No Christmas

It has been a tough year, moving, career change, school, BF's mental issues... Christmas is very Jolly this time around but I have my tree up and that makes me smile (despite the hatred from BF towards the tree, his gifts are still underneath it) and an awesome dog that makes me happy too.

I hope 2012 brings good and happy things, its about time for something to happen.

Playing Catch Up

Hey throngs of readers! I'm sorry its been a while. Not much exciting is going on right now... homework, work, dog, BF, homework, arguing, work, dog, homework... so on and so forth.

I have a few posts started I just need to finish them up!

-Sam-

New Car Debacle

Aaaahhhh... Isn't it beautiful!? This is what I am hoping to have for my first car! I've never had a car, never had a license, truth be told it's never been relevant to my life until now. Never had a serious NEED for it. I wanted a new car so I can be driving it for a very long time, don't want to have to trade, sell or buy a car for many many years!

The bank I was getting my loan through pre-approved me, but then when I went to actually apply for the loan they said they can only give me half of what I need. HALF? SERIOUSLY?

I was so disappointed, so I started researching used cars in the price range the bank was willing to give me. The BF and I went to the dealership to back out of the purchase and lose the 500 bucks I already had down. I was so upset, but I would have been switching to a car I liked so it wasn't really that bad.

And as luck would have it the dealership approved the loan and I got my car! My first car! I am enjoying it, still have to name her though, according to by BF I haven't been driving her long enough to name her yet so I'm waiting.

Must Love Dogs!

For every post mentioning the Pedigree Foundation until midnight Eastern tonight, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of its new dry Pedigree recipe to a shelter.


http://www.pedigreefoundation.org/

Yay!

-Sam-

Coupons

Ok, so I am a huge fan of this whole couponing craze, I have been studying and researching the how to's and the best way to get started. I got a weekly Sunday newspaper and I'm only going to start with 1! My goal for now is to cut my grocery bill in half, and then work from there for bigger savings. I began with my coupon clippings and organizing.

Yes I was inspired by the show Extreme Couponing but thats not my only reason for going. The BF and I like to go out to eat, hang out with friends and do more fun things and don't always have the money to do it. With the BF's job change and me going to school and sending out resume's and air checks to different radio stations we could use some more spending money and some fun.

So I thought I would share the websites and book that is most helpful to me and my quest to be a smart shopper and money saver!

- http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
(And their book, Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey)

- http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/

- http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/

I started reading all the Beginners posts and picked my methods from there.

Happy Hunting!

-Sam-

Is There Anything More Annoying...

Is there anything more annoying... than the politics of a crappy part time job? I can't think of much that is worse than that!

I left the Navy to pursue college full-time and to get into the broadcasting career field as a civilian. College classes are going well, although the Veteran Affairs office keeps messing up my pay, but that's a whole other story...

Getting out was difficult, I moved to Washington to be with my BF, we met in the military and had that on and off thing for about 3 years, and after a lot of begging I agreed to move out here. It was a new experiance moving to a new place and relying on someone else to make new friends, I've been used to going to a new command, starting work right away and meeting new people on my own.

I was spending too much time in the house and I was starting to go stir crazy, so I figured an easy part-time job would be good for me, make a little extra cash, meet people and get out of the house. I am currently employed at the YMCA in Membership Services. Not a bad part-time gig, however, this area was taken over by an association office, so a handful of the Y's had to change a bunch of their policies, whatever, that happened almost a year before I started working here. I don't know how things "were" nor do I care how things "were"

Even in my interview I told my boss to be why I am getting job, this will NOT be a career for me, just a way to pass the time (but it doesn't mean I won't work hard for you) but really I don't get paid enough to care about 90% of the stuff they want me to care about, and now I have the choice to not care! A bunch of us are getting fed up with having to go to pointless trainings at another Y an hour away!

It seems to me, to be a case of people taking thier jobs, and themselves WAY to seariously and forcing that seriousness onto us, really? We work in a gym! Sure there is a level of professionalism and it is a non-profit organization, but c'mon! Pull the stick out of your butt and have a little fun!

Suzy Homemaker

Definition: A personification of the quintessential female American housewife.

-During the 1960's it was a brand of child-sized kitchen appliances and a doll of the same name.

Suzy Homemaker, I am not! And never will be. Sure I don't mind doing laundry (folding gets annoying though), and vaccuming takes about 5 minutes but I don't like dusting, I hate doing dishes and I LOATHE cooking! Although to my surprise I like baking... but everyday cooking, coming up with dinner every night and cooking it, yeah no... no thank you to that. I also have little to no interest to learn. I have better and more important things to do.

Believe me, if I could hire someone to take care of this crap for me I would.

Now don't get me wrong, if housework is your strong point embrace it and love it! I'm not putting you down at all just saying its not for me.

