Packing up!

Life is pretty good right now. I have been sleeping in, cleaning, hanging out with Lance and just enjoying my newly found freedom post grad school. Lance and I went together yesterday to get haircuts (well I got highlights) and it was really fun. However, I was really nervous about Lance discovering how much the highlighting process costs. After I got my hair washed out I told the girl, "My husband has no idea how much this whole process costs, and I think it may depress him, can you make sure and give me the bill?" She promptly replied, "Oh sorry, he already paid and is waiting for you in the front." Uggh!! So the secret is out. However, Lance took it really well and said he actually thought it would be way worse!! I kept it to myself that when you throw a hair dry and a cut in there it IS way worse! ;)
Today the plan is to work out, lay out, and then pack. I have mixed feelings about packing. I hate having to spend so much time wrapping each little thing up and carefully putting it all in boxes. However, I love the satisfaction of having everything neatly put in boxes and all taped up! I have always been the kind of person that loves change and empty walls and neat little boxes stacked everywhere signals that change is coming and it makes me really excited!
Lance's parents are coming tomorrow for Lance's graduation and I can't wait to see them for a while. We are actually leaving with them Sunday and going to Houston to get an apartment and Lance has a few interviews lined up! I know an interview doesn't necessarily mean a job, but just the fact that he has a few interviews is something to be so thankful for!!
Speaking of getting an apartment. I think I am coming to the point where I am just about done with apartment dwelling! I want to do it for one more year so we will have a better idea of where we are going to settle and everything. However, I think we will sign 1 more 12 month lease and then take the plunge into home ownership! I wanted to buy a house this summer. I made a big plan about what we could use for a down payment, etc. etc. and presented my case to Lance. However, I have a logical husband that convinced me that buying a house is not something you want to rush. It's a good thing I have him, or my impulsiveness could get the best of me! :)
Ok that's all for now. I found this picture of me on an older post, packing to leave Houston to move to Lubbock. I told Lance to take a picture by our Lubbock boxes and I said, "How do you feel about leaving Lubbock?" I think his face answers that pretty clearly! :) I also found my planner from my senior year of college while I was packing! Look and see if you can read what the page says! It made me smile!! :)

Leaving Houston 2008

Leaving Lubbock 2010

Can't wait to see where we are in 2 more years!

Peace out Grad School!!

I am officially D.O.N.E with graduate school forever. I will be starting work on June 14th but for now I literally don't even know what to do with myself!! I cannot believe that this 2 years of, well, misery, is OVER!! I am sooo happy. Unfortunately, I am recovering from an awful stomach bug and am really weak so we can't go out and celebrate tonight. But that doesn't change the fact that I am done whooooo hoooooo!! Happy Monday....it may as well be Saturday for me!!! Oh how I love it!! :)

Happy May 8th!

Don't have time to post much but I wanted to send a quick Happy Birthday out to a few very important people today!! May 8th is my Grandma's Birthday....she isn't with us anymore but (as you can see of my Dad's blog too) she is missed! I was young when she died but have lots of very fond memories of her kind spirit and fun personality! She was one of those people that wasn't just a good person but a truly "nice" person as well....ya know what I mean?? Today is my wonderful mother in law's birthday too!! I love her and am SOOOO glad I married into such a great family! She is so sweet and loving and I am very thankful for her! She loves to talk, shop, and learn all the weird hidden things in the bible just like me and we have a great time together! Last but not least, today is Roxanne's, one of my very very best friend's, little girl's birthday. I am missing her party as I type and am super sad.....darn finals! But happy birthday little Avery...it seems like yesterday I was getting your first ever picture on my phone while I was in Hawaii!! I was so excited to land and check my phone to see if you were here yet! You are so sweet and cute & are going to be a great big sis!! Ok, off to study!

I hope everyone has a nice weekend! It is freezing here so my hopes of studying in the sun have been crushed! Oh well I guess I am meant to stay pale for a little longer this year. :(

Happy "early" Mother's Day Mom! :)

Just in case I am buried in books Sunday (studying for my last final EVER) I wanted to do an early Mother's Day post!!! I wish I could be with my mammasita but unfortunately, I am stuck in Lubbock studying. Yuck!

But on with the post, I am quite certain and have been for a while now that I have one of the best Moms in the world! My mom has been my rock, support, and encouragement the past couple years while I have been trying to get through grad school. She has been encouraging me & believing in me every second from day one, and has been SO patient with me! I can't even imagine what I have put her through either! It can' be easy having to be the one on the other end of all my stressed out phone calls, tears, and fluctuating moods!

Not only has she been here for me the past couple years, but for the past 25!! My mom has a supernatural ability to "know what's right" and I appreciate that now more than ever! She ALWAYS has a solution and is almost never wrong. I am thankful for her 6th sense about bad situations now that I am older!! She protected us from so much as we were growing up and we always knew we could count on her to be there for us. I know all kids don't have that security in a Mom and I am so glad that I did! I hope to be half the mom she is someday!!

I am so lucky to have a mom that:

1. Prays for me everyday

2. Calls me everyday

3. Likes to just hang out and watch movies and chat with me

4. Likes to shop! ;)

5. Loves her husband and teaches me how to be a good wife

6. Is sooo thoughtful and never leaves anyone out

7. Uses the bible as her guide for life, and makes every decision in an attempt to be a servant of God's

7. Has a heart for volunteer work

8. Has a really cute sense of style

9. Is willing to go with me to get ice cream even when she is on Weight Watchers

10. Used to make me breakfast tacos every morning before school and wrap them in foil so I could eat them in the car on the way to school

11. Is extremely generous and paid for all of my crazy schooling

12. Knows how to have a good time

13. Is organized.....I don't know where I would be without an organized Mom!

14. Has always been my biggest advocate

15. Loves me and makes me feel special & important every time we talk!!

I Love You Mom!!

