Along Came the Rain

It's amazing... I look outside the windows here at the office (yes, yes, I am blogging on the job, but it is only because I need a little break from creativity before I get back to writing) and I see: rain! The weather is calling for rain and thunderstorms for the rest of today and tomorrow. After the driest summer I can remember, we definitely need the rain, and it is a nice change of pace. Rainy days -- as long as they don't happen too often -- always seem to be cozy and relaxing. I enjoy the occasional summer thunderstorm, so I was sad that this summer surmounted to maybe two piddly rain showers. Elsewhere it may have been flooding, but here a rain drop seemed like too much to ask for.

Rain does tend to make me a little lazy, however, so instead of thinking about going for a run when I get home, I find myself thinking about curling up in the chaise for a nice nap... which I do almost every night anyway. Dinner, nap, run, shower, laziness, bed. That's pretty much how my evenings seem to work anymore. Kind of a crazy order, but it works for me.

Tomorrow we are going to meet Bailey and Gearry is very, very excited. I am too, don't get me wrong, but Gearry is like little-kid excited. I have to admit, it will be nice to have little paws running around the house again. I hope that everything goes well when we meet him and that it feels like a good match. If so, we may be bringing him home with us tomorrow, so long as we pass the background inspection (which, duh, we will, because they pretty much just look to see if you have a history of cruelty to animals). Hopefully I will have good news and pictures tomorrow.

Gearry talked to his business advisor and let him know we'll be picking up Charlie in another week or so, so there may be many little paws tapping on the floors soon.

- Stacey

Getting On With Life... Or At Least Trying...

I still can't believe all of the horrible/crazy/surprising/surreal events Gearry and I have had to deal with lately, but things are starting to get a little easier. A little. We appreciate all the well-wishes we've received, as well as the time we needed to ourselves to kind of figure some things out. Basically, it is to the point where we can talk about Colby again and have gotten a kick out of recounting all the funny memories we have of him. We've accepted the fact that he's gone, but we still find ourselves looking at the end of our bed for him in the morning... and we can't get over the feeling of emptiness in our otherwise wonderful house.

For those of you who love your dogs and cats (and horses and guinea pigs and whatever the heck else you consider your pets), give them a big hug after you read this. And don't take any time with them for granted. Even if they wake you up to go out to the bathroom in the freezing cold at four o'clock in the morning... just go with it. You'll be glad you did.

Knowing very well that Colby was special to us, and that he is irreplaceable, Gearry and I realized pretty quickly that we are dog people, and dog people should have dogs. We both feel very strongly about animal rescue efforts, and we knew within a few days of our sadness that we wanted to open our home and our hearts again to another rescue. And it appears it may be two... we have the room, both physically and emotionally, and we want to share what we have. Plus, we like the idea of two dogs because they always have each other, even when we can't be there. They have a little buddy to play with and fight with and cuddle with and get into trouble with.

Charlie is a Peekapom (half Pekingese, half Pomeranian) but doesn't look or act much like either of those breeds, which I would normally say are "prissy." Gearry has played with him and said he's really chill and friendly. He's cute, too. A family bought him for their kids and then just decided they didn't really want to take care of him anymore. He ended up with Gearry's business advisor, who has been keeping him until he can find him a good home. We had actually planned on getting him as a buddy for Colby. Since things have obviously changed, I was reluctant for the first few days, but am now happy about the idea of taking him in. We will probably get him in the next few weeks.

Bailey is a terrier mix that pretty much looks like a black version of Colby. Some have asked me if it will be hard having a dog that reminds us of Colby so much... but we love terriers. I wouldn't be surprised if we have a terrier from here until the end. We love the look, the attitude, the little cuddle-bug tendencies. We found Bailey online (looking at all the dogs on petfinder.org actually helped us cope quite a bit) at a dog & cat rescue based out of Columbus. He is an absolute cutie. He is staying with a foster family, and Gearry talked to his foster mom for awhile yesterday. She sounds super friendly and said we sound like a great match for Bailey. She said he is very friendly and pretty active, and that when he is not playing he loves to snuggle with his human. Gearry and I are meeting her in Nashville on Wednesday evening to meet him for the first time and see if we all "hit it off." Haha... somehow, I don't see that being a problem.

