Twins!

No, I'm not pregnant with twins. But I wouldn't mind having twins if they were this adorable!

A Wonderful Weekend!

Ryan and I seriously had one of the best weekends we've had together.  Overall we've both just been really happy lately.  I think it's because I got my hair cut but it could also be the weight lifted of now having a job, or the beautiful weather we have been having.  Either way, it was splendid.

Thursday night we went out for Sushi with some couples from church as a going-away for a few of them who are leaving us.

Friday night we went to see the new movie Warrior.  I was surprised to hear a lot of people didn't know anything about this movie until I realized our TV lives on ESPN and we are definitely the targeted audience for this movie.  Ryan's a lucky man to have a wife as the one who chose to go see a sports move (and MMA at that).  It was so good! As Ryan puts it - he was emotionally drained when it was done.  You should definitely go check it out.

Saturday was packed full of goodness.  We were first able to sleep in which we both needed.  Then we used a groupon and went kayaking on the Eno River just 20 minutes away.  I'd never been and thank goodness it was all flat water.

The weather was perfect and North Carolina really is just so green and beautiful.  

There were tons of turtles and no snakes which is perfect for me.

I love him :)

Have any of you ever had New Orleans Shaved Ice?  There is a stand in town that says they are N.O. Style and I've never had the "authentic" straight from N.O. but all I know is that this stuff is AMAZING.  Yes, Brianna, it's almost as good as the stuff we had in Hawaii if not better!!

As we were driving away we saw this peaking from behind a building.  We did some spying and we still cannot figure out what it is!  The symbol (as seen on the gate) was on the flag and also the window of the one car parked in the lot.  That was the only indication of what it might be.  Does anyone recognize it?  There were no signs or anything telling us what it is! Well, there were signs saying it was under 24 hr. surveillance...

Our day was still far from over.  We went home, hopped on the motorcycle and went to the Duke vs. Stanford football game (or at least 3/4 of it).  We knew we wouldn't win but Ryan wanted to see Andrew Luck play.  Ryan then about had a nervous breakdown watching the Huskers battling to beat Fresno State.  Luckily we had the good company of our friend Ross and my buffalo chicken dip which always makes him happy. 

Sunday after church we were able to go to the Duke Chapel for a 9/11 memorial.  After a few brief words from local figures the choir sang the entire Mozart Requiem.  Ryan had no idea that was coming and while it's not his cup of tea, I really enjoyed it!  And I think he didn't mind what he stayed awake for.

And like, our hurricane weekend, our night ended with two games of Ticket to Ride with Mitch and Maile.  We are definitely going to miss them.

I hope all of you are enjoying the fall weather wherever you are!!

Hurricane Irene

So we survived the hurricane.

Like Ryan does best he slept through most of it.

Although there really wasn't much to sleep through.  We are about 3 hours inland and all we got was some rain and some wind.  Most of it occurred overnight and we never even saw it.  I wondered how the forest was going to fare but it actually created a little shelter from the wind.  When we were walking the trails we could barely feel any wind at all.  All it did was break off a few measly branches.

 To protect the pool furniture from blowing away they stacked it and dumped it in the pool! It worked, I guess.

Our power went off for about 2 hours and to pass the time we started playing Ticket To Ride with Mitch and Maile.  They got hooked and we played 4 games, ordered pizza, and spent a total of 7 hours on their porch.  I love having neighbors. :)

We actually had worse weather yesterday than we had with the hurricane.  There were two different times at work that I got the "Weather Emergency" text message and we were required to go to the basement for tornado warnings.  So far this year NC has had tornadoes (on multiple occasions), a hurricane and an earthquake! I don't see this state surviving the storms of the second coming...

A house divided

That's right.  

We're one-part UNC and one-part Duke.  

One half makes the money and the other half takes the money.

For any of you who may have been curious about my job situation - here's my story. The WHOLE story.

