Two Whole Years!!

So this morning I was scrolling through my news feed on Facebook and this popped up from the Dave Ramsey account.  I thought, how fitting!! I just felt like I had to share this on the day of our second anniversary.  We had the most perfectly magical wedding in the rain two years ago.  While I don't have anything against traditional weddings, and think that they are lovely in their own light, I think that the things we chose not to spend as much money on is what made our day so special.

For starters, we didn't spend money on a venue.  Most of you probably don't know that E brought me to his grandparents house before we were officially even dating.  I remember so vividly going for a walk out back and as we rounded a corner and I saw the hilly landscape I silently thought to myself "I would love to get married here someday".  So when we were considering our options for wedding venues I kept going back to this idea.  At first we weren't sure if it was a good idea, as we didn't want to put pressure and stress on E's grandparents.  As it turned out, they were overjoyed.  I LOVED going over to his grandmother's house all summer and hearing her plans and seeing how happy it made them to be a part of our wedding.  So I had my dream location (at my dream price!).

Speaking of dream price, I didn't want to have my bridesmaids pay an arm and a leg for a dress they would never wear again.  We searched high and low for something inexpensive that would generally go with the theme.  As a last ditch effort we went to the outlet fabric store and scored big time! We got pretty yellow stretchy fabric to make all of the bridesmaids dresses for $20 each!! We ended up sewing them ourselves, making them infinity dresses.  If you're new to the term, it's a dress with two long straps that allows you to wear the dress in as many different ways as you can think of.  This allowed each of my bridesmaids to wear the dress in whichever way she felt most comfortable with.

Next up, food.  We chose not to have dinner and not to have a fancy schmancy cake.  I actually found a cake on pinterest that I fell in love with.  My mom's co-worker offered to bake the cake for us and it turned out adorable!  We even had matching cupcakes made by friends of E's family.  Even though we only had one bite, I am in love with this cake.  Good news is, I can recreate it if I want to! Additionally, we asked family and friends to bring a pan or plate of whatever was their best dessert.  So we had an assortment of desserts for our guests as well as popcorn with assorted toppings for the tables.  Looking at our dessert table filled my heart to see how many people loved us and wanted to be a part of our day.  Because we had our wedding in the evening (our original goal was to catch the sunset) we felt like it wasn't necessary to provide a meal, although I can see where this would be missed.

While planning my wedding I really only cared about three things 1. I marry E.  2. I get a pretty dress.  3. I get married outside and there be twinkly lights.  In the end, this was all accomplished.  With yet another outpouring of support, family and friends donated twinkly Christmas lights to our cause and helped us set them up the day before the wedding (along with tents borrowed from family and friends, and tables and chairs borrowed from a friends's church).  On top of the tables instead of fancy table cloths we used white butcher paper and left crayons for guests to color with.  We were left with silly drawings and well wishes from our guests.  We figured since we weren't having a dance (just music provided by my Ipod and the speakers from my uncle) we might as well give our guests something to do. We had heat lamps borrowed from family for when the night got chilly, or in the event of rain...We were ready for our wedding, rain or shine.  

It just so happened to rain the day of our wedding.  This was okay with me because I still had all three of my most important things taken care of.  I actually planned for rain so much that I even got sweet clear umbrellas for pictures! My mother in law even found me the perfect sweater to wear before and after the ceremony, EXACTLY the kind of cardigan I had been dreaming of!  I think I was probably the only person that didn't really care about the rain.  People kept asking me if I was cold, but I had a huge dress and a lot of adrenaline haha.  The rain also made for some lovely pictures.  Speaking of which, my uncle took my pictures for us! We had so much fun.  As I walked up to the top of a hill, for a shot, and over to the horses that came to the fence to wish us well (yes, I have photos with horses on my wedding day!!!) I kept thinking back to that first time I walked around out there dreaming bout my someday wedding.




For flowers we actually went to the farmer's market.  I went to the farmers market with my mom and mother in law a few weeks before the wedding to scope out what they had and to get an idea of what I wanted.  I fell in love with the wildflower assortments with vibrant colors, and Sunflowers!! With this in mind my mother in law, E's aunts, and some family friends made some beautiful bouquets for the day of my wedding that could not have been any more perfect.  I loved knowing that so much love went into even that part of my day.  That someone was willing to drive out to the farmers market to pick up flowers for me and to take the time to make such pretty arrangements.  I didn't spend an arm and a leg, and I got so much love and support.

In case you haven't been keeping track, we really didn't have to spend a whole lot of money on my wedding.  I know not everyone has a relative with a gorgeous back yard, or 5 tents with tables and chairs standing by, or space heaters just waiting to be used.  But what made my wedding special wasn't that stuff anyway.  It was the love that I felt from my family and friends (old and new) on that day.  It was watching people give their time and energy to celebrate our marriage.  I wasn't focused on the stuff.  I was and still am, so thankful for all of the people who showed their love.

As I think back, the day could have been a disaster if I had cared about the rain.  My only regret as far as the rain goes is that I didn't capture any of the rainwater to save.  I wouldn't change my day for anything!  As it turned out, the rain was just a foreshadowing if what was to come for E and I! Our move to WA has been wet! (Although, it has rained less than we expected).  And we still love the rain.  I often think of our magical wedding full of love when it rains now.

