It's official. Put in my two weeks notice at work. I will be starting at Allina (www.allina.com) doing Training/Quality Control for their Technical Support department. I start on Feb 27. Will be moving the week before that and staying in Jennie's spare room for the time being until buying a home. Thanks to Tyler for the hook-up for the job! Without him, I never would have even known to apply at Allina. LOVE YA TY!!  Allina is located in South Minneapolis, on Chicago and Lake, right off 35W. Quite the neighborhood it's in. Not the best, but the building is newly renovated and full of security. Allina has hospitals including Abbott Northwestern, Mercy, United and St. Francis. It's a non-profit and they have over 22,000 employees, 5,000 physicians and 2,500 volunteers. Wow! Anyway, that's my news for today.

I forgot to bring water to work today. So now I have a sore throat. That was real smart. After work today I went to dinner at Panda Buffet with Britani and Melissa. After dinner we went to our Photography community education class at the East Grand Forks High School. Learned a lot of interesting info. A lot in one night! Had a good day today. Zoe got her very fancy peanut butter treats from Lulu and Luigi's today. YUM. I booked her birthday party at Ruffin' It Doggie Day Care for Feb 18 and invited all the doggies we know. Should be fun!  Zoe needs to get shots at the vet this Sat before obedience class and she has a grooming appt at Foxy Dogs Grooming on Monday, so she is definitely one pampered poochie. Woof!

Just got back from the Twin Cities.  Boy does it take a LONG time to drive there and back. Had a great time this weekend. We drove down on Thursday evening after work. Got there late at night. On Friday, we met up with the Marshalls at TGI Friday's and had dinner. Ate way too much. On Saturday, Jennie, Zoe and I went to Lulu and Luigi's, a very cute pet boutique in St. Louis Park on Excelsior and Grand.  Picked up some great looking pet treats. Then Jennie and I went to Southdale for some shopping. Later that night, we met up with Becki, Jason, Tyler, Jess, Eric, Denise, Jennie, Chris and Bryan at Big Bowl at Ridgedale in Minnetonka for dinner. Today is Chinese New Year and we had a great meal! YUM! On Sunday, we took Zoe to Petsmart, bought a few more treats and Bryan went to Golf Galaxy to try out a few drivers and then we drove back to Grand Forks. All in all, we had a very good time. Yay!

Dang hotel bed. My neck is so sore right now. I've got a heat pack on it. Came home today, finished up on the laundry, took Zoe to Petco and browsed around for a while, picked up a few things for this weekend at Target and got a car wash and filled up on gas. Very exciting. Looks like we are supposed to get some nice weather this weekend. Yay! I've still got to pack. Why even bother unpack, right? Found out that I'm going to Rugby again next week. At least I earn some airline miles for staying at the motel. Anything for airline miles, right? Counting down for the weekend! My 24th birthday is almost here!! Oh my godness, I'm getting old! My dear husband bought me a rose  for me today. How sweet!! It was a very nice surprise to find when I got home from my drive home. I'm so glad I'm married to him  Off to pack.

Okay, so what in the world is a sandhill crane? My motel room is right by it. Literally, I could walk out about 10 steps and touch the thing. I've been watching a lot of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I watched it for the first time when I was in Rugby. They seem to show like 5 episodes a night. Life without digital cable isn't as interesting, that's for sure. I miss my Food Network, Travel Channel, even MTV. This weekend, Bryan, Zoe and I are going to Minneapolis.  We are staying at Jennie's place. Can't wait. Need to get out of town (and I don't mean to Steele or Rugby- no offence). I'm taking a photography class  with Melissa and Britani in a couple of weeks- hope we learn some good tips and skills. Zoe is doing pretty well in obedience class, except for when she freezes up. I think it's because she gets nervous performing like that for an hour. But all in all, she does a good job. Another thing I learnt- I prefer mashed potatoes with just some butter instead of slathered with gravy. I get to go home tomorrow. Can't wait to shower in my own shower and sleep in my own bed with Zoe (warm and fuzzy)  at the end of it. Hope the weather is good this weekend. Ramble rabmble ramble... got to get to bed.