So... big changes in our family. Bad changes, good changes, ones I'm still not sure about but ready to test. Life is so weird. I'm trying to stop attempting to understand it, because that is apparently kind of pointless.

Outside of the sadness we've had to deal with, things are going well. I love my new role at AuthorHouse... even though I am still learning to deal with being inside for eight hours a day, I love writing and I love applying all the creativity tumbling around inside my head to paper. Gearry's business deal is getting closer and closer to being finished (thank goodness!) and we are estimating that he is about three weeks from closing. Fortunately, for now, he has started helping his friend Matt, who owns several restaurants in the Bloomington area. This is great because he is: 1) Making money! (More than me, actually... on a temporary job... how is that fair??) ; 2) Not going crazy being a househusband stuck at home all day... especially since it is different without Colbs around; 3) Getting to work on some neat stuff... he's doing some cooking, but he's also helping do some menu-planning and other details for the opening of Matt's new restaurant.

So... yay! We can once again pay bills and *gasp* go out for dinner on occasion. And, in a few weeks when the business closing is official, we'll have plenty of play money and it is going to be so gooooooooood.

Goodbye to a Dear Friend

Colby

On Friday we found out that Colby was very sick. In lieu of an emergency blood transfusion, possible surgery, and a lot of potential suffering, Gearry and I had to make the choice to put him to sleep. It has been a horrible, horrible weekend and we're not ready to talk about it, but we just wanted to let everyone know.

Beginning of the End

Labor Day never feels like the end of summer to me. There are tons of boats on the lake, everyone is grilling and playing golf and enjoying the outdoors. It's just like any other summer day. Today, though... well, today felt like the end of summer. Gearry and I slept in, made breakfast and then headed down to the water. Although it was still warm enough to swim for a little while, I spent the rest of the rest of the time wrapped up in a towel, laying in the hammock and just noticing the changes. It was overcast, and the water had that dark, choppy look that it starts to take on in the fall. The leaves are changing, too, and instead of the usual Saturday boating crowd there was only a handful of boats and jet skis.

Summer is by far my favorite season, but fall isn't so bad. It's just... different. There are definitely some things to look forward to, though: the first fire in our fireplace, the beautiful colors, football games and tailgates, hot coffee and cool evening runs. Yeah, when you put it in writing, I guess the end of summer doesn't sound so bad. But I know I will miss swimming almost everyday. So that I can hopefully stay on track for next year's triathlon season, I'm hoping to get a wetsuit and be able to swim starting around March or April. But, nevertheless, training in a wetsuit and chilling in the water in your bikini are two totally different worlds.

Gearry and I had a great day Thursday as I he picked me up early from work and we headed up to Indianapolis for the absolute Colts craziness as the Colts took on the Saints in the opening game of the NFL season. We somehow managed to land great seats at the Ram Brewery right in front of the theater-sized screen and had a great night cheering like crazy along with everyone else in the packed bar (well, except for the like 5 Saints fans). Of course, we won!! 41-10 is a great way to start the season. Go Colts!!

Long Weekend

On Friday after work I hopped in the taxi and headed to Columbus, Ohio, for Hillary's wedding shower! It was a great start to a great weekend, minus the horrible holiday traffic. The wedding shower was held at Hillary's parents' house on Saturday afternoon. I think I was more nervous than I was at my own wedding shower! Being Maid of Honor is scarier than being the bride for me because I want to do everything I can to help. Hillary was an amazing Maid of Honor and I just want to be as good to her as she was to me. Nevertheless, the shower was beautiful and a good time.

I got back to Bloomington on Sunday afternoon and Gearry and I proceeded to spend the rest of Sunday and all day Monday being as lazy as possible. Other than watching television and movies and playing in the lake, we pretty much did nothing. It was fabulous.

