Grand Rapids Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Brief summary of your life in the past few months
Ok, share what has been going on with your life the past few months. Feel free to answer and reply back to post at anytime.
Re: Brief summary of your life in the past few months
worked picked up - less time to be here
We are working on updating our kitchen. Brian is repainting the cabinets. I'm so sick of home repairs, which speaking of...
We may to do some major plumbing work in the bathroom. ughh.. I'm scared to see the estimate
November sucked with the loss of Ozzie.
The amazing talented Tiger took some awesome photos of the girls. I totally fell in love with my girls all over again.
Work- Lots of ups and downs. There are days I hate my job and want want to cry, and there are days everything is fine and I have a grand old time. My day is based off my boss' ups and downs. Kinda stressful.
Married life- Great. Nothing to new to report :-)
Dog- very cuddly lately. All she wants to do when I'm sleeping is lay right next to me with her head on my chest. It would be cute if I wasn't trying to sleep.
Randomly- I was sick for almost 2 months. I had bronchitis, then I got a sinus infection, then I had an ear infection. It sucked. I'm finally starting to feeling normal now and I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday. It felt good to be back and moving again. I'm a little sore today, but that's good! Other than that, life has been pretty quiet which is nice for a change.
Oh! We're church shopping right now. Just kinda felt like it was time for us. We tried one last week and it was meh. This week we're trying one I have a good feeling about. We'll see if we really like it though.
I have a boss like that too.
Let's see, what's new with me?
Work has been ridiculously busy from mid-August through mid-November. It was kind of exhausting. I have a little break now, and I'm enjoying the slowed down pace.
At the end of September we went on vacation to Arizona (Sedona, Page, Grand Canyon, Scottsdale). It was hot, but awesome. We had a great time.
I spent the month of November doing Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month)... and I won! I successfully wrote a 50,000 word "novel" during the month of November. It was hard work, frustrating at times, but very rewarding. And I actually had a lot of fun doing it. To celebrate the end of November and my win, DH and I are going to HopCat tonight. Woot!
Thanksgiving was interesting. We spent it with our families. My brother brought home his new girlfriend and I really liked her. I never clicked with his last girlfriend, but I really like this one. Hopefully she sticks around. And my SIL brought home her new boyfriend which was all kinds of awkward considering she's still married (hasn't filed for divorce yet last I heard) and her parents very strongly disapprove of the new relationship... and honestly I'm not loving it either.
My family has been dealing with some health issues lately. My grandfather was diagnosed with an aggressive form on non-Hodgkins lymphoma about six weeks ago. He's receiving chemo which initially seemed to be working, but just a couple of days ago, he received word that it's not helping as much as they would like. So, they're changing up the chemo drugs and trying again. I'm worried about him. And my mother had an emergency major eye surgery a couple of weeks ago because she had a detached retina. Her eye could take up to 8 months to heal from the surgery and at this point they don't know if the detachment caused any permanent damage. Very scary.
Ummm... I think that's pretty much all. I guess my response got kind of long. Sorry!
Work: I continue my job search with no success. Ryan's biz is picking up some more. He is starting to have to plan a few months out now with some clients. Which we like and the clients are happy that they are passing his name off to people in their circles.
SS: Uber excited about snow for his snow blower. If only he could get this excited about school. Frustrating that he hasn't had homework in over 2 years.
House: We painted the living room and got rid of the carpet. Hard wood floors will need a light sanding and protecting. We looking at having to make a claim on house insurance, I think, because of what seems to be water damage in our extension. Wont know for sure until the spring as to how much damage there really is.
I started school at GRCC in October. The class is to become a certified Pharmacy Technician. It ends the beginning of June, and then I take the national certification test. Had my first test last night, so we'll see how I did on that. Otherwise, I've got 100% on all the quizzes I've taken.
H is working 2 days at his PT job. He watches the little man while I have class 2 nights a week. I like that they get some guy time without me around. H is still working at the mall. He has applied to a bunch of different places all over the state, and so far has heard nothing.
