mixed emotions

before i go into full details, 

i should start with some updates.

last weekend,

i was down in des moines to meet up with whitney (my potentially new roommate).

we sat down over supper at legends and got to know each other  a little.

i'm not so sure how much she would agree with me on this, but we have a lot in common.

after an hour of chit chat, we decided we are a good match for each other, and apartment searching would begin.

i know there is curiousity stirring about how dillon and i were planning on being roommates, so where did whitney come into this picture?

simply put,

we all thought this would be the better fit for me.

i'm one hundred percent sure this is what i want to do, and dillon is a little less sure.

so saturday morning,

we got together and drove all over des moines.

oh my gosh, how annoying is apartment searching. especially on a saturday when most leasing offices are only open until 4 or 5.

we viewed two that were definite possibilities, but the cons out weighed the pros at the end out the day.

on sunday,

we had a lot of time to process everything.

our requirements of our potential apartment were adjusted based on what we saw the previous day,

and more online searching began.

so by monday night i had a list and a route of five different places to view on tuesday morning.

it was narrowed down to three places - that worked out great because i got lost which stole an hour of my time - and after viewing them, it was narrowed down to two potentials.

i then had my interview at verizon wireless, which went well, and was on my way back to storm lake.

while i was working and packing all week.

whitney was viewing another apartment.

and this is where it all falls into place.

meadow ridge apartments

includes:

1100 square feet

*2 bedrooms

*1 3/4 bathrooms

wood burning fireplace

*water, sewer, and trash included in monthly rent

*cetral air and heat

*cable and internet bundled at a low rate

*pets allowed - even dogs.

(*met our requirements)

just exactly how excited am i?

freaking out excited.

but oh lordy,

the stress can go away any time now.

so our appointment to move in is on saturday at twelve o' clock.

luckily for us, 

weather is supposed to be nasty with approx four inches of snow - there is a lot of sarcasm in that.

but no really... yuck.

anyways, i'm picking up the u-haul today at ten o' clock this morning.

keifer is driving up when he is off work to help load everything up, and kalvin is going to help as well - thank you so much to the two of you (and possibly casey, shelby's boyfriend).

keifer will be staying the night and we will be taking off first thing in the morning. 

he doesn't know it yet,

but he is driving the u-haul that will be pulling my car and i'll be driving his car;p

once there and all checked in and paperwork is signed and paid for, 

erin and shane are lending a helping hand to help unload.

did i mention this apartment is on second floor? 

i'll say my prayers now for those at the bottom of the stairs while moving the tv stand...

hopefully, saturday and sunday i can get all unpacked and settled in.

monday, i am supposed to start my job at the maids,but i'm also to have a final interview with verizon sometime as well sometime next week. that is a cluster f...

but friday will be a nice relaxing getaway.

keifer and i have the luke bryan concert.

yay:)

well that is where i will leave off for now.

there will be pictures to come of the moving tomorrow i'm sure. 

so keep a look out!

have a good day for it is friday!!

when morning comes

this one will be short and sweet,

but i thought i might update you all on my day tomorrow.

i am getting up bright and early... seven o' clock in the morning to be exact.

i have five apartments that i will be stopping at to see if i can squeeze in a quick tour and gather some information.

(have one apartment or two in mind as of right now, but want to make sure i see all my options)

than at eleven o' clock i have an interview at verizon wireless in altoona - all thanks be to jarael madyun!

things aren't falling into place quite yet like i had hoped would happen this weekend,

but i trust they will soon.

that's it for now.

until next time

:)

busy, busy, busy

well, these next two weeks are going to be crazy.

starting with tomorrow morning.

i have a phone interview at ten o' clock,

followed by a dentist appointment.

(i hate the dentist; my teeth always hurt afterwards)

then i am going into work early to get some extra hours.

wednesday,

i work all day.

literally.

six in the morning to nine at night.

"money, money, money", right?!

and thursday,

i have an eye doctor appointment.

hopefully, i can get some contacts ordered, because i never wear my glasses. and boy am i blind.

i'm almost positive there should be some restriction on my license that forbids me to drive at night without my glasses, but even then my vision is still not all that great.

then i have a short day of work, getting off at five, and heading back to des moines.

have i mentioned how much i have begun to hate this drive.

but...

i'll be there until monday or tuesday night as usual. 

hopefully get more things figured out:

more job interviews and applications to do, as well as maybe see another apartment or two.

once i am back,

i have another week where packing and working will fill my days.

i have a going away get together with all the girlies from work and possibly a few others on the 29th: wild wing night at the one and only regatta grille.

