moving.

Moving is stressful. I don't think there has ever been a move in my life that has been stress free. There is organizing, packing, cleaning, loading the car/van/moving truck, traveling, unpacking, more cleaning, more organizing, and finally settling into a new place. That's a lot of stuff to do in a short period of time.

Alex and I have made two big moves. One when we left California and moved to Idaho for me to finish school and the second when we left Idaho and moved back to California (southern California this time).

The first move was dicey. There was only one car and we didn't have any money for a moving truck, so we shoved and stuffed and roped and taped and compacted as much stuff into our little Jeep as we could and we drove the thousand mile journey. It was not pretty. And it was a testament to how much we were still in the honeymoon phase of our marriage (being married for all of two weeks at the time) because it was hard. But we did it! And we vowed to never do a move like that again.

The second move was hard, but easier than the first. We had a truck this time and the ability to pull our Jeep so we did not have to drive separate. The truck was spacious and had plenty of room for our stuff. We took our time loading it perfectly and it was much less stressful. Except that we then drove, for 16 hours, through the night, with an 18 month old puppy, in little cramped two-seated truck. Rex was a gem for 97% of the drive. He slept, he chewed bones, he looked out the window, he cuddled, and he stayed calm. Except for the few times he whined and moaned and made us stop earlier than we wanted and then wouldn't go to the bathroom when we needed him to. But a great majority of the time he was wonderful.

This move is just as stressful. Regardless of the fact that we are hiring a moving company to move our stuff for us (not because we are too good to move our own stuff but because it is really the cheapest option we could find), that we have most of our stuff already packed and in storage just waiting to be loaded on the truck, that packing what we do need to pack could realistically take me only 4 to 5 hours to complete, and that we still have two weeks before this all needs to happen, it's still making me into a big ball of anxiety. Which is always fun to be around.

But it is all happening like it should. We are organized, we have the money saved, we have all our paperwork completed, and Alex is still able to work through all of this. There have definitely been blessings during this time for which we are truly grateful.

But the next two weeks will be filled with final preparations, actually packing the things that need to be, organizing for the moving guys, saying goodbye to Southern California, and soaking in the last of any sunshine the sky wants to give me because who knows when the sun is going to shine in Portland!

happy new year.

happy new year!

I spent most of the day yesterday reflecting, like all people do on new years eve and I came to the conclusion that 2014 was ok.

Just ok.

Not super-duper fantastical like I wish every year was. But not disappointingly disgusting and poopy like it could have been.

Here are my favorite highlights:

~ Rex. We started 2014 right by finding and being saved by this precious little cupcake of a pit bull. He definitely saved us as much if not more than we saved him.
~ We survived the frigid winter in Rexburg.
~ I graduated from college. Finally. With a bachelor's degree. yay me!
~ We left the icy tundra of Idaho for the beautiful beaches of California. (or close to the beaches)
~ Alex and I both got jobs relatively quickly after moving at Geekatoo and Target respectively.
~ I got the chance to spend a lot of time with my mother-in-law and just soak up the amazingness that she exudes. She's great. I'm lucky. I always laugh at things on the Internet that talk about "How to deal with your mother-in-law" because mine is fantastic.
~ We significantly decreased our debt and successfully figured out how saving money will work for us (trust me when I say that saving money works differently for everyone and we finally figured it out).
~ We had our first anniversary! I just love this guy so much and we went through a lot of crap during that first year that brought us much closer together.
~ We took a lot of trips. I went to Sacramento for my sister's bridal shower, Alex went to San Luis Obispo to visit friends multiple times, we both went to Sacramento for my sister's wedding and then to Texas to visit Alex's nana, and Alex went to Portland to scout out the city for our move.
~ We finalized our feelings and plans to move to Portland (even if it was just in our own minds and not on paper, it was still a good feeling).
~ We got to spend all the holidays with family.
~ We road-tripped to Reno to spend a Christmas weekend with my family and had a blast. We were pretty spoiled by everyone.
~ I quit my job at Target. It was a blessing.
~ We found an affordable apartment in Portland and signed a contract just three days before the new year!

There is a lot of not so good stuff that happened too, like running out of money and not having jobs for a while, but this good stuff is actually really good.

So here is to making 2015 a lot better and with a lot more adventures!!

yesterday.

My guys during our road trip for Christmas

Yesterday I did something that I have wanted to do for about a month. It was something that I've never done in my life and never thought I would do.

I quit my job. Without notice. Without putting in my 2 weeks. Without shame. Without guilt. Without caring what this meant for my employer. Without finding another job to take its place.

I pride myself on being a really hard worker. I always give a full effort at everything I do while on the clock. I am always the one who looks for something else to be done when it is slow. That is why I never imagined myself quitting on the spot without giving 2 weeks notice.

But I was done. I was frustrated and fed-up and annoyed and angry and stressed out and tired.

A part-time, minimum wage job should not bring up all of those feelings. A salaried career? Maybe. But not working as a sales floor team member at Target for $9 an hour.

So I quit. I talked it over with my husband, weighed the pros and cons of not having my (minimal) income for the next little while, and we both decided that my sanity and health are worth more than the few hundred dollars I would have made if I stayed another month or even a last two weeks.