Bryan and I went to Brokeback Moutain today. I liked the movie. We both thought it was a little bit long and drawn out, but we also both agreed that it was a very unique plot. Never seen anything like it before and it's not very predictable. Kind of a sad love story. Bryan just went to bed. He has to be at work tomorrow at 6am. Zoe and I are going to obedience class in the morning. I've got to get some new songs in my iPod. I'm getting sick of listening to the same old stuff all the time. Tonight we looked though some houses that a real estate agent sent us a link to. Some nice ones out there. We went to the library earlier and I got "Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus". Jennie once told me that it is a decent book to read. So, I thought I would give it a try. Bryan got "The Warren Buffett Way".

 

Good news! Cyndy got a job!! Yay! Now both Veronica and Cyndy have a job! Way to go guys!!

YAY! I'm back from Rugby. Never thought I would say that I'm happy to be back here. Tonight I went to Melissa's house with Veronica and Britani and watched the Skeleton Key. What an awesome movie.Good news! Veronica got a job!!  We are all really excited for her. I hope everyone else finds jobs soon. Good luck! I have tomorrow off work. Bryan is also off. We are going to relax. I want to go to Brokeback Mountain. We are going to Minneapolis next weekend. Yay! Always enjoy a trip down there. It's Chinese New Year next weekend we are going to out to Big Bowl to eat with Jennie and friends. VERY TASTY! Plus they have specials going on for CNY. It'll be fun to do something different to celebrate! Melissa was very kind enough to give Zoe her dogs' old puppy collar. It's a Harley Davidson studded collar. Zoe looks very tough with it on. That's when you can see it. Usually, it's covered with fluff. Zoe needs to get a haircut pretty soon.

Well, I'm exhausted. Off to bed...  GOOD NIGHT!

Went to the mall today and boy are there some good deals out there! This is definitely the time to go shopping. Marhsall Field's had an extra 20% off all sale prices and Old Navy had 50% off sale prices. Wow! Watched House of 1000 Corpses last night. Decent movie. We saw Devil's Rejects a while back and that was a pretty good movie. I think I liked the sequel better.  Am thinking of joining Netflix again but we've seen almost every movie out there we want to see that I think we might wait a while before joining. Bryan's extended family is going to Orlando over Easter. Wish we could join them but of course we were just there and it would be pretty expensive to go again. I'm looking forward to going to Las Vegas with Britani and Melissa though!! 25 days until we go!! I've made a paper countdown chain at work

 

Waiting for our W-2's from work so we can file our tax returns. Hope we get a refund. This is probably the first time I've ever only had one W-2 in a year. Wow.

 

Zoe, Bryan and I are going to participate in the Walk for Animals again this year. We would appreciate any contributions towards the cause. Please let me know if you would like to help support us!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy weekend!!  My favorite days of the week. Went over to  Veronica's apartment for a little while this evening. Also went to Old Navy and got some new work pants on sale. Good deals there! Tomorrow I'm going to the first Beginner's Obedience class at the Grand Forks Kennel Club. Zoe doesn't come for the first class, just me. Then I'm using one of the gift certificates I got for Christmas towards a massage. Ahhhhh... I rented Red Eye from Hollywood Video and Bryan and I are going to watch it tonight. I like Rachel McAdams. She's a good actress. Anyway, I hope it's a good movie. Next week I got to Rugby to teach a couple of classes. Fun. G'nite all and a happy weekend to all!

Okay. So today is January 11. It's been unseasonably warm. I went out to run errands after work and it was RAINING. Very weird.  Usually, in January, it's 40 below or something. During my errand running, I bought Zoe a Kong (www.kongcompany.com). I stuffed it with some chicken and liver treats that it came with and Zoe had a GREAT time with it. She is not a dog easily swayed by treats or toys, but she  that thing. I'm glad too, because it will definitely keep her entertained for a while.