This is a photo taken of E and I exactly one month ago in the same spot where we got married, and it was even raining!!

With that, on behalf of E and I, thank you to all of our family and friends who have helped us, supported us, and loved us these last few years.  Much like our wedding, we couldn't have made it to where we are now without all of you.  We are so blessed to have so many loving and caring people in our lives, and hope to repay all of the love in the years to come.  

News

Well, it sure has been a long time since I've posted, and a lot of things sure have happened!  For starters, my best friend from college just got married and I had the honor of being her matron of honor! It was such a beautiful and tasteful wedding, and the bride was absolutely stunning!  This trip also allowed for E and I to see family that we hadn't seen in about a year! We got to take some family photos with my mom's side of the family, and even made a nice "awkward family photo" which left E mortified :P hehe We had a pleasant afternoon with my aunt, a nice dinner with my grandparents, and spent plenty of time with E's family.

Just before leaving for Minnesota I got a new job! Woo! Starting in October I will be working for Habitat for Humanity as a Family Services Specialist.  I will be assisting families through the home ownership process, as well as doing some community building and volunteer coordinating.  This is really exciting for me because it's exactly what I dreamed of doing with my social work degree! The job is actually through Americorps, so it will only run for 10.5 months, which happens to work perfectly for us! E will be finishing up his training by then and we don't know what part of the state they will put him in, so we are really thankful that this position works so well with our schedule!

Some of you readers may also have heard about my new adventure with ItWorks! I am really excited about this and what it could mean for us! First, I am really excited about the products and can't wait to try ALL OF THEM :)  Second, I am really excited about being able to pay off debt and eventually be able to work from home and start building our family.  I would love to be able to stay home with children.  I have a really great team supporting me.  I get to meet up at least once a week, and they are always there for questions, encouragement, or to send me videos on how to be better! They have so much faith in my that they challenged me to go Diamond (THAT'S 4 PROMOTIONS) by the end of August! This feels like a huge feat for me, but would be so incredible if I could do it! This would surely help us pay off all of our loans in the next year, as well as save up for plane tickets to go to weddings, and go on a fun vacation this year...and maybe purchase a car that isn't older than both E and I.

On that note, I am asking a huge favor of all of my family, friends, and followers.  If you are looking for a change in your life, an extra income, the luxury of working from home, or improving your health, PLEASE let me know! I really need to add FIVE people to my team this month to make this promotion and get the HUGE bonuses that go with it.  Don't be afraid to ask questions :) you can email, call, text, or send me a message on facebook!

Thanks for all of the love and support!!

Change of pace

Well, last you heard, I was having a grand time working on my jewelry with my super talented college roommate.  I have been having so much fun collaborating with her!  We have been getting all sorts of things pulled together in ways that I could never have imagined.  This had turned from something I assumed was going to be more or less a hobby, into something bigger!

Let me take this one step at a time.  First, we spent about a week coming up with the perfect font for my logo.  And I just love the end result, and I love Ray (college roommate) for having so much patience with me as I changed my mind about a thousand times!

I love how clean and simple this looks!! Didn't she do a nice job?? Notice the period is red, to go with the theme of my jewelry!

I also love this mini logo! I didn't even ask Ray to make this, she just came up with it and it was love at first sight! Again, I love the ruby red period, but I also love the circles around the text and how they remind me of the cord that I use for my jewelry! Didn't she do a nice job!??

Then we got busy working on a facebook page! I have been learning so much these last few weeks! How exciting it has been to be learning again!  I started taking an online class for free with my library and taught myself how to create my own website from scratch! Exciting to see how a page full of random letters and words turns into a website! This also gave me a fun topic to talk about with my brother in law who has been interested in coding for quite some time! Hopefully he'll be able to assist me a bit in the future when I eventually get stuck!

I have also learned a lot these last few weeks about pricing my products and making sure I'm giving my work value.  I've researched a lot of pricing charts and thought hard about all of the costs associated with making my jewelry.  On top of that, I have taken a look at the jewelry that inspired me Bronwen Jewelry and considered their prices for items similar to my own.  The end result felt a bit high for me, and even pretty much any of my friends and family.  I struggled with this for a while knowing that Bronwen charges double of what I was charging, and I was using the same formula as many other hand crafted jewelers were using when selling their goods.  My pricing is still a work in progress, and something I'm praying about.  I want my jewelry to be accessible, but I also want to be sure I'm selling it for what it's worth.

Up until now, you've been hearing just the little stuff...now for the exciting parts of my post!!  Right around the time that I got my facebook page going, I set up an Instagram account for my jewelry with the username pthirtyonejewelry.  I made a few posts and was thrilled by the response! In the past I have only used instagram to follow people I already knew, and I rarely posted anything, and wasn't serious about my tagging, which is why I was floored by the kind of people that started liking my photos, leaving comments, and following me on instagram with my P.Thirty-One account!  One day I noticed that "ilybox" liked several of my photos, and even commented on one.  So I looked them up to find that they are a Christian subscription box that is just starting up! They send Christ centered literature and products in their boxes each month.  One of the coolest parts is that they do a one for one thing.  For every box purchased, they send a box to someone in need of God's word.  When you go to subscribe you can choose where you want the free ilybox to go: a jail, hospital, or women's center.  I noticed that they were looking for products to put in their box, so I filled out their form with a description of my jewelry and the message behind it and waited.

