Three Months

Three months ago Nate and I made our adventure official! I just watched the rough draft of our wedding and I was laughing, smiling, crying, and overall just feeling joyful. It has been nice being back in the cities and I feel that I am super busy all the time. I have hardly just sat down and relaxed... don't get me wrong, it's really nice.. but it's also quite tiring! My sister in law got married yesterday. We had some rain, but it held off for the outdoor ceremony. It was a very sweet and intimate ceremony followed by a fun and loving reception. People kept asking me if I wanted to change anything about our wedding, and every time my answer was "No". I loved every moment. Plus the thing that matters the most to me was that my favorite people were there while I married my best friend... what is more important than that? The one thing I would change about yesterday's wedding was that I wore more comfortable shoes.. due to the heat my feet started to swell on already slightly too tight heals... oh man did that hurt--almost took them off mid ceremony but decided that would be slightly inappropriate. (I was a bridesmaid). Hopefully this week I will be able to: go to the MN State Fair, fishing, pack for my trip!

Tis The Day

Today is my last day helping out at my new job. I cannot wait to be back in Rosemount and sleep in my own bed! I had quite the week! Nate has come down with something, I have contemplated wearing a hazmat suite to avoid catching what he has--but I'm being a realist and it's inevitable that I will get it anyway. Tuesday night my coworkers had a dinner for my departure. It was very sweet. Ironically though it was my old staff. I realized how hard it has been being a young boss of many people my own age; however, I feel quite accomplished to see that I truly can separate work from personal and also carry the respect while at work even if we may be friends. It was a tough one to ignite but *pats self on back* I did it. I redid/updated my resume and received my recommendation letters from my director and the executive director. I almost cried. It's so hard to remind yourself on rough days that all your hard work will pay off... reading my resume and these letters I can't help but smile and say "damn girl you did it". Ok, I suppose I can be done bragging for now. But overall, working your butt off 24/7 really does pay off in the long run. Last night, Michaela and I had a last "roomie" adventure which consisted of walking to the BWW patio and enjoyed a few cocktails while soaking in the beautiful August evening. We had a chance to reflect over our lives and just have some good deep conversation. Then afterwards we had Popsicle and watched "The Muppets"/fell asleep during our 'sleepover' on the couches. So now my car is packed and ready to go. My work is complete. Just need to finish a few loose ends. Wow, what an ending to such a hard chapter in my life; I honestly would not have changed my experiences for anything.

Watered Down Kool-Aid

I had a fabulous three day weekend! Thursday night: My parents came to town and we went out to this fabulous restaurant. I ordered crab stuffed shrimp which were wrapped in bacon and topped with a jalapeno cream sauce...yummmmmmy! We then watched some of the Packer Game and me and my mom went to the new Meriyl Strep and Tommy Lee Jones movie. Mom loved it..it was ok. I love both Strep and Jones but the movie just wasn't something I'd watch again. Friday: Got up early and met up with my parents. We bought some fun gifts for my nieces and then had a beautiful walk by the Missippi. After lunch they left to go see my brother and his family. I then got ready for Relay for Life in Winona. I was a part of a team with two cancer survivors one of whom I am friends with. It was a lot of fun! Around 3am we ended up leaving. We all walked a total of 17 miles around what we called the nascar loop. Saturday: After just a few hours of sleep we all got up and enjoyed the gorgeous day by watching a Cystic Fibrosis softball tournament our friend was in. The day couldn't have been more beautiful. We then headed to cook out and just spent the nice outside which turned into a bonfire. I had a pineapple brat for the first time and have to admit I was skeptical trying it because I don't like cooked pineapple but oh my goodness I don't know if I want a regular brat after that ever again. Around midnight my wonderful husband came and picked me up!! It was so great to see him, gosh I missed him so much! Sunday: We relaxed most of the day watching this new HBO series called "Newsroom" it was interesting! Then we went back to LaCrosse and had a lovely dinner with my parents on their way back to Milwaukee. It was fabulous. Then Nate got us a hotel room! WITH A JACUZZI! Man that was nice!!! It was nice to have some alone time too. Looks like it'll be another week until we get us time again seeing as I go back to the cities on Thursday and he leaves Friday-late Sunday for yet another training. I am excited for our week together next week. Today in between work projects I've been updating my resume; I have to admit I can't help but pat myself on the back and smile. I am proud with how much I have done and the experience I have gained. It's a God send that I have been this fortunate. Well back to my watered down Kool-Aid, carrot sticks, and work.

Underpants Go On The Inside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahlWufJqcSQ This video was my daily dose of "let's think about this for a moment". I am not saying this video does or doesn't affiliate with my viewpoints. I don't care to get political on here. But I think everyone should watch it. ok I apparently don't know how to post a video in my blog..help?

Hiatus

I decided to return from my blogging hiatus. To be perfectly honest, I somewhat forgot about this blog. I am going to try and make it into my weekly routine to possibly get creative, share photos, and just talk about my life in general. Quick recap of my existence: - May 26, 2012 was the best day of my life. I married the man who stole my heart! (I will post pictures in the near future). - We moved out of Winona to the Twin Cities for a few months while we clean up loose ends prior to being stationed in Mississippi for the next year. AKA, we moved in with my in laws. We are grateful for their generosity in sharing their house with us for a few months. - Nate has been off doing various Army trainings. - I have been back in Winona for the past month or so training new staff in and helping out wherever I can. Honestly, it felt so good to be back to work (didn't think I'd miss it as much as I did). I have one more week left before I head back up. To keep things simple, that best describes the past year for us. Last night has stirred our nest quite a bit... the Army decides that they want to mess with us (surprise surprise). I don't want to get too much into it in hopes to not jinx our luck. Hopefully within the next few weeks I can bring it up. I am so incredibly excited for tonight. My parents are coming to visit! They are spending the night in LaCrosse and we will have some much needed catch up; I haven't seen them since we left Milwaukee after the wedding. Also, they said they got a hotel room with a pull out. I am most likely going to jump on this opportunity seeing as I've been living on a couch the past month. Speaking of which, Michaela has been so generous in sharing her one bedroom apartment with me. I have been living out of her front closet and her living room is now my bedroom. It has been working out incredibly well and I couldn't be more thankful. Nate comes back from his training late Saturday night. Hopefully he will be making a trip down to see me on Sunday--I miss him so much! I've noticed that I need something to concentrate on during my free time, otherwise I get a little stir crazy. Therefore, I have been concentrating on puppies. I have my hopes up that we will be able to get one within the next few months. So me being me... I've been looking at all the shelters in the state of Minnesota. Naturally, I have fallen in love. But it's too soon for me to apply for her so I have to wait and pray that she waits (unless she finds another awesome home). More to come later.