Quiet Time.

I've been talking more than writing lately, hence the lack of posting. Lots of things going on in my head. Questioning a lot of things. Thinking and analyzing, but no writing. Sometimes that just happens. Sometimes things feel too complex to write and share, so I don't. I think that's what's been going on lately.

Adam and I will be heading to NYC next week. I'm really looking forward to the trip. I've been feeling run down for most of the month and I'm hoping a week away from life will help revive me. Granted, its New York City, so not exactly a relaxing beach vacation like we had with Miami, but perhaps a bustling city is just what I need. We have a lot of things planned for our trip, but also hopefully a lot of down time and not being rushed. We have a couple tickets to events (the Daily Show being one!!) but other than that, we'll be on our schedule to do and see what we want. Since I've been there a few times now, it will mostly come down to taking Adam to a few of my favorite places and restaurants. He's open to what we do and see, so that makes planning even easier. We also booked our annual anniversary trip to Las Vegas, so if this trip doesn't revive me, then a few days poolside at the end of May should. I don't really know how we started going to Las Vegas for our anniversary, but its the our 3rd anniversary and our 3rd time going for it. We don't drink a lot and we don't gamble a lot, but the pool and people watching are always a good time.

In other news, I'm going to be in a dance performance at the Southern Theater in July. I honestly don't know much about the performance itself, but I'm looking forward to it. Rehearsals start the second week of May and I'm really excited to dance again. It's a time commitment, but only for 2 months and I think I will really enjoy it experience. As I learn more about the piece and the performance, I'll share.

Budgets.

I hate budgets. They always feel so constraining. But at the end of the day, they're a good thing. I go out WAY more than Adam, so I end up spending more. All couples do money their own way. We decided to pool all of ours together and just have one checking account. After spending 4 years doing the "you owe me for X..." back and forth, it was refreshing to just share. Adam's good about not calling me out too often about spending, and I pretty much let him buy whatever he wants (as long as he will use it!). This process of spend what you want only last for so long. I want to do a fair amount of travelling this year and the only way I can make that happen, is if I cut back. But since I have a direct trade-off of what I'm missing out on, I think I can make it happen. There are days I don't want to eat my Lean Cuisine and just go buy something else for lunch. I do a lot of impromptu happy hours and dinners out with friends. Mindless spending. Not that I can't still be social and have fun, I just need to be mindful of how often and how much. I've also gotten into the habit of just grabbing a cab home after a night of drinking instead of taking the bus. I was always of the thought that it was fine and it wasn't affecting anything. It's effecting how quickly we can pay off my student loans and how much money we have to do the things we want to do. So, if I'm going to literally travel coast to coast this year, I need to rein it in. I'm on a mission to spend my vacation time this year ON VACATION and not hibernating indoors during the month of December.

Life on a budget, I welcome you with open arms.

2 years.

Adam and I celebrated our second anniversary on Monday. We celebrated by going to Vegas for the long weekend.

2 years ago...
Our Wedding Day.


Honeymoon- Maui


Honeymoon- Luau on Maui


Now...
Las Vegas- poolside


Las Vegas- In front of the Venetian


Las Vegas- In front of the Venetian


On the surface, it looks like not much has changed for us, except for my knee brace. But, I've left and returned to my current job, got my Masters degree, ran a marathon and crashed a motorcycle. Maybe I should stick to lying low for awhile.

I'm a jetsetter

Whew. Done.

Well, mostly... I just have a few revisions to make, but anticipate turning in my final paper early next week. I'm going to try to work on it tomorrow when the feedback is still "fresh" in my mind. The whole defending process was much easier than I anticipated. My committee spent more time convincing me to go on and do the Ph.D program than on my current research. Hmm, Ph.D, now that's a crazy concept, right? I haven't even been done a day and I'm actually toying with the idea. I swear this is how it always works. I'm totally content with one idea, then another one gets brought up and I need to inquire about it. I was totally content just getting my Masters, until today, when now I'm wondering if I could continue on. Part of me thinks its absolutely crazy and part of me thinks I could totally do it. Why do I love a challenge so much? Why can't I just be content and call it a day?

Perhaps if I had a job to return to Monday morning, I might be less inclined to continue my education. Maybe I will just work on getting my research published and see how that goes.

In other news... I just booked a flight to NYC to visit my sister! I'm excited to spend one week in New York over my birthday to see my sister and visit some friends. Its also weird that I'm going solo... Adam will be staying home as we don't want to turn it into a "vacation" per se, but just a small trip. I was able to score a pretty cheap flight, so that makes me pretty happy. Just another thing to look forward to and its already 2 weeks away! I've only been to NYC once and it was right before I started dating Adam. I was 20 on a family vacation with my sister and parents, not really the best way to see the city, so I'm looking forward to getting a personal tour from my sister this time. The next three weeks are going to be busy: Vegas this weekend, camping next weekend and then New York.