The little man is doing awesome. He's being weaned off his last medication, and will be done with it by Christmas. We'll see his specialist in February for follow-up. He has started solids. He likes cereal, but didn't quite know what to think of the carrots. Too soon to try something else. He's not rolling yet, but he loves to stand. I'm not worried, he'll get there eventually.
He also started sleeping in his crib last month. And he sleeps between 10-12 hours at night. Napping during the day is another story.
Thanksgiving was here at our place, with H's family. It was a lot of work for me, but wasn't too bad since SIL didn't come so Baby Rebel was the only kid.
My Profile
Let's see:
My work has been busy. It's been nice. :-)
We are STILL waiting to hear about a big thing at Andy's work that could mean some big changes for us. Hopefully we'll hear soon.
Toby is healing okay from his surgery. I also believe he has pounced on every inch of snow in the yard today. PS - Dad just got home so Toby ran and grabbed his Teddy Bear and is violently shaking it at him. It's how he says hello. Gordie has been great, he's not as much a fan of the snow but he's enjoying the cool weather - he ran 4 miles w/me on Sunday and wasn't tired at all.
We went to Ireland in September, Milwaukee for Andy's B-day and just got back from Traverse City from the Thanksgiving weekend. We've done some tailgating at MSU and visited Detroit for BeerFest so we've had some great travels this Fall.
I got a job teaching kindergarten. I get up at 5, work from 6:45-5 every day, come home, make dinner, play with my completely awesome, extremely smart and adorably cute 16 month old, put her in bed, do more school stuff, go to bed at 10 myself, rinse, repeat Monday-Friday. I love most of the days, but I am really ready for Xmas Break!
That's honestly been my last two months.
There's seriously nothing exciting for me to summarize. I've been SO busy with work. I love my job, but I'm really looking forward to the holidays for a little bit of a break.
We remodeled our kitchen over the summer, so we've been taking a break from house projects for the past few months. A stray cat adopted us. I'm not sure what to do with it - we really don't need another cat, but I don't want to take it to a shelter where it'd likely be put down.
Oh! My sister's coming to visit me this weekend! I only see her a few times a year, so I'm really excited about it.
This weekend, I'll have 2 classes complete for my Masters in Counseling. I'm loving being back in the classroom, and having something that is completely mine (it's not about JIm, or the kids, or the house...). I wasn't sure about this path at first, but now that I'm in it a bit, I know that this was exactly the right program and the right time for me. Not only am I learning about the field, but so much about myself!
The house is still for sale. We fired our realtor this week, and she called to say she was sorry/explain/ask for a second chance. I was put in a very uncomfortable position that made me act against my instincts of being empathetic (she had a serious medical condition happening). On the other hand, I have this "don't take advantage of me" instinct too... So, starting over with a new realtor next week.
The kids are doing great. They challenge me in ways that I appreciate, and love me in ways that I can't explain.
Jim is finishing his MSA this month. Which means this month is pretty much accomodate Jim's schedule. Which means I'm kinda exhausted.
I have a new job! It's super part-time (10 - 20 hours a month), but it's a match made in heaven: teaching high school girls about social change and philanthropy. It will allow me to me a lot of very influential folks in W Mi, which should bode well for my future career.
I'm still looking for a job with more hours (to lay on top to my little job).
Work - I started a new job. It's nice. The boss does have a high turnover, so I just have to go with the flow on these things.
I've been researching other fields, to make a career switch. When I started college, I was all about the money, so I went into accounting. Maybe it's my age, but for the last year or so, I've wanted to switch to something where i help people, and not just sit in a cube staring at spreadsheets. I want to go back to school, and persue a career that's geared towards helping other people grow.
I'm enjoying getting the house ready for Christmas - it's my favorite time of the year for house decor.
I started counseling last month. It is a real eye opener. I wish I would have done it ten years ago.
Let's see.
I've been getting along very well with my parents. I feel mostly comfortable around them these days (I can be myself more) - it's been a long time since I've been able to say that.
My sister is taking steps to become a permanent resident of Australia.
She is living with her boyfriend and making a lot of other choices that we just don't support or feel good about. It's frustrating and tough to know what to say.
