Sick as a dog

I have spent the last few days at home on the couch. Exciting, right? I'm sicker than I have been in a LONG time. Painful coughing and sneezing, sore body, absolutely NO energy or strength, not able to sleep at night (or during the day for more than a few minutes). It has been horrible. I started feeling symptoms Saturday, then I called in sick on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday I had off from work but they were wasted on that flippin' couch. I could have sworn I would be better by today (Wednesday) but even sitting in my car in the parking lot of the library is almost too much for me to handle. This sucks.

On the brighter side of things, at least I can only hear out of one ear right now so all the kids screaming outside aren't really bothering me too much. :-s

This is starting to make me feel crazy.

At least I have lovely Penny to cuddle with all day.

Oh, hi!

It would seem as though I completely forgot about this blog. Because I did. Oops. It's not as though it's an entertaining blog so I doubt anyone would notice my lack of updates but I do like to keep it up for whatever reason.

Since my last update, my life has been kind of busy.

Isaac and I went to Portland in August for his biometrics which is really just a picture and fingerprints. Why we had to drive all the way to Portland for that, I don't know. We even had to get a hotel and everything since we were scheduled pretty early in the day and I wasn't willing to try to drive there after midnight. Such a waste of money. We then went again in October for the adjustment of status interview. Another hotel, another long drive, another chunk of money out of our bank accounts. The interview went alright, even though I was so stressed out I started crying at one point :S. The only problem was we didn't have enough evidence of our co-sponsor's income and we were given a month to send it in. Just one month, just one chance. If we didn't send in the right evidence the ONE time, we wouldn't get another chance (unless we started all over again, payments and everything) and that would mean we wouldn't get the $1,000+ sent in for the adjustment of status back, not to mention the money for the HOTELS and DRIVES. We sent in the evidence in November but have yet to hear back from them. This is really stressing me out! How are we supposed to know where we stand?? Or if they even GOT it?????

I HATE THIS PROCESS, IT NEVER ENDS!

I love Isaac, though. At least he's here with me now instead of having to do all this while in different countries like with the k1 visa process.

In September we finally moved out of my parents' house. We are now renting a small house and we are enjoying being alone. The reason it took so long is because Isaac didn't receive his work permit until that month and I don't earn nearly enough at my job to feel comfortable. As soon as he got his work permit, we felt more comfortable even though it's hard to find a job anywhere.

In the end of October we also adopted a miniature dachshund from the pound. We named her Penny. We love her! We went to the pound one day just for fun and I kept thinking about her afterward, so after another visit and taking her out of the cage to play, we put in an application. She can be a pain in the butt sometimes but other then that she is perfect for us.



In November, Isaac finally got a job. He kept putting in application after application but nobody was hiring. It may just be a temporary job but it's something for now.
Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. It may not have been a traditional Thanksgiving with family and turkey but we enjoyed it anyways. It was just the two of us in PJs all day. We had chicken, instead of turkey, but we had stuffing and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. It was a totally relaxing day which was great since we both worked at 6 AM the next morning.
I HATE BLACK FRIDAY.

It's now December and our house is cold. I mean we wear layers all the time and we can see our breath in here - cold. It's snuggle weather, even my birds are snuggling more.


We got a nice cheap space heater to help with that, and it's probably the best purchase we have made in a long time. Penny loves to sleep in front of it.

We bought a small (about 3.5') Christmas tree and are preparing for Christmas. It will probably be just another day with the two of us being lazy but I love that.


I feel like my life has been just surrounding work, which isn't nice when you don't really like your job that much. Ugh. I need to have some days where all I do is create stuff I've been wanting to make and listen to music.

Hopefully I will be updating more than every few months and I plan to make more videos again (another thing neglected). Thank you all for sticking around!

Wedding pictures + an update

I've kind of abandoned my blog. VEDA, Isaac, wedding, etc. has kept me very busy and I hadn't even thought about blogging! We even said we were going to do VEWM (Vlog Every Week May), I completely gave up on that idea just a few days into May. I had too much on my plate.

Well, enough excuses. Here are some pictures from our wedding day! You can click them to make them larger.
Photography by Laura Nelson

One of those days...

