carrie and family: June 2004
 
our first baby

Benjamin James
11 lbs 7 oz
Born: 12/15


  
isn't exercise supposed to make you sleep more soundly? i've been waking up at 2:30 in the morning the past couple of nights... not sure why. i ran yesterday, and i mowed the lawn, which took another hour and a half. it was dark by the time i finished... so you'd think i'd be wiped out. i went to bed a little after 10... but still, woke up in the middle of the night. go figure. maybe if i just keep running every day, i'll eventually collapse ;) lily has the start of her new training classes tonight... i really need to work on her jumping up. anyone new, and she is jumping like crazy. i know what to do to get her to stop... but i need practice. so i might bring her to the trails again tonight, to practice greeting people. we'll see. my lawn looks nice though :) cutting it weekly definitely helps, as opposed to every two weeks. i can't wait til i have my own house someday. don't know how far off that will be... but hopefully not in the too distant future...

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so the work coffee isn't cutting it. good thing barnes and noble is right around the corner. they have a cafe inside, and it's within walking distance. the walk and the coffee will help... i'm dragging this morning. there is so much to do... we also did some 'restructuring' at work. not quite sure how to feel about it. not quite sure...

in other news, there are two movies i'd love to see this weekend... one is 9/11 and the other is spiderman. we'll see if i can get the fam to come out with me to see either...

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last night my animals were apparently plagued with illness... they all decided to get sick last night, at different intervals. i think i slept maybe two full hours in a row. doh. so today will be rough... might have to stop by for coffee somewhere... where the hell is it open at 6am?? oh well... work coffee will have to do... though i could really go for an iced cafe mocha right about now...

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good news: jackie and craig got their visa! woohoo! bad news: they can't pick it up until monday... so i am no longer meeting craig this weekend :( but hey, if it means he is actually coming, that's fantastic news!! so in about 8 days, they will be here, together :) it's official :) IT'S ABOUT TIME!

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well, today all my good luck thoughts are with jackie and craig... in a couple hours, they will be going through the interview process at the jamaican embassy... and it is at this interview where they tell you yes or no: can craig come to the u.s. with a fiance visa. so good luck to you guys, although, i don't think you'll need it. i'm sure everything will go through fine... but it's jamaica, so you never know... i'm sure i'll hear from jackie as soon as she knows one way or the other...

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got back last evening from chicago... it was a fun weekend. we went down to wrigleyville on thursday night, and lincoln park on friday... both were pretty fun places to hang out. the taste was fun... ate some good food, and wound up walking more than i think we had wanted to. but it was fantastic drinking wine outside on a beautiful friday afternoon, in the heart of the city. the trip was too short... guess i had to come back sometime. i do love the chicago. can't pick up the pup for another couple hours... so i'm trying to take advantage of the time i have without needing to watch her every second. the construction crew next door thought it would be an awesome idea to tear down the house next to me at 8am... so it's been a long day. this weekend i make the trek back to michigan for some fourth of july fun, and get to meet craig again, for the first time in over a year. it's also family reunion time... so it should be a good weekend. i hope it comes quickly... this week is nothin but work, work, work...

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i got new glasses :) they came in yesterday... and i'm getting used to them. still not sure if i like them more than my other frames... but at least they no longer have any scratches or smears on the lenses :)

last night my dog made me so proud. she graduated puppy class with flying colors... she did so well, i wondered if i had the right dog ;) we are continuing on with the next class... so another six weeks of training classes, here we come!

work has been a little hectic. we are short about half our staff... and it had to be the days when i am about to go on vacation. doh. so now i feel guilty for leaving... but not guilty enough not to go. if it were a life or death situation at work... i'd stay... but i think it will be ok without me. should be a fun time... and i'll be back early saturday... then next weekend is the fourth! family reunion time! hopefully my pup gets along with the other dogs... or that could spell trouble. and trouble is her middle name... ;)

so i'm off to chicago! i'll try to take some pictures, without looking like a complete tourist ;)

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man do i miss this school. they now have a website up, with photos of the facility, and of people that i used to have class with... you can check out where i used to get my ass whipped weekly:

muay thai pictures

if you are in the mid-michigan area... take the time to check it out... it's a great group of people, and you'll learn a ton! it really helped get me in shape when i lived in lansing... it was the best class...

