Busy busy busy!

Um, so yeah it's been a REALLY long time since I've posted anything. I'm pretty much just not into blogging anymore....

Things have been crazy busy lately. 35 days till the wedding! Things are really coming together. There is still a lot to do but I'm getting nervous and excited! We booked our honeymoon this week-we are going to beautiful St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands! I can't wait to hang out on the beach, and do fun things, and just spend one on one time with Nick!

Tonight I'm going over to Becky's and we are going to hang out and do some drinking since she didn't get to go to my bachelorette party.

That's pretty much it. Wedding planning is consuming my life.....:)

So I pretty much don't have any free weekends for the next 2 months. Just thought I'd put my schedule up in case anyone was wanting to do anything with me lol...

7/7--Bloomington for a big race and Nick has to work
7/14--Bloomington for Julia's wedding
7/21--FREE (as of now!)
7/28--Bloomington for Traci's graduation party
8/4--Bloomington to pick out cake and put together invitations
8/11--FREE (as of now!)
8/18--Charleston for Nick's bday celebration and family reunion
8/25--Bachelorette party!!!!
9/1--Bloomington for Suzanne's wedding

After that it will be time to crack down on wedding stuff. I'm guess showers and meetings will be happening almost every weekend until October 13th....ugh!

But I think we figured out what to do for our honeymoon. I think we are just going to do a road trip out West for a week. Then next year once we get our passports we will go somwhere tropical or to Mexico or something.

So, um yeah if you want to get ahold of me in the next few months....fat chance!! :)

Future

I have been thinking a lot about the future lately. There is so much I want to do in my lifetime and I feel like I need to make a list, because I am a list maker! I have about 10 different lists and spreadsheets I have made at work.

So here's the start to my life list:

1. Get married-almost there! :)
2. Buy a house-not even close
3. Go to Europe-not even close
4. Have a child-definetly not close
5. Get my masters-I think I am going to go back to school next summer and work on this goal...it'll be tough working full time and going back to school but I really want to do it!
6. Get my PhD-no idea if this will ever happen, but I would like to eventually teach a couple college courses so maybe this will be something I'll do in my 30s or 40s.
7. Take a road trip out West
8. Get new living room furniture-could be next year?
9. Get a nice bedroom furniture set-next year?
10. Visit New York City
11. Visit Mexico
12. Get lasic eye surgery
13. Go to a bed and breakfast
14. Go to a movie by myself
15. Meet Justin Timberlake-ha yeah right!

Bad customer service

I am reccommending no one ever buy anything from chocolatefantasies.com

For one they rip you off on shipping, and two they are shitty to you when you call them out on it.

See the following emails:

First email (me to them after placing an order)
To whom it may concern,
I just placed an order with you and thought I was only being charged $12 shipping. After placing the order I read the message that the shipping rates have changed and I was charged $18.50. I'm not very happy about this-I would have picked a different shipping method or ordered from somewhere else, had I known this.As I need the item for my friend's bacheloretty party this weekend I am not going to cancel the order.But I thought you should know that you should state that the shipping rates have changed on the actual order screen-it's not good customer service and you are basically ripping people off.I will not be ordering from you again.


Second email (reply to first email)
Dear Kristen,
Then please pick a different shipping method because the drop down menu for shipping selection says ADDS 12.00 to standard rate. Email us back with your new shipping selection after you review our shipping link that is posted on every single web page of ours http://chocolatefantasies.com/shipping.htm Or simply let us know if you'd like to cancel. At no time do we rip people off. Our shipping terms are very clear. Make another mock order to verify what you missed or did not read.

I realized I made a mistake and decided not to cancel the order...although I still was not happy about paying more in shipping than what the item originally costs.

They did not give me even time to respond and tell them i wasn't going to cancel before sending the next email:
Hi Kristin,
Since we haven't heard back from you, we're cancelling your order.
Any time you order from a company, read the shipping page and return policy page before you check out. It was plainly written in the drop down menu that the shipping charge would be 12.00 added to the standard shipping rate, all you have to do is a little math or go to the shipping page.
Good luck with your bachelorette party. Hope it's less stressful than ordering on line.

HOW RUDE!

