Mega Super Duper Update!

it may be a crazy life, but its our life (just had to throw in a Kate Gosselin reference)

Life has been pretty crazy busy in the Birk household this month.

Here is the 411....

• Our house is rented!!!! YAY! Our renters moved in the beginning of August and we are so happy to have them (and their checkbook) in our little home. The neighbor boy (who was a pain when we lived there) has been causing a lot of problems for our renters including ripping our screen door off, demolishing our bushes, walking in the house uninvited, and trying to kick in our doors. It is extremely frustrating and makes us very angry, especially since his mother doesn't seem to care at all. We drafted an official "do not trespass" letter to send to his mother and we will be talking with city officials tomorrow. we hope it doesn't get out of hand, but we plan to take legal action if he continues to vandalize and trespass on the property.
  
• My 10 year high school reunion was AWESOME! I had such a great time seeing all my old classmates and catching up with friends. It was also just nice to take a quick trip back to Kansas.


• Not long after my reunion, I headed to Dallas for work and was there for 3 days. It was a great conference and I even got to see my former co -worker Lisa from Greenbush. It was so nice to come home after all the traveling and get back to normal again, although I still do not think I am caught up on sleep. :)


• The organization I work for is going through some very drastic changes after losing a huge pot of money that was used for tobacco prevention. Several people (about 5-6) lost their jobs. Thankfully, I am not one of them. But it has caused a major shift in power and authority and I am hopeful that it will be for the best. It will be a long and stressful transition though.


• Summer is almost over and I soooooo sad. This summer was really mild up here, which was nice most of the time, but I kinda missed having some smoldering hot days. I really hope old man winter decides to hold off on the lake effect snow for a while. I am NOT ready for that at all.


• This was a great weekend of fun for Jared, Hicks and I. Saturday we decided to have a full day of fun and we went to Hackers (an entertainment center in South Bend) and played arcade games, batting cages and even the driving range. I had never really swung a golf club in my life, but I really enjoyed the driving range. I think I could actually learn to love and play golf, haha. We will see. We also went bowling and rode the indoor go-karts at the bowling alley. Let me just say I came up from behind and passed Hicks on the curve (put his car in the wall) and finished 2nd behind Jared. :) YAY for me! Bowling.... well, I wasn't quite as lucky there. Hicks beat BOTH our butts in bowling.

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks:

Sherry and I at our 10 year high school reunion. Go Wildcats!

Me and my sister Alicia in Wichita.
Jared and I at the bowling alley

WOW how 10 years flew right by me....

Well, folks.... I am off to my 10 year high school reunion in good ole El Dorado, KS this weekend.

I am super excited and also a little nervous. There are only a handful of people that I have REALLY kept in contact with over the years (I can thank Facebook for bringing me closer to others in my class), so I am a little nervous to see everyone else. I assume these feelings are pretty normal for anyone approaching their 10, 20 or 30 year high school reunion. I think if I had continued to live in El Dorado and kept in touch with everyone, it would be different. But I left El Dorado in 2001 and have never really looked back. My parents moved from there in 2006 and my sister has been gone for many years as well. Really, I have no reason to ever go back to that town. So, I almost feel like a complete visitor in the town I once called home. Pair that with the fact that high school wasn't really the BEST experience for me. You know those people who LIVE for high school and that was the best part of their lives? Well, that was not me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't horrible at all. It just isn't something I look back on as the "best time in my life". I would say college was probably one of the best times for me so far. I loved college :)

I guess what I am trying to get at is that I feel like a completely different person than I was in high school. I look back at myself and it doesn't even seem like the same person. I have, and probably always will, struggle with confidence. But, I was really self conscious in high school, I cared a little too much what people thought about me and I strived to fit in with the "so called" popular crowd so much that I often got my feelings hurt. Now I look back and laugh at all this. I really don't care at all what anyone thinks of me anymore, I am more confident than I used to be and a popular crowd doesn't really exist in adulthood.

When I graduated I told myself I never wanted to see anyone again and I wanted to get away. Well, 10 years later, I am eager to see everyone again, catch up and just have fun with all my friends, acquaintances and even those people I didn't necessarily like 10 years ago. Forgive and forget right? Let's all have a blast, CLASS OF 1999!!!!