Today is one of those Instant Lunch soup in a cup kind of days. I don't even like the stuff much but we have it in the house and it's easy. I don't have to think about it! Plus I have Cheez-Its in a Spiderman bowl and some iced tea. Healthy, I know.
I am just so lazy today I didn't bother with breakfast, though I woke early enough that I should have had some. My stomach was gr0wling and I rather sit at the computer.
It's pretty sad actually. This week, going as crappy as it already is, would be the perfect week to take my day off and go do something fun. I just don't have the willpower to get my butt out of these comfy pajamas at the moment.

Sick Ziggy, wedding dress, and a sore ass!

It has been almost 2 weeks since I've updated but it feels like longer, for whatever reason.
It's really hot in here and I have the fan blowing directly on my face but this blocks out any sound coming from around me. My mom just walked up behind and said something and it scared the crap out of me. Not literally, ew.
My week has been pretty hectic... but more mentally hectic than anything. I mean, I worked and was busy but I was constantly worried.
Ziggy has been sick for a while now. She had diarrhea and some days would seem alright and some days would just sleep. I should have taken her into the vet at that point. I am kicking myself for not. Well last Friday, the 17th, I woke up to see her on the bottom of the cage lying down with her head facing all the way up. She wouldn't put it down, just move it side to side. I've always heard about birds going to the bottom of the cage when dying so I assumed this was it.
I spent that day crying and holding her in a shirt. She wouldn't eat or drink water and only tumbled around a little on the bottom of the cage.
The next day, her head was no longer looking up but she still couldn't walk. She just slept, wrapped in the shirt and I called in work so I could take care of her. She began eating some millet but seemed almost too weak to chew much. I had to hold her over the water to get her to drink.
By Sunday she was eating the millet on her own after crawling over to it. I still had to help her to her water. She seemed bored at one point, pushing a ball around a tiny bit with her head. She also slept slightly less but still couldn't walk or perch.
I'm sure you get the idea. Still bad, but not great.
I finally got her into the vet on Wednesday morning. $164 later, she had her nails clipped, blood drawn, 2 shots, and all that jazz. We also went home with a medication and new organic bird food. I should have been giving them pellets this whole time, not seeds.

The vet said that she has some kind of neurological problem. The blood results came in yesterday and he suspects it may be lead poisoning. My question is, from what? Peter shows no signs and I don't know what Ziggy could have gotten into that he didn't. I always monitor when they are out.
Well today Ziggy is perching and is able to balance. She goes down to eat and drink on her own. She also won't shut up sometimes, she keeps singing which she hasn't done in a while. I put her back with Peter and they are staying side by side. It's so cute and I feel really relieved. I'm still worried because I don't know what the lead poisoning could be from. I am trying to think if there's anything new she's been chewing on (well, new at the time that the signs started).

In other news, I got my wedding dress! I'm more excited about this fact than I thought I'd be.It fits perfectly around my body but obviously needs to be hemmed. I thought I'd have to buy it myself but after making a deal with my mom to go 50/50, she ended up deciding she'd pay for it all. Isaac and I have to pay the wedding though. Not sure how much help we'll get with that. Oh well! But the dress is really nice, and simple. I like it. You guys will see a picture, I'm sure, but not until after the wedding. This means you'll have to wait until next year!
I went shopping with Lindsay the day before and I didn't see a single thing I liked. But the next day I went back to David's Bridal with my mom and I tried on a few, falling in love with the second dress. It was all really awkward for me though. I am not used to getting any attention from employees when trying on clothing so being the only one in the store and having all eyes on me was just weird. I'm really shy, so I'm sure I looked awkward.
The lady who helped me was nice though and seemed to understand what I was looking for, unlike other stores I went in. I went in an hour before closing and walked out of there with the dress in my arms before the store even closed! They called me a power shopper, my mind was made up. She even hand wrote me a letter a few days later!

I know they do it for everyone, but it's still thoughtful.

Lindsay and I rode our bikes for a few hours yesterday. We went a lot further than we thought we would. The ride there was fine but by the time we headed back I was just hot and tired and my butt hurt like a bitch. Those bike seats aren't made for women's wide set butt bones.
So today I went out and got a nice "womens" bike seat only to find out it doesn't work with the kind of pole I have. In fact, I'm not sure anything does. So my dad is taking it into a specialty bike store tomorrow for me and seeing if they have a replacement pole thing. Or if anything can be done. Seriously, my ass hurts like crazy right now and that's not fun.


