One More Thing

I forgot to mention, if you would like to create your own signature, go HERE and follow the instructions:)

I Just Wanted to Post to See my New Signature...

And it worked! (I think, at least it shows in my preview). I always saw cute signatures on other people's blogs and it took me about two hours but I finally figured out how to make one! I'm sure I did it the hardest way possible but in the end it turned out really cute I think:)

Oh and just a little update, tomorrow at 5:30 we have an appointment for us and our parents to see the house we are hoping to put an offer on! Fingers crossed for a good outcome and hopefully this time tomorrow we have an offer on it! Trying not to get too excited because I hate being let down...

I'll keep you posted!

So There's This Job...That I Love!

I figured I’d take a break from house hunting blogs and write about something that consumes 40 hours a week of my time, my job as a Biologist!

One of the many reasons I chose to major in Biology was that more than likely I would be in a career that didn’t involve sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day. And let me clarify there is nothing wrong with that, it’s just not for me. I like to be in different settings and get be up and around on my feet, which I get to do for parts of my day.

Landing this job right out of college was so exciting for me and I can say that I really love what I do. I actually applied for a Seed Lab Technician (entry level) and got a call to see if I wanted to interview instead for a Biological Scientist I in the Feed Lab, um yes please! There’s no telling what my future holds but for now, I am happy, thankful and love my job!

So here’s a little background on why I even have a job: I’m sure you all have heard of the term “Mad Cow Disease”. Well my job in a nutshell is to try and prevent Mad Cow, also known as BSE or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. That’s a mouthful for anyone so we’ll just stick with Mad Cow! Basically a cow becomes infected with this disease when they are fed proteins from an infected cow already with the disease. The way this happens is when a cow dies from mad cow, it may be “ground up” for lack of a better word and re-processed into animal feed which is then fed back to cows that we eat. The whole reason this is an issue is because there’s a human form of mad cow called vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) which is fatal in humans. Bottom line, human eats infected cow, human dies. Not good!

This is where I come into play…I receive feed samples collected by inspectors from all over Florida and I perform analysis on them to see if they contain these specific animal proteins. This is done by grinding the raw samples, extracting the DNA, multiplying that DNA, and then running it on a gel where a present band at a certain molecular weight will indicate a positive sample. A sample that comes back positive is then passed on to another department and could lead to an entire recall or stop sale on that particular brand of feed. Pretty cool huh?!

I got permission from my supervisor to take these photos before plastering them on my blog, so let’s start the tour!

PS- Sorry if this is boring to anyone, I quite enjoy it:)

Did We Find It?!

Yesterday we FINALLY got into a house we've been waiting to get into for 3 weeks. Let's just say we're thinking it was worth the wait! We were so excited and wanted to put an offer on it last night but after talking with our parents they thought it might be good if they checked it out first. (Ya know, the Dads have the common sense when it comes to the condition of houses) SO we are anxiously waiting to get back into the house when the folks can come. We're hoping it will be no later than this weekend because we think it's "the one"! It has it's pros and cons but the pros definitely outweigh the cons so that's good! To be continued on the house news. Fingers crossed that no one becomes interested in it while we're trying to get back in...the renters are not very willing to let the house be shown. Long story short, it makes seeing it a pain in the butt!

In other news, I am SO ready for warmer weather! This past weekend was just beautiful, more please! I am also very ready to go to the beach and take Remington too! Although not so ready for bikini season lol...i think a nice new suit would help make it a little better! *wink wink David*:)

Oh yeah, and we're getting one of these this weekend...

And no, I don't mean the great dane! It's called the Sporn No-Pull Halter. Since Remi has gotten so much stronger, so has his pulling. I can't seem to break him of it and yesterday it was so bad he bent the connector clip on his leash! aye ya yay...I'm not into the choker spike collar so i've heard good things about this. Apparently when they pull it lifts their body up and is uncomfortable under their armpits. So we're gonna give it a try, even if it's for a short period of time just to break him of his pulling habit, it would makes walks much more pleasurable!

Annnnd my bridesmaid dress came in for Kim's wedding, can't wait to pick it up this weekend:) Hope it fits!

I'll leave you with a few pics from this past BEAUTIFUL weekend! Sidenote- the bald spot on his forehead is from me trying to get a tick out with tweezers...kind of overplucked, bless his heart!

*Hope to be blogging about us putting an offer on a house soon!

