Last Chance

On Friday I will be closing this blog. If you have not received an email invitation and want to read my new blog, please leave me a comment to let me know.

New Blog

I have decided to close this blog. I have started a new blog and you should be receiving an email to allow you to read the new blog. If you don't get the email, leave me a comment and let me know. Typing in 80 email addresses, I know I probably got at least one of them wrong.

I will be leaving this blog open until the end of the week.

New Friend

Sophie and I met a new friend today...

She is really loving all the time we have been able to spend outside. Even in the middle of the day it's seems quiet. On my second night here I was walking Sophie and looked up and was shocked at how many stars I could see. One funny thing...I went to Taco Bell yesterday (thanks to Redfrog) and noticed they close at 9:30 on Saturday nights. The Taco Bell's in KC would stay open until 3am. Thankfully I have never had a craving for a Burrito Supreme at 2am.

Today I went for my physical and drug screen for my new job. I was excited because my blood pressure was perfect at 118/80. I am all ready to go for Thursday morning. I am looking forward to getting back to a routine. I love having a few days off, but I think I just do better when I have more structure in the day.

So..tell me something good that happened to you today.........

Something New

I have experienced something I never did when I was in Kansas City. Yesterday when I was out walking Sophie almost everyone that drove past us not only slowed down and moved over, but they waved at us. I imagine Sophie and I could literally walk in the middle of the road and people would still slow down and wait for us to move over. You know how when you first learned to drive you learned that the pedestrian always has the right of way? This does not apply in the Kansas City. I don't know how many times Sophie and I were almost hit because some ass was too close to us.

I have one of those stakes that you put in the ground with a leash and Sophie is loving being outside. She won't let me leave her on it and come inside, but I imagine once she feels really comfortable here she will have no problem just hanging out on the front porch. Yesterday we were sitting out there and someone walked by and she didn't bark, just looked at them. She has also spotted a few squirrels, but hasn't attempted to run after them.

I love this picture of her:



Ben continues to do so well. He is walking around and acting normal again. The fact that he has calmed down makes me very happy. I think he really likes it here.

Last night I woke up around 4am and decided to get up and see what was on TV. I ended up staying up for an hour watching a couple episodes of Roseanne. I forgot how much I love that show. It's so good to have cable again.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday.

I am in love....

I am in love. I am sure you are thinking I am talking about S (which by the way, I am still totally head over heels in love with her), but I am actually talking about my new house and my new town. I love love love my new house. This morning S and I were up at 4:45am since she had to go into work and as the sun came up I realized how much light my house has. My apartment was so dark and kind of like a dungeon that it's nice to have so many windows and sunlight. I have no idea how I lived in an apartment with just one window. We set up the bed so that the end is right by a window and Bonk loves sitting on the bed looking out the window.

Bonk and Sophie have adjusted very well to our new home. When I first brought Sophie in she couldn't wait to get out, but now that our stuff is in and kind of settled, I thinks he knows this is home. I think she is loving all the room she has. She is currently in the bedroom on her dog bed.

Bonk and Ben have done so well and did really well in the car for the 3 hours it took us to get here. I put a towel over the carrier and I think that really helped since they couldn't see out the car window. During the drive I would say "where's the baby?" about every 20 minutes and Ben would let out a meow so I knew he was OK. Once we got to the house I put them in the spare bedroom and opened the kennel door. Both of them stayed in there for a while, but Bonk eventually came out and just started walking around like she knew this was home. Ben had to be convinced to come out later in the evening. And he is doing soooooo well. He is walking around and exploring and doing so well. I am so proud of him. Yesterday was a very stressful day for him and I am so proud that he is becoming more trusting. He is currently asleep under the covers on the bed. I don't think he got much sleep yesterday, so I expect him to sleep most of today.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:
Goodbye Kansas City....


Here is the living room and all it's boxes and Miss Bonk exploring:


Here is the kitchen.
I am still shocked at how much storage space I have. It's going to be nice being able to buy extra stuff when it's on sale. I plugged my fridge in this morning and it's already cool.

Here is the utility room:
Right now this is the worst room of the house because all the stuff that I don't know what to do with is in here.

Here is the living room:
I probably won't leave the couch there, but when the guys brought it in yesterday I just had them put it there since they were saying, "I can't believe how heavy this couch is."

Here is the master bedroom:
The bed has already been moved. The head of the bed is to the left of the picture (and up against the wall) and the end is right by the window on the back wall.

Here is Sophie after the very long car ride:
I have taken her on a few walks and she just loves the new neighborhood.

Here is Ben thinking that maybe he will come out of the kennel:
I really am proud of him because he has done so much better then what I thought. He is still pretty scared, but at least he's coming out to the living room and being somewhat sociable.

