Blogging

I'm in the process of starting a new blog. Actually, Justin started it for us. I'll save everything and do what I can with this blog, because I have over a year's worth of memories here that I'd like to journal/scrapbook. But just so everyone knows..I'll be blogging over here from now on: www.justinandrobin.blogspot.com

We haven't customized the "look" yet and Justin is the only one who has posted an entry..but soon I'll post something myself :)

Happy Valentines Day!!

Just a short post

Last week Justin proposed, so I'm engaged now! I've been super busy with my new job (I'm teaching gymnastics at a private school) and also busy with researching resorts in the Caribbean because we've decided to get married destination style on November 24th! It's all fun...just busy! And the house will be ready soon, too! We went there on Saturday morning to check things out-we have kitchen appliances installed now. Almost everything is done...just the touch-ups, the carpet and the fencing/landscaping are left to do! I'm so ready to move!

Alright, I have to go...just wanted to post the news :)

Taxes, Saturday plans and whatever else

I filed my taxes already! I'm getting a good return this year. I worked in two different states in 2006 and lived in three, and out of 12 months, I didn't work 3 1/2 of them. It couldn't come at a better time, too! There is so much that we need to buy for the house. :)

Today I want to go to the outlet mall to see if I can find some more business clothes. I'm almost certain that the job I'm going to get will be one where I'm required to at least dress Business Casual, if not more professional. I have hardly anything in my closet that meets either of those requirements and then the stuff that I do have doesn't fit :( We also need groceries and a few other household items. I bought Brooklyn a new harness that is pink last night at Petco. She hates wearing it. She barely moves in it and is pretty pissed off when I try to walk her outside. The leash meets the harness on her back, whereas before her leash met her collar at the neck. It's a different feeling I guess and she doesn't like to be tugged at her back. She just stands there and stares at me. We got her a new soft toy, too. Her favorite old toy is a soft medium size "hedgie." It's a hedge Hog that squeaks. She loves to hold it, bite it and then suck on it until she falls asleep. Because that toy is so gross I wanted to get her a new one. We got her a squirrel that is similar to the hedgie. She plays with it and drags it around by the tail, but she still loves her hedgie the most. Of course!
Justin booked his plane ticket to Delaware. He's leaving on the 23rd of March and will return on the 25th. So it'll be a quick trip. The following weekend (31st), my older sister, Daphne is flying in from New York for a long weekend (Thurs-Mon) in Austin. My other sisters, Candace and Ginger are driving up from Houston that weekend and we're all going to paint my house! Daphne is thinking about moving back to Texas, and maybe to Austin so we have invited her to live with us for a little while if she does decide to move here. The purpose of her trip is more than just to visit us and help me paint. I think she's giving the idea some heavy thought and this trip will help her make some decisions.
No news on thew job front. However, I did have a great time working with my friend, Shane at his jewelry shows last week. It was easy money and fun!
Well, I don't have much else to update on at the moment. I need to get dressed and get going...grocery shopping and then off to the outlet mall if I still feel like it by then :) Have a good weekend!

Just another day in the ATX

I've been applying for jobs all over the place...ones I've seen on Craigslist, the city job boards, State of Texas job boards, The Austin American Statesman, and all of those other websites dedicating themselves to employment search. I've seen only a handful of jobs that offer what I'm looking for, but I'm applying for whatever is out there that does not require telemarketing at this point. I had a scheduled interview this morning for a marketing assistant position with a relatively new recycling company that handles obsolete computer systems...recycling, refurbishing and reselling whatever parts they can. Unfortunately the guy I was scheduled to meet with had to leave for Dallas this morning on business and my interview has been postponed. I was also scheduled to meet with a Nanny Agency. However, I decided after rethinking the whole thing, I don't want to be a professional nanny so I canceled my meeting. I need to find some work where I can get benefits and where vacation time can be accrued.
I am helping a friend out this week on today, tomorrow and Thursday with his business. He is a jewelry salesman and he has a offered me the position of assisting him with his jewelry conventions in Austin this week. So that is something to cushion the grocery fund while I still look for permanent employment.
Justin spoke with our home construction supervisor yesterday and we are all set for a completion/closing date on the 28th of February as previously planned. Since I last wrote, they have laid the tile in the kitchen and entry ways and we now have a kitchen sink. The wiring for the appliances has been done and we should have the installation of the appliances sometime next week. The following week is when the carpet is supposed to go in and then it's just a matter of days before we go in for our first walk thru! Other houses in the neighborhood are being completed with final touches like landscaping and exterior fencing. It's all getting so close..we are very excited!
Brooklyn has been super allergic to something lately. I'm not yet sure what it is, but the benadryl we've been giving her by teaspoon with some peanut butter :) has been helping for the most part. Her eyes and face get red and irritated. I can tell it bothers her because she's constantly rubbing her face in the carpet. I am guessing that she might be allergic to the new laundry detergent I'm using, though I'm not sure yet. She's also growing! She's 18 lbs now and doesn't appear to be slowing down. Although, her appetite might be coming to hault. She doesn't slurp her food up like she did a month ago. She is interested in human food now, though. She smells it and wants whatever we are eating! We don't feed it to her...she just cries for it.
Justin is planning his trip to Delaware in late March. He participates in fantasy baseball sports with a group of his friends who all live in Delaware. For the most part, they meet twice a year for their "drafts", football in August and then baseball in the spring. Since we'll be going to Delaware for his brother's college graduation in May, I didn't see the point in me going there with him for this trip in March. I'm planning to spend that weekend painting various rooms the house. I've invited my sisters to come stay and help me. Their extra hands will definitely be a lot of help. There are so many neutral colored walls, I can't wait to see some color on them!
My 29th birthday is coming up in just two months. I don't feel like I'm turning 29. It kind of sucks, really. I want to be 27 again...just want to stay in the beginning of my late 20s for a while. I don't want to be approaching 30. Ughh, another birthday...the time in between them is speeding up or something.
We were invited to join a European destination tour by my friend, Molly who plans and helps organize one of these tours every other year. In 2008, they are going on an 11 day trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest in June. We really wanted to go, but unfortunately the deposit required for the trip is just not feasible for us right now. We still owe money from our moves in 06 and with the costs we're going to see from the recent house purchase, it's just not a good time to even think about spending money on a trip like that. I don't even know where I'll be working yet either and who knows what and how much vacation time I'll have by then. Maybe we can think about going on the one she organizes in 2010. That sounds weird, but it's only 3 years away!
Not much going on around here during the week or the weekends. Were saving Justin's money, but have still managed to get out of the apartment here and there to see friends and be social. My diet and exercise health kick hasn't really kicked in yet. I'm just not motivated like I was last year. I know I need to and I'm feeling the weight gain, I just can't get myself in the gym or stay away from the sweets. Maybe I should go try on clothes at the mall..that usually helps. :)
Weeeeeeeeell, not much else to write about. I'm done for today.

