Once again, it has been a long time...

What can I say? Life is just really busy lately. Besides, I used to blog at work, and I'm not so sure about blogging at my new job. Not only that, but I have so much to do! I'm working on my first direct mail plan for one of our books. It is going well, although it is a huge undertaking from start to finish. I'm working with spreadsheets that have numbers from columns A-EU (I'm not kidding) and rows 1-200! Crazy, I tell you...it is really cool though to see how each list is supposed to perform in the DM effort. I'm getting all the abbreviations down, too. Let's see, there's TOHAR, WCME, LNTAR, BNB, FBNR. The funny thing is that we actually pronounce them as they look. We go around all day saying "Wicme" and "Fibner." I spend quite a bit of time speaking in abbreviations actually. It is definitely interesting...I get my first paycheck tomorrow ;) I'm pretty excited for that.

We went camping/canoeing this past weekend with Shannon, Jeremy, Selena and Samantha. I think a great time was had by all. It was their annual trip down the Wisconsin, and we were finally able to join them. It is a nice trip, and the whole camping-on-the-sandbar thing is very cool. Who am I kidding...we had a whole island. It did rain, but only as we were getting ready for bed, so it all worked out. We were a bit nervous though, because for about two hours before we went to bed, we could see the lightening and hear the thunder. We thought for sure it was coming our way but it didn't. It's a good thing too, cause Moon-dog was in Madison (not too far from where we were) and he said it was the worst storm he has ever seen. We were pretty lucky.

Any big plans for this weekend? Ross and I are tossing around the idea of going to Summerfest on Saturday, or maybe even Sunday. Ross and I have been going to Summerfest every summer for as long as we have been together. I think that would make this our 9th summer. I can't imagine summer without a stop at Summerfest. I would say we mostly go for the shopping and food, as well as the music. Many people go for the booze, but that isn't really me. Sunday is also our annual family picnic, so that should be cool. As far as the 4th goes though, I don't know. Ross has to work :( so I have no idea what I'm going to do.

I just got off the phone with my dad and he told me that he got invited to play golf with Donald Trump. My dad is going to meet The Donald...isn't that crazy?! I guess Trump is hosting a golf tournament for golf writers. Apparently he is going to get all kinds of new gear and stuff, too. I would imagine that when Trump does something like that, he goes all out. Why not?!

I'm slacking...

It has been awhile since I last blogged. So much is going on right now. Let's see...

Last weekend, Ross and I celebrated our 1st anniversary. We went out to the Prime Quarter and then came home to watch our DVD. It was a very nice night. The next day we had some of the top tier of our wedding cake...it was actually pretty good. On Monday and Tuesday, I just took it easy, getting ready for my first day at Reiman on Wednesday. My first few days of work were fantastic! I'm really going to like this job, and what an awesome place to work. I did the usual new employee orientation and tour and stuff. But then, they had me get right to work. I was glad. I even got some really good feedback from my boss on Friday, which made me feel great! Everything is going great. I even have my own office. During the employee orientation, we got a list of holidays, and we have off for National Agriculture Day even. I guess it started out as a joke, but it stuck.

Last night we went to see Star Wars: Episode III with Shannon and Jeremy. It was so awesome, and as Ross brought up, a little sad. But you knew it didn't end happy. The special effects were amazing. I really want to watch IV, V and VI now.

We don't have much in store for this weekend. Just some chilling. Tomorrow is Father's Day, and my brother's b-day! Happy B-day Dino D, and Happy Father's Day, dad!