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while know that stray cats are just drawn to me. I fed and took care of the ones at my house and then at the apartment there were about 4 stray cats that would hang out by my front door.

I hadn't been here more then 2 hours yesterday when this guy showed up:

And as you can see is is pretty happy sitting on my lawn chairs. However, he does not like Sophie at all.

I really don't plan on doing much today because somehow I have hurt my back. It started hurting Thursday morning and yesterday morning I could barely move. S has instructed me to do nothing today...no unpacking...nothing. She told me to just lay on the couch and enjoy my cable TV again. The only thing I will do is run up to Walmart to get some groceries.

When I went to pick up the keys for the house yesterday my landlord had made me cookies to welcome me to the town. I thought that was very sweet. Last night S and I went out to dinner at a restaurant that I noticed the first time we came to town. It's called "Wagon Wheel" and I thought it just looked like a fun restaurant. Well, I was right. It was so good and has the typical country food. We both ate for under $20 which isn't too bad for a sit down restaurant.

I am happy, S is happy and the babies are happy. Life is very good.

Surprise!!

I am home!!

I will do a more detailed post tomorrow, but I wanted to let everyone know I arrived (as well as all my belongings and the babies) to my new town. When I got here I hooked up my digital box converter and there was nothing. It couldn't pick up on any channels. So I called the cable company hoping that they could squeeze me in. They were wonderful and were here within an hour.

I HAVE CABLE TV AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, S is on her way here right now and then we are going to get some dinner and then I will probably crash.

More tomorrow.....

See you in Oz

I am exhausted!!

Today has been a very busy day. My last day at work was wonderful and I feel really loved by all my old co-workers. I went out to lunch with the managers to one of our favorite places and it was soooo good.

After I left work I went and got a haircut, went to Walmart, turned in my modem (I am using the wireless from my complex), went and picked up my fridge (thanks again Amy) and then went back to work to pass the fridge onto the the tech that is helping me move. All of that has made me exhausted. I was going to do my laundry tonight, but I am way too tired. It will have to wait until after I moved.

My moving crew will be here tomorrow at 8am and we should be in my new town by noon. So that means I should be completely unloaded in my new house by 2pm. I can't wait to get settled. S is coming over after work and I can't wait to see her. It's going to be the best weekend.

My Internet will be installed on Monday, as well as my cable. I will never take cable for granted again. I have not watched a Little House episode in weeks and I am going through serious withdrawals.

As I was typing this I got a call on my cell phone and I didn't recognize the number and guess what???? It was work. Um, yea, I don't work there anymore. I got a call last night at 11pm and I thought to myself, "it will be so nice not having to take calls late at night or the middle of the night or the weekends."

Well, I am going to eat some dinner (thanks to Redfrog I have been craving Taco Bell) and then break the bad news to the cats that we are going on a very long car ride tomorrow.

See you guys when I get to Oz.

Less than 48 hours

Oh my gosh....in less than 48 hours I will be in my new home. I can't believe that the day is almost here. My entire apartment is packed up; except for my clothes for tomorrow and my bathroom stuff. Bonk is running around jumping on the different boxes like she is conquering something. Every time she jumps on top of one of the boxes she lets out a loud meow.

Of all the pets I am the least worried about Bonk. I think she has a little bit of dementia, so I really don't think she will notice the difference. When we moved into this apartment she acted like she has always lived here. She still loves to run, so I know she will enjoy running from the bedrooms and into the living room. I also think Sophie will do just fine once we get the car ride over with. And I know she is going to love having her own yard again. And I know that I am going to really love not having her eat crap that is laying around the dumpsters in my complex.

And then there is Ben. Oh my poor Ben. He is going to freak out when I put him in the bathroom while my things are being moved out of this apartment. And then there will be the trauma of being put in the kennel and the car ride. The longest car ride he has had was about 40 minutes. I hope he will forgive me.

Sophie has been eating the same food for the last couple of years and you can only get it at Petsmart or Petco. Well, my little town doesn't have one, so I decided to switch her food to something I could just get at Walmart. Last night I stopped and picked up some food for her and she loves her new food. Usually when I feed her the food will sit there for a couple of hours and then she will go over and eat it. Last night when I put the food in her bowl she went crazy and ate it up in about 5 minutes. I think she likes her new food, but the change in food has given her the worst gas. Gah...I hope it's gone by Friday because I am not sure if I could handle being in the car with a gassy dog for 3 hours.

Tomorrow is my last day at work. The thought of walking out of there makes me sad. My entire office is packed up and most of my belongings are in the trunk of my car. I hope I like my new job as much as I have loved this job.

