License!

I checked my status online yesterday and it says that I've been given my license!!!! It is a big relief because now the only thing that stands between me and a job is time! I am filling out applications for substitute teaching and continuously checking websites to find available jobs. I am excited to have a source of income, it has been far too long!!!!

I also got a new harness for Samson. It has been very trying to take him for walks because he is so interested in everything that he pulls at the leash constantly. I finally had enough. He is almost 20 pounds and he was actually starting to hurt me. The harness that I got him goes around his front legs and attaches to the leash in front of his chest. I was very skeptical that a harness could change his walking, but I was amazed at what a difference it really made. He walks so well!!! I am really proud of him. He has difficulty getting out of the car because of how high it is, so when you open the back door he will attempt to jump out and then back up. I put my arm down, lean towards him and say "help" and he will wrap his leg around my arm and wait to be picked up. It is the cutest thing that he is currently doing!!!

J's dad came over today and brought someone to help clean out the gutters. He is also going to put in a run for Samson in the front yard so he doesn't get tied around the tree. I absolutely love my office furniture! It has created a separation between the living room and the computer. We used to sit and surf the web and watch tv so often, it was like a rut! Now I actually have to go to the office to be on the computer, and it's definitely cut down on the amount of tv time we've had!

I made chili for dinner tonight...it was delicious! I'm so excited to have leftovers for tomorrow and maybe even to give J some for lunch on Saturday!!!!!

This is a post that one of my friends does every week, and I really liked the topic this week, and thought it would be a fun way to keep up with my blogging! Enjoy!!

1. Thank You For Loving Me Bon Jovi -This is our wedding song, and I absolutely love it. I feel like even though J and I have difficulties at times, we both know that deep down we love each dearly. Oh, and I'm obsessed with Bon Jovi...so you knew this had to be one of my picks!!!!



2. The Boys of Fall Kenny Chesney- This song is currently the ringtone on my phone. I love the song, but it makes me think of my brother every time I hear it. I couldn't be more proud of his accomplishments as a football player, and just overall as a person!

Road Trip!

Samson and I went on a trip to CT this past week. We left at 4:30 Thursday morning and surprised my family with a visit. My (not so) little brother started high school this year and he made the varsity football team. I am so proud of him, words can't even express it, and I really wanted to be there for his first home game against our rivals Naugatuck (boooo!!!). Unfortunately we lost, but it didn't really matter because I got to see my brother in a THS football uniform out on the field during the third quarter!

My weekend was full of football, cheerleading and a trip to the Big E! I was really feeling bummed that everyone I knew seemed to be going, and since I am not currently working (booo) I felt like now was the perfect time for a visit. I wish I could have stayed longer and visited with everyone that I miss so dearly, but I really was there for the reason of seeing my brother and sister.

I also found out Friday night that one of my dearest friends is getting married. I am really excited for her, she is such a great person and she has truly found a very loving man. I look back at all of the drama that we experienced in college...we were both madly in love with boys that shared the same first name...and I think we both thought we would end up married to those boys. I hope that I can be supportive of her during this time and offer her tips and advice that will benefit her. When it comes down to it, I am just so excited for her-- she really is blessed!!!!

Office furniture finally arrived!!!! I have been waiting for what seems like forever for it to come, but here it is! I am sitting in my new chair, at my new desks typing on the computer. Now I can work on organizing all of my old school stuff, the 13+ boxes of books in my garage, and I can buy one of the wall organizers that I've been obsessing over at OfficeMax! Having furniture in another room is definitely helping this place to feel like home!

I need advice...Mother-In-Law suggested/asked J if I wanted to have Thanksgiving at our house. She said it would make it possible for Grandma & Grandpa to come to dinner, and that J's brother could do the cooking. I have a couple issues with this...1) I don't have a dining room table. Or really any table(s) that can accommodate 8 or more people. 2) I feel pressured to have it here because I really enjoy spending time with Grandma & Grandpa. 3) I took offense to the notion that J's brother could do the cooking...as if I wasn't capable of hosting AND cooking...I understand that he works as a short order cook at a bar and grille, but I am completely capable of cooking Thanksgiving dinner!

What do I do??

Eat, Pray, Love!

Yesterday J had to go to Columbus for work, but he got to drive down by himself, so I went with him. He had meetings from 10-3 so I went to Polaris and shopped. After walking around the mall for a little while I went to the movies and saw Eat.Pray.Love. It was really good! I can see why it didn't get the best reviews, but it kind of spoke to me. I was the ONLY person in the entire theater. That's right, not just at my movie, but at ANY movie. So I sat dead center, put my feet up and didn't feel bad about texting a few times.

The movie made me realize that I've been really worried about what a lot of other people have, want, and do...and I haven't been finding out what I really want. This is especially important now that I am 700 miles away from my friends and family. It also helped me remember that one of the happiest times in my life was when I was regularly attending church. There is a Catholic church right down the street but J and I haven't gone even once since we moved in. I think I really am going to make a point of going this weekend. Besides helping strengthen our relationship, it could also help us meet some people that live in our area.

Why Hello Again...!

I haven't psted in over a month because every time I think about blogging I feel like I'm just going to think of the negative things that are going on. So I have decided to dedicate this blog to the positive things...and I will think of some if it kills me...and hopefully feel a little better about what's going on in my life!

1. Samson- Samson is really growing, he is already 16 pounds!!! He was 4 pounds when we got him, and he continues to make so much progress every day. He has been in puppy class for 4 weeks now, so he is half way to graduation. I wouldn't say that he has mastered any of his tricks yet, but he does very well with look, touch, sit, leave it and down. Stay is the next trick we will be working on!