As we drove back home from dropping off my resignation letter, Alex started humming the song "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. It was sort of prophetic song for him to choose because within hours of that car ride, we signed a contract for an apartment in Portland and solidified (finally) our move up to Oregon. So it was a good, good night for us. And a good, good day for us too.

christmas.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year because I love to give people gifts. I actually really like trying to figure out what to give people and coming up with really unique gifts.

My husband hates it. It stresses him out and makes him really anxious. He is always trying to find the perfect thing to give someone, that is full of thoughtfulness and meaning, and will make them cry or laugh or say "this is perfect." So pretty much he is never satisfied with what he chooses.

I always try to get gifts early and be done with all my shopping early in December. I don't like to be the Christmas Eve shopper looking for anything that I can find for someone. I am sometimes the Christmas Eve wrapper because the wrapping I let get away from me.

My husband doesn't like this about me. Because I make him shop early too. I know that he is going to buy any present for me at the last minute and that is just something that I will need to learn to live with, but I can force him to shop early for everyone else on the list.

That was our day and night yesterday. We went to a few stores and picked out a few things for his mom and step-dad and then brainstormed some ideas for his brother and went home to find it online. He stresses out really easily so most of our online shopping was spent with me saying "he will love that" and "just breathe" and "oh my gosh just buy it" when he second guessed every item we put in the shopping cart.

All in all we got a bunch of really cool/cute/manly/wonderful/thoughtful/awesome gifts for his family. Like I said, my shopping is already finished, so this was all shopping for his family. I think it's important for Alex to be involved in picking out things for his family, especially his brother because just the act of him caring enough to shop for them is meaningful.

projects.

I have been slaving away over some projects for Christmas gifts. I've probably given myself carpel tunnel from it all but I am really proud of the outcome.

I crocheted two blankets for gifts. One for my mom and one for Alex's mom. I started with the one for Alex's mom. It's a little more simple and straight forward but I think it still looks super cute. And it's her favorite color so she will love it. I finished this one a few weeks ago.

Don't mind Rex in the background or my messy bed.

 And I made a purple one for my mom. I thought the stripes would look really cool and interesting. And the fringe. I probably won't do fringe again on a blanket. It was such a pain, but it does look really nice on this one. I just finished this one today!

And don't mind the lumpiness, Rex is underneath because he wouldn't move. You can see his little legs poking out the top.

My next project is a few scarves for presents. I am making 1 grey scarf, 1 maroon scarf, and 2 tan/cream colored scarves for some of Alex's family. The blankets took about 2 weeks to finish each (of working at night and on my days off) and the scarves take about 3 hours each to make. I am still a beginner so I don't do any fancy stitches or get crazy with anything but I think they all still look really nice. I am very proud that I've made two blankets now!

marriage.

I found this quote a while ago and it really stuck with me. I fell in love with my husband the moment I saw him and I realized I was in love and not just excited that this gorgeous guy liked me probably two weeks later. It is very cheesy to admit but I fall in love with him more and more every day that we spend together. It is very cool for me, since I was always the girl who never imagined getting married.

my all-time favorite picture from our wedding.

Alex's mom did all the flowers for us and created bouquets more beautiful that I even imagined.

look at this handsome guy.

But the wedding is over. The honeymoon ended a long time ago. And we are still here over a year later. That's a big feat for both of us since before each other, each of our longest relationships was three months or less! The biggest thing that I have learned about being married is that marriage is hard.

There is nothing else to say. Responsibility was thrown on our shoulders the minute we said I do and it has stayed there and will continue to stay there for the rest of our lives. And it's hard! We took on each others passions and hobbies. Debts and money skills. Talents and faults. Strengths and weaknesses. I couldn't say "oh you like sleeping with a fan on? I'm not okay with that so you will need to stop." He couldn't say "oh you're a backseat driver (to the extreme)? I'm not okay with that so you will need to keep your mouth shut and your pointer finger in check." (Even though he has said that to me a million times…I just can't stop). We had to accept these things about each other and learn to live with them.

Something I have discovered though is that we are most successful in our marriage when we use our own strengths and talents to make up for the other persons weaknesses. Even in the small things I find we are so successful and happy. Alex is not a very good cook. He lacks confidence in himself and understanding of how to cook so he can really only make a few things. He makes a mean quesadilla and can find his way around a burrito when he needs to, but that's about it. I happen to love cooking and trying new recipes so I do most of the cooking. Alex helps me all the time and is wonderful at lending a hand when I need something in the kitchen but for the most part I make the meals. I am a terrible driver. I mean I am an awesome driver, but no one else seems to really think that, so Alex usually drives. This is best because neither of us are very good at directions but I can usually read maps better. It's all about compensating for each others lacks with our own talents. I am really good at washing clothes (most of the time!!) but really bad about putting them away, so Alex usually picks up my slack and handles it. Alex is a bit forgetful when it comes to putting things away (keys, wallets, dirty socks, etc.) and I am usually pretty good about following behind him and picking things up (maybe that's why I excel at target so much!).

But it's hard. Everyday presents a new challenge for us to overcome. Paying bills. Cleaning the house. Buying groceries. Planning for holidays. Finding a new apartment. All of these things we do together to manage our life and keep on moving into the future. It definitely hasn't been easy to get through sometimes, but there is no one I'd rather struggle next to than my guy.