By this time last year I  graduated with a Master's Degree in Architectural Engineering, got married, moved to Durham NC, and played all summer long with Ryan until he began school in mid-August.  It was then that I began my hunt for a big-kid job.   There was one problem.  I had a degree in a field in which I really didn't want to work.  I discovered this just over halfway through my education but when school is free you graduate and figure it out afterwards.  I was told I could get any job I wanted with a Master's in engineering.  So here I was trying to figure out what to do.  I knew I didn't want to be an engineer - that's boring.  I thought a good compromise would be a project engineer/project manager at a construction firm.  They get to be in the field a lot and deal more with people than numbers.  So I started looking and there weren't many options.  I had to "cold call" companies.  I looked up every single company I could find but NO ONE was hiring.  I had two official interviews and a whole lot of unreturned calls.  That was the worst.  I then got angry at these companies and had even less of a desire to work for them if they wouldn't even call me back.

I WAS MISERABLE.

I spent my days crying as I looked through pages and pages of job listings online.  I started applying for anything I could find.  I wrote countless cover letters and revamped my resume tailoring it to each job.  But no one cared.  Still no one called and I was getting truly depressed.  Finally it was time to just work SOMEWHERE.  I was only going to get worse cooped up in the house all day.  I got in the car and drove to the retail areas near my house and started filling out applications.  I took the first job I was offered - at a craft store called A.C. Moore.  It paid squat but it was a job.  After the holidays, instead of cutting my hours like they did with most employees, they offered me a management position.  It still paid crap but it was more hours and we needed money.  So I took it.

I wasn't AS miserable anymore.

I was glad to be working, but retail hours suck.  I had to work nights and weekends (including Sundays which I have NEVER worked in my life).  I was missing out on time with Ryan and friends.  And I couldn't help but think about the money I could be making if I were working a "real job."  Once a month when my hormones were out of whack I would have my night where I would lay in bed and sob.  I felt worthless. But then all would be well the next morning! Aren't hormones AWESOME?  I didn't know what to do but I knew it was time to look for something else.  We were praying and fasting that something would come up - and it did!  

I received an email from a woman at church saying that she was looking for a part-time assistant.  Taunja, my savior, works in the Gift Planning department at UNC.  This is the department that deals with all the people that leave their estate or property to UNC or put UNC in their will.  When I read the email I knew that job was for me.  I felt it in my gut!!  It took about 6 weeks or so for everything to go through and the first week of June I got a call to see if I could come start.  FINALLY.

My work for the Gift Planning is a lot of computer and admin stuff. - creating reports for departments of who has given gifts, formatting excel and word documents, filing papers, etc.  But I don't care, I'm good at that!  I even get the opportunity to work on some marketing postcards, which I LOVE to do.  Two weeks ago I had the week off because work was slow and Ryan had a week off from school, too.  But I got an email from Taunja saying that another department will be contacting me to see if I want extra hours.  Allison called me that day offering me 10 hours that week that COULD potentially lead to full time.  Although, she wasn't so sure when I told her I'm leaving in a year.  Not wanting to pass up the chance, however, I showed up for work the next day only to find out she wanted me to work an extra 10 hours EVERY week.  What a blessing! And the blessings kept on coming.

I LOVE my new job.

So I'm actually working for two Elizabeth's now.  Elizabeth 1 or EA is my Gift Planning boss.  Elizabeth 2 or ED is EA's boss - the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor of University Development (whatever that means).  I just know she's a big deal.  She is having me do a lot of online research to prepare for some of her big upcoming projects.  The university is gearing up for a fundraising campaign which usually lasts 5-10 years and we will probably have a goal of $3 BILLION or more!  The numbers I deal with at this job are mind-blowing.  So remember how I said the blessing keep coming?  Well I found out this week that ED does have the funds to pay me full-time.  I was SO EXCITED!!

I know this job is still new, but I have really enjoyed it so far.  I am learning so much and I'm doing things that I'm good at!  I had no idea what the Lord was doing when he wasn't giving me a job and then put me at A.C. Moore but I really am happy here at UNC.  I've always been jealous of people who have passion for their job.  I definitely didn't feel it in engineering and I don't know if I'm feeling it yet, but I am HAPPY. 

I cannot thank Heavenly Father ENOUGH for finally giving my life some sort of order.  This trial was especially difficult for me because it was the first time in my life I didn't get what I wanted when I wanted it.  Up until now, if I set my mind to something and put in the effort, I got it.  

I guess it was time for me to learn patience. :)

The hardest part about this past year and looking at the next two years is that without a career or a family (aka a baby) I don't feel like I have a purpose.  I'm just living.  I was working at a job just to work but it wasn't benefiting me at all.  And it scared me that my life would be like this until we moved out of Durham next year.  And then it would continue that way as we moved around the country for Ryan's clinicals.  I would just exist.  At least now I feel like I am accomplishing something at work and I am growing from it, too.  I guess now that I have a job I can wait to have a baby!