I didn't realize how much I expected rejection until the email came through the next morning.  They want to feature my jewelry in one of their boxes! I couldn't believe it!  Deep down, I didn't place much value in my idea.  I assumed I'd sell MAYBE 50 pieces in my first year, after looking at other jewelry shops on Etsy and seeing how many sales/years they had.  And even though I like they way my jewelry looks, and I like the idea behind it, I didn't think anyone outside of my family or friends would ever think it was a good idea.  This was over a week ago, and it still hasn't sunken in.  

As it stands, my jewelry will be featured in the August box! Check out their box here!  You can also find Ilybox on Instagram and Facebook! The founder of Ilybox has been so kind and supportive and will even be featuring me/my jewelry/concept on her Ilybox blog in September!

This has all felt like a dream.  Never in a million years did I expect to be doing this, but I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity to do something I love, and to spread a worthwhile message.  In case you missed it in my previous blog post, P.Thirty-One stands for Proverbs 31 (verses 10-31 specifically) where it talks about the characteristics of a virtuous/honorable/noble wife or woman.  Each of my pieces has a small red bead attached at the clasp as a reminder to uphold these characteristics in order to be "more precious than rubies".  I look forward to blogging about the women I have named each of my pieces after, as well as developing this concept.

If I'm being honest, the best part about this for me is that it is encouraging me to dig deeper and spend more time reading my bible.  It has been so uplifting to feel purpose and to have this opportunity to grow, and to support others on their faith journey.

Now, to change gears, MY FAMILY CAME!! They were here all last week! I had forgotten how much hard work it is to be around so many family members for so long, and the week certainly had it's challenges, but we all made it out alive :)  I am so thankful that they were all able to come and see where I live.  Now when I tell them stories they can imagine what I'm talking about!  Here is a recap for the week:

TUESDAY-  Arrival.  Took sister to Point Defiance park close by for a walk.  Car broke down...boooooo.  Parents booked a rental car for much cheaper than initially planned...YAAAY!

WEDNESDAY-  Trip to the Hoh Rain Forest and Ruby Beach!  Stopped to say hi to E at his work on our way out.  Saw many big trees, sea creatures, and moss.  Long day in the car.

THURSDAY-  E had a ride along so he was actually done with work early.  Took the whole family to Point Defiance and showed them the dog park and the beach.  Had Lefty's burgers for lunch.  Made plans for the weekend.

FRIDAY- Whale watching! We saw Orcas and even a Humpback at the end! The crew was excellent! We all had a nice time.  Mom, Dad, and Sister all got pretty burnt because we forgot the sunscreen...E and I only got a little bit burnt.

SATRUDAY- A day for no sun at all!  Nothing was really open, and nobody wanted to (or really could be) in the sun due to sunburn from the previous day.  The boys spent time playing video games.  We all just relaxed quite a bit because we were so worn out form the previous day.

SUNDAY- Zoo! First we went out for fish n' chips which were delicious! Then we walked down by the beach, and since it was low tide we found all sorts of crabs!! So much fun! Then we went to the zoo and sweat off all the grease from our fish n' chips.

MONDAY- Back to work for E.  The rest of us headed to Seattle for the day.  We went to the EMP museum where we saw all sorts of American pop culture "history", very neat.  Then we went up in the space needle!  I had done it with E before at night, which was really cool seeing the city all lit up, but it was equally as neat during the day! After that we walked down to Pikes Place Public Market to enjoy a late lunch/snack.  Most of the family got clam chowder and gave it two thumbs up! We stopped to watch the fish throwers and then split up.  Mom and Brother went to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners (E met up with them after work) and Dad and Sister and I went to Moctezumas, a really yummy Mexican restaurant close by my apartment.

Today they all left around the same time E left for work.  I had so much fun, and I'm so glad they came.  Harper is especially glad, so got so many treats and hugs and playmates!  But I am thankful to have my routine and my peace and quiet back.  This last week was a scorcher as far as Washington goes, and we don't have A/C, so I'm also very excited to have my fan back in my room at night!

Now it's back to working on my jewelry! So exciting where this is going!  If you haven't had a chance to check out my shop, click HERE to see what all the fuss is about! 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Hopefully the good news will just keep rolling in!

Moving forward

Well, it sure has been a while since I last posted!  Honestly, not much has happened.  I am still looking for a job, spending much of my day applying and searching, and searching and applying...

E has been working the US Open! He is working swing shifts for 7 days straight delivering food.  He gets to hang out with a trooper from Hawaii all day.  He told me that yesterday he ate some Spam sandwiches that this guy brought in. He told me all about it as he made me a great big breakfast of Spam and eggs breakfast burritos! Yumm!!

