Moving Sucks

I vow never to move on my own again. I am so black and blue that I looked like I got in a huge fight. People would think my new husband beats me (which he doesn't by the way - I would be the first to admit if he did. Been there done that).

The good news is we are almost done moving things. The bad news is now I have to clean. I hate cleaning. Oh well. I guess our deposit is worth cleaning for.

PS - I think my knee injury has been the highlight of the moving process. Hopefully it will go away and nothing medically will need to be done to fix it.

The Red Lobster Returns

Signs of summer are starting to appear. First the fact that it is Memorial Day weekend is a huge sign. Secondly, when my office announces the "summer hours" (which means closing at 4pm on Friday instead of 4:45pm). However the biggest sign is the sunburn that I always get no matter how much sunscreen I use.

We decided to take a break from packing and cleaning the house we have to move out of next week. The boat needed to be de-winterized and moved up to Fort Belvoir. We decided to take it up there because it is going to be so much more convenient for us. After a few minor delays (dead battery) we picked up some of our new neighbors, Chris and Katie, and took the boat out on the Potomac.

I was smart enough to make sure I had sunscreen with me. "SPF 15 should be strong enough because it isn't that sunny", I thought. I greased myself up and felt I would be fine. We brought the boat back in after a couple of hours. Once we docked, I ran to the bathroom like a crazy person. (You can only have so many beers without having to pee really bad.) I looked in the mirror and what did I see looking back, a very red face.

Now I guess I can't blame anyone but myself. I made sure to put sunscreen everywhere but on my face. But the more I think about it, even if I had put some on my face I still would have gotten burnt. It is definitely a good thing that we plan on packing and cleaning tomorrow. Today was 80 and partly cloudy; tomorrow is supposed to be 85 and mostly sunny. I wonder what would happen to me if we went out tomorrow. Might have to ponder that as I use up the rest of my Aloe!!

The Good with the Bad

I am getting ready to go to my parents' house for the month of June. In some ways I am looking forward to it and then in some ways I am not. I get to go back to the life I used to live but I will be away from my new life for almost a month.

The reasons behind this are simple. Brett is going to Fort Knox for the whole month of June. Our new condo was supposed to be done at the end of June so we figured I would go to Cleveland and we would save on a month of rent. Not a bad idea. In going back, I will get to spend time with my family, take my insurance exam, and get caught up at work. The big problem is that I will not see Brett for almost a month.

I should be used to not seeing him though. Our whole relationship was long distance. I guess the main difference now is that we are married. It will take a little time to adjust that he isn't there and when we get back together we will have to adjust all over again.

New Condo Status

We are going to the condo for the pre-drywall walkthrough. It is kind of exciting because that means we are almost done and will be able to move in. Origninally we would be able to move in at the end of June but now they are telling us the end of July.

I just finished sending the mortgage company all the information need to lock into the rates for our mortgage. They ask for an awful lot of information. I think the fax I sent them was a total of 91 pages. Maybe it is that we have too many accounts and statements.

In the next week or so we should be locked into a rate and be one step closer to closing on the condo and moving in.

Blogging Help

For all those random bloggers that read my blog (along with the 2 regulars I know about), I need some blogging help. I would like to have one of those cool side bars that shows links to other blogs. How do I get one of those?

The Strangest Thing Happened

So last night Brett and I are getting ready for bed and Brett decided to check his email. He leans over to me and asks why someone who would not know me is asking him if he knows me. I look at the email and indeed someone he knows is asking if he knows me. I told him I had no idea why they would be asking that unless they were on MySpace.com and were doing a search for him. Honestly I cannot figure out why this person would be asking about me.

Now that I think more about it I am sort of nervous about it. How did this person link Brett and I together? And more importantly, why do they care? I am sure I will never know but it makes you wonder what information is out there about you and what people are doing with it.

I guess I will never know why this person wanted to know if Brett knew me and why she wanted to know.

