what a weekend!
i will say it's been quite the weekend. there was lots to do and a lot of fun to have. i wish i had more time to recuperate, though...
friday
i got my hair cut early in the afternoon. it was much needed. my first hair cut after the wedding wasn't nearly as short as i would've liked. i stuck with it as long as possible, but even toughing it out for another week was too much for me. i got it really short this time and definitely can last until after the triathlon the first weekend of may. after the hair cut, i headed to the mall for new socks, make-up, undies, bra, and outfit for easter sunday. the socks, make-up, and undies weren't hard to find and purchase, but the outfit turned out to be quite the goose-chase. i started at the gap and banana republic. i have a few gift cards and exchange credit at the gap, but they didn't have anything. they're all khakis and cargos and cardigans. banana republic had a few things, but the things i liked were way out of my budget. i also tried on a pair of pants, which were on sale, and they didn't fit (the size 10 felt like a 6, even a 4) and a top which was so horribly unflattering i nearly ripped it to shreds. next was express, only because i have a credit card there and coupons to use. they had nothing easter-y. i headed to macy's, an old stand-by. unfortunately, at my current age i'm too old for anything in the junior department but too young for everything else. i'm left with nothing that is within my style and budget. next in line was j.crew, only because it was on my way to nordstrom. they had a nice dress, but again out of my budget. nordstrom was also outside my budget, even though they have nice things. i came out of nordstrom and didn't have another destination in mind. i looked around and saw the limited, which is slightly older and less club-y than its sister store, express. i looked around in the rather empty store and found a dress. it was super cute and, to sweeten the deal even further, it was 30%-off. i was sold and came home.
later that evening, dariosmonkey came over and we headed to dinner at the counter for delicious burgers, fries and a chocolate shake! we also had a great time together that emphasized the need to get together more often than what we're currently experiencing. :)
saturday
after meeting up with TBC, marshall headed out for a hair cut while i stayed home and cleaned up a few things. after marshall got back, we saddled up for a 20 mile bike ride. i was getting nervous because i'm still getting used to my clip-in pedals on my new bike. it turned out to be a great ride and everything went smoothly. if you're curious, this is the route we took (make sure bicycle directions are being used rather than car). it was super windy, which was annoying, but overall it was a really good ride and i haven't been on a ride that wonderful in ages. i needed it. :)
i had just enough time when i got home to shower and pack a bag before i headed over to my friend nic's house for a boudoir photo shoot. i didn't know what to expect, but i brought along a few sexy outfits. i ended up using mostly just one outfit and it seemed to work well. it ended up being a lot of fun, even though i kinda felt awkward through most of it. i also got to meet nic and jesse's new puppy, who is the cutest thing ever. he's also the sweetest dog and meeting him you'd never think he was a rescue dog. i think everyone had a great time, too. i can't wait to see the pictures, though. from what little i saw, there were a couple that came out OK. if there are any that come out well, maybe i'll post a couple here... ;) anyway, we enjoyed pizza and wine for dinner and enjoyed some time in the hot tub. it was beautiful and really relaxed my tired muscles. :)
sunday
sunday was easter, but before we could celebrate in any way, we headed out for a morning run. it was the first run which involved sprints and they were exhausting. the run itself was only 20 minutes, but we had to include three 60-second sprints. i at least survived, if that. adhering to tradition, we met up with my parents at church for easter mass. it was nice, even if i don't like the new pastor. at least i didn't have as much of an issue with his homily as i did at christmas. i actually agreed with the majority of what he was saying, which i could not say about his christmas homily. i did make a significant decision, though, and did not take communion at church. i mentioned at christmas that i'm having a hard time believing and agreeing with all of the teachings of the church. my mom suggested that if my believe and faith were not completely in-line that i should rethink taking communion, which is celebrating what truly makes us catholic. you could certainly say the same thing about mass in general, but i really enjoy the time for meditation and i love the ritual aspects of the catholic mass. it could've been that my body was tired from the run, but i felt much more peaceful than other times before. it was really nice. :) in keeping further with tradition, marshall and i headed over to have a donut after church. instead of going to maple leaf, which is across the street from church, we drove to psycho donuts to enjoy what they had special for easter. they had some great ones and i thoroughly enjoyed my "passion of the christ II" donut, which was a jesus-shaped donut complete with strawberry pocky "nails" in the hands and feet, and chocolate icing crown of thorns atop his head. it was filled with a white chocolate and passionfruit custard filling. it was good, but quite rich. marshall enjoyed a "hot chick" donut, which was a chick-shaped donut topped with marshmallow fluff and filled with custard and sprinkled with chili powder. quite the delicacy! :)