Tomorrow on my way home from work I am turning in my modem, so that means no Internet at home. I will probably carry my laptop up to the clubhouse to check blogs and do a quick post. I won't have Internet at home (unless I can tap into someones wireless Internet) until Monday. My friend L is being induced on Monday (unless she goes into labor sooner which is a very good possibility) and I told her Monday is going to be a wonderful day because she will have her baby and I will get cable again. Yay!!!!!

Potluck

Today was my potluck at work. It was a lot of fun and there was some really good food. I was sent home with a lot of the leftovers and I am trying to figure out how I am going to eat it all before Friday. One of my techs made me a separate cake. I think I am going to save it for Friday and serve it to my moving crew after we get moved. The potluck was a Wizard of Oz theme and they had the movie playing on CD during the lunch. I had to confess to everyone that I have never seen that movie. Most people are shocked when they hear that, so I guess I need to add it to my Netflix list. I was born in Kansas and lived there for the first 22 years of my life, so I have no idea why I never watched it. I am sure the church had something to do with it. :)

Here is some of the food that was there:
See what I mean...yummy food. I ate too much and felt sick for rest of the afternoon. But it was so worth it.

So I am getting reeeeally excited for Friday. I think I get even more excited (if that is possible)when I hear how excited S is. Look at the smile on my face:
This is a picture of someone that is about to see all her dreams come true.

Fix You

This song (I tried to put the video on my blog, but copyright laws won't let me) has always spoken right to my heart. As I was driving up to see S yesterday I put in one of the CD’s I made and this song came on and I immediately went back to when I first started working at my current job. Songs have always been a way for me to remember experiences or different time periods in my life and this song is the song I listened to constantly right when I started my job.

When I think back to the person I was when I walked in the front door on that first day, I am truly amazed. I have become a more confident person and a person that is really happy with herself. Yes, I think S has a lot to do with that, but I think even more then S, my job played a huge role in helping me heal and grow into a better person. Because of all the support and love I received from those I work with I think I became a better person and that helped me be in a perfect place when S came into my life.

I was broken when I started my job. I felt like I was completely alone in the world and I had no idea where my life was headed. But the minute I started my job I felt like I had a purpose again. I felt like I finally found someplace that I belonged. I felt needed for the first time in months.

My co-workers have become my friends and a few of them have become like family to me. One of my co-workers has a thing in her office that says, “I could not love you more if you had been born into my family.” Every time I am in her office and I see that I wonder if she realizes that is how I feel about her? They have challenged me, they have made me fight when I thought I had no more strength, they invited me into their own families and made me feel welcome and most importantly they made me feel like I mattered in this world.
Now when I hear this song I don’t think about all the bad stuff I went through two years ago, instead of I think of my job and the people I met at my job that helped fix me.

Where it all Began

Today S and I met up at her house that is halfway between our two homes. She wanted to check on it since we have got a lot of snow last weekend and then lots of rain this weekend. All was well with the house which was great. We are both really hoping the market gets better this spring and it will sell. Pulling up to the house I had lots of memories come back. This was where we met for our first date and we had our first kiss in this house. I remember driving up there for our first date and how nervous I was, but the minute I saw S I was no longer nervous and felt so comfortable around her from the very start.

Wednesday we will celebrate 7 months as a couple. I think we will save the celebration for Friday night.

As I was waiting for S to get to the house today this bird was sitting on the fence:
I look forward to putting up bird feeders at my new house. I know the cats will be entertained by the bird feeders.

Guess who I got to see today:
As you can see from this picture she was very excited to see me.

I am pretty tired tonight and don't think there will be a problem with me falling asleep. I am looking forward to this coming week, even though I know parts are going to be very sad.

One Last Trip

Boy has this time change messed me up. I went to bed at 11:30 and just laid there. I could not fall asleep and was actually up when the clocks went forward one hour. I guess my lesson is: never take a nap the day before the clocks move forward. Sophie then got me up at 6:30 to go outside. That is her normal time to get up, so obviously she wasn't aware that we lost an hour of sleep. I should also add that while I was unable to sleep she was sound asleep (and snoring) right beside me. At about 1am I got on the computer to see if that would help me become sleepy and I ended up signing up to Twitter. I was hesitant to sign up for it because I knew it would become another addiction. We'll see. If you are on Twitter and want to follow me, I have put Twitter on my sidebar.

This morning I make my last trip from Kansas City to see S. The drive is nice, but I won't really miss it. Every time I ask S if she is excited for me to move her response it, "I think I am more excited then you."

Have a great Sunday and hope you didn't have as hard of time with this time change as I did.

Saying Goodbye

Today I had lunch with one of my best friends. It was sad when we had to say goodbye, but she made it very clear that she is so happy for me. She said that it was so nice to see my happy and that after all I have been through it's about time that something good happen to me. I couldn't agree more with her.