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oh how soon i forget just how long it takes to mow the lawn. my hands are really sore... it took about an hour and a half to mow the entire thing. it looks good, but man, my muscles are hurting. out of shape = me. at least tomorrow i get to head on up to chicago for a couple days. i'm looking forward to some really good food, and fun chicago night life. then it's back into town on saturday... and time for me to clean like crazy. i'll be gone for the next 3 weekends in a row, so if i don't do it this weekend, i'm asking for trouble. i'm trying to think of something fun to give craig as a 'welcome to america' gift... any ideas? it just so happens his first day in america is on the 4th of july... i'm hoping we find a place to go see some fireworks... i'm a fan of the big boomy sparkles in the sky :)

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when i was around 8 or 10 years old, i read in a magazine about a meteor shower that peaks in mid-August. so that summer, at midnight, my sister and some neighbor kids settled on a blanket and watched all the meteors shoot across the sky. it was fantastic! ever since, i've tried to catch the perseid meteor shower... and this year is no exception. it peaks around august 12... two days before jackie's wedding :) so i'm hoping i find time to watch it... if you are outside on that thursday night, get away from the city, and look up! it's spectacular :) and this year is supposed to be especially bright!

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well, i had fun this weekend. helped almost finish the cd's for jackie's wedding... and we both got excited when we realized that the next time i see her, it will be with craig! she leaves friday morning... i can't believe the day is almost here! then i went and hung out with a friend at her new house, and we had a fire, some s'mores, and some bad music... it was great ;) now it's back to monday... got a lot of stuff to do. but i took friday off for the trip this weekend... i needed a vacation. so a four day work week isn't so bad. plus the weekend after that, i have another three day weekend, since it's the fourth of july, and we have that monday as a holiday at work. sweet! in the meantime, there is laundry to do, a house to clean, a lawn to mow (yes, my landlord finally brought the mower over... so yours truly will be lugging it around outside soon), and a dog to train. lots to do...

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my puppy is starting to no longer look like a puppy! but she's still a baby... not even five months yet.



well, it's friday! jackie leaves in exactly one week to go get her fiance... we can't wait for him to get here! tonight however, it's more driving time... tomorrow i'm hoping to stop by a bbq that my friends are having, and maybe throw in a little wedding stuff to help jackie out. nothing crazy, but i miss my friends still... so i'm always glad to see them when i come into town. so july should be fun, since i'm in town every freakin weekend :) have i mentioned i'm driving in a lot? ;)

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today is a busy day... but i'm in a fantastic mood :) looking forward to this weekend... and even more so to next weekend! i'm busy every weekend til the 17th of july... then i have a break until jackie's wedding. crazy. i'm sure i'll find ways to fill it... although, my poor car is going to need a break soon! lily is still growing... yesterday she weighed in at 35 lbs at 17 weeks! she's getting a lot taller, and is starting to lose her puppy face. it goes by so fast...



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i went to the taste of chicago once, and we had a great time! ever since, i've been meaning to go back... but couldn't rope anyone into going with me :) but this year it looks like i found someone... so we are planning on going next weekend. should be a great time. we might even try to find some msu bars down there... there is rumored to be one or two :) this week is flyin by... i can't believe it's wednesday already. i know i've said it before... but jeez... this summer needs to slow down!

the day after tomorrow, i'll be drivin back in the car... hopefully with some new glasses! yeah, i broke mine :( they've been looking a little crooked... so i attempted to "adjust" them on monday night... and c-r-a-c-k! no more glasses. and although i didn't break the lenses, i was due for an eye exam and new ones anyway. time to put my vision plan to use... and i can't decide if i should stick with the same type of frames or not... hmmm... we'll see. but regardless, i need them for my trip next weekend... i can NOT make my way around chicago without being able to read street signs! good god. that'd be a joke. so be on the lookout for those! in the meantime... no driving at night for me... oh wait. i'm driving to michigan this weekend. wish me luck! ;)

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aaahhh... man, it feels good to go running. this is the third week i've been running with lily... it's great! she's passed out at the moment... and a tired puppy is always a good puppy :) i feel tired too... but it means i'm gonna sleep good tonight ;) it's gonna suck when it either gets too hot or too cold outside to do this... although... running in the snow might be fun... wait... who am i kidding... treadmills anyone?