Rain and Ice go away

For the last two days we've experienced some drizzling, freezing rain that just won't let up. Businesses and schools have been closed all week. Justin's office is opening at noon today but I think the ice on the ground is worse today than it was yesterday. Brooklyn is having a hard time finding a dry spot to do her business! Hopefully, as predicted, this will all begin to melt away by this afternoon and we can expect to drive on safe and non-slippery roads tomorrow. After watching the news last night and this morning, some unfortunate accidents have occurred because of this weather, resulting in deaths. One pleasant surprise was the sight of snow yesterday morning/afternoon though. This is what you get when the schools are closed and what children who don't see this kind weather often do: :) :)

Winter Weather..and more

It's the day before Martin Luther King day and Austin is prepared to wake up to a nasty, wet, cold and icy morning. The last two days have been that, except for the ice. With temps in the 30s and this drizzling rain, it does not sound like many people are going to be venturing out on the roads tomorrow. I definitely don't plan on it!

Not a lot has happened since I last wrote, just two weeks ago. New Years Eve turned out to be not much of a night. We did go out and we did see some of our friends, but everyone, including ourselves, seemed like they would have preferred to be someplace else. I think we're just getting older, it was a cold night and everyone was exhausted from all the previous holiday events and traveling. The following weekend, Justin's mom and sister came to town to visit us. It was a short 3 day trip for them, but I think we managed to show them some of Austin, our new house and we even drove out of town to meet with Justin's aunt and uncle for a meal. I'm really happy they came and got to see our house, and of course to see Justin. Especially since we didn't go to Delaware during the holidays.
Since then I have been applying for jobs and trying to prepare for our next move. So far it is just mental preparations, but I'm already thinking about everything that needs to be done. Last week I did some temp work for a local staffing firm. I was basically a telemarketer. About every five minutes I was thinking about what my excuse could be to ditch the god awful call-making. But then I forced myself to remember it is a paycheck and one I need very badly, no matter. Soooo, that position has ended for now and I'm back to searching. I've applied for quite a few good jobs in the last two weeks..I'm really hoping to hear something within the next week. there is one in particular that I want. Based on the conversation I had with the HR manager, the pay/benefits and the location, it's definitely THE one worth pursuing. Cross your fingers that I get another call and hopefully for it to be this coming week! I just can't go back to telemarketing so soon!
Sooooo, the house is coming together, literally. We drive over to see the progress every other day or at least once a week and things are starting to move at a more rapid pace. We have painted walls, cabinetry and counter tops in the kitchen! It's exciting. Only about four more weeks until our first walk through. We are anticipating we'll be taking at least two walks, but are very hopeful to close on the tentative date still set for 2-28.
Brooklyn is quite spoiled, honestly. She is very loved and I am so happy she is herself now, but she is possibly getting too much attention. She gets mad at us when we don't pay her ALL the attention and I can now notice when she is bored. Which wouldn't be a problem if she were consistent with her signals. Sometimes jumping around and barking a lot means "I need to go outside." And just recently it means absolutely nothing. We want to get another dog eventually, but we were just talking today about possibly adopting a playmate for her sooner than later. We are not sure yet. Any thoughts on this idea?
Moving along now... Since we are saving for closing costs and trying to be as frugal as possible because A)I'm not working yet and Justin is supporting the both us and B) We have some debt to pay off, as well (two moves in a 6month period will do that to you) and C) There are A LOT of things we want to buy for the house. My point of all of that was that because of all those things, we are staying in a lot and have been watching movies and entertaining ourselves as best as we can on a budget. Recently, we watched "Monster House," which we both thought was rated weakly because it seemed more of a PG-13 movie rather than a PG film. I didn't really like it all that much either. The story was odd for a children's cartoon, in my opinion. We saw "Beauty Shop," and that was pretty lame, too. A good one that is in theaters now is "Children of Men." It's a good story, a little scary in terms of making you think, but definitely worth your time and money. The actors are great, but the storyline and the way the film was directed really carry this one. Great camera-work, nice long & clear shots. None of that "creative" stuff, with the camera jumping-all-over the-place-business that I seem to be seeing so much of recently.
I've recently starting scrapping again after a long long break. I did 3 pages in 2 hours yesterday so it could be a while before I finish an album, but at least I'm back to it.
Well my laptop's battery is almost dead and so this will be a good stopping place for me. I do hope that everyone's New Year is going well so far... G'night!

