Well it's been a long time again, hasn't it? I've survived the first month of marriage without too much of a problem. I'm pretty stressed out most of the time. I think it's mostly because I hate not having a plan and Matt's company hasn't given us any indication as to whether or not he'll be getting an offer to go to MN. I've been half-assed looking for jobs pretty much because I've gotten interviews, but nothing really promising. I'm a hard worker, why wouldn't they want me? I don't understand.

Last week, Matt and I got a cat. She's a gray and white tiger striped shorthaired cat, 1-2 years old, and her name is Zoey. She came with the name Honey, but we decided that if I'm Honey, and Matt is Honey, a third Honey would be good to live with, but we had to change her real name. So we settled on Zoey. She's playful and cute, and surprisingly well-behaved for being a shelter cat. You never know what kind of animal you get. Did the previous owner get rid of them because of behavior problems? did they run away? You never know. Her only big problem is the adjustment period with her new (and slightly smaller) litterbox. She keeps pooping just outside of it. We got a rug to go under the box so it doesn't mess the carpet, but I think she's getting the hang of it now. :)

It sure has been a long time since my last post. I'm a married woman now. I'm a college graduate. I'm soon to be a resident of Oklahoma. I'm looking for a job right now and haven't found anything too promising as of yet. Something will come along soon, but waiting and being lazy all day with little or no purpose is kind of boring.......

So this is it. I have officially finished my last day of classes. EVER. (unless I would decide to go back to school sometime, but right now it doesn't look like I will). I have some final exams to take, a 5K to run, pancakes to eat, packing to do, one more day of work, and then I'm out of here. Its kinda wierd to think that this time next week, I will be at home again. I always hate moving home. It means moving back into a room that I have to share with a slob, endure countless interrogations from parents (really, a total loss of privacy), and really reverting back to the picture my parents have drawn in their head of what "Karen" should be. This picture is outdated, faded and barely recognizable as myself. But on the plus side of things: its only temporary, the UP is gorgeous in the spring/summer, and I'll get to hang out with Jo and Brian again. I might play in some community bands too. Then there's a little thing called my wedding.

I'm going to Oklahoma on May 8th. The only thing that sucks about that is the fact that I have to fly out of Green Bay instead of Iron Mountain. And I'll have to leave at 6am to get to the airport on time. Joy Joy... but at least I get to see my honey. I get to see him for his birthday (this will be the first time). I'm making a cake, I've got a great birthday present, and just the fact that I'm going to be there visiting will totally make his day. :) I can't wait to go !!! (plus, I have a really awesome secret I can't wait to tell him about, but I'm waiting so I can see the look on his face when I tell him. He better not have no reaction at all, because that would totally bum me out.

Well its time to get back to work. One more hour......

This time last year:

"Thursday, April 06, 2006

This weekend is the Relay for Life. I'm debating whether or not I want to go and walk around. I could have a total uplifting experience about the whole thing. Or on the other hand it could bring up a whole lot of memories that I don't want to recall just yet. I definitely haven't dealt with all of the feelings I have about what has happened to me, and feel like I'm not ready to just yet. I still deal with it all humorously, but the only thing to keep me from crying is laughing. That's why I laugh and make jokes about things. Inside is just a scared little girl that has so much anger and frustration built up, someone who I let few people see."

Today starts this year's relay. And ever since I got up this morning, I've been a nervous wreck. I have a huuuge knot in my stomach, I'm anxious and on the verge of tears just thinking about going. I know I signed up to do some stuff today, but I think I'm going to have to skip going. I can't handle this yet.

This week has definitely gone by fast.

Easter weekend was nice. My family came to visit and we relaxed most of the time. Emily had ECT on Friday and they drove on Saturday so she wasn't doing much else than sleeping. We watched some movies together and ate a nice Easter ham dinner and then they left. I had a paper due on Wednesday and was stressing out a lot about that. I got it done on time though. I also had two tests that day too. My SS & ET professor cancelled our homework assignments for the rest of the semester. I'm not sure why. It makes me happy and sad about it though. That class takes up sooo much time, about the same amount as all the other classes combined. So that's good. The bad part is that my other assignments are worth more. Oh well...

