Pass the Pina Colada’s please

We may not have much of our wedding planned but we certainly have the honeymoon booked!  We are headed to Maui November 17th and will be there for 7 days 6 nights.  We are staying here and could not be happier.  The nice thing about traveling so much is that you can get free honeymoons!  I had to pay $20 for taxes on the flight and that’s it!

We better start working on our tans now so we don’t fry when we are there.  Ben and I are quite possibly the pastiest people around.

A taste of my own medicine.

So I am getting a taste of my own medicine.  What I mean is that I am usually the one to go out of town and to leave Ben here at home.  We have had a bit of a role reversal and Ben is now off on a ski adventure and I am stuck at home by myself with the animals.  I could not be more jealous.  He is going to Utah with his family to ski and have a blast I am sure. 

I decided not to go because I didn’t want to use the vacation that I know I will need for the wedding next year.  Yesterday, as we were shopping for ski pants I realized I would have only needed to take 3 days when initially I thought I would need 5.  Damn!  His brother and sister are always fun to hang out with and I know they will have a blast.  Ben’s mom on the other hand is a wonderful woman but I am not sure I can handle 7 days with her.  I talked to him about an hour ago and it already sounds like he is ready to hurt himself…his words were “I think I am going to jump off a cliff”. 

So today started out like any other morning with an early am flight.  We woke up around 4, left the house at 4:30, and drove to the airport but I was the driving away this time.  I don’t know how Ben does it.  I tend to be a bit of a worrier but I was a mess until I knew he was safely on the ground.  To do this every week would be too much for me. 

I have only been alone for about 6 hours and I am already bored out of my mind.  Given that I have the next 2 days off and I work from home my life is going to be incredibly lame.  I am currenlty debating on whether or not I should go to burbs to hang out with my mom and grandma or stay home to keep my cats company.  Oh the decisions!

Also, I am forced to spend New Years by myself because we only have “couple” friends and I don’t want to be a third wheel.

Off to continue the “Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s” marathon.

Cancelled

As I arrived at the O’hare International airport this afternoon my blackberry began to buzz.  It often does this when I ride the train because there is spotty service along the way.  I normally don’t pay much attention to it because it is typically boring emails that I don’t need to read right away.  Today, however I read it right away and it is a good thing I did.  In my inbox there was an email from United telling my my flight had been cancelled.  About 10 minutes later I got another one telling me I had been re-booked on a 6:20 am (!) flight tomorrow morning.  I appreciate the convenience of them doing this for me but they could have told me just a little sooner.  I had already paid for one cab and suffered the excruciatingly long train ride due to a massive stretch of “slow zone” that I am assured that will be fixed by December 2008 (!).

So…I got back on a train and 3 hours later am now sitting in our warm apartment listening to cats meow.

All in a days travels…

We’re Models

That’s right.  We were models for a day.  Ben and I had our engagement photos taken about three weeks ago and we are so pleased!  It was freezing cold outside and really cloudy but our photographer managed to make it look beautiful outside.  If you are looking for a photographer check out lifeonprints.com and chat with Tony.  They are awesome!  Here are some of my favorites:

And my favorite:

EWR to ORD

For all my loyal readers out there (all 2 of you) I thought I would write you another drunken airport post. For the record, I am in much worse shape than I was in my last drunk post. Typing is a biatch right now. This time I have had 2 glasses of wine and not a ton to eat. For some reason, I think my tolerance is getting lower.

Anyway…for some reason, every time I am in the Newark airport I find it necessary to get a little schnokered (I have no idea if that is how you really spell it but I am going with it). This time I was not by myself, I had partners in crime (however, I am pretty sure I am the only one that managed to get a massive “buzz”) , (has anyone ever noticed that I use a lot of parenthesis?)

I digress (man this is hard drunk). ANYWAY…I just had dinner and drinks with my team and it managed to make the last three days a little more palpable. I am just now leaving our annual sales meeting and it was terrible. I love the people on my team, we really do have a fun group but that doesn’t override the fact that my company hates my division. We only make up about 40% of overall sales with 2 accounts (if you can’t tell, I am being extremely sarcastic) yet the company acts like we are complete idiots and takes every chance it can to bash us.

This is not what I am used to when it comes to a typical sales meeting. For those not in the business world, sales meeting are typically BIG motivators. They are a way to kick off the new year with a good start. This year, our sales meeting left me thinking that I should update my resume and give it to a couple recruiters.

Anyway…at dinner, my boss informed me that our presentation went over well with the big wigs and he plans to get me a promotion in the near future. We’ll see if that actually ever happens (I am doubtful but optimistic…is that possible?)

OK, this typing business is far too difficult for my current state so I am going to move on to something a little less difficult. McSteamy, McDreamy, and the rest of the addictive show. Thank goodness for abc.com!

Life

So I am back to being bored out of my mind with work.  Ugh.  My boss just took on a new role, is moving, and is generally really scatter brained and has ignored pretty much everything I have emailed him/called him about in the last month.  I am all about being autonomous at work but come on…I need a little direction.  We have a huge meeting starting tomorrow and he told us today what we need to present.  He also didn’t get us numbers in time so we are presenting a year-end report with August numbers…right.

I am also back to feeling sorry for myself because my job is so lonely.  Seriously, I field about 5 calls a day and the rest of the time talk to my animals.  Working from home has some great advantages but it is sooo lonely.  It also makes it really difficult to meet people when you are always out of town. 

The weather is disgusting and I think it is putting me in an bad mood.  You would think life would be super fun right now given that it is the holiday season and I am getting married but I am just not feeling it. 

I know many couples have faced what Ben and I are going through so I am not looking for sympathy but wedding planning sucks!  I love how all the parents want the day to be about us yet they don’t listen to what we want.  I also have 3.5 mothers to deal with so maybe that is part of the problem.  I am also one of those people that wants to make everyone happy so I am having a hard time.  I think it is time to turn on bossy Abbie and let them all know how things are going to go.

 This post has basically turned into a bitch fest so I will refrain from writing the rest of my gloomy thoughts.  Give me 10 minutes I will be back in a good mood.

On a happy note, I had a wonderful dinner last night with two old co-workers.  We tried a new sushi place in the South Loop and caught up on all of our girl talk.  It is crazy how you can go over a year without seeing or talking to a person and feel right at home with them again.  It was truly wonderful to hang out with them both and I am looking forward to our next get together.

Back to talking to the animals.

Update: It’s Flippin Cold in Here!

So the heater has been fixed and I have learned a lesson.  It is absolutely imperative that you change your furnace filter once a month.  If not, you have to pay $108 for the heater man to flip a little switch to get everything working again.  Good thing our landlord (aka future mother-in-law) is super understanding and didn’t make us pay for it.

Ahh…back to the pseudo warmth of our 68 degree home.

It’s Flippin Cold in Here

Our furnace has been running for the last 18 hours or so without a break and the thermostat currently reads 57 degrees.  It is set for 68 and is no where near that mark.  I think I might freeze.  I am currently wearing a winter coat, shoes (which is a rarity), and am trying to figure out a way to wear gloves and type at the same time.  I think I  might have to pick up my “office” aka my computer and go elsewhere.  I feel bad for the animals…they look cold.  Ringo is keeping warm by attacking Kitty who is curled up in a ball on the bed while Charlie watches their shenanigans.

 The heater man better get here fast.