Fred's First Birthday!

Fred is "just a dog" but he is one of my few friends in Missouri....also he is the best little dog ever! He is just perfect....

We had a fabulous day! Warm, sunny, sleeping in, playing in the yard, going on a sweet walk! We are getting our house and yard ready for spring & summer and we still have two organization projects....the car port being the most "disgusting".

The past year has gone very, very fast and it is hard to believe and really take in how much has changed and how all of us (Bryan, Fred and myself) have grown and developed.

It is time for bed....but hopefully this next year I can get better at updating and sharing the fun adventures in our lives!

Happy birthday to my little stinker baby dog!

Well, it has been a significant amount of time...life is busy...also I just have been distracted with a year of craziness...there's no excuse...but a girl can try!

WOW! Over a year in Missouri. There are some really, really, really, really hard days where everything seems sad, and lonely, and that I am in over my head. BUT there are also good days that are amazing and new and I would try to re-create over and over!

I have become a preschool teacher (who would have EVER thought this would be a career choice...), I have seen it snow three inches in a place that gets 110 degrees daily May-Mid October and my best friend in this place, besides Bryan, is my dog that destroys my expensive slippers along with his inexpensive squeaky toys....

If someone ever tries to tell you that it is NOT hard to move to a new place...they're either unrealistic or have no idea what they are talking about. No one can tell me that it is easy to not have food you want when you want it and to talk differently than everyone else and to have zero friends near you...

June...6 months in Missouri

Wow! So much has happened in the past 6 months! I'm still on the search for a perfect job, I have a house that is painted, organized, has photos on the walls and is very organized, I have turned a quarter of a century old, have gotten the CUTEST dog in the world and can travel most anywhere in our area with confidence.

The day you turn 16 and drive to your first destination on your own (or back in the early 2000's with your friends) you get this feeling of accomplishment, freedom and excitement. You never quite feel you get that feeling again after about 25 times in the first 2 weeks of driving without a guardian. I can tell you how to get this feeling back...move to a different city, move to a different state. I have lived in a couple different cities since turning 16, but they were all small towns with not a large system of highways, or near a network of highways. I could make it from point A to point B and it was survival mode and very simple. NOW, when you move to a place that is centrally located on an extensive network of highways; you must drive on said highways to get most anywhere and you must drive in what is rush hour traffic in Michigan at 1o am, 2 pm and 9pm...it is ALWAYS busy. For me most every time I drive to a destination and return safely home I get that feeling of excitement and accomplishment that I got when I was 16....but sadly, now that I am a professional STL driver, I am losing that feeling, it must be time to move...NOT. It is much easier to feel confident in traveling, it makes my car and house less of a prison! 6 months ago driving two miles down the road to Schnuck's, tanning and Walmart was exciting and my only escape from my house!

Freddie boo boo dog!

I was told I would not get a dog for a very, very long time...I am pretty sure there is a post, or several posts about the need and want of a dog. Well, three little, cute dogs wandered onto the farm and now one of them is sitting in our front entrance chewing on his rawhide barking at the passer byers. He is the most precious dog ever (besides every other dog I have ever owned with my family!) His name if Frederick Dallas Irish-Grate, but we simply call him Fred (little white dog, boo boo dog, freddie, freddie boo boo, and Bryan's usual, God damnit fred!) We have no idea what he actually is, besides a dog, but it assumed that he is a yorkie-poo with maybe another mix of some other small dog...he is super friendly, loves to be dressed in his little tshirts and outfits and most importantly rides well in the car! He is a precious ray of sunshine and he is a good little white dog!

Fred chewin up a frosted bone

I turned 25 a month ago (May 3) It was just another birthday, but it was fun. We went to Kansas City, MO which is awesome and I got to see and touch pieces that were actually on and in the Titanic, and in the ocean for 90 years! I ate BBQ everyday for 3 meals and had a great time. Shannon came to visit which was of course fun. AND that was my birthday...it was great and now I am old! No birthday is ever as much fun as your 21st...and so you just have to make it count!