Today I started my new position at AuthorHouse. It is such a wonderful feeling to be putting my degree to use and to be writing again! Plus in this position I have flex hours, so I pretty much set my own work schedule. Needless to say, I am a happy girl.

- Stacey

Good Fun & Good Cause

Two of my very favorite people in the world came to Bloomington this past weekend, pretty much making me the happiest I have been in a long time. Hillary & Stebby arrived from Ohio just as I arrived home from work on Friday, making a great end to a long week.

Like the lazy bums that we are, we spent a lot of the weekend eating, swimming and playing in the lake, and bar-hopping, but we also chipped in some of our time on Saturday afternoon for a good cause: the "Tribute to John 5K" that was held in Mitchell. It was the first year for the event, which raises money for a scholarship in memory of John Box, who passed away this summer and played football with my brother back in high school. Most people decided to walk or ride (bikes, horses, you name it) the 5K, so Josh, Stebby, Hillary, myself, and a random & ripped old guy made up the runners. (Maybe we were the only ones brave/dumb enough to tackle the heat.) We got a big kick after the race of telling people that the four of us placed in the top four spots, which was completely true. I was fourth, of course, and proud of myself for at least beating this older gentleman. That is, until we started talking at the finish line and I discovered that it was already his second race of the day... he had already raced in Brownstown that morning! Sweet. I love running, but I have never claimed speed as one of my attributes, so it's all good.

Nevertheless, it was a very HOT HOT HOT (the race was at 1:00) but good time and I will leave you with a picture of the top four finishers!

Attention Golfers: Watch Out!

I would definitely consider myself pretty athletic. While I am not always the absolute best at every sport I try, I’m usually at least decent. Well, I found a sport in which “decent” would be a stretch for me: golf.

Fortunately I’m not planning on going pro anytime soon, so I should be OK. On Saturday, Gearry and I hit the driving range and then the putting green here at Eagle Pointe for the first time since we moved here. With a golf course for a backyard I figured it was about time I at least attempted to swing a club. I had only been to a driving range once before, back in high school, and I was – to put it politely – not that great. It turns out that I am still… well… not that great. Gearry plays 18 holes periodically, but we’re both a little challenged when it comes to golfing skills. This made for a dangerous time for those around us, but a fun time for us.

The putting green was a little more relaxed, of course, and a little easier since I’ve played quite a few games of Putt-Putt over the years. Gearry and I turned it into a contest, of course, betting a variety of things based upon who got closest to a given hole. For the big bet, I won the first time, somehow he convinced me to have a rematch, and – of course – he won the second time. Therefore I get the pleasure this entire week of taking Colby out to potty when he wakes us up for a bathroom break at around 5:30 in the morning. Usually Gearry takes him during the week since I am working and he isn’t right now, and I take him out on the weekends. This week, though, it’s all me.

While Gearry is still waiting for his business deal to go through he has been home on the weekends. This is a change of pace after working in an industry the last nine years where he rarely had a weekend off. We’ve been taking advantage of these weekends together to enjoy the lake and just spending time together without any interruption. It has been fantastic, and while we are both ready for his business deal to finish and for him to get started on that project (he makes a good but very bored househusband and me being the bread winner is scary!), I know we’ll both miss our Saturdays together. Fortunately we will both still have Sundays, which were pretty much made for church and being lazy and playing outdoors. Time is going so fast, I just want to enjoy every moment of it as much as possible!