(if you are in the area, feel free to join)

i sure am going to miss everyone,

but time to move forward.

and hopefully, if all goes as planned,

i'll be starting my new job on the third.

well, until next time...

have a wonderful week everyone.

:)

watch me grow

i was looking at my baby book the other day,

which i've seen a million times,

but i couldn't help but laugh while going through it this time.

so i came up with this brilliant and embarrassing idea to share some photos.

i'll start at one week old, or "the ugly duckling", and go from there.
i was 10 lbs. 14 oz. and honestly the ugliest baby i have ever seen.
i mean look at that face.
you know how when it's your child or family the baby is cute no matter what?
i can't imagine anyone thought i was:/
so you know what strangers were thinking...

thankfully by nine months i lost some weight and gained some cuteness.

and my hair went from black to blonde.

now i don't care who you are,

admit it.

i was a doll!

(that could have been mistaken for a boy with long hair, right?!)

and at one year...

why would a mother put her child in such an ugly outfit?!

this is still at one year,

but i have to share.

for some reason my parents thought this was ok and even took a picture.

two years old

and absolutely adorable

as are kalvin and ashley as well.

(does anyone else think i look like michelle on full house?)

three years old.

dressed as a cowgirl.

i have always said i was going marry a cowboy and live on a farm with lots of horses.

yeah, that dream is far from my life today.

though, angie doesn't ever forget to remind me from time to time of my dream... that is now hers.

four,

and i just keep getting cuter.

angie and george sure did good:)

...and of course, ashley is still cute too.

five years old.

the year i forgot how to smile.

also the year ashley and i participated in bv county little miss pageant.

neither of us won.

needless to say, you don't win based on looks, that's for sure.

age six.

there isn't a doubt in anyone's mind that i'm angie's daughter at this point.

or any point after.

seven.

the year my hair was no longer down to my butt.

(anyone noticing how blonde my hair was naturally and how tan i was?)

eight years old.

this is the year the twins had arrived.

and i was no longer the baby of the family.

age nine.

ten.

eleven.

four through eleven almost all look like the same year.
and now at twelve years old,
the "ugly duckling" starts to show again.

thirteen.
(this is the time the giggles start for me while looking at these photos...
well besides for the "huge, ugly baby" pic up top)

fourteen.

fifteen.

sixteen.
i believe this was the first year i actually put any color in my hair.
and started tanning.

and finally seventeen.

my senior year of high school.

in my opinion the "ugly duckling" has left the building again by this point.

but that's also a huge thank you to photoshop!

well, there you have it. 

you've seen me at my worst and

it can't get much worse than some of those.

at least i sure hope not:/

how much wood could a woodchuck wood if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

by the end of this post, you are going to know almost all the least important things about me.

and that is pretty much a promise.

got the idea from my favorite blogger, emily...

but hers wasn't as obnoxious as mine is going to seem.

i found it best to start with my greatest fear.

don't judge me.

i know, they are small and supposedly more afraid of us than we are them, but i'll tell you now...

this theory has obviously not been tested on me.

i'd prove it wrong.

it's a little bit of an exaggeration when i say i could be watching tv in the living room and see a spider on the ceiling in the bathroom on the other side of the house...

but that just goes to tell you that i have an eye for spotting them, but i have to if i want to save myself from the dangerous, scary little shits... ick!

it only seems to make sense that i find my happy place after sharing my not so happy place.

i hate winter.

why i am still in iowa, well, i blame on my family. they are here and not leaving anytime soon... or ever.

and so i can't just up and leave.

but summer,

i love summer in iowa.

not too humid.

it's just right.

best part about summer is laying out, catching some sun.

and when i say lay out, i mean ONLY laying out. 

i will pay the $12 to get into king's pointe water park to just lay on a chair... no lie.

ok, sometimes, but very rare, do you find me on an inner tube on the lazy river, but still even then the most that gets wet are my legs, butt, and hands.

as much as i love summer
fall is my favorite time of the year.
a lot of it has to do with the changing colors of the leaves...

