Life Posts

19Aug
0

Lessons Learned

It’s been a while since I last blogged (what else is new? lol). Since my last post, quite a lot has happened. I moved, I attended my bridal shower and bachelorette parties, and I dealt with all kinds of wedding stuff (see previous post).

Lots and lots of life lessons have happened along the way, some big some small. Among them:

*Rooms look smaller when they are empty. J and I were seriously wondering how in the world we would fit a kind sized bed in our new bedroom. Turns out you can likely fit a second one in there with NO problem. Lesson: Always bring a measuring tape to a new apartment

*I’ve been trying to eat healthier. This includes making salads at home. I discovered that I absolutely LOVE pear salads, so I’ve been buying the ingredients to make them at home. However, the dressing can be a ton of calories, and feta cheese isn’t exactly the lowest calorie food either. So I’ve been buying the reduced fat versions. Still super tasty! But then I made the mistake of buying reduced fat (2%) cheddar cheese for my sandwiches. It’s disgusting. Lesson: Most reduced fat things actually are gross, especially cheeses. Use caution when buying, and buy the small pack the first time, just in case it’s gross! I now have a gigantic pack of lowfat cheese that will most certainly find its way to the garbage.

*No matter how much planning you do, when the word “wedding” is included in said plans, something will go awry. Another example: our chuppah rental fell through 44 days before the wedding. Hooray! Now we’re 22 days out and still don’t quite have one. It will get done, but still. Lesson: Be flexible.

*Driving to and from the bachelorette party took a crazy amount of time. 9.5 hours to get there, almost 10 to get back. Why? Because traffic sucks. And they’re doing construction on the 5. When it says “I-5 reduced to one lane 30 miles ahead, consider alternate route”, one really should consider alternate routes (which ones, I’m not sure, but maybe one exists?), especially when that sign is followed by another that says “expect 1 hour delay”. Lesson: Leave at 3am or avoid driving altogether. Airfare = worth it!

*My boss’s daughter is training a puppy to be a service dog. However, she’s currently interning this summer, so while she’s working down the street she leaves the dog here. The dog has learned the sound of the door and knows it’s an opportunity to escape. A few days ago he got out and ran down the hall. My boss then chased after the dog, and I couldn’t stop laughing. Lesson: When your boss brings a puppy to work 3 days a week, prepare to just sit back and laugh.

*I have a coworker that is probably just overworked, but it really causes a lot of errors. Major errors. I now have a couple of situations that are causing me a ton of work to fix. Lesson: When this particular person says she’ll handle it, don’t trust her. Do it yourself from the beginning.

 

 

 

Posted by Caro in Life, Weddings, Work
10Jun
0

3 Months

OMG I’m getting married in 3 months. SO. MUCH. TO. DO!

I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned this, but we also found out we need to move. And by that I mean we learned of a 12% increase in our rent. Screw that!

The apartment hunt was something I wanted to get over and done with quickly, but that just added stress. In the end I think we picked the right place. I feel comfortable there, it’s not too much of a down grade from the amazing place we have now, and we are saving an incredible amount of money. Oh and we didn’t have to move too terribly far (maybe 5 miles?). Not bad.

And now to focus on the wedding. And packing/picking a moving company. But mostly the wedding. This weekend I hope to have purchased our wedding rings, politely bitch out the caterers, and get some documents done. Within the next two weeks I need to deal with linen rentals, finalize groomsmen attire, start working with the offiiant to create the ceremony (seriously HOW does one fill 15 minutes???), and finalize picture selections for various things that require pictures.

Oh and I’m changing up my work a bit, just to add some complexity to an already overly complex situation. My head very well may explode.

Weeeeeee!

 

Posted by Caro in Life, Things to do, Weddings, Work
31May
0

Way Too Busy

When did my life become crazy? I mean I’m “used to” the working 3 jobs thing or the working 2 jobs and going to school thing. So why is working 2 jobs + planning a wedding + dealing with daily life so much more complicated than either of those other scenarios?

I think it all went to shit when I attended my cousin’s wedding two weeks ago. Don’t get me wrong – it was AWESOME. But their ceremony and reception were strikingly similar to what I’m envisioning in my head and it made me realize exactly how much I still have to do to pull it off and how little time I have left. I came home and had a mini panic attack. I mean I have all the major details worked out. The venues and vendors are set. The flowers are picked. The general “flow” of the ceremony and reception are laid out.

But then there’s all these details:

What color table cloths do I want? It comes with ivory, but I could add a sheer overlay in another color, or I could use the ivory tablecloth and get colored napkins. The centerpieces are white so I can’t do JUST ivory, but if we want something else we have to find a rental company.

