Spring is Coming!

The weather here has started to warm up steadily (finally) and I can't help but find myself hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, this time we won't warm up for a few glorious days and then dive head first back into a deep freeze. The weather in the Midwest makes me a little batty sometimes, particularly in the winter. I really do not like to be cold (because I am cold 99% of the time without any help from mother nature) and the warm days make me so happy that when it does freeze over again, I feel part of my sanity slip away from me.

Don't worry though, all the sanity that I lose over the course of winter is restored as soon as the grass turns green again and I don't have to wear 3 layers to go outside anymore. But I have hope this time around because the weather is nice, but it still has a little chill. It's just not as chilly as it was. You know how weather gradually warms up everywhere else in the world, well that's what it's doing here.

Plus, the morning doves are going crazy at my apartment complex and I was once told that when the morning doves come back it usually means that Spring is only a few weeks away. You might think it sounds hokey and old-wives-tale-y but I figure it's a system that can't be any less reliable than watching to see if a ground hog sees his shadow or not. Right? Right.

I have lots of plans for this Spring, and for a number of reasons. One of which deserves it's own post (and is a very depressing subject for me, so I'm not going to think about it right now), but all the other reasons are small and can be summed up rather easily: I want to be a domestic goddess who can take care of all things house, home and garden.

One of my biggest Spring projects is to plant a garden in the space around our patio. The area is rocked, so the first step is to move all the stupid rocks out of the way. I don't think that moving them will be an issue so much as figuring out where the heck I am going to put the rocks, since they will no longer be all around our patio.

Other really crazy exciting Spring projects include: mastering the art of bread making, planting the above mentioned vegetable garden, planting grass (?), planting flowers (?), traveling all over the damn place (details coming soon. I know, you can hardly wait right?), marathons, 5ks, camping, and just generally spending time outside. And knitting. And sewing. And scrapbooking. And reading; lots and lots of reading.

Oh, and also joining some clubs that I have been wanting to join for a loooong time in a continuing effort to make friends who are in the same city as me (unlike my friends who are still in Lawrence, or living in Colorado, or moving to/already living in China).

Wow. I have a lot that I want to do this year. This is a very, very good thing.

Now, for a nice little GiST (7/365) to wrap this happy (and busy) post up.

#1. Haircuts

#2. Kielbasa sausage, green peppers, onions and rice.

#3. Aprons.

#4. Really sharp knives (for cooking people! I am not a crazy person)

#5. Cookies that I made myself (even if they are a little burnt on the bottoms. I still haven't gotten the hang of our oven yet)

Moving and Garage Sales

Well, I spent my Saturday afternoon packing and moving. It was quite exciting. I have to be out of my house in Lawrence by the 31st of July and so I thought I would get a little bit of a head start by packing up one room at a time. Today I took on the study ... we had a fourth room so we put all of our desks in there thinking that it could be a little study room. Too bad none of us used it really. Towards the end of the year it just started filling up with junk so it was quite messy.

I would say that I managed to get about 95% of the work that will need to be done in there done today however. My desk still needs to be moved as well as my other furniture in there and there is no way that I could have done that on my own. Plus I drive a Taurus. There's only so much that can fit in there and that does not include a desk.

Plus, I've been going through all my stuff to get rid of the things that I don't need. It's great. Not only do I get to clean out my closet and de-clutter my life, I have the chance to make a little extra cash to go into my new car fund. I think it's pretty neat.

I'm completely bushed ... I had such a busy day. The dogs got groomed, which they needed badly. Timmer was starting to get really matted and Bingle was starting to look like a little rasta dog. And I got my hair cut today too! So now my whole family looks great. All in all I would say it was a very productive day.

Oh Work-ey Work

Well, as I continue to work on my financial future and my blog I've realized that the time has come to talk to my boss about my benefits. More specifically, if I have them or not. From what I've been told, I get benefits when I am a salaried person, and a 401(k) after I've been full time for 6 months. I really need to ask Matt if I get any benefits, I'm officially no longer on my parent's insurance policy, and so I would like to know that should the shit hit the fan, I would have at least a little bit of coverage. But, I'm scared to do it. I'm a big wimp. I feel that it would be something altogether different if I had to go ask an HR person. I just hate asking Matt for more stuff. *le sigh*

I thought I would let you know that the reason I decided to put this little ditty in my real life blog rather than mater of my money is because it was more about my concern over asking for said benefits. Or something like that.

Other than that life has been good. I went home early yesterday because I got really dizzy every time I looked at the computer. Which causes a slight problem seeing as how that's what I do for a living presently.

That was not nearly as much fun as it might seem to be. It was a lot like getting the bed-spins only without the fun drinking part before hand. And I didn't throw up as a result. And I made back to my parent's house without crashing my car. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is pretty damn good.

Boyfriend comes home in a week! I can't wait to see him ... he's already been gone for 10 days. It feels like forever.

Also - I was quite productive today during my lunch ... the dogs have grooming appointments for Saturday morning, I'm getting my hair cut that afternoon, and I might even get to go to the farmer's market that morning! I also plan to spend a great deal of my day and Sunday cleaning and packing in L-town for the purpose of moving out of my crappy house. How happy is my little world right now? Very.

Things I would like to do

I spend a lot of time reading blogs and when I do my head gets filled with so many ideas of things that I want to do or create. I thought I might post a few here as a way to get them down on ... "webpage" and out of my head.

*plant a garden
*own a chicken (I hear that fresh eggs cannot be beat in taste)
*make beds for the puppies that are stuffed with old plastic bags instead of polyester fluff
*learn how to sew really well ... maybe even make some of my own clothes?
*start to recycle more
*write a book (about what I have no idea)
*save a ton of money and pay down all my debts (which is something I'm taking steps to accomplish already. Check out my financial blog here)
*spend more quality time with my dogs and really invest some time in training them

This is only a small list ... I could go on FOREVER if I wanted to. There is so much that I want to do ... and you know what? I think I'm going to do it.