Oh and by the way, if whoever you are reads random blogs ---- Yes he knows me. I am his wife!!!!

Marriage...And All the Paperwork

The deed is done. Brett and I tied the knot and now I have to deal with all the paperwork. Guys don't realize how "easy" they have it. They get married and go on with their lives. Women have to do all this paperwork to change their whole life.

The first thing I had to do was change my driver's license. There really wasn't much paperwork with that. Then I had to go and get put into the "Military system". Again, not much paperwork. However to change all my bank accounts, credit cards, social security number, and anything else that has my maiden name on it I have to submit a letter (sometimes notarized) and a copy of my marriage license.

You would think it would be a little easier to change. I guess there is a reason for why they make it so difficult. I think this will be one of the tasks I tackle when I am in Cleveland for the month of June.

A Sample of my Wedding Pictures

The photographer (Ross Weitzner) I used for our wedding was awesome. He was so laid back and took candid pictures. You didn't even know he was there half the time. The bonus of the whole deal is that at the end of the night he handed my matron of honor two disks of photographs that were mine to keep and do with as I please.

So for the last couple of nights I have been sitting here rotating and moving images in the order I want them. I have put them on Snapfish so I can email them out to all my friends and family. It is taking longer than I thought it would. I was hoping to get them out a week after the wedding. However, there was a death in the family and now we are packing the house to move.

This is not something I want to rush. I do, however, want to get them out for people to see. I never knew this would take so long. Hopefully everyone who sees them will like them. Here is a preview:

Back Home

After 2 crazy weeks, I am finally back at home in Virginia. That is so weird to say because Ohio has always been my home. I guess home is where your heart is and right now it is in Virginia with my husband. That is right - I now have a husband.

More details and pictures to come once I catch up on my life.

Lucy

For all those who are wondering about Flat Stanley, my 7 year old cousin sent him to me as a school project. Of course I had to take him somewhere fun!!

Flat Stanley in Washington, DC

April 20, 2006



Dear Lucy:

Thank you for sending Flat Stanley.  We had a blast.  He arrived on Thursday, April 13 the same day as Aunt Una and Uncle John.  We had a relaxing evening since it was going to be a fun filled weekend.

Friday was very nice.  It was sunny and about 75 degrees.  Brett, Aunt Una, and Uncle John went golfing at Quantico Marine Base.  They forgot Flat Stanley so he had to sit with me while I worked in the morning.  We made pizza from scratch for everyone to eat when they go back.  After lunch we all piled into the car and headed out to see some sites on our way to pick Robert up from the airport.

Our first stop was Fort Belvoir where Brett works.  Brett is a nurse in the US Army.  You need to have a special ID to get on a military base so we decided to take Flat Stanley, Aunt Una, and Uncle John there so they could see what the base is like.  We took Flat Stanley over to the Officers’ Club which is located right on the Potomac River.  We took some pictures for you to see.

From there we drove along the George Washington Parkway pass Mt. Vernon where George Washington used to live.  We made a stop at Lady Bird Johnson Park to take some pictures of the monuments with the Potomac River.  We actually got a helicopter in one of the pictures!!

To waste some time before we picked Robert up, we went to Tysons Corner which is a huge mall.  We found a store called Lucy and took a picture of Flat Stanley in front of it.  He was really excited about that.  He was also excited about the picture we took in Bloomingdales with him on the motorcycle.  Hope he doesn’t get in trouble for that.

We picked Robert up from Dulles Airport and stopped for dinner.  After dinner we went back to my house.  It had been a long day.

Saturday was about 80 degrees and sunny.  Brett, Uncle John, and Robert all went golfing.  Flat Stanley went with Aunt Una and me to finish getting some items I needed for the wedding.  Then we went to another mall and wasted a bunch of time.  We had a hard time getting Flat Stanley out of the Lego store and he wanted to get his picture taken with the Easter Bunny but it was really expensive.  I forgot my camera so I told him next time we would definitely do it.