What song will the bridal party walk into at the ceremony? For that matter, who is walking in when and with whom?

What exactly will our 15 minute ceremony consist of? 15 minutes is a really short amount of time, but when you are starting with ZERO ideas it’s a long fucking time to fill.

As always, I calmed myself down by making a list. A nice little to-do list that I can check things off of. It’s so much better when you can see all the things you have to do in one clearly organized place.

But then life happens and gets in the way of serenity. The day after I made my list I learned my rent is going up 12%. Yep I’m gonna have to move. Oh and the best part? The last day of my lease is the day after my cousin’s (out of town) wedding, which is the weekend after I’m hosting my in-laws for my bridal shower. FML.

 

 

Posted by Caro in Life, Rants and raves, Weddings, Work
03Mar
2

School Update

OK so I last wrote about how I got accepted to the Convenient School, but their program is 100% disorganized, unprofessional and dysfunctional. I haven’t “officially” declined their offer, but I’m guessing I don’t need to. I doubt they’d even notice!

Well I interviewed at the Expensive School and was accepted on the spot.

I would start in a few months.

So now I’m in a bind. I will get some tuition help from my job, but I’m also going to have to cut my hours. Sooooooo this leaves me with a bit of tuition and at least half a year of lost wages. I don’t have tons extra cash right now, but even if I did, I’m starting to question the value of this investment. Seriously, the prospects of me finding a job after I graduate are pretty bleak. Things may shape up as the state budget improves, or as the economy in general improves. But that’s not guaranteed, and I don’t want to graduate a year from now only to find out that I’ve wasted multiple thousands of dollars.

I think maybe I should just get a full time job, stop going to school, and start saving money. I mean, I have goals in life, like having kids and buying a house one day. I certainly can’t do that the way things are going right now!

Am I too old to go back to school? I don’t want to be 40 before I start having kids.

Hi, my name is Caro, and I’m having a quarter- to mid-life crisis.

Posted by Caro in Life, Money, School, Work
23Feb
0

Disenchanted/School

I know that in a previous post I said I was officially going back to school (again). It turns out that may not be the case, and I’m really upset about it.

Here’s some background. I have a master’s in the field in which I want to work. I just need a few supplemental classes to get the certification I need for a specific job within my field. I’m not in a position to move across the state to finalize my education and training, so thankfully I live in an area filled with colleges and universities. Even though the program I’m looking for is super specific and not many schools offer it, I have found 3 that I could feasibly attend. Let’s name them.

1. The Good School. This is a school known for having a good program in my field. It consistently produces high caliber, qualified graduates. Pros: This program is well regarded; tuition is reasonable; it’s somewhat convenient in relation to where I live and work. Cons: It’s competitive to get into and I don’t hear for another 2 months; each class is only offered once a year, rather than once each semester; summer classes are not offered.
2. The Expensive School. This school is also pretty well regarded in my particular field. Pros: Small class sizes; classes are offered multiple times per year, including summer; I could start in July; I think I would only have to take the minimum number of units for the supplement (15). Cons: It’s expensive (almost double what I paid for my master’s); it’s far (think 60-90 minute one-way commute).
3. The Convenient School. Unlike the others, this program is not particularly well-known or well-regarded. At this point in my life though, that’s not my top priority. Pros: It’s super convenient in terms of where I live and work; tuition is cheap; I’ve been accepted to the program. Cons: They’re incompetent. Flat out incompetent. More info to follow.

I received my acceptance to the Convenient School and immediately called to set up an appointment for academic advising. I should have really taken it as a bad sign when I had the following conversation:

Me: I was just accepted to your department and would like to set up an appointment for academic advising.
Dude (Potentially Stoned): Well we have several information sessions coming up where you could get more information about the program.
Me: I don’t need to know about the program. I’ve already been accepted and would like to talk to someone about my particular course requirements.
Dude: Oh you’ve been accepted. Let me schedule you for academic advising. (Um – isn’t this what I already said?)
(pause as dude gets the schedule up)
Dude: OK we see students for advising on Mondays and Tuesdays, but we’re not taking people on Mondays for the next few months.
Me: So you see people on Tuesdays.
Dude: Well Mondays and Tuesdays.
Me: But I can only be seen on a Tuesday right now.
Dude: Yeah, that’s right. (At this point I’m already baffled). We have openings on Tuesday 2/15, 2/22 and 2/29.
Me: Tuesday 2/22 sounds great.
Dude: OK (We start trying to figure out a mutually agreeable time). Oh, and we also have Tuesday the 22nd. (UM isn’t that what we’ve been talking about?!?!)
(finally set an appointment)
Me: OK what should I bring with me? Transcripts? Past course syllabi?
Dude: Um (long pause, clearly he’s confused), I think (pause)… Just show up. Yeah, just come.