P.S. If you don't have any Human Bean coffee places in your area you're missing out. I find so many coffee places to be way too expensive and not that great but I really love The Human Bean. The employees always seem to be nice PLUS you always get a chocolate covered coffee bean with it and that totally makes it a WIN.

Bubblegum ice cream 'n' things (Picture Blog)

I looove bubblegum ice cream. I can't explain why, I just think it's wonderful. Maybe because it's not an easy find. Maybe because it brings back memories of getting it as a kid. Whatever it is, it's awesome. Both of those are bubblegum ice cream, both from the same place. Sometimes they have pink sometimes blue. My mom sometimes takes me (either just us or with niece and nephew) to this one supermarket that also sells ice cream by the scoop. If you're like me, you agree that most ice cream places are a HUGE RIPOFF. I mean, most charge the same for one tiny scoop as it would cost to just buy a WHOLE carton of ice cream. But can you believe that ice cream cone is what they call a "one scoop"? AND IT COST $1.20! I'm not kidding you! This place is seriously the best in the whole world. YES! Though "one scoop" on a cone is definitely more than you get in a bowl so I will always go for the cone.
My nephew really enjoyed his child size chocolate ice cream too:

HAHA!


Peter and Ziggy are just chillin'. Peter recently went through his first molt since I've had him which is why he has all those pinfeathers on his head and his cere looks flaky. Pinfeathers never look that nice but he will always be cute!
Both him and Ziggy have been pretty um... *clears throat*... randy lately. Not with each other or anything... yet... but with toys. They both have a different toy that they have been humping like animals... because they are animals. It's funny because Ziggy never did that before until Peter was in there. I never thought that she would, being a girl and all. Oh well, it's pretty funny to see them do. I don't think they will start going after each other anytime soon. They do feed each other which looks like kissing but as soon as Peter tries getting too close to Ziggy, she'll attack him. Poor thing. He has learned to defend himself a bit though but knows to just get out of her way. Ziggy has permanant birdie PMS.


And here's me with my friend Jackson. Isaac and I got him from the Family Fun Center or something, if I remember correctly. He accompanies me in my car every day. There is no reason as to why I am making that face. None at all.


I have had many of these coins since I was in elementary school. I don't know why and I don't know what to do with them either. They just sit in a box in a drawer. There are a couple from Isaac, if you couldn't guess, but the rest have no significance. I have never been to the places and there are a few that I can't even figure out what country they are from! Bahh! I also have a bunch of "fancy" rocks in the same box. What am I supposed to do with it all??

Mmmm pretzels

I randomly decided I wanted to make pretzels. So I did. It took ages and I didn't even start until almost 8 PM! I JUST finished 2.5 hours later but I really think it was worth it.
I used this recipe.
I love that website.
I already ate one and OMG it was delicious. :) I can't wait to try a cinnamon one tomorrow.
Pics or it didn't happen!






Cinnamon!

I only made four cinnamon and the rest are just butter with a little salt. I don't have the big chunky salt so regular will do.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooood stuff. :)

Christmas cookies!

Here are the pictures I said I'd post... click for larger image.

I have no idea why we are hunching over like that. Lindsay and I were doing weird dance moves, I believe. Like our aprons?


Jen and Lindsay talking about whatever. I was already done decorating mine while they were still going at it!


We had hot chocolate with marshmallows AND whipped cream. We also listened to christmas music. Oh the fun never stops!


Messy.


Jen's cookies. She made a 3d frog!! And that little man reminds us of her dad.


Mine. I especially like my snowman. :)


These two of Lindsay's were particularly funny to me. That first one is supposed to be an angel! And I love the snowman's rosy cheeks and the expression on his face!

So yeah, there's the cookies.

It has also been snowy the last couple of days. I fooled around a bit with Windows Vista panoramic photo thing and got this messed up image:

But hey! It did the best it could do. It's not like my camera has a stable spot to sit to move from picture to picture smoothly.

I did something else the other day too. That time it made my closet doors look awesome!


Oh yeah and Peter stood on my finger tonight! For quite a long time too. It wasn't hard, millet spray bribing really does the trick. Oh and here's a picture of Peter! The lighting isn't great, I wish it would show his true color...