Closing on the house today at 4:30!!!!!!!!!

Oooohhhh I want a new Pink Blackberry Pearl Phone. Will sacrifice not buying jeans for several months. LOL Not due for a new phone until January of '09; phones are $350 and up on Ebay right now :(

Hello friends!
Just wanted to pop in and say hello before lunch break is over. I'm at the classroom site for DCS training again and will be until Friday, which is an observation day at the office. The trainer said he'd try to let us out early today so I hope he comes through with that promise!!

Many of you asked the question in one of my previous posts if it bothers me that Ryan owns guns/that we have guns in the house. I didn't respond to you all individually because so many of you asked. To answer the question--no, it's never even crossed my mind to be fearful of having guns in the house. It doesn't bother me at all, and I was actually surprised that so many of you asked that! Maybe it's just a cultural/Midwestern thing, I dunno, but it doesn't bother me whatsoever and I cant wait to learn to shoot.

SOOO excited that House is back on tomorrow and that LOST is back on Thursday!!

I meant to post this earlier in the month, but here are my reading and running goals for 2008.

Running/Walking/Jogging Goal: 1750 Miles
Books Read: 115

First day went well--did all the fun paperwork stuff--tax forms, direct deposit forms, employee information sheets, etc and got sworn in as employees of the State of Indiana. I met 3 gals who I will be working with and the rest of the group (maybe 30 in all?) are from other counties.

Driving in downtown Indy SUCKED. I mean, I guess I could get used to it if I *HAD* to, but I'm just not accustomed to driving in such traffic, with all the confusing one way streets and stoplights at every block. Driving a stick sucks in these conditions too. I was able to find a parking garage that was about 2-3 blocks from the government center and charged just $13/day. (I'll get reimbursed). The day actually went by fairly quickly. I'm just fortunate I dont have to drive to downtown Indy tomorrow, but rather an area on the outside of town. It may take a little longer, but it should be worth it!

I'll catch up with you all again later!

I'm excited about getting my hurr 'did tomorrow! I hope it turns out how I want it to!

( Cuteness ahead )

Gosh...I feel like I look so young in these pics. I can't believe I'll be 28 this year.

Got this book today and I'm already 100 pages into it!!!

I'm "working from home" tomorrow at Dunn Center, but I am working at the diner from 7am-2pm. I hope to come home and have tons of comments :)

( New Year's Eve Photos )

And eep! I was the oldest "young" person there! :/

2007 Running Log
January Mileage: 106 miles ran, 7 miles walked
February Mileage: 102 miles ran 5 miles walked
March Mileage: 107 miles ran, 20 miles walked
April Mileage: 146 miles ran, 26 miles walked
May Mileage: 131 miles ran, 13 miles walked
June Mileage: 108 miles ran; 13 miles walked
July Mileage: 116 miles ran; 13 miles walked
August Mileage: 123 miles ran, 13 miles walked
September Mileage: 163 miles ran; 32 miles walked
October Mileage: 120 miles ran; 2 miles walked
November Mileage: 96 miles ran; 14 miles walked
December Mileage: 89 miles ran; 3 miles walked

YEAR TO DATE: 1407 miles ran; 161 miles walked
TOTAL: 1568

Just for fun, I calculated up various distances across the country to see the mileage I've logged. This year I ran/walked approximately the distances from my home in Milton, Indiana to:

Salt Lake City Utah OR
El Paso, Texas

Or, check out these cross-country ventures...