Happy Happy Mother's Day!!

Miss You!!

Mystery Solved

Today I decided to study at home. I am done with my internship and am really sick and tired of the library, so I decided to try to study for my last 2 tests ever at home! I was doing ok, in spite of my serious A.D.D. tendencies, until I realized I smelled smoke. The people below us smoke so I though it was possibly coming from them, however it didn't really smell like cigarette smoke. SO I have been searching this house like a little detective all morning and getting nothing done. I finally go so annoyed that I decided to stop and unload the dishwasher and just try to ignore the smell. Well, when I opened the dishwasher I found the smell. Somehow one of my mixing spoons fell and was burned alive by the dishwasher. I didn't even know that could happen. But now at least the mystery is solved and I have no choice but to focus and study! Yuck! Ok, that's all. I hope everyone is having a great Monday. Wish me luck on my last 2 finals EVER!! I am having a really hard time getting motivated!!

Away we go....

So we are officially leaving Lubbock. Come June"ish" we will be moving to Houston. We are really excited about the move and excited for the opportunities there. However, I am VERY VERY sad to leave some of the wonderful people here in Lubbock. As bad as the weather is and the dust and wind, the people more than make up for it. I have made some really great, true friends here and it is going to be an adjustment not seeing some of these people everyday anymore. We have gotten involved in a wonderful small group that we love and I have made some amazing friends at school! We have been through a lot together the past two years and I wouldn't have made it through grad school without them. I have been lucky enough to get to experience engagements, babies, marriages & lots more with some of my wonderful friends and I am going to miss them a lot lot lot!! Here are just a few pics of my amazing Lubbock friends!! I will miss y'all & will never forget all the memories!! Taryn saving the day during one of our MANY snow/ice days!! I will miss Taryn LOTS and miss the snow NONE!!!Cute Stacy just weeks before we all got to meet little Will! Carli & I at our End of the Year banquet.
Charlotte's wedding shower

Some of the girls. Class of 2010! :)

The very first "Lubbock Gang", sadly Mark & Elizabeth moved to Amarillo and Shelbi & Preston moved to Dallas. BUT Taryn & Chase are still here and are such wonderful/fun friends!! :)

Some of the girls at Christmas time!

Carli, Mindy & I at Stacy's babyshower!!

This post almost made me cry!! I am really going to miss these girls. :( But were onto bigger and better things and I can't wait to see what the future holds in Houston & can't wait to get started with my new job!

Nashville Road Trip= Amazing!!

Lance and I returned late last from our wonderful trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Lance was the best man in Justin Scott's, one of our great friends, wedding and the whole trip was so great. We were a little late in getting airfare and didn't want to spend the money to fly so we decided a couple of weeks ago to bite the bullet and make the drive. It was about 15 hours each way and it was SO GREAT!! You wouldn't think 30 hours on the road would be fun, but it really was. We drove through some really pretty parts of Texas, Arkansas & Tennessee. We got up really early in the morning and saw the sun come up, saw beautiful green fields filled with cows and flowers, saw cool old cities like Memphis, and got to experience some new "culture" at a couple stops in Arkansas ;). We decided that if we were gonna save money by driving that were going to be committed to being frugal the whole time! We packed a cooler filled with just about every snack you could imagine which we later coined "The Cafe" and just made turkey sandwiches, and PB&J as we drove along the road. Lance and I are really busy all the time and it was SO nice to just enjoy a long relaxing road trip. Last night when we got to about Abilene I told Lance I was actually really sad for the road trip to end. Don't get me wrong, I was glad to get out of the car, but who knows when we will have that much uninterrupted time together without all the distractions of life again!

Ok on to the good part for all the girls! The wedding! I don't have any pictures yet b/c my camera died and we couldn't get it to charge up. However, it was the most beautiful wedding, out on an old plantation in Nashville. The reception was out in an old building that almost looked like an old carriage house and they had hydrangeas and Lillies everywhere!! They served really southern food like shrimp and grits and macaroni and cheese (I mean you can't get much better than mac n cheese at a wedding!), and had some amazing cheesecake too!! Amanda, the bride, looked amazing and Justin looked great too! :) The bridesmaids all wore sage green headbands that were SO cute and tastefully done that matched the groomsmen's bow ties. The girls wore pale yellow dresses and after the ceremony changed into cowboy boots! It was SO cute!! I forget how awesome weddings are when you know the bride and groom are the real deal and are going to be so happy together. It was so awesome to be a part of. God is so good!

Ok, well speaking of that busy life that I was taking a break from, I will fill you in on the latest. I am getting close to the end of grad school and it is so exciting. I am flying to Houston Thursday for a couple of job interviews that I am really excited about. On paper one of them seems like my dream job so we will see if it in fact is! Lance is still looking for a job too and we are praying that we get a clear answer on where we need to be. However, if I am able to get one of these jobs, it will give him the ability to literally look full time for a job without having to worry about money for a while. I would still like Lance to find a job before I do so I am continuing to pray for that specifically, however every time I make a plan it changes so I am trying to just go with the flow! Lance is on the tail end of grad school as well and words cannot express how happy I am to kiss school goodbye forever. I have made some wonderful friends here in Lubbock and will truly miss them, however I must admit that I won't miss a dang thing about grad school!!

Ok, pics to come soon once I can steal them from someone else that is actually good about taking pics!!