New Blog Location

I've changed the blog location. If you'd like the new address, just email me and I'll send it to you :)

Shutterfly is Awesome!

We absolutely love Shutterfly! It is one of the best photo products companies out there!

We have a few favorite products of theirs. We love the photo books! We have ordered two photo books so far: a wedding album and one from when we first met until we got married. I am already planning three more: one for our two years in J'ville, one for our year in Birmingham, and one for the three years of law school (i.e. Wyoming). The photo books are really easy to make and are very high quality! If you love the look of a scrapbook, but don't have the creativity or time to make one, Shutterfly photo books are the way to go. Check out photo books here.

Another favorite of ours are the Christmas photo cards. We have sent these out every year that we have been married and we are planning to again this year! These cards are always a hit and people actually hold on to these from year to year because they are so unique! These cards are also very high quality! They look much better than anything you could order elsewhere, are comparably priced (sometimes cheaper!), and because they have so many styles to choose from and they are so customizable, you won't end up with the same holiday cards as everyone else (you know what I'm talking about: Wal-Mart). You can check out Christmas cards here and Christmas photo cards here.

Looking for great gifts? You can personalize mugs, ornaments, mouse pads, coasters, magnets, and even create books starring your child. There are also tons of other gifts here.

There are so many products available at Shutterfly and they are so easy to make! Trust me, if you try them, you will love them! Plus, right now, you can try them out and you get free shipping on orders of $25 or more! Just use promo code: SHIP25

Also, when you sign up the first time, you'll receive 50 FREE 4x6 prints! What better time to start your holiday shopping than right now?

What's New with You?

We've been so busy I haven't had time to blog in FOREVER!

Last month, I went to a national training workshop in West Virginia for work. I had a layover in Atlanta, so I got to visit with Momma and Patrick for a few hours. It was GREAT but way too short! We had planned my flights so that Alan and I would not miss a day seeing each other, but when I got to the airport to head back to Denver, they told me my flight was cancelled and they couldn't get me home until the next day. The airline paid for my hotel and dinner/breakfast, but I was pretty upset about that for awhile because we had never gone a day without seeing each other since the day we said "I love you" to each other. Maybe that sounds corny to some people, but we like it that way and don't ever want to go without seeing each other.

Shortly after I returned from WV, I came down with an awful cold. I didn't have time to go to the doctor (thanks to none being open on the weekends and a conference that I HAD to go to during the week). It took a few weeks to finally get rid of the cold, but I'm still having some lingering effects from it. I haven't really been able to go running since I got sick and I'm having to gradually work my way back up to running because my lungs still hurt pretty badly when I run.

We started re-evaluating our finances a few weeks ago and realized that Christmas in Alabama wasn't going to happen if we didn't get some more money coming in! After talking about it, we decided that I needed to look for a part-time job (Alan can't work because of law school regulations). I applied at a few different places and have a few interviews and ended up working as a cashier. The pay is good (almost what I was making working for Extension in AL!) and I get some great discounts! I get my first paycheck on Wednesday and it is MUCH needed! It makes me feel really good to know that I am helping us financially.

Speaking of me being the breadwinner, recently I've noticed little comments from people and in conversations insinuating that I was a "career" woman. Boy! I don't even know where exactly to start on that one! First off, if you think I am a career-driven woman or a feminist, you have OBVIOUSLY never had a conversation with me! Yes, I am currently working 45-55 hours a week and in grad school and considering getting a paralegal certificate, so just looking at those things, I could see how I might seem career-driven. However, consider these facts:
1. I'm working hard right now so my husband and I don't accumulate very much (if any) debt while he is in law school.
2. My husband is going to law school so that, hopefully, when he graduates and gets a steady job, he will be making enough money so that I don't have to work and can stay at home and raise & home-school our children. (Note: this isn't the only reason he's going to law school, it's always been a dream of his, it just happens to fit well with me staying home).
3. I want to stay at home and home-school our children (when we have children).

Also, I've been told recently (this isn't directed at any one person, just at people as a whole) that because my husband and I don't want to have children right now, we aren't following God's will for our lives. Well, I have to say, you aren't God so you don't know His plans for my life either! I've been told I don't have enough faith that God will provide if we do end up pregnant. I have loads of faith! I know that He will provide! I also know that He provided me with wisdom and foresight to plan ahead and know that, if I want to stay at home and raise my children, I could do it without financial hindrance if I wait a few more years. I also know that I am not ready to be a mother and Alan isn't ready to be a father. We know ourselves well enough to know that we aren't ready for children in our lives at this stage. "But aren't you worried you might not be able to have children if you wait?" I've been asked. Well, not really. I believe that if it is in God's will for me to have children, I will get pregnant when He sees fit. I also know that, even if I can't have children, there are so many children out there who need a loving home, that I don't have to worry about that. God knows that it is a deep desire in my heart to one day be a mother and I know that He will provide for me, whether it is through natural methods or not.

Well, I guess I'll get off my soapbox for now. This is just something that I've been thinking about lately and needed to get off my chest. Just because I'm a married woman in my mid-twenties does not mean that I want to have babies right now, nor does it mean there is something wrong with me because I don't want to right now. Any questions or comments? Please, let me know :)

Busy, busy, busy

Boy, have we been busy! Alan's in law school, I'm working for the university 20 hours per week, babysitting 10-12 hours per week, and going to grad school part-time (1 3-hour class). Sometimes it can seem a little overwhelming, but I'm really enjoying it here. We've made some friends at church and I really like everyone there. I don't think I'm going to make any 'lasting' relationships in my current grad class. The girls don't really seem to like me. Oh, well. I'm not really concerned with impressing them. I'm 25 and that's ANCIENT to them! Plus, I'm married! You might as well call me a grandma!!!