So I sent them back:
I was not going to cancel the order. I went back to the website and looked at the shipping page and saw that I misunderstood the terms. I was in a hurry and obviously did not read thouroughly. However after this email go ahead and cancel the order. I don't want to order from a company who degrades their customers: "all you have to do is a little math". I apologize for the previous email and see that I was wrong, but you are also wrong to speak to me like that. You definetly could have been a bit nicer. I will take my business somewhere else.

And then I get this back:
Sorry you're so sensitive, Kristen. No degradation, harm or malice was meant, just responding to your first harsh email to us.
Have a good party, if you can.

WTF!!! How in the world is that good customer service. I don't care how rude a customer is-you never talk to them like shit. I even apologized and said I'd made a mistake and yet still they degraded me. Screw you guys! I will tell everyone I know never to order from you again...I hope you go bankrupt!

I totally just reported them to the Better Business Bureau....nothing will probably happen. But oh well...it made me feel a little better!

Boredom

So I am sitting at work right now about to go insane from boredom. I have things I can do, they are just boring and not that important. I've learned that that is how HR is....one week you will be crazy busy with meeting after meeting and project after project. The next week you don't have anything to do.

I haven't really been updating much lately because basically there is nothing new to tell. I go to work, come home and eat dinner, watch a movie off our Netflix list, and then go to bed.

Wedding stuff is coming along....we have our cake place, we are working on the invitations and flowers and decorations. We got my wedding band this past weekend...I was having such a problem finding one that goes with my engagement ring because it is a three stone. But I finally found one and it's beautiful! I can't wait till I'm able to wear it! Nick is being picky about his band...I think he'll just end up with a cheap plain one. He just doesnt seem to care too much about the ones with designs or diamonds. Boys......

Memorial Day

Finally Nick and I have had a nice weekend where we aren't running all over the place! Yesterday bought a cute little patio furniture set and some flowers for our front porch. (See picture above!) We sat outside all day yesterday and even ate dinner out there. I'm hoping it warms up pretty soon because there are 3 pools at our apt. complex and I want to start swimming laps. My back has been hurting a lot lately, and swimming has always seemed to help loosen me up and strengthen my muscles better than anything else I've tried.

Saturday Mom and Amy came with me to get my dress. It was the right one and it looks absolutley perfect! I picked out my veil and headpiece as well. Now all I need are shoes. My mom also found her dress-she was very excited she found it so early-it looks really good on her! We still have ALOT to do for the wedding, but my mom has been a HUGE help! She is making all the bouquets, invitations, and centerpeices. Plus we are going to decorate the reception hall with tulleing and lights ourselves because we'd rather not pay $300 bucks for other people to do it. The wedding industry is the biggest rip off ever-so we are saving so much money by doing most of this stuff ourselves!

We got our engagement pictures taken a couple weeks ago-they turned out really well. When we get them back I will try and put a couple up.

A sad day...

It is a sad day today....I just watched the series finalie of Gilmore Girls. :(
Although it probably was time for the show to end, I still will miss watching the adventures of Lorelai and Rory every Tuesday night.....

In other news, we got our engagement pictures taken last weekend. They turned out pretty good-some of them we look really crappy in, and others we look pretty damn good!

Work is going well...we are so busy right now. It seems like every day I get more piles of stuff on my desk, and more meetings are scheduled.

This weekend we are going down to Charleston for a cookout/bags tournament with some of Nick's friends. We practiced a little this past weekend and we aren't that good lol. My guess is we'll be out the first round-but it will still be fun!

We finally got rid of our apartment in Indiana so we aren't poor anymore! We are concentrating on paying off some of our debt for awhile, and then we are going to save up some for the wedding and maybe even a honeymoon! It's so nice not having to stress out about money as much anymore-we can go out to eat every once in awhile and not worry that we shouldn't be spending money.

That's pretty much all I've got for now. Don't really have much time to update this thing anymore...being a grown up takes up too much time! :)

The first wedding dilema.....

Apparently in every wedding, there are usually some sort of fiacscos and problems. Well, I have just come upon my first.

