I got some good news this week.  We finally know where we will be moving and where I will be attending law school beginning in the fall.  Unfortunately, I did not get into my top choice, but PLEASE do not comment and say “I am so sorry” because I am totally fine with it.  My top choice was a private school and although it would have been so nice to live back at home near my friends and family, it would have cost us SO much more.  With my school, I will be saving about $22,000 because of my scholarship.  Also, Tom and I will be able to start our marriage completely fresh and on our own; not that I wouldn’t prefer to have his family and mine closer for us to lean on when we need them, but I really think it will help our marriage to be away.  We’ve already told our families that our house will be the “vacation house” so they will have to come visit.  I am so incredibly excited (and proud of myself) because I am actually doing it - really and truly going to law school!!!

With finals and all that, I have seriously been slacking with working out, and my good eating habits have gone out the window.  This morning, I started up again.  The gym is going to be my last “errand” of the day and when I get back from that, I will be shredding.  I weighed myself this morning AND I GAINED A POUND FROM LAST WEEK.  UGH.  I was talking with a friend and she recommended that I should stop weighing myself and instead get a measuring tape to measure myself once a week.  With all the strength training I’m doing, it makes more sense to pay attention to the inches but not the pounds. 

And lastly, I was tagged by one of my favorite people to post a picture of myself that I JUST took.  I took three and couldn’t choose, so I’ll just post all of them:

Um yeah.  Still in my pajamas, hair unwashed, face unwashed, and … I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet.  Why did you make me do this, Rachael?!

I am going to get a couple other people to do this, so consider yourself tagged Tiffany, Jessica, Katharina, and Lynn!  Here are the rules:  

• Take a picture of yourself right now.
• No primping or preparing.
• Just snap a picture.
• Load the picture onto your blog.
• Tag some people to play along.

Have fun! :)

We came back on Sunday night and went to bed early.  Yesterday I hit the gym bright and early and learned a couple new machines – I even tried the rowing machine which I have never done before.  I liked it – burned 120 calories in 15 minutes!  That thing is amazing.  I’m going to need to get a pair of gloves or something, though, because my hands were rubbed raw from pulling the wooden bar so much.

I wanted to go back to the gym today but I am getting this allergy/cold thing (not sure which one just yet) and feeling pretty gross.  I tell you, when does the sickness end?!  It seems like everyone keeps getting sick over and over again.  STOP IT POLLEN.

In other news, I have received two acceptance letters to law school so far, with scholarships to both schools!  One is out of state and I will not be accepting it since I have received acceptance from one school (so far.. hopefully the rest will accept me also) that is in state.  In state means cheaper tuition and less money I will have to take out in loans.  Pllllllease keep your fingers crossed for me!  I still haven’t heard from my top school but I should be hearing in the next few weeks.  We would be okay with going to the in state school I’ve been accepted to so far, but it’s not as close to our parents’ homes, the beach, our nephew, etc. as my top choice is.  As Rachie put it, my top choice is the “perfect place” for us.  Plus Tom could transfer within his company and continue to create cad drawings instead of starting all over at another company.

I promise to be better with updating and commenting.  For the record, I really do read your blogs on a regular basis.  It’s just the commenting that I’m bad at sometimes.  I guess that’s why I don’t get upset when people comment on my site all the time.  Life is busy and hectic, and people’s first priority isn’t to visit the blog!

It will have to be at least two bedrooms, but preferably three.  I want a guest room and an office that we can later turn into another guestroom or nursery (if we end up staying in our first house that long).  Two bathrooms would be perfect, but the master bathroom should definitely be bigger than the one we have now.  The kitchen will have to be pretty big, but we’re planning to basically redo any kitchen we come across so it suits me better.  I want pull out cabinet drawers and a pantry.  We would have a pantry now except a) the closet is not in the kitchen (which I hate) and b) there is a freezer in there currently.

The washer/dryer should be in the two car garage.  I am sick of going outside to do the laundry.  When it’s raining, I (and the clean clothes) get rained on.  When it’s cold and I don’t feel like putting on 10 layers of clothes, the laundry goes untouched for days on end.

I also want a side yard that I can plant a garden in.  Not just a flower garden, but one for vegetables and herbs.  Having a window box with four herbs is just not doing it for me.  I also want to be able to plant all kinds of flowers in the front and backyard.  The backyard needs to be big enough for the dogs to stretch their legs.  It should be fenced – preferably with high vinyle fencing in white – no aluminum fence installation for us.  I just think they look very uninviting and just … out of place in a residential backyard.

Like I’ve mentioned before, we’re going for a fixer upper that we can turn into a beautiful home that we are proud of.  Of course, none of this stuff is going to happen over night.  It is so much fun to think about what our future house will look like though!  I get excited everyday just dreaming about it.

The paper statement arrived two days ago.  It shows meter readings for May through June and June through July.  Keep in mind, I have never ever defaulted on my utility bill (well, on any bills actually).  I distinctly remember paying and verified that the funds came from my account.  Note that this bill is NOT for my current apartment that I have been in since July 15; this bill is ONLY for my old apartment.

So I call the utility company, and a very nice lady started to explain what the problem was, but upon looking into it further basically had no idea what was going on.  She promised me that she would look into it and return my call the next day (yesterday) when she knew exactly what was going on.

