It's Been A Hard Day's Night....

Here at work for yet another weekend. It wouldn't be so bad except my back is killing me. How I would just love to be in bed right now!!

Lucky for me, things are getting better. Money is still tight but we have come so far! We even paid off his car on Thursday. It's making this week a little tight but it will make the months to come so much easier!

Since things have been better, I was told by the hubby that giving plasma was now optional. I could, however, choose to continue so we can see the aquarium that he's dying to see while we're in Atlanta. Seems like not much of a choice after all, more like another opportunity to take one for the team....on top of the overtime I've picked up and the osteoporosis study I did. Not to say that he hasn't done anything to contribute!!

We're leaving in a little over 2 weeks, I can't believe how fast it's come. I swear, we were just talking about how it would be nice to go and here it is right around the corner. It'll be so nice to see everyone!! I can't wait to see how his grandma likes the scrapbook we made for her. I'm pretty impressed if I can say so myself...not bad for our first time!

Halloween is almost here, I'm off that day for the first time since I graduated! Kinda sad it takes 5 years just to get a Halloween off!! Very happy about it though. I'll actually get to hand out candy and dress up if I choose to. I love having that option! : )

Well, I think it's all for now as my back is in misery. It might help if I walked around a bit until the Tylenol kicks in!

Happy fall and a happy halloween to all!!

'Tis The Season...

This is what adulthood is, being absolutely miserable at work and wanting to go home, but not doing it. I would kill for my bed right now and to have my cute hubby to baby me until I feel better. Why is life so unfair?

It all started out as allergies but I think it's settled into a lovely bronchitis-like thing. I've taken day-quil, benadryl, and claritin and not a bit of relief in sight....

I even got my flu shot last night, it's just not even fair!!

Maybe I'll feel better enough to quit whining! : )

Eurotrip!

We bought our tickets for Germany today! How nice to know that we are going, it isn't just a passing fancy.

The hubby had a dream last night that I showed up to the airport in my pajamas with my toothbrush hanging out of my mouth. He asked why I was dressed like that and I told him he forgot to buy my ticket. I then tore his ticket up and told him we were going home.

Whoa.

He was so careful this morning to get both tickets that it took twice as long as it should have. How funny is that?

We're going to Germany!!

I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone...

It's been quite a while since I've gotten a chance to update my wonderful readers! The only reason is that I've been busy and lazy. That's a dangerous combo. You always get less done than you think you did....

We are firmly settled in Indy, back home again! I have (mostly) slipped back into my old spot at work, sometimes it feels like I never left. Sometimes I know all to well that I left. Learning doesn't truly happen without mistakes, I'm the queen of learning the hard way!

We are very happy to be back, the amazingly adorable hubby even found a Monday-through-Friday job in insurance. They just happened to need a great customer service agent. They were also desperate for a German translator. They found a two for one with him! So far, so good.

Did I mention that when I came back, I was switched to the new hire position of every other weekend? Reread last paragraph. That means I'm working double the weekends I used to but he is off every weekend and never through the week.

Don't you just love that irony?

I can say that we are very happy though, life has settled into a nice little routine for us. Marriage suits us. It's just great to have someone so amazingly incredible!

I've been also neglecting this blog due to my numerous other projects that actually pay. Like giving plasma. Doing clinical trials. Writing a respiratory blog on pediatrics for a well respected healthcare magazine. WRITING A PAID BLOG FOR A RESPIRATORY MAGAZINE!!!!! I'm so overwhelmed and so grateful and so excited rolled up in one. I think in light of all that extra work I can be forgiven for taking a slight hiatus from this one.... : )

We are also going to Germany and Slovenia in November, as mentioned previously. I just get more excited as the time gets closer. It should be an absolute blast!

Due to hubby's skill at walking a financial tight-rope, we are likely a month away from getting out of debt and not being broke any more. It's so nice to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

All for now, this time I promise not to stay away so long! : )

New Life, New Job, New Gig

So much has happened! I started back at my new(old) job and I'm already mostly done with my orientation. What a huge difference between this and my last place! And what a difference it makes!

