her.  She circled the cul-de-sac a few times, and some jack-ass, driving like they always do, came flying around the corner, and decided to use the cul-de-sac as their race track, and almost hit her.  So I decided to beg Jason, who never wants to take them in, to help me get her, because I could not imagine having someone find one of our dogs, and just let them roam free without trying to find their owners.  He slowly approached her and gained her trust, and we put a leash on her.  We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and talked to more neighbors than I think we have the entire time we have been here, and everyone said she belonged in a different direction.  Ugh.  We tried to get her into the car, but she wouldn't jump into either one.  Jason went back to his homework, and I grabbed some homemade treats as he wished me luck walking out the door.  They aparently, are really good, because it got her into the car in no time, something the other treats I was giving her wouldn't do.  I screamed for Jason to get out there, and we headed to PetSmart.  Unfortunately, even though she had a collar, she had no tags, and no microchip, so we posted at PetSmart, and I posted on Pets911.com in the hopes that her owner missed her as much as she misses them.  She did not enjoy the shot car ride, and kept trying to jump into the front seat with us, and at one point, was climbing over my shoulder to do so, hence the name Dorkus that Jason gave her.

She is not a neglected dog.  She was very clean, he teeth were super clean, and he nails were trimmed.  She shed a lot, but I think that is because she is stressed.  She is super cuddly and is currently whining in our backyard because she doesn't want to be alone.  :(  I think that if we don't hear anything back from anyone tomorrow, we will have to call the Humane Society.  :(

In case you haven't heard the news:

We are famous now:
http://www.chapelonthefarm.com/weddingsreceptions.html

We painted a room in our house, goodbye ugly green, hello nice blah bland colors <3!

[caption id="attachment_514" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Looks lovely!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_512" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Looks great with all the brown (yeck)"][/caption]

We finally built the sewing/craft table Jason got me for Christmas:

[caption id="attachment_516" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Spaaaace!"][/caption]

Aaaaaand I now cook fancy schmancy things at home like Chicken with a Reisling-Orange Sauce.  All.  Made.  From.  Scratch.  Check me out:





I also learned today, that dad, no matter how hard he tries, is NO MATCH for momma's comfort in a thunderstorm.  I love our puppies.