I heard nothing.  After class today, I got back on the phone with the utility company.  This time, a fairly unpleasant woman spoke with me.  She told me that originally, the meter was misread, so they issued me a check for X amount (true, and I deposited it).  But, when they “went back and looked at their records,” the amount was actually correct.  So the $250 charge on a closed account was for an error on an error in their meter reading.

Sounds shady, right?  I think it does.  The meter reading that they first thought was incorrect caused them to send us a bill for about $250 – the highest we EVER paid in the two years we lived in that apartment was $171 and some change, so this was NOT correct.  I’m also wondering how they realized that they made a mistake.  The meter reading wouldn’t have changed, so what information are they going by that caused them to change their mind on the credit to my account?

I got off the phone with the rude woman and called my mom to explain the situation to her and get some feedback.  Plus, I wanted to see what Tom said and thought about the situation, too.  Tomorrow I’m going to call and speak with a supervisor and ask for copies of statements from the past year (since I can’t get them from my online account because it’s CLOSED … how ironic!) as well as the exact meter readings for those twelve months.  I wouldn’t really care if it was just a few extra dollars, but paying around $500 between the old bill and new bill, something just seems funny.  I’m fighting this tooth and nail!

On the puppy front: Hunter has adjusted SO WELL to being with us.  We haven’t had an accident in several days and after four times of teaching “sit” he already knows the command!  He’s fairly good at coming when he is called, and sleeps a lot in the afternoons after he’s been worn out during play time.  He’s still pretty afraid of cars and any loud noises outside (ex. last night there was a weed wacker across the street from where we were walking, and he wouldn’t budge for a good 10 minutes).  We’re working on the fear, though – not forcing the issue, but slowly making progress.  At the vet yesterday, Hunter was an angel (according to Tom).  He weighs 18 lbs, has a tiny case of hookworm (apparently pretty common in puppies, but an extremely mild case), and is more like 16 weeks old, not 13 like we thought.  He has one more shot and then he’ll be done with puppy shots altogether.  We absolutely ADORE him even when he’s misbehaving.  I’ve been working with him on biting (when he’s playing he gets a little rough sometimes) and that’s going well.  He also met Tom’s mom, sister and nephew last weekend – he LOVED playing with a two year old little boy (who loved playing with the puppy).

On the move front: I turned in the keys to the old apartment yesterday.  WHAT A RELIEF.  I am so glad to be out of that tiny place.  Our apartment now is much bigger, and I’m happy to say that we’re 100% moved in and unpacked.  We’ve had maintenance in here fixing the small stuff – they have been very quick and happy to help with whatever we’ve needed.  So far, I really like this complex and am pleased with the people working here and the neighbors.  There are no noise problems, either!

On the school front: I am almost finished with my ASL 2 class.  I have a project due next week along with my SCPI (basically an interview with my professor which will determine my level of proficiency in the language).  I am taking ASL 3 in the fall (I think I mentioned this already) and am excited about it!  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about law school, the LSAT, etc. etc.  I’m thinking about getting my MBA.  I’d love to get my MBA and law degree at the same time, so I’m looking into that at the moment.  I still need to retake my LSAT, though.

On the family front: My older sister and her daughter came to Florida to visit last week.  We had a ton of fun going to theme parks and visiting our aunt and uncle.  I also made a birthday cake for her (her birthday was Sunday, the day they left) that she ended up having for breakfast because she liked it so much the night before!  I’m hoping we’ll be able to get out and visit them in Texas more often.  Time and money are scarce for me right now, but I plan on really making an effort.  Family is so important and I’d hate to lose that relationship.

Man, I’m stuffed.  A friend and I went out for lunch to catch up (since we haven’t seen each other in forever!) and I ate too much.  Now I have to do a little bit of homework and start some laundry before class.  Thankfully, I have started to be on a fairly normal work schedule again.  The office is pretty happy about that – with everything going on this summer, I’ve been a bit unreliable.  Thankfully, though, they understand, and my work doesn’t make it necessary for me to be there at the same time or same day as the previous week.

Sometimes, I go through tough times. Nothing particularly bad goes on in my life, I just don’t always have the most positive attitude. In the past several weeks, I’ve realized how easy it is for me to go from being in a great mood to seriously hating my life. It’s like someone has flipped a switch, and that concerns me.

But to be honest, I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful family – despite the major drama we have going on from time to time – they are supportive of me and only want what is best for me. I wouldn’t be who I am today without Tom. I can’t wait to take on his last name and make our relationship the most official it can be. My little kitty cat makes me so happy, too – he knows just how to cheer me up. I really think animals know when you’re sad or upset, even if you’re not outwardly showing it. This new little puppy is already very protective of Tom and I, too.

School is going well, I have the most amazing friends a girl could ask for, my bills are paid, there’s food on the table. I have a good job, go to a GREAT university, and have spent the last three years of my life living it up and enjoying myself immensely. I’ve grown a lot, and learned even more about myself than I ever could imagine.

With all of that being said, why shouldn’t I be more positive? I need to learn to push the negative thoughts away – as I just demonstrated, there is no reason to have the negative thoughts. There’s nothing about me that needs to change – maybe minor things, like not cursing so much or getting more exercise – but I’m not a bad person. I am compassionate, helpful, genuine, and trustworthy. Daily, I need to remind myself of this because in some cases where confidence is essential, I’m being held back. Considering the way my life is right now, why shouldn’t I be more confident?