Yesterday Kasie rode all the way to Indiana with me to pick up my wedding dress. They had called a couple weeks ago and said my dress was in. We were so excited! My mom and Kari were supposed to come with, but mom was sick and didn't want to drive all that way. So we walk into the place, they go get my dress and bring it to me, I look at the dress, and IT IS NOT THE DRESS I ORDERED!!!!!!!!!!! So, naturally, I am starting to freak out a little bit. So this bitch of a manager comes over and the first thing she says to me is "Ok, now don't freak out, don't cry." Screw you lady-you guys ordered the wrong dress for me-I will freak out if I want to! So anyway, she eventually found my actual dress after I explained it to her. And she said they would reorder it. So I have no idea how long it will take, and who knows if they will order the wrong dress again! The lady was a total bitch to me and Kasie. She never once apologized and she snapped at Kasie several times. She made it sound like it was my fault, because that was the dress I had signed for. Well how the hell am I supposed to know the style numbers...I expect the employee to write down the right number!

Anyway, I am still super pissed about this. I just hope everything works out with it. :/

Update

I started my new job on Monday and it's great! The people are great, the work is fun and I get to learn so much. I still need to get used to the whole commuting thing and get used to a routine though.

Here are a few reasons life is good:

• My legs and ass are getting in shape from walking 2 miles every day ;)
• I am making money and doing something I enjoy
• I get to come home to the greatest guy every night
• My wedding dress came in and I get to go pick it up in 2 weeks
• I get to go hang out and drink with people tonight for Becky's birthday party
• I get to be amazed by the city of Chicago every day
• I get to clean the apartment today (yes I am excited about that!)
• Sanjaya is FINALLY off of American Idol!

On a sad note, my prayers and thoughts are with all the victims of the VA Tech shooting. I can't imagine going through something like that. It is amazing how truly angry some people can get and what lengths they will go to to get revenge. :(

Excitement

Well tomorrow is my first day at the new job! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I think I'm most nervous about commuting on the train every day.

I think Nick and I have decided to sell his truck, and then he will drive my car. He will just drop me off at the train station every day, and hopefully will be able to pick me up. If he can't, there is a bus I can take right to my apartment. We are going to save a lot of money this way! We won't have any payments on cars, save so much money on gas, and pay a lot less in insurance!

Not much else is going on. Yesterday we drove to Charleston to see about trading his truck in for a car, but they would only give us $3000 for trade in, and the truck is worth a lot more than that! So he's listing it on EBAY so we can hopefully actually make some money on it!

Guess I will write more when I have the chance!

WTF Mother Nature?????

Everyone note the date today...April 11, 2007. The first day of Spring was almost a month ago. Yet, this morning I wake up to this:





What the hell mother nature? WHERE IS SPRING???????????????

Hooray!

Well after almost a year of searching for the right job I have finally found it! Yesterday I finally got the job offer I have been praying for! I will now be an employee of Gateway Foundation as an HR Assistant. The job is absolutely perfect for me-it's what I have wanted to do since I was in school. The people are great, and there is so much learning and growth opportunity for me to take advantage of. I have to go take a drug test today, and I guess they have to check my references and do a background check before I can offically have the job-but I dont see any problems with those things. I start the 16th so I have a week and a half to prepare and figure out the train schedule and everything since the office is in downtown Chicago.

On another note, American Idol is really starting to get on my nerves. Everyone keeps publicizing this Sanjaya thing and they are pretty much telling people to vote for him. It's really sad-they are basically ruining very talented people's chances here. People like Lakisha and Melinda who can actually sing may very well be in danger of voted off because idots out there are voting for the worst person as a joke. Last night I voted for everyone but him, Haley, and Phil as many times as I could because I think those three are the worst. That's how it is supposed to work people!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, I am 23 years old today....it's like after your 21st birthday then you dont want to have anymore. Nick and I went to Colfax and Bloomington this weekend. Friday night we got to hang out with Julia, Clint, and Cole. Saturday we went and saw Claire and Christy and then met some people at Times Past for drinks.

I've been on three interviews for the HR Assistant position now. Obviously they like me-I wish they would just offer me the job! I should have a second interview for an Admin. Assistant position this week. I would rather have the HR job because it's what I have wanted to do throughout school. I think Nick wants me to tak the Admin job because it's more money and closer. I just really feel like the HR job is a great fit for me though. Its only $3,000 less and they have good benefits. But I guess we will see what happens. I may have to make a decision between two jobs within the next couple weeks!