Matt and I are just about finished with our honeymood planning. I think its more fun than planning the wedding. YAY VACATIONS! :) Matt and I found a a nice hotel (fair priced too) that we'd stay in to break up our travel to our honeymoon spot (Sparta). It's not that far, but why not stop one day somewhere else? The only problem is that this nice hotel is in Marshfield. I've had such a bad feeling EVERY time that I went to this town that I'm not sure if it'll carry over to a "pleasure stop". I'll either be okay with going there or it'll suck BIG time. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. This weekend is Relay for Life, so maybe if I can handle that, I can handle a honeymoon stop in Marshfield...... I'll decide after this weekend.

That's about all we have left until I get home and can go out and physically buy things. Next step is flowers. I've been trying to get a hold of Aunt Carol (she volunteered to help me with the arrangements), but so far she hasn't called me back.

Well I'm working now and will be alone later, so I might write more later.

Its raining. That bums me out.
Its supposed to snow tommorrow! That bums me out.
I have a bunch of homework to do and no desire to do it. That bums me out.
My back kinda hurts. That bums me out.
Family prolly won't come to visit once they see the weather forecast, even though it's just for rain. That bums me out.

I need a good long nap and to run this feeling away. I'm planning to go to the SAC and run on a treadmill with my music playing. Maybe a runner's high will trump the fact that it's cold and icky outside. We shall see.....

On the plus side, it's nearly lunch time! I'm getting hungry.... *rubs tummy and scolds stomach monster* quiet down in there!!!

Now is time to examine my good qualities. One of my professors is writing me a recommendation and I have to make him a list of what I would like to include in it. This means that I have to think of some qualities that make me a good worker. This may be difficult... I've never been awesome in the promoting myself department. We'll see....

Wedding planning is sure a lot of work. I can now understand why so many busy people hire someone to plan it for them. I am just hoping that we don't forget something important, because it is only one day and can't be done over. I have to admit though, it is kinda fun. I become more and more excited each day..although the honeymoon planning is decidedly more fun than the wedding day. I think that Matt and I have decided what to do and where we're going to stay. We just need to make reservations and that will be finished. Then we just hope for nice weather that week and it'll all be good. :) That's one major thing checked off the wedding planning list of things to do.

Lately I've been feeling really bummed out. I didn't understand what it was until I realized I was PMS-ing. Is it possible to become depressed as a PMS symptom? I know I get cramps and all that, but I don't know if temporary depression is included in that.... Today, strangely enough, I feel a whole lot better today (day 1 of uterine exfoliation) and that dark cloud following me around has dissipated. The sun shines once again.

Spring Break

Today is Sunday, my last day of my last spring break. I don't want to go back to school, but I know that I have only a month and a half left and I will have a degree (or I BETTER HAVE ONE). The vacation was wonderful. Let me tell you about it:

Wednesday 2/28: I took a few exams early so I could leave in the middle of the week. Niki took my work shift on Thursday. I drove to the airport with Meghan, Stefanie, Felicia, and Dan. We had dinner at Meghan's parents' house and then flew out. There was a thunderstorm on our flight there. It made for a pretty bumpy ride, but the light show was so cool :)

Thursday 3/1: Matt and I went out for breakfast at IHOP. I had a belgian waffle and it was everything I could've dreamed for. Man, I LOVE waffles!!! Then we went to Lowe's and found supplies for our shelf project. The walk-in closet is perfect for a long tall shelf, and we need as much space as possible for the two of us in our little apartment. Matt did all the cutting and assembly. I was in charge of painting. It was a nice day, so we did most of this outside.