An Uneventful Update

The house process is moving slow. We fell in love with a short sale that we ultimately decided would not work for so many reasons:/ It was the first house that we both looked at each other and said "this is the house". The problem with the short sale is a VERY long waiting time to hear back from the back, and also unfortunately there is little to no room for negotiations and since this is a buyers market, we feel we should be getting a better deal. Boo for short sales, their making our search much harder than we thought it'd be since so many places out there are short sales.

We are STILL waiting to get into a house that we were supposed to have seen quite a few weeks ago. Apparently now the owner has served the tenant an eviction notice because they are not cooperating. It's disappointing because we love the exterior of the house which we've seen several times now, but we can't for the life of us see the interior...VER FRUSTRATING!

In other news, Remington is becoming a small giant:) He's a 60lb. 6 mo. old puppy and we just love him to pieces.

Not much else to report in the James fam, but we're glad the weather is beginning to become a little more enjoyable, it's about time!

Oh and today Lindsay and I got together to do some planning for Kimbojangle's bridal shower, I can't wait for her wedding in St. Augustine!

Okay out of things to say:)

Blah Blah Blah

Well today was finally our meeting that was rescheduled from Monday for unknown reasons not on our part, and let's just say, it was not worth the wait. The house we were told we would be able to see, the tenant apparently "came down with the flu". Okay, so maybe they have the flu, and we'll never know whether they did or not, but c'mon! If you'd have let us in Monday when we were supposed to come then we could have already been out of your hair!

I don't know why I keep getting excited about having a house appointment because this is not the first time we have been looking forward to something like allll week only to show up and be told we couldn't see the house. So we're not really happy campers. So many places we are dying to see we are still facing the problem of renters not being cooperative, and it's killing us...Oh well, He has his plan and I guess he's got to throw us some curve balls before we can hit a homerun:)

Fingers crossed we'll be able to get into the house this weekend...

AVATAR=AMAZING

The other day David calls me and says hey you wanna go see Avatar? HECK YES! I admit when I saw the previews I wasn’t really into seeing this movie because it didn’t seem like my cup of tea, but ever since it’s become the highest grossing movie of all time I had to see what I’d been missing out on. I’d been bugging David for the past couple of days that I really wanted to see it and he still wasn’t convinced that we needed to spend the money on a movie. (being the Mr. Finance that he is) Well after talking with his friend at work who had just seen it and told David it was really good, of course then it’s something we must do lol. Fine with me!
So anyways the movie was about 2.5 hours and it didn’t even seem like it. Not once did I think “is it almost over yet?” In fact I could have watched another hour of it!
The effects in this movie are so good and the super cool 3D glasses we got to wear made it that much better! It’s so realistic it’s scary and really makes you think if there’s life o n another planet…

Anywho, just thought I’d take a minute to make a recommendation if you’re looking for a great movie!

Hanging in There

Well still no luck on the house front. I’ll admit we have been being pretty picky about what we are looking for and I think we may have to really start compromising on some things. The main difficulty we’re having is location. In the area we are looking, there is not a lot for sale or there are things for sale that are not worth the money. Decisions decisions…

In other news, we are officially moved out of our Quad. We miss it a lot more than we thought we would, plus there’s attachment because it was “Our First Place”. I am very thankful though that it was a smooth transaction with our wonderful renters. They will be moving in this weekend so I’m very excited for them and to see the place once it’s decorated how they want it! Here are some pictures of the moving process. The one of Remi on the boxes cracks me up! The story is his toy basket was stacked up amongst the boxes that were piled in the living room and I turn around to find him like this!

Here's some other moving pics: David finding a small corner to eat at!

And here's David trying to convince Remi to go into his new crate!

I guess he figured they had been mis-placed and he was going up to get them! Too funny…
Things are going good in other areas of my life. My job is still going great although I am beginning to look for a new position just based on the fact that my current position does not offer benefits. I am really hoping to find something in Biology though because I really do love what I do and would love to be doing something very similar in the future. If times get tough or I have trouble finding something else though, I’ll be resorting to another field which I hope will be the last resort. Being a Bio major was the best thing I ever did and I would love to continue to use it!
Umm…what else what else…oh yeah, ordering my Bridesmaid dress this weekend for my SIL’s wedding. It’s super duper cute and I’ll be happy to add it to my wardrobe after the wedding is over:)

Other than that all is well and just steady House-Hunting & looking forward to Renee’s baby shower this weekend!

Agenda for tonight is head over to the in-laws tonight for Chinese & spending time with the Hubs & the Pup :)

Feelin' Discouraged...

