New Fall Shows

In summer, all the blockbuster movies premiere.  In the fall, new television shows start up again.  The husband and I will admit that we are television junkies and will watch hours a night.  That is just how we relax at the end of the day.

Of course we have our main staples that we will continue to watch.  However, this year we have added a few new ones that we deem worthy to make the list.  So what does this weekly television schedule look like?  Well take a look.

SUNDAY
The Amazing Race (8pm CBS)
NEW - Pan Am (10pm ABC)

MONDAY
The Sing-Off (8pm NBC)

TUESDAY
The Biggest Loser (8pm NBC)
Glee (8pm Fox)
NEW - The New Girl (9pm Fox)
Teen Mom (10pm MTV)

WEDNESDAY
NEW - Up All Night (8pm NBC)
X-Factor (8pm Fox)
Modern Family (9pm ABC)
Law and Order: SVU (10pm NBC) (Only for me)

THURSDAY
Community (8pm NBC)
Parks and Recreation (8:30pm NBC)
The Office (9pm NBC)
NEW - X-Factor Results Show (8pm Fox)
Grey's Anatomy (9pm ABC) (Only for me)
Jersey Shore (10pm MTV)
The League (10:30pm FX Starts Oct 6)

FRIDAY
Free Night!

SATURDAY
College Football or Movie Night

As you can see we have a lot of television on our plate.  Surprisingly, there is only one show that we can't record because of conflicts and that show is Grey's Anatomy (I will watch that one online when I have spare "me" time).  Too many good shows on Thursday! I wouldn't mind if some got moved to a Monday....

So, how do we watch that many shows? Well it helps that we now have a DVR.  That way we can watch it when we have time.  Some days we don't get in until later so it is nice to not miss our favorite shows.  Also some shows we don't watch as intently and often will be doing something else.  I suspect as things get busier, we may cut a few out.  Surprisingly, there is only one show that we can't record because of conflicts and that show is Grey's Anatomy.  I will watch that one online when I have spare "me" time.

We may spend a lot of time in front of our television, but we still make time for all the stuff that matters to us!

What television shows are you excited about this season? Any suggestions (not that I can add much to my schedule)?

Life Update

Life has been flying by recently! A quick update on what is going on in the life of the Pickels.

1. I celebrated my 23rd birthday and my older sister celebrated her 30th birthday on September 16th.  We love sharing a birthday but was disappointed because this year we couldn't celebrate together.  Overall it was a nice, quiet low-key day.  As I get older I find that birthdays aren't as exciting as they once were.  All I wanted was to spend time with my husband and puppy, and that is exactly what I got!

2. My GRE is over!  It was exhausting but was surprised how well I did.  After the test I got a score range which was excellent! So thankful all my studying paid off!

3. On the birthday I had an interview, and the next week I was offered a position! Yes, I am going to be a working girl.  My first day is planned for this Friday and I am so excited about the position and the work I am going to be doing.

4. Last weekend I traveled with my parents and younger sister up to Cleveland for my cousins wedding. It was a blast! I hadn't seen many people in over a year since we missed Christmas, so I was wonderful to catch up with all my family.  Plus the bride and the wedding were beautiful! I am so happy for them!

5. I have been very preoccupied this week trying to get my NC registration and license plates before my Missouri ones expire at the end of the month.  The process is extremely frustrating and at this point I am praying I can get everything done this week before I start work.

6. The puppy is doing well and feeling much better.  She is starting to respond better to responds and we are working on some simple training.

7. We finally met some neighbors.  They have some dogs too, which is how we met them.  Although the dogs are older, Lyla still likes playing and I like finding some friends to talk to out here.

8. Still church searching, nothing really stands out yet.

9. I have lost over 30 lbs.  It has been nice to get compliments from those that have noticed, especially those that haven't seen me in a while.  The past two weeks I have been stalled, but with traveling and my birthday it was expected.  Overall, I was in my birthday weight loss goal and only 2 lbs away from the low weight in the range.  I call that a success, and now I am ready to set new goals for myself.