Life seems completely new and wonderful back to where we belong. This apartment is amazing. Things get fixed promptly, it's quiet, and the scenery is beautiful. You never miss your water until the well runs dry...

I am also starting a new gig, a blog writer for an online respiratory care magazine. I am totally excited and so happy that it is a paid position. I even wrote my first post today. It's now been polished to perfection and ready to send to my editor. I have to give them a head shot and some background info for my readers (readers, oh my god, I'm a bonafide writer who is getting paid for her work!!! I could just lose my mind!).

Apart from that momentary lapse of my brain, things are good and I intend for them to stay that way. (After all I am getting paid for my writing!).

Greener Pastures...Or Not?

Well, I've officially finished my first week at my new(old) job. You know what I've realized?

The grass is not always greener. In my case, the grass was Astroturf. It looked pretty at first until I got up close.

Not all was bad. Some of the people I've met will stay with me forever. But here's this for contrast in terms of the environment.

I worked all ICU at Job A. When we moved and I went to Job B, they kept telling me that I was going to be working ICUs, I just needed to wait a bit and it would happen. It never did. I worked 2 nights in the ICU that is not my preference because there was no one else qualified to do so. I did it with no real orientation, just someone to go to if I got into trouble.

I have now gone back to Job A and finished my first week. My general care orientation is done. I start my non-preferred ICU next week and then I'm going to my favorite one the week after. My entire orientation will be done in 3 weeks.

How's that for a difference?

I guess it goes to show that the pasture always looks greener...it just usually isn't the case.

Karaoke Revolution

I can say that I have discovered the single biggest time waster in the world.

As if Myspace would've taken top honors in that category, they've created Myspace Karaoke.

It's a chance for people to show off their singing prowess (or lack thereof). And I am shamed to say, I've fallen into this trap of counter-productivity.

I have 5 songs on the site, none of which sound any bit like I actually sing like. There's a huge library to choose from, all designed to suck you in and make you waste your time singing into the computer. People have impressive repertoires on this. I do not.

While my husband was giving it a whirl, I was reading my book on the couch and thinking how I could do all of those songs better. I sounded good while I was whispering the songs as he sang. Oh, what delusions. The second I plugged in the mic and got to it, I realized that I have no skill singing to a computer. He was actually running circles around what I could do. I can hold my own on a real karaoke stage with a responsive audience and a few shots of liquid courage (a.k.a. Jim Beam with a Coke backer), but I really suck when it comes to the online version. If you want to see how bad it can be, check out my site. I'm planning to lay down on the sacrificial altar of Myspace Karaoke for your personal entertainment. I can hear my husband laughing already.

http://kSolo.MySpace.com/serenastargazr

Isn't It Ironic?

Here's the scoop.

When we made the move to Louisville, I was excited. It seemed like a great chance to get away from all of the drama and ties to my home city. We could start over fresh and have a chance to make our mark in a way that didn't include our sometimes checkered pasts.

We found (what seemed like) a cute apartment in a cute area. I found a new job where they rolled out the red carpet for me. It seemed like a chance to make things the way that we wanted them.

Then things turned ugly. The wonderful apartment was a shabby result of the apartment complex's bait-and-switch. My new job was a disaster area and most of my co-workers would make Lucifer shout with glee at the chaos they created. I felt more lonely than the crazy cat lady.

You know what? I don't regret it though. It sucked, but we gained wonderful perspective. We adopted 2 Kentucky dogs that are badness incarnate, but are adorable and always make me laugh. I grew closer with my adorable husband over all of the adversities we faced. I learned that it is possible to turn an addiction to venti iced quad vanilla caramel non-fat lattes into a valid friendship with the baristas who put up with that obnoxious order.

