Foyer


Dining Room


Deck & Backyard

So the big news is that KP and Casper are now the proud owners of a "new to us" house!  At first, I was VERY resistant to buying a house, but I have come around.  I am actually pretty excited, except for thinking about all the new bills that will come along with this house.  We have been having many ups and downs concerning the financing and work in the house, but I think that we are going to come through it stronger.  I wish that we didn't fight quite as much, but neither of us back down over the stupidest of things, whether out of spite or pride or some other emotion, I can't be sure.  At some point, I may surprise you and post some pictures...

Currently Reading: Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

Currently Listening To: A bunch of 2007 - 2009 mixes

Currently in line to be watched:
Film - Last Chance Harvey, Across the Universe
TV - True Blood, Weeds

Currently Worried About: The closing on the house (later today!)

Currently Think I May Miss: Up  (in digital 3D) - I feel like I must see it in the theatre and time seems to be running out for that

Currently Feeling: Like it's the first day of school [Nervous and excited and obviously, can't sleep]

Currently Excited: For the Fourth of July & to see my friends from Louisiana!

Currently Planning: The missing pieces of the wedding [dj, flowers, invitations, menu, honeymoon(!)]

Currently Dreading: cleaning the house from top to bottom

Currently Working On: cleaning out my closet and giving some of my unused clothes to Goodwill

Current Guilty Pleasure: NYC Prep

Currently Obsessed With: Facebook

Currently Contemplating: Twitter - I may move to the dark side.

Currently Craving: Nachos

Currently Waiting For: Mad Men

The last time I posted...8 weeks ago?!?!?!

[Editor's note: 21 Thoughts blatantly stolen from my friend, almostfamous_21]
1. Buying a house - closing next week - still having major problems with the roof ventilation which was starting to turn into a "he said, she said" scenario, but was nipped in the bud by the third party (who I had to hire) contractor. TBC tomorrow. Faxes went out today...
2. I am really in love with my fiance.
3. I don't know why I don't play TequilaPong more often.
4. We still don't have a dj and I am starting to worry that maybe we should book one, like yesterday.
5. I am hooked on random Food Channel shows - they are starting a new one called "The Best Thing I've Ever Eaten" or something like that. Pure genius.
6. I need to see Up while it's still in Digital 3-D at the theatre.
7. I am tired, but think I might try to go out with a friend tonight anyway.
8. I don't understand why I can't get a good night's sleep lately.
9. I am starting to find Ms. Hathaway cloying. So sad.
10. I don't care about Jon & Kate and wish they would just fade away.
11. I wonder if anyone still reads this blog, but I don't care. I like having it.
12. I feel badly that I don't write in it regularly anymore.
13. The deadline in my mind to start booking my honeymoon is almost here and I have barely started.
14. The new doctor (at our office) started today and he's awesome.
15. I wonder why "True Blood" starts and ends with screaming all the time.
16. I saw my estranged side of the family this weekend and it was weird. I think my cousin (who invited me due to reconnecting on Facebook) is pretty cool though.
17. My friend told me this weekend that she was ready for babies. I don't feel the clock ticking and sometimes wonder why I don't.
18. My apartment door has a "For Rent" sign on it, as of this weekend, and it makes me feel weepy.
19. I am 2 weeks behind on work and that's only part of it.
20. I finally bought a new computer and I thought it would be coming today, but I re-read the paperwork and it looks like Wednesday.
21. We met a prospective employee today and her hair bothered me and I was bothered that it bothered me. I never thought that would be a "deal-breaker."

Currently Reading: Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

Currently Listening To: A bunch of 2007/2008 mixes

Currently in line to be watched:
Film - Paris, Je T'Aime, Reign Over Me, Eagle Eye
TV - The Office, Parks & Recreation

Currently Happy About: My parents coming home soon

Currently Waiting For: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Currently Feeling: A little tired & a little broke

Currently Dipping A Toe In: The real estate market

Currently Planning: Penn State Blue/White Weekend

Currently Thinking About: Starting work on invitations

Currently Craving: a chocolate something, like a cake or brownie

Current Guilty Pleasure: The Millionaire Matchmaker

Currently Obsessed With: www.conquerclub.com - very nerdy Risk-esque game online

Currently Trying: To get in shape and lose some pounds

Currently Disappointed In: The film adaptation of Twilight - I feel like I'm the only one on the planet that didn't quite "get" it and love it

So, I've been thinking about getting back to blogging; there's something about it that's anonymous and soothing at the same time. The last remains of y'all reading this, well most of you know me outside of here, but still anonymous nonetheless.