It was two years ago today that Laura told me she was going to St. Louis for a business meeting and she would be gone all weekend. As many of you know, she was lying to me and instead was going to meet a mutual friend of ours. This friend and Laura had been talking for months and whenever I would say something about the two of them talking a lot, Laura would say things like, "I need to have friends" and "I can't spend 24/7 with you", etc. I remember working hard to support this new friendship (other then Sharon, Laura had no friends) and it wasn't until that weekend that I realized Laura had been lying to me for months. Here we were planning our commitment ceremony and she was talking to another woman at least 6 or 7 hours a day. I often times will wonder how I didn't see this, but Laura was really sneaky. She would say she was going to the gym, but I now know she was leaving the house and going somewhere so they could talk. After we broke up I looked at our cellphone usage and she talked with Sharon for 2800 minutes that last month. At the time I thought my life was devastated, but what I wish I knew at the time was how much of a blessing it actually was.

So here I sit two years later and I can't believe how good my life is now. S is so much more then Laura ever was. I really never knew that love could be this good. Every morning when I wake up I am thankful that she is in my life and I look forward to waking up next to S and telling her face to face how thankful I am for her.

This coming week I will be saying a lot of goodbyes and I think it will be a time of a lot of reflection. I am going to try to take in everything that happens this week and keep in mind that on Friday I get a second chance to make my life exactly what I have always wanted it to be.

Waiting.....

Poor Sophie has been feeling so insecure lately. I really think she is afraid that I am going to leave her in the middle of the night. Doesn't she realize that I could never go anywhere without her?

This June Sophie will be 11. It's hard to believe that I have had her this long, but I also can't imagine her not in my life. It's hard for me to think that she is getting older and not able to do as much as she used to. S and I were talking about all the walks we will go on and I had to remind her that Sophie is older and she can't go as far. Last spring when I went walking with MJ, we walked about 3 miles and it was so hard on Sophie. She slept for 2 days after that. That was a hard walk and I swore that MJ was trying to kill me as well. :)

Yesterday I went home at lunch because I needed to get a new contact and Sophie was so excited to see me. I laid down on the bed for a few minutes and she came up and cuddled with me. Sophie does not like to cuddle but when I go home in the middle of the day she loves to cuddle. At my new job I will have an hour lunch and I will be just about 5 minutes from home. Sophie will be getting lots of cuddling time once I move.

Speaking of moving...a week from now I should be all moved in. S is coming over right after work and plans on spending most of the weekend with me. My cable/Internet will not be in until Monday, so I may have Lynilu put an update on my blog. You wouldn't mind Lynilu would you? I am not too worried about not having cable/Internet for 3 days because I am pretty sure S will keep me entertained. :)

Today is my last Friday at work. A couple of my co-workers have been teasing me about the potluck on Tuesday. I guess the entire building is invited. It's going to be weird having so many people there just for me. The co-worker I was talking to this morning said I will love what they are planning. Huh....I am really curious now.

My house is all boxed up and my office is all boxed up...now I just wait for next Friday to get here.

All I have to Say.....

8 days.

Enough said.

P.S.
Since I don't have anything noteworthy to say tonight, you might go over and check out Lynilu's latest post. She cracks me up.

100 Things

I got nothing today, so I decided to redo a post I did a very long time ago. Here's 100 things about me:

