Our Married Life

This whole Spring Forward thing is killing me. I can barely get my butt out of bed at 7am. I’ve been running late the last couple days. Not that it’s a big deal though. Perhaps I should set my alarm for 6am instead of relying on Brian’s alarm. That should give me enough time to get out of bed, shower, make lunch and take my time in the mornings.

This morning’s drive was extremely slow. We had fog today and it’s the most dense I’ve seen in years. There were idiots who drove around without their headlights. One of them was a gray car. UGH. I HATE PEOPLE.

I packed my workout bag again today and will be heading off to the gym at lunchtime. Two days in a row. Let’s hope I keep this up for the whole month. If I can do that, it’s one milestone attained!

Anyway, it’s that time of year again where we’re looking at vacation spots. Every year we keep mentioning San Diego, so for once I think we’re going to book our trip there. Not sure why we want to go there in the first place…

I’ve started saving for our Europe trip next year. That is if the value of the dollar is going to go up. If not we’ll probably wait until 2010. The big trip before we start popping out kids. ACK.

Brian and I usually celebrate by going to a movie, having a nice dinner and sometimes even exchanging gifts, only because there’s not too many times out of the year where you can celebrate yourself as a couple. Over the past 2-3 years though, we’ve taken it light. It’s nice not to have to stress out about it.

Last year, Brian came home and made dinner. This year we’re doing the same, although we’ll be cooking together. I splurged (got carried away) at Central Market. I have to admit that place is a rip off, but it’s hard to avoid at times. Anyway, so that’s our plans for vday. Too bad our fireplace doesn’t work, otherwise, we can enjoy a good movie in front of the fireplace.

Speaking of which, I think we’ll wait until the summer to get it fixed. It may be cheaper then.

Anyway, I’m a little over halfway done with re-reading my PMP Textbox. I got some other study materials from Amazon which I’ll conquer this weekend. Only one month to go.

I’m also looking at the PM Certificate program at UTD. But I wonder if the certificate is redundant to the PMP Certification. I certainly wouldn’t mind taking the courses if it actually helps me do my job better. Although there is an interesting Business Intelligence Certificate course at SMU that also looks good. I did see some of my old professors teaching some of the classes within this program. Both programs are about 18 credit hours each, which essentially is an entire semester. However, with the UTD course, I think I can work up to getting a Masters.

I guess I should take things step at a time…

I think I broke the bank this holiday season (is that even the right phrase). Anyway, we’ve spent way too much, moreso on ourselves than anyone else. It wasn’t necessarily for gifts, but for Christmas decor, etc. We bought a tree at Target on Saturday that was 50% off. Much nicer than our current one, but the top tier is missing something. We don’t want to return it, so hopefully we’ll find a plastic piece that wrap around the end so that it sits up straight. It’s not a big deal.

The other big money purchase was a DYSON. Mmmm. It’s kinda sad that I’m so excited about a vacuum cleaner, but since Linens N’ Things was having a sale on vacuums it was too good to pass up. We’re still 350 bucks shorter now. Who knew a vacuum can cost so much, but it sure picks up dirt pretty well.

With the big purchases and Brian’s car troubles, we’ve spent so much in December. Boo. I’m hoping to start the new year off well without making frivolous purchases. But I do hope Brian gets a new car soon.

Anyway, with that aside, I did not sleep well last night. Work has been on my mind, and I’d wake up in the middle of the night thinking of what I need to follow-up the next day. Ugh. I hate when that happens. I was up for two hours trying to remember what I needed to do. On top of that, my mother calls me at 5:30 in the morning. My dad was having issues, I think he was trying to pass a kidney stone. I called her again this morning to see if everything was ok, and she said he’s fine now. Thank goodness. I was hoping we can get through 2007 without having to take him to the hospital again.

Anyway, I hope 2008 is as good as 2007.

We STILL have trash leftover from Christmas time. Ugh. I started picking up but didn’t get very far. My goal is to clear the living room this weekend and put up all Christmas decor. I think we spent more on Christmas decor than we did on our actual decor. At least though we got some pretty nice stuff to stock our house with. A wine rack, hanging shelves and lots of cooking stuff. I can’t wait to try the pasta roller, my first attempt will be homemade lasagna noodles and ravioli.

I also got from Brian a Chi hair straightener which I love. A cozy fleece jacket (now I don’t have to borrow his). A purdy watch. A book. Some more kitchen stuff.

I got Brian a receiver for the game room, a set of speakers for the family room downstairs, a shirt, a belt, and the annual ornament we always give each other. Christmas was great. Thanks everyone for the lovely gifts.

Texas weather can be crazy, at least the weather people are somewhat accurate in reporting this time around. It was 80 degrees yesterday and today’s high was 42. I think at one point I saw flurries displayed on my weather widget.

Anyway, I was looking through some old photos, from right before the wedding. Hrmph, I need to get back to the gym. Even Brian had dimples I can see. We’ve both been focused with other stuff, that I think we’ve lost the urge to stay fit. With the Christmas holiday around the corner, it makes it worse. Plus I think drinking more alcohol doesn’t help. It sounds so cliche, but we need to start on a clean diet once the new year rolls around. I keep looking for motivation, but nothing is a better motivation than looking and feeling good. I still want to run that marathon someday. Or maybe just a half.

Anyway, tomorrow is my last PMP class. I need to register for the test so I can have a target date to cram for. I’ve started on my flash card. You usually get a test date 2 weeks from when you register. I think two weeks is too soon. But I would like to take the exam in the 3-4 weeks. Maybe the first of the year would be good. I can’t delay it, otherwise I may forget everything. If I can devote an hour each night for the next few weeks, I think I will ace this test. So far my score is about a 70, which technically is passing, but why go into the test with only 70% of what you should know?? It’s all those dang glossary terms that I have to memorize. Hmph.

Ok we couldn’t wait to decorate, so we spent the entire day putting up Christmas lights and Christmas decoration. Here’s preview of our fireplace.

Oooh, another item for my wishlist. This one would go in the bedroom since the walls are bare.

Halloween is over and we have a buttload of candy left. Sweet Tarts anyone??

I thought about bringing them to work, but of course I wasn’t the only one with that thought. There were buckets everywhere.

We got several bunches of kids ranging from little wee ones to teenagers. It was good night. Our first set of kids came by too quickly because Reesey was still loose in the house. The minute that doorbell range, she went bark crazy. I literally had to walk out and hand them the candy. But since the door was still crack open, I could feel Reesey by my legs, so in an effort to keep her from eating little Cinderella and Spider-man I slammed the door shut as soon as they got their candies. I hope I didn’t seem like that crazy neighbor lady. The rest of the night we had Reesey stay in the back. She spent the entire night barking up a storm. Brian had to go out there and sit with her. Nothing we say or do will keep her from barking. Arg. Maybe we should get a spray bottle and spray her everytime she yaps. I finally got tired at around 8:30 and turned off our porch light. I think I passed out at 9.

Anyway, we need to get rid of our jack-o-lanterns. I’m starting to see mold grow on the inside. I was hoping to light them up last night but Brian was too afraid of fire. I guess next year we’ll have to find a battery operated candle.

On a side note: I ended up returning the wooden spoon and fork. I guess I should invest in something we both like.