The past few weeks I've felt very little motivation to get work done. I cannot explain it. I am usually on top of things, but lately it's easier to "just let things slide." I don't know if it's because of everything with Casper or if it's the job itself. I think there's a bit of escapism there with everything going on at work. It seems as if I'm SO easily sidetracked. Like now for instance. I am sitting in my office, it's almost 2am. First, I shouldn't even BE HERE so late - it's against every company policy and safety precaution. Second, I stayed a bit late so that I could finish something that MUST be done by tomorrow. And finally, I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED. Let me backtrack a tad here and say that today's events were crazy by any standard. I terminated the accounts of multiple people due to obscenities, unpaid bills, and just all around beligerence. There's a word that was used today that I rarely if EVER hear aloud and the person on the other end of the phone apparently yelled it at one of my staff members. Great. As I keep saying, it's always an adventure to come to work here.

In other news, I'm kinda disappointed that North Carolina won last night and the game wasn't even close. What's the use of March Madness if there's not a great game at the end? Unfortunately, it was a letdown and by the end of the Final Four games, I really didn't even care about the actual final. Well, back to my regularly scheduled programming. I need to get out of here by 3am...

My senior quote in high school was from that song from The Doors. I have to admit that sometimes I think they are seriously overrated and then occasionally seriously underrated. On the same token, I suppose most bands are...

Anyway, total digression there from my actual topic for today.

This weekend Casper and I had to go to a mini-conference at the church (Pre-Cana for all you Catholics out there). It was a bit strange. It's not like I don't know that I'm getting married this year, but on the same token, it was very real. There were a lot of religious stances, but it was more spiritual than I was suspecting. We actually are a lot closer due to just talking about things this weekend. We had a major breakthrough on Friday night before the conference. He told me a lot of things about himself that he never even gave me an inkling of previously. It made me a little sad that my life seems like a trip to Disneyland compared to a lot of the hardships that he's been through. And of course, it makes a lot more sense where he's coming from when we've gotten into some rip-roaring fights in the past. Today, we went looking at houses - I have a feeling that we might buy one of them. It's freakin' scary - the possibility owning a house and being a grown up.

I should be doing work right now, but what else is new, right?

Things have been very busy and I haven't been as productive as I should be in my job. I am not great at the details. I am not spectacular in follow-up mode either. There are things that have been on my plate since oh, January, and still aren't done. But we are soldiering along. It has been a really tough road, between trying to make sure the details of the wedding are moving, as well as trying to at least do the necessary work to keep work moving as well.

As I mentioned in my last post, there is an employee who decided she no longer could/would work with me. This has been disheartening to say the least. On the same token, I am finding that there are a good number of people in the office that are NOT sad to see her go. The worst part in my mind is that we don't really have a replacement for her and my father is going to have to come back to work. He is of an age where he should be enjoying life and retirement, but he won't let the business fall apart. He will be coming to work for May and probably much of the summer, possibly into the fall months. I hope not, for his sake. He thinks that it will be tiring and I agree, but there is not much I can do other than hopefully schedule both staff and his day in such a way that it won't be too overwhelming.

That said, I am thrilled to say that we are getting new help in the summer. This is especially exciting in the fact that we haven't had a new key employee (except for me) in over 4 years. Whether it is the economy driving people to our business or just the stars aligning, I don't even care. I just hope that we can sustain the salaries and keep our clients happy.

In Casper news, he's been jobless for over almost a month now and seems to vary between total freak out mode and devil may care mode. It's very strange for me, because I don't really react to joblessness in either way. He's very nervous about his financial situation, but I think he also feels that in this job market, there's very little more that he could be doing other than sending out a resume here and there and hoping for an interview. He had a very important interview yesterday, but I couldn't read him as to if he felt he aced it or not. I think he may be losing some confidence too. Every day, you hear some version of the same story - US unemployment rates, stock market downturn, blahblahblah. There's so many problems and so many people involved that it's almost unimaginable to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

That's all my thoughts for the time being - Talk to you again soon, LJers -KP Out.

