TGIF with a Cherry on Top!

A look at a year: (my facebook status cloud!)

Wowza! It's been a while since I have updated. Oh boy, do I have much to share. Beware, this could get long!

Thank Goodness It's Friday! This is not any ordinary Friday though, this is the best Friday! Today was my last day of work at the company I work for! Whoa! I know, crazy huh? I have worked for this company for over a year. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy some of it, but I am so glad to be done! I worked my ass off so many days and really, I often questioned why. Was it really worth the stress? Probably not. So, today they gave me a little going away party. It was sweet. The funny thing is that they have never given one before because nobody has ever quit. Haha....not what you are thinking....everyone else (and there have been many) was fired and had to be escorted out of the gated and barb wired compound! I am the first to have made it to a going away party! I even got a plaque for my hard work and dedication! That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. With my arms full of stuff from my desk, I looked back into my office (my own personal office) and kind of wanted to cry. It was a bittersweet moment. I will miss a few of the people, but I certainly will not miss working there. Work was always a mixture of chaos and miscommunication. My supervisor of 7 months was worthless. I usually cleaned up behind the messes he made. I covered his butt. The last couple of weeks has been quite interesting as I discovered that he doesn't even know how to do the job that he has. Most of the things that I did were not even part of my job...but his, and I actually had to show him how to do his job! I had to show him (and argue with him about) how to do many a things! It was hilarious when I realized that without me, the ones above him might actually realize that he cant do anything in his job description. He was usually too busy taking two hour lunches and leaving early to go home and take care of his goats! I'm actually not joking about this either!

When I came to the company, everything was chaos. There was no standard within my department. I wrote the training manual and procedures for the department. Just recently he took all the credit for it. Now, as I leave it upsets me to know, that all of the blood, sweat, and tears, I put into my job, is going to go to waste. It's all going to go back to one huge mess. It's sad!

Okay, okay! Sorry to be such "Negative Nancy" (sorry all Nancy's) here....on to better things....

Valentine's weekend was amazing! I met Dakota at the half-way mark between here and there. We spent 3 1/2 days together in Texarkana, TX. We watched movies, ate out, and cuddled! On Valentine's Day, we went to a park to Rollerblade with the puppy. Well, my feet did not like the blades...so I ended up walking. It was pretty cute/fun/romantic walking through the park for a couple hours together. We had some really good conversation about where our life is about to lead. The future looks so bright. I love that man!

So, not only was today my last day at work, but it was also Dakota's last day in the Army! He signed out around 4pm today, and sent me a text, "Done!" How awesome. He has decided to stay a little while in Texas though. He has several friends that he has had and been stationed with for the past 8 years. They all got out today. So, Dakota is sticking around there to spend one last bit of time with them before they all part their separate ways into the real world. I honestly was upset to learn that he would not be coming here right away, but now that I think about it, I am OK. I was in that same unit and friends with the same people. They are all pretty awesome. They have been through so much together....3 deployments to Iraq included. I can't be upset that he wants one last bit of time with the guys. These are friendships that will last his lifetime even through the distance apart. He knew them before he knew me, and we have the rest of our lives together. I'm happy for him. I'm also sad for him. He has only cried 3 times that I know of, but he will probably cry when he says goodbye to them. They are brothers.

So this bright future ahead. What is that all about? Well, this coming week we are leaving for a little family visiting vacation. We will travel to Michigan, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. It will be a little over three weeks of family time, before we return back here to southern TN just in time to pack up my house and move out. We are getting a place in Nashville, TN and I will be attending school. I was accepted at The Art Institute in Nashville as a full-time student to study Interior Design! The best part about it is that my tuition is payed for from my time in the Army, and I get books and housing expenses paid on top of that! WooHoo! Can't wait! As for Dakota, he is really not sure what he want to do. All he has really known is the Army. He has the same option of going to school completely paid for, but he doesn't know if he is ready for that quite yet. He has 15 years to decide! He may just get a job for now. Either way, we will be together! That is the best part in all of it.

So, with all of that said, I hope to be a better blogger. I know that I won't have such a busy time. Sure, I'll be in school full time instead of at work, but hopefully I won't get as tired and stressed out by that. I hope that I will be a little more up to the idea of blogging after a day of school than I was after a day of work. I can only hope. Needless to say, living life is always more important than blogging about it, so we will see.

Are any of you from the Nashville area? Do you know some cool places to hang out? Are there certain thrift stores I must hit up? Tell me a little about the scene up there if you can. I love to hear about what I am getting us (Dakota and I) into!