Last Day

Today is my last day. A half hour from now I'm no longer an employee of Referee. I'm done with my work, so I'm blogging. I just went around and took pictures of everybody. My favorite is the one of Bill and I acting like we are going to fight. I will miss our political banter, but I'm sure most people in the office won't because it really annoyed everyone! In the picture, I'm even standing on the left and he is on the right :) We didn't even plan it that way! We have vowed to keep it going through email, although it won't quite be the same. I'm really going to miss everybody. This is where I started my career. It will always hold a special place in my heart. I'll miss Judy's bubbly personality, Tina's drama, Jayne's ditziness, Jeff's seriousness and our Seinfeld quizzing of each other (The midget's name is Mickey!). I'll miss hearing Keith's laugh no matter where I am in the building. I'll miss Matt's always calm attitude. I'll miss teasing Rob about the sorry a$$ Bears. I'll miss Katey, because she is just really cool. I'll miss Jim A. always moving to the side and saying "Please, Nikki, go ahead, you first." I'll miss Marylou's knowledge. I'll miss those conversations on my way to lunch with Barry when he is sitting outside after his runs. I'll miss everyone. Most of all though, I'll miss Pat. He has been my officemate the whole time I've been here. We have had a great time at work. From "peanut time" to playing practical jokes on each other; I'll really miss everything. Right up to the end, he is playing jokes. We had our picture taken and he holds up a Rod Stewart CD, because he knows how much I love Rod Stewart. I know that I'll still talk to Pat, but I will miss him as an officemate. I don't think I could have asked for a better officemate.

Well, once I leave here today, I can't look back. I'm definitely on to bigger and better things. Thanks for everything, Referee!

Life is Good!

Well, here I sit on my second to last day ever at Referee. It is kind of bittersweet for me. There are things I will miss, and other things I won't. But I'm definitely looking forward to my new job. Especially since I got a phone call the other day which informed me of a raise I'm getting before even starting! How cool is that? Ross and I are definitely going to be okay with the mortgage payments now. I knew we would be, but we were going to have to sacrifice a lot that we won't have to now. No ramen noodles for us! It's all steak and lobster, baby! Just kidding.

The house is great. All of our peonies have bloomed, and our roses are starting to open up now, too. They are a very deep fuchsia; they are just beautiful. I think we might have about 30 roses when they finally open up. Those bushes are growing like crazy. They must be very happy :) Since we are dog-sitting, Ross and I have taken several walks in our neighborhood. Truthfully, I don't think there is a better neighborhood to walk in. It is so enjoyable to say hi to everyone and admire their gardens and lawns (we'll be one of those admired lawns one day). I think we might just keep walking after we are done watching Luigi!

So, on a different note, this weekend is our first anniversary! Life is good! I can't even believe how fast this year has gone. If you would have told me a year ago that we would have a new house, and I would have a new job, I wouldn't have believed you. I can't believe we have been married for a year already. Part of me is a teeny bit wistful, because I long to do the whole wedding thing again. It was such a wonderful time in our lives, and so much fun. Being Ross' wife is such a joy. I love him so much. We have such a great time together, even doing the simplest of things. I can't imagine life without him, and I'm truly blessed to have him in my life. I love you, baby!

What a beautiful weekend...

Did you get time to enjoy it? I sure did. Ross and I did some biking, walking, planting and laying out. It was fantastic. Summer is finally here and I'm loving it.

We are dog-sitting for my grandparents' dog, Luigi, while they are on their Alaskan cruise (nice, hey?). He is a good dog, and having him around makes us want our own dog even more.

Today is the start of my last week ever at Referee. That is nuts to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about my new job, but I will definitely miss Referee. There are a few people that I will miss a lot. Everyone has made me feel so nice, telling me that I'll be missed and stuff. They'll be missed, too. This was such a great place to start my career. I have learned so much in the past 2 1/2 years that I can take with me wherever I go. I'm grateful for that.

I mentioned that Ross and I did some planting. Everything is really coming along. Ross' mom gave us some more clippings taken from their trip to Indiana last weekend. We got those all planted and we spread out some fire orange mulch. It looks really cool. I also planted all of the gladiola bulbs that I got for my birthday, as well as the calla lilly bulb. I can't wait until those come up. Our peonies are blooming, and they smell so good. Our rosebushes look like they'll pop any day now. We had to get some trellises to support them. They are going to be so pretty!