life in ambyville
i haven't been on here in a long time. i haven't posted in even longer. so, for anyone who might still actually read this, here's the update on life in old ambyland:
1. i bought a house. i live in gloucester city, nj now. it went against all of my philadelphian instincts to buy a home and put down roots in new jersey, but it was a real steal as far as its price, and it almost literally spoke to me when we walked in to take a look at it back in july or august of 2009. joe and i moved in on september 25. kitty, vivi, gina, jean, and jamby all helped me with painting and cleaning and getting it in a general livable state. it has since become a wonderful home for me and joe. we host a lot of parties. it's way more expensive owning a house (duh), but very well worth it in my humble opinion. :)
2. i still love my job. i did a totally kick ass year last year, and unfortunately, because of the recession we got no promotions or raises... of which i deserved both! but that's okay... hopefully this year will be better than the last. ;) i'm still working hard, i'm still traveling a lot, and now i'm even making presentations to groups without anyone there to help me. it's scary and exciting and wonderful all at the same time.
3. joe has been working a night shift since november. he usually gets home around 12:30 at night, now, but has both weekend days off. i really miss his old schedule because even though he got home around 7:30, we still got to hang out for a few hours a day. now we hardly see each other during the week, and the weekends are so packed full of errands and other social obligations that we hardly ever get to just chillax. but hopefully he'll get the promotion he's going out for this week, and he'll be able to go back to his old schedule. i've really, really missed him these past few months.
4. since joe's been working nights, i decided to get a dog to keep me company at night. his name is wally, and he's really adorable. things are a little rough sometimes - he bit me the first night i had him, and he gets growly and snappy if you push him or pull on him too much. but he's been neutered since we got him, and that helped a lot. i currently am paying a trainer to come to the house once a week to help me train him for obedience and stuff like that. i was severely stressed when we first brought him home because i felt like i'd never have him in a state where he listened to me, and where i wasn't worried about getting bit. but things have mellowed out a lot, and i can honestly say that i love him very much now.
5. i bought a new car last month. long story short - solly, my old honda civic hybrid, kicked the bucket. i bought a 2010 honda civic. dark blue, named jazmyn. holly made up the spelling. :) it's a dream come true driving a new car that works all the time... but a nightmare when i think about how much my car payments are.
6. this winter that just passed was probably the worst winter depression i've ever felt. there were a few weeks where all i wanted to do was lay in bed and cry. we had a lot of snow this winter. like, a lot a lot. probably over three feet total, which is... well, it's a lot. much of that time when the world was covered in snow, i spent pretty much alone in my house. but spring is here finally! joe and i have begun working on the outside of the house - front and back gardens, and the back yard. we spent all weekend mowing, weeding, bagging, raking... and i cut down the stupid bushes the previous owner of the house decided to plant. soon i'll get some azaleas to put in front, and i'll be able to plant the seedlings jean gave me next month. it's going to look awesome, and i'm going to be posting pictures of my progress here and on face pages.
1. i bought a house. i live in gloucester city, nj now. it went against all of my philadelphian instincts to buy a home and put down roots in new jersey, but it was a real steal as far as its price, and it almost literally spoke to me when we walked in to take a look at it back in july or august of 2009. joe and i moved in on september 25. kitty, vivi, gina, jean, and jamby all helped me with painting and cleaning and getting it in a general livable state. it has since become a wonderful home for me and joe. we host a lot of parties. it's way more expensive owning a house (duh), but very well worth it in my humble opinion. :)
2. i still love my job. i did a totally kick ass year last year, and unfortunately, because of the recession we got no promotions or raises... of which i deserved both! but that's okay... hopefully this year will be better than the last. ;) i'm still working hard, i'm still traveling a lot, and now i'm even making presentations to groups without anyone there to help me. it's scary and exciting and wonderful all at the same time.
3. joe has been working a night shift since november. he usually gets home around 12:30 at night, now, but has both weekend days off. i really miss his old schedule because even though he got home around 7:30, we still got to hang out for a few hours a day. now we hardly see each other during the week, and the weekends are so packed full of errands and other social obligations that we hardly ever get to just chillax. but hopefully he'll get the promotion he's going out for this week, and he'll be able to go back to his old schedule. i've really, really missed him these past few months.
4. since joe's been working nights, i decided to get a dog to keep me company at night. his name is wally, and he's really adorable. things are a little rough sometimes - he bit me the first night i had him, and he gets growly and snappy if you push him or pull on him too much. but he's been neutered since we got him, and that helped a lot. i currently am paying a trainer to come to the house once a week to help me train him for obedience and stuff like that. i was severely stressed when we first brought him home because i felt like i'd never have him in a state where he listened to me, and where i wasn't worried about getting bit. but things have mellowed out a lot, and i can honestly say that i love him very much now.
5. i bought a new car last month. long story short - solly, my old honda civic hybrid, kicked the bucket. i bought a 2010 honda civic. dark blue, named jazmyn. holly made up the spelling. :) it's a dream come true driving a new car that works all the time... but a nightmare when i think about how much my car payments are.
6. this winter that just passed was probably the worst winter depression i've ever felt. there were a few weeks where all i wanted to do was lay in bed and cry. we had a lot of snow this winter. like, a lot a lot. probably over three feet total, which is... well, it's a lot. much of that time when the world was covered in snow, i spent pretty much alone in my house. but spring is here finally! joe and i have begun working on the outside of the house - front and back gardens, and the back yard. we spent all weekend mowing, weeding, bagging, raking... and i cut down the stupid bushes the previous owner of the house decided to plant. soon i'll get some azaleas to put in front, and i'll be able to plant the seedlings jean gave me next month. it's going to look awesome, and i'm going to be posting pictures of my progress here and on face pages.