Hartford, CT to Wichita, KS
Kansas City, MO to Las Angeles, CA
Miami, FL to Milwaukee, WI
Seattle, WA to nearly Minneapolis, MN
Bangor, ME to Montgomery, AL

BOOKS I'VE READ IN 2007

JANUARY

1.Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer

2.Fat Chance by Leslea Newman

3.Why I Jumped by Tina Zahn

4.The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

5.Gladiolus Drive by Brody Vogt

6.The 10th Circle by Jodi Picoult

7. Alex & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

8.The Perfect Arrangement by Suzanne Berne

9.Speak Softly, She Can Hear by Pam Lewis

FEBRUARY

10.Dry by Augusten Burroughs

11.Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

12.The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

MARCH

13.The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle

14.The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

15.Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs

16.19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult

17.Her Daddy's Eyes by Gary E. Parker

18.Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

19.Taming the Beast by Emily Maguire

20.Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

21.Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres

22.The Invisible Man by HG Wells

APRIL

23.I Am the Central Park Jogger by Trisha Meili

24.Black Girl, White Girlby Joyce Carol Oates

25.Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

26.Veronica by Mary Gaitskill

27.Possible Side Effectsby Augusten Burroughs

28.Brass Ankle Blues by Rachel Marper

29.Remember to Forget by Deborah Raney

30.A Fractured Mind: My Story of Multiple Personality Disorder by Robert B. Oxnam

MAY

31.The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

32.A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls

33.The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

34.Food and Loathing by Betsy Lerner

35.A Girl Named Zippyby Haven Kimmel

36.Citizen Girlby Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

37.The Burning Truth by Rick Stoddard

38.She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmel

JUNE

39.The Liar's Diary by Patry Francis

40.Empty: A Story of Anorexia by Christie Petitit

41.Sickened: A True Story of a Lost Childhood by Julie Gregory

42.More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction by Elizabeth Wurtzel

43.The Floor of the Sky by Pamela Carter Joern

44.Starving for Attention by Cherry Boone O'Neil

45.Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhoodby Jennifer Traig

46.Choking Fear by Mike McCarty

47.The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

48.Radical Sanity by Elizabeth Wurtzel

49.Accidental Happiness by Lolly Winston

50.Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoirby James Salant

JULY

51.The Big Girls by Susanna Moore

52.Never Suck a Dead Mean's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI by Dana Kollman

53.Love You More: The Taylor Behl Story by Janet Pelasara

54.If You Really Loved Me by Kevin McMurray

55.If I am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

56.Murder in the Heartland by M. William Phelps

57.The Mistress' Daughterby A.M. Homes

58.The Birthday Party by Stanley Alpert

59.Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

AUGUST

60.Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

61.Driving with Dead People by Monica Holloway

62.When We Get There by Shauna Seliy

63.Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

64.Escape from the Dungeon by Jennifer Stephens

65.Marked for Life by Joie Davidow

66.Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

67. Biting the Apple by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

SEPTEMBER

68.Comeback by Claire and Mia Fontaine

69.The Beautiful Miscellaneous by Dominic Smith

70.katie.comby Katherine Tarbox

71.Walking Taylor Home by Brian Schrauger

72.Cry Rape: The True Story of One Woman's Harrowing Quest for Justice by Bill Lueders

73.Love My Rifle More Than You: Young & Female in the US Army by Kayla Williams

74.What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

75.Duel in the Sun by John Brant

76.In the Cut by Susanna Moore

OCTOBER

77.Fragile Innocence by James Reston, Jr.

78.Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T Students who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich

79.Forget You Had a Daughter by Sandra Gregory

80.Poster Child by Emily Rapp

81.High School Confidential: Secrets of an Undercover Student by Jeremy Iversen.

NOVEMBER

82.Along Comes a Stranger by Dorie MuCullough Lawson

83.Broken by William Cope Moyers

84.Catching Genius by Kristy Kiernan

85.Songs Without Words by Ann Packer

86.Erased from Memory by Diana O'Hehir

87.The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom by Jo Barrett

88.Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers by Cris Beam

DECEMBER

89.A Disorder Peduliar to the Country by Ken Kalfus

90.The Day the Voices Stopped by Ken Steele

91.Life Inside: A Memoir by Mindy Lewis

92.Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lifes: Tales of Life & Death from the ER by Pamela Grim

93.Skinny Boy: A Young Man's Battle and Triumph over Anorexia by Gary Grahl

94.Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism by Dawn Prince-Hughes

95.Dead Men Do Tell Tales by William R. Maples

96.Alternadad by Neal Pollack

97.Dante's Cure by Daniel Dorman

98.Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death, & Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Year by Michael Collins, MD

99.I'll Fly Away: Further Testimony from the Women at York Prison by Wally Lamb

100.Tales from the Bed: On Living, Dying, & Having it All by Jennifer Estess as told to Valerie Estess

101.The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden

I might be a redneck if ( ..... )

Official NYE post with pics to come soon, as well as my reading and mileage logs for 2007.