-Samantha-

Couponing

I have been watching Extreme Couponing... and let me tell you something, I am fascinated by it! And lately every time BF and I go grocery shopping I get mad that we are paying as much as we are. I am trying to learn how to coupon and how to track sales, match coupons and do the math correctly. Anyone who knows me knows me and numbers DON'T get along, but I am willing to push through to get my groceries for 5 bucks or less!

-Sam-

Man Period

Yes, you read that title right, men have "that time of the month" as well!

"Stomach cramps, mood swings and hot flashes. Yes, it's that time of the month again.

But these are symptoms reported by men, not women. New research suggests men suffer from pre-menstrual-style symptoms, in some cases as badly as women. The news is bound to be greeted with snorts of cynicism by most females."

"The men admitted to feeling antisocial and suffering poor concentration; depression; lack of arousal; hot flashes and pain - including stomach cramps, back pain and headaches. "

"The suggestion that men suffer from a form of male PMS is bound to divide opinion - as has the theory of the male menopause. Many doctors, including some British specialists, believe middle-aged men experience a sudden fall in testosterone - a hormone responsible for sex drive, sperm production and muscle tone.

However, a American study said that those who complain of hot flashes, excessive sweating, depression and a lack of sex drive are probably suffering the side effects of being overweight, lazy, smoking and drinking too much."

These are some exerts from an article I read if you want to read the whole article here is the link

http://www.4-men.org/testosterone/pms.html

Hmmm... a lot of these symptoms sound familiar, and not just from my own body, but the BF's as well!

In the words of Jeff Dunham's friend Walter "He hopped out of bed, jumped on his menstrual cycle and ran my ass over!"

-Sam-

Eagles

So living in Washington (and right on the water) it is very pretty here, nice views and lately with the nicer weather I have been seeing some very big birds... Eagles!

I was so excited the first time because I have never seen one outside of a Zoo or a Rescue. I was walking Essy behind these condos just down the street (they have the better grass) and I happened to look up and there it was, perched on the corner. The Eagle looked huge even from that high up and I couldn't imagine how big it would have been right next to me.

As Essy and I got closer and started walking underneath it I noticed the Eagle starting to crane its head, it was watching my dog... uh oh...

I'm pretty sure it wanted to eat her. I giggled at first and then thought... what the HECK would I have done had this giant bird swooped down to bring my dog to its nest?

I started walking her faster so she could get out of its eyesight, I guess I would have held onto her leash for dear life and gone along for the ride!

Essy's First Night Home

When we brought Essy home she had just gotten spayed. And never having had a female dog before it never occurred to me that she would have the Cone of Shame on her!

Our friends that we took her from had a 3 year old girl. The BF has a small car so we took her out of her kennel and I picked her up while BF loaded the car with doggie stuff. Little Girl was petting Essy's head while her mom told her Essy was going to play at my house for a while. Little Girl started getting a bit upset, I looked at her mom and said "Quick like a band-aide!" Then we both rushed to the door and my with dog in arms got in the car and took her home.

The day before she had her surgery and was on pain meds. After roughly a half hour car ride we settled at home and she climbed into BF's lap, note the sleepy eyes.

She stayed on the new comfy chair that night, it tends to be very cold in our home so we took my Navy blanket and laid it over her. She slept through the night and had no problem adjusting to us and our home.

Blonde Me

Alright, I am a brunette but everyone has their blonde moments. I decided to share a couple of my worst ones, and they happened within a week... yay me!

Blonde Me 1 - So we brought our dog Essy home on a Thursday. The previous day she was spayed so she had the Cone Of Shame on, from 7-10 days.

Every couple of days we would check her incision to see if we can take the cone off early.

Well I had class that evening and the BF came to pick me up where he sat on him Man-Chair and started clipping his fingernails. I picked up Essy and pointed her incision towards him and asked that he look at how its healing because he has the best light to see clearly. BF didn't even look up, saying "can't you see I'm busy?"

I told him it would only take 2 seconds to glance up, I put Essy down and left the room in a huff.

I used the bathroom and came out and noticed her cone was off. I smiled and said "thank you baby, that was so nice of you" then sat down with the dog to see whats on TV.

I paused, thought for a second and was confused by my thought... I walked into the kitchen where BF was makin' dinner. I asked... "was her cone off since I walked in the door?"

He didn't say a word, just gave me a look and laughed at me! He took her cone off when he got home from work! I had been so used to seeing her with it on it never occured to me what she looked like without it!

Blonde Me 2 - So I am currently taking English Composition 102 at the local college here. Our first essay was due today, a 5 page paper on a subject of our choice. I picked Therapy Dogs, and spent the last week doing research and freaking out about how the heck am I going to stretch this topic to 5 freakin' pages!