1. I can't wait to move in just 9 days.
2. Even though I am very excited about my move, there are times when I get very sad about all the friends I am moving away from.
3. I do hope my friends will come visit me and get to know my new town. (It really is a great little town)
4. I am really going to miss QuikTrip.
5. I imagine I will be saving a lot of money since there isn't a QT near me.
6. I love QT's Iced Tea.
7. My favorite color has always been navy blue, but the color yellow is slowly becoming my favorite.
8. I used to love the cold weather, but I am slowly finding that warm weather is a lot more fun.
9. I am completely and totally in love with S.
10. I can't wait to spend our first weekend together in my new home.
11. It will feel great to be in a house again.
12. My OCD will return since I will be responsible for mowing the lawn.
13. I can't wait to decorate for the holidays in my new home.
14. I love it when S and I talk about our first date.
15. I really love when we talk about our first kiss.
16. I think my laptop needs a tune up.
17. I am so glad I insisted on keeping the laptop with Laura and I broke up.
18. I have a feeling that my birthday this year will be the best ever.
19. I am a Gemini and so is my birthmom.
20. I often wonder if she thinks about me.
21. Did I mention that I am excited to move.
22. I am really bad at returning emails.
23. But I love getting emails.
24. I love Facebook.
25. I am hesitant about signing up for Twitter because I know I will be addicted to it.
26. The first email I sent was to my friend Amy.
27. I wasn't sure about the address so I just typed her name into the "to" part.
28. It was returned to me. (no surprise)
29. I love getting mail that isn't bills.
30. I love looking through catalogs.
31. When I was younger I used to look through the JCPenny's catalog and pick out the items I would buy if I had a baby.
32. I always thought I wanted children.
33. But now I am not so sure.
34. My friend L is due to have baby any moment and the other day I got to feel the baby move.
35. It really was pretty amazing to feel the baby kick.
36. I miss my nephews sooo much.
37. I worry that my oldest nephew thinks I have deserted him.
38. When he turns 18 I plan on contacting him.
39. I hope I will be able to find him when he is 18.
40. I do not miss my brother; at all.
41. He made my life miserable for years.
42. When I was 15 I had my first checking account.
43. When I was 16 the bank told me I could no longer bank there because my brother had stolen my checks 3 times.
44. My parents never came to my defense about that.
45. I feel like my parents sacrificed my well being so my brother wouldn't be arrested.
46. I miss cable.
47. When I was growing up I was not allowed to have a TV in my room.
48. But I did have a stereo system and I made sure my parents could her my music.
49. I love music.
50. I use music as reference to experiences.
51. When I think about my Mom the song that comes to mind is Dancing Queen.
52. It's hard for me to listen to Dancing Queen.
53. My first concert was Whitney Houston.
54. I went with my Dad and he made me wear a skirt.
55. My first concert with my friends (and no parents) was Debbie Gibson.
56. The last concert I went to was Kenny Chesney.
57. My favorite Ice Cream is Rocky Road.
58. I can only eat Rocky Road Ice Cream if there is Magic Shell on it.
59. I am a Jayhawk (University of Kansas) that will be living in Wildcat country (Kansas State).
60. I told S that only love would make me want to move to Wildcat country.
61. The biggest town that is near my town is Manhattan, KS where the Kansas State campus is.
62. I am going to miss my local news station.
63. I have watched the Channel 9 news since I was a kid.
64. My local news will be from either Topeka, KS or Lincoln, NE.
65. Have I mentioned I am excited to move.
66. I love that I will be so close to S.
67. I can't wait until she becomes my wife.
68. I have a horrible habit of biting my nails.
69. I don't like plain milk; only chocolate milk.
70. I miss Brady.
71. I really miss Astro.
72. I can't wait to get cable again and catch up on the new episodes of Intervention.
73. I want to take S to England one day.
74. If we moved to England we would be able to get married.
75. I don't think I would ever move to England because I couldn't put my babies in quarantine for 6 months.
76. S and I have talked about taking an Olivia vacation.
77. We love the idea of being able to show affection in public without anyone looking at us weird.
78. S and I have a dream of buying a piece of land with an old farm house and no neighbors.
79. I am looking forward to seeing the stars again at night.
80. My new town doesn't have a McDonalds and I am OK with that.
81. It does have a Subway, which makes me very happy.
82. It also has a 24 hour Walmart.
83. I will be living just one block from the historical downtown.
84. My new house has no basement, so hopefully there will be no tornadoes.
85. I am so excited that I will have a garage again.
86. S loves it when I read to her.
87. S calls me on her way into work and I love that her voice is the first voice I hear in the morning.
88. I love when S lays her head on me.
89. I love that when we are driving in the car we always hold hands.
90. There is very little on TV on Wednesday nights.
91. And Saturday mornings are even worse.
92. I graduated high school in 1992.
93. I should have graduated in 91, but I had to repeat first grade.
94. I always thought there was something wrong with me since I had to repeat first grade.
95. I can only brush my teeth with cold water.
96. I rarely let my car get below half a tank of gas because I have a fear of running out of gas.
97. When I was younger and we would go to McDonalds I would always get the McFish.
98. My friends always laughed at me for that.
99. I love it when S reminds me that she is my family now.
100. And finally...have I told you how excited I am to move.

Whew.....I dare you to list 100 things about yourself on your blog.

Another Message

Another day closer to my move and another message on my board. I need to start wearing something that shows how many days I have left at work because every time I pass someone in the hall or they come to my office the first thing they say to me is, "How many days?" The other popular thing to ask me is, "Are you excited?" Most can tell from the constant smile on my face that I am indeed very excited.

I think Sophie is getting very nervous. For the last week or so she is getting me up 2-3x a night to go outside. I don't know if she is afraid that I will sneak out of here in the middle of the night without her, but she is making sure she knows where I am all the time. The cats are also wanting extra attention and by bedtime I am usually making them get off my lap because I do need a little space.

Last night I was all ready for bed and then decided to check something out on Youtube. Bad idea. I ended up staying up way past my bedtime watching old episodes of You Can't Do That On Television. As I sat and watched the episodes I wondered why I ever liked the show. Talk about stupid. And then I came across this clip. How many of you remember this at the beginning of all movies on HBO? It was a nice trip down memory lane.

