Snow day

The last I heard on the news Madison got about 14 inches of snow. The snow is higher than Pearl and very deceiving to her also. She walked off the porch thinking that the snow covered porch and snow covered yard would both support her weight and she immediately sunk into the snow up to her eyes. She was very stunned at first and then she was just cold and ready to go inside. I never though living in a condo would mean I would need to shovel but I am sure glad we hung onto ours when we moved. Today I shoveled a nice little path for Pearl so she can leave the porch without sinking in deep snow.

I have a long "to do" list right now. We are leaving for Florida on Sunday and then going to Michigan when we come back. Being snowed in helped me get all of the laundry done- which is going to be very helpful in packing for 3 weeks. Our trip details are somewhat complicated since Ned has to come back to work over Christmas and then back to Michigan for more travels before we go back together.
I can only imagine how full our car will be- luggage for 3 weeks, gifts, Pearl's things.. and I don't even want to think of how full it will be when we head back to WI with our holiday loot.

To update from my last post- We were able to go on our overnight shopping trip. We didn't find a lot but we still had fun and enjoyed getting away for a night. Pearl got to go to doggy daycare and stayed overnight for boarding. She looked absolutely exhausted when we picked her up. Our guess is she stayed up playing all night. Two days ago she turned into a vomiting machine. After calling the emergency vet and giving them her symptoms they scared us into bringing her in to make sure she wasn't obstructed or anything even though her energy level was normal. After a hefty bill (she is worth every penny) they gave her some fluids to make sure she didn't get dehydrated since she was supposed to fast, as well as some shots to help with her upset stomach. She is on a bland food and we had to start feeding her very slowly to make sure she would be able to keep it down. VERY slowly... starting with 1 TEASPOON every 2-3 hours. She looked at me like I was absolutely crazy when I told her that was all she could have to start. Poor baby. Her behavior is normal is she acts hungry and eats well... the only thing that is out of the ordinary is that she has a runny nose and sounds more congested. We are wondering if she picked up a virus or something when she went to daycare and the extra snot she has going on made her sick. We will hopefully make a trip to our regular (awesome) vet tomorrow and see what she has to say... cross your fingers for us for clearer roads in the morning.

I did some more baking on Monday. There was a full kitchen of volunteers this week. I made brownies and vanilla pudding from scratch-- the best tasting pudding I have ever had (and I don't even really like pudding). It feels good to help out and it lots of fun to bake in a big kitchen.

I think it is time to call it a night. Maybe tomorrow I will get out of my pajamas :)

Much love.

Hello being busy, I have missed you.

Being on the go constantly for the past 5ish years and then having nothing to do has definitely been a big adjustment. I mean, I had just gotten really good at discretely changing my clothes in my car. Luckily, I am easing back into doing more than just walking the dog.

Today I took Pearl to be temperament tested so she can potentially be boarded while we spend a night in Chicago. She passed with flying colors of course. After that I volunteered at hospice doing some holiday baking prep for a couple hours. I LOVE baking and had a lot of fun working in a big kitchen and knowing that doing something I enjoy so much, while very simple, could make someone's day. Pearl and I still fit in a walk before Ned got up. I decorated our Christmas tree, ran an errand with Ned and had dinner.

Tomorrow I am babysitting.. who knew I would have something to do two days in a row? Amazing.

The "to do" list maker in me is back in action... and it sure feels good! There are 201 days until our wedding and things are starting to fall in place pretty well.

Our Thanksgiving trip to Michigan was great. We squeezed in a lot of fun in only a few days. We made a trip to see John, Amy and Mikah. It was nice to visit with them and meet the newest member of the family. I am very happy I got to hold him while he is so little- he is growing so fast, I'm sure he will seem huge the next time we see him. Ned's parents came down to share Thanksgiving day with my family. My grandparents and parents enjoyed visiting with them as well. Later in the day we got to visit with the other side of the family and Pearl got to meet her "cousin" Coal. She didn't seem to be intimidated by the size difference between a Boston Terrier and a black lab. They had fun playing together and hopefully can wear each other out again at Christmas. My mom, Ned and I did some early morning black Friday shopping and found some good deals. Ned and I spent time with friends two nights- definitely took advantage of having free puppy care... such good Grandparents Pearl has :)

Apparently if you want there to be a snowstorm you plan a trip to Chicago. We wanted to do some shopping- Ikea, Outlet malls, etc-- stay the night and enjoy some together time away from this place. I guess we will wait and see what happens-- but I really hope we can still go!

