Updates Galore

Well...

It's been awhile, and I apologize (though I doubt I have a loyal band of readers) :) Anyway, it has been a BUSY week for me. Wednesday and Thursday evenings marked my last college classes EVER! It hasn't really hit me yet that I'm done with class, and I'm hoping it will at graduation. Right now, it just feels like any other day, but there is some relief in knowing I don't have to do homework at the start of next week.

Mike and I went to look at that house last Friday and I am in love (so is he!). We're working on the loan stuff right now and hope to make an offer this weekend. It would be such a perfect house for us and what we want in life (kids, cows, good times, etc.). I know if we don't get it, then something better will come along, but I really hope this is it for us :)

I've had zero time to stamp this week...actually haven't touched ink since last weekend when I was working on some things for graduation. Anyway...Mike and I are going to a wedding this weekend and I'd like to make a card this evening. I'd also like to get a couple thank you cards done and work on my cousin's gift for her shower next weekend!!

I MAY have been exaggerating when I said there were updates GALORE. Or even a bit hasty when I said there were updates, because there's not really much news here. I'll try to pull some pictures off my camera soon and post with them.

I can finally expend some energy!

I'm not even sure how many people know this, but I'm very slowly attempting to start an invitation/announcement/card business on the side of everything else I'm doing. It's been exceptionally slow going lately because of classes and starting with Stampin' Up, but I have been able to do a few projects. I'm currently working on my cousin's wedding invitations, and just recently finished a project that was a baby announcement (see below.) I've done a little bit of everything, from graudation announcements to thank you notes, we've moved! cards, baby and wedding showers, the wedding invites and so on. So...if you're ever interested or know of someone who might be in need, please keep me in mind!

Disappointment

So, I think everyone who knows me knows how long I've been going to school and how hard I've been working to graduate, especially lately. It's a fairly big deal in my life. So, of course, I want to have a party to celebrate and it would be awesome if the people I care about would actually show up. Seems like that won't be the case. Now, I can understand if something was already planned for that day, or it's something pressing like, I dunno, moving out of the state :) But what I guess I don't understand is people who know that's going on and choose to plan something else for that day anyway. I didn't just invite random friends...I invited the people who were closest to me. I would think they'd want to be there to celebrate with me - I know I would want to do the same for them. I'm really really really upset...at this point, I'm not even sure that I'll have any of my friends there. I can almost for certain say that Mike will have more friends there than I will. It won't ruin my day, because this is something I've done and am so glad to have accomplished, but it makes me rethink how close to me these friends really are.

Okay, everyone who knows me knows I have issues with the alphabet. Which is funny because I learned it like 23 years ago, and I still have to think really hard about the order of the letters. So, in honor of my stupidity, I thought I'd do an online quiz about it. :)