So now, we're back. It feels great. I love knowing where in the hell I'm going, wandering to my mom's for 'coffee and porch time', seeing people who know me and love me. The intrigue that is swirling at my hospital here with everyone wondering if I'm truly coming back. Driving all over town and seeing my past self in those places.

My ex is pissed that we dared to come back and live within a 50 mile radius of him, but it kind of makes me laugh on the inside. Our mutual friends that gave up on me in favor of him are even starting to come back over to the dark side(talking to me, which he's forbidden). I'm so in love with my life now that I couldn't even imagine all of those crazy events not taking place. Had that all not happened, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I would have never started dating my incredibly wonderful (did I mention HOT?) husband! What a huge loss that would be!



It's so funny how things that seems so bad can turn out to be so great! Isn't it ironic?

Don't ya think?

A Rich Man's World

Money, money, money. Why does it rule our world? Why is every aspect of our lives so inexplicably tied up in pieces of paper? Why does it makes us feel better when we have it and feel so horribly when we don't?

I've been fighting with these issues lately. It seems that a lot of my feelings of self-worth are tied tightly into this money thing. I feel like nothing but scum when the bank account is negative and the bills are pouring in. Isn't that what this whole country is going through right now?

I knew we were in a recession long before our wonderful government finally admitted it. I also have a strong feeling that most people had it figured out before the Fed was willing to own up to it too. It seems like only the rich timed their acknowledgement of the situation with the government's.

It's hitting all of us. From the rich to the poor, we are all feeling the pinch of a country in turmoil. A woman I work with was just lamenting the fact that memberships at the country club that her property sits on was down significantly on memberships. This infuriated me, until I realized that this is her version of bad where mine is just different. It was bad for me when I had to borrow significant amounts of money from my mother. It was bad for me when we had to abandon our bank accounts for now because they were just too overdrawn. It was bad for me when we realized that we may not be able to make next month's rent on our new apartment. It was bad for me when I realized we can't pay any bills and may be lucky to be able to commute to work for the next 2 weeks. These are all bad things, but I still have faith. We have managed in the past and we will manage again. Just like so many other people who are struggling in tumultuous times.

I'm just thankful for all of the great things I have in my life. I have a great husband. I have 2 hysterically funny pets. My family may be dysfunctional in ways that a sitcom wouldn't touch but they're there and great. I may be commuting 2 hours to work, but I get to share the beautiful friendships that Louisville showed me. I have a wonderful friend who has been great from the start and has taken the time to get to know me and care, even though she's a busy Starbucks barista. I gained an incredible friend in between all the lattes!

In times like this, we are so tempted to think of what's going wrong. What's stressing us out. The prices going up and the incomes being squeezed. We tend to forget that we still have all of those wonderful, fundamental things that we need most. We mostly have all that we need, it's just overlooked and taken for granted. I am thankful for these amazing things and I'm resolving to not let the bad get me down when I have such good in my life.

Have faith all. We'll get through this, just as we have before.

Home Is No Longer A 4-Letter Word

We are all moved and back in the big city! We moved in on Wednesday and have mostly settled in. It's so nice to be living in a place that doesn't get my blood pressure up every time I think about it!

The night we left, we got a reply from the Better Business Bureau. The apartment complex had told them that they offered us the new apartment or a release from our lease. Had they given us that option, we would've been out of there ages before! Hubby fired back an e-mail letting the BBB know what scandalous liars out apartment complex was. When we returned the keys we left a letter telling them that since we weren't given a release option before(even though they told the Better Business Bureau that) we were taking it now and their business practices were shady at best. That's called poetic justice!

I think that this very blog is feeding the rumor mill at my hospital of former employment. I keep getting calls asking if the rumors that I'm coming back are true. I won't say on here one way or another, but just wait and see! For all of those who know the truth, keep it a surprise for me OK?

It's so good to be back, even if I'll have to commute for the next few weeks. We are thoroughly enjoying being back in our home city! The dogs are settling in nicely and we are happy to be in a city that we actually know people.