I loooove this show! I'm sure you've seen it, "ding dong" is how it starts and I know I have approximately 22 minutes of bliss while I watch. I don't know what it is about being at the different phases of your life and the shows that relate to it, but I tell ya they're addicting! When I was engaged I couldn't get enough of wedding shows but now that I'm married I have hardly seen any! Now that we're official House Hunters ourselves, this is my favorite show:) Our TV might as well only have one channel, HGTV.

Now on another note, I would like to know how many houses people on this show look at before they purchase their home. You know, before they narrow it down to the three? David and I both thought that this house hunting process would be a lot easier but we're finding that that's not the case:/ So many houses that we have had high hopes for, we have been let down by in a matter of minutes after walking through the doors. Wanna know why? RENTERS. By gosh 90% of the houses we have looked at are all or have been occupied by renters and let me tell you, the owners are doing themselves a huge disgrace by putting these places up for sale in the conditions they're in. One owner we have talked to said anything we wanted fixed he would make it happen, but if he's planning to do that anyway, why not do that now and try to sell it so a buyer can see it's full potential? I just don't get it...it stinks!

We have one we LOVE and one we like but of course the one we love is the most expensive. go figure!

And this is kind of what we've been feeling like:

Okay so the places we have been looking at aren't that bad but sometimes you feel that way! And it's actually quite fun when you actually find something you like! But it's like you want me to pay THIS for THAT?! Oh well...patience is a virtue. So patient we will be until we find the one!

Brrr!

Well I had quite a few pictures to add to a new post, but i am having computer space problems and a dead camera battery so go figure!

This weather has been pretty crazy for sure, this morning my parents pond was frozen! It was pretty cool, but unfortunately not frozen enough to slide/skate on it like I wanted to:/

Well here's the news on the House front: In order to get out of our lease we either had to pay it off or find a renter. Fingers crossed everything goes through with our new renter (you know who you are and we can't thank you enough!!). It was an answer to our prayers for sure because goodness knows we didn't want to have to pay out the end of the lease.

Yesterday was our first official day of house hunting. We were super excited and had fun but unfortunately didn't find anything yesterday that we want to really consider. We were bummed big time because 3 of our top 5 picks to go and view did not happen because the renters that are currently occupying those houses were not cooperating and letting us view the houses. Pretty bad for the seller that's for sure. But luckily we have a great Realtor and she is going to notify the Owner on Monday and try and get us in there ASAP!

Kim (sis-in-law) was in town this weekend and it was good spending some time with her and doing some wedding stuff! Remember her wedding is in April in St. Augustine and I can't wait! Plus it's been several years since I've been to St. Augustine so I'm definitely looking forward to it.

We've got chili on the stove, a fire going & my snuggie: love sunday evenings at home!

Exciting things!

Just a few things in the near future that make me giddy:

1. My sister-in-law Kimberly has asked me to be in her April 17th wedding, yay! It's going to be in St. Augustine, which I haven't visited since the school trip in 4th grade. I am pretty darn excited!
2. Tomorrow we have our first meeting with a lender about getting pre-approved to buy a home! It's so exciting that we are actually starting the process and will no longer just be talking about it.
3. We don't have to buy a new washing machine like we thought we might have to do last night. I came home from work and attempted to start a load of laundry...with no luck. The water wouldn't come out AT ALL. I turned and pushed buttons with no luck. Well when David got home I broke the news that I can't get the washer to work. Of course he panicked because Mr. Finance didn't plan on buying a new washer just yet. And goodness knows he is good at many things but being a handy fix-it man isn't really one of them. So he played with it, got a little forceful with some buttons/knobs/etc... and whoo hoo! Water flow! We were both doing the happy dance because 1)don't have to buy a new washer yet & 2) David fixed it! haha Also, just for a little background, we bought our washer and dryer from the last renters for cheap so it is probably from the 80s, you know it, the brown & tan colored ones?! it's due to die anytime now, but let's hope it lasts a little while longer!
4. A very dear friend of mine is having a baby boy in just a few short months and some of us girlies are throwing her a baby shower! I'm super excited for her and for the shower, it should be fun! I absolutely cannot WAIT for Baby Brody to get here!

Last but not least, I am loving this cold sunny weather! I know many people hate it but I just loooove it. As long as it's sunny! Fingers crossed for snow on Friday! I told David I'd be taking a Snow Day even it just flurried:)

My Favorite Days...

