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We are managing to stay busy. Last week was a lot of running around. My dad got a look at the progression of the house. We had Ryan’s family in town that we never get to see and that was nice to have a visit with them. I don’t know that group well, but they’re easy to get along with. Now I feel more comfortable in making a trip up to see them.

I’m applying for a permanent position here at ACEP. I don’t know if it will end up working out for me or not. I really enjoy the work environment here. Everyone does a really good job and I can tell that they’re happy. They seem to treat their people very well. That goes much further with me than actual job duties. It would be a bit of a drive from the house, however, most of the people working here are from Keller. I’m not going to stress about it. If it doesn’t end up working out for me here, there has got to be something else out there.

We’re going to be attending NBAA again this year. That’s coming up in October. I’m really looking forward to it. We’re going to hit the static display this year at the airport and walk a few of the planes. Last year we didn’t know that was going on until too late. We’re also going to Discovery Cove. We are going to hit SeaWorld too. This will be a marine vacation this time. I’ve researched a bunch of the different restaurants in the area. We should be eating good! And I’m not talking about the horrible touristy stuff, which is all around where we’ll be. We’re staying at a much better hotel, location wise, than we did last year. Last year although the hotel was very nice, it was in a not so nice neighborhood. The closest eatery was a diner type place that when we walked it we could feel the grease floating in the air.

Ryan’s high school reunion is going to be the same weekend we get back from Orlando. We’re both looking forward to it because we’re very comfortable with where we are in life. It always feels good to be able to go “neaner neaner” to those who used to torment you in high school.

I was driving to work today and noticed a work boot in the middle of the road. I don’t know why it struck me as odd. This is a normal sight. I usually see flip-flops, boots, sneakers, hats, shirts, underwear, etc. on the roads. I just don’t understand how it gets there in the first place. Why is it that it’s always just one shoe? How is it that underwear finds its way on the side of the road? Is there an underground group of people that travel around not wearing any underpants because they’ve thrown them out the window? Are shoes that unimportant that they serve a better purpose on the highways? Hats I can somewhat understand. They can blow off. Kids all over of course throw toys out of cars all the time in some ritualistic sacrifice to the toy gods. I can’t think of a better way to get a new toy myself. What kind of people is it exactly that accidentally loose a shoe on the side of the highway?

I was in the lunchroom just now and overheard some women talking about different recipes that were low fat. I think I’ve been greatly influenced by my dad’s philosophy. If it’s low fat it’s not worth eating. Ryan and I go through 4 sticks of butter at least every month. I like to use salt ‘thank you dad’ and sugar is your friend. As I’ve been realizing with my recent attempt at dieting, as long as you do things in moderation you’re fine. I still eat all the same food that I used to; I just don’t eat as much. I am constantly trying to monitor my intake. Just trying to make sure that I’m still hungry when I’m eating, and you don’t want to get full. This advice coming from Ryan, who has the fastest metabolism, I’ve ever seen.

Back to low fat. I’ve tried at various times throughout my life to cook and eat low fat and it’s just disgusting. Not to mention that a lot of the time the chemicals and extra processing that they do to things to make them low fat ends up being worse for you. And I must point out that every time you hear something on the news about how salt is bad for you, it’s just months later that you hear about how salt is good for you and how people have been dying due to lack of it. ‘replace the word salt with: eggs, sugar, milk, beef, butter, cheese’ I’ve only got one life to live and regular food is way too good to waste my time with low fat crap.

[Note from Ryan: Mmmmmmmmm..beeeeeef....*drool*]

Well, we haven’t been posting much. Life has gotten quite busy. Things at my work have been crazy. All of the sexist remarks and verbal abuse finally stopped after speaking with HR. We moved office locations. Now we are right outside the door of the VP. Everyone is on much better behavior over here. The people in this building are much nicer and work harder. The wedding is right around the corner and I think we are both ready to have it over with. Even though we thought we wouldn’t obsess about it all, we’ve started to. Ryan is constantly checking a website about the island we’re going to, and I have been on the phone with the florist 3 or 4 times this week. I think we’re both so anxious for it to be here, that fiddling with details everyday makes it seem like it’s sooner? Just a theory. Family members are just as bad though. The mothers have purchased 4 different outfits and finally I think they’ve settled on something. I think the dads are nervous too. We’re not having any kind of rehearsal so hopefully everything will work out ok. We still have to print the menus. I didn’t realize how much stuff you had to do even if it’s a small wedding.

We have been investing in some particularly expensive clothing lately, due to the fact that we are getting older, but mainly because we are both so tall, that we’re having a LOT of difficulty finding things that fit us properly. We finally were able to purchase my second item of nice clothing, a skirt. Well, I wore it once and spilled a little something on it and we took it to the cleaners. As I was setting my clothes out for work, I realized that my brand new skirt had acid burns all over it and starch! The skirt was a wool blend, which you don’t starch. I informed Ryan of this situation and of course it’s irritating. We looked over a few of his shirts that we had cleaned and found that they had ruined one of his silk shirts and his favorite shirt had what appears to be a bleach mark. We got online and researched what happens when people go back to the cleaners demanding payment for destroyed clothing. Of course, the cleaner never pays. However, if you file suit they always pay the bill then. We are now at a crossroads. Should we sue the dry cleaner over clothing that is worth quite the hefty amount or let is slide? Before getting in bed last night we agreed that we would just file with the Better Business Beauro. Today I’m sitting here thinking about this further and it’s really upsetting me. I think we should file suit. Not many people take pride in their work, and that is a sad thing, but when that effects those people who work hard and take pride in their work so that they can afford things it’s frustrating. I couldn’t imagine doing something like this at my own job. I would never do horrible or destructive work. I have a bit more respect for myself and others than that.

Welcome 2003. We made it. 4 months until Ryan and I are married. With the new year comes a new business adventure for Ryan. xmtech.com The new site will hopefully be up and online in less than a week. We\’ll keep you posted.

I found this site that has beautiful pictures of the black forest.

Well, I’ve finally gotten a job… *pauses for applause* Thank you thank you very much. It’s a great company and I’m having a good time. It’s only been a week, but the first one is usually a rough one. The company is under huge restructure. They’ve closed down a location and everyone is kind of running around with their head cut off, but it’s fun. The best part is that it’s 8 mins from the house and Ryan and I can carpool. Good thing for me, because I don’t have ac in the car, however, it has been chilly outside lately, but I also have a hole in my soft top. So things are going well, Ryan has to adjust to not having my cooking every night. I’m just too tired. But things are good.

I’ve been on the hunt for a job lately, and boy do I have some stories. I went on an interview the other day for a job downtown, which is quite the drive for me, and it’s not in the best part of town either. Although I originally went in for a position as an administrative assistant, I felt as though I was being interviewed for a position as a hooker. Part of my job duties was to make sure I looked pretty at all times and serve dinner to some of the schmucks and their clients in the office. I was required to work overtime until 10:00pm. Also, I was to serve dinner, run and get anything desired by clients, and from the sounds of it, be a hussy at private suites the company had at sporting events. I cannot believe that there are jobs out there like that and that there are people out there that do them. I however am not. To any future employers out there that might view this page, that is not the job I’m looking for nor the kind of girl I am.