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well, despite the sadness and empathy for jackie's family for her aunt, this weekend went pretty well. on friday, there was a minor dramatic incident, when getting gas in indiana, i locked my keys in my car, with the puppy inside. doh. but the indiana police were at the scene, and all three patrolmen helped to free the puppy :) i don't think she was really worried ;) i also got to hang out with colleen and her two kids this weekend. holy cow, they are so freakin cute! it was really fun catching up with her, and also catching up with laura on saturday night. we did manage to get some wedding stuff done, and i'm sure i'll be back over to jackie's this weekend, since it's back to michigan i go! this time it's for father's day... then i get a break, and then it's back to michigan for the 4th. this week is fairly easy... the pistons are whoopin ass, so that's always fun :) the (possible) final game is tomorrow night at 7:30 cst... but my friends are either out of town this week, or busy with their kids. doh. so looks like i might be chillin at home with me, myself, and i to watch it. that works though... means more pizza for me ;)

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well, my trip up here to help jackie with wedding stuff has now been cut short. her aunt has passed away... i found out on my way up here. so needless to say, she is busy with helping her family cope, as well as coping herself. so in the meantime, i'm chillin at my parent's house, with lily... it's supposed to start raining here any minute... so much for taking lily up to garden city park. doh. and both my parent's are gone. it's odd sitting at home alone. can't remember the last time i did that...

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a new weapon that is pretty interesting... ok, so it might not be super new, but i just read about it, so it's new to me ;) invisible beams of pain... hmm...

in other news, it's back to michigan i go tonight... jackie's aunt took a turn for the worse, and it was debatable on whether or not she would last the night last night. i'm hoping to go and give my support and offer my help to their family tonight and this weekend... i really hope everyone is hanging in there. her aunt was fairly young, and has a husband and two young children... she needs all the good thoughts we can send. cancer is awful. my grandfather died before i was born from cancer... but it seems mental illness runs in my family much more so than a cancerous disease. although, i'm not sure which is worse... *sigh*... i also updated the 'who i am' section. nothing crazy, but you can check it out if you are bored.

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keep jackie's family in your thoughts... her aunt is not doing well (with leukemia) and the chances of her making it through the weekend are only 10%. so if you have good thoughts... send 'em her way...

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looking on how to improve your life... aim here:

clean sweep

it's interesting... i got a 44/100...

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every morning my alarm clock goes off at 4am. i'm usually up by 4:30, but lately, i've been hitting the alarm til it reaches 5am. then it's up, feed lily, let her out, play with her, then get ready for work. i'm usually into work by 6am or 6:30am... bright and early. over the past couple of years, i've become more of a morning person. in college, you'd never find me up before 8 or 9, even if i had an 8:00 class or a 9:10 :) but once i got my schedule down, and once i got lily, there is no more sleeping in. it's up before sunrise... i just wish i could take a jog around my neighborhood that early in the morning. but it's not safe. i tried that when i first got lily... and ran into a drunk stumbling guy... and then was warned by my neighbors to avoid walking around when it's dark out. oh well. but getting up so early has led me to have an earlier bedtime... i'm lucky if i manage to stay awake past 10pm. i've become an 80 year old woman, it seems :)

anyway, enough rambling about my morning schedule. i'm still tired, no matter what time i went to bed. i can't shake this tiredness all the time... i'm beginning to wonder if the caffine i have during the day is affecting my sleep at night. i stop drinking it once i leave work at 4pm... so you'd think i'd get it all out before bed... but something's not right, and it is making me feel exhausted every day. it has also started to affect my mood, and i've been super crabby this week. i catch myself just being in a bad mood all around... and i try to make a conscious effort to turn it around... never seems to work though. i think i need a vacation. let's just hope this tiredness doesn't affect my drive this weekend.

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dammit! i just read on the ladywood site (my alma mater) that they have new uniforms... and they can wear WHITE socks and TENNIS SHOES!! what the hell?? we used to get detentions for wearing anything but navy socks or tights... so god forbid you got up in the dark and accidentally grabbed your black socks. crazy. oh well, good for them... wish they would have decided that back when i went there... yeah... i'm not bitter at ALL... ;)

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talkin on the phone last night has me smilin today ;) so thanks for the call :)

my stomach on the other hand, is NOT cooperating. i feel really naseaous and it's not going away :( if it stays like this, i may have to take a trip home for the rest of the day. bleh.

two more days til the weekend. laura has invited me over to her place on saturday, so i'll get to catch up with her, fix her computer, and have some fun that night. should be a good time. i'll probably need a break from wedding stuff by that point... then i also got invited to see my friend colleen, to help celebrate her son's birthday. i can't believe little liam is two already! so it's catch up with high school time... it's past due :)

alright... time to figure out how to settle my stomach down...