New city

Well it's been like three days since we moved to Woodridge. So far I have discovered that having ComCast is a pain in the ass because we can never seem to have cable, phone, and internet all working at the same time. Hopefully someone will actually show up and fix it today. I have also discovered that I despise geese more than anything. They roam around here because there is a pond and trees and everything and they scare the shit out of me. I'm afraid to piss one off accidentally because those suckers are mean!

Tomorrow I have a second interview set up at this place in Chicago. The first interview went super well and I really think I have a good shot at this job. It's an HR Assistant and there is tons of growth and learning opportunity which is something I am really looking for. The company itself is a nonprofit org. that helps to provide communities with substance abuse treatment. It's a great organization and a great location-about a block from Michigan Avenue-some of the best shopping in the country! I would have to commute on the train every day and walk about a mile from Union Station to the office, but it'd be good exercise!

Nick and I went and opened a joint checking account yesterday. I felt so old and grown up lol! I can't believe I'm turning 23 in less than two weeks! Craziness!

What a crazy moving day!

See Nick's blog for the crazy story of our moving day yesterday.....

http://www.themanthemyththebiologist.blogspot.com

New cousin

Welcome to the world Makena Elizabeth!!! I love having new babies in the family to play with! :)

Sickly

It never fails. This time of year I always get sick. Usually it's closer to my birthday so hopefully I'll get lucky this year and be healthy for my bday (which is only like 2 weeks away!). I'm pretty sure that I caught the flu/cold that Nick's dad was suffering from when we went to visit this weekend. It started yesterday morning with a horrendus sinus headache. I even went to Walgreens to get the good Sudafed that you have to get from behind the counter with your ID and everything. (the subsititution shit sucks!) I had a horrible night's sleep last night, and woke up with a fever this morning. That's how I knew it was bad, because I never get a fever. Normally my temp is like 97.5 which is a little below avg....earlier it was 100.3 yikes! But it is slowly reducing and i finally have my appetite back. I can also sit up for longer than 2 minutes and not feel sick. I just hope we can get everything done and ready for the move in time for Saturday. Not that I will be much help...I cant lift anything because my back sucks, and if I'm still feeling puny I'll probably just sit there telling people what to do lol. I think I can handle that though.

On an ending note, WTF America? Do you not realize that Sanjaya SUCKS!!! He needs to go! I dont know how much longer I can stand to watch him each week on Idol.

What is up with America??

Alright so I have to say I am a little perturbed at the top 12 picked on American Idol. I feel I have somewhat of a right to complain, seeing as how I did vote. The people I voted for made it though. I guess next time I will just have to vote for every single person I like and not the ones I dont like.

1. Blake Lewis--love him he deserves to be there
2. Gina Glocksen--like her...she's fun
3. Brandon Rogers--hes alright...not my favorite but he's decent
4. Chris Richardson--love him! he has the looks and the talent-i hope he goes far
5. Haley Scarnato--does not deserve to be there...I think she has made it through on looks alone which is very sad
6. Jordin Sparks--cute, good singer, she's alright
7. Chris Sligh--love him!
8. Lakisha Jones--love her...i'm still picking her to win it all!
9. Melinda Doolitle--she's awesome!
10. Phil Stacey--he's ok...he needs to work on the singing
11. Stephanie Edwards--she's pretty good
12. Sanjaya Malakar--wtf America?? you picked him over Sundance? granted I did not vote for Sundance because he wasnt one of my favorites, but still. Sanjaya should have been out a LONG time ago!

So basically, I just want to say that it is a singing competition. Some of the people put through are far worse singers than others who were kicked off, and the only reason they are put through is looks. Look at Antonella (thank god she was finally kicked off)-she was by far the worst singer out of the whole group, yet she made it that far because she's good looking. Not cool America...not cool.