2. Weather- The weather has cooled off and it is now GORGEOUS almost every day. I am really looking forward to doing some fun fall activities. I even went to Marshall's and looked at Halloween/Fall decor for the house...I can't wait to make the house look spooktacular! (ok, I know that was lame...but it is what it is!)


3. Wildlife- I love animals, any kind of animal. I hung a bird feeder outside the living room window and after waiting a week and watching birds turn a blind eye to my feeder they are FINALLY eating birdseed on a regular basis. I have also seen a number of black squirrels in the yard, very cool! I want to feed them but J isn't overly excited about that. Just this morning I had my first deer sighting. There were three deer- mom, dad and baby- walking through the front yard, around the side of the house and into the back yard! I was so excited that I called J at work.


I really am going to try and blog more. I have the time, I just keep putting it off!

Update!

So it has been over a week since my last post...here's a recap of what has happened!!

1. My birthday- We had a great day, we went to the Ohio State Fair (much like the Big E for you New Englanders!) and had a really nice time...there was tons of food (but a lack of baked potatoes) and I even tried chocolate covered bacon (I did NOT like it, but J did). Samson stayed home and didn't have an accident all day- we were very proud! We went to dinner and had a nice grown up conversation...it was a good day!

2. First roses & dinner- We made our first real dinner (spaghetti, meatballs and sausage with garlic bread and brownies) and J brought me roses! It was exciting to have a real meal!!

3. Social security card came in the mail, we opened a bank account, and attempted to get Ohio driver's licenses. Unfortunately, you have to take a written test (WHAT?!?!) to get a license in Ohio, even if you are already licensed in another state. We got books (am I 16 again?!) and will be studying this weekend for our written test.

4. We bought a grill! The grill came in on Wednesday and we picked it up Thursday. We put the grill together all by ourselves and didn't get in a fight once! (Back story- my parents never put things together together because it always ends poorly, so I was really proud of us!!!) The gas guy is coming out on Tuesday to hook the grill up to the natural gas line, I'm ambitious but I don't want to blow the house up!

5. Job hunt- I don't have a job because I don't have a license (driver or teacher) but J had an interview on Friday. I went with him because his navigation skills aren't the best, and waited in the car. 2 hours later he finally returned after meeting with three different people, including the VP of finance. They called him later that same day and offered him the job. I am SO proud of him!!!!!

6. Medina County Fair- We got the call about the job as we were on our way to the fair so we celebrated by going to the demolition derby. It was so fun- after we walked around and looked at all the animal barns (TONS of horses!!!!) we went to the derby for a few hours and enjoyed the show and the people watching!!

7. Auction- I went to my first estate auction (basically everything that is inside a house put on the lawn and auctioned off) yesterday. J was so excited, and I thought it was going to be LAME, but we ended up buying a bench for the yard, a box of ceramic cookie jars, pitchers, etc., a collection of random yard tools, a round game table (it has a checker board on the top) and a professional grade milkshake maker. We made milkshakes after dinner last night- delicious, even better than Richardson's!

8. First Ohio animal rescue- So in the past I have been known to have a soft spot for animals...I rescued a snapping turtle (that tried to bite me...a lot) from a roadway last fall on our way to the apple orchard, and I rescued a Canada Goose at a park during a school field trip over the summer. Yesterday on our way back from FINALLY buying a mattress for the bed that we bought in April...(we've been sleeping on an air mattress...) I saw a basset hound almost get hit on the main road in the town we live in. I pulled over, much to J's dismay, got out of the car and noticed that there wasn't one, but two dogs running through traffic. I stopped traffic in both directions, called the dogs to me and lifted the basset hound into the back of my car. The St. Bernard had to jump by herself...she was HUGE and there was no way I was going to try and lift her. J was horrified, and become even more so when he called the police and found out that animal control doesn't operate on the weekend. The dogs would have to stay with us until Monday at 10a.m. We brought them home, gave them water and decided to go back to the neighborhood we found them at. The neighborhood is actually a small community of very large, very beautiful houses, owned by (assumingly) wealthy people. We went to the first house and three curly haired girls got their parents, who assured me that they did not know either of the dogs, and that they didn't belong to any of the neighbors. We headed across the street to a more "Ohio" type neighborhood...(much less manicured and fancy) and the lady who answered the door of the first house (in her pjs) informed me that the dogs often get out and belong to the neighbor. After attempting to contact the neighbor(no one answered the door) I left a note with my number and a promise to keep the dogs until Monday morning. The owner called me an hour later and came to get Banana (basset hound) and Bailey (st. bernard). It was such a crazy day....I was so exhausted last night!

Today is Sunday...a lazy day. I'm waiting until Tuesday (after the grill is successfully installed) to go grocery shopping because I want some fresh meat for grilling (can't express my level of excitement!) but we are going to see Grandma & Grandpa tonight. Samson ate J's favorite pair of summer shoes so we will inevitably have to replace those. I have caught some bug...and I hyper-extended my thumb earlier this week (no health insurance means I'm out of luck..) so hopefully I can rest and recuperate before jumping into Monday!

Name Changed...Officially Mrs. F!

We went to the social security administration today and I filled out the paperwork to change my name! I was a little sad because I've had my name for 23 years...and now it is different! After that we went and bought a new gas grill for the patio. I got a very generous gift from my parents for the wedding and we used part of that to get a new grill, it comes next Wednesday and I can't wait to start grilling!!!

I promised that I would put up pictures of Samson as soon as I could and I got a couple of them from my iPhone!

We bought a hammock the other day and put it in the front yard. Samson was exhausted from our efforts...so he dug a hole and took a nap under the hammock.

We bought a dog bed for a XL dog....Samson is no where near XL, but someday he will be!!
My husband (ahhh!!!) and my puppy love! Look how tiny he is!