Ok, I have been chastised for not updating. It's not going to be pretty or poignant, but since my blog posts are neither of those things typically, I won't feel bad about that.
Happenings Over the Last Month:
1) I took a blast class. It was a 4 credit class in marketing and I had to go to school from 8-5pm on Friday & Saturday, two weeks in a row, and then finish a somewhat large, consuming marketing plan project by the end of the following week. It really wasn't so bad and I liked studying marketing. Of course, it's easier to say it wasn't so bad now that it's over.
2) I went to SLC on a whirlwind tour for my soon-to-be sister-in-law's bridal shower. It was a very quick trip. Sorry for not seeing anybody. I flew into SLC at 12am Sat. morning & went to my parents' house and went to bed, woke up at a more reasonable hour, got supplies, set up for the party, visited my in-laws for a 1/2 hour, came back, hosted the party (with my family, of course,who helped out immensely), went to my already-sister-in-law's house for family dinner, went to bed, woke up on Sunday, went to church and then flew home. it was fun to see everyone and, believe it or not, I felt like that was more of a weekend than a lot of other weekends (see prior happenings for the month for reference).
3) I got a job offer from another department at UC. It was the position that I had originally applied for when I first interviewed here -- grant administrator 2. Glamorous, no? I was very excited about the offer. Unfortunately, they made a dismally LOW offer and I decided that I would turn it down and stay in my lowly position of program coordinator for now. What can I say? I've had better offers. I anticipate I will have better offers in the future. So, yes HR. You can keep your ever-so-generous, mandatory 5% raise and give it to somebody else who values themselves as little as you do. Good luck with that(Me, bitter? NOooooo. Ok, maybe a little. but I really was glad to get offered the job. I swear.).
4) I am still in an accounting class. I have a midterm tomorrow and while I have studied for it somewhat, I have been spending exponentially more time procrastinating my studying. I can't wait till tomorrow night when it's over, stress goes away and I can go back to not procrastinating until my next test/project.
5) I am still totally stoked to be going to London in less than a month. Jefe and Erika are getting married! And we are going on VACATION!!! :) I need silver close-toed pumps, however, and am having the hardest time finding a cute pair that is reasonably priced. Dilemmas, dilemmas. Finding the dress was so much easier. Funny -- I encountered the same exact problem before MY wedding. It seems apparent that I am, most definitely, a shoe girl. (in case anyone was doubting that fact)
6) Ben's parents have bought tickets and they are, for SURE, coming out to visit us for Thanksgiving!!!! I am SO stoked. We hardly ever get visitors. And for Thanksgiving! I've never really had to prepare a Thanksgiving meal before, so it should be interesting. I find it all very exciting -- the turkey, the stuffing, gravy. Oh, and having Ben's parents around to hang out with. JUST kidding - that's actually the best part. I think it's going to be totally fun. Can't wait!
7) I had a birthday and, lucky enough for Ben, my favorite present is to go shopping. I know, I know. I require so little thought & effort from my husband. What can I say? I want what I want. And I happen to believe there's a 99% chance no one else knows exactly what I want better than I do. I went shopping last week and victoriously came home with more than I should have. I heart successful shopping trips. Now I just have to return half of it. :) (Oh, and thank you for all the happy birthdays. If you texted me or called, I'm sorry not to have gotten back to you in a more timely manner. I left my cell phone at the store during said shopping trip and didn't have it around for two days).
8) I drove up to Granville, Ohio last Friday to promote our graduate program at a grad fair. it is one of the most beautiful, sleepy towns and it has AMAZING fall colors. It's much more drabby down here in Cincinnati, so the drive up there was a great treat.
9) Okay, so this isn't something that's "happened" really, but I'm still excited about it. Ben & I have been doubling down on our car payments ( I took out a 60 month loan on my Subaru when I bought it in 2008) and we are now only 7.3 months away from being car loan free! I love, love, love this prospect and I can hardly wait.
10) My dear renter, Earvin, decided he was leaving me last month after his lease expired. It kinda stressed me out a little because I was afraid we wouldn't get another renter right away. And I was afraid we would go back to doing shortterm rentals, which is a lot more to manage. Good news -- we found a new renter and with multi-year renting potential and the rental periods are seamlessly close. I love it when things work out this way. Whenever stuff like this works out this well, I can't help thinking, " I'm so glad I pay tithing." It may not be a direct blessing of tithing, but you never know. It just might be. And, in any case, I'm very grateful that investment hasn't blown up in my face quite yet. :)