I touched a piece of the Titanic! Also, took illegal pics! :)

 Painting a house is much "suckier" than one would imagine. Our walls were painted, by the previous owner, with a  circular texture in all white (EVERYTHING IS WHITE...including the molding...that I wish was wood). The bedrooms were all painted before move in...which put us at an advantage...but our basement is large, our living room is large and our hallway has a lot of taping. All I have to say is that our house looks like a totally different place...now I just need to find things to hang in our bedroom and to start our picture wall! Interior decorating is something that takes a significant amount of time and funds...but let me tel you that it is well, well, well worth it when it changes your house into a home. I sometimes just wish that Bryan could see that our house is a home, no matter how much more we want to do and that we are so lucky to have a solid house with more than enough room for us and our stuff and, most importantly, an extra living area in our basement! Sometimes it is just hard when we have such a large laundry list! OH and I built a new garden outside, it was quite the experience as I am 1. not experienced and 2. do not like plants all that much! I do like the final results and it made our front yard look 1110% better!

It has been a productive few months...I have been enjoying forging a new life in a new place! It sometimes does feel lonely and not quite like home....but it is and will get better. I just keep reminding myself that it's only a 10 hour drive or a 4 hour airport run... (1.5 in the air...or less...depending on weather)

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Living away from Michigan

Many people may wonder: "What is it like to live hours and hours away from best friends, family and everything that I know!" WELL, let me give you the experience I have had in just three weeks.

From being a resident assistant I know that there is about a month or so "honeymoon" period when you move in somewhere. This is a time when everything seems fabulous, wonderful, new, fun, and definitely the opposite of scary. Everything is exciting and because it is new it is always a new adventure...including driving to the grocery store. This is what I experienced when I came here every other weekend for the past 9 months...and still a little bit now..but way less than two weeks ago.

Everything is still new but it is less sparkly, if you will. I still only know how to get to about five different places and those include, Walmart, tanning, Schnuck's (grocery store), Lowe's, and the Dollar Tree. I am capable of going other places, but only with the assistance of Garmina (my GPS). The good thing is, is that these are all essential places to go to in my life! AND if I really wanted to go anywhere else, as I said, I would be completely capable of it!

NOW, knowing how to get to the essentials (like tanning, groceries..etc) is the most important thing and after the excitement and sparkly effect of living in a new place wears off, you definitely begin to think about everything you left behind. Today was my really first day of REAL realization. Although I have had a few internal breakdowns or "oh mans I want to go skiing" or "WHERE IS THIS PLACE...AHHHHH" today was the day that I really just wanted to go to the mitten. My best friend had surgery to remove her thyroid and lymph-nodes and other tumors...all which are cancerous. This is the one time I should have been there, sitting with everyone waiting for the surgery to be over and to be in the recovery room hanging out. Obviously it is very difficult to travel 800 miles at the drop of a hat, and my only

I love where we live, I love our home and I love being where Bryan is...but sometimes I really miss real snow and skiing and people who can drive in inclement weather.

Suburbia Living

sub·ur·bi·a (s-bûrb-)

n.

1. The suburbs.

2.

a. Suburbanites considered as a group.

b. Suburbanites considered as a cultural class.

Never in a million years did I ever, EVER imagine myself living in a suburb. I grew up with a large yard, a house that did not look like anyone else's on the road and certainly (until a long time after living there) did not have close neighbors (they were quite a ways away for being "close"..country close)

After moving from my comfortable country home...I lived in the Residence Halls (dorms). This is like an apartment but louder, younger and with people who constantly monitor you (I was one of the RA's...I know how it works...). After 5 years in the "Res-Res" I moved on to an apartment. I of course did not have the finances to live in a luxury apartment...I lived in the worse part of Midland, MI and had neighbors all around that smoked pot, partied and were for sure not the wealthy student that attend Northwood University or the plush employees that Dow provides housing for! I did not hate this experience...but I certainly did not like my apartment smelling like I just got done smoking a joint...when that is 1. not my style and 2. gross (especially the smell). After the apartment experience I was rescued by "My Knight in Shining Armor" who's employer provided housing which was a very elegant and plush condo in downtown Bay City on the river. We lived walking distance from several awesome bars and were just across the river from our other favorite bars. Downtown was always busy which was both a pro and con as having the condo parking also be public parking and living around, apparently, brainless people.


