Studying is hard.

Since the last post, I've been spending much of my free time ignoring you and studying up for the GRE. The test is just over five weeks away, so I'm working my way through a practice book and a stack of vocabulary flash cards virtually guaranteed to result in a better score on the GRE ... or at least, that's what they say. Thanks to my prep book, I've learned how to tackle analogies ( me : analogies = linebacker : quarterback) and tear through sentence ________ (completions).

However, the only thing I've learned from the flash cards is that some of these words have to be fake.

I mean, I have a fairly large vocabulary. I was a Journalism major, I've always enjoyed reading and I play a mean game of Boggle. So how is it that I've never heard of the majority of them?

Exactly. Fake!

Glad you see it my way. Unfortunately, I don't think arguing with the ETS over the validity of their vocabulary will earn me any bonus points, so it looks like I'll be studying them regardless. But, I promise not to bore you every post with GRE updates and I promise not to confuse you by incorporating my new, fancy-schmancy vocabulary words.

After all, we both know I'm not actually going to remember them.

Here Goes Nothing

Well I've been thinking about it for a while, and - I'm going to Graduate School this fall! I (literally) just applied to take the GRE and I am bursting-at-the-seams excited!

Which, of course, is why I immediately jumped at the opportunity to tell you all about it. Since graduation - give or take a day - I've been thinking about going back to school. But, like everyone else, a million things put it on the back burner. 

"I am NOT going to be a bartender with a master's degree." - initial job hunting days sucked.

"I just started at this job, I CAN'T distract myself with school right now." - entry-level suck-up.

"Agh! I'm engaged! planplanplanplanplanBREATHEplan!"- wedding planning takes a lot out of ya. 

And here we are. Two months after our wedding day and I'm registered for the GRE. And I think Darrell is just as excited about it as I am; although, perhaps just because if I'm studying, he can play video games...

But at any rate, he's excited. And I'm excited. And Cooper...well...

Love you too, pup.

Just Can't Help Ourselves

Wow am I glad it's Friday. 

Our company's national sales meeting was this week, completely online, so I've been spending the majority of my time with a phone to my ear and my hands to the keyboard. And today - I wake up with a stiff neck and absolutely could not turn my head to the left without excruciating pain.

Thank you, work, for literally being a pain in my neck.

Outside of that, life is finally getting back to normal. We've made it through the holidays and - gasp! - we actually have a weekend in front of us without plans for visitors or for to go out of town. This hasn't been the case since before the wedding, and quite frankly, we didn't know what to do with ourselves.

Yes - you guessed it; we made plans. But only for less than 24 hours of the weekend and only to visit my parents so Darrell can go hunting. I'm excited about this for three reasons:

1. I get to go shopping with my mom at Ikea; and
2. My dog gets to go hunting, which makes him very happy and very, very tired.
3. I like my dog happy and tired.

And actually, we finally got our thank you notes in the mail today, so I'll probably try wrangling Darrell pen-in-hand to help. I know, just when he thought everything wedding-related was over; but, he does have better handwriting than me...

Besides, we'll be home in time to watch the Packers playoff game on Sunday. Which makes me a good wife, right?

Right. Go Pack!

TwentyEleven

I did it. I made a New Year's resolution that I could keep, and then did. 

I told people about you, little bloggy. 

Now, to be fair, I did it via twitter and Facebook around 1:00 a.m. New Year's Day, so probably only a slim few were awake or coherent enough to read that message and thereby only a few actually know, but I said I would release you today and I DID. Even if it was the chicken way to do it. :)

So now, I'm starting this year out on the right foot. I'm doing something that I love - writing - and I'll be doing my best to do it often. Which explains why even though there are still people at the house, I'm sitting at my laptop. Granted, the boys are busy dominating on COD (or so I hear) and Kylee is taking a nap...

Anyway, all of that aside, I'm looking forward to all that 2011 will bring. I'll spare you the boring recount of all of 2010 (see first post) but it was a busy year. A lot has changed in my life from getting married to buying a house, but I'm certain there's still a lot that this year can surprise me with.

And I'll be chattering away about all of it, right here. 

Obligatory Christmas Post

Well, I've been avoiding you, haven't I?

I guess the fact that it was Christmas gives me an excuse, but I really shouldn't exercise it. After all, what's the point in having a blog if I don't use it to own up to my own shortcomings? It's not like anyone reads it yet, anyway. 