So....tell me what's new with you.

Final Countdown

This afternoon someone wrote this on my door. I thought it was cute. About 5 minutes after I took this picture someone erased it. I asked the person why they erased it and they said, "We are not suppose to celebrate the fact that you are leaving." It is sad that I am leaving so many great co-workers, but every time I get sad about leaving all I have to think about is my new life with S and I can't help but smile.

I don't remember a time when I have been so excited and happy about something. This move is huge for me, but surprisingly I am not too stressed at all. Money will be very tight for the first couple of weeks, but even that I am not too worried about. I know it will all work out. The fact that I will be using a dorm size fridge for probably a month or so is not big deal for me. It will all be good.

Next Tuesday one of the units at my work is having a Potluck for me and the theme will be "The Wizard of Oz". I thought that was really cute and can't wait to see what they come up with.

I guess that's about it for today. For those of you tired of reading about how excited I am about moving, etc....You might stop reading for a couple of weeks. I have a feeling that the only thing I will be writing for the next couple of weeks is my upcoming move. I am so excited!!!!

Molly

Yesterday I did absolutely nothing. I slept for most of the day and just didn't feel like doing anything. It didn't help that when I woke up it was cold and snowy outside. I did manage to make it out around 3pm to rent the movie Changeling. It was just OK. It was really long and when the movie was done I decided I needed another nap. It was nice doing nothing yesterday.

Today I got to see S and of course that made me very happy. She's like this ray of sunshine in my life and really makes me realize how loved I am. I told her today that I am lucky because my best friend is also the love of my life. She is so good to me and for me.

Today we decided that her cat, Miss Kitty, really needs to be around other cats. Miss Kitty is young and full of energy and needs someone to play with. My Ben is also fairly young and tries all the time to play with Bonk who really isn't up to playing. So about a week after I move Miss Kitty, who has now been re-named Molly, will come live with me. I think it will be good for Ben to have someone young that he can run around with and chase. I thought it would be a good idea to allow my babies about a week to adjust to the new place and then we will bring Molly home. I can't wait.

Oh and the best part about Molly....she is a total diva and loves to have her picture taken:


This is my favorite picture of her:


She is going to fit in perfectly with my little family.

Snow!

We finally got some snow!! I woke up this morning around 2:30am and looked outside and there was nothing. I figured the weatherman had messed up the forecast again and again we would get nothing. But then when Sophie woke me up at 7:30am I looked out and saw about 3 inches on the ground and it's still coming down pretty good.




Sophie was thrilled that there was snow and I am thinking we will be taking lots of walks today. I love how she runs her nose in the snow. Once inside she cuddled up with one of her favorite toys and of course one of my gloves:


I am so glad that I got all my errands done last night. I also decided to do my laundry because I didn't think it would be fun walking up the hill to the clubhouse to do my laundry. I am only wishing I had stopped at Blockbuster to rent a few movies. I really miss having cable.

"Don't Make Me Get In Your Face"

This was said to me today by one of the clients. He was upset because I assigned him the weekly chore of cleaning the kitchen. And cleaning the kitchen only consists of wiping down the tables and counter tops after the meals. He started yelling when I assigned him the chore and thankfully there was another staff member in the group with me and she took him out of the group. As he was leaving he walked right past me and got right up in my face while pointing his finger and said, "don't make me get in your face". I was never afraid, but I did think he was going to hit me. Thankfully he didn't and ten minutes later he was discharged. I love working in the addictions field, but it's frustrating when you have clients like this. His little outburst has only hurt himself.

Several of you asked about my new job and what I will be doing. I will be working in a very small hospital (only 25 beds) and I will be the social worker for the whole hospital. The hospital is small, but it is the only hospital in the county. During the interview they told me they serve about 10,000 people. I imagine I will be doing a lot of discharge planning and coordinating of services like medical equipment and evaluating patients that might need extended care in the home. When I was getting my masters degree I did my internship at a local hospital and worked with all 5 social workers that were in the hospital. I am looking forward to the challenge of the new job and I am really looking forward to the fact that this job will be a lot less stressful.

Tonight we are suppose to get about 3 inches of snow. This whole winter we have only received about a dusting of snow, so I am kind of excited about the snow. I checked the weather for my new town and they are suppose to get about 2 more inches then the KC area. Oh how I wish I was already moved. Snow + a fireplace+ S.....that would be the perfect weekend.

Tired

I am so tired. This is progress from last week since I was ready for the week to be over by 9am on Monday. So, I think it's pretty good that I made it all the way to Thursday before becoming overwhelmingly tired. This morning when I got up it was dark, gray and raining outside. It didn't help that the cats didn't even move when I got out of bed and stayed there until I walked out the door. When I came home this evening Bonk was in the exact same spot. I wonder if she even got off the bed today?

