Ok, so this blogging thing is very new to me, so go easy on me. I've read a bit about it and the general advice is that you have to be funny, catching, and prepared for the inevitable downers that rain on your parade. While that's all great advice, I've decided to treat this like a diary, only one I wouldn't mind my little sister finding and reading.
That being said, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Jennifer; I'm a 27 yoa female who lives in the Energy Capital of the Nation. Whilst you are "Googling" where that may be, let me warn you, it's not what it proclaims to be. Simply a modest town of around 40,000 people and a lack of good restaurants. I suppose when the bulk of the population has a career in coal, oil, or natural gas, food service is not the end all to careers. However, Smiling Moose and Old Chicago have finally decided to move in, and the whole city is abuzz with excitement. What can I say? We're easy to please.
I can say this: the crime rate in my city is extremely low. Now excuse me while I knock on some wood...but we haven't had a murder in over ten years, and violent crimes are rare. Most of our crime is petty crimes (larceny (google our infamous "Gnome kidnappings"), thefts from auto, and some vandalism here and there). Overall, my city is pretty safe. And I attribute much of that to the police force. Their policies focus more on preventing and preparing for crime, rather than reacting to it. But that's a whole new blog.
Anywho, moving on...so currently I live with my wonderful fiance, AJ. We're going to get married June 2nd of this year (yay!) and I must say that he's is everything I've ever wanted and needed in a husband. They say everyone has that person in the world that makes them feel whole, makes life seem better and easier, and makes you look back and go, "Um, do you remember our last argument? Cuz I don't." Well, that's my AJ. Join him with our two German shephards, Abby (7) and Molly (2), and our cute, cuddly, and ever so abnoxious cat, Figaro, and that completes our little family. But don't worry, there will be more to come later. I'm thinking roughly a year from now we'll have a snuggly bundle of joy added to the mix. Hopefully by then, we'll be in a new house.
"Why move?" You ask. "You have a great home, much better than what some have. Why give that up and buy something more expensive." Two reasons: Neighbor lady and space. My neighbor is very abnoxious. When I moved in, she took an automatic "I'm not talking to you" policy and has stuck with it for over 4 years. Everytime I tried to talk with her, she blatanly ignored me. Even better was when her little yappy dog decided to dig a hole in the fence and come play with my dogs. I caught her dog and knocked on her door. She proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs and stare at me. I literally had to hold the dog up to the window to get her to answer. And what did she say, "Thanks" and slammed the door. Right...and I suppose that's the reason you sent your 2yoa daughter out with "treats" that she fed them through the slats in the fence and that made my dogs sick within 20 minutes of eating them? Thanks indeed! Next time, I'll just call Animal Control to collect your dog. You can pay the fee to get him out.
Then there was the time she tried to get AJ fired (or at least in trouble) with his work. We have enough space on the street between our two driveways for a large truck to park, and when AJ would come over for lunch, before he moved in with me, he would park there. It's a public street, you don't own the street in front of your house, the city does. So she decided to call his boss and complain that he was blocking her driveway. Now I'm very strict about the law, and have high moral, and I'd never allow that to happen. So his boss came to him and asked him about it, and told him the lady that called wanted him wrote up, but he didn't feel that was necessary. So thank goodness his boss stuck up for him. I ended up talking to a police officer and having him call her and explain the parking ordinances in Gillette and to next time call the police department instead of AJ's work. Needless to say, she hasn't called about that again...but she did call that next summer about "garbage" in my backyard. Gee, I didn't know a stack of lumber to redo our deck (which we did in the afternoon hours mind you) and dog toys were considered garbage. That was last year; and guess what they decided to do this spring? They decided to redo their deck too!! And now their yard is full of "garbage" too...huh...
But anyhow, I'm way off topic now. I can't deny though, that this is a primary reason why we want to move and have a house on a lot all our own. However, there are other reasons. One of which is space. We've been needing more space for awhile now, mostly because I've been really working on developing my business, Forever's Memories. I create handmade cards, tags, invitations, and sell digital photography (
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/foreversmemories if you are interested in seeing my work). I've already overtaken one bedroom and part of the living room with my craft supplies and work space. Needless to say, my bedrooms are not very big, otherwise this wouldn't be a problem. So, my next house will have either a large bedroom I'll convert to an "office" or will have an office built in. I'm looking forward to having enough space to let my creativity flow.
Speaking of letting my creativity flow, I should go craft some cards. I have two custom orders to finish and I need to replish my stock. I've decided that tonight, I'm going to ignore the looming stack of wedding to dos, and nourish my soul with a little creativity. It will wonderful. I will post my creations this weekend, so you'll have something to look forward to.
Well, thank you for sticking around and entertaining my ramblings for a bit. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? But I hope it's good!
Jen
