Okay so I do realize that most of my posts for the past three months have been about my house-- the different phases it was in and what not. But it's finally done, and I've been LIVING in it for the past three weeks..... the honeymoon stage has ALMOST worn off, but not quite yet. My house warming party went fantastic! Of course practically everyone arrived at the same time, people from work AND a lot of my family, so it made it hard for me to give individual attention to everyone and to just be a good hostess (which I'm still learning how to do). I really am glad that so many people made the drive up! Especially my sisters Lara and Cami, and my parents! They are so supportive of me! I'm also overly glad that BreAnn, Lyndsey, McKay, Marcus, and Annie made the drive too! It was good catching up with them! It seems like the important people in my life (other than Tim and Taylor) are all now an hour away from me :(. That's been the hardest part about the house so far. Anyways, I was eating left over chicken sandwiches for the next few days, but I won't complain because they were delicious. If anyone wasn't able to make the party, don't worry if you're ever up in the area, just stop by to see it! So that's that on the house!
I'm getting together with my girlfriends from middle/high school this Friday! All are married and have babies (come August all of them will have TWO babies each!) But I'm not worried, I really like being un married and only having a house and a dog to be responsible for! So they're coming up and that will be a lot of fun to play catch up!
Bella is no longer able to reproduce (thank heavens!) I finally had her spayed on Tuesday. The night I brought her home she wasn't fully awake and so spent most of the night on my lap making weird noises. However the very next morning she was almost back to her crazy and wild self..... Tim checked on her on his lunch break and said that she was becomming more and more herself and by the time I got home, I had my monster Bella biting my feet! She seems to be doing a lot better and you can't even tell that she just had surgery! (she's so tough sometimes).
Tim and Taylor are great as usual! Both are still loving the new house, and I'm glad that they were both there for the party (they tend to be a little shy as you know).
I had my hair done right before my party (which is a big deal for me because I haven't had it colored since I left Sun Kissed about two years ago! and I hadn't even had it cut in about a year) I look pretty much the same, I just put some light blondes and reds in the top-- nothing too much. It was fun to go back to the salon and gossip like the old days! I really miss working at Sun Kissed!
I think that's about all for now, I promise I'll take more pictures of my house sometime! For now you'll just have to deal with a neat picture I took of myself this morning at work (yeah it's totally facebook material).

Hello everyone! I've scheduled my house warming party for April 25th from 1-5pm-- it will be an open house style. I'm trying my hand at the e-vites, so let me know if you'd like me to send you one for more details and to RSVP! I just need your e-mail addys!

I just wanted to thank everyone that helped with my move this weekend.
Jera and Craig, you guys are awesome, thanks so much for the help, you guys totally came by and re-energized me!
Mom and Dad, thanks for bringin my junk up and helping of course
Lara, thanks so much for watching Craig and Jera's kids!
We were able to knock out all of the big stuff Friday night, and I was even able to sleep in the new house that very night! I snuck in a quick bubble bath before going to bed that night as well-- I love my new tub! Saturday and Sunday I spent putting everything where it goes and getting situated. I still have a few things left at my old apartment, but my landlord is absolutely great and she's letting me move the rest a little at a time, and get it all cleaned by the end of the month. I feel like everything came together just right! I now have a BEAUTIFUL house, that's quite empty in some spots, but I have a feeling that as time goes by, I'll take care of that. Bella LOVES the new space and has found a spot on the kitchen floor where the sun shines through. She is still getting used to all of the smells... but her running around sniffing everything wears her out! Tim was very very helpful in the move too, and as always he's my rock! He always seems to be able to pick me up when I have no energy left. It makes a move a lot easier when you have two people working at it. All of my other moves have taken me DAYS to get situated, but with Tim, he's always seeing what needs to be done, and just doing it! Taylor loves the new house as well! We only had him for a little bit this weekend, but he loved the fact that he gets his very own space, and that Bella's room is right next to his! He woke up Sunday morning and smiled and said, "Manda, I like this new house". I put all of my pictures/decorations in the spare bedroom so I can get a feel of where things should go, and then I'll be able to go shopping in the spare bedroom for the pictures and shelves and such that would look great throughout the rest of the house! I'll be having a little get together for everyone to come over once I get everything a little more situated! I don't have any good pictures yet, but here's one of my kitchen, trust me I'll be taking more once everything is squared away!

Well today is the day. Yesterday closing went well--- my wrist is still a little sore from all of my signatures! I should be getting the keys today which means I start the move tonight! My awesome big brother Craig is going to help with his trailor so I should be able to get most of everything done today (It's not like I'm moving an entire house-- just a one bedroom apartment! But we all know me, I'm a collector of "stuff"). My house looks AMAZING. I went on the final walk through yesterday and I can just say that everything has turned out better than I could have expected. I am emotionally and physically DRAINED and I can not wait for this to be over and just relax on Sunday with the fam. I'll be having a house warming party soon enough so everyone can see my big girl house!
P.S. THANKS SO MUCH JERA for volunteering Craig to help! It really is helping me so much!