Monday

It's Monday and I'm trying to get my house in order once and for all. I've been navigating the office all morning long - seemingly getting nowhere. The dogs have been in and out all morning trying to find the dog that lives in the cabinet (Oliver's reflection) and the shiny speck that floats around near the back door (the sun's glare off of their shiny bell). They're fun to watch. :)

I'm planning on working around the house this morning and exploring a little this afternoon. I especially need to locate when my interview will be ASAP.

My one and only funny story from this weekend was that while at the Farmer's Market, I purchased 5 beautiful sunflowers. Wehad the bottoms wrapped so they'd stay fresh until I got home to put them in a vase. Great idea, so I sat them between my legs on the ride home but we decided to stop at Hobby Lobbby along the way. That's when I discovered that the bag had been leaking and I looked like I had peed my pants. What a great way to start my life in Wisconsin. Oh well, they still look beautiful in my kitchen!

Our First Storm

We had our first storm last night. Luckily, the boys slept through most of it except they wanted me to let them out around 3:30 a.m. That wasn't fun but at least they slept through the worst of it. This morning the guys were wet and a little muddy, but that's OK. They don't have the muddy area here like they had at our old house. It's one of those mornings where I woke up tired.

Today I'm going to the Farmer's Market, a little shopping around town and spending a little time working on my interview materials. I need to create a timeline, invitations, confirmation letters, menu lists, sample packet and an itenerary for the day.

Tomorrow is Jared's mom's birthday and we're meeting somewhere in WI/IL border area for lunch tomorrow. It'll be nice to see everyone.

Last night we spent a lot of time reorganizing the garage - we can now fit in 2 cars again! I can't wait for trash and recycle day to come. Then it should really clear out. We also loaded up the shed and met more neighbors. Overall, it was a productive night but I still didn't get enough one-on-one time with Jared. Hopefully today maybe.

Shout out to Christy who's shower I'm missing today (you're card/gift is in the mail) and to Pam who's having her first housewarming party today! I am so sorry to miss these special events in your lives. I can't wait to see pictures and hear how successful they were.

Alright, Oliver and Phinneas keep shutting my laptop because they want me to play with them so I'm going to get going.

And then there was Internet!

Whew... the Internet is finally working 100% of the time. Cable and phone are still iffy but the Internet is all set.

So, my life has been insane since my last post. Let me start from the beginning.

Jared left on August 10th to come to Madison for good. He brought 4 of our fish with him and I waited behind to finish working and wait on the movers. The movers packed us up on Thursday and then on Friday they loaded all of my belongings onto the largest semi I have ever seen. It was unbelievable to think that nearly all of my earthly possessions it onto 3/4 of that mammoth semi. So, Saturday morning my mom and I got up, went to my nephew's football game (he's the defensive captain or something where he gets to call all of the huddles - not sure, but I'm so proud of him - he looked so grown up) then we loaded up the pups and remaining fish and hit the road. We stopped by IKEA on the way up making our crowded van even more crowded. It was actually a huge relief to finally make it and unload the car. Jared and his brothers had worked all afternoon to get the backyard ready for the boys because the fence company wasn't available until today (Friday) to finish the small section of the fence. I can now happily report that the fence is complete so Phinneas won't be able to break out anymore - he has succesfully gotten out two times in a week!

Anyway, the movers delivered our things at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. It was mass chaos even with us putting the boys in their "beds" while they were unloading our stuff. The broke our desk so the office really isn't done yet but most other rooms are getting there. As soon as I find my camera cord, I'll post photos of the house in progress. Luckily, my parents stuck around most of the week to help me make sense of most of the rooms. I still need some curtains and small things but other than that, we're mainly moved in. After tonight I hope to have most things in their place.

In the craziness of all the moving, I got a call from UW - Madison to come in for an interview. I was thrilled when I found out and I'm in the midst of preparing for my interview next Wednesday. Wish me luck! I have to come up with a 10 minute group presentation/proposal. I think it'll be fun but it's just a lot on top of moving in and getting used to Madison. Even though I think I know how to get around I'm still to chicken to go anywhere on my own. The dogs love it but it gets kind of lonely. I have met a few awesome neighbors. Each fairly young couples with tiny kids/babies. It has just been refreshing to meet new people and everything. Hopefully I'll make friends soon. Last night we went to Red Robin and a bunch of girls were eating dinner together and I got all teary because all of my dear friends are 5 hours away. I keep reminding myself that I still have all of you in Indiana and that now I'll get to make additional friends here.