WHAT IN THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?

So fast forward to yesterday, Tuesday 2/22. I arrived at my appointment a few minutes late because I couldn’t find the building OR the office within the building. I then received a super nasty phone call from a different office admin, asking me where the hell I was and if I was still coming for orientation. I was slightly confused and told her I was coming, but for academic advising. She barked into the phone something about how they don’t do that and that I was supposed to be there for the orientation session. What?

So I finally find where I’m supposed to go and there’s no one in the office. Some non-employee finally asks me what I need, I tell him, and he takes me to the academic advisor. She is baffled by my presence, and was clearly not expecting me. As I was explaining my purpose for being in her office, the bitchy lady barged in and started yelling over me that “She’s supposed to go to an orientation. She’s not supposed to be here today.” Well then why in the fuck did someone schedule me an appointment for this?!?

Thankfully the advisor was nice and said she would see me since I was already there. I showed her my acceptance letter and said I wanted to discuss what classes I would have to take. She was so confused. This in turn confused me. Do students not normally come in for advising? What kind of a program doesn’t offer the chance for students to make sure they’re taking the right courses toward their degree objective?

So after 10 minutes of floundering, we figured it out. She finally realized what I was accepted into, and I finally realized that the department is officially incompetent.

Basically this is a 60-unit program. With all of the other programs in the state, most have an option for people with a master’s to just take the courses they haven’t already taken and get their supplemental certificate. This school advertised that they offer this too. Only they don’t.

The advisor told me “the faculty have met and we decided that students can only transfer in 6 units”.
So I can only waive 2 classes? Yes.
So then I have to take 54 units? Yes.
But at just a first glance of your required course list I can already tell that I’ve taken at least 30 of these units. You mean I would have to pay to repeat all these classes? Yes.

ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING?!?

So basically I got dicked around by a department with their heads up their asses. I had even called the school to request info and they told me they offer a program just like the ones at The Good School and The Expensive School. I’m sorry, but this isn’t just like any other program. This is fucking STUPID.

So now it’s down to A. We’ll see if I get into The Good School or B. How much I can get in scholarships to The Expensive School (assuming I get in).

So it seems that despite an acceptance letter, I’m not guaranteed to go back to school. And I’m pissed.


Posted by Caro in Life, Rants and raves, School
16Feb
2

Motivation

I officially feel like a slacker. I mean, I have been doing my share of working out, but I’ve also been doing my fair share of finding excuses to sit on my couch. Like this past Saturday? I left Jenny Craig thinking “I’m pumped! Let’s go to the gym!” But then I went with the fiance to buy a new printer and stock up on supplies for our BBQ. By the time I cleaned my house for said event, it was time to shower and get ready. No gym. This happens way too often.

It has recently come to my attention that 3 of my 6 bridesmaids are running half marathons this spring/summer. It seems they all train pretty regularly, all with the end goal of running, nonstop, for 2 consecutive hours. To me this sounds like HELL. But it’s pretty inspiring. I’m not able to run because of my foot/leg, but I can do something, right? Tonight? Yeah I’ll go to the gym. I won’t skip spin class tomorrow, and I’ll even go to my body sculpting class on Friday. Yep, this is the class with the weird ass lady that tells us to feel like we are birds. I’ll even do that too.

I’m also going to take the plunge next month and sign up for a swim class. I might not be physically able to run right now, but my lack of swim skills shouldn’t be a deterrent. I CAN swim. I’m just not good at it. So if three of my close friends are challenging themselves to run 13.1 miles, I’ll challenge myself to make it from one end of the pool and back again. Maybe even there and back a couples of times ;)

Wish me luck!

Posted by Caro in Health, Life, Sports, Weddings
15Feb
0

Wedding Updates

I’ll try not to make this too boring of a post. I’m really only posting it for my one bridesmaid that put out a request ;)

*Vendors: I think we’ve booked all of our vendors. Everything from venue to DJ to pictures, flowers and decorations is set. Of course I have a binder that is seriously full of contracts (Hi, I’m Monica from Friends lol). We really hit the ground running on this category, which is nice cuz now we can kind of just ease through the rest.

*The rest: We’ve been busy doing things like picking songs, looking into dance lessons, deciding on menu options, etc. This is really the FUN part! My dad also offered up his services. He’s retired so he’s been searching the internet for various things we “need” – starfish decorations, candles, a ketubah, etc. He’s been a big help!