Job hunt

Just wanted to give everyone a little update on the job hunt. Last weeks interviews were busts. This week I went to a temp agency in Oak Brook looking for work so maybe something will happen with that. Yesterday I had a phone interview-it went alright I guess. I'm not getting my hopes up. I would have to go through 8 weeks of training in Texas for this job and it sounds like a great opportunity but who knows. I called JC Penney today and apparently they have a new store opening up in Woodridge which is where we applied for an apartment. But it doesnt open till May. And apparently this morning there wasn't anyone there who could tell me anything so I have to call back later today. So basically I have no money to pay for my bills this month and I'm freaking out. I just want to be settled in one place with a nice job and a decent salary. Is that really so much to ask? I mean I went through four freaking years of college and for what? To sit around all day watching TV while my fiance works and has to pay for my stuff? I cant do this much longer.....

Crazy

Things are a little crazy around here latley. Nick was offered the job in Oak Brook so we are moving back to Illinois! We went apartment hunting today and put in an application at one place so hopefully everything goes well and we can move in in a couple weeks. Our only problem is we cannot get out of our lease here in Indiana unless we find someone to sublease the place. Which means we could potentially be paying rent on a place we aren't even living in until October. So basically I need to get myself a job no matter what it is. This plast week was hell. I went on 2 interviews and they turned out to be sales jobs. I had to spend 2 days of my life observing people trying to sell other people stuff. It was not fun. Anyway, my friend Becky told me about a good temp agency that got her a decent job so I'm going to check that out this week. And I always have JC Penney to fall back on. I guess there is a Macy's opening up down the road from the place we looked at today too.

On another note, I'm sick of snow. I want spring to be here now. My mom and Bart are in Hawaii right now enjoying the beach and the sun and I hate them. Blah......

Glamourous

Quick update....I said I would blog about this and I have to uphold my promise. Plus it's fun to embarass Nick. Nick is like obsessed with Fergie's new song called Glamorous. He goes around singing it all the time and likes listening to it in the car. Haha! I'm sorry babe, you know I love you but I just think it's hilarious that you like that song!

Anyway, other than that not a whole lot going on. Unless you count driving to the suburbs like every day going on job interviews. Hopefully one of these will work out!

Looking up

Things are finally looking up. Next week I have 2 job interviews in the Chicagoland area. Both jobs are at marketing firms and are entry level which is exactly what I am needing. My problem has been just trying to get some experience. So if I can just get in somewhere and show them the kick ass knowledge and skill base I have, then I can work my way up!

I finally got my fourth season of Gilmore Girls that I ordered from EBAY so that's basically what I've been doing the last few days lol.

So far my American Idol picks are good. They may change after next week though. You never know what a good performance someone could have lol!

I have been getting headaches all the time lately. The last 3 nights I have gone to bed with a headache. Usually they are on the left side of my head and I'm kind of getting worried. I think it's from all the stress I've been under lately from not having any income and any way of paying bills. Hopefully one of these jobs works out and I can stop having these headaches!

My Idol Picks

As most of you probably know, I am an avid AI watcher. I've watched it since season 1 and I think it's probably one of the best shows out there (along with Gilmore Girls and Grey's Anatomy!) Something I haven't done, is actually gone through and picked a winner at the very beginning. So I'm gonna do that now.

Here are the people I think will be picked for the top 12:

• Blake Lewis
• Chris Richardson
• Chris Sligh
• Phil Stacey
• Nicholas Pedro
• Brandon Rogers
• Gina Glocksen
• Jordin Sparks
• Lakisha Jones
• Melinda Doolitle
• Sabrina Sloan
• Stephanie Edwards

As for the winner of the whole thing I'm going with Lakisha Jones. She has an amazing voice and gave me goose bumps after tonight. Hopefully she can keep bringing it each week...in years past there have been people who I thought would go far but ended up sucking as the weeks progressed. So I may change my mind. As for my other favorites, Blake and Chris R. make me weak in the knees! I also like Gina-she's got some spunk, and Chris S. cracks my shit up!

Who do you like? Do you agree with me? Let me know!