Currently Reading: New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

Currently Listening to:
In the car: "If You Seek Amy" - Britney Spears
At Work: Country Music station, ugh

Currently in line to be watched:
Film - Pride&Glory, Little Children, Paris, Je T'Aime, Reign Over Me
TV - Way too many episodes of Damages, Chuck, & House

Currently Confused About: Twitter - what's the big deal?

Currently Crushing On: Taylor Kitsch from Friday Night Lights - "Texas Forever" last night, holy cow, why don't more people watch that show, seriously?!?

Currently Chosen: The color of the bridesmaid dress, finally! Eggplant, if you're curious

Currently Contemplating: Trying to see The Watchmen with every other film geek on the planet this weekend (or just waiting)

Currently Planning: Parade Day 2009 - "Ain't no party like a Scranton party, 'cause a Scranton party don't stop!"

Currently Obsessed With: My financial welfare

Currently Excited About: March Madness - I actually took off the 19th to watch the whole first day of action *sheepish grin*

Currently Annoyed About: A specific employee whom I fought with and whom we now have to beg/kiss a55 for her to stay

So, hi to anyone out there who still reads this blog.

I haven't forgotten the blog. I paid to keep it here for another year. Yeah, that was in December.

Quite a lot has happened since November, the time of my last post...

I am pretty active on Facebook, as some of you already know. It's quite unfortunate, actually. Very shallow and one of my "friends" on there did this big "de-friend"-ing thing the other week. When I thought about that, it actually makes sense. There's two schools of thought on that - 1. See how many people that you know or knew at some point in your life and then force them to reconnect to you somehow when you probably weren't terribly connected in the first place or 2. Actually be friends with people that you call "friends" on Facebook. So, I'm thinking that I might do some de-friending at some point in the [near?] future.

Ok, in other news, I guess I should at least change the icon to this blog, since Sarah Palin is just a blink in someone's eye. [Thank God!] Of course, hooray, Obama! Now time for work...fix fix fix fix. Why does it seem as if everything happening now is like putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound? Still buying up stocks, but it's getting scarier by the moment.

In December, I got engaged to Casper. He came back from Alabama and had his head on straight. He said that he realized that he made multiple mistakes as far as moving there and letting me and his job and his life in Pennsylvania slip away. We've had some rough patches here and there, but on the whole things are going well and we're getting married in September 2009. I will probably blog more about things there, concerning him, his family, and some other major and minor issues, but not tonight.

I have been procrastinating long enough and I should make some roads to get to bed...Talk to you again soon and I promise it won't be four months from now...I checked in with some of your blogs too, but unfortunately had some trouble with the links (too old *sigh*), so drop me a note if you feel like it.

It's funny, this blog was created almost exactly 4 years ago...this is what I wrote November 2, 2004.

I am trying not to think too much about the election. Why does it seem like there's so much riding on it this year? Shouldn't we feel like that EVERY year? Complacency is so easy to come by. I am worried that things in this country will get worse, not better, no matter who steps into office. I am worried that we will pick the wrong person to lead. I am worried that the person who becomes President won't lead us in the right direction.

It's almost the exact same way I feel today.

However, hopefully my post on Wednesday will not be as follows:
November 3rd, 2004 at 5:23PM
State of the Union: Shock and Sadness
Nothing that I can say that hasn't already been said. I can only hope that watching the next steps of the government and being an American the next four years will not make me want to move to another country and start calling myself an 'expat.'

-----------------------------------------------------

In other news, this weekend made me realize what I won't be missing as far as being single. It's nice to be wanted, but it's pathetic when someone from your past tells you that your [current] relationship doesn't matter and that you should take him home with you.

- Gossip Girl catfight! Finally! Cheesy, yet awesome.

- The iPod Touch, still IN LOVE. And trying not to become another "conspicuous consumpter"

- Casper: seriously, dangerously, absolutely in love. No walls left and completely vulnerable to whatever comes.

- Breakthrough at work. It's nice when people trust that you're there for them and not to make their lives miserable.

- True Blood - as savage_25 would say continues to be "the best show about vampires EVER"

- Gym - Exercising makes your life better; what the hell took me so long to join again?