I do have to give a shout-out to my Hikes Point Starbucks crew, especially Molly and Jaye. You guys made these past 6 months livable!! Thanks for keeping me caffinated and happy! I'm going to miss you guys like crazy....


Things are getting back to where they should be. It's about time that home is not a 4-letter word anymore!

Check out my friend, she has the most amazing voice ever!!
www.myspace.com/mollymichellew

Running For Cover

Welcome to our latest installment! I write this on the eve of our move back to the big city. We decided(when the water in the bathtub started coming out brown and the deadbolt fell off of the door) that it was time to cut our losses and go back. This involves a highly bad act on our part, breaking our lease.

Our apartment situation has been less than ideal. It has been an unlivable nightmare, all while pushing us further into debt with the exorbitant amount of rent and gas. We have tried reasoning with the complex (the assistant manager rolled her eyes and said, "Aren't you people ever happy?") and writing complaints to the Better Business Bureau (which they closed due to no response from the apartment management). Enough is enough and we just want to go home. We found a nice 2 bedroom townhouse back home with gas heat and water included. Somehow I just think it's worth it to break the lease and go back.

I'm also trying to remedy the less-than-ideal job situation. I spoke to my ex-boss who had me fill out an application and it looks like I'll be hired back to start July 7th. I'll only have to commute for a few weeks.

I'll keep you posted on the move. Let's just hope that everything works out and a big check arrives in my hand tomorrow!

Homeward Bound

So I just got back from a visit to my friends and family back home again in Indiana. I learned that you can never truly estimate how amazing people are until you've hit rock bottom and they pull you out of your misery.

I wanted to go for a visit and everything was cool until a bill popped up out of left field and left us very broke. I told everyone that it wasn't possible to go since the hubby had to pack his suitcase with potpies and ramen noodles just to have food for his trip. My mom upped the ante by telling me that she would pay for my gas and the dog kennel. I went up yesterday morning and it seemed like all was well.

Until the car insurance. It didn't even occur to me to remember that the car insurance was being debited. After the $100 check my mom gave me, I only had $12 left in my account. Panic set it, I knew that I couldn't make it home with no money and no gas, nor could I pick the dogs up from the kennel. I did what any sensible adult would do, I started bawling. My sister must have either felt bad or gotten tired of it really quick because she offered to spot me another $100. It all worked out and I had a great time. Got to see my mom and sister, who was in from California. Got to hang with the mutual best friend that just got back from China. Got to have a evening of fun with Stephanie, who came through for me again even though I never have a chance to come through for her because she has everything totally together. Got a home-cooked Mommy meal.

As an added bonus, we saved another 4-legged life and adopted a beagle/basset mix we call Koby. Him and Kylie are now great friends and our silly little Kylie has stopped biting us and peeing on the floor. Had no clue that she just needed a friend. I guess that's the lesson I've learned lately, we all need a damn good friend. I'm just happy that she found her's now. I know who mine are!

If You're Gonna Do It, Do It Right

So it's the first day post-birthday and I can say it turned out better than I anticipated. All of that moping for nothing!

My friend Stephanie came down with her daughter and mom and our mutual friend Melanie. We set out for Kentucky Kingdom like it was our job. After getting very lost (thanks to my huge lack of directional sense!) we made it. Not an easy feat after no sleep from working night shift, but I had my coffee and we were ready!

We rode rollercoasters and ate crappy park food and generally acted like fools. It was just what I needed to pull me out of my "I'm turning 27 and think that things are gonna suck" funk. I have some of the funniest pictures and I have some more on the way. We got sunburned. Steph's daughter and I rode the Deluge twice, a water coaster that left us soaked for almost the whole day. We danced around the park and laughed like we were crazy. We all crammed into a photo booth and took goofy pictures that remind me of being a kid. We left exhausted and burned, but better and happier people. Especially me. Now why was I hating 27 so much? After all it didn't start half badly.