Friday 3/2: Matt had to work so I went shopping in Edmond. I went to Annie's (which I absolutely love), a women's clothing resale shop. I bought a cute dress and a summery top. I also bought things at Old Navy and Goodwill. I made a list of things that I needed to get before I came to OK so I wouldn't get unnecessary things. I also made cookies: mint ones. Matt really liked them but I didn't. It was also my first shot at this recipe, so maybe I'll try them again sometime and they'll turn out better. We also went down to OKC Bricktown and had dinner with the meteorologists that I flew down with. It was a good time.

Saturday 3/3: I went to a thrift store and found a cheap dresser. I took it home and painted it red with some of the leftover paint from the shelves. It looks pretty cool. :) We had some people over that night too. Shana, Eric (her fiance), and Elliot came over. We played games and had some drinks. We also had dirt cake. YUM! :)

Sunday 3/4: Matt and I went to church and his RCIA class. I'm really impressed at how he's taking it all. He's getting to be a "better" Catholic than I am and I've been one all my life! We had the Pizza Hut lunch buffet and then he went to work. I went to the gym to workout and after work, Matt joined me there for some hot tubbing.

Monday 3/5: We went to Arcadia Lake today. The weather was beautiful, 70 and sunny. I wore shorts and a swim top and got a tan!!! We went hiking on the trail that goes partway around the lake. I enjoyed it a lot. We need to go hiking again in the fall when I'm there for good and it has cooled off. That night, Matt and I went to dinner with his coworkers. Nearly half of the people he works with showed up, so I learned everyone's name (which I will probably forget before I see them again), but it was nice to put a face with all the names.

Tuesday 3/6: Matt had the day off today too so we went to the movies. We saw Zodiac. This is the movie based on the Zodiac killer in San Francisco from the 70's. I had seen a segment about this on Unsolved Mysteries and always thought that it was cool. I thought the movie was very interesting, but I don't think Matt liked it as much. After the movie, we took a walk in the park.

Wednesday 3/7: We went for a long run, 6 miles or so. Then we went out to Chili's with Steve and his new girlfriend, Heather. I had fun. They were pretty good company and it would be fun to hang out with them again sometime.

Thursday 3/8: Matt and I had to pick up his food order in Guthrie. When we got in the car, we decided to go to Kansas. The map made it look like an hour or so....so we went. TWO hours later, we end up in Arkansas City, KS, a tiny hickish town for lunch. We ate at Daisy Mae's. It was a 60's diner, that seriously hadn't changed since the 60's (prolly the same waitresses too), but the food was pretty decent. It was kinda like B's Cafe in I.M. On the way home, we stopped to get the food in Guthrie. I like it a lot better than Edmond. It's the typical small town and was the original OK state capital so it has a bunch of cool buildings and a historic downtown. I know that in the summer they have a bunch of music festivals there too.

Friday 3/9: Final day in OK. I went to the gym again and ran 3 miles at a pretty relaxed pace. I can't wait to get started on my marathon training so I can take running seriously again, but I'm waiting on the spring weather right now. I got a rockin' tan today too! Matt and I spent a quiet evening at home and made our own seafood subs. They're delicious!

Saturday 3/10: I always hate leaving Matt. But there were other factors that made it for a terrible day that I will just list here:
1. sat next to a 350-lb man that overflowed onto my seat.
2. said man didn't smell good AT ALL
3. he snored too
4. neck cramp from sleeping funny because man was taking up my space
5. I arrived in DTW, but my baggage did not.
6. Meghan didn't want to go back to Mt P right away, so she took a 2 hr nap first while I sat up awkwardly with her parents.
7. bags still haven't arrived

Sunday 3/11: today: I just got a call from NWA and they have found my bags. I'll get them sometime between 2-6pm. Its a beautiful sunny day and supposed to be 50 today. I'm going to go run before the bag guy arrives. I don't want to miss him! I've waited long enough for them already!

TTFN