Here are some photos from my high school years:

On the road again....

travel, travel and more travel.....

Life is going to be pretty busy the next few weeks and into August.

Next week I am in Louisville, KY for the entire week for the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Mid-Year Conference. We are driving there since it is about 5-6 hours from us. It should be fun, I have never been to Louisville, but have heard it is a pretty neat place. Jared will be leaving to go back to Kansas the end of next week (at least, he is planning on it) to see some friends and family and go to the Kraft's wedding reception in Girard. I wish I could go with him, but I am heading the Wichita the next weekend (Aug. 7-10) for my high school reunion.

I have been looking forward and planning to go to the reunion for some time now. I am pretty excited to see everyone and even go back to El Dorado again (I really don't have a reason to go back there when I am back in Kansas). They have a lot of fun things planned: Friday is like a meet and greet at the Mexican restaurant downtown, Saturday they are giving tours of the new high school and Saturday night is dinner, drinks and dancing at the country club. Should be a lot of fun AND I get to see my best pal Sherry and her baby belly (YAY for Jackson Daugherty)!!!

I get back from Wichita and I am in South Bend for one day and then I turn around and fly out to Dallas for the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Conference. This conference will be a great time since we are actually taking coalition members with us this time. Plus, I love Dallas! :)

I get back from Dallas on August 15 just in time for Jared and I's 2 year wedding anniversary on the 16th. We have been together so long (8years) it is hard to believe we have only been married 2 years. But my how these 2 years have seen a lot of changes for us. Not sure what our plans are for that day, I will probably be exhausted, haha. We originally wanted to go up to Traverse City for a weekend, but not sure if the budget will allow for that anymore. Oh well, I am sure we will do something even if it is just dinner.

That is about it for travel at this time! That is alot and makes me tired thinking about it, but it will be a lot of fun.

Thoughts in my head right now

WARNING: I'm in a strange mood today and more or less just rambling through this blog. So if things don't make sense to you, I am sorry. But it sure make sense to me right now.

Have you ever felt like you need to cry? Have a nice, long and hard cry; but you aren't sure why? Almost like your body just needs a release of emotion from all the stress, excitement, anxiety, fear and other emotions you may be feeling. I have felt like that alot lately, but the tears have yet to flow. I have a feeling when they do, it will be a glorious thing.

I am sooooooo sick of being poor and not being able to have nice things. It is really starting to get to me. I am 28 years old and I live in an apartment with my husband and a roommate... no kids. Yes, I am throwing a pity party for myself. But damn it... it really bothers me sometimes, especially when I see my friends and other people my age that "appear" to have the life I want... house, family, successful career, etc.

For the first time in a long time I feel like I have no idea where my life is headed. Are we happy here? Sometimes. Am I happy in my career? Uh, sometimes. Life is so damn unpredictable and sometimes I like that, but not right now. I want to KNOW what is next for me. What is my next challenge? What is my next big accomplishment, if any? I want to be ready.... no more of this unpredictable stuff. I feel like I have lost control of my destiny and it is a lonely sad feeling.

Have you ever questioned EVERY decision you have ever made and thought, what if? I play the "what if" game all the time, and I know it doesn't do any good. What if I got a different degree in college? What if I didn't move to Indiana? What if I was more athletic in school, would I be overweight today? What if I tried out for American Idol, haha? What if? What if? There are lots of things I think about... life, career, friends, family, loved ones. I know I have to live the life I have been given and that I can't change the past, but I do think about it. Don't get me wrong, my life is not horrible at all! I just think about this stuff cause that is the way I am. But I know I need to just need to focus on the future and making it the best it can be!

I'm sure these feelings will pass... I am a moody girl anyway, so ask me in 2 hours and I will probably be fine, haha. Just needed to put some things out there and make sure I am not the only one who feels extremely inadequate and strangely sad at times.

All over the place

I know I know... I am a blogger slacker! Go ahead, throw your stones and spread your gossip. It is ok. I deserve it :)

Summer is here and fun times are upon us. Fireworks season is OVER so I actually get to spend some time with that one guy I live with, ya know, the one that I call husband. It is nice to have him back and be able to do more things together.