later that afternoon we headed out with my parents to danville to have our easter dinner with my godparents. we've been going to their house each year for the last 7-8 years and it's always a lot of fun. we got there early so we could hang out and catch up. everyone was interested in hearing marshall and my stories about the wedding and post wedding activities. there was lots of drink, food, and great conversation. my godparents and their relatives are just wonderful people and i love the time we share each holiday. :)
+_+_+
aside from what was going on this weekend, i've been trying to get in touch with my HR department regarding my benefits. i called last week to opt out of my current health benefits and was informed that i could NOT opt out because i missed the 30-day window after the wedding in order to alter my benefits. i was never informed about this 30-day period and i even contacted my department HR rep before my wedding about benefits and name change and all she told me in her reply was to contact the 800-number for our HR department. hardly helpful and there was so much going on i didn't get a chance to call the number at the time. i also was waiting until i had my benefits straitened out with marshall's company before i was going to cancel my benefits here. i tried calling the number this morning and was on hold for 20 minutes before i hung up. it really sucks that they'll keep taking the $50-60 from each paycheck for benefits i'm not even going to use. i hope if i can press hard enough i can get something to move. i don't have high hopes, though. :(
+_+_+
the feng shui of our apartment has been wreaking havoc on my emotional well-being. i'm feeling cramped by the stuff littered around our office and the fact that having both bikes resting in the middle of the room has rendered that entire room useless. i can't move freely and my desk has been piling up with stuff i haven't filed away. the plan is to cull books from the bookshelf and move the bookshelf into our bedroom. then we'll move my desk to the wall where the bookshelf was and put the bike rack against the wall where my desk currently sits. once all that is taken care of, i'm hoping to feel better about our house and i can go back to using my desktop again. i have a couple of games waiting for me to play and if i wait any longer, school will start and i won't have any time. speaking of games, i haven't logged into my WoW account for the last 3 months, almost, and i'm wondering if i should just put a pause on my account, so i'm not paying for a game i'm not playing. so yeah, i would like to have some order back into our house soon. i think i'll feel better once that's taken care of. :)
friday
i got my hair cut early in the afternoon. it was much needed. my first hair cut after the wedding wasn't nearly as short as i would've liked. i stuck with it as long as possible, but even toughing it out for another week was too much for me. i got it really short this time and definitely can last until after the triathlon the first weekend of may. after the hair cut, i headed to the mall for new socks, make-up, undies, bra, and outfit for easter sunday. the socks, make-up, and undies weren't hard to find and purchase, but the outfit turned out to be quite the goose-chase. i started at the gap and banana republic. i have a few gift cards and exchange credit at the gap, but they didn't have anything. they're all khakis and cargos and cardigans. banana republic had a few things, but the things i liked were way out of my budget. i also tried on a pair of pants, which were on sale, and they didn't fit (the size 10 felt like a 6, even a 4) and a top which was so horribly unflattering i nearly ripped it to shreds. next was express, only because i have a credit card there and coupons to use. they had nothing easter-y. i headed to macy's, an old stand-by. unfortunately, at my current age i'm too old for anything in the junior department but too young for everything else. i'm left with nothing that is within my style and budget. next in line was j.crew, only because it was on my way to nordstrom. they had a nice dress, but again out of my budget. nordstrom was also outside my budget, even though they have nice things. i came out of nordstrom and didn't have another destination in mind. i looked around and saw the limited, which is slightly older and less club-y than its sister store, express. i looked around in the rather empty store and found a dress. it was super cute and, to sweeten the deal even further, it was 30%-off. i was sold and came home.