That was a quick update for those wondering what I going on.  Hopefully I can share some pictures soon from the wedding or talk in more details

My little sick puppy

Today is another study day for me.  Four days to freedom. I have the countdown going!

This week has been a little more challenging taking care of the puppy, partly because she has been sick.  We took her to a vet for an initial visit and to check on a cough she has developed over the past couple days.  For the first couple days we had her, she had a runny nose.  A few days ago she started coughing pretty bad.  So we made sure to get her to the vet as soon as we can.  What can I say - I am a paranoid new puppy mommy.

The vet said she looked really well with the exception of the cough.  She weighted 11 lbs and we found out she was slightly older than we thought.  According to her teeth, she is more like 16 weeks old.  As for the cough, the vet said it was kennel cough that she probably picked up from the dogs at the other rescue (we were warned of some upper respiratory problems going on there).  I was a little scared because of all the stuff you can read on the internet about kennel cough, but I am thankful we brought her in when we did.  They prescribed some anti-biotics and cough suppressants.  When I took her home she was acting even more sick.  She vomited a few times and was very pathetic.  I spent all day cleaning up after her messes and holding soothing her.

She has been sleeping for a decent amount of time during the day.  It is hilarious the places she finds to curl up. I love seeing her so peaceful and silly at the same time.

Yesterday she began to act more like herself.  It is so great to have her back to feeling better.

GRE studying does not equal a good time

You would think that since I am currently not working, I would have all the time in the world to blog.  This is not the case.

First, this new puppy of mine has occupied a lot of time.  I have to pretty much chase her around and know where she is at every moment to make sure she isn't chewing something or getting into all kinds of trouble.  Plus she has to go outside every hour.  That makes it hard to concentrate on much of anything for an extended period of time.

Second, in one week I am taking the GRE.  A few weeks ago a bought this book to study from, but was not as  studious as I should have been.

(Amazon)

Sure I opened it up quite a few times, but nothing close to what I should have done-  especially considering it has been a while since I had personally studied anything academic.  So for the past few days I have buckled down and got to studying.  It is tedious, but must be done.  To motivate myself I keeping concentrating on how I have been dreaming of going to graduate school for a few years now, and that this test is necessary.

Things I have learned through studying for the GRE:

1. My vocabulary sucks.  I never knew there were so many words that I would need to know.  Some I have never heard of and I think they sound like the book's authors created them to trick us.  Seriously, they are that crazy!

2. It is surprising how easily I start to remember algebra and geometry concepts.  I haven't had these kind of topics since sophomore year in high school.  So it has been a while.  However, the more problems I do the more I remember.  

3. Standardized tests are ridiculous.  I am not sure how knowing how to find the hypotenuse of a triangle is a good indicator of academic success is graduate school, but I guess that is the system.  

Anyways, I guess I am done feeling sorry for myself and get back to studying!

Faith

Lately I have been struggling a bit.  Finding my place here. Getting used to all the differences.  Missing hanging out with friends.  Taking job rejections hard.  Looking for a church where we connect.

Moving isn't easy, and especially for a controlling personality like myself it is even more difficult.  I want to be in charge and make things work.  I want people to behave how I want them too.  I want to feel comfortable.  I want to be needed at a great job.

What I forget is that I am not in control and I need to have faith.  I saw this posted on The Wiegand's Blog and really wanted to share.  This quote touched me personally.

Faith is risking what is

for what is yet to be.

It is taking small steps

knowing they lead to bigger ones.

Faith is holding on when you want to let go.

It is letting go when you want to hold on.

Faith is hearing God’s yes

when everything else says no.

It is believing all things are possible

in the midst of impossibilities.

Faith is looking beyond what is

for what is yet to be.

It is seeing the Light in darkness,

the presence of God in all.

- Ellen M. Cuomo

I know He has a purpose for me here.  He brought us here and we risked a lot to follow.  I just need to have faith and keep listening that I will continue to take care of us.