Last post of the year

That's right..today is December 31st, Two Thousand and Six. Tomorrow will be the first day of Two Thousand and Seven! I am predicting the year will be a good one...
First thing is first, let me recap the holidays. Justin and I were in Houston..we did a lot of baking, cooking, eating, driving to and from my sisters house to my dad's house. We exchanged gifts, visited with various family members and watched a few movies, too. If you were thinking about seeing "Night at the Museum," Don't!!! It was awful!!! I finally saw "Little Miss Sunshine" and I thought it was pretty good. I think my expectations were high because I've wanted to see this movie for 4 or 5 months and I kept hearing great things about it. So now that I've finally watched it, I can say it was a good movie, too. We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday the night before last. My sisters, along with myself and his girlfriend have been planning the party for over a month now. I think he was surprised, and if he wasn't, he did a good job of faking it. He doesn't actually turn 60 until January 9th, but we wanted to have the party while everyone was going to be around for it(Daphne). So now the holidays are coming to an end...tonight we are going out with a bunch of friends to a bar to ring in the new year. I'm happy that I'm able to hang out with my friends, but I'm not that excited about dealing with the crowds and all that other fun stuff you have to deal with when going out, being social. Do I sound old? Next year I want to have a party. That way, we can be in our own home and not have to worry about driving anywhere, paying cover charges or ridiculous amounts of money for drinks. Lara and Brett are coming to town and will be staying with us tonight. Raquel and Miguel are here in town, too, staying with another friend, Karie. Julia, Ashley and Troy are also in town and will be meeting us out tonight, too. Shannon, Quinn, Alan, Jenna, Lynn, and possibly Matt and Reagan are also in tonight's group. And I'm sure there will be some others joining in on the fun that I don't know about yet. Tomorrow, everyone wants to watch football. I just want to eat and hang out since Tuesday will be the start of my workout and eating better routine. I lost a little bit of weight when we were in Virginia, but nothing too significant. My plan is to lose the little bit of weight that I lost and have since gained back and then some. After a few months of that, I have to maintain my working out and eating right, which is always the hard part. I have eaten so much chocolate in the last month or so... my body might freak out!
Right now we are set to close on the house on February 28th, but I've been out to the house a few times in the last few weeks and there hasn't been any progress. So, I'm not sure if they are still on schedule..meaning, I don't know if these last few weeks are part of the plan or if they are now behind. Whatever the case is, I want to see some results soon! All of this affects everything tremendously. First of all, our apartment lease ends on March 15th now. We don't get any money back if we get out early, but we don't want to extend our stay here and pay more if we can't be in the house by March 15th. We also have not locked in our mortgage rate. We will be penalized if we lock next week and the closing date is pushed back because it doesn't fall into the 60 days window that we need for locking in the rate. Soooo, knowing what is going on over there would be good information to us.
I'm also going to start working soon. I don't have a job yet, but the plan is to start temping while I still look for something more permanent. I need benefits and a paycheck! I am going to set up some appointments with a few agencies this week, so hopefully that I will have some temp work lined up shortly after getting set up. I've already applied for A LOT of administrative positions...this area seems to be particularly competitive for the good paying ones. I've seen really only a handful of jobs that pay above 30K, so I might just have to suck it up and take what I can get so that I'm at least making something. Our closing costs are going to be 5-7k, and we still need to pay off the moving expenses and then we'll need furniture and various other things for the house. Though, the furniture will be all big purchase items that will take some time to get, and we have what we need for now so I'm not putting any furniture at the top of the list. Justin's already made a list of his priorities, with the home entertainment sound system at the top of his. I really want to paint and decorate. :) I'm just so thankful to have the house and so much more, I really am so lucky. Now, I've just got to get a good job.
Happy 2007 to everybody....be safe! I hope to see everyone I couldn't see last year a little more this year. To all my scattered friends that are reading...I miss you guys! Have a safe and happy New Year, xxoo. and remember to eat your black eyed peas tomorrow!