Right now, we are gearing up for a very busy summer! Between now and October, we will be attending FIVE weddings, along with bachelor/bachelorette parties, showers, etc. It's going to be a little crazy, but we are excited about all of the friends we'll be able to see in the coming months.
Memorial Day weekend was one of the non-wedding weekends for us, so we took it easy and mostly stayed around home. On Saturday, we did drive up to Naperville for my 3-year-old cousin's birthday party.
This weekend, we're splitting up -- Adam is heading to Kansas City, Mo., for Alex's bachelor party weekend, and I am going to Roscoe for my brother Ben's high school graduation party. The weekend after that, we're hoping to head down to St. Louis for a short trip to celebrate our first anniversary!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Settled in
Things have been moving right along since we headed down to Bloomington, and we are now officially settled in (and so is our stuff... it's all over the place in this tiny apartment!)
Adam is enjoying his job, and is gearing up for Preview, the ISU program where new students come down to enroll in classes, learn about college, etc., during the summer before they start. He'll be supporting some of the IT roles for that program, so it will keep him busy during the summer.
I am doing some freelance work at the Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, where I worked as a student. This is nice because it's stuff I enjoy, it gets me out of the apartment, and I get to talk to other people! I'm also starting this week on a volunteer basis with a local nonprofit organization, working with their marketing department on some public relations-type projects.
Looking for jobs has been difficult, as it's hard to find anything to even apply for. But, I do have a couple of promising leads (I took an editing test for a position in Champaign last week, and I have an interview for a different job in Bloomington this week), so I hope that things are starting to look up!
Things have been pretty mellow around here. We hung out with Sarah S. on my birthday weekend, but other than that we've just been back to Roscoe a few times. Most evenings, we drive around and look at houses for sale and decide what we'd like to have when we're ready to buy! We hope this is sooner, rather than later.
Adam is enjoying his job, and is gearing up for Preview, the ISU program where new students come down to enroll in classes, learn about college, etc., during the summer before they start. He'll be supporting some of the IT roles for that program, so it will keep him busy during the summer.
I am doing some freelance work at the Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, where I worked as a student. This is nice because it's stuff I enjoy, it gets me out of the apartment, and I get to talk to other people! I'm also starting this week on a volunteer basis with a local nonprofit organization, working with their marketing department on some public relations-type projects.
Looking for jobs has been difficult, as it's hard to find anything to even apply for. But, I do have a couple of promising leads (I took an editing test for a position in Champaign last week, and I have an interview for a different job in Bloomington this week), so I hope that things are starting to look up!
Things have been pretty mellow around here. We hung out with Sarah S. on my birthday weekend, but other than that we've just been back to Roscoe a few times. Most evenings, we drive around and look at houses for sale and decide what we'd like to have when we're ready to buy! We hope this is sooner, rather than later.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Internet!
We finally have Internet!!!! After a 2 hour conversation with Verizon, I was finally able to convince them that they needed to come hook up our wires so we could surf the net!
Sarah and I celebrated today with this "monumental" occasion by going to Qdoba for dinner, one of our Bloomington-Normal favorites. MMMM so good.
The rest of the night has been spent taking advantage of having non-stolen Internet.
In all serious, I'm really happy Sarah will not be bored to tears during the day now while she is searching for a job.
Sarah and I celebrated today with this "monumental" occasion by going to Qdoba for dinner, one of our Bloomington-Normal favorites. MMMM so good.
The rest of the night has been spent taking advantage of having non-stolen Internet.
In all serious, I'm really happy Sarah will not be bored to tears during the day now while she is searching for a job.
Monday, April 27, 2009
More apartment photos
I've snuck into The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University (my alma mater) for a little free Internet. It's the last day of IWU spring finals, so there is quite a bit of activity here, but the Internet speed is still amazing, compared to the stolen wifi we get at our apartment!
I'm finally going to post additional apartment photos -- I've been meaning to, but since only Adam's laptop can get our stolen wifi, it's been difficult. So, here they are!
Our main room (remember, it's an efficiency apartment, so that's pretty much all there is!) There is a bed "area" off to the right, but I didn't take a picture of it.
Full kitchen, which is actually new and cute!
So far, I've been applying to jobs, cleaning and running errands. If I don't find something long-term soon, I'll probably start looking for a more involved volunteer opportunity. It's just suddenly very difficult to find the motivation to do anything!