(Pinterest)

New addition to our family!

Nope not a baby...

A little cute puppy! Meet Lyla

She is our little baby girl, a spaniel/collie mix. We brought her home on Sunday and since then so much of my time has been consumed with puppy sitting.  Although being quite the handful at times, she is so sweet and loving.

We have pretty much been talking about getting a puppy for years now, probably since we first started dating.  Both of us just love dogs, and new that we wanted to have one of our own.  For too long we put it off, making excuses about the wedding and money.  Once we made this move we were determined to get one, but a little timid about making the plunge.  I think we are just so cautious we could have found excuses forever, but when I saw this picture on a rescue's facebook page I knew I wanted her.

We visited her foster home on Sunday and filled out the adoption paperwork and took her home then.  Since then we have only fallen in love with her.  Who can resist that face?

Not these proud parents!

Some days I still can't believe we finally got a puppy.  Really we lucked out because she is pretty well potty trained already and sleeps through the night.  There have only been a few accidents.  We just have to deal with some typical puppy chewing and mischievousness.

Every day more of her personality comes through and I am kinda glad that I have the time to stay home with her for a bit.  I am still doing serious job searching, but it has been good for me to be here for her.

I can't stop taking pictures and videos of her.  We are obsessed and I am not embarrassed.

Believe me I will be sharing more!

My favorite man in glasses

Is my husband.

My second favorite is Harry Potter.

I mentioned before that the recent Harry Potter movie was my most anticipated movie of the summer.  That might have been a bit of an understatement.  I am completely obsessed.

Although I didn't go to the midnight showing (and believe me I would have if I was still in college and not a working girl with work at 8am), we had some major festivities planned.  This is what my schedule for that weekend looked like:

Thursday - HP 1
Friday - HP 1& 2
Saturday - HP 3, 5, & 5
Sunday - HP 6 & 7:Part I. Then the new and final (tear!) that night

Yes, I spent my entire weekend watching Harry Potter movies with my dear friend who is as crazy as I am.  It was a perfect tribute to the end of an era.  Harry Potter was my obsession for that entire week. I must admit I was also reading the last book.  The husband even told me that there was another man in our marriage named Harry.  Sigh...

Well enough emotions about Harry.  The reason I bring this all up now is because I found two very awesome Harry Potter things in the past few days.

First, these amazing shirts from Dream A Little More

Anyone is who looking to get me a birthday present should take note!

Second, a Harry Potter Facts tumblr.  I have spent a little too much time looking at these, but in my defense they are so interesting!

That last two are for my hubby!

Moving Recaps: Our New Place

Just to review a bit:
The drive across Tenneesse
Our last week in Missouri

Tuesday morning we decided to sleep in a bit.  That way we could miss rush hour traffic, plus get some much needed rest.  Our caravan of the moving truck with the car dolly, my car, and my parent's SUV took off north for our new town.

It was only about 4 hours there.  We picked up the keys from the rental place and arrived at our new house!

The unloading was pretty quick and painless thanks to help from our parents.  Soon the truck was out of our driveway and we were getting things out of boxes and set up.

Here is a little tour of our place.  We have a nice two bedroom duplex.

The outside.

Through the front door into the living room. There is nice crown molding and a chair rail.

Past the living room is the kitchen

Much bigger kitchen with lots of cabinet space.

Laundry is through the double doors and a pantry in the single door.

There is an eat-in kitchen with a door to the back patio.

We have a nice big backyard.

And the back patio (don't mind the recycling - we had a lot of boxes!)

There is even a decent sized storage shed attached to the house.

Hallway (living room on the left, extra bedroom ahead, master bedroom directly behind the camera)

Hall bathroom is off to the right side.

Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom/Office

So there it is! Please don't judge me on the clutter.  Those pictures were taken that first week we were there and not everything has a spot yet. Heck, things still don't all have a spot.  I still have two boxes in my kitchen and all my home decor sitting on the ground in the living room.

It is a work in progress right now and when it is all cleaned up and put together I can show you the final project!