Here is a recap of our last few weeks.

July 4th

We had a cook out and fireworks show at the warehouse in Elkhart for all the workers and their families this year. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to do this for them after all the long hours they worked this year.

At the 4th of July Cook out

My Birthday

I had a pretty good birthday this year; pretty laid back. We went to dinner at the Olive Garden (thanks mom and dad for the gift card) and then we were too stuffed to do anything else, so we just went home and vegged the rest of the evening. The next day, Saturday, we had a full day of fun! We woke up early and went to breakfast and then headed to the Pottawatomi Zoo in South Bend. For the size of South Bend, they have a pretty nice zoo. Jared and I went last year and decided to check out a few of the new exhibits. Then we went and saw Public Enemies at the theather, took a quick nap and then went over to a friend's house to watch the UFC fight. Jared loves that UFC crap... it is just ok for me. Not in love with it, but exciting at times.

Us at the zoo

Hopefully next weekend will be just as exciting!

Other than that, we are looking into renting out our house in Girard. It has been for sale for a year and a half now and it just makes us sick the money we pay every month towards that house. Plus, we are really ready for a place of our own and more room. Our apartment is sooooo cramped. It doesn't matter how much I clean or organize it still looks cramped. If we can rent out our house that will free up some money to be able to live on our own again. Fingers crossed!

That's about all folks, pretty lame! :)

Happenings in The Bend

Hope you are prepared for a full dose of randomness cause it is comin' folks!

CAR

First of all, I am happy to report that Lola, our 2006 Camry, is back up to her SHOWGIRL spirits. I took her into the dealership last week and they had a new part in her the next day. Now she unlocks and locks with perfection (which is a good thing living in this city). Bad news is we ended up dropping $240 on the '99 Camry for an oil change, new serpentine belt and the transmission flushed. :(

JADA

Well, my poor Jada Marie Birk will most likely end up having all her teeth pulled. She had two pulled in January when she went in for a cleaning. Now, 6 months later, her gums are all red again. They said some cats are just more prone to it... I think she is one of them. She is only 4, so I am so saddened to hear this news. But, she is a spunky, sweet and fun loving little cat so I think she will pull through well :) I just feel bad for her. (Sorry folks, but until I have a kid, you will have to hear stories about my baby Jada. My wanna-be-a-mom mentality goes into overdrive with her, haha).

JARED

is doing well, just working hard as usual this time of year. His hip seems to be ok, although I know we will spend some time looking for and talking to doctors and physical therapist after the season is over. We plan to have a 4th of July party at the warehouse with all the workers so we are excited about that and actually getting to shoot off some fireworks. Should be fun! After season I hope to get my husband back so we can go to some Silverhawks and Cubs games, hit the casino, do some karaoke and some traveling. We always make so many plans for after the season is over, so I am excited to get my husband back. :)

ME

I have just been working and sitting at home. Pretty lame actually. I haven't even been working my jewelry business. I still love it, just not real motivated right now I guess. It will come back soon I hope.

There are a lot of changes happening at my job right now that have me a little worried and preoccupied. My job is not is danger, but our organization is going through A LOT of changes. I just hope everything turns out ok.

I also joined an election campaign for sheriff. I am really excited about working on a political campaign, I have never done anything like this before. I don't even really know the guy, but several of my friends are supporting him and are serving on his committee and so I jumped on the bandwagon. We are currently planning a golf outing and I helped created a Facebook page for him. :) It should be fun!

Yes, our house is still for sale and I am TIRED of talking about it. There is a lady at work that asks me EVERYDAY (not an exaggeration) if we have sold it yet. NO LADY! STOP ASKING ME! Jared and I are about at our wits end with this house. We love it, why can't someone else fall in love with it and offer us a decent price for it. It is frustrating. If we don't have it sold by the end of the summer we are probably going to rent it out. We are so scared to do this, but at this point we have no choice. We are losing a considerable amount of money each month on this house and even if we could break even and make just enough for our mortgage would help us out. It is just scary and we would have to find someone we really trust to manage it for us. UGH! My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it!

That's about is for updates. :) I could go on and on... you all know I am a talker, but I will spare you just this one time. :)

Have a great week everyone!