Silly me.

Here I've been, trotting along with a closed off blog. Whoops! Thank you, Lindsay, for pointing out *with attitude* that you would like to read my blog again :)

Let's see, what's new. Training is trudging along. Nothing too exciting but at least once it's over I'll get to work whenever I want. I think all companies should adopt the "sign up for whatever hours you want to work" policy. If I want to work 60 hours one week, I can, overtime included. If I don't feel like working at all one week, I just don't sign up for hours. I just have to work 12 hours a month to keep all my certifications. Easy enough!

All the applications are in to all the schools, all the transcripts are in, I'm just waiting to hear back now. We shall see.

I put applications in on two dogs yesterday. One was a border collie (we were the 2nd application and I found out today that he was adopted yesterday). The other was a German Shepherd mix - we are the first application on her but Brad hasn't met her yet. He meets her tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. I love her but he has his heart set on a collie so we'll have to wait and see. I don't think we're ready for 2 dogs yet :)

I wish I had more to say but alas, I guess that's all for now. If you've missed my entries, they should all be visible now!

Yesterday was productive - Yay!

Well my husband finally made it home yesterday. He works at the top of a steep, curvy, mountainous road so when there's snow it's always a toss up. We went riding around, looking at the town and boy did I not know the damage that had been done.

I'm not *happy* that my next door neighbor was taken to the hospital...but we are incredibly lucky that our road was plowed early yesterday morning as a result. The road was melting and it made it really easy for us to get out of the house and get into town. I couldn't believe how many roads were shut down. The interstate was shut down - tractor trailers were having to sleep on the road, cars were being forced to make U-turns to go southbound. Neighborhoods were completely snowed in -by that I mean, there was so much snow the plows couldn't get in...and even when the plows could get in, the snow drifts were filling everything up with snow. It's going to be at least another week before life returns to normal up here. We might be close to Baltimore and DC, but it's still a small town. Not exactly at the top of their "dig them out" list. I'm wondering if my job will even start on Monday.

On that note, school stuff is pretty much complete.

Johns Hopkins application stuff got sent off on Monday (Masters of Communications degree) - I'm sure it hasn't made it yet because the mail hasn't been running, but at least it's off. The only thing lacking on it is the reference letters and I'm going to try to follow up with them next week to make sure they got them in. The big thing with them is 1) It's a big name school and 2) Starting next January I can finish my degree fully online. Meaning if we move somewhere, I don't have to try to figure out my school situation again.

I've got Shippensburg complete and ready to go (Masters of Communications). My biggest concern with them is 1) what they show on their website as their requirements and what they sent in a letter as their requirements...don't match up. I specifically chose programs that I didn't have to take the GMAT or the GRE. (Well, as long as you had a certain undergraduate GPA that is) They're saying I need test scores but I'm hoping they just didn't get the transcript yet.

I submitted Widener yesterday (Law school). If I can't get in there, I probably can't get in anywhere. Taking the LSAT 2 weeks before the wedding probably wasn't the smartest way to go about it - and I said as much in the essay. I've heard if you don't have strong scores, it's a good thing to try to explain why. So I did.

And on a last minute whim last night I applied for Mount St. Mary's University (MBA with a concentration in Marketing). The Mount is a really local university just up the road (it's where we work out also), it's reasonably priced and, again, they didn't require a GMAT OR GRE if you had over a 3.4 gpa. I'll probably wind up having to take more prerequisites because I didn't take many business courses in undergraduate...but I think I'll be okay. Brad took plenty of business courses and I think I could figure it out. One of my references from Wingate doesn't think I should shoot for an MBA, but I dunno. It could work for me.

I think the hardest thing is - I can't pinpoint what I want to do with my life. Well, I take that back, I know what I'd LIKE to do with my life, but it's not exactly something that makes sense at this point in my life. We're not settled yet, especially if we wind up moving again soon. I also don't know what is smarter - to just get a degree anywhere...or try to get it from a big name school. I didn't go to a big name school - I went to a small school no one has ever heard of. I don't know if it's in my best interests to just GET a degree...or get one from a school that you've heard of.

Well, those are my options for now. Hopefully the mail will start running soon and I'll be able to get all this stuff in the mail.

Off to wake up the hubby!

Craziest week of my life so far.

You'd think that being stranded would have given me a million reasons to blog more. But for some reason...I found other things to do. :)

First off, I got the crazy exciting news that my best friend is getting MARRIED!!!

The future Mike & Kristi Beabout!

I'm beyond excited to start focusing on a new wedding! This time I just get to go along for the ride instead of being center of attention which I'm pretty pumped about :) Still waiting on a date but it's looking like August or September in Richmond. I'm incredibly honored to be her Matron of Honor (along with cousin Kelli as Maid of Honor). And because we all love ring shots...

Mike done good :)

Then we have this insane snowstorm that's been banging the crap out of us. Last weekend was pretty crazy but apparently mother nature was just warming us up for "The Big One". 