I had a hysterically funny string of calls from my poor hubby who decided to conquer the Bourbon Street while in New Orleans, complete with picture and voice messages, when the Hurricanes began to conquer him. I was jealous at first, but I did have a great time and he deserved it. We both needed a little fun in our lives, it was well deserved on both parts.

If this is how 27 starts, I might be in for a fun, wild ride.

27 Candles

My birthday is 2 days away and I'm a little glum at the thought of 27 candles. Especially since I'll be technically turning 27 while I'm at work and coming home to an empty house.

My husband is on another trip, but here's the kicker: He'll be spending my birthday in New Orleans. He gets in a 10 AM and gets to hang out until the next morning. He's super excited for this, but I'm bummed because it seems like everyone will be having a better time on my birthday than me. How sad is that, aren't birthdays supposed to lose importance once you get older? I'm worse than a kid in that respect. I want every one to be a magical and wonderful day for me alone.

Maybe I'll go home to the bigger city and hang with my mom and friends. It's better than sitting around here alone.

Alone Again, Naturally

I have come to a strong realization:I am really poor company.

This is my 3rd night in a row all by my lonesome and I've realized that the dog is way more fun than I am. She has no problem being alone, just curls up in her crate and gets her nap on. I, on the other hand, am a different story.

I have watched an endless amount of TV.

I've packed in more naps than a 90 year old.

I'm pretty sure that I have surfed every inch of the internet.

My counters are way cleaner than they should be.

I beat my LOST Playstation game and was tempted just to start over again.

The baristas at Starbucks are wanting to be friends because I'm there so much.

All of this amounts up to the fact that I am a terrible alone person. My husband has no problems with this. He's usually totally content to soak in an endless stream of TV and Playstation 3 and it all makes him so much the happier. So why do I have such problems with the same thing?

The truth is, I have never been alone. Never lived on my own, never been single in my adult life, only living in my 2nd apartment ever. That is the sad fact. In these days where Sex and the City rules the world, my life story would make those girls cry in outrage. Here's the scoop.

I lived with my mom until I started making enough money at my post-college real job to move out with my high school sweetheart. We lived in an apartment for a year and then bought a house with the intention of domestication. A few years (of no seperation whatsoever) after I realized that my high-school sweetheart (and myself for that matter) was no sweetheart, just nothing but a greedy, possessive jerk. I ran into the arms of a sweet-talking con man who wanted to have his cake (me) and eat it too(his girlfriend). As I was disentangling myself from those two, I met the love of my life, my future husband. I moved straight from the ex-sweetheart's to my new husband's house where we lived until we moved here to Hillbilly City. In the course of all that mess, I had maybe a week single, but not alone. My wonderful hubby left his job in cable sales to pursue the job of his dreams. The only thing is that he's gone for 2-4 days at a time. This would be nothing to your average fearless woman, but this I am not. I am an emotional, silly little girl dressed up as an adult. The saddest thing is that I truly want to be that fearless independant woman, I'm just too damn lazy. I've become very comfortable with the DVR and walks around the complex with Kylie. I just miss him so freaking much when he's gone, he really is my better half. It's as if he packs up all of my sunshine and takes it with him in those oh-so-snazzy airline bags. There's just something so right about the two of us together.





At least while he's gone I have my girls at Starbucks. They draw hearts in caramel drizzle on the top of my lattes so I don't feel so lonely. Plus, the DVR's filling up with Golden Girls and The Dog Whisperer episodes that I'm dying to see.

Money, Money, Money

Hallelujah, the IRA check came in! That means no suspension of Starbucks privileges! Kylie and I got a latte to celebrate.

I got a call from my mom asking me to come for a visit in honor of Mother's Day. I wanted to be the good daughter and go but it was not smart considering gas just topped $126 a barrel. I hated to break it to her, but the gas prices put that trip out of my mind. Sure, the IRA check came in, but after all that was owed, there was a measley $100 left over until my dreamy hubby and I get paid. The trip will just have to wait. My mom understands. She's been living in Broke-As-A-Joke-Land for many years also.