 Sometimes, when it's just the beginning, doesn't it feel like the end? And other times, when it's really the end, it feels just like the beginning? I'm not talking about life, just the work week. I know, I'm obsessed about it. Whaddaya do? I'm getting a bit impatient.  My MBA friend Kim just got a college teaching job at James Madison University, so I want to wish her GOOD LUCK and all the best in her new found teaching career. I also wish my other MBA friend Jennie GOOD LUCK in her job hunt. She is an interior designer in Uptown Minneapolis (very fun sounding job). Also best wishes to all my old co-workers in their job hunting adventures. I hope everyone is able to find something soon! I've heard that there are more opportunities available out there than it seems. I hope that is true for everyone out there.

 

Went to dinner with my work friends earlier this evening. Had a great time. If you guys are reading this, you are GREAT friends  and the   was great too. LOOK! I finally got to use the pizza icon in a sentence!! Enough to make anyone's day. And that's how I'll end it!

 Did I mention that I was countin' down for the weekend? Oh yes, I did. I like watching CNN Headline News. Except that I never change the channel and end up watching the same segment over and over and over again. Just in case they have some breaking news, I don't want to miss it. Zoe is lying at my feet right now. She is so cute when she is sleeping- all stretched out. Tomorrow evening, I'm having friends over to scrapbook. Gotta put together some pages from our Orlando trip. If I don't get it done now, I know I never will. I've done a pretty good job of sorting out of pictures and brochures that I collected. I even bought a nice Mickey scrapbook to put all of my pages in.  Bryan and I were watching the Rose Bowl game last night (I was cheering for USC, but I guess it wasn't enough) and those Taco Bell commercials were on and it totally worked! We both wanted Taco Bell, but it was late, so Bryan is going to pick up Taco Bell on his way home from work tonight. Yum. Looking forward to getting out of town this weekend. I know I'm always out of town but this time for fun and not for work. Maybe will do some shopping, hit some golf balls, have some lunch. Mmmmmmmm. Sounds like a weekend to me. GOOD NIGHT!

Am watching Wedding Crashers right now- it's such a FUNNY movie!!  I definitely recommend it. Got back from Rugby today. Going back there in two weeks. Have so many things to do tomorrow- work and personal stuff. Have to make an appointment for a haircut and a grooming appointment for Zoe. Victoria's Secret sale started on Tuesday and I want to go check it out. I think we might go to Fargo this weekend. Bryan wants to go to the indoor driving range and I'd like to go check out the mall. Already looking forward to the weekend!

 I've had a very nice and relaxing couple of days off- just sleeping in, hanging out with Bryan and Zoe, laying around in my new Christmas bathrobe, eating random junk food. Now it's back to work tomorrow, when I will travel to the metropolis of Rugby, North Dakota, about 2.5 hrs west of Grand Forks, to teach a class. Good times. I don't know why, but I am always getting lost in small towns. The office is located only about 3 minutes away from the hotel, but the last time I was there, I got lost for 15 minutes!! Trust me to do that.

 

So Mike Tice is no longer the Viking's coach. Surprise surprise. Hopefully, the Vikings will get their act together and win a couple of games next season. Hey, I just realized that this is one of the first seasons that we have not gone to a Vikings game. Guess it's hard to make it down there when Bryan works weekends a lot of the times and it's a 5 hr trek from the Arctic. I mean from Grand Forks.

 

I'm planning on taking Zoe to an intermediate obedience class at the Grand Forks Kennel Club that starts in a couple of weeks. I need to bring a training leash but ours is frozen into the ground. Maybe I'll have to get some hot water to pour over it to release it from the strong-holds of the ice in the backyard. I hope she listens better after going to class. She is pretty good most of the time, but sometimes she just decides not to listen to us.