Adam has been loving his job at ISU so far, as he knew he would. He also loves his five-minute commute, instead of the drive between Janesville and McHenry, which could take up to an hour and a half each way.
My parents came down this weekend to celebrate my 24th birthday (which is actually today). We went out for lunch, opened presents and played Rock Band. We're planning to head up to Roscoe this weekend, as I have a cousin with a birthday coming up!
I'm finally going to post additional apartment photos -- I've been meaning to, but since only Adam's laptop can get our stolen wifi, it's been difficult. So, here they are!
Our main room (remember, it's an efficiency apartment, so that's pretty much all there is!) There is a bed "area" off to the right, but I didn't take a picture of it.
Full kitchen, which is actually new and cute!
Stairway up to our place.
I've been joking that it's the opposite of our Janesville apartment. There, we had a two-bedroom place, so we had plenty of space, but EVERYTHING was from 1985 when the building was built, including the brown carpet, electric heating system, refrigerator, stove, bathroom fixtures, etc.
Here, it's all beautiful and newly remodeled, but tiny! Adam and I have decided that we need to get out, often, or we go kind of crazy. This is especially a challenge for me, since I suddenly have an extra 40 hours of free time each week and no idea what to do with it.
Here, it's all beautiful and newly remodeled, but tiny! Adam and I have decided that we need to get out, often, or we go kind of crazy. This is especially a challenge for me, since I suddenly have an extra 40 hours of free time each week and no idea what to do with it.
So far, I've been applying to jobs, cleaning and running errands. If I don't find something long-term soon, I'll probably start looking for a more involved volunteer opportunity. It's just suddenly very difficult to find the motivation to do anything!
Adam has been loving his job at ISU so far, as he knew he would. He also loves his five-minute commute, instead of the drive between Janesville and McHenry, which could take up to an hour and a half each way.
My parents came down this weekend to celebrate my 24th birthday (which is actually today). We went out for lunch, opened presents and played Rock Band. We're planning to head up to Roscoe this weekend, as I have a cousin with a birthday coming up!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Internet-less
Updates will continue to be slow, as our Internet STILL is not installed. We decided to go with DSL through Verizon (we had DSL through AT&T in Janesville, and it was always fast and reliable). Also, we didn't have cable there and won't here, so it was the easier solution. At least, it was supposed to be...
Apparently things aren't wired correctly, so although we have two phone jacks in our apartment, neither is actually connected to the main phone line in the basement of our building. It's an old house that was converted into four apartments, so this is not that hard to believe. Today, I spent most of the day waiting for the Verizon guy to come set everything up (they'd already come once and given up). He did come and got most of it done, but our landlord has to send out an electrician tomorrow to fix a few things. Then, HOPEFULLY, we'll finally be online! We're both such Internet people that this has been a struggle... we've been hanging out at both of our alma maters and other wifi locations (Coffee House in Normal, and Bloomington Public Library, where we are now).
Someone else in our building does have an unsecured wireless network, and we've been stealing wifi when it's available. But, my laptop almost never picks it up, so I have to use Adam's, etc. It would be so much easier if it was just installed and working!!
In other news, Adam's job continues to go well. I'm having my second interview for a job tomorrow. I've been checking many job postings on a daily basis since I got down here (and before), and unfortunately haven't even found anything to apply for so far this week. I'm not quite ready to give up and apply for absolutely anything, but that may come soon.
On Thursday, I'm having lunch with the editor of IWU's alumni magazine, where I worked as an undergrad. Looking forward to touching base with some of the people I already know in town!
Apparently things aren't wired correctly, so although we have two phone jacks in our apartment, neither is actually connected to the main phone line in the basement of our building. It's an old house that was converted into four apartments, so this is not that hard to believe. Today, I spent most of the day waiting for the Verizon guy to come set everything up (they'd already come once and given up). He did come and got most of it done, but our landlord has to send out an electrician tomorrow to fix a few things. Then, HOPEFULLY, we'll finally be online! We're both such Internet people that this has been a struggle... we've been hanging out at both of our alma maters and other wifi locations (Coffee House in Normal, and Bloomington Public Library, where we are now).