NOW...I live in a house (pictured above). A nice 1950's brick house, in a neighborhood, on a street that has other houses that are very similar. The house is awesome. It is big upstairs and even larger with our awesome finished (well work in progress totally finished) basement. I have no issues with the house. It is a project that we can do together and that, so far, we are totally enjoying and having fun with! The thing that is taking some getting used to living in a suburb with: noisy kids, nosey neighbors, barking dogs, creepy morning walkers and I am sure rules. Now, I love being around people...I love being close to our Missouri friends...I mean we can walk or bike to everyone's house...well 3 houses!



I will explain what I do not like item by item:
1. Noisy Kids. I totally understand that kids need to run about and play and have fun. HOWEVER...do they seriously need to yell and play after like 8pm....especially on school/work nights!!!!!????!!!! I think that I just need to get used to it...it is just a unique experience when you've 1. never experienced this and 2. used to be the person who told people they were too loud and out of control! I want to go RA all these rowdy kids...however...it's they're parents job! LOL

2. Nosey Neighbors. Seeing people peering in your backyard and always staring through windows when you go to your car, put trash out. or are just outside in general is strange to me. I really do not care what my neighbors are doing...do I like to look out the window and see what people are doing...heck. yes. Do I go out of my way to constantly see what the neighbors or doing...NOOOOOOOOOO...only if I am sitting and the curtains are open. I do need to get used to the peering neighbors because that for sure will never, ever change. People are nosey, especially elderly people (like one of our neighbors)...but c'mon and be less obvious!!!!

3. Barking Dogs. Now, I really want a dog...I do realize that it will occasionally bark...HOWEVER...I will NEVER leave a dog outside to bark and bark and bark and bark and bark until my dog loving neighbor wants to go to Walmart and purchase an airsoft gun to stun the stupid dog to shut it up! I mean would I actually shoot a dog with an airsoft gun..NO...because really it should be the owner for leaving their dog outside to be miserable and to make the affected neighbors miserable. Do these dog owners every think "hey my dog is barking because it wants my attention"..or "oh, maybe something is wrong" OR "oh, hey, Fido wants in because it is done being outside!" People should be better to their dogs...or at least care about the ear's of their neighbors!

4. Creepy Walkers. I think that above I labeled this Creepy Morning Walkers. There are quite a few people who walk every morning...which is good...I am glad to see people out working it! I hate that the people obviously slow down and peer in windows. Do I like to window look...YES...do I slow down and creep and stare at the person sitting on the couch NO. NO joke...last week three days an older woman would slow down at the beginning of our yard and just intensely stare in our windows, cocking her head, mouth unhinged. One day I waved at her (I really wanted to flip her off because I was so annoyed) and she quickly put her head down and started walking extremely, extremely fast...it. was. hilarious!

5. Rules. Now, I already know that there are certain rules about our trash and recycle cans. They cannot be an eyesore on your property and must be in minimal view of your neighbor's sight...also they must be taken from the curb within 24 hours of trash day. Okay...do I get this..yes...do I feel that it is quite obvious and that this should already be done without instruction..YES. I have yet to learn of any other rules...but I am sure that there is some..hopefully a noise curfew or even a kid curfew (they have those in MI)

I think that suburbia living is for me...but that there is some getting used to. I love being so close to city living. I love love love having like 8 malls to choose from. Do I like to shop and shop and shop no..but I do enjoy having the option to shop until I drop. We live in a good neighborhood in a nice, historical city. We only live about 20 minutes from St. Louis and there is always, always, always something to do!

Moving is over...now I just have to adjust to the move...it could take awhile!

