good morning blogland!  i'm hoping this week i'll get us back on track here at loosefromthezoo.  last week was a bit of a panic-stricken one trying to get everything done in preparation to replace steve's car slash try and make a dent in our mess slash work on wedding details slash feel like i'm making any progress at work.  but the past weekend was one big pleasant surprise!

we accomplished some of our to-do list, but not all.  our living room is still a mess, but sans financial hardship, steve has upgraded from herman (chevy monte carlo) to hank (mazda tribute).  another extra big thank you to my mom and dad for saving hank for us, instead of trading him in.  even after driving the new car from kzoo back to ann arbor, steve couldn't get enough of his favorite new toy, so we had to take an extra little joy ride around town.  since i lazily took next to no pictures this weekend, here's a great shot steve's mom got of him and his new ride.

we're still plugging away at the wedding plans, but one of the exciting parts we got settled this weekend was "finding" our wedding officiant.  we met up with steve's roommate from his freshman year in the dorms, alex, along with his lovely girlfriend erin, last night.  alex has been there pretty much since the inception of steve & becky (steve's five AM profession of love, the dorm fort, wizard people: dear reader, etc.).  we all treated ourselves to some serious face-stuffing last night, and plenty of wine, fish tacos, mushroom risotto, chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, and brandy alexanders later, one of our best friends was signed up to officiate our wedding!  oh and the four of us are having a combination j.crew outlet shopping, hockey game watching, cat and kitten introducing slumber party next weekend.

a sunday feast of epic proportions with wonderful friends sure is the best medicine to get your week started right.  now it's time to get on with the cleaning house so we'll be ready to host my sister when she comes for a visit the weekend after halloween!  busy?  yup that we still are, but we're filling life up with happy times, so i'm ready to stop complaining!

hope everyone's week is starting out on as good a note as ours! we are feeling like lucky ducks these days!

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the things we are doing

after weeks of wallowing in semi-stressful boredom and painfully oppressive routine, it suddenly feels like we're hitting the ground running with tons and tons of fun things to do and think about.  

past:

steve spent a couple days in pittsburgh for an orientation conference.  though he didn't need much orienting since he's been working for some time now, he did find out a lot more information about the future of his job.  we are definitely looking forward to all the things to come!

present:

right now the big move is occupying most of our thought-space.  today is the day we are moving me and bert into steve's for our temporary housing situation.  pros:  walk to work, amusing cat exploring new spaces... cons: walk to work in bad weather, filth.  mainly we just can't wait to get moved out of steve's and into OUR place.  note to self: go look at paint swatches.

near future:

the reality of my trip to san diego didn't really hit me when i booked the ticket, but now i am super super super excited to get on the plane and go!  can't wait to see my sister, play at the ocean, and let my parents spoil me rotten with brunch at the hotel del coronado!  thanks parents!  nom nom nom.

additionally, steve has a trip down to texas coming up for work  (can i come stevedore?  texas is one of the very few states i have not visited yet), and we just got our invitations in the mail for our lovely friends' wedding down in virginia!

oh and now that it's august, that means students are back in less than a month.  as an official townie these days (ugh what a horrific thing to identify as), i have a love-hate relationship with the masses of students, but on the whole i think their presence improves ann arbor immensely.  it also means my very own personal girl with a dragon tattoo, cha, will be back in les etats unis and we can finally have a raucous girl's night out.  hoorah!

happy thursday y'all!

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drumroll please

badum badum badum badum badum.... steve has a job offer!

he is still waiting to hear from another company before anything gets officially set in stone.  with this in mind it's a bit too early for me to say more.

BUT

the official, vague, and abstract news is: we are moving out of michigan!  where?  

well that will depend... but for now, get ready for lots of posts detailing my mitten state nostalgia.  as thoroughly excited as i am for our next step, i have never been a permanent resident outside this state.  part of me is already missing my dear ann arbor and kalamazoo along with the beautiful people i have known in both places.  i am also genuinely worried my brain might fall out of my head if i live too far from lake michigan.

tahquamenon falls in the upper peninsula 

it's a funny feeling not knowing where you're headed, but knowing much more specifically all the things you will be leaving behind.  per steve and i's bargain, it's time to put the bottle of veuve cliquot i've been saving since christmas in the fridge and draft up an ann arbor bucket list.

i simply can't wait to see what's next!  for now, i'll kick off my michi-love with some more pictures from our trip to mackinac island and tahquamenon falls last summer with our very dear friends john and saki!