Right Now:

Currently Reading: Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell and catching up on magazines

Currently Listening to:
In the car: Down to Earth - Jem
At Work: "Keeps Gettin' Better" - Christina Aguilera

Currently in line to be watched:
Film - Babel, The Lookout, Baby Mama
TV - Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Chuck, HIMYM, True Blood

Currently Feeling: Without question, in love

Currently Thrilled About: The new work modem - back to lightning fast!

Currently Trying: To get back to "Type A" KP

Currently Crushing On: 'Nick & Norah'

Currently Planning: Homecoming Weekend at PSU

Currently Obsessed With: Buying stocks at rock bottom prices

Currently Trying Not To: Play with the new iPod Touch at every available moment

Hi everybody! (Or just one somebody? Sorry, I've been SO poor at updating! I will write it on my list of things to do; they usually get done eventually, instead of just "in theory".)

I've been busy with work. Trying to keep my head up high, while various things have been failing, faltering, or just plain pain-in-the-a55. Some of these things would have happened with or without me; they just would have been someone else's headache. Some of these things are caused indirectly by me and a few (thankfully, only a few) have been caused directly by me.

You say, "It may just be in your head." Unfortunately, that was NOT the case. It's just been a bit crazy that the previous manager had no desire to set me on the path to success. He said he cared about this business and his "family" here, but it's been clear that he wanted this place to go down in flames once he left. He deleted files, threw away files, never wrote down phone numbers or contacts that we had with various other providers - all in all, left me to start from scratch. That would have been overwhelming enough without a central air motor breakdown, a battery backup failure, a phone line issue (we have 7+ and at one point I was attempting to plug and unplug all of them), router problems, network problems, and x-ray machine problems. Are you seeing why I haven't updated in awhile? :)

Meanwhile, we were trying to hire some new people. One seemed on the fence. The other is not in contact with us at all - we're trying to figure out if it's foul play or if he's still coming and just is a flake. Either way, not a great way to think of a prospective employee. The current employees are starting to be burnt out and there's a very real possibility that another will leave before the end of the year.

On the plus side, things have seemed to have evened out with my job. Last week, I started writing down daily lists of things that I want to accomplish and it is really helping me to keep on track. I think after the initial adrenaline rush of all the things going wrong and me being the point person on most of it, I just shut down and coasted for a week or two. It's been a little tough to get back to "self-starting."

The other plus side is Casper. I hesitate to be really optimistic about this because I've gotten a lot of heat concerning us being back together. AND, there's definitely a part of me that's gotten burned before and worries. However, everytime we talk I feel a little more secure and I found out this weekend that he has some random insecurities too; it's not all one-sided.

In television news, I'm ashamed to say that I'm still watching 90210. It's not good - we found out who the baby daddy was in Episode 4. I'm not sure why I feel compelled to watch. Pushing Daisies comes back this week and I'm beyond excited. Is it just me or is HIMYM losing you too? And wtf with Worst Week - are any of you watching that dreck? I usually give a show 2 episodes to either hook me or repell me and as much as I like Erin Hayes, I think that's the end of it for me. Ugh. Mad Men continues to delight and I've also been pleasantly surprised by Sons of Anarchy - who knew that Peg Bundy would be such an awesome (kinda ex-)biker chick?? Looks like 2 weeks until the big catfight on Gossip Girl - it's been leading up to this since week 2 of this season and pretty much what you were hoping for and never got last season.

Okay, well that's about all I have time for - must go back to work...Putting next entry on the list to do right now. :)

Almost forgot...broke down and bought iPod Touch 2.0 - I'm in LOVE with it.

I'm still alive.

I'm very busy.

I'm putting in 6 day weeks, sometimes 7.

I miss you all.

I still watch inordinate amounts of television - so if you want to talk about that, drop me a line.

This weekend - Manhattan.

Next week, I promise to post. I have lots to tell you.

- Gossip Girl returned yesterday. Was even better than I expected.

- 90210 tonight - will it be appointment television or a total bust?

- October schedules already have my brain spinning. They are due by the end of the week, give or take.

- Casper is coming to town Thursday. I'm excited and nausous at the same time about this.

- Opened the office today at 730am, thought I would have more done by now.

- Mob Wars on Facebook - time suck! I'm in love-hate releationship with you right now.

- San Gennaro Festival - even the best laid plans...

- Penn State this upcoming weekend - possible? Do I really want to try to see people from my (college) past?