Saturday night we stayed at the house and had dinner.  Aunt Una, Brett, Robert and I all went in the hot tub.  Flat Stanley stayed in the house with Uncle John.  They were a little tired from all the shopping and golfing.  We had a big day planned for Sunday so everyone went to bed early.
On Sunday we went to Washington, DC – the capitol of the United States!  Uncle John had never been there so we thought it would be something fun to do.  The weather was a little cooler (about 72) because it had rained over night.  

We saw a lot of things while we were in DC.  We saw the White House where the President lives.  We think he might have either come home or left shortly after we walked by because there was a lot of police cars around there and a big limo.  It would have been cool to see the President.  Flat Stanley would have never forgotten his trip.

We also saw the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War I Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Smithsonian.  The Smithsonian is actually a bunch of museums.  We went into the American History Museum.  We were there for a couple hours and only got to see about ¼ of it.  It is huge.  There is a lot to look at.

When we were done down there, we headed back to Dulles Airport to drop Robert off.  He flew back to Cleveland on Sunday evening.  Brett, Aunt Una, Uncle John. Flat Stanley and I went back to our house and had dinner.  We relaxed the rest of the night since Aunt Una and Uncle John were leaving the next day.

Since Sunday, Flat Stanley has been a little bored.  Since it is the week, Brett and I have been working so he has had to sit in the house and plan with Pepper.  The weather has been nice in the high 60s to low 80s all week.  It is supposed to rain this weekend so I thought I would send him back to Cleveland so he doesn’t have to be bored any longer.

I hope Flat Stanley had a good time.  I will see him next week when I come back to Cleveland to prepare for the wedding.  See you soon.

Love,Kelly



PS – Hope you had a fun birthday!!!

What a Colorful World

So I went to take the Color Quiz that my dear friend Nikol had on her blog and this is all I got:

Your Existing Situtation
The situation is difficult and she is trying to persist in her objectives against resistance. Finds it necessary to conceal her intentions as an added precaution, in order to disarm the opposition.

The darn thing told me there was more but there were errors on the page and would not go to the next topic.

But I don't agree with what it did say because I love my current situation and I am not trying to disarm anything (unless it is talking about learning to golf then they might have a point).

If anyone else wants to take the quiz that stopped on me go HERE

UUUGGGHHH!!!

I need a drink. Between all the interruptions, my boss having a bad day, and the long list of things that I wanted to accomplish today and didn't, I have developed a headache. Going to bed early is sounding better and better each minute (even though I have to get up at 4am to drive home tomorrow).

More Wedding Preparation

Brett and I are going home this weekend. We are going home for wedding things. We have to get our marriage license, get his tux refitted, get my veil, do my trial hair run, pick up his ring, buy our attendant gifts, and meet with the photographer. We also need to visit with family and friends.

Maybe we should have eloped!!

Family Issues

Getting married is an interesting time. After you get all the tasks done and send out the invitations, you sit in anticipation to see who is going to respond first. You look forward to getting the mail everyday. You toss aside all the bills and junk and rip open the responses to see who is coming and who is not.

I have been surprised that family members are not the first to respond. There are several people of my family who have not RSVP'd yet and a couple from Brett's have not either. Some of those on my side I am really surprised they haven't responded and some I know they won't (and I really don't care about those). However, the ones who haven't and I do care about I am not sure what to think. I know we still have 2-1/2 weeks for people to return them but I would have thought they sent them as soon as they received them.

It should be interesting to see if these family members will come or not. I know one in particular that will make my mom really angry if he does not show up. I have a feeling that he won't because he will have to face all the responsibilities that he should have been dealing with over the last 2 years.

The Unsaid Compliment

I was told today from a co-worker that my boss paid me a compliment. He feels we will be able to handle his whole business just the 2 of us. Are you kidding? I work for a person who manages over $75 million in assets and is in Cleveland. I live in Virginia. Does anyone see a problem with this?