Moving...

wow. What a fast, fast few weeks since I last wrote. We have celebrated Christmas and brought in a new year. I have moved from the place that will always have my heart to be with the person who has won my heart. I have learned some of what it takes to be a "homeowner" and I have become a master at Pinterest Projects! I have also found time to be sick, sick and more sick within 6 days time...it has been a crazy time!

Christmas was fabulous, as usual. I got everything, I wanted, PLUS...so it was great. A few large items, a Kindle Fire, a Vera Bradley Hipster, Toms, a Vera Bradley Mini Hipster, some awesome pictures for hanging in our house, a waffle maker, clothes, jewelery and so, so much more...those are just the BIG things!

My car was so FULL the back end was visually lower than the front! Gas mileage went down!

The day AFTER Christmas we moved on from Michigan. The trip started out fantastic. We ate lunch in a very timely manner at our favorite place in downtown Indianapolis (The Rathskeller) and then put the GPS's on for 7 Blackberry. According to both GPS units we were suppose to pull into our driveway sometime after 6PM...spoiler alert...THIS DOES NOT EVEN COME CLOSE TO HAPPENING. NO, it was not a bad calculation by 2 Garmins...it was rather a series of horrible events. 1. We moved 0 inches in traffic for essentially 2 hours. We later came to find out...when being turned around in a median that all of this was as a result of a horrible accident of a tanker truck that created a massive hazardous chemical spill...so God and the Emergency staff only know what those of us within three quarters of a mile have been exposed to! 2. Once we headed in the opposite direction we needed to go we found the route we needed to take to get back on our way to our home. This was more painful than waiting in the actual accident traffic. Whoever thought it was a good idea to make a backwoods winding road the connector to a five lane road with no left turn light the detour to 70 west was DUMB..and clearly did not graduate from a school known for its College of creating roads. Anyone who knows anything knows that sitting in traffic for hours upon hours is the WORSE! Our trip started out great and then just got worse and worse...to top it off the last hour of the drive was in rain which was also starting to become slush...so that was even better and then 4 since rain is 3 was once we finally got in the house and got the necessities to live for the night we ordered pizza which took over 75 minutes to reach our house...we watched with our own eyes the delivery car pass the house like 5 times...clearly they had too many "smoke" breaks on this Monday night!

I guess the good part is, is that we made it home in one piece with the remainder of our stuff...the cars are still in once piece and besides a few scrapes and cuts to ourselves the move was very successful and no one was injured! (you always here horror stories of cross country/cross state moves...we are NOT a statistic!)

In the past two weeks that we have made it to Missouri a lot has been accomplished.
1. We organized the basement...there are still beer signs and other artifacts that belong on walls sitting on the floor and on the bar and on the table...but they have been cleaned and organized and are ready for their home! The end where we have furniture and a TV now looks like a living room and is ready to get an area run have our 3 game counsels hooked up and is so cute! Bryan swept, vacuumed and sanitized the floors with pinsol...it looks so clean! We still have to clean the bar side floor...but it is 80% complete! Now we just need to clean the rest of the floors, organize the bar, paint the walls and hang up all of the beer treasures! It is going to look fantastic! I cannot wait to have my Birthday Party down there in May!
2. The furniture in the living room has been kind of reorganized...there is only ONE way that we can successfully move the furniture. We have ix-nayed the coffee table and decided to just have our nice big foot stool floating about. We just eat off from tray tables...which suit us just fine! We now just have our coffee table from the condo as a plant table that also serves as an end table for both our oversized chair and couch!

WOW this makes me sound like such a nerd...

To make a long list short...we have organized to better use our space and cleaned to make it even prettier! There is still so much more to do...but we are having a great time doing little projects here and there...it is fun to see the small projects make a huge difference!

Moving was overall a good experience. It was very stressful...I will not lie...it was one of the top five most stressful experiences I have ever participated in. I do think all of the stress...work..and anticipation/build up was well worth it. I love our house. I love St. Charles and obviously I still love Bryan.