During one of the few moments I could see across the street

Now, I grew up in the mountains and I have seen snow - contrary to what people up here seem to think (every time we get snow I get a ton of "Well, I guess this is the most snow you've ever seen, huh?"  Yeah, not even close). This came pretty close though. The state shut down (or attempted to shut down) all the roads. They even threatened to fine people who ended up driving on the roads. I don't blame them. If I can't see my car, parked in the carport, because of the wind and snow, how on earth do you think you're going to be able to see another car or the end of the road? Crazy people. So not only was the wind howling like crazy and snow blowing like the Tundra...but I was here alone. Brad got snowed in at work. Nights like that I am SO glad I lived on my own for 3 years. I could've easily gotten freaked out but I just stretched out in our nice comfy king bed and had a slumber party with myself. Ahhh.

Then there's this morning. I was laying in bed, not sure if I *really* wanted to get up yet (I knew I wouldn't be leaving the house anytime soon)...when I heard...the *beepbeepbeep* of a large truck. My first thought was, "No WAY they're picking up trash today!! NO WAY!" So I go to the window and see a dump truck...behind it is a plow vehicle...behind it is...a fire truck? Then an ambulance. Then another emergency vehicle. They plow our road and wind up...next door. And someone next door got sent to the hospital. I called Brad's mom because it's an elderly lady who lives next door and she's good friends with Brad's grandmother (whose house we are currently living in).  They didn't seem to be in TOO big of a hurry, which I hope is a good sign. I texted Brad to find out what's going on (he gets texts from Dispatch for all emergency calls) and he said it was because someone had trouble breathing. The elderly lady's daughter and a few of her children live there too - mind you, her daughter is selling drugs out of the basement so it could have been her that the ambulance was called for. But anyways, that's the drama of today so far. My road is probably the only road in town that is plowed though, so that's good for Brad if he's able to come home tonight.

Sorry for the blur, I took them with my computer because I can't find the cord to my camera.

At least the sun is shining and the skies are blue, right?

Why do I suddenly feel like I'm back in high school?

I just submitted my graduate applications for Shippensburg University and Johns Hopkins University. Obviously JHU would be my first choice but if I'm being honest with myself - what's the odds I'll actually get accepted?


Today's goals: Get my transcript requests to Wingate, get my Letters of Recommendations out to an old professor and employer, and finalize my essay & resume.


And we're off!

My Bucket List

The only place I had this saved was on myspace, which I never do anymore so I'm bringing it over here...

The Blind Side

My parents gave hubby some movie tickets for Christmas this year. We're not real big movie-theater people (I HATE how people talk/text/etc all through a movie that I just paid $10 to see!) but hey, give us some free tickets and we can find a way to use them!


He's been gone a lot lately because he's helping a co-worker finish his basement. Normally I would be fine with this but it's a little different when I sit at home all day bored and then have to sit home all night bored too. When I start a job/school and start to make friends up here it'll be fine and dandy. Last night he reserved the evening for "date night". We went out to eat and then headed down to Gaithersburg to go see The Blind Side. 


That movie was...phenomenal.


If it's not the best movie I've ever seen, it's right up there with the best of them. I laughed, I cried, I was oblivious to the packed movie theater all around me. Yes, as long as this movie has been out, it was a nearly sold-out show.


Leigh Anne Tuohy is my new idol. Just a sassy Southern woman who knows what she wants and goes after it with this matter-of-fact stance on life. At one point in the movie I looked over at Brad (yes, I broke my own pet peeve in the movie theater) and told him I want to be her.


It would have been a good movie even if it hadn't been a true story. What made it a great movie is that it is a true story. 


It's the ultimate feel-good movie. There were parts of it I wondered if it really happened or if it was just added to make it a better movie. Then I came home and did some research only to find that no, it really DID happen.


Excuse me now, I believe I'm going to go out and save the world...

Ughhhhhhhh

Dear Windstream and/or Dish Network,


You truly do suck at life. 


I'm so sorry I tried to make my life simpler by getting my phone/cable/internet packaged under one umbrella of Windstream.


Pardon me for calling to cancel in November when I get my bill only to be told I must be charged for yet another month (completely useless since no one was living there) because I missed the dreaded cycle date by one day.


Pardon me for calling after Christmas to question why I received yet another bill from Windstream after I supposedly cancelled over a month prior.


Pardon me for calling Dish after I get a $100 bill from them only to be told that "Well, Windstream should have told you that you needed to call us directly to cancel."


Pardon me for getting pissy when you tell me that I have 30 days to return the remotes, receiver and satellite.


Pardon me that the guy stuck the dish on the 3rd floor roof of my house - he used a ladder to get onto my deck, then used the ladder on the deck to get to the roof. I am NOT risking MY life because your installer-dude decided to be spiderman.


Pardon me that the remotes and receivers are 7 HOURS from where I am now.


Pardon me that the whole reason I called to cancel in NOVEMBER is because I was moving out of the state.


Congratulating me on my marriage is not going to put me in a better mood. Nice try homefry.


Absolutely not, I do not want your services moved to my house here. After this bullcrap? ABSOLUTELY NOT.


Did I mention that my house is nice and locked up with a realtor's lockbox on it? Yeah. My spare key is IN THAT BOX. Therefore, having someone "run over" to get it isn't going to work.


I hate you both and will never use your stinking services again.


Have a wonderfully dreadful day.