I waitressed at the diner today and yesterday all while earning pay from my "real" job. All in all I made like $400 in two days between both jobs. I know it's not much for some people, but damn, if I could make $200/day ALL the time with ONE job, that would be freaking sweet.

I gotta pimp out my Ebay auctions...

Check 'em out right here

Adding more things soon!

Now I wish I hadn't dressed so casually...oh well! I had fun!

( Hangin' out with Old & New Friends )

Fun times. I think we're all getting together for New Year's Eve. *crosses fingers*

And kudos to me for gaining confidence in being around other girls. I wasn't as insecure as I typically am, even before alcohol was a factor ;)

okay, so I have a hole s-load of entries to catch up and I plan on doing so on Tuesday, but first let me say:

OMG, the Bachelor. I so totally did NOT see that coming! I'm not saying anything else in case some of you haven't yet seen it. But, wow.

Didn't read as many as I would have liked...

OCTOBER
Fragile Innocence by James Reston, Jr.
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T Students who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich
Forget You Had a Daughter by Sandra Gregory
Poster Child by Emily Rapp
High School Confidential: Secrets of an Undercover Student by Jeremy Iversen.

I think November will be a better reading month for me. I've already finished one book and I'm more than 50 pages into two others.

I've been reviewing client charts to become acclimated with things here and children that I'll be working with.

You know what really grinds my gears? Master's Level Therapists/Clinicians/Nurse Practioners who cannot spell.

Dunn Center will pay for my schooling to obtain a Master's (MSW) after having a year under my belt. Hmmmmmmm.........

I think I'll hang around here for a little while.

YAY YAY YAY!

birdsonthewire already knows this because I called her and squeeeeeed about it, but I got a VW beetle tonight! She's silver, a turbo diesel and her name is Sadie :)

Pics to come tomorrow!

Yeah...I've met Justin Timberlake and country singers Miranda Lambert & Trent Tomlinson. I've had my photo taken with all three. I've also taken pics of other various musicians/artists and athletes (NBA players & NASCAR drivers).

Last day of work is tomorrow, 9/10. So many questions, so many fears. So much uncertainty. We were initially told they would "finish out the pay period" with our pay (meaning, that even though our last day is 9/10, they'd pay us until 9/14), so hopefully they'll stick to their word on that. They wont pay us for our sick time (I have 35 days left) but they will pay for vacation (I have 8). I'll be meeting with an unemployment consultant later this week about all sorts of different things, and hopefully I'll get a decent amount of income from that each week. There are also various programs for me as a "displaced worker" and it was even mentioned that they'll pay for various schooling/educational programs. We'll see what comes from that.

Meanwhile I'm torn regarding health insurance. I am certainly not going to pay for Cobra, because it is just too ridiculous (nearly $400 a month). Ryan doesn't have health insurance; I've always carried him on my policies. I've been looking into temporary individual policies on ehealthinsurance.com and some are reasonably priced. I'm not sure what sort of deductible I want. I think I might end up going with something in the middle. This temporary policy would only used in case of a major hospitalization or something; it wont really be used for office visits or prescriptions. What sort of deductibles do you all have, if you dont mind me asking? How much do you pay? The policies I've been looking at vary in price from $65/month to $140 a month for Ryan and myself and have varying deductibles and copays. It's just going to be temproary (no more than 6 months), so I'm not wanting huge monthly payments. I've debated not even carrying insurance, but it's just too risky not to, you know? (Why cant I live in Canada? lol)

On a more positive note, at least I didn't make an ASS of myself at the VMAs tonight. Poor Britney.