...but most of it has to do with the change in wardrobe.
and i think i can say that for every girl in iowa. 
i love when legging, boots, and scarves can be worn.
and its pretty much my outfit every day in the fall, winter, and beginning of spring.

ok i have a some minor major issue issues.

i like to call it collecting.

others might say it is hoarding to some degree.

but most people say i am a shopaholic.

i love those $5 bins at walmart.
oh, and black friday movies for $1.9?
movie heaven.
i'm going to have to say that all 171 movies came from walmart.
well, besides the select few that were gifts,
but they more than likely came from walmart as well.

willow tree dolls you can't judge me for. they really are just collectibles. (this is not all of them...) i have never spent a penny on one for myself. but i am rather obsessed with them. so, always the perfect gift for me no matter the occasion. clothing amazon.com malls they are all kind of the same thing. this was my closet at the beginning of the year. and this doesn't include the clothes in my dresser. i have added to it since. boy, is that the truth. and i'm not exaggerating when i say that in a six month period i have had 73 packages (that is not items, simply just packages) come in the mail from amazon alone. intervention? I'LL DO IT! i have yet to be diagnosed, but i'm pretty sure i have that binge eating disorder. (no, this is not a pregnancy picture) but no, really. people that don't know me, look at me and wouldn't believe that i have the stomach a five hundred pound man. well, no i don't really know that, but you get what i am saying... ...i can eat! and that is pretty much what i look like after eating, and i can guarantee that i was NOT even close to being full when i took this photo. oh the day my eating habits catch up to me... that won't be pleasant for anyone.  my idea of fun: #1 christmas 2012, keifer got me some sims 3 games, as well as, a wireless keyboard and mouse. so i hook my computer up to my tv and play sims on a 42" flat screen while sitting on the couch! i don't even play with sims characters, i just delete everything in the towns and rebuild it all. #2 ever since i was little, i've spent a lot of time at bowling alleys. my mom and dad used to bowl leagues and when i was eleven or twelve i was even on a league for a couple years. i sucked. so i stopped. but this last fall i got back into it. even got a new ball:) and just in case you were wondering what my high score is: 173. so i'm not amazing, but i'm working on it. plus that is a straight ball. few other "ideas of fun" without pictures: #3 sunday football with a drink in hand and some scratch tickets. #4 cleaning. #5 blogging! i don't care the time of day, breakfast food is thee best food. coffee is the best way to start any and every morning. whether it is with food or not, smart start to the day. but i do have to drown it with coffee creamer and twenty teaspoons of sugar. i can't eat them all the time, but pancakes are on the top of my list. but they have to have chocolate chips in them. otherwise i'm not a huge fan. i guess now is my chance to brag about how awesome my pancakes are. the twins say mine are so much better, so much fluffier than my mom's. when your children are against your cooking, that's saying something. and that is... my chocolate chip pancakes are better than yours mom! oh and keifer likes to mention how good they are to his friends from time to time. that also says something too, because i can't cook and when i try... it's close to being non-edible. i'm a girl so it should only seem normal, but it hasn't always been until my trip to texas this past december: my newly found obsession with nail polish. i never paint my finger nails, only my toe nails. the polish on my toe nails seems to last forever. but my nails, not even 20 minutes after applying the polish, i have a chip or smudge it. and as soon as i get a chip, i have a habit of picking it all off on ALL nails. so what was the point. when i graduated high school the plan was to attend hawkeye community college for the interior design program. i had the acceptance letter and an apartment lease signed. but i decided not to go and instead attend iowa central community college for absolutely nothing. this tv stand i designed first semester of my senior year in computer aided drafting. second semester i built it in  woods class. i had so much fun doing it, and i even enjoyed the complications that came with it. decorating, designing, organizing... that's my ideal career. i just don't want to do it every day and end up losing the fun and enjoyment i find in it. i hate needles. heads up... if you're going to stick a needle in me, you best be giving me a heads up. i don't want to see it. and i don't want to know when you are going to do it. but oddly enough, there is one needle i can't seem to get enough of. tattoos. how relaxing. and the sound of the gun is even better. i didn't start little or in the spot that would cause the least amount of pain. i started with 7 chinese symbols down my right side. been addicted ever since. and not that i have three or four (i added to one later), i can tell you i am not done getting them. i honestly can't see myself without a dog ever again. these two are my babies.  easton (left) and daisy (right). i got daisy for keifer when he graduated bvu almost 2 years ago. when he moved to des moines, he took her with him and i was rather lonely. so i got easton. got both of them from the same breeder. both chihuahuas. both runts of the litters. and boy, do we love them to pieces, even if easton is a little special in his own unique way;p and finally i will come to an end with what i have been living by for the last few months or so: definitely something i think a lot more people need to live by. my story is still in the very beginning.