Harper and Katniss are both doing well.  We celebrated Harpers first birthday last month, and Katniss seems to be a lot less stressed lately, YAY!

I am officially on the countdown to my family's arrival! Only 11 days! I am so excited just to spend time with them, all the exciting things they have planned will be icing on the cake.

Now onto the bigger news.  As many of you know, I love doing putzy crafty things.  I like sewing, scrapbooking, making cards, making jewelry...just making useful things.  Since I haven't had a job in a while, and I just want to do something relaxing I began thinking about making and selling my own jewelry.  So this is the official scoop.

A little more than a year ago I was at a trade show in Salt Lake City, Utah.  While there I came across a necklace that I loved.  I picked it up and said, I could totally make something like this.  I bought one just so I could remember the materials.

Click here to see a necklace similar to the one I bought.  They actually don't even sell the necklace that I bought as inspiration.  I really liked how light weight it is and how simple it is, although there were a few things about it I would change as well.

I had been toying on and off with making my own for a long time.  I actually couldn't figure out what material was used for the cord for the longest time! It was so hard to track down without knowing the proper name for it.  Well, in the last month I was noodling around and I stumbled across a place that sold it! Then I found a place that sold the style beads that I wanted.

Before purchasing anything I thought long and hard about whether this was something I wanted to do.  I thought about the kind of job I wanted before I even began college, the kind I wanted while I was in college, and the kind I wanted now.  I thought about how whatever I did, I wanted it to have a purpose, and I wanted do it for Jesus.  With that in mind, I started brainstorming ideas.  How do I attach a positive message to my product? Then it hit me, what about Proverbs 31:10-31?  This passage lists out all of the characteristics of a virtuous wife.  So I had my name "p.thirty-one"  But then how do I connect this to my jewelry?  I thought, Proverbs 31:10 says "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies",  what if I add a small red bead by the clasp of each piece? That way, it is a subtle reminder to uphold these characteristics daily.  I shared this idea with a couple of friends, including my husband and got a lot of positive feedback.  I was encouraged.

I began brainstorming ways to incorporate the bible verse into packaging and branding.  I began coming up with designs and pricing for my jewelry...and I started to get overwhelmed.  One evening I was making several pieces of jewelry and I texted pictures to a few people including my roommate from college.  She offered to help me with the marketing of my jewelry! I was so excited! This was all of the stuff that left me feeling discouraged, and here was the perfect person to take on the job! Not only will this help me, but in the long run, if this goes over well, hopefully it can be something she can put in her portfolio so she can get the marketing job of her dreams!

Now we send ideas back and forth.  I'll tell you, even if this turns out to be just a creative outlet for me, and a small side income for fun money or paying off student loans, the last couple of weeks have been so good for me.  It has been nice to have a goal to work towards.  To have a clear idea of what I want and to be able to take real steps to get there.  It also has been amazing beyond words to work WITH someone.  It feels like it's been forever since I've had this kind of "work" experience, collaborating with someone and working on the same project.  Even if this goes nowhere, I really cherish this opportunity to work with my former roommate on this project.  We had to laugh a little at the idea because I had dreams of making cupcakes while in college and she always told me she would do my marketing!

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now.  Feeling encouraged, still looking for jobs.  I actually made my first listings on Etsy!  I'll have to practice my photography, and get a few other things worked out.  My shop isn't anything pretty right now, I just listed a few things in hopes to generate a little bit of money to purchase more supplies!

Click here to go to my shop!  If you're feeling generous, take a second to "like" my shop and "favorite" your favorite piece! I would love some feedback.

That's all for now!

It's been a while

Yes, it has been a while since my last post.  Since then, we decided to give Katniss another shot.  In a last ditch effort to make it work I purchased a large rubbermaid and cut a hole on top like so...



I put in in the linen closet and made sure the door could not latch shut.  Because the box is so deep, and the hole is on top, it gives Katniss privacy and keeps Harper away from the mess.  So far this seems to be working.  Granted, we are much better at not leaving our clothes laying around and we still keep bedroom doors closed.

In addition to the new cat box and location, I got more batteries for Harper's shock collar and also have been working with her more consistently.  I have also been practicing more verbal commands (and some loud clapping) per some advice my lovely sister-in law gave me.  I've gotten my deep mean voice down pretty well.  I have even started teaching E how to give the "I'm not happy with you" look to make her stop jumping all over him.

Right now E has drill.  They have a ruck march today and E brought Harper.  I can only imagine how happy she is right now! Being outside with all the sticks she could ever want, getting exercise with one of her favorite humans, interacting with other dogs, and meeting new people...Happy early birthday Harper! In just 11 days she will be 1 whole year old!

I'm sure most of you don't care too much about our pets, so I will move on to other news.  E is still working at the front desk of the Washington State Patrol.  He still doesn't much care for sitting at a desk all day, but at least he seems to be appreciated and well liked in the office!  A few weeks ago, the other cadet that was working with E, sharing responsibilities, quit.  So E has had to pick up quite a bit of slack until they find someone to replace him.  I think it's stressful at times, but he's making it work.

