Freecycling

Mike and I decided that we are going to have to move this summer. We are hoping that I am able to find a job and that we are going to be moving there come August, but even if that doesn't happen we don't want to be in this same situation this time next year. We decided that our best bet is to sign a three month lease at an apartment complex in the area and then come August we either move for my job, or find something else where we are now and sign a year lease.

It was a hard decision to make, because it means that we are going to be moving twice within four months, but we are holding out hope that I will get a job offer for the fall. We have a lot to get done in the next two months, so we have decided to pack things we aren't using whenever we get the chance. We are also using this opportunity to get rid of items that we are no longer using or that we are going to have to replace in the near future anyway. We have a lot of stuff which makes moving difficult, and since a lot of it was handed down anyway I don't feel as bad passing it forward.

We sat down tonight and talked about everything we are getting rid of and decided to split it all into three piles: sell on Craig's list, pass forward on freecycle, or donate to Good Will. If you have not checked out freecycle yet I would definitely recommend it. The purpose of the website is to keep items out of the dump, so you post items that you would otherwise throw away onto a forum and if anyone is interested they come and pick it up free of charge. There are some weird things on there (e.g. a bag of nuts), but there are also TVs, and furniture on there. Check it out!

Well, I am going to get back to work on dissertation. Hope you are all having a good night!

Spring Break

Instead of buying each other presents for Christmas, Mike and I typically take a trip together. However, this year we had a lot of other things going on and weren't able to plan anything. We decided instead to go on a trip in spring during my spring break. I now I am about two weeks late posting this, but as they say, better late than never!

My family owns a condo in Fort Myers, so Mike and I decided to take advantage of free boarding. We had never been down there before, so it was nice that my grandmother who typically spends the entire month of March in Fort Myers was there to show us around.

Mike arrived on Friday morning, but I wasn't able to go until Saturday morning (I was out of town on Friday for a conference), and we stayed until Wednesday night. On Sunday we went to the Phillies v. Twins spring training game; I was definitely surprised to see so many Phillies fans there, especially since it was technically an away game for the Phils. we then spent the rest of the week just relaxing by the pool and enjoying happy hours on the linai.

It was definitely a much needed break for us. We both came back feeling recharged, and already talking about going back!

Me with the Twin's mascot

Me at the pool

Mike on the beach at sunset

My grandmother, her friend, me and Mike at the baseball game

Hope you are having a good start to your week!

3/25/2001

Ten years ago today I was a 15 year old sophomore in high school. My biggest concerns were passing my classes, what my plans were for the weekend, and who Joey was going to finally chose on Dawson's Creek. The furthest thing from my radar was finding a husband. However, that is exactly what happened.

In February of 2001 my friend and I were at the mall picking up clothes for the upcoming Valentine's day dance. She was waiting to order food at Arby's and since I had already eaten I decided to sit in a booth and wait for her. In the meantime a boy from our school, who I had only ever talked to a handful of times before, sat down next to me and started to talk to me. We didn't talk for more than a couple of minutes, and I didn't think twice about it... until that boy started messaging me on ICQ (remember those days!).

After a month of talking to him online and on the computer, on March 25, when Mike asked me out I answered yes, mostly because I was tired of him asking me.

Mike was only my second boyfriend, and I never at any point thought that we would ever get married. Yet here we are today, 10 years later, married for 3 years, and still going strong!

Even though I was not looking to find my husband, everyday I thank God that I decided to say yes on March 25, 2001.

The past ten years have been quite the ride. We have definitely grown up together, we have survived high school, college, grad school (almost!), jobs, a wedding, moving to another state and so much more!
These ten years have been absolutely amazing, and I am so thankful that Mike is in my life. I cannot wait to  continue on this journey with my best friend.

The Baby isn't a Baby Anymore

Mike and I had wonderful weekend this past weekend. Our niece was turning one, so we drove up to celebrate with our family. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by, Baby Izzy is no longer a baby!

Mike and I have been talking about getting cheese steaks (real Philly cheese steaks) everytime we go to PA, but we never seem to have the time in the middle of all of the family get togethers. My sister and brother-in-law scheduled Izzy's birthday for Sunday, so we decided to drive up a day early so that we could finally get our cheese steaks (so yummy!).