The Letter A
Are you available? Nope
What is your age? 25 for 2 more weeks!
What annoys you? Oh lord, is there a space limit on this thing? For right now, we'll just go with stupid people who can't follow directions
The Letter B
Do you live in a big house? I live in a small apartment. Hope to be in a big house soon.
When is your birthday? June 7 - celebrating June 5 - come drink with us!!
Who is your best friend? Mike
The Letter C
What's your favorite candy? Hmm...jelly beans, probably
Who's your crush? Mike
When was the last time you cried? Sunday, I think
The Letter D
Do you daydream? ALL the time
What's your favorite kind of dog? PUGS!!
What day of the week is it? Wednesday
The Letter E
How do you like your eggs? Scrambled
Have you ever been in the emergency room? Yes
What's the easiest thing ever to do? Breathe?
The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane? All the time
Do you use fly swatters? No
Have you ever used a foghorn? Um, no
The Letter G
Do you chew gum? Yup, bad habit
Are you a giver or a taker? I try to balance, but I'm probably more of a giver
Do you like gummy candies? Yes
The Letter H
How are you? I'm very sleepy
What color is your hair? Brown with blond streaks
The Letter I
What's your favorite ice cream? Cake batter from Cold Stone
Have you ever ice skated? Once when I was about 12
Do you play an instrument? I used to play the piano..it's been awhile
The Letter J
What's your favorite jelly bean brand? Jelly Belly. Cotton Candy or Bubblegum.
Do you wear jewelry? Everyday I wear my mom's wedding ring and a ring that says "faith" Otherwise, I change it up
The Letter K
Who do you want to kill? No one
Do you want kids? Yes
Where did you go for kindergarten? Gunn Elementary, Mrs. Houser
The Letter L
Are you laid back? Not remotely :)
Do you lie? I try never to, unless it involves some sort of surprise or gift
The Letter M
Whats your favorite movie? Silence of the Lambs
Do you still watch Disney movies? If I can find them to watch
Do you like mangos? Yes
The Letter N
Do you have a nickname? Jen
What is your real name? Jennifer
Whats your favorite number? Don't really have one
Do you prefer night over day? Yes
The Letter O
What's your one wish? Happiness
Are you an only child? No
The Letter P
What one fear are you most paranoid about? Failure
What are your pet peeves? Long finger nails on guys, people who don't use their turn signals, and people who pronounce words incorrectly
What's a personality trait you look for in people? Good sense of humor
The Letter Q
What's your favorite quote? No clue
Are you quick to judge people? I try not to be but I also know that first impressions mean a lot
The Letter R
Do you think you're always right? Usually :)
Are you one to cry? I'm not sure what this has to do with the letter R, but yes, I'm fairly emotional
The Letter S
Do you prefer sun or rain? Good mix
Do you like snow? One snow per year would be fine...then I wouldn't miss it
What's your favorite season? Fall
The Letter T
What time is it? 10:28
What time did you wake up? 5:45
When was the last time you slept in a tent? Day after never
The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear? Yes!
Underwear or boxers? Underwear
The Letter V
What's the worst veggie? I like all veggies...
Where do you want to go on vacation? Going to Maryland and California this summer, so those will do
The Letter W
What's your worst habit? Cracking my knuckles
Where do you live? Omaha
What's your worst fear? Failure
The Letter X
Have you ever had an x-ray? Yes, when I broke my ankle
Have you seen the x-games? No
Do you own a xylophone? Um, no
The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow? At the moment, yes
What's one thing you yearn for? A nap :)
The Letter Z
Whats your zodiac sign? Gemini
Do you believe in the zodiac? At times
Favorite zoo animal? Hmm...they don't have puppies at the zoo, right? I guess I like...anything baby that looks fuzzy :)

Our New Home?

Alright, time to look at another house that will inevitibly get sold right after we look at it...to someone else, that is. Seems everytime Mike and I look at a house, it's sold within a week. Good news for the seller, I'm sure, but we're getting frustrated. So...here's the one that will be sold next. It's in Syracuse, NE - which I'm thrilled about because it's a bigger town, so the possibility of me not going insane is there. Woohoo!! There's actually restuarants and a pizza place so I can get lazy and not cook occassionally. Anywho, from the outside, we LOVE it. Not loving the drive in to Bellevue/North O, but we'll survive for a house we love. It was built in 1900, has 36ish acres of ground for Mike's calves, a POND, some out buildings, etc. The woodwork looks gorgeous in the pictures. It has 4 bedrooms, about 2,500 square feet...perfect for us to stay put til our kids put us in an old folks home. :) I hope it lives up to our expectations - or exceeds them. Say a little prayer for us to not be homeless children for too long :)

Ah, Spirit

I found these, and thought they would embarass me properly. They're pictures from our Employee Appreciation Week here at Florence Home. Hawaiian Day, Nerd Day, Crazy Hat Day, and Mismatch Day...I particularly like Crazy Hat Day - I was feeling a bit crabby :)

