Thursday's Thoughtful

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You have to be certain it's what you really want before you commit."
From the book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Note: My long time blog followers will remember my 'quote of the week' post- well, this is the same thing, just a new day/new name! Check back tomorrow for my first edition of 'Friday's Favorites' where each week I will list my favorite things. You may have seen others do this on their blogs- I thought I'd join the bandwagon (a tad bit late).

What's Next?

After over two months of hiatus, I'm back to blogging. I could do a recap of the happenings in my life that took place during my 'vacation' from you, but I'll spare you this time. There are only three major events that you need to know about- and one of them happened tonight:

1. I left my previous elementary school and took a job at a school in Alabama. As you know, this has been on my heart for months. I think I've finally found what I've been searching for.
2. We moved into our new home. You would not believe how much stuff we've done to this place (more of this to come soon).
3. I am no longer a college student.

Tonight was my last night of class at MSU. No, I'm not just finishing up one semester and waiting on another to begin. I'm really, truly finished. I now have an Ed.S degree and must take a one year hiatus before beginning my dissertation.

I cried the whole way home. College is my thing. I'm a college student and have been for over six years. Being a college student has been a major part of my identity for so long. It's almost like graduating high school- except I've been in college for six years instead of four.

I honestly do not know what to do next. What will I do with all of that time? I know, most sane people would respond vibrantly "You can do whatever you want!" Although I recognize the sheer beauty in that thought, I'm not ready to have time on my hands.

What did I do when this thought of too much time crept into my restless mind? Well, aside from cello lessons I've signed up for a cake decorating class at the local community college. Yes, remember all those times I said "I'll never leave school. I'll be the grandma at the local college taking pottery classes"- I wasn't kidding.

Okay, in all seriousness- I've reached the point in my life where it's time to move on. My only question is- move on to what? That's what I'm searching for. Am I ready for the whole 'settle down and have a baby' thing- truthfully, I wholeheartedly believed I was (I had a bad case of 'the fever' for 18 months). But now I'm not so sure.

I don't know what I want to do next. All I know is I want to DO something. You might find me quite changed since I last wrote. I feel I'm on this crusade to figure out who I am, what I want, and what my purpose is. So, until I find what it is I'm looking for and who it is that I am, this blog will serve as my diary of sorts. This is where I will discuss the thoughts, ponderings, up, downs, laughs, tears, and adventures that take place when a 20-something year old girl sets out to explore all the dimensions of life.

moving announcement

www.tinyprints.com

I have never sent out moving announcements so this was a fun first for us. Tiny Prints did an excellent job and our order arrived a week earlier than expected. I opted to have our address printed on the back which made it much easier when it came time to mail them. There is an option where you can have the recipients address placed on the front for you- they can even mail it out if you want. Today I received a birth announcement in the mail that was ordered from Tiny Prints and it was adorable! :) If your not familiar with this site, you should definitely check it out! They had so many cute designs that it was hard to choose one. I loved the simplicity of this card (and of course we do not live in the land of oz). I was a very happy customer and will definitely use this site again in the future!

Breathing A Sigh of Relief

Finally.... after what has seemed like the longest semester of my life..... I've reached the end. Tonight is my last night of classes and then I'm off for a month :) I'm so ready for July to roll around so I can take a mini break from school! You have no idea how much I've dreaded having to do my research study- and now it's all typed, printed, and held together by a hot pink paper clip :)

Another sigh of relief is that tonight is our last night at my Dad's house. Now while we love my Dad and Kris beyond words- and we could never thank them enough for letting us crash there until we close on our house- it's just so hard to go back home once you've lived on your own! We're ready to have our things unpacked and be in our own home! We close tomorrow at 3:00, and we've decided to just have a pallet party (sp?) until we can get our things moved this Saturday.

I hope everyone is enjoying life as much as I am :) We are truly blessed!

The Home Stretch

We've been counting down the days until we close on our house- we are now in the home stretch! We were originally set to close April 29th, so this morning I kept thinking "One week from today!". The bank rescheduled our closing date a few minutes ago- so we are now set to close Wednesday, April 28th at 3:00! :)

6 days and counting!

Our Little Life On The Little Lake

After years of dreaming of a home and praying to find the right place for us, we have finally arrived. After two years of debating on moving to Meridian, buying land to build, going through different realtors, and at times getting so confused over what we really wanted we finally found our HOME! Everyone told me that we would 'just know' when we found the right place. I was doubtfut, but everyone was right. After walking through this house we just knew it was home.

Here's a quick recap of how we arrived at this point.

I called a realtor to view a house in Meridian. That Tuesday my dear friend went with me to check it out. It was a gorgeous house but it didn't feel like home. Plus, we really wanted to stay in Butler to be close to our family. Once I arrived home I broke down and cried out of frustration and feeling as if we would never find a home. I called to check on another home in Butler when Ron (our awesome realtor) told me about a home at Lake Lavada. I met him there that evening and just knew that this was where we were supposed to be. I called the hub and after he toured the house he felt the same way as me. The next day we made an offer on the home. Things went pretty quickly from there. We negotiated back and forth for about a week before coming to an agreement. As of Thursday of last week we are under contract to buy the home. Today I had the water and power cut on in our name at the new home (for when the appraiser comes next week). We are set to close on or before April 29! We could not be happier! We moved out of our previous place last weekend and we are hanging out at my Dad's house until we close.