I am looking forward to having almost a week off when I move. Starting a new job is always very tiring, so I decided to start on a Thursday. I will only have to work 2 days and then have a weekend. This will give me time to get used to my new house as well as the pets. I know we will all be happy when we are living in a bigger space. Sophie and the cats will have more room to run and Sophie can bark all she wants without me worrying about a neighbor complaining.

This morning S called me on her way to work just to say good morning and that she loved me. She is so sweet and every day I am thankful that she is in my life. I am so damn lucky.

Taking March Back

The last couple of days I have been thinking a lot about a certain incident between me and Laura. I think part of me is thinking about it because I am shocked that I allowed someone to treat me like she did.

In the fall of 2006 we decided to get bikes. We had some really great bike trails right by our house and we thought it would be a great way for us to exercise together. The first time we decided to go to the trail we loaded up the bikes into her car and drove to the trail. When the bikes were in the car my gears must have shifted because the minute I put my feet on the pedals the chain came off. Laura was pissed. She was yelling that she couldn't believe I did that and now we would have load the bikes back up and go home because she didn't have the tools to fix the chain. As we drove home I apologized to her and she just sat there and didn't say anything to me. I remember feeling so stupid and like I had done something really bad. She didn't talk to me all the way home.

Looking back on my relationship with Laura there were many other times where she would get angry with me for stupid little things. And if I ever expressed any anger about something she did she would snap at me like I had no right to be angry or upset.

I don't know why I have been thinking about the incident with the bike lately. Maybe it's because I am in a wonderful relationship and I know S would never ever treat me like that. When I was sharing this story with S last night she was shocked that Laura would act like she did for something that was an accident.

It's funny because when I was with Laura I knew our relationship was not perfect, but I still felt like I was pretty lucky to have her. Next month will mark 2 years since we broke up and now that I have put some distance between her and the relationship we had I am seeing that it was very unhealthy. It makes me sad that my self-esteem was so low that I felt like she was the best I could do.

Thankfully I didn't give up on myself and realized that I deserved so much more (and better) then Laura.

March has always been a rough month for me because that was the month my ex-husband and I decided to divorce and that was the month where Laura and I broke up. I think it's great that I will be moving during the month of March. I feel like I am taking back the month of March and I know this March will be one that I will never forget.

Dinner with Friends

Tonight I had dinner with two of my friends L and MJ. They wanted to take me out since I will be moving in a couple weeks and they took me to my favorite restaurant Kokopelli's. It is the best Mexican food in Kansas City.


I got my favorite appetizer: (This picture is for you Lynilu)
I really will miss Kokopelli's and I imagine every time I come back to visit I will be eating here.

Yes, I will miss Kokopelli's, but I will miss these two even more:

Great Day

Today was a great day. I woke up before my alarm went off and didn't try to find a reason why I should stay home. I love my job, but lately I have been so tired and getting out of bed has been a struggle. But this morning I got up and headed into work. And I had a great day at work. I felt like I got a lot accomplished and overall it was a very productive day. Even when one of my techs called in and I had trouble finding coverage I wasn't stressed by the fact that I might have to work tonight. Thankfully one of my wonderful techs volunteered to do a double shift today.

I got an email from my new job and they are wanting me to sign up for a training. I have to have my Kansas Social Work license in order to start work and I am really hoping it comes in times. I guess the worst thing that could happen is I start a few days later then what I had planned. But I am pretty sure it will come in time.

Last night I had the strangest dream about my Mom. In my dream I went back to the church to visit her and she had about 3 developmentally disabled adults with her. As I was standing there the elders told her she had to leave because they were being disruptive. I started yelling at the elders that she should be allowed to stay because she was just trying to help them. She then left and there was a lot of commotion outside and there ended up being a shooting. As I tried to see if my Mom was OK the road was blocked and I couldn't get to her. I wonder what this dream means? Just so you know, it it totally out of character for my Mom to be helping Developmentally disabled adults. That just isn't her thing.

I just got a TXT from S saying, "I can't wait to hear about your day." Reason #4 why I am so excited to move....I can tell S about my great day in person.

So...how was your day?

Dottie's 1st Road Trip

I got to see S today, so it was a very good day. It was the first time that I drove my new car and I was curious as to how she would do. I had noticed that the car really doesn't get great gas mileage in the city, but on the highway it was perfect. I made it there and back (about 250 miles) on 1/2 tank of gas. That is even better then my Honda. The other thing I noticed was I wasn't thrown around the highway as much because this car is a lot heavier then my Honda. It was a smooth ride the whole time and I am now excited to plan my road trip to see Lynilu.