As for my own job, I have been struggling for a while with it.  I am on my fourth month and still have yet to place a client.  This is mainly due to the fact that their situations are just complicated.  On top of that, working from home, at least this job, is not all that I hoped it would be.  I have been struggling with the lack of routine and structure for one.  I don't know what my day will look like, ever.  My hours are whenever people call me back.  Oh how I long for a job where I show up at 8, take my lunch at noon, and go home at 5.  I wish my "work stayed at work".  I also miss having coworkers to talk to and joke around with.  I miss talking about our weekends and looking at prom photos and complimenting each others outfits..I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what to do about this.  I don't want to just quit because I don't like something, because it feels wrong, especially after such a short period of time.  I really care about my clients, and I love and appreciate my coworkers, even though I never see them.

I came to the conclusion that I am only hurting my clients and my boss by staying when my heart isn't in the work.  So I let them know how I was feeling and they were very kind and understanding.  I had an interview last week for a Secretary Senior position with the Washington State Patrol in the Budget and Fiscal office...Yes, E and I could carpool to work until November when he starts his training! And even then, I could drop him off on Mondays and pick him up Fridays.  I have yet to hear back, and I'm getting nervous...but E says to be patient.  The office life seems perfect for me.  The women who conducted the interview told me over and over that they like to have fun at work...just what I need!  I have been praying about this job while I search for others.

I had a friend come for a few days a week ago.  It was so nice to see a friendly face! We spent all day in Seattle when she arrived, looking at all the important things.  We stopped first at Pikes Place market.  We drooled over the HUGE bouquets of flowers, grabbed some coffee (frappuccinos) from the first Starbucks, and got stopped by a Children's International representative.  My family has sponsored children in the past, so my heart was already open to the idea, and add to that my husband's giving nature has rubbed off on me, so I walked away a sponsor!  My friend and I had to laugh about it as we walked away, because earlier that day we had been talking about how E gives to anyone who asks.  We lovingly said that we had done his good deed for the day.  I love that my husband has such a giving heart, and I love that his good habits are rubbing off on me!

After that we went to the space needle (after walking a mile and a half in the wrong direction first).  We snapped a few pictures and decided to head back.  We took the light rail in to Seattle from the airport, so we had to ride the light rail back to the airport where I parked my car.  If you know anything about me you will know how much I hate driving.  I was so nervous about getting to the airport, but I made it.  Then, I couldn't decide what was scarier, taking the light rail or driving into Seattle.  Ultimately, I was glad to have taken the light rail.  It was cheap and painless..plus, I didn't have to worry about parking when we were there.

Over the next few days I took her to all of our favorite spots close by.  We even drove into Olympia to have lunch with E one day and to see where he worked! What fun to include him in the fun!  Overall it was such a nice time!

Now I am counting down the days (43 to be exact) until my family arrives!! In the meantime, I will continue hunting down a new job.  I also am trying to come up with ways to make friends. E has been spending more and more time with an Army buddy and they let me tag along which is great!  They ran a marathon together a couple of weekends ago, and we are going out to a movie with him and his wife tonight!  All the same, I need to find new friends, I just don't know how.  We recently tried out a new church where there are some people closer to our age.  E feels right at home with the large families of home schoolers there.  They seemed super nice and very welcoming, so maybe this will help me?

Last on my agenda is a potential move! This actually really excites me! Our lease is up in August, and we are seriously considering a move.  We have yet to determine where, though.  Our hearts are torn.  It would be very convenient to move to Olympia to be closer to E's work (and hopefully soon to me mine as well!).  However, that would leave us further from E's army buddy, which would be sad.  E likes where we are now because he could get placed a lot of places once he finishes his training that are easily accessible from here...but that's a year away, so it's not that important.  Also, sounds like the army guys (hopefully they were joking) were talking about wanting to get a house together........One is moving out of his parents house, another may be willing to move, and then there's us.  Not so keen on sharing a house...haha I'd love to live close, and I understand the convenience of sharing, but I'd rather be comfortable walking around in my PJ's all day if I want to..  But if there's one thing we know for sure about our move, it's that we want to live in a house.  We want a yard for bonfires and puppy play time, and no neighbors sharing our walls, floors, or ceilings.  As much as we love our apartment now, it would be nice not to worry about playing our music too loud, or playing with Harper inside.

Anyway, that's all I have for now.  It's a lot!  Hopefully I'll have more good news soon!

A bit of everything

This post brings good and bad news.  We will start with the good.  Last weekend I got to go out with E and a friend and I had so much fun.  It had been far too long since I'd interacted with people my own age just for fun.  We went out for a while and then came back and played the wii for a while (even ending in Just Dance...yes, I got a few videos of the dudes looking pretty silly dancing a duet).

I also was encouraged when a fellow caregiver suggested we hang out some time.  We have plans for a girls night in a couple of weeks! That is so exciting!

Even more exciting is the fact that my mom booked tickets for my family to come visit me in JULY!!! They will be here on June 30th! 2.5 months!! And as of this morning a friend from college booked a ticket out here for a few days IN TWO AND A HALF WEEKS!!! You guys! So excited!  Plus, my first regatta out here is in 2 weeks!...looks like I should really go get that special liscense since I don't have a passport and the regatta is in Canada...