...are days like today! Frrreeezing cold and sunny is my preferred weather forecast and here it is! Went and exchanged things and bought new stuff from Kirkland's today. That store makes you want to go broke! Ever since I've become a Mrs., I've been super excited about all things "J" to decorate with. Today I got a small standing garden flag with a 'J' on it and I can't wait to stick it in the ground at our new house! Staking our claim I guess:) Heading over to my parents tonight to spend one last night with Big Momma & Grampy, I'm so sad I didn't get to spend as much time with them this year. Being a grown up isn't so fun when you gotta work! Oh well, so glad they are here!

Stay warm & cozy, it's supposed to be 19 degrees next week, bring on the rain & let's see some snow:)

I'll end with a pic of my favorite little boy in his new found chair at his Grandparents house...so cute!

01.01.10

Today marks the start of a New Year, and a very exciting year I hope it will be:) My New Year's Resolution is to keep my blog updated since I didn't stay committed to my last one... so here's to a new start!

Not only is today a new year, but a new decade. A chance to have a fresh start and for the Hubs and I, a year of many new things. We will become home-owners this year and I absolutely cannot wait. Our realtor has suggested we start the process as of the "first of the year" so that means it's about time to jump on the house-hunting train and all the other non-exciting stuff that goes with it! Fortunately David is much more knowledgeable on the financial side of things because it is definitely a drag for me and I am dreading going through all the paperwork, approval process, etc... The interior designer in me though is already planning every room in my head and ohhhh the painting I look forward to! Renting feels like such a restriction when everything you do must pass through the landlord first...BOO.

Can't wait to post a blog in the future about Our First Home!

So excited!

Find a place to live, CHECK! If anyone is still reading this...thought I'd write a new post. I plan to update very regularly once we are settled into our new life and I don't have school to worry about, but until them, I'm sorry ahead of time for my absence! You girls know by now that we found a place, but here's the details. It's the top left unit of a two story quadraplex and I love it. It's not perfect, but it's so homey already and I can't wait to make it our own. I know that I will want to do soooo much stuff to fix up the place as far as painting and all that, but I don't plan to do much since we plan not to be there for more than a year. It's a 2/2 with rather large closets so that's a good thing! One of my favorite features is the fireplace. I can picture David and I with our doggy keeping warm in front of it cozy in front of our first Christmas trees. I am truly excited about having our own place. I'm not saying it's going to be easy moving away from home by any means, but I'm just very excited to start this new chapter. The stress of finding a job, finishing school, and planning the wedding has definitely taken its toll on me, but with this new exciting thing going on, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I bought my first ever welcome mat yesterday and I can't wait to put it out:) It's officially ours August 1st but I won't move in until after the wedding. I will definitely be over there fixing it up though. The only thing that is going to be a temporary bummer is that we are letting the existing tenant store her furniture in the guest room until August 21st when she can move into her new place. SO for the first three weeks we have it there will be a roomful of stuff that's not ours because we're being helped out from the landlord and she is being helped out too. We have a little tiny back porch that overlooks the road, but hey, it's ours:) I can't wait to move in and put my touch on what I can. I wish I could go out and buy all new furniture and stock it from head to toe with pretty things, but I know that's not how it's gonna be, so we are excited to be taking old furniture off people's hands just because a)it's free and b)we'll have something! I plan to refurbish all the older items that we have inherited so that I somewhat like them, but I know one day I can get everything the way I would like it, whether it be in this house or the next! I can't WAIT for you guys to see it, we finally have a place of our own!!

Is it too early for a Christmas list??

Because I have one!

So I thought I was perfectly content with my camera, until Mrs. BeginningAgain got one that I am SO jealous of! I'm sure it will be eons before anyone wants to buy me a new camera, so if any of you are willing to drop some mula, you can spend it on me!

Something else that is on my wish list is the Sony Digital Reader Book. This baby has me drooling! I love love love to read, but I must admit, carrying the twilight series books around for two weeks was awkard and they were heavy. Which is why I need one of these bad boys:

This thing will hold up to 350 books...I think that could keep me satisfied for quite some time! I am pretty sure once you buy it too, you don't have to buy the E-books because you can download them for free from Google! (Don't quote me on it but this is my understanding). I really really really want one. Someone can buy this for me too! I'm gonna go pout over the things I want that I can't have. I will quote my Dad in closing, "Women are temporarily pleased, never satisfied"...I'll admit, this is TOTALLY me!