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so rather than subject myself to a class i'm not fond of for two and a half hours, and make lily stay in her crate for that much longer in the day, i decided to make my own schedule, jogging with her in the evening. so far, i've managed to do it all last week and tonight... and i like it! we go to some trails, jog for about a mile and a half (don't want to kill the dog, and i'm ridiculously out of shape) and then we come home, where i do some situps and pushups. not bad... and i'm sore the next day, so i know i'm doin something right :) don't know how this will work when it's mid summer and 90 degrees... might have to make shorter, more frequent walks, and bring lots of water. too bad i don't know a lake closer by that i can take her swimming in. it'd be fun to go jogging, and then throw her in the lake to cool off :) anyway, this works for now... maybe i'll go back to class when it's too hot to run outside. bleh. for now, i'm havin a good time :)

today was an alright monday. but i'm still glad it's over... work is slowin down, and i'm working out some kinks in my attitude towards my tasks. found some motivation today and got a lot done that i had been meaning to do. i think that made people at work happy :) nothing really goin on this week, other than work, puppy class, and more work. woohoo... it's summertime :)

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well raychell's wedding was a fun time... i posted the photos, so you can view them below:

raychell and doug's wedding

i wound up spending time at her house late into the evening... playing eucher and asshole... it was a great time :) tonight is the season finale of the sopranos... should be a good one! although, with the history of hbo finales... who knows. makes me sad... i'll have no more shows that i watch on a regular basis. since i got lily... i haven't been able to sit still for longer than 20 minutes at a time... it was hard enough trying to keep her occupied for the hbo shows. oh well, i'd much rather be running around outside anyway.

so it's a sunday... time to clean the house. it's not so bad... but if i don't do it now, i won't have time within the next couple of weeks to do it at all. next weekend is michigan time... i'm geared up to fold, stuff, burn, and stamp... ahhh... wedding planning ;)

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it's friday! listenin to some norah jones today at work... man i love that girl. i need headphones though... even though i have my own office, i don't like keeping the door closed... so if it's open, i have to be careful how loud the music gets. tonight is boxing class... it's gonna be rough. i haven't been able to go since last monday... doh. oh well, i need it. tomorrow is raychell and doug's wedding... it's an outside wedding, so pray for nice weather. the forecast is good, so it should be a fun time. :) then i'm down to two more weddings!! this summer is flyin by... before i know it, craig will be here... craziness! i'm just glad it's the weekend... now back to boppin around my office... ;)

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the weekend is almost here... no plans tonight... might take lily up to a park where there are lots of fun trails and pine trees... i know she'd love it. i've been wanting to take a couple hikes through the many gardens/trails they have around here... and all last summer i never got the motivation to do it on my own. i'm not quite the trail-nature hiker... but it's much more fun taking someone else that you know would have a great time :) later in the summer, i also plan on taking her to the lakes that are nearby... and by 'nearby' i mean within an hour and a half. i figure an afternoon on the water would be a great time, even if it is just she and i.

in the meantime, travel, travel, travel... i can't believe it's june already... i may be in michigan next weekend helping with wedding tasks... a serious illness in the family has left jackie with a thousand and one things to do... so i may be traveling next weekend... and then the weekend after that is father's day, so i will be in michigan again. then i'll be in town for the 4th of july, the 10th, and the 17th... lots o'time in michigan! but then things slow down towards the end of summer... thank god.

and to those of you in texas right now... you suck. it was 50 freakin degrees this morning... i swear i almost saw FROST on the grass in JUNE. wtf. send some of that warm ass sun this way. ;)

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i think i'm on caffine overload. i have had about 5 cups of coffee, 20 oz of diet pepsi... and still, i'm so tired i keep fighting to keep my eyes open. where the hell has all my energy gone?? good thing i don't have boxing tonight... just puppy class. so i may work in a nap, then a short jog, to tire lily out... she's a fun jogging partner when she wants to be. our walks are much better that way... she doesn't stop to eat stuff, and it wears her out much more than a slow saunter :) i have found it a little tough, though, to run while trying to juggle her bags, treats, my keys, and my phone. may have to work to just holding a key and her bags... ugh... fighting to... stay... awake...

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alright... need to find some motivation today. got a lot to do, and i've been putting off some tasks... i hate procrastination. i did put some new photos up of the pup though... she's 15 weeks today. she has another infection, too... so that's fun. :( ok... time to get down to work... have i mentioned i'm exhausted? this weekend is catching up with me, i think... i can barely keep my eyes open...

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man, i hadn't heard about chris since we left school... but for those of you that like random updates about our msu friends... the picture below shouldn't surprise you about chris:



yep... duling is flyin high in the armed forces :) woohoo... go chris!

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