Now for the bad/sad news.  We have been having a really hard time with Katniss lately.  A few months ago she got a UTI.  We assume it was because the dog was always chasing her/eating out of the cat box and disturbing the peace in there.  We got the UTI cleared up, but a little while later we noticed that she still occasionally marked our clothes, towels, and blankets if they were left in the bathroom, doorways, or bedroom.  We have been trying very hard not to leave anything cloth on the floor and have been keeping all bedroom doors shut and have been working extra hard to train Harper to leave the cat (and her box) alone.  It just doesn't seem to be working.  After doing quite a bit of research we think it's stress related.  She isn't getting the kind of attention she needs, and when Harper isn't locked up she's always on guard and has to sneak by fast wherever she goes so the dog won't see her.  She really only marks E's clothes (could possibly be because I'm better at not leaving them on the floor) and occasionally blankets. We have been tolerating this for months and trying to work with it.  We don't want her to be put down because she is such a sweet kitty and we love her so much, but we can't keep a cat who is ruining our belongings.  We have recently decided that it would be best for everyone (including Katniss) if she were in a more relaxing environment.  As much as we love her, we want her to get the love and attention that she needs.  This has been a really hard decision because we don't want to be irresponsible pet owners, and like I've said several times, we really do love her so much.

I suppose a big part of why I feel terrible about giving her away is the fact that we had her before we got Harper.  So I feel like I betrayed her when we got the dog, and now I'm choosing the dog over the cat...I don't want to get rid of either of them.  Harper gets me outside and active which is a big reason why we are keeping her.  Also, I see several more moves in our near future with E's new job and I want Katniss to have a stable home.  She has done so much moving...I'm sure there are a lot of people reading this thinking "I told you so" right now because we were discouraged from getting both our pets.  But I don't regret either of them.  Katniss has brought us so much love and comfort.  She is the best at cuddling, which is what I'll miss most...even as I type this I don't know if I can go through with it.

If anybody has any helpful suggestions we are more than open to trying more things so that we don't have to get rid of her.

That is it for now...sorry to leave you with a bummer.

Getting the swing of things

Really the title of this post says it all.  Finally all of the newness of our jobs have worn off and we are really getting into the swing of things.

We have started actually venturing out now that we have to plan our weekends.  A few weeks ago I had to work on a Saturday morning and E planned a fun day trip.  He told me we were going to the beach...I thought, okay, I've looked at the map, I think E is planning to go to one that is an hour or two away.  I asked if I should bring food and he said no, because we'll grab lunch there.  So we packed up the dog and headed to the beach...Well, I found out 2.5 hours into the trip that we were actually going ALL THE WAY AROUND the Olympic Peninsula...ALL THE WAY AROUND! We circled the entire Olympic National Forest, people!  What I thought was a 2hr there and 2hr back car ride was more like 7-8 hours in the car..  As we were about 3 hours in we reached Port Angeles, a bigger town and we had plans to stop for sea food, since we've been here 6 months and not had any.  But every time we passed a restaurant he asked me if we should stop, I said yes, and he kept driving.  I don't know about all of you, but I get "hangry" (that's hungry-angry...I get grumpy when I need food) and I had only had one doughnut all day.  Then we continue to drive and see things along the road, E asks if we should stop I say sure, he keeps driving...I was pretty cranky by the time we stopped (about 4.5 hours in) at Ruby beach.  It was misting but we had fun at the beach anyway.  Harper loved it.  We spent a while looking in tide pools and then wandered down the beach where nobody else was and let Harper run free.  She was in doggy heaven.  Luckily this beach experience made up for the lousy car ride so far.  After an hour or so of frolicking we piled back into the car and had sea food on the brain...However, as before, every time we passed a place that had food (including Forks, yes, the Forks,WA from Twilight...) we drove right through.  Basically we got home at 9pm starving and stopped at Taco Bell.  So much for sea food! Luckily there is no shortage of sea food here.  The next morning after church we had brunch by the sound and had some delicious sea food.

The weeks alone have gotten kinda boring for me, not having a whole lot of human interaction and having been in a slump work wise.  I was so excited to get a text message from my uncle saying he would be in town! I was looking forward to it all week! Then, the day before he was supposed to meet up with us he sent me a text saying that he couldn't make it after all because he was flying to Tazmania that night! Well, the gullible person that I am fell for that April Fools joke!  The following afternoon he showed up and we had a nice time chatting while we waited for E to get home.  Then we went to a nice restaurant that overlooked Tacoma.  What a nice dinner it was! It was so thoughtful of him to think of us while he was here on business, and even more kind that he treated us to dinner too!

That brings us to about Easter.  We had been invited to a couple from church's house for Easter.  We volunteered to make dessert, so E and I made a cake together.  I had a lot of fun doing it together and the cake was quite delicious.  We also had a lot of fun with their family.  It was very low key.  It was really nice for me to be around people other than my husband for a change, and I really missed being in that big warm family atmosphere.