The new home is a little over 1 year old, 3000 square feet, 3 or 4 bedrooms (depending on what you wanted to do), 3 1/2 bath and is situated on the little lake. We both love how the house is soooooo close to the water.

We are so excited about this new time of transition in our life. We look forward to many happy years in this home! We cannot wait to start our happy little life on the little lake :) This has definitely been a long time coming.

I'll post before/after pictures once we are in the house and settled.

We would like to thank all of our family and friends who have prayed for us over the years and encouraged us to keep looking and not lose hope!

Most importantly, we are very thankful to GOD for such a wonderful blessing!

*On a side note- my computer is packed up so my blog posts may be few and far between until we are settled at the end of this month. Please be patient and keep checking back for more updates!

Bittersweet

This is our last day and night in our first home. While we're ecstatic about finally moving into a new home, it's still a bit sad. This will always be our first home- the place we came home to after our honeymoon, where we shared our first Christmas and anniversary, where I earned degrees and started my first teaching job. It is going to be so weird to drive by and know that we don't live here anymore......

Having said that- we're ready for the next chapter in our lives. Words cannot describe how excited we are!

We're ready to begin our happy little life on the little lake :)

what a relief

Today I drove to Jackson, MS and wrote a check for $15,450 to pay off student loans I took out while working on my bachelor's degree.

I cannot even begin to describe the feeling I had after I walked out of the building and into the warmth and sunshine. I didn't realize how much those loans weighed on me until they were lifted. I am so very thankful that I was able to pay them off- rather than pay payments for the next 10 years.

My husband and I are so happy about getting rid of those loans! Today is definitely a day to celebrate :)

For the moment, I can breathe a little easier.

Wish Us Luck

Tomorrow I'm going to meet a realtor to look at a home (my dear friend chickadee is coming with me for support :) ) I'm very nervous but excited at the same time. Buying a home is a huge decision, but it's something that I've dreamed of since I was a little girl. Our entire marriage we've worked and saved so that one day we could buy or build a home - a place to make memories, raise a family, and spend our lives together. We've sold our current place, so we're running out of time.

Wish us luck!


Just a thought - I hope I haven't jinxed us by asking for luck and posting about it. :)

Girls Day Out

This past Saturday I met my good friend Honey Cup for some delicious sushi, fabulous shopping, and a very relaxing pedicure. We've had a few warm days lately but I refuse to wear sandals unless my toes are nice. I was so happy to finally be able to wear sandals and flip flops :)

Here is Honey Cup and I enjoying our pedicures. I had a blast and cannot wait for another girl's day!

Good Bye Express - Hello Ross

I went to Ross for the first time a few weeks ago with my dear friend Chickadee. I found several cute items for the home: a shower caddy in the shape of a cat (sounds awful but it's really cute) and a bamboo laundry hamper with "Laundry" monogrammed on the liner (everyone that has seen it has asked me where I got it from).

Well, this past weekend I went back to Ross with my good friend Honey Cup. I've never browsed through their clothes, but I decided I'd try someplace other than Express. I found 5 cute dresses for Spring and Summer along with an adorable pair of Guess sandals. To top it off, my entire purchase was only 60 bucks! Ross has just kicked Express' boo-tay! :) This is all part of my recent urge to save more money and stop wasting so much on frivolous, silly things!

If you have not snooped around in your local Ross, you're missing out!

getting it together

Warning
I'm writing this post during the middle of a huge pity party.
Please excuse the complaining and proceed at your own risk.

I've always been organized, prepared, and ready for whatever life throws at me. At work I've always been cool, collected, READY! In school I've always been thoughtful, thorough, and PREPARED.

This year, I can't seem to get my act together.

This has, by far, been my worst year of college. I'm being pulled in so many directions. Work for me this year has been so busy and mentally draining that I literally crash on the couch for the weekend. Needless to say, the last thing I feel like doing at the end of the day, or on the weekend, is school work. So, I'm waiting until the last minute to do things and not really caring all that much about my assignments.

I'm done. What once brought me so much joy- joys of succeeding and learning new things- now gives me that sick feeling in my belly. I've ran at high speeds on the treadmill of college for so long without a break that I'm reaching my point of exhaustion. I still want my Ph.D, but I'm ready for this much needed upcoming break. To show just how much I'm over it, I made a C and took it with a smile! :) ~In my defense, it was in statistics (which I believe is what killed my love for school).

Last semester I was in school so much- 3 days a week I had class until just after nine (remember, I live an hour away so I still have the peachy drive home to look forward to). This semester my time on campus is less thanks to hybrid courses. Having said that, this is the semester that I have to conduct my research study- and to be honest, I'm jut not feeling it.

Adding to it all is the fact that I've been sick for over three weeks. Yes, I finally conceded defeat and went to the doctor (only to take my shot like anything but a big girl ;) ).

I have absolutely zero energy or get-up-and-go about me. I want to sleep away this entire month.

So, I'm trying to tell myself to buckle down for just four more months. I tell myself that, my brain comprehends it, but my tired soul is not having it.

Here's to hoping that I can finally get my act back together.