*Bridal party attire: Half of my girls are outfitted. The other half will be soon. J is a groomsman in his Best Man’s upcoming wedding, so while we picked up his outfit for that affair, we started perusing attire for our own. Yeah…we selected basically everything. I’m just waiting on a swatch of the bridesmaid material to arrive so we can finalize vest colors. Yes, I realize we’re like 2-3 months early on this task, but it’s better to be early than late! I’ve also been chomping at the bit to pick out a dress for my flower girl, but given that she’s still growing (related: she’s turning FIVE in a couple of weeks!?!) I can’t commit to anything yet. Who knows if she’ll still be a 5T or up to a child’s small? I already know what I generally want though, I’ll just have to wait a couple of months to find it :)

*Registries: We have 3. They are all works in progress, but OMG they have been so much fun to put together! One of the registries is basically a website with wishes for our honeymoon. J has been doing a GREAT job of picking out fun activities for us and making entertaining captions for our guests. The other two are at stores, and each one has had some sort of registry event for us to attend. I have to say, if you’re gonna register somewhere, do it at one of these events. While setting up these registries, we were served a range of treats from mimosas to waffles, samples of coffee from various coffee and espresso machines, dinner foods, and on and on. Plus they have TONS of people on hand to answer any questions. It’s the best way to go!

*Honeymoon: Aka the best part! My one complaint though: WHY are plane tickets so expensive?? We’ve settled on a tropical island location and J has enough hotel points for us to stay affordably. We just have to get there. Now we are in the midst of playing plane ticket roulette. We have 2 options here: Buy tickets now at a whopping $1400ish each, or keep waiting for a “deal” to come around (we’ve been waiting 3 months already and the only thing that’s happened is that the every day fare has gone up about $50. The longer we wait, the more the fare will creep up). It’s kind of fun/exciting, but dude, I’m not down to get ripped off on a plane ticket right now. I think we should set a threshold price (aka find something for $1250 and pounce) and a threshold date (aka if we don’t have a “deal” by May 1, just buy whatever). What would you do?

*The wedding website: While I’m a true slacker on this blog, I actually do update the wedding site religiously. Like anytime there is a change lol. New block of hotel rooms? On it! We booked a shuttle to take guests around? Information is there! Maid of Honor changed jobs? Bio updated (at her request lol). If you’re privy to the URL, you should check it out :)

That’s really all I’ve got right now.

Posted by Caro in Family, Life, News, Travel, Weddings
15Feb
0

Miscellaneous Updates

As per usual, it’s been a while. Life never stops being hectic I suppose. Here’s a few updates:

*My wedding dress arrived. 2 months early no less. I freaked out, so I started really getting my ass in gear. Gym, better food choices, more water – the whole 9 yards. I finally tried it on a couple of weeks ago and it doesn’t fit. I don’t know what in the hell happened, because I ordered it based on my measurements the day it was ordered. Apparently I gained weight between ordering the dress in September, and picking it up in January. And by gained weight, I mean in excess of the 5 lbs I lost in January. HOW did that happen?

*In related news, I started Jenny Craig, and I’m pretty excited about it. I’m halfway to my goal!! Hopefully by the time I reach this goal I will fit into the dress….

*I also signed up for a spin class. I don’t know if I’ve previously mentioned this or not, but it’s going pretty well. I’ve lost a little momentum due to being ill, but I’m getting better at this class. Have you ever taken a spin class? It’s hard. It looks grueling for a reason: it is. My legs are so strong though, and surprisingly my tummy is getting flatter. It doesn’t seem like a total body workout, but it kind of is. I might sign up for this again. I say might because did I mention how hard it is? Lol

*I’m officially going back to school! I applied to a couple of local programs as a supplement to the education I’ve already completed, and so far one of them likes me. I have an interview at another (albeit expensive) school next week. Really, it’s only a consideration if they’re gonna throw lots of $$ my way. Let’s face it – I’m on a budget and student loans SUCK. It’s really down to the school that has accepted me and a third school that won’t decide for a couple of months. I really hate waiting!

*People keep dying. I think the tally so far is 3. While I wish I could say it’s 3 in my lifetime (laughable!) I really mean three in the last several months. Yes, since creating our wedding guest list, 3 of the people on it are no longer living. At this rate, we will have no one left to share our special day with. Well that’s a lie. At each funeral we think of more people to invite. The take away message here is that I’d be stoked if I didn’t have anyone else close to me or my fiance die for a while. Thank you.