Anyways, my supervisor is booking my tickets for West Virginia this week! I'm really sad that Alan isn't going to be able to come with me, but I'll only be gone for one night. I've never flown by myself, never stayed in a hotel by myself, so I'm pretty nervous about it, but excited too. It's a great opportunity for me and hopefully I'll learn a lot that will be beneficial for my job too. I've got some ideas for a newsletter, blog, and possibly a facebook page, so maybe that will be in the works soon. I started duplicating our files today (my office isn't in the same building as the previous coordinator so I have to make copies of everything for the other office across campus). It's good because I'm getting to go through all of the files and get an idea of how things are done. I'm still trying to get a grasp on what exactly my responsibilities are, but it's exciting learning all the different aspects of the job.

Well, I'm working on a little crochet project you can check out here:
here

Alan is studying and I need a little time to just relax so I'm going to go get to work!

And so it begins...

Well, Alan started orientation for law school yesterday. All day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday...ugh! He already has homework and classes don't even start until Monday! I'm really proud of him though. He's worked so hard to get into law school and to get to where he's at.

Work is going well. I rearranged my office a little today. It still needs some work, but I'm excited about it. My supervisor wants me to go to a conference later this year. I hate that I'll have to be away from Alan, but the good news is that my flight will have a 4-hour layover in Atlanta, so maybe my mom or brothers can come see me. That would be really nice.

I worked a full day today because I had a conference call in the afternoon, so I'm off tomorrow. Lots of housework is in order. We're having two couples from church over for dinner Saturday night so I've got to get to cleaning! I'm also wanting to get my sewing machine out :)

Missing Home

We left Alabama almost 7 weeks ago. To be clear, I don't really miss Alabama. I do miss the people though. Before we left, I had it in my head that I would get to go back home at some point between summer and Christmas. Right now, that really just isn't seeming feasible. If we don't get to go back until Christmas, it will be 4 months from now before we go back. This has already been the longest I've gone without being in Alabama. It's really weird.

Something else weird: growing up, you can't wait to get away from your siblings (at least I couldn't). Now that we're grown up, I realize just how much I love them. Don't get me wrong, they can still get on my nerves like nobody's business, but I love them and I miss them. I hate that I don't get to see them very much.

About 2 weeks ago, one of my brother's, Patrick, had an accident at work (carpentry shop) and lost two fingers. Dealing with this has been hard on me because I'm so far away. I cried when Ray called to tell me what happened. To be honest, that was the first time I've cried since before the move. I guess I've kind of "turned off" the part of me that cries because it's so hard thinking about home. I love it here, but I miss my family a lot. I'm really hoping that I can get them to come out and visit soon, but I know it's just as hard on them to come here as it is for us to go there.

Anyways, just been thinking about that lately...

July and August 2010

So July was pretty crazy. Since we had already paid for the storage unit for a month, we kept our stuff in there and slowly moved a few boxes a week until we got everything in. Like I mentioned in the last post, we ended up with a three bedroom, even though we were looking for a two. This one cost the same as the two bedrooms we had seen and it came with a washer and dryer, which we needed since we sold ours in AL to make room on the moving trailer. I had an interview with the university the first week we were here and it took about 2 weeks to hear back, but I got the job!! I found out last week that part of the reason it took so long was that HR changed their hiring procedures and they had to do a lot of paperwork because they weren't supposed to have interviewed yet and they had already decided they wanted to hire me. Anyways, I have my own office which I love! In Birmingham, everyone in my department had to walk past my office to get to the front door, to the kitchen, or to the administrative assistants' area. Needless to say, one person in particular spent a large amount of time in my office, which made it difficult to get any work done. Where my current office is located is great because it's sort of private (I can close my door) but I'm not closed off and completely away from people either.

Back to the month of July: We didn't do a lot because money prevented us from being able to do much. We went camping one night and almost froze to death! Not really, but it was extremely cold! We definitely weren't prepared with our Alabama camping gear. We've met a lot of interesting people here and the church here is great!

So far, August has been great! We got a new mattress which was delivered on our anniversary. That was pretty awesome since we didn't have a bed, so we had been sleeping on the hide-a-bed, an air mattress, the couches, or the floor when everything else got too uncomfortable. The first night, we slept about 11 1/2 hours! We went to dinner here in town for our anniversary because we didn't want to drive all the way to Cheyenne just to eat. Alan got me an 8x10 of one of our wedding photos and an 11x14. I've got to find frames for them now!!!

I started work on Monday and I love it! My boss is pretty flexible about what hours I work, as long as I get all my hours in. I'm really excited about work because one of the things I'm working on right now is updating the website. It needs a lot of work, but it's not as bad as a lot of the other state projects' sites. I also got another job babysitting for a couple that are both in school at UW. They are foreign and I'm not sure what country they are from, but they seem really nice. I'm excited about that because it's a baby that I'll be taking care of so I'll have time to study for my grad classes which I will hopefully be starting next week, but that will depend on if I can get in. I've got a lot of paperwork to do before I can get registered. Oh, and not that it's that important (sarcasm?) but I need to pick a major...hmmmmmm. I'll have to do some more thinking on that one.

Other than all of that, we've been pretty laidback the last few weeks, just trying to get settled in.