Oh yeah, that's the other thing - Darrell's the only other person who knows this blog exists. Mostly that's by design; I'm new to this whole blogging world and I don't want to start running around acting like a blogger when I've only completed three entries. Also, I'm self-conscious that, the grammarian that I am, I might have left a typo or two within these pages.

And that would be downright mortifying. 

So instead, I write here and eventually (I hope) get better until I can share this with a few others. Until then - back to Christmas...

Our first Christmas as a married couple was, quite frankly, a lot like the last two: a fairly calm and uneventful weekend filled with family & food. That is, of course, right up until the brother-in-law's dog decided to join in the gorge fest...by inhaling a 1-pound box of chocolates. 

Yes. I said chocolates.

Now, anyone who knows anything about dogs knows that's NOT how you want to spend your Christmas afternoon. After about 20 minutes of coaxing her to vomit, the chocolate was out and she was fine (she evidently just likes to scare for attention). 

Of course, it goes without saying that all of the humans ate too much. Between the honeymoon and the holidays, I think I officially have to bite the bullet and become one of those New Year's resolution people next week, trying my damnedest to get back into shape. Don't lie: you know you're looking forward to hearing all about the workout regimen in upcoming posts. 

But hey, it's not like there's a you, anyway.

Chicken Noodle Blah

All right, it's official - I need to get some damn patience. 

 These are the egg noodles I made today to go into my chicken noodle soup.

And this is my chicken noodle soup. 

Notice how there are noodles in there that don't quite match the size and shape of those above?

Yeah, that's because I didn't make them in time to let them dry. And when I tried to add them because I was getting hungry - you guessed it - they fell apart. So, I removed the few noodles I put in, threw in some Udon noodles, and voilà, mediocre chicken noodle soup. 

I know what you're thinking. "Hey, that looks like it's cooking in a Crock Pot, why didn't you start the noodles right away if that soup has been cooking all day?" You're right, that would have been plenty of time. But I got carried away doing other things and didn't start the stupid things until 4:00 pm. So, when I got impatient around 5:30 pm and thought they'd be dry enough to add, I threw them in. 

Fail.

Now, I know getting this flustered over soup is kind of ridiculous, but there's something so disheartening about screwing up something you know how to do well. You know when you're a little kid in the spelling bee and you get really excited because you know how to spell your word, and you can barely hold it in long enough for your teacher to finish, but when the letters come rushing out they're all mixed up? It sort of feels like that.

No? I'm the only one who remembers that feeling? Hmm, maybe I would have benefited from some more patience back then, too. Anyway...

Changing the subject Moving along to end on a more positive note, Darrell and I went to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo last weekend. It was cold, packed and an absolute madhouse, but also kind of awesome.

(insert cheesy, gushy husband-wife caption here)

Neither of us had ever been, even though I grew up in the Tri-State, so it was a fun way to kick off the holiday season for the two of us. Don't judge me. I didn't ask anyone to take the picture for us, at least.

And besides, he pretended the soup was delicious, so he deserves a picture post.

Uh-Oh.

Staring at a blinking cursor on a blog is even more intimidating than the one I used to stare down on papers and articles in college.

I don't know about on your end, but the little line on my screen is taunting me, telling me I better write something funny/witty/smart/useful/interesting/thought provoking/original, but the damn thing doesn't offer any suggestions.

Sure, I could tell you what I do everyday, but that would only take about 6 words: wake up, eat, work, sleep, repeat. I could probably elaborate with the number of acronyms I used at work today or how many thank you notes I have left to write - I would guess somewhere between 20 and 25 different acronyms and possibly 180 thank you notes. I could fill you in on the evening hours where I make ill-planned and therefore expensive trips to Kroger, or where I watch my dog try to explain to me why he needs to go upstairs.

Or downstairs. Or outside. Or back inside.

But the truth is, I'm trying to make THIS my hobby - not blog about something I already do. Unfortunately for you, that means you probably won't be fascinated by anything you read here. Unfortunately for me, that means I have to come up with something every time I want to write. Trust me, I wish I had a hobby to write about...it would probably be a lot more interesting for everyone involved.

So in order to get my fingers moving, I had to type about getting my fingers moving. See how that works? Here's hoping that between this post and next, I hit the lottery or something else equally exciting (and financially stimulating). Until then...

Damn you cursor.