I

I

i am: still waking up (2 hours after getting out of bed)
i need: another day in the week
i think: entirely too much
i know: that God has a plan
i want: our farm house to magically appear
i have: wet hair
i wish: I were stamping
i hate: laziness and liars
i miss: my mom
i fear: failure
i feel: excited to see Mike tonight
i hear: someone's printer (forgot to turn on my radio!) - okay, now Pat & JT
i smell: all the food people have left in my office
i crave: cupcakes!
i wonder: if we'll like this house we're seeing Sunday
i regret: nothing
i love: Mike, more than I ever thought I could love someone
i ache: when I see hurt animals
i care: about doing well
i always: sleep entirely too late
i am not: looking forward to 7 hours, 42 more minutes of work
i believe: all my dreams are coming true
i dance: never
i sing: when no one can hear me :)
i don’t always: listen as well as I should
i fight: entirely too quickly
i write: like a typewriter (according to my classmates)
i lose: everything in my mess of a house
i never: get tired of watching the same movies over and over
i can usually be found: at some scrapbook store or in my house, stamping
i am scared: that this will all come crashing down one day
i need: hugs from my sweetie :)

You?

Laziness

I guess my parents taught me properly. When someone asks something of me and I can, I will help them. If I offer to help, I follow through. If I'm already going that far, I'm going to see if there's anything else I can do to help. And more often than not, if I see something that needs to be done, I'll just do it.

That being said, apparently I'm in the minority, as are most of my friends. For the longest time, I was either very lucky or very picky as EVERYONE I surrounded myself with subscribed to the same theory about helping others. It seems like recently though, this isn't the case, and I'm finding myself not wanting to be friends with certain people because of it.

My feeling is that if you make a commitment, follow through on it, regardless of how busy you are, what things have come up, your mood, the weather - it doesn't matter what your excuse is, just do it. Not only that, but if you commit yourself to a larger project (regardless of offering to help with a small task), then you have committed yourself to whatever it is they need.

For example, say there's an organization at your employer. (Remember, this is hypothetical!) And that organization decides as a group to host an event that needs volunteers each day for a week. My opinion is that you should volunteer for EVERY time you have available. Better to have too many hands than too few. I shouldn't have to ask you to volunteer, I shouldn't have to tell you about your commitment to the organization and what that means, and I shouldn't have to beg you to help after you've already committed. Just do it. Don't rely on other's to cover for you. Don't tell me you've already done your share. Don't tell me that you weren't counting on having to help. Don't tell me you're too busy with your work (implying that it's more important), because your participation in this organization is part of your job and IT IS YOUR WORK!

Not following through, not committing, not honoring your commitments, and even further, not going above and beyond what you have committed is PURE LAZINESS. There is no other way to put it.

Rant over, for now. I suspect I will have the same complaints in the coming days.

Frustration

Well, we didn't get that house. Apparently, the listing agent decided not to follow through on her word to let us know there was a competing bid, because (surprise, surprise!) the other bidder was one of her clients and she would receive the full commission. Not at all fishy. Mike and I are both bummed beyond words.

I'm exceptionally frustrated because I'm ready to move in with him and stop having the stress of commuting 45 minutes just to see each other. It hasn't affected our relationship yet, but I have a feeling it will. Fortunately, my life is about to get significantly less busy in 3 weeks.

I'm hoping today looks up, because right now, it's not going too well.

Virgin Posting

It's my first time, be gentle!

Just kidding. This is my first post, and not done at my home computer, so be patient. I finally have entered the blog world. If you stick around to read my ramblings, well...you're brave. I do plan to post primarily about my life and my stamping addiction, but who knows - there may be something else of interest to read as well :)

Just a couple of things from this weekend:

Mike and I made an offer on an awesome farm this weekend. Say a little prayer (or a few big ones!) that our offer is accepted or at least that the owners counter with something we can afford. I'm in love with the house and I think Mike feels the same way about the land. I'll post pictures if our offer is accepted!!

Also, since it was Mother's Day, I did make a couple cards for Mike's mom and grandma. They're posted above. (I apologize for the quality of the pictures - taken on a camera phone by a mediocre photographer!) Tried some new techniques with both of them - heat embossing on the Hodgepodge Hardware, paper piercing, watercolor crayons - all so much fun!! The first was for his grandma and the second for his mom. I think they were pleased - or faked it well if not! :)