How I Spent My Summer

You know those essays teachers make you write or those speeches they make you give the first day back-to-school? The ones titled, "How I Spent my Summer?" Well, this is the first end-of-the-summer in about eighteen years that does not mean the beginning of the school year for me. It's a little sad, a little nice. Nevertheless, I thought I'd still give you my "How I Spent my Summer" in the form of a picture:


Hammock, lake, book, bare feet. Yeah, it was a fantastic summer. Living at the lake has turned out as great as we had thought it would be. Although -- to be honest -- we actually spent the majority of my summer wedding planning, getting moved into our house, doing projects on the house, and working, we tried to make as much time as possible to hang out down by the water, swim, read, and otherwise just enjoy the outdoors around our new place. The picture above is probably the epitome of happiness for me, if Gearry was on one side of me and Colby on the other. The hammock, of course, is not that big ;)

So, while we are talking about happy feelings and happy days, I guess I should finally reveal my great job news that I mentioned last post. I started working at AuthorHouse on July 23rd. While I didn't get the position I really, really wanted (I found out later they hired internally, so that made me feel better) I did get hired for a different position. Although not in my desired realm of copy writing/copy editing, I was very thankful to essentially get my foot in the door. Last Friday, however, I got the shock of my life when the head of the promotions department called me into her office and... offered me the position I have wanted all along!

Turns out that when the position opened up again (the person they hired had to be promoted to a slightly different role) the head of my department had approached her and told her that I would be a great candidate and that he thought I would be much happier in that role (the one I am currently in is transitioning into a much more hardcore-sales role... definitely not me at all!). He is a great guy who really helped me out getting into AuthorHouse and who knew all along that a writing/editing position is what I really wanted. I can't think him enough for his unselfishness and for looking out for me. Once he told her it was OK to ask me if I was still interested in the position, she jumped on the opportunity, which made me feel really good. Of course, I said "yes." That whole foot-in-the-door approach definitely worked for me... a LOT faster than I ever imagined!

I begin my new role on September 4th, writing full-time as a Press Release Specialist. About 90% of my time will be spent writing press releases for our upcoming books. The other 10% will be spent peer-editing and working with authors to make any changes they see fit to the writing. If you are not into writing or English, this probably sounds super-lame. For me, however, it is perfect.

After That Brief Interlude...

I had full intentions of posting far before this, but I was trying to hold out in order to post pictures from the Irish Festival to go along with my tales of that awesome weekend. I still don't have those pictures, so I'm going to postpone that post, but regale you with some other great pictures in the meantime.

These pictures I refer to, of course, are our professional wedding pictures, which finally arrived in the mail yesterday! We had viewed the proofs online, but we finally received the actual printed proofs and our CD of the proofs and digital negatives. I am excited because this means we can finally get our photos ordered to go in the three empty frames that have been hanging over our fireplace since we moved in back in May/June, just waiting!

Things are good in life right now, although extremely hectic. I am still adjusting to work, although there has been a HUGE development in that... more details to come in a later post. Gearry is still working on his business deal, so he has been alternating between helping out his friend Tim renovating his house and playing house-husband, trying to enjoy his time off because we both know once the deal is finalized he is going to have zero free time for the first month or so. Zero. Nada. Zip.

So, about those GORGEOUS photos? I'll post a sampling (of the 3oo-something) of our favorites. Enjoy!

A Lot Can Happen When You Get the Irish Together...

... or so they say. While Gearry and I try to enjoy each day in our lives and not wish any of them away, we are counting down the moments until this Friday after work when we hop on our motorcycle and head to Columbus, Ohio, for the weekend for the Dublin Irish Festival!!

Columbus is home not only to the festival but to three of our favorite people in the world: my bestest girlfriend Hillary, her fiance Christopher, and my other bestest girlfriend Stebby. We are very excited to hang out with them all weekend and very excited that they asked to come in for the Dublin Irish Festival, which we have been told is fantastic! What could be better than a whole day with great friends, excellent drinks & food, dancing, craziness, and fun Irish music? Christopher particularly loves "Flogging Molly," an Irish punk band that is headlining the concert on Saturday night. They call their music "jig punk," so you know it is going to be interesting!

We'll provide a full report upon our return, of course. We are hoping to leave by 6:00 on Friday which should put us in C-Bus around 10:00, just in time for a Friday night out! Saturday is the festival all day, and then Sunday we're all heading to the awesome Northstar Cafe (organic, fresh, super tasty, & some amazing fair-trade coffee!) for brunch before we head back here to the lake.