Then there's this week! Things are finally picking up for me at work! Monday I spent many hours calling and calling and calling apartments because my client is running out of time and I found just the perfect one! So I set up an appointment for a tour.  Yesterday I took the client for the tour, and LOOOONG story short, he ended up applying to this apartment! Yay!! I have been looking for an apartment for this gentleman since the middle of February.  I was beginning to feel very discouraged.  My co-worker was so generous and spent some time with me on Monday showing me how to do things and talking things out with me.  Now I'm busy with all of the things that happen after an apartment has been found.  Such a huge weight off my shoulders, and it boosted my confidence.

Also, earlier this week I took Harper to get spayed.  She didn't see it coming and I felt so bad leaving her there and thinking about how scared she must be.  I should probably never have actual human kids.  Yesterday's and today's challenge has been trying to keep her from licking the incision and not playing too rowdy...which is next to impossible.

Last night E took me out for dessert because he got his tips from his last week at Starbucks.  Tonight he is going to make me dinner! He even volunteered to do it himself! I am so excited!

Really that's all I've got! I'm excited for the summer months to be here for sailing, family visits (ANYONE is welcome to come visit!!), and going home to MN for a wedding!

That's all I've got for now!

The calm [after] the storm

You know that exhaustion that sets in after an anticipated event?  That's about how this week has started.  E started working at the desk for the WSP this week.  We found out that there are some people that went straight through to training, and only a handful do the desk job first.  At first I think E was a little sad that he had been delayed from training more.  However, he has been told several times that the desk job he got is actually hard to get, and it's an honor.  Because he has this job he gets to do networking with higher-ups including the chief.  Really, by giving E the desk job, they are giving him a leg up in training as well.  After refocusing we are coming to understand that this desk job is a good sign for E.  The WSP wouldn't waste time on a person they thought they would weed out during training.

E got all of his gear last week and is like a kid at Christmas.  It is fun to see him be so excited about this job.  He is also a lot more relaxed now that he has started his new job.  He had his last day at Starbucks on Sunday and is so happy about that.  I'm sure he'll be sad to say goodbye to all the free coffee, but he's glad he doesn't have to work there anymore.

As for me, E's new job has left me with that feeling of exhaustion.  Now that I feel like I can stop and breathe for a minute I really miss family and friends.  One of the best parts of my job is that I work from home.  On the other hand, this means I don't really have coworkers...nobody to chit chat with during the day.  As much as living in Washington is an adventure, I've really been wishing I had friends or family out here to see every once in a while.  Right now we are anticipating seeing family perhaps in June, July, and making a trip back to MN in August for a wedding...but that all still feels like a long time from now...

I'm so thankful for my pets.  For any of you wondering, Harper and Katniss are friends now (although Katniss would probably deny it to her grave).  Katniss can be found out and about lounging around just like she used to before Harper came along.  Occasionally she will run up to the dog, smack her and run away.  Harper has become more responsive to vocal commands which means no more shock collar! I am happy for their company during the day.  Both of them are so lovey, they give me warm-fuzzies all day long.

Fun things we have done lately:

We found a new beach.  We took Harper and played fetch at the beach.  I kept telling E not to throw the ball in the water.  Especially not farther than he could reach, because if the dog didn't get it, then he would have to.  Well...I was the one that ended up tossing it in the water just beyond where Harper was willing to get the ball.  I tried to get the ball but the water was so cold it hurt my bones!! So the ball was lost.  A few days later we left Harper in the car while we were in starbucks and she chewed up the chuck-it..When I went to Petsmart to buy a new one, the guy at the counter asked me if I'd ever had one before.  I told him that I had, and that my dog wrecked it.  He said, if it happens again in the next 2 months bring it in and we will replace it.  I explained that I had only had the first one for a couple of weeks.  He told me to bring it in, and I got the new chuck-it for free!

Ethan took me out to a fancy date at The Melting Pot.  It was expensive, but the experience and the memories were worth it.

As for this coming weekend, E has drill.  I'm hoping to go to the tulip festival the weekend after that.  Stay tuned!

The wait is over!

I know it felt like every time I had an update in the last three months I was saying that there was only one last step for E to get his job...well, the wait is over friends! He got his offer on Wednesday afternoon!

We were in the middle of our Wednesday afternoon tradition of watching Castle on Hulu.  E got a call from a "No Caller ID" number.  We both had a pretty good idea who it could be.  They asked him what he was up to and he told the woman on the phone that he was just home hanging out with his wife.  The woman then asked E to hand me the phone so she could talk to me.  Once I had the phone she asked me "Do you want to offer him the job? Or do you want me to do it?"  I told her I would do it so she just told me to have him call her back for the details.  After hanging up the phone I left E in suspense for a second or two...just to soak in those last few moments of anticipation.  After I told him we (and when I say 'we' I really mean 'I') jumped around dancing for joy.  E smiled and looked so relieved.  He called them back and got the details.  The next class with open slots is actually in September.  However, starting on March 13 E will be working at the front desk! Secretly I like this.  That much more time to spend with him.  Once he starts his training I will only see him two days a week...

While E was on the phone accepting the job I let my boss know that I officially could not work overnights any more.  That position was so tiring for me.  It's hard for me to spend that much time away from home and not be able to come home at night to relax and recharge.  When I let my boss know, she told me that I was officially done with overnights.  What a relief!  Now I can focus on my new job, and I don't have to go through the stress of basically living in someone else's house two days per week!