Time for bed... hopefully I sleep as well I used to when my days involved more than sitting around the house!

Lots of love.

Oops

Oops... 2 months since my last post. So much for making a hobby out of this... Maybe I'll start trying harder to update more often.

So, as the top of this page reads, I suppose I should write about what we're up to.
We are gearing up for a much needed trip to Michigan on Tuesday morning. So far the weather looks promising. Just some rain and not cold enough to freeze anything.

I love being home but am already starting to feel slightly overwhelmed with everything I want to fit in. The list keeps growing: haircut, meet our friend's baby Kate, meet my new cousin Mikah, possible trip to the west side of the state to meet Ned's cousins' baby Lukas, (I am renaming our Thanksgiving trip "Baby Tour '09"), go out to our favorite restaurants, do some early morning shopping, MSU vs UW hockey game, SPENDING TIME WITH MY PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, treasure hunting, more wedding stuff,... and so on and so on.

I hate packing and typically over pack (which drives me even more crazy when we come back with twice what we left with and only needed to take less than half of what we took). As everyone knows I love bargains and already have one overflowing box of treasures that I have found for gifts for Christmas- one thing I am excited to pack and will be happy to store at home and not in my closet.

Job search update.. I turned in an application on Monday and am crossing my fingers for an interview. There are supposedly two openings so maybe this will be where my unemployment ends :) Let's hope so!

Pearl update.. she is great. She gets her stitches out tomorrow morning from her spay surgery 10ish days ago. I am not a veterinarian but it looks like she healed up well. She has been such a good puppy (I'll take her attempt to slowly push me off the bed as the night goes on as her attempt to get closer to me and keep me warm while Ned is at work). When the holiday travel is over we are hoping to find a good puppy class to take her to.

Wedding planning update... most of the "save the date" magnets were mailed this week. I held on to those for people we will hopefully see while we are home. Sorry to anyone who loves getting mail.. hand delivery will have to do!

I like to think of myself as a happy, optimistic person. I am thankful year round for how fortunate I am on so many levels. A few of my friends have been writing one thing that they are thankful for each day on facebook.. I haven't jumped on that band wagon but I'll touch on the topic here.

I could say it frustrates me beyond words that I don't have a job yet but instead I will say I am thankful to have the world's best fiance who has always taken amazingly great care of me who has a job that we can get by on one income for the time being.

I could say I feel defeated that I can't use what I have learned for the past 5 years to help anyone yet but instead I will say I am thankful that I have time to start volunteering at Hospice (in the kitchen- yay for making a mess in someone else's kitchen!!)

I could say I hate sitting at home all day but instead I will say that I am thankful that I have time to take Pearl for daily walks while it is still light outside.

Now it is time for me to get some rest. Today was day 9 of the p90x workout plan I am doing. 10% of the way in seems like nothing exciting and a milestone at the same time.
I love it. I love exercise and I love feeling fit! I love that it wears me out and makes me sleep better at night.
The struggle is going to be sticking to the schedule while traveling... we'll see how this goes. It wouldn't break my heart if I just end up picking up where I left off when we get back... family always comes first and family time is my number one priority for our trip.

Hopefully my next post will be less than 2 months after this one.

Much love.

Update

We made it back from Michigan safely. We had a great trip- got a lot done, saw quite a few people.
I'll sum it up..

1) Signed the paperwork at Eagle Eye- officially getting married June 19th, 2010 (SAVE THE DATE!!!)

1a) Had engagment photos taken by the talented Taylor Hayden- I am dying to see how they turned out!!

2) Wandered around the tailgate scene at MSU for Pearl's first game day experience. She enjoyed it and was happy to meet a lot of new people. I think she liked it better without her shirt that we tried to have her wear- she sure did look cute though!

3) Met up with friends a couple nights- SO good to see everyone!

4) Ned's parents made the trip down from the north country to have lunch with my parents, grandparents and us of course.

5) We left with more stuff than we came with- no big surprise there

6) We are the proud owners of an I-Pass (even though it didn't work on the way to MI) and very much enjoyed not waiting in line to pay tolls on the way home

7) I tried on the dress that I saw online and LOVED it- long story short it was missing a piece or two so I am going to try it on out here and order it from home (price difference $248 vs $555... I don't get it either)

8) Traffic was light, tolerable, with minimal construction and I am getting good at the driving the Michigan stretch of the trip.