What else, what else? Oh, I finished reading Something Borrowed. My friend Beth got it for me on my last day at Butler. It was so sweet of her and it has really kept my mind off of everything going on when I've needed it to. I'm now onto either Baby Proof or Belong to Me. I guess I'll start on whichever one is easier to find amongst the rubble! Anyway, thank you, Beth, for the great book! I could hardly put it down and I love Rachel! :)

I also really appreciate any cards and emails and notes and calls that everyone has been sending. I promise I'm not ignoring you but the past week has been insane! I'll be a better friend very soon.

On another, even more sad note, I don't think I'll be able to visit Indiana this weekend for the shower/housewarming party. Jared needs to stay here for work/dogs/family stuff and I was going to try it on my own but I'm just exhausted. If I get a burst of energy I may change my mind but I am still so overwhelmed and I don't feel like I've seen my husband at all.

If you're reading this, then you can probably assume that I miss you terribly!

It's about time...

So I just realized that some of you may not know that much about me, or Jared or our life. Therefore, I thought it might be beneficial to take a TV timeout to give you some specifics about our life.

Here goes...

Jared and I were both raised in Kokomo, IN and we graduated from high school in 2002. We went to different universities for college but started dating in October of our freshmen year. We've been in love ever since and we got married in January 2007. Soon after we bought our first home in Carmel, adopted 3 dogs and 7 fish, joined a church and started graduate school for our MBAs.

Let me backtrack here - I went to Butler University where I graduated in May 2006 with a BS in Marketing and a double major in Journalism. I am an Alpha Phi and I was the Panhellenic President my junior/senior year at Butler. I love being Greek. I was also extremely active all over campus doing a variety of things. Anyway, after graduation I accepted my first job in the Office of Admission at Butler planning their events. It has been an incredible job and now I'm anxious on where I'll land in Madison.

Jared started at IU-Bloomington in the Kelley School of Business but after a year he decided to transfer to Indiana State in Terre Haute. He decided to major in Business Administration, Business Education and Information Design End-User Computing (or IT, for us less techie folks). He is a member of Pi Omega Pi and worked dillegently through college in their computer labs doing Help Desk type stuff. He graduated in December 2006. After graduation he started working for Legacy Financial Group in Kokomo, IN.

Now, we live in Carmel (for a few more days) in the house we love that we've only lived in for a year and a half. In that house we have our 3 precious babies (or dogs, you know, whatever!); Oliver, Benton and Phinneas. We adopted them only months apart and they all just celebrated their first birthdays. We had a huge joint birthday party for them at our house but we've also celebrated their individual birthdays as well. Oliver is a golden retriever/cocker spaniel mix who is tender, sensitive and gorgeous. He gives the best kisses and is the object of his Uncle Josh's affection. Benton is a border collie mutt. Jared commonly refers to him as our black and white dog. He is the best at playing fetch and he can outbark just about anyone in the neighborhood. Phinneas is my kindred spirit... he's a black lab/cocker spaniel mix who has stolen my heart. He is the baby of the group but also the biggest (by 6 inches and 10 pounds). He will eat ANYTHING but he loves to snuggle and he is so sweet.

So that's a quick rundown of our life! Things are about to get crazy!

Epic Proportions

Hey all. I'm happy to report that Jared made it safely to Madison on Sunday evening. He did manage to forget his Passport and SS card the first time he attempted to leave so he returned, got the items and headed out again.

I haven't been able to talk to him long since he's been up there but he seems to really like it. He said he's met some nice people but for the most part he's just been sitting in meetings. Welcome to orientation!

Meanwhile, back at home, I've been trying my best to start packing up the few precious items that I don't want the movers to pack ... think my wedding bouquet, jewelry, medicine ... etc. It isn't a ton, but boy, getting ready to do it is hard. Since Jared left the boys have been acting a little crazy and take up nearly all my time. When I'm not cleaning or dealing with them, I try to pack but I've only gotten one cabinet packed up. I guess it'll get done one box at a time!

Anyway, I don't really have much more to report. It should get more exciting once we get moving.