Both S and I look at the time we spend together as a time for us to recharge. Not seeing her last weekend was probably part of the reason the week seemed so long. But after spending the day with her I feel ready to take on the world again.

It was a pretty low key day, which is something we both needed. We watched our favorite movie and just enjoyed being with each other. We also talked about how things have really changed in the last six weeks. On January 4 I asked her to marry me and the next day I was sitting in a co-workers office looking out the window and I thought to myself, "what the hell am I waiting for. I want to be with this woman and there is nothing holding me back from moving out of Kansas City." I went back to my office and googled social work jobs in her area and came across my new job. That Friday they called me for an interview, the next Friday I had my interview and the following Friday I was offered the job. It's crazy how fast things happened, but I think it also shows that this was meant to be. In this economy and this recession, it's not very common for someone to decide to look for a job and less then 3 weeks later have a job. I have always been really proud of the fact that I got my masters, but this whole get a new job and move out of Kansas City makes me even more proud of myself.

This morning when I was in the shower Sophie decided the napkins on the table sounded like a good snack. I asked her if she got into them and she just looked at me with these sad puppy dog eyes. I don't think she realized she had half a napkin sticking out her mouth:
She's not a good liar.

Another Saturday Night

This video shows how much I miss cable. Feeding Sophie off a fork is how I entertained myself tonight. After her treat she went and got a drink from the toilet. Yes, I know I lead such a thrilling life.

Friday Night Treat

I decided on the way home I needed a treat. I have not eaten out in a week and I thought that some ice cream would be good for tonight. I was right.

I don't know why, but I never thought this week was going to end. And now that it's over I feel great. I have had a really quiet evening. I didn't do any packing and just watched a bunch of TV, including my TV girlfriend Super Nanny.

Tonight when I got home my neighbor upstairs came out and told me that a few nights ago he was pulling into our complex and someone hit his car and kept going. And yet another reason I am glad I am moving. The parking lot of my complex can get crazy at times and most people drive really fast and don't care that you are walking on the side of the road. Usually when I car comes close to me and Sophie I just step up into the grass so we won't get hit. But what I want to do is yell..."slow down asshole". You have no idea how nice it will be to have my own driveway again.

I was told last week that I have been talking a lot about my upcoming move. This move is completely different then any of my other moves. I never went away for college and have always lived in the same 15 mile area. So this move is huge for me. I have always dreamed of moving out of KC, but never thought I was strong enough or had enough courage. I was thinking back to when I was dating STL and she wanted me to move to St. Louis. I had found a place and even sent my deposit check, but the day after I mailed my deposit for my apartment I realized this probably wasn't the best thing and canceled everything. This move is different....the minute I was offered my new job I was ready to move. And even though I have had many obstacles since deciding to move (car wreck, ect) I have never once doubted my decision to move.

S and I were talking tonight and I told her that now that things are pretty much done for my move I now have time to start thinking about my new job and I am getting excited. I love learning new things and I know my first few weeks at the hospital are going to be filled with a whole lot of learning.

I promise you that I will stop talking about this move in 3 weeks. :)

Your Week in 3 Words

Because I want to be just like Lynilu, I am copying her idea for this Friday.

How would you describe your week in just 3 words?

My Week:
It's finally over.

Bonk and the Boxes

The last week or so I have been hearing a new sound as I sleep. Bonk has discovered the boxes and loves to run and jump on them. I don't think she realizes she is 22.

I have been thinking about how I am going to coordinate moving the pets when I move. At first I was going to come back and get them once everything is unloaded at the new house, but I really don't think I want to have to drive 5 more hours that day. I am sure I am going to be exhausted as it is. So I think I will load them all up in the car with me and that will save me an extra trip. I am meeting my new landlords there the day I move, so once I have signed all the paperwork I will move them into the spare bedroom. I only told them I have one dog and one cat. I never know if people will be upset if I have 3 pets instead of 2. And if they ever come in the house they would never see Ben. Even when I come home from work Ben goes running and hides for the first few minutes. I am thinking of getting something for the cats so that they can sleep most of the way, but I am a little nervous about Bonk. She is so old and I worry that it might make her sick. I really wish they could understand me so I could explain to them what is going on.

A few weeks ago one of the stray cats came right up to my window. As you can see Ben was not impressed at all.
This stray cat is so friendly and I wish she would find a home. When I walk Sophie she will walk right besides Sophie for the entire walk. I am sure people that drive by and see this cat walking with Sophie get a good laugh.

Thanks to Amy I probably will have a refrigerator when I move in. It's just a dorm size fridge, but it will do for a few weeks. Once I get a regular refrigerator it will be great for pop and bottled water. Thanks again Amy.

This has been the longest week and I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. And even better, I get to see S on Sunday. It's been two long weeks since I have seen her. That is way too long.