- This is the other office manager's last week at work here after 13 years. I am still in avoidance mode. Yesterday, he was pleasant and talking to me; today, back to "good morning" and nothing more.

- Casper called last night. Not only is he now moving back to this state, his new job territory includes my area. I am feeling cautiously optimistic about the whole thing. Paraphrasing what he said last night, "he didn't realize what he was missing until it wasn't there anymore." I think that applies to me, his job, his family, his whole life here. He thought that Alabama was going to be exactly what he wanted and it turned out not to be. I am excited that he's moving back but nervous that I've been being a bit delusional, especially since he wasn't altogether pleasant in the past.

- Mob Wars on Facebook is taking up way too much of my time, energy, and thought processes.

- Scratch Becks as my current mancrush. Anderson Cooper for the win! Especially with his verbal b!tchslaps of the Lohan clan. Hilarious!

- The jacket is still also on my mind [That's for you, superstition78], however, I really am not sure about the viability of white leather. I think I may go the route of a rockin' motorcycle jacket - similar in style of course, but not $800. :)

- The other night I was going to my usual bar and I thought I saw The Stalker's motorcycle. That displeased me enough to stare at the bike and helmet WHILE turning. Um, yeah. Horrible idea. I hit the building with the front edge of my bumper and took out about a foot of siding and white paint. No one saw, so it's a little like a tree falling in a forest, but still, so irresponsible and out of sorts for me. I went to eliminate the evidence wash the car the other day and it's not too noticable, but I know what happened...

- Gossip Girl is starting to take hold again with its semi-shady (not really) campaign and quippy teasers! I'm excited for September 1st.

Right Now:

Currently Reading: Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell and Lipstick Jungle by Candice Bushnell

Currently Listening to:
In the car: Monkey Business - Black Eyed Peas

Currently in line to be watched:
Film - 21, Babel, Driving Lessons
TV - In Plain Sight, The Middleman, The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Currently Trying to Figure Out: What exactly Casper's motives are with me

Currently Working On: Avoiding the other office manager

Currently Worried About: My health - my stomach has really been acting up

Currently Girlcrush: [still] Anne Hathaway

Current Boycrush: Becks

Currently [sadly]: The last person in the world who hasn't seen The Dark Knight

Currently Fascinated by: Facebook

Currently Concerned that: Introducing the "who would you do?" game to co-workers wasn't the best idea :)

I'm sure they use this in sports - I think it's called a turning point, but as we all know, I'll leave the sports references to Jock Girl.

I always think of the show Alias when I think of the term. I don't know if you remember, but back in Season 1, Sydney (J.Garner) was a double agent, she worked for the FBI and the nefarious SD-6. During the episode after the Super Bowl, they actually blew up the offices of SD-6 and she was able to carry on her love affair with her FBI handler and have some semblance of a regular life (if you can call a spy show, "a regular life").

Anyhoo, here goes...

Professionally, the other office manager that I've spoken griped about so much here, has put in his two weeks notice. There's a whole story about the way it was done, how I have very little (if any) respect for him, and at this point, can barely look at him. I'm not feeling rational about it, so I'll spare you for now.

Personally, I fielded a call from Casper last night. The message said, "Call me, I would really like to talk to you." Usually, it's like, "was thinking about you, thought you'd be up and we could have a laugh," so it seemed more urgent. I called and he said, "I have news. This isn't working out here like I thought it would, and I already put in a call to [my previous employer] and if all goes well, I should be moving back soon." And later, of course, what we've all been waiting for, "I think I kinda miss you. No, scratch that. I DO miss you." I know you all know how Casper's been a dick, but you also know I still love him, so I think this may be it...

Yesterday, I was all excited to post and for some reason, LiveJournal wouldn't load. I'm sure it was just a fluke. Anyway, here's what caught my attention...


Hook up with Help the Honey Bees.

I've been thinking about it for quite some time, but hadn't quite made it to the website.

It's crazy to me that if they don't find a reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, we may not get to eat all the wonderful fruits, vegetables, and nuts that we pretty much take for granted now. You can read more about that at The Natural Resources Defense Council.

One of the places at the forefront of this research is Penn State...I think I may just give the alma mater some money this year - I get a phone call or letter often, but tend to ignore it. In other news, Penn State made #3 on the "Party School" list this year, but it's way more than that, as evidenced by the bees - they also have a football team...Just kidding!