Damn a Bush economy! Don't get me started on that subject.....

How to Live Broke, Married, and In A Bush Economy

Here's the next promised installment! How is it possible to live completely broke, with a husband who has to rely on his debit card to eat while on the road, and when gas is $123 a barrel?

The truth is, I don't really know.

We've been scraping by. I cleaned out my IRA over the past 6 months. I'm praying that this last check arrives soon so we can pay the last $110 in rent that the complex surprised us with. Things would be even better if our economic stimulus money would get here soon, even though my husband has now earmarked that for our tickets in November to Slovenia for his grandmother's 70th birthday. We only pay taxes on international flights but he has decided that we should buy tickets for full price to guarantee our seat. This is totally understandable, but the fact remains that we are still BROKE. Completely, flat broke. My thought is that we should just fly standby and hope for the best because we can't afford anything else. I am drinking his Diet Coke right now because I feel like it would be too big of a luxury to get a 12 pack of Mountain Dew.

Gas just hit $3.86 in areas around our location of Suburbia. I have great fears for my birthday(May 18th) because I want him to do something fab but not expensive. I'm starting to think that a pack of cigs might just be over the budget.

I have huge reservations about this birthday. 26 seemed still youthful, but 27 just seems old. I guess that I just want to be reassured that 27 is still young and wonderful. And, of course, wonderful enough for my 24 year old husband!

It looks like we'll be moving in December, likely back to where we came from. We had big plans for moving to Texas to be in warm all the time and live near a beach. I don't think this will come to fruition as my husband surprised me with wanting to move back home. It makes sense, we want to start a family and buy a house and all that good stuff, but it almost feels like crawling back. I have 2 sisters who moved away and (mostly) haven't come back to live. I guess on a bright note I can go back to the soap opera hospital and leave the Hospital of Hell!

Let's just hope that money starts rolling in soon, if not, I might have to give up my Starbucks addiction. That seems like a fate worse than death....

Life as I know it

So this is adult life round one.





I've gotten married, moved to a new city, started a new job, and adopted a puppy. Am I missing anything else that should qualify me for adulthood? I'll say no but it still feels like I'm unprepared.

Let's start with the husband. He's amazing, intelligent, really the man-of-my-dreams, couldn't-have-invented-him-better type. Here's the catch: He's a working/traveling man who is home less often than a millionaire trying really hard to impress a new woman. As luck would have it, I seem to always have to work when he's actually home. This increases my call-in rate by a million percent. I can't ask him to settle down career-wise because he simply loves this job and I just want him to be happy. Him being gone so much makes me loony-tunes, but he really does love it and a good wife never asks for more than she really wants to handle. The new city thing doesn't help any because I don't know a soul and I'm too lazy to undertake the "let's make friends" role just yet. I'm happy if I have enough energy to hit up Starbucks and plop in front of the TV.


The new job was going to be the deal maker, or so I thought. My last job was a drama-ridden hospital that could compete with the best of daytime television. I thought that anywhere else simply had to be better by comparison. The process started wonderfully and my rose-colored glasses stayed on until a few weeks after I started my new position. Then I started to realize how hateful these people were! They would make Joan Crawford look like a Girl Scout. Never have I seen so many manipulative, backstabbing people in one place. If my last job was a soap opera, this one is definitely a horror movie. One that goes on and on three nights a week without fail (unless I call in, hehehehe).

The puppy is adorable but has a nasty habit of biting me and peeing on the rug. If the Dog Whisperer is out there, we need help! I've really tried to absorb as much as I can watching his show, but Kylie is a resistant type of beagle who would fall before no one less than Cesar Millan in the flesh.

I guess this is all for now, stay tuned for my next episode entitled "How to Live Broke, Married, and In A Bush Economy". Should be good times for all!