Someone else in our building does have an unsecured wireless network, and we've been stealing wifi when it's available. But, my laptop almost never picks it up, so I have to use Adam's, etc. It would be so much easier if it was just installed and working!!
In other news, Adam's job continues to go well. I'm having my second interview for a job tomorrow. I've been checking many job postings on a daily basis since I got down here (and before), and unfortunately haven't even found anything to apply for so far this week. I'm not quite ready to give up and apply for absolutely anything, but that may come soon.
On Thursday, I'm having lunch with the editor of IWU's alumni magazine, where I worked as an undergrad. Looking forward to touching base with some of the people I already know in town!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Finally here!
So, I've finally joined Adam in Bloomington! I got here on Friday night and we went out to dinner at Grand Cafe, a Chinese restaurant that's one of our favorites from our college days. Then, on Saturday, Adam's parents came down to visit and see our new place.
Before they got here, we managed to get everything put away and looking good, which I was somewhat afraid might not happen due to space limitations. But, it really does all fit, which is fantastic!
Saying goodbye to everyone at work Friday was really, really hard. I'm trying to be positive and look ahead, but it was tough to leave behind people I've really enjoyed working with.
In more positive news, I do have a second interview for a job on Wednesday. Cross your fingers for me -- I'm hoping that one goes well! I'll post more info about if I get it (obviously...)
Overall, it's SO nice to be down here and together again. Now off to make Sunday morning breakfast, and maybe peek at a few open houses (although we obviously won't be buying while I'm still unemployed, but it's always fun to look!).
Before they got here, we managed to get everything put away and looking good, which I was somewhat afraid might not happen due to space limitations. But, it really does all fit, which is fantastic!
Saying goodbye to everyone at work Friday was really, really hard. I'm trying to be positive and look ahead, but it was tough to leave behind people I've really enjoyed working with.
In more positive news, I do have a second interview for a job on Wednesday. Cross your fingers for me -- I'm hoping that one goes well! I'll post more info about if I get it (obviously...)
Overall, it's SO nice to be down here and together again. Now off to make Sunday morning breakfast, and maybe peek at a few open houses (although we obviously won't be buying while I'm still unemployed, but it's always fun to look!).
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Bloomington, here we come!
So, we are not so good about updating this. Sorry!
Adam had his first day on the job on Monday, and was greeted by this when he arrived at his cubicle:
Obviously, his co-workers missed him very much! He even had Easter dinner with his former (and, now, current) boss Pam on Sunday.
I am working in Janesville through Friday, finishing up last minute stories and training the writer who will replace me. We finished moving last weekend, and it feels great to have that behind us!! Of course, all of our stuff wouldn't fit in our new efficiency apartment (our Janesville place was two bedrooms), so much of it ended up in a storage unit in Roscoe. With the assistance of Becky and Sam, we moved the essentials in on Saturday. (That includes a bed, couch, TV, dresser and clothing. And that's about it.) Then, on Sunday, I came back up to Roscoe, where I'm staying for the week with my parents, and Adam stayed in Bloomington to start at ISU the next day.
All in all, kind of a crazy week! I'm looking forward to heading back down to B-N on Friday and actually settling in to our new place. Adam's parents are planning on coming to visit us this weekend, as well. It will be good to have some time off to relax, even if it means I'm unemployed for a little while.
Adam had his first day on the job on Monday, and was greeted by this when he arrived at his cubicle:
Obviously, his co-workers missed him very much! He even had Easter dinner with his former (and, now, current) boss Pam on Sunday.I am working in Janesville through Friday, finishing up last minute stories and training the writer who will replace me. We finished moving last weekend, and it feels great to have that behind us!! Of course, all of our stuff wouldn't fit in our new efficiency apartment (our Janesville place was two bedrooms), so much of it ended up in a storage unit in Roscoe. With the assistance of Becky and Sam, we moved the essentials in on Saturday. (That includes a bed, couch, TV, dresser and clothing. And that's about it.) Then, on Sunday, I came back up to Roscoe, where I'm staying for the week with my parents, and Adam stayed in Bloomington to start at ISU the next day.
All in all, kind of a crazy week! I'm looking forward to heading back down to B-N on Friday and actually settling in to our new place. Adam's parents are planning on coming to visit us this weekend, as well. It will be good to have some time off to relax, even if it means I'm unemployed for a little while.
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