I get to class today and look around, notice everyone else's paper was double spaced... huh, was that allowed I thought? So I broke out the essay assignment sheet and sure enough, there it is "Double Spaced" awesome me!

So my teacher said I can email her a double spaced version. When I got home I put the paper in double space mode and it was 9 pages long! So I had to do some trimming.

Next time I will read the instructions closer!

-Sam-

Essy

So BF and I just brought home our new dog. She is 1 year, 8 months old. Her name is Essy and I am TOTALLY in love with my new baby! She is so lovable and sweet and I'm having fun working with her and training her.

Thank goodness she is food oriented because I don't think (like most dogs) she would want to train any other way.

She is said to be a Boston Terrier/Beagle mix.

This is a Boston Terrier...

And this is a Beagle...

Essy just got spayed so I am going to hold off in posting a picture of her until her cone comes off. But she is all brindle and until I looked up the pic of the Boston Terrier I didn't think that they were ever Brindle and we were thinking they were wrong on her lineage, and maybe she had some boxer or pit bull in her as well... but I guess we were wrong.

Oh well!

Live and learn!

-Samantha-

Hello!

Just wanted to pop in and say HI! A few updates on what is going on here, I started school online last Monday, I start my campus courses hopefully today, I'm on the waitlist and I find out if I can officially enroll this term today.

We are getting a doggy living with us on Thursday, I will be showing sweet 2 year old Essy who is a Boston Terrier/Beagle mix.

I am also enrolling in Dog Obedience classes so I can become a certified trainer. How funny is it that that is a longer course than any of my college classes?

Anyway, thats what is going on here.

-Samantha-

Bio

I am starting school online tomorrow, and at the beginning of every class we have to submit a Bio for the teacher and other students can read.

Here is mine...

My name is Samantha Stark and this is a little bit about me. I graduated from Bay High School in Ohio in 2003, did some college while in the Navy and got most my basic courses and electives out of the way. I’ve never taken an online course before, and while I’m excited to get started I put off taking one because I’m a bit of a procrastinator.

Before I joined the Navy I was a waitress at Friendly’s and Zeppe’s Pizza. I came into the military as a still photographer and the Navy decided to merge all media based jobs and I found my way into Broadcast Media. I shot news stories, anchored news on TV in Crete Greece 3 days a week and hosted a morning radio show. While stationed in Korea I was the mid-day and then afternoon DJ being voted the Best in the Pacific 2 years in a row.

I grew up in Cleveland Ohio, and now live with my BF in Washington State. I love to read and I will read just about anything you put in front of me. Some of my favorite books include the Dexter series, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Lovely Bones. I also sew, knit, crochet, stitch and run an online blog and photo gallery website.

I’m not a fan of most reality TV and believe it is the downfall of intelligence in the US.

I have been out of the military for almost a month and have been in the states for about 3. That is the longest I have been in the US in 7 years. My Navy career has taken me all over the world, Italy, Greece, Korea, Africa, Montenegro and Spain to name a few. I always had trouble with picking up a language so I tell people I’m fluent in ItaliaGreeKorean. Italy, Greece and Korea is where I spent most of my time.

My degree is in Communications so I can pursue Radio Broadcasting as my career. That’s also why I left the Navy, to pursue my goals. The more I advanced the further away I would be from what I love doing which is entertaining.

Thanks for reading and I wish you all luck in school and your goals!

A Tale From My Childhood

And now its time to regale you all with a tale from my teenage years...

When my friends and I were of age to learn how to drive (names have been changed to protect the innocent) Beyonce was the first one driving. Her and BAM pick me up from cheerleading practice to drive around.

So BAM hops in the back and I get into the front seat.

Beyonce starts driving and we are listening to music, talking, laughing making random turns to explore this new world we have discovered of 4 wheeled freedom.

We end up in the Cleveland Salt Mills, or whatever it's called...

And we decide we are lost... so we turn around and drive back the way we came.

Well Beyonce pulled out a little too far into the intersection so we can see which direction we want to turn.

All 3 of us turn our heads to the left and a GIANT Semi-Truck grill is rapidly getting closer and it lets out a loud

HHHHOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNK!!!!!!!!!

We screamed, Beyonce throws the car in reverse and the truck just missed us.

BAM is in the back seat screaming and hyperventilating into her hands, Beyonce starts crying repeating "I almost killed my best friends! OMG! I almost killed us!"

And me? I started laughing! I think it was just nerves letting go, but I didn't scream, or cry, I laughed.

I don't recall if the truck driver even tried to slow down but we were almost crushed to a grill and be a hood ornament alongside the Bulldog semi-truck logo.

-Sam-

Random Thought...

Sometimes my BF makes some odd noises while he's sleeping... Sounds I can't even describe to you!
Sounds I can't even get mad about cause they are so crazy it makes me laugh!
I think one night I'll audio record him so he can hear himself.

