Out with the old.

I would like to note that tomorrow is the last day of January. We're already one month into 2010. Before we know it, it'll be the holidays again. Sheesh. How in the world does time fly by so fast?!

So a couple of entries ago, I mentioned that I was starting a new job in a couple of weeks. Well...trim that couple by one week. This past Monday, I started in the Honors College, and I've loved every freaking moment of it. I feel like I have my life back. I'm not worried about anything anymore. My travel schedule is down to zero. Don't get me wrong...I loved being a recruiter. It was so great to work with the students and parents. But being an academic counselor has been one of the things I've always wanted to do, and I really like where I am. My office is freaking sweet, too. :)

My last day at work ended up being on the same day as another co-worker's last day, and one of our tour guides made this freaking sweet cake so we could all wish us well on our new adventures elsewhere. The party was a blast:

Here's the cake. Three tiers...almost looks like a wedding cake. Bottom layer was white cake; middle was chocolate; top was strawberry. ALL delicious.

Shelby and I cutting into the cakes.

So I guess the party was also supposed to be a dance party, and one of our tour guides made himself a tailfeather. :P

I'm definitely going to miss our tour guides and everyone I worked with...but the great thing about still being on campus is that I still see them all the time. I saw them last week, matter of fact. Twice. :)

My first week there was cut short thanks to another storm that moved in. I'm so thrilled the weatherman was actually wrong about how bad it would hit Stillwater...my parents got hit pretty bad [didn't lose power for too long though, thank goodness], but we were totally safe here. I actually overprepared for once, and JJ and I weathered the storm just fine. I'm hoping we can get out of here tomorrow though, because we've been stuck inside since Thursday afternoon and are going a little stir crazy. There's only so many ways you can entertain a nearly 14-month-old active baby boy before you HAVE to get out. I wasn't brave enough to try the roads today, but I think we'll be OK tomorrow.

So, I'm really starting to get into this whole Vegas trip thing. I've booked dinners, am trying to figure out what kind of spa treatment I want, and I'm just throwing myself into this. I'm hoping that pre-planning will help us make the most of this trip and guarantee that we won't get bored. I also want to learn poker, so I'm trying to find casinos that have free poker lessons and working that into our schedule. I found TripIt.com, which is helping me plan our days out. Love.It.

I'm getting better at this whole cooking thing. Now that JJ can eat table food, I'm forcing myself to cook more and am more willing to experiment with things. I'm not that great at dinner planning yet, but I'm getting there. With February just around the corner, I've got to plan my meals out, figure out which recipes I want to try and stick with them. The main goal is to make meals that I can put together fast - JJ usually eats by 6:30, which leaves me less than an hour from the time we get home to have dinner ready. It's creating a unique challenge, but we're getting better at it.

Time for bed. Back to the list later.

Oh. Ending note. I FINALLY legally changed my last name. Only took nine months, but I did it. I finally feel married. Legally.

I love these shoes.

These shoes weren't expensive, so I'm not going to cross them off my list - unfortunately. But I bought these a little bit ago from HSN. I'm not a big fan of heels since I'm so tall already, but man are these things cute. I finally found a pair of orange and black heels! YAY!

I honestly haven't been working on the list because things have been a little crazy. I've kinda taken a break this month, but there are so many things that I have in progress already that next month will probably see four or five of them crossed off. I start my new job Monday and couldn't be more excited about it. I feel like I'm getting out of my old job just on time and moving into my new one just in time. I'm so excited for this new opportunity...this is exactly what I've wanted to do for quite some time now.

I've started re-planning our wedding but haven't gotten much into it. Third's time a charm, huh? I won't saying anything about it until we have deposits for our venue, photog and church booked...which I hope to solidify within the next two weeks. That's my goal. I think starting this process again will help me get the rest of my life organized. I've let so much go the past 18 months...time to get back on track and get my life back.

Guess that's all for now...I'll be back soon.

Man. Time for an update.

I've been MIA for a few days...mainly because my computer crashed [lovely], and the past week's been pretty crazy for me. So. Here's a recap.

After screaming that my child needs tubes since October, I finally convinced my doctor in December that he needs them. We made an appointment for tubes a couple of weeks ago, and his new specialist said that JJ needs tubes now. We got him scheduled for surgery this past week, and he got the tubes in. He was such a good little guy...he was cranky and sleepy after it was all over, but the whole thing took 10 minutes, and he did such a good job. He's already a different little boy...he's picking up on words and is already getting his balance back. I'm so thrilled that he has them in...maybe we can finally stop struggling with ear infections. I'll have to post some pics I took of him at the surgery clinic. He's adorable in a hospital gown. :)

And now, to some of the biggest news of all...I have a new job! Starting in a couple of weeks, I'll be an academic advisor for the Honors College. This whole thing came up super fast...I went from applicant to hired in the course of a week. Literally. I'm really sad to be leaving my old job behind, but I'm excited about this new opportunity and to be working for a part of campus that was so important to me during my undergraduate career. I'm still kinda taking it in...I didn't think this whole process would move so fast, and my mind's spinning right now. But, don't get me wrong - I'm super excited.

With the way the past couple of weeks have gone, I haven't actively been working on my list...but that'll come to an end this weekend. Now that I'll have more time to myself, I'll be able to take care of more things, read more books, start scrapbooking etc. I'm so excited about the future and what the rest of 2010 will bring! I'm hoping the rest of the year goes as well as the past two weeks have gone.

That's about all I've got. I'm gonna go back to playing Wii Fit Plus - J got it for me last week, and we've been playing it off and on all day. It's really fun! Yoga kicked my butt though...oh my gosh.