I don't think I forgot anything... it certainly feels like we have been back for much longer than we have.

Ned is working midnight shift now. Now maybe Pearl will sleep on his side instead of trying to slowly steal my side as the night goes on.

Found wedding invitations to match our color scheme for a super bargain.. didn't buy them since they only had 40 BUT my mom found 40 at the store at home so I will be going back tomorrow to get the others.

Our friends Chris and April FINALLY got to welcome baby Kate to their family (April was about 2 weeks past her due date). She is a beautiful little peanut who we were hoping we would get to meet while we were home. Mom and baby are doing well.. Kate is hanging out in the NICU but hopefully not for much longer. Can't wait to meet her next time we are home!
Kate, if you are reading this, enjoy your afghan from Grandma Kurkowski- she is an amazing woman with quite a talent and LOVES to make blankies for little girls like you!!

I'm looking forward to the wedding we are going to this weekend- it is such a fun group of people I am not sure how we wouldn't have a good time!!

Since there is nothing good on tv and my eyes are getting tired of screen time I am going to go call it a night.

Stay tuned.
Lots of love.

My first blog

I thought this might be a nice way for friends and family to keep up on what we are doing.
I like to write and often (all too often) find myself sitting in front of a laptop so I'll put my "screen time" to good work.

So... what are we up to?!

We are a happily engaged couple enjoying finding fun and active things to do in a city that is still relativity new to us.

Ned loves his job. This city is an interesting place and he has seen a lot. He only has a few more days of field training before he will be on his own. His work schedule confuses both of us as to what day of the week it is but you won't hear me complain about him working-- yes, I miss him very much when he isn't here but as long as he has a job he loves (that pays the bills) and he comes home safe to me after every shift, I am HAPPY!

I (Rachele) am a registered dietitian (RD) looking for a job. On August 10th I joined the many dietitians that I have learned so much from by passing a 125 question computerized registration exam-- yes, 5 years of school/hands-on experience and it all comes down to multiple choice questions. It was quite possibly the most nerve wracking 2 hours of my life but 3 months of studying paid off and I passed on the first try :) I am applying for jobs in my field, so cross your fingers for me- the job market is pretty competitive out here from what I have been told.

We also have a puppy. Her name is Pearl and she is a 13 week old (as of today) Boston Terrier. She is also known as "the pig", makes funny gremlin-like noises and is very entertaining. Pearl LOVES people, especially kids, and is getting used to being around other dogs. She has more toys than most children but we are okay with that because she hasn't chewed/destroyed anything in our condo *knock on wood*.

The three of us will be heading to Michigan in a little less than 2 weeks. Ned has some much deserved time off coming up so we are headed back to see family, friends and do some wedding planning for next summer. We might make an appearance on campus for the MSU vs. Central Michigan football game to see some friends and do some tailgating. Pearl's grandma (my mom) said she would make Pearl some MSU apparel to show of her Spartan upbringing- Ned said Pearl can't tailgate without it.

This morning we took Pearl to what is best described as an indoor dog playground. The place offers doggy daycare and obedience classes as well as puppy socialization time. Pearl did relatively well for it being her first time around so many other dogs in a new/different place. She met another Boston Terrier puppy named Jo-Jo. Jo-Jo is a little older than Pearl and has a much longer tail. She is also much more socialized and interested in playing with the other dogs there while Pearl just wanted to sit with Jo-Jo's owner, a 7-ish year old girl :) Some of the other puppies there we much bigger than Pearl and should probably have been in the "big puppy" side of the place. I think we will go again next weekend and give it another try. Maybe Jo-Jo will inspire Pearl to be more playful with other dogs.

There is a new addition to Ned's side of the family. Ned's cousin Eric and his wife Pernilla are the proud parents of Lukas, born August 27th at 9 lbs 15 ounces and 21.5 inches long. He is very cute and we can't wait to meet him! Lukas, if you are reading this, we sent you a package yesterday and we hope you like it :)

Tomorrow I plan to write cover letters for 2 jobs I found to apply for tonight.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and all three of us can go for a walk... after all, a tired dog is a happy dog!
That's enough for tonight. Keep checking back for updates.

Lots of love from WI