My sister was too busy getting ready for the birthday party to join us, so we took the baby (she hadn't turned one just yet!) with us to get cheese steaks and then to play at the Please Touch Museum. Sooo much fun! If you are ever in the Philly area with young children you should definitely check it out. Unfortunately I was using my sister's camera, so I don't have any pictures to show yet.

Then on Sunday, we spent the day at their house celebrating Baby Izzy's birthday. Enjoy the pictures of Izzy celebrating her first birthday!

Where have you been?

The past few weeks I have not done much other than working on writing my dissertation, which left me not wanting to write anymore than I had to, and have not much exciting to write about anyway. With only just under two months left until my dissertation needs to be delivered to the library, I am definitely feeling the pressure to get it written. I have made great progress over the past two weeks, and am hoping to be able to continue with that momentum in order to get it all written. 

I am leaving for a conference in Boston at the end of the week, and then Mike and I are going to be spending several days in sunny Florida! I was hoping to have my paper to my committee before I left so that I could enjoy my break. It doesn't seem like that it going to happen, but heck, at least I will be writing from either the pool or the beach all week next week! So excited to be getting away and for some warm weather! 

As if we don't have enough other things going on in the next few months, Mike and I are getting ready for the serious possibility that we will need to move at the end of May. For now, we still don't know where we will be going, but we want to make sure that we are not stuck in the position that we are left to pack up our entire townhouse at the drop of the dime. So, yesterday we headed to Home Depot to pick up boxes so that we could begin packing up our lives for the third time in four years! I am hoping that if I pack the boxes over time it won't seem like such an overwhelming project. I am also taking this opportunity to get rid of things that we no longer need and that other people can benefit from. This morning I packed up all of our Halloween and Christmas decorations. 

There is a lot of writing and packing (for travel and for moving) that needs to get done, so for now I am headed back to work. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are having an enjoyable rainy Sunday!

Manic Monday

What a fun weekend! Dress shopping was an absolute breeze! Amy had already picked out a dress that was gorgeous, and fit both me and the maid of honor (who was also with us), so all we had to do was place our order! This allowed us plenty of time to chat over yummy sandwiches at Panera. It was definitely much needed girl time.

Yesterday we had a great time with all of our friends watching the Super Bowl, though to be honest, I am not sure I saw any of the game or commercials, because I was too busy chatting (shocking I know!). I did catch the halftime show though, and was mildly disappointed. What did everyone else think of it? Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to post, because though I charged my camera earlier that morning, I forgot to take any! So, you are just going to have to trust me that it was fun!

This morning I had a phone interview that I believe went well (*knock on wood*). So, now I am off to eat some lunch (probably leftovers from the ridiculous amount of food we had last night), and then start back to work on my dissertation. Today I am going to be running all of the analyses from my experiment. This is when we get to see if any of this actually matters, or if this whole study was just a wash (okay, okay, it is not all about finding significance, but let's be honest, it would be nice if all of my hypotheses were true!).

Then tonight, Mike and I have our first FPU class. I am really excited to be teaching this for a second time, because now I feel like I have a better grip on everything. We also got a lot better response about people interested in taking the class, so I think that we are going to have a pretty big class, which will help with discussions.

I hope that you all have a great week! Thanks for reading!

Fabulous Friday

Well, this past week didn't leave me with much to blog about. I spent my week researching and writing for my dissertation, while Mike spend his on the couch sick with pneumonia! However, you got to always look on the bright side of life. So, today is a fabulous Friday, because I am working (writing) from home today so that I can spend time with my sick hubby. Even though we are both sitting in separate chairs with laptops in our laps, it is nice to be together.
Tomorrow I am going to be heading to MD with Amy to try on bridesmaids dresses for her wedding in August. I am looking forward to having a girls' day, and the chance to play dress up for a couple of hours.
Finally, on Sunday, like every other Sunday, I will be teaching the preschool class at church, then we will be getting ready for the big game. We are going to be having about 20 people over for a Super Bowl party, and are very excited host a party for our friends.
So, even though I will be working on writing in between all these other events, I am looking forward to this fun filled weekend! Hope you have a great one as well.