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.

thanksgiving.

My thanksgiving this year was spent staring at this beautiful view, eating a lot of delicious food that I did not have to cook, and laughing and having fun with family. Alex's family is awesome and I always have a good time when we get around them.

My grateful list:

~ laughter
~ beautiful views
~ someone else cooking dinner (and cleaning up!)
~ having a job. and not having to work black thursday!
~ my wonderful husband who always works so hard for our family
~ rex. mainly because he's cute and cuddly
~ all of my family and alex's family for being supportive and loving

productivity.

I don't know why but I am always so much more productive when my husband is away. Not just away at work or away hanging out with friends because those days I am lazy as ever and usually eat in bed watching Netflix. 

But he went out of town this weekend to visit family and friends and I was so productive! I worked three 8 hour days just to start and then when I got home I was busy busy the whole time. 

On Friday night I cooked a nice dinner since I haven't been able to cook in a long time and then went to work on one of my presents for Alex for Christmas. Obviously it's a surprise and it's already killing him that he doesn't know what it is. Then on Saturday I worked a full day and after got to go out to dinner with Alex's mom at Natural Cafe, which is delicious. We just got to talk and hang out and relax for a little while. Unwind from the week. After dinner I went back to work on Alex's present and was able to finish the whole thing!! I'm very happy it's all done. Now on to other homemade gifts. 

Then Sunday I didn't work until 2:30 so I spent the morning cleaning out our closet. When we leave the house and the dogs are alone for an extended period we usually throw anything that they can chew and destroy into the closet and close the door. Well a few weeks of doing this and you can't see the floor, so I cleaned it out and organized it up and hopefully it stays nice for a while. 

After work today (another full shift thankfully) I plan to keep going on my crocheting project. I picked two green yarns and I'm thinking if it turns out decent enough I want to give it to Alex's mom for Christmas because green is her favorite. 

I like productive weekends. Especially when Alex is away because it makes it go by much faster. That is always a good thing!

date night.

We try our best to have a date night every week. Sometimes it's all planned out like a concert in Hollywood or Santa Barbara. Sometimes it's simple like dinner at a delicious Thai restaurant. Sometimes it's casual like taking Rex to the dog park. Sometimes it's just picking something on Netflix that we both want to watch and not being on our phones or computers while we watch. Other times it just doesn't happen and I count trips to the grocery store or an outing to get soda as our date night. 

This week date night was actually planned. We planned to go to the movies and see Gone Girl. I read the book and really liked it and I've heard only good things about the movie so we made it a date night.

We are very simple people and Alex working at home and me only working part time, there are some days that we don't put on real clothes. It's sweats and tshirts or basketball shorts and tank tops. Easy, comfortable, and no hassle. So date night is a time for us to actually put on real clothes and looks like real human beings.

It's always a lot of fun to be able to plan a date night because it gives me something to look forward to during the week. But movies can be so expensive! At $12.50 a ticket, you're already paying $25 just to get in. Then another $20 or so if you want a soda and popcorn. And don't even think about candy. I'm usually a strict no concession stand kinda gal. I just can't get over the fact that I could spend half as much money and get more treats somewhere else. Which is usually what I do and then sneak them into the theater in my gigantic bag.

(Side note: when we lived in Idaho and had zero money to our names, we went to the cheap movie theatre for a special night out and I literally snuck in two 44oz sodas, a bag of candy, and a steaming Tupperware full of leftover heated up chow mein. I am professional at sneaking treats into movies. It embarrasses Alex to no end, but he still partakes.)

But for date night I relented and we got some treats at the theatre. Just sodas and a small popcorn. Like I said, don't even think about get candy. I did sneak in a bag of chocolates and caramel apples pops because I couldn't resist. 

All in all it was a successful date night. Good movie. Good company. Good treats. Gone Girl was definitely a good pick. 

husband.

I have a wonderful husband and I feel the need to tell anyone and everyone who will listen. Literally. I talk about him all the time to girls at work. They are definitely tired of hearing how great my husband is. But he really is. Presenting the best husband ever…Alex!

 

≈ our one year anniversary in August ≈ my sister's wedding in July ≈ Alex and Rex in Idaho ≈ Alex in his element ≈

I got sick on our last day in Texas. It was travel day, of course, and there I was with the start of a head cold and some bad stomach pains. Because everything that can be wrong with me at one time, will be wrong with me. But he handled it like a champ. Helping me through security, getting me a hot drink for my throat, letting me lay my head on his shoulder, making sure I always had water. He is the ultimate sweetheart.

And obviously the sick did not stop when we got home. So he made me lunch so I would not have to get out of bed, brought me tissues and medicine, filled my water bottle, washed the dishes so I would not have to. All while going back to work first thing. He kept texting me from the living room during the day to ask if I needed anything and if I was ok.

But don't get me wrong, he wasn't perfect at it. He kept getting frustrated when I couldn't make up my mind and annoyed when I would ask him to make six trips to the kitchen because I needed juice, and then napkins, and then more ice, and then tea, all within ten minutes. Or when I wouldn't take my medicine, he would offer to force feed me the pills. But he did it all!

And that is why I love him. Always willing to serve and help when I need him. But I know that he is praying that I do not get sick again anytime soon...for more reasons than just my health.