I guess it makes me feel good to know he feels we (or should I say I) can handle everything. The problem is I am not sure how much longer I will keep working for him. I know I will definitely be there through July but after that who knows. I might find something in Virginia. I might change careers. The world is a big place and there are so many options.

The other thing is there is no potential for growth where I am. I could go to production but if I stay for the same company, my current boss will expect me to go in on things with him and split the commission. I don't think so. If I am doing all the work I should get all the rewards for it.

The Condo Saga

We are now being told we will not settle on our condo until the end of July. That means I might have to spend a couple of weeks after our honeymoon in Cleveland while Brett comes back to Virginia. The only reason I would have to stay is since I work from the house I won't have internet access to be able to work everyday. There are some possibilities of me finding a place on post or staying at a friend's during the day so I can work but what a burden that will be for everyone involved.

The other problem is now we will have to keep our stuff in storage for 2 months instead of 1. We still plan on moving out of the house we are renting at the end of May since we won't be here all of June. Doesn't make sense to keep it, pay rent and utilities, and not even be living in it.

As I always say there is always a reason for why things work out the way they do. Hopefully we will figure the reasons for this one soon (adding to my anxiety).

Return of Anxiety

All the anxiety I was feeling last fall had finally gone away and now I feel it creeping back. I guess the good thing is it is for different reasons. The anxiety in the fall stemmed from me being untrusting and checking a certain person's email and learning he was still "chatting" with his internet friends and ex-whatever you call her. We cleared everything up and I felt a little better about the whole situation (remember once you have been hurt it is really hard to be normal again). I still wonder if he is talking to these people and if they know about me and that we will be getting married in less than 6 weeks but right now that is the least of my worries.

Now my anxiety has to do with the wedding. Though I am all "caught up" on my tasks there is still a lot that needs to be done in the last month before the wedding. I am just hoping I get everything done and everyone has a good time. I guess that is the most important thing - that everyone has a good time.

As for my other issues, in the back of my mind I will always be afraid that someone is going to come along and take him from me. It has happened before why won't it happen again? But then I remember how much he loves me and that little thought goes away. Hopefully one of these days it will go away for good.

March Madness Has Begun!!!

The selection process is done and the games technically start tomorrow!! I cannot tell you how excited I am this time of year. Not only do I love basketball, I love to do the office pool and take everyone's money. The first 2 years I participated I did awesome. The last 2 years not so good. This year will be different - I will make my mark once again (and have to share my money with Brett).

Everyone is always so surprised that I know the teams so well. It isn't that I know the teams well; I just pay attention throughout the season. Some people do the pool just to do it and have to have their significant other or children pick the teams. Not me. 100% a Kelly bracket!!!

So hopefully but April 4th, I will be a little richer.

Reunion Weekend

It looks as though I will be spending the month of June in Cleveland. Brett has to be in Fort Knox, KY for most of the month and I technically won't have a place to live for the month. Our lease is up at the end of May and our condo is not supposed to be done until the end of June. We could stay in the house but that would me that I would be packing all by myself (I don't think Pepper would be much help).

The ironic thing is there are so many things I will be able to accomplish while I am in Cleveland that I am looking forward to it. First of all, I still do not have my life insurance license. I feel I need to get this in order to progress in my career especially if I start looking for a new job after we settle into the condo. There is a weekend class the first and second weekends of June. I am hoping to take the class and also the exam before we leave on our honeymoon.

And today I got an email about Reunion weekend at Xavier University. It is planned for June 15-17. I had mentioned to Brett that maybe I would go to Cincinnati while I am in Ohio and that was when I was planning on going. I have emailed my friends that live there and suggested a weekend get-together, even if we do not go to any of the scheduled activities.

Since Brett will be busy the whole time he is at Fort Knox I figured that I might as well take advantage of the situation. Getting the license (even if I have to pay for it) and visiting some friends sounds like the way to do just that.