Lately, I've been into nail polish and nail art. I think I've bought about 20 nail polish bottles in the last few months. At least they're cheaper polish!

I just entered a contest to win more: http://oflifeandlacquer.com/giveaway-time/#comment-10319
Wish me luck!

The Proposal

I know this is pretty belated, but I wanted to post this, and possibly keep track of all the wedding planning on my blog! We'll see how that actually goes, though...

I created a free wedding website on WeddingWire.com, and I'm just going to copy the proposal story directly from there.

Our One Year (dating) Anniversary was on August 14th, 2012.

Justin had decided to celebrate at our favorite restaurant that Friday, August 17th. He made reservations, and I knew about our plans. Apparently, without me knowing, he had also been making his own plans!

After a wonderful dinner, we wait to order dessert. We were already planning on ordering his favorite chocolate sundae. Before we even had a chance to order dessert, a waitress is bringing over a chocolate sundae sprinkled in purple and blue M&Ms that said "Marry Me".

After I saw the question on the M&M, Justin pulls out the ring and sets it in front of me on the table. I think I just stared at it for a few moments, and then opened it. After seeing the ring inside, I just looked at Justin. After a few seconds, he said 'Well... will you?" It was then I realized that it wasn't obvious! I said "Yes, of Course!!!" and gave him a huge hug! And then, I started crying happy tears, which I didn't think I would do! (I think Justin also had a few happy tears!)

The restaurant staff gave us a few minutes, and then starting stopping by to quickly say congratulations. The manager gave us free champagne to celebrate. We then started letting our family know!

Justin had worked with his dad earlier in the week, so he wasn't surprised. My mom was at work, so I texted her to call me when she was on break (I really wanted to say Call me ASAP, but I didn't want to scare her!!)

When Justin let his aunt Debbie know, she was so excited she came over to the restaurant! Soon, Justin's aunt, mom and grandparents were there to help celebrate. After the restaurant, we spent some more time at Justin's aunt Debbie's house (I'm sure the restaurant was happy to get their table back!)

New City, New Job

On Monday, June 25th, I started working for North Memorial Hospital.

A nice little map that shows my general location in regards to Minneapolis

The first day, like most first days, was very boring. I sat through an Orientation training class, and learned that everyone is a little bit racist - but that we should still treat everyone the same!!! And that pretty much covered the entire morning session.

 

I was able to actually meet my co-workers and see my office yesterday (Tuesday, June 26th). 

Things I liked: 

• Windows! Do you know how long it's been since I worked in a place with windows that look outside?! 
• Fairly large cubicles (at least, bigger than the one I used to have)
• Cubicles with a lot of storage/filing space!
• A break room (without a couch)
• Two nice sized monitors at my desk 
• I should be able to choose one day a week that I work from home regularly. 
• The commute isn't bad - I don't have to get on the highway so I get to avoid the stop-and-go traffic.
• I basically get to choose my own hours - but once I choose them, I have to stick to them.
• Cubicle rows named after Streets! Really makes it easier to find my way around. They also had a great 'Welcome to the IT department' packet specifically designed for someone moving from out of town. It has a listing of local places we might want to know about.

Things I'm not really liking:

• Working and parking my car in a sketchy area. 
• Finding out that I don't get paid Holidays off. Oh, we get the day off, but we have to use Personal Time Off (PTO) in order to get paid.
• Not having Outlook as my email/calendar software. I'm finding the other software has some neat functionality but doesn't compare to outlook
• Actually, a lot of technology gripes: 
• No Microsoft OneNote
• No Communicator (instant messenger) 
• No Laptop to take to meetings and take notes. Back to writing on paper!
• Old phones 
• Having a pager! 

Most of the negative things aren't really that bad - just me being accustomed to one thing and now just have to get used to another.

One thing that is scary, though, is the fact that apparently North Memorial has been undergoing a lot of people leaving. Sounds familiar! (as in - Dean/WIITTS was losing a lot of people as well). As of next week, there will be two Radiant application admins: Me and one other. The other girl works remotely, since she lives too far away to commute daily. So if anyone has any questions and just wanders by - I get to be the main girl! eep!


Apparently, though, there is going to be an Ice Cream thing tomorrow at work. I hope I get to have some ice cream! There was a hint of there being banana splits!

And on a non-work related note: Justin and I tried this new 'Fresh Take' chicken cheesy breadcrumb recipe. We had it with asparagus - so good! I wish I had taken a picture!

Highly Recommend!

Assimilation

I still would like to write about my experiences last week! 

We moved into our Townhome on Monday, June 18th. We're renting at Bass Lake Townhomes. So far, Justin and I have really liked the place. Since it's two levels, we don't have any noise from neighbors. The few neighbors we have met have been very friendly. Since we haven't cleared out the garage for parking yet, there have been some parking challenges. Our 'drive-way' only has room for one car, which leaves the second person to find a spot along the street. Sometimes, that means parking quite a bit down the street. Once we have the garage cleared out, that shouldn't be a problem any longer. 

I had to take a written test in order to get my Minnesota driver's license. I actually read the whole manual! I also managed to pass the test my first try! I actually didn't do that great- I think if I had gotten a few more questions wrong, I would have failed. 

 It's official!

On Friday, I went to the DMV to apply for and get my MN license plates. Sooo expensive! They base the cost of your vehicle registration on the value of your vehicle, and even though my car is 5 years old, it made the registration cost pretty high - at least, compared to Wisconsin! One thing that I think would be important to note - the wait at the DMV was only about 10 minutes. Not bad at all! 

Moving to Minnesota

Moving 

On June 18th, I moved to Minnesota from Madison, WI with my boyfriend Justin. I left my job at WIITTS, which I had been at for over seven years, and took a new job at North Memorial in Robbinsdale, MN. 

My new home address is located in Plymouth, MN. 

My new home can be found on Google Earth!

 

We hired Two Men and a Truck to load and unload the moving truck, and to drive it from Madison to Plymouth, MN. That was a long, tiring two day process. They loaded the moving truck on Sunday - and I had to decide to part with a Queen mattress (which one of the movers actually took home with him!) and a book case. They just couldn't fit on the truck with all of our other things. 

After the movers had left and we made sure the apartment we were vacating was clean and clear of all of our things, we made the 5 hour drive up to Plymouth in our separate vehicles. 

We stayed in a Days Inn that night. It wasn't the best hotel, and the WI-FI sucked, but the bed was comfy. 

After leaving the hotel on Monday morning, we were able to get our keys and the movers arrived shortly after that. And then started a week of battling laziness and attempts to unpack boxes - made more complex due to the fact that Justin and I were combing our two apartments into one, and we had duplicates of practically everything. 

As I'm writing this on 6/26 - we still haven't cleared out the garage to the point where we can park a car in it. 

And - it's getting late. I'd like to write about my first few days at work - maybe tomorrow!