Lost

I have come to the conclusion that I am a lost person. I thought that after I graduated college everything would just fall into place. That I would find a job that I was good at and could work my way up, that I would have my own place, and that I could settle down with Nick and get married. And although that last part is falling right into place, I need more. I quit my job today. I didn't like it at all-I really actually dreaded going into work each day (which wasn't very often because I only worked like 4 times). The last three weeks I have just been sitting around the apartment watching TV all day waiting for Nick to get home. When he gets home I'm crappy to him and he doesn't deserve it. I am taking my frustration in not having a career out on him and it sucks. I applied for several positions in the Chicagoland area. If Nick doesn't get that job offer then I will either go back to JC Penney for awhile, or commute to Chicago, or maybe both, because I am drowning in bills right now and I have no way to pay for anything. I can't even help out with rent or utilities or anything and I just feel useless. Some days I wonder if moving up here was the right thing to do. But I think either way I would be unhappy. Continuing the long distance relationship was putting a strain on both of us. I know everything will fall into place eventually, but I hope it's soon.

Snow Days

Well, as I'm sure most of you are aware, a lot of snow has been coming down throughout the mideast. Yesterday I declined to try and make it the 36 miles to work in the blizzard like conditions. Instead, I sat around all day watching TV and watching the snow penis on our patio doors grow throughout the day. (Notice the picture to the left.) I was not the one who coined it a snow penis...that could only be the work of a boy named Nick.

Anway today has been much of the same...sitting around watching TV. That is pretty much my life these days because I work like 2 days a week and don't know what to do with myself the rest of my time. I have decided that being busy is so much better than being bored.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Update

Well, since someone wanted me to update I suppose I should.

Here are some things that have happened to me in the last couple weeks:

• I got all moved to Westville
• I started my new job at David's Bridal
• I discovered I have no money and will be poor forever
• I watched all 3 parts of The Godfather, and actually enjoyed it
• Nick took me to go see Because I Said So and I loved it!
• I discovered the VCR's irk me and I really want to get TVO or DVR.

And that's all for now folks!

And the fun begins...

I always thought that my wedding wouldn't be very stressful to plan. I mean, I knew there would be some stress because of my parents' divorce, but I didnt think it'd be too bad. Yeah I was wrong. I'm beginning to think that weddings no matter whose they are are just a stressful event. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for my wedding and I am sure that everything will go perfect on that day. But I dont see why we have to try and please everybody. It's me and Nick's wedding!! Not anyone elses! If we want to invite certain people and not others, then we can do it. If we want to have certain people in our bridal party then we can do it. If I want my parents to just get along for a day, then they should do it! Why is this so difficult for people to understand?

Anyway, just a quick rant about how people are making me feel shitty for planning MY wedding the way I want it.

New job

Well after months of searching I have finally found a job in Indiana. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I will be a part time Sales Consultant for David's Bridal. I'm worried about only working part time and maybe not making enough money, but at the same time the job sounds really interesting and could really develop into a career for me. I may just have to struggle for awhile until I can win them over and make them hire me full time! I'm really excited to finally be living with Nick now. The long distance thing was getting to be a struggle and I think it's really going to do wonders for our relationship to actually be in the same city! The next couple weeks are going to be a whirlwind trying to get packed and moved and everything but I can't wait!

Tomorrow Kasie and I are going down to Charleston to party with Traci. I'm excited to just have a girls night....something crazy always seems to happen when Kasie and I go out in Charleston so it should be an interesting night! :)

First entry

So I cancelled my Xanga page but realized I enjoy this whole blogging thing because it helps me vent when I need to. So I created this blog.

Things have been crazy and very stressful lately. I hate that Nick is three hours away and I only get to see him like 2 times a month. It's just getting very hard. The long distance thing was okay for awhile, but after 8 months of it, it's getting to be a little too much on us both. I just want to be moved up to Indiana and settled in. Luckily today I finally heard back from 2 places that I applied for jobs at so I'm hoping to go up some time next week for interviews! I would like to be moved up by the end of January or early February.

Next weekend I'm planning a little girls night in Charleston with Kasie, Traci, and hopefully Julia! I just want to relax and go out to the bars and have some drinks and act like a college student again lol!

The wedding planning is coming along. So far I've managed to book the reception and cater (my uncle will be catering of course!), I found the most beautiful dress after trying only 5 on, I found awesome bridesmaids dresses and shoes, and I found the tuxes! We found some really pretty flowers at Hobby Lobby and my mom is amazing at arranging them in bouqets. I really don't know what I would do without her. She keeps me sane in all the craziness!

Another ice storm is on the way...I hate winter.

I guess that's all for now...