*Related to this, the Fiance decided he has “non-proposal regret” LOL. In his words, “If I had proposed last year all these people could have come.” While my first instinct is to say “I TOLD YOU SO JERK”, that’s just not appropriate. We’re in a better place this year, and we ended up planning our dream wedding. I can’t say that would have happened last year. And who’s to say these people who are missing out aren’t there in spirit? I’ll go with that :)

That’s all I can think of in terms of updates for now. Maybe I’ll post my “Wedding Planning Updates”. Maybe. That could be a seriously boring post LOL

Posted by Caro in Life, News, Random, School, Weddings
14Jan
3

A Unicorn Sandwich

It has come to my attention that most people have no idea wtf I’m talking about when I reference my sister’s affinity for a “unicorn sandwich”. Don’t worry, she’s not eating the meat of a one horned mythical horse.

For some reason, my sister has always had a strange obsession with unicorns. From a young age, she played exclusively with My Little Pony, and had quite a collection of their special unicorn series. And watch out – if she was playing with a unicorn it was best not to mess with her. She’s feisty!

This obsession grew to the point that one night at dinner she seriously scared my mother. We were sitting at the table, and my then 4 year old sister exclaimed “I feel very weird. Something strange is happening!” My mother thought she was having some allergic reaction to something she was eating and was very concerned. When prompted for more information, my sister responded with, “I feel strange. I feel…like…I’m turning into a unicorn!!!”

Seriously? Yes, this absolutely happened. I can’t make this shit up.

So on to the sandwich. When we were little, my grandma would take care of us during the day on summer break. She always made us lunch, and I remember always hating what she made. I mean, I was like 7 or 8 and was picky about foods. And seriously, what kid wants to eat an apple for lunch? And a PBJ? Hell no. My dad introduced me to a concoction I still eat regularly: the peanut butter banana sandwich (also good as nutella and banana). Every day I would help my grandma in the kitchen while she made lunch. I mean, I couldn’t have this old lady messing up my food after all.

My sister got jealous. Why did I get to make special food and she didn’t? She wanted in, so we let her make her own sandwich one day. I’m not even kidding you, this is how it was made:

1. Pull out 2 slices of bread.

2. Slather peanut butter on one slice, jelly on the other.

3. On the peanut butter side, add 5 Oreo cookies, shaped together the way the number 5 appears on dice.

4.On top of the Oreos,  layer on some marshmallow spread.

5. On the jelly side, add a generous portion of goldfish crackers. Don’t be shy. Seriously. Add more.

6. On top of the goldfish, add a few potato chips, but not too many. Maybe some regular Lays, maybe some Nacho Cheese Doritos. It doesn’t matter.

7. Ever so carefully put the 2 sides together. This is going to be a challenge. Goldfish will spill, jelly might drip. Don’t worry about it. You’re 4 and it’s OK to make a mess.

I believe the first time my sister made this our grandmother and I halted our own lunch making and just stared at her. Was this really happening? Yep. When she was done, we asked her, “What in God’s name is that?”

Of course, this masterpiece could only be called one thing. A Unicorn Sandwich.

And without a doubt, my sister consumed the entire thing.

Posted by Caro in Family, Life, Random
14Jan
0

It’s Been A While: Christmas Catchup

OK it’s been a while. Let’s talk about Chrismas!

As usual, this was a fun filled holiday break with family and lots of food. I got some time off work, and as per usual it flew by way too quickly. For Christmas Eve we went to a family friend’s and had some of the most amazing lasagna I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. On Christmas, we headed to my parents and enjoyed a nice relaxing day of football, food and presents.

My niece hit the jackpot. Santa came to both her house AND my parents house, and something about being 4 always means that your stack of presents from family is at least 7 times larger than anyone else’s. I really wish I had a picture of the MOUNTAIN of gifts she received. And each one was better than the last. I love that she is 4 but still appreciates receiving anything, clothes included.

I got some pretty awesome stuff, but my favorite has to be my new Keurig Elite Brewing System. Single serving coffee with an assortment of flavors….it truly doesn’t get better than this! The fiance knows me well ;)

After Christmas my sister-in-law-to-be flew up for a few days. We did some of the touristy things and took her to a museum with penguins and reindeer. Real ones. God I love California! I also received some of the items on my wedding registry for entertaining. Feeling in the Christmas spirit, I threw a small gathering. Cheese spreader? Check. Serving platters? Check. Fancy new wine glasses. Clearly!

After the SIL left, one of J’s friends came up. Two house guests in one week was a bit stressful, but it was holiday break so I didn’t mind. J and his friend played a lot of video games while I did some more things to get ready for the wedding. (The makeup trial didn’t go so well, but that’s for another post.)

All in all, I’d say this was a great holiday.  I got to spend time with people I don’t see nearly enough, I got to play hostess, and I got to relax, even if only a little bit. Can’t wait to do it again next year lol!

Posted by Caro in Life
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