My regular part-time job with the old folk has been frustrating lately. On the up side, I've had a handful of photography jobs lately, which is exciting. I still find the task of actually editing the photos to be a chore! However, the extra money is nice, especially this time of year. We are going broke. Frankly, something has to change for us in terms of job situations/income, or we're going to be in trouble.
XN has had two extensive interviews, including one all-day, on-site, for a job that is 100% up his alley and that he would really enjoy. It would also involve using his seminary degree, which is a plus. Also, it's not in Michigan. ("Way to bury the lead, Beth!")
YOU GOT IT???!!!!
That is so awesome! Have you started yet? I hope you love it. Congratulations!
This is incredible. I give teachers all the respect in the world. I'm glad you are enjoying it!
Good luck to XN! Very exciting.
Lets see, I got pregnant in June
I knew I was pretty much right away. Had some spotting initially so I was so frightened that I would lose the baby but luckily the baby held on.
Went into massive nesting mode which included painting, painting, painting. We are finally done with it and the house looks terrific.
Went to Quebec City in July to see Rammestein and The Black Eyed Peas, best concerts ever. Then we have slowed down, Chris got into biking.
Life is quiet and we are enjoying it
Just waiting for baby to arrive in early March.
This makes me happy!! Counseling is a career I've always thought about.
I'm glad you're following through with your goals.
It's been so great "catching" up with everyone and what's been going on around here. I feel like I've been so absent lately. Sending job dust and good thoughts to everyone who needs them, and kudos all around for all the good news too.
Not much new here. I started a new work position at the end of August which meant the end of Nesting during the day. It's started to slow down as the daily routine has fallen into place, which is making me antsy. I'm realizing that I like being busy when I'm at work and need to have things to challenge me and my thinking, otherwise I get bored. So, I'm interested to see what my next step becomes when this is done in June. I feel like I need a career counselor, anybody know one?
No major trips for races or other things planned in the near future, but I did get to visit San Francisco with my sis in October for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. It was a blast, we drank our way through Napa and just soaked it up. I'm dying to go back again. I think I called my husband multiple times over the course of the trip to tell him that I wasn't coming home, I was just going to find a way to live in the vineyards out there. No current race plans, though I'm debating signing up for the Bayshore Half in May... we'll see.
Other than that life has been pretty darn good. There have been the usual ups and downs, but really I can't complain.
It would be so nice to see everyone in person one of these days, I'm proposing a GNO. Maybe after the holidays die down, perhaps a Dr.Grinn's night out?
Well i haven't been on in AGES! so here is what has been going on with me
School- i am done in a week! super excited and ready to have my life have some normalcy to it! i took my practice exam today and scored 74% above the national average! prefect! so not i have 6-8 weeks to study for my NCLEX exam and pass then i will be a LPN! plan to take a year off and then go back for my RN! i am so giddy with excitement to be almost done that i could burst!
Family- as some of you know ron and i are separated and i filed for divorce and it will be final march 15th. in the beginning i was unsure if it was the right decision for Brody and i but as the months have gone on i am 100% sure that it was the best decision for me. We get along better as a not married couple so things are good.
Child- Brody is doing amazing! he was tested a few months back on his speech and was in the 21month range. he has been in daycare full time and going to speech playgroup 1x a week and was retested yesterday. He does not even qualify for speech services any longer! makes me so happy! He is adjusting to his schedule with ron and i. Things are a little tough when he comes home from a night w ron but i think as he gets older he will adjust. he can count to 5 and will say his abc's if i help him. he is 100% potty trained! so happy about that! he has even been waking up dry!
Me- between school, brody, the divorce, and life in general i can say that i have not felt this good about where my life is headed in years! i will admit that putting up the christmas tree alone this year was a little sad, but brody and i had fun. I am running roughly 3x a week trying to do more but it is so cold and dark out side when i finally have the time. my parents subdivision has a gym so i use the treadmill. i am actually beginning to like my body and realize just how much it is able to do!
I am just so happy to have the group of friends that i have and want to again thank everyone who has helped me through the last few years. 2 years ago with ron, this year with school, and just life in general. you have kept me sane and reminded me why i work so hard. ( ugh getting tears while i type this) i promise that i will be a better friend to each and everyone of you! thank you all so much!