Going to the Movies

Going to dinner and a movie was a classic cheap date, especially for poor teens.
It's a little different now!

BF took me to the movies and it was about 23 bucks, then some hot dogs and drinks were around the same price.

Remember the days when the entire movie experience was less than 20 bucks food and all? Also, I remember the days when you ordered a small drink and you got a small!

I got a small slushy and the size drink that the lady gave me was massive! That used to be a LARGE!

Bigger is NOT always better! This is why prices are skyrocketing and this is why we are all fat!

I predict in the future when drink sizes get even bigger movie theaters will start charging to use the stalls.

Yay!

CHEESE

Soooo... While I was in Ohio watching my mom's cable there are tons of commercials for Mini Babybel Cheese. I found these in the grocery store and bought a bundle.

Each bundle has 6 mini wedges. The BF and I went through this package in less than a day!

This cheese is awesome!

And we went to the grocery store again for some wine and other odds and ends and bought 2 more bundles of cheese and went through one in a single night!

Things I Learned...

I was out of town for 2 weeks visiting friends and family. About a week and a half in Ohio and the last couple days my mom and I drove to Chicago to visit with my Grandma, and I flew back to Washington from there.

While I was at home I learned a few things...

1.) I should have had pink hair my whole life, its awesome.

2.) My dad taught my brother from a young age how to steal/hide/throw out things that are important to other people.

3.) I learned that I enjoy movies about horses.

4.) The guy who owned my phone number before me might be AWOL.

5.) Apparently twins run in my family on my dad's side.

6.) And the biggest thing I learned, that my great-grand mother was foolin' around on her husband, and my grandfather's biological father was Jewish, therefore I'm about a quarter Jewish...

School

OMG! This is so frustrating... why can't things be easy? Sign up and start... yay! Instead I get to fill out piles upon piles of paperwork, print, sign, scan then fax or email... AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

2 schools to finish one degree so I can get paid to go to school. Sounds weird right?

I say to the world... LET'S SIMPLIFY EVERYTHING!!!

Online Work

So I was searching online today to see what these online jobs were all about. Apparently they have been all over the news that they really work and blah blah blah...
A little extra money is always a good thing so I read up on a bunch of them and picked one to sign up for and give a try. Seemed legit until I started the "work" I'm sure there are real ones out there but leave it to me to pick a scam :) Nothing to worry about though I'm canceling/quitting so I can find something reputable.

Another Cause for a WOOHOO!

My clothes, shoes and purses are here! As well as a few blankets...

The blanket I crocheted while out to sea, the quilt my friends mom made the Navy blanket a church friend of my Grandma's made for me and the Guinness blanket I "acquired" from an outdoor restaurant/bar from Korea.

Only 3 medium size boxes with clothes in 2 of them and the third has the rest.

So after unpacking 2 boxes I'm taking a break and watching Overboard. Loved this movie growing up!

WooHoo!

Soooo... since I started my work out routine I weighed myself today and since I started I am down a total of 9 pounds!!!!

I am so excited, but I couldn't do it alone, and my bf, who apparently DOES read this (hi honey!) has been a big help he does a lot of the cooking since I'm not entirely comfortable in the kitchen and he tends to eat healthier than I do and its been good for me. Also every fitness or nutrition tip he hears about he always shares it with me :)

Although I did cook last night, chicken with rice and I think I did pretty good I was told it was tastey so yay for me!

-Sam-

Healed!

Now its been a few weeks since I came full circle to living in the States again. Settling into my new home, in my new city and about to start a new school program. In addition I have FINALLY started a regular workout program since my broken leg is now healed.

2 pounds down this week and I'll keep you updated. Its good for me too, gives me something to write about while I procrastinate in looking for a job :)

-Sam-

Been Away

Sorry I've been away for so long. A 14 hour flight will take a lot out of you. And let me prefice this with saying I am slightly intoxicated and I'm fairly certain my new bf of a week and a half will never read this...

We have been on and off for the last jeez... almost 3 years now. We met in Greece and were together almost a year than we went our separate ways when he was all guy like, meaning selfish and stupid... we've spent the last year trying to get back together and have been face-t0-face for the last week and a half. Its good overall but there are things where we communicate better with while online rather than in person...

But getting to know one another again after 2 years is difficult, and I'm more willing to see it as a fun challenge than he is. I think he likes stress no matter how much he says he doesn't.

Anyway I have hope and faith for the future, but only time will tell!

Now time to get some sleep.

G'night!

-Sam-

Settling In

Hey all,

Settling into a new place, living with someone has its ups and downs. Figuring out your relationship along the way also has its ups and downs. I'm up for the challenge and look forward to it!

Wish me luck!

-Sam-