I think I prefer counting down to travel instead of papers for once!

I win.

After debating the pros and cons of Vegas, Adam has conceded to my position and has agreed to go. He still claims that he will not be able to have fun, but I think I can work on that one. We don't gamble much-- I can put $5 into a nickle machine, and cash out $5 30 minutes later. So, we don't have to worry about extreme spending there. I am going to hunt the internet for coupons, deals and discounts so we can have a good time while we're there. If I can figure out a budget for us, I think he will realize its not so bad. Who knows, maybe I will have a job before we go... A lot can happen in two weeks.

So I got my last official check from my former employer today and went to the bank to deposit it. I went inside and was again asked about direct deposit from my employer. I told her that wouldn't be necessary as it was my last check. She inquired if I quit or... yes, I was laid off I answered for her. As I left the bank, I kept thinking to myself, "isn't there a better option than having to go inside the bank?". Yes. Duh. The DRIVE UP teller. For some reason, in my banking world, there are two options: Inside the bank at the counter or the ATM. I had completely forgot about the drive up teller. No silly questions to answer, no unnecessary sales pitches about online banking or credit cards, just banking. To my defense, I'm used to depositing money when I'm downtown and there is no drive up option since it's in the skyway. It's the little things that make a difference.

Last week I reached my goal weight. And by "reached" I decided my goal weight after I weighed in and liked the number. That's totally normal right? The sad thing, I was at this weight a month ago but was delusional that I should loose 5-6 more pounds. Then graduation came, then getting laid off happened-- two events that don't help weight loss. So, this week I was back to having lost 10% of my original weight and fitting in sizes that I haven't worn since high school. (I think adding stretch to everything makes the sizes considerably different than they were 10 years ago...). I have a pair of pre-Adam jeans that I use to test out my results, if they fit well, I'm happy. This means I have 6 weeks (5 after tomorrow) until I can be a lifetime Weight Watchers member. I guess if I still don't have a job in 5 weeks, I can apply for to work for Weight Watchers... Hopefully I don't have to resort to that.

Fun Weight Watchers point fact:
Whole wheat bagel from Brueggers: 8 points (plain is 5 points)
Light Veggie cream cheese: 2 points
Store bought donut: 5 points
Cake donut with icing: 7 points

Whole wheat and Light are deceiving!

If you're a donut fan, you're on to something. (Samara, I'm looking at you)

2 weeks to go!

I've been insanely busy the last couple of weeks. My uncle Terry passed away after the Twins home opener on April 6th. He was a huge twins fan, so I was only fitting that he would want to wait until after the game was over. My family was looking to me to help out with a lot of things for the service, which I was happy to help with everything. But, with school and work, it took a toll on me and my time. Last week, I was beyond busy at work, but it also reminded me why I like advertising. I really like the rush of finishing a project and seeing all the pieces come together. Of course, in this economy, and layoffs abounding in advertising, I'm more than thankful to have a job and a job that I really like. About 18 people were laid off from my company this week, ugh. It's never fun to see your friends and co-workers go.

Last weekend I road tripped with 2 friends to Tecumseh, Michigan. We stayed with my friend Katie's family and got to see all the wonderful sites of Tecumseh, Saline and Ann Arbor. Driving through Chicago on the way there and back just made me want to go to Chicago. I don't know what it is, but I am just drawn to that city. I am hoping that I can make it to NYC and Chicago this summer. I have a trip planned to go to Vegas in June to celebrate my graduation and our one year anniversary. It just feels like so many things are going on I can't even keep track anymore.

The best news is in 2 weeks, I will be walking across the stage of Northrup Auditorium for the 3rd time. My high school graduation was also held at the U of M, so the only place I have ever donned a cap, gown and tassel has been Northrup. Of course, I still have to finish my major paper to "officially" graduate, but I will be done with classes in 2 weeks! Quite exciting!!

I really don't know where the month of April went, it really flew by. I'm hoping that once graduation is over I can keep myself motivated to get my paper done quickly. I have a feeling I'm going to utilize my free time with a whole lot of sitting and not thinking... actually... I'm going to be spending a lot of time running since I signed up to run the Twin Cities Marathon in October! 3 years ago, I ran my first 5K the weekend of the Marathon (they have a lot of shorter, family friendly races the day before the marathon and then a 10 Mile race at the same time as the marathon). At the time I thought, wouldn't it be cool to run, but I never really thought I would commit to it. This is a complete test of my endurance and ability. At the end of the day, I want to say I ran a marathon-- or at least tried. If I don't finish, I don't finish... but I'm going to do as best as I can. I also signed up for the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon in my hometown of Richfield, so that should be fun and hopefully give me a good idea of how the marathon will go. If nothing else, I should end up being in the best shape of my life.