September to October

Anne Spring, courtesy of Quotelife Photography

September

This was a month of trying to establish a good routine for our little family. My sweetheart was still gone most the week, Coco was going to daycare, and I was trying to balance work/school. I was also taking the lead on wedding planning, since we knew life would get a little hectic during the holiday season. Leaving us with really only six more months once January came around!! I spent a lot of my lunches interviewing florists, DJs, makeup artists, and hair stylists. For some things, it was really easy to make decisions. For others, like the DJ and florist, I really struggled. We also had our engagement photos taken by our wonderful photographers!

I also finally asked my bridesmaids, matron of honor, and maid of honor if they would accompany me on this journey. They've been wonderful! They picked out their dress, and I can't wait to see them! 

I also realized during September that if I wasn't careful, I was going to isolate myself from dear friends and family again. Also, it's pretty clear I am still obsessed with our dog. I've been trying to make it a point to see my friends, and not just the ones in the wedding party. I'm thankful that my sweetheart and I have done this, it has made me feel much more well balanced! 

October

This was an awesome month! Some friends and I went horse riding at the same place where we had our engagement photos from. My derriere was definitely sore for three days. I can't believe I used to do that as a kid!

My sweetheart and I also took a trip to the mountains to see some family and such. I'm really grateful we took the trip, as one of his old childhood dogs passed away. I imagine it is never easy to have a dog pass away, and I really can't imagine what it's going to be like that when I lose my first. 

There was also a bachelorette party! I was a bridesmaid, and we had a blast throwing the party. We had delicious food, drinks, and gifts, and then went into the city to dance the night away at four different hot spots! Got to love the Queen City!

FINALLY

I figured out what was wrong with Coco. After she acted a little sickly at daycare, I took her to a new vet. I love our old vet, by they were too far away! She needed some antibiotics. They helped relieve her issues temporarily, and I finally went with my gut instinct: change her diet. We had been feeding her a brand whose first couple ingredients were pretty good. After I did a loooooooooooooot of research, I found that in order to determine if it was the food causing the issue, I had to change her diet 100%. We went from chicken, to lamb and oatmeal by Blue Buffalo. 

She is in heaven. She loves her food! She has never been motivated by food, and sometimes wouldn't eat all day. We haven't had an issue in almost a month! The company has also sent me coupons! The food is expensive and she somehow has more energy, but I am so thankful that she is healthy and happy! 

So now you're just about updated. November has been a month of wedding stuff, and I am getting a little wedding'ed out. I didn't think it was possible!

courtesy of Quotelife Photography

July to August

i like mud.

July.....
August....
September...
October........

It's hard to believe I last posted on July 4th. So much has happened! I obviously can't update you on everything, but I'll try.

July

Starting in July, my sweetheart was working a couple hours away during the week & we expected that to continue until January. I was taking another really difficult class, and working from home a couple days a week to keep up with Coco who was just about six months old. I thought I could balance everything well without him there. I was so wrong. 

Unfortunately, it turns out Coco was going through pottying issues. It took me forever to figure out what the problem was, but I hadn't figured it out in July. She was consistently pooping pottying in her crate before I could get home from work. It was INCREDIBLY frustrating to clean the dog, clean the crate, clean the floor six times (I can't wait to replace this porous flooring), clean any other surface, and then clean myself. Then there was the incident where I left her out of her crate once during class...but I won't go into that. 

At the end of July, Coco turned 6 months old. We went to our last day at puppy preschool, and she had a blast! We knew she needed to stay social, and I let her try daycare for a day. She loved it! But of course, she had to get spayed before going to daycare regularly. So, Coco got spayed at the end of July. What a goober, she was HILARIOUS when she came home! 

Thanks to the Coco situation, I wasn't getting much time to study. Summer classes are usually intense for six weeks, but with holidays and my professor teaching in another country, we really only had four weeks. It doesn't help that one of my group members in the class had salmonella poisoning, as did the rest of his family. And my second group member had a hard time communicating, as a new foreign exchange student. Got to love grad school!

August

I finally finished my class, by the skin of my teeth. Thank goodness, I had a week off before starting the Fall semester!!

My parents came to visit during  my week off of school. We had a great time! They got to see our new house, meet Coco, and see the town we used to live in. We visited my sweetheart's new work too. They also helped me a lot with wedding planning. I am so lucky, i found the dress while my parents were visiting. It was only the third dress! It was the perfect moment, where I just knew that if it was that easy, it was meant to be. We also found a wonderful hotel for our visiting family to stay in. Minus a couple issues with the DMV, we had a wonderful trip. No one wanted the week to end, which is exactly how every vacation should end. 

Alas, still no improvements with Coco, although she was going to daycare a couple times a week and loving it! I was still working from home a couple times a week, and so the other days she would "romp with friends" as we say! She would come home exhausted, and I would finally do some school work. 

I also started a new job, which is more like a rotational group. I found out back in May that I'd been selected, when I got back from Brazil. It's very different and eye opening, but made our summer a bit more hectic. 

As you can see, a lot of things changed! Most for the better, and a couple complicated life a little more. It had been months since we did any updating or changes to the house, and I certainly didn't have time to cook!