Aside from all that excitement, on Tuesday E informed me that his Monte Carlo was seeing it's last days.  E was afraid to drive it much more for fear that it would die.  So he began the search for a new car.  Thursday we met up with a couple of guys to look at their used 2001 Saab.  We ended up purchasing this car.  The previous owner actually lost the car due to a DUI and fought for it for 8 months prior to losing it.  That being said, the car was not given up because there was anything wrong with it.  E is so so excited about this car...especially the turbo feature...I forsee a speeding ticket in his future haha.  Really there are a lot of features in this car that we are both excited about...heated seats, CD and Tape player, good speakers, electric locks...We also ended up spending a lot less on it than we really planned to which was nice.  For this reason we didn't feel guilty about getting new tires for the car (and my car, which desperately needed them).

Friday evening E took the other LT's out for a guys night.  He came back with enough time to rest for 30 minutes before it was time to get ready for work at Starbucks for the opening shift...poor guy, but at least he had fun :)  Plus he got to talk all that car talk that mostly goes over my head with the guys who could probably appreciate all the things E is so excited about...I really only care about the heated seats.  After his shift we met at Costco where we had tires put on both of our cars.  We also took the new car for an alignment.  When we got home E was so tired that she slept the evening away straight through til morning.

This afternoon we took the new car to JBLM so E could change the oil.  Harper and I went to the dog park. There were so many dogs there this time and Harper ran so hard that she slept soundly all the way home.

Now I sit in Starbucks waiting for E to be done.  I've been searching Craigslist for an affordable table for our dining room.  That's my next wish.

So much is falling into place!  Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement when they were so badly needed.

Ta-ta for now!

Getting there...

Well, this Friday I officially started my new job.  I will be transitioning people from nursing homes to either their own apartments or to assisted living/group homes and then following up with life skills training.  This is a subcontracted position, so I set my own hours, own schedule, and take on as many clients as I want.  This will be wonderful for working around E's schedule.  I'd really like to get an office space set up for myself in the apartment, so we are scouring Craigslist for a desk...or even a dinning room table so we can move the card table and use it as a desk..

E had his psychological test and it went well.  He got the go-ahead to do the physical exam.  This is finally the LAST STEP.  Don't know about all of you, but it feels like we have been almost at the end of this whole process for a long time...but I promise that this is the last thing before he gets his official, unconditional offer :)  The appointment is set up for Thursday!  The next class starts on March 23rd.

Hopefully these new changes will help us to breathe a little easier.  It's been a long four months getting to a place where we feel like we have our feet under us.  Little by little our apartment is starting to feel more like a home and less like a place we are just squatting in.  The animals are finally starting to get along better (with a little help from Mr. Shock-collar...).  Both of us are anxious to get a routine down once E starts his training...

Oh! I almost forgot! I have been asked to be the FRG Leader for E's unit! Thankfully since he's reserve it won't be too much for me to handle.  Although this is a position that most people run the opposite direction from I think it will be good practice for me if I ever want to be any kind of program director.   For anyone who doesn't know what this means, I will explain as best as I can.  Really the FRG leader works with the Company Commander to coordinate events for the unit.  Whether it be family events, or fundraisers for the unit.  Honestly, I'm still learning...All I know is that I will soon become acquainted with a lot of people in the unit...

Anyway, I believe that's all the news I have!  Tootles!

Things are changing...again

Well,  for any of you who don't already know, a couple of weeks ago E got a call for his conditional offer of employment with the WSP!  He went in last week for his psychological test.  He said it was really long!! So many questions! And he goes in again in a week to talk to the psychologist.  After that comes the unconditional offer of employment! The next arming class starts on March 23, so we have a while to wait for that.

As for me, I have news as of yesterday.  I got a call from my boss, offering me a new position in the company.  The position I currently have is a home care aid.  I help people with basic tasks so they can stay in their homes.  I do a lot of things I would really rather not do.  I arrive at my client's house at 8am on Monday and don't leave until 8am on Wednesday.  I don't know much about the new position other than the fact that anything would be a step up from where I am now.  I believe I will be more on the coordinating side of things.  That is good.  I will talk to my boss (any minute now) about the rest of the details.

As for the animals, they're great.  We found a nice dog park that always has dogs around.  Its about a 15 minute drive, but so worth it to watch Harper run and play.  Katniss is still figuring out how not to run away from the dog.  She loves Harper's bed time. l

Really there isn't a whole lot of excitement around here.  Just plugging away until E's job comes through.  We have been enjoying the nice weather here.  Whoever said the overcast skies make you depressed are nuts.  We have loved the weather here.  Warm enough for a sweatshirt and a rain jacket and you're set for a walk.  We go to the dog park, down to the sound, and even across the Tacoma Narrows bridge.

I can't speak for E but I can tell you that I really miss family and friends.  I can't wait until we have enough money saved up for a visit...although when we have enough money saved, maybe we will go someplace exciting and different...who knows...

Anyway, hopefully by my next post I'll have more details.