later that evening, dariosmonkey came over and we headed to dinner at the counter for delicious burgers, fries and a chocolate shake! we also had a great time together that emphasized the need to get together more often than what we're currently experiencing. :)
saturday
after meeting up with TBC, marshall headed out for a hair cut while i stayed home and cleaned up a few things. after marshall got back, we saddled up for a 20 mile bike ride. i was getting nervous because i'm still getting used to my clip-in pedals on my new bike. it turned out to be a great ride and everything went smoothly. if you're curious, this is the route we took (make sure bicycle directions are being used rather than car). it was super windy, which was annoying, but overall it was a really good ride and i haven't been on a ride that wonderful in ages. i needed it. :)
i had just enough time when i got home to shower and pack a bag before i headed over to my friend nic's house for a boudoir photo shoot. i didn't know what to expect, but i brought along a few sexy outfits. i ended up using mostly just one outfit and it seemed to work well. it ended up being a lot of fun, even though i kinda felt awkward through most of it. i also got to meet nic and jesse's new puppy, who is the cutest thing ever. he's also the sweetest dog and meeting him you'd never think he was a rescue dog. i think everyone had a great time, too. i can't wait to see the pictures, though. from what little i saw, there were a couple that came out OK. if there are any that come out well, maybe i'll post a couple here... ;) anyway, we enjoyed pizza and wine for dinner and enjoyed some time in the hot tub. it was beautiful and really relaxed my tired muscles. :)
sunday
sunday was easter, but before we could celebrate in any way, we headed out for a morning run. it was the first run which involved sprints and they were exhausting. the run itself was only 20 minutes, but we had to include three 60-second sprints. i at least survived, if that. adhering to tradition, we met up with my parents at church for easter mass. it was nice, even if i don't like the new pastor. at least i didn't have as much of an issue with his homily as i did at christmas. i actually agreed with the majority of what he was saying, which i could not say about his christmas homily. i did make a significant decision, though, and did not take communion at church. i mentioned at christmas that i'm having a hard time believing and agreeing with all of the teachings of the church. my mom suggested that if my believe and faith were not completely in-line that i should rethink taking communion, which is celebrating what truly makes us catholic. you could certainly say the same thing about mass in general, but i really enjoy the time for meditation and i love the ritual aspects of the catholic mass. it could've been that my body was tired from the run, but i felt much more peaceful than other times before. it was really nice. :) in keeping further with tradition, marshall and i headed over to have a donut after church. instead of going to maple leaf, which is across the street from church, we drove to psycho donuts to enjoy what they had special for easter. they had some great ones and i thoroughly enjoyed my "passion of the christ II" donut, which was a jesus-shaped donut complete with strawberry pocky "nails" in the hands and feet, and chocolate icing crown of thorns atop his head. it was filled with a white chocolate and passionfruit custard filling. it was good, but quite rich. marshall enjoyed a "hot chick" donut, which was a chick-shaped donut topped with marshmallow fluff and filled with custard and sprinkled with chili powder. quite the delicacy! :)
later that afternoon we headed out with my parents to danville to have our easter dinner with my godparents. we've been going to their house each year for the last 7-8 years and it's always a lot of fun. we got there early so we could hang out and catch up. everyone was interested in hearing marshall and my stories about the wedding and post wedding activities. there was lots of drink, food, and great conversation. my godparents and their relatives are just wonderful people and i love the time we share each holiday. :)
+_+_+
aside from what was going on this weekend, i've been trying to get in touch with my HR department regarding my benefits. i called last week to opt out of my current health benefits and was informed that i could NOT opt out because i missed the 30-day window after the wedding in order to alter my benefits. i was never informed about this 30-day period and i even contacted my department HR rep before my wedding about benefits and name change and all she told me in her reply was to contact the 800-number for our HR department. hardly helpful and there was so much going on i didn't get a chance to call the number at the time. i also was waiting until i had my benefits straitened out with marshall's company before i was going to cancel my benefits here. i tried calling the number this morning and was on hold for 20 minutes before i hung up. it really sucks that they'll keep taking the $50-60 from each paycheck for benefits i'm not even going to use. i hope if i can press hard enough i can get something to move. i don't have high hopes, though. :(
+_+_+
the feng shui of our apartment has been wreaking havoc on my emotional well-being. i'm feeling cramped by the stuff littered around our office and the fact that having both bikes resting in the middle of the room has rendered that entire room useless. i can't move freely and my desk has been piling up with stuff i haven't filed away. the plan is to cull books from the bookshelf and move the bookshelf into our bedroom. then we'll move my desk to the wall where the bookshelf was and put the bike rack against the wall where my desk currently sits. once all that is taken care of, i'm hoping to feel better about our house and i can go back to using my desktop again. i have a couple of games waiting for me to play and if i wait any longer, school will start and i won't have any time. speaking of games, i haven't logged into my WoW account for the last 3 months, almost, and i'm wondering if i should just put a pause on my account, so i'm not paying for a game i'm not playing. so yeah, i would like to have some order back into our house soon. i think i'll feel better once that's taken care of. :)