So there you have it - how I've really felt the past year.  

And if you made it through all of this blabbing, you're a champ!!

Chop, Chop, Chop!

Ryan and I made a quick decision on Sunday that it was time to cut my hair.  So before either of us could back out - I did it! And I loooooooove it!!! It's just "me."  I feel like I have so much more personality when my hair is short and sassy.  Don't you? :)

Don't think twice...

... Or ask Ryan :)

That was my motto for this evening as I decided to purge my closet for the 2nd time this year.  (If you read my post from earlier today I took a nap and gained the energy I was lacking this morning.) Isn't it amazing how much STUFF we can collect?  I go through almost everything I own at least once if not twice a year and I am shocked that I still have plenty to give away each time.  Tonight I went through my side of the closet, the coat closet and our 2nd closet that has all the things we never wear.  Here is what I ended up with:

Four full bags of clothes and one half-full bag of shoes/accessories.  AND I still have a full closet and drawers.

Here are some thoughts that I had through the process this time around:

• Don't ask Ryan's opinion.  The majority of the clothes I'm giving away are items I bought when I was shopping with Ryan because he likes them.  Now don't get me wrong, Ryan has great style, but it's not my taste.  Maybe that means I have bad taste?  Either way, some still even have the tags because if I don't love it, I'm not going to wear it.  Lesson learned.
• Only buy it if I love it.  Similar to the last bullet point - I shouldn't own it if I can't pull it off the hangar on any given day and feel totally comfortable with it.  If my hair, my outfit, my make-up, the alignment of the starts, and my shoes all have to be perfect for me to wear it, I shouldn't have even bought it.
• Clearance just isn't worth it. Same point as the others.  Just because it's only $3, I don't HAVE to buy it.
• Maybe Clinton and Stacey are right.  Maybe I do need a closet full of staples that I can mix and match and accessorize.  It would make my life SO much easier.
• I can't seem to get rid of tanks/camisoles.  I own the whole rainbow in cami's - some with lace at the top, some with lace at the bottom, some are to hide cleavage, others to add length to short shirts, etc.  I have quite the collection and I think I only found the courage to get rid of 3.   I just can't do it.
• I'm growing out of t-shirts.  Not size-wise, but style wise.  Does that mean I'm a grown-up?  Instead of lounging in my college tees, I rarely even change from what I wore to work.  I also am buying more actual "work-out" gear so those old t-shirts aren't needed for the gym anymore, either.  But, I can't bring myself to get rid of them.  In fact - my oldest item of clothing is a t-shirt I bought when I was 8-years-old.  Yes, it still fits and yes, I still wear it on a regular basis.
• Don't keep it just in case it fits someday.  I know I'm one of the odd/lucky ones with a wardrobe full of clothes that are TOO BIG, but it's true.  I still haven't gained back the 20lbs I lost in grad school so I finally got rid of all the clothes that just hangs off of me.  The hardest part is the memories I have in these clothes.  Many of them are ones I wore or even bought in Australia, or on dates with Ryan, or clothes that said I did have style once-upon-a-time!
• I'm a fitted-tee kinda gal.  I swear I used to follow the trends, but every time I walk into a store now I walk out with a solid-colored fitted t-shirt.  That seems to be all I can find to buy that I like these days.  The styles need to change ASAP because I'm tired of not finding anything I like.  I refuse to wear baggy shirts and skinny jeans.  I was very excited to see a commercial for Old Navy Flare Jeans today!  Please tell me they're coming back - they're my FAVORITE!!!
• THE END

Not feeling it today

I really just don't want to be at work today.

So I'm going to blog. And by blog I mean blab.

Ryan is getting over a cold and coughed all night long. Being a Luke Light Sleeper means I was up all night, too.  He eventually moved to the couch and by that time I was so hot that it didn't matter.  Sleep was hopeless.  Ryan once informed me that your body temperature constitutes whether you are a "night owl" or "morning person."  We are opposite so we trade covers during the night.  I shiver and take all them all as we go to bed and then cover him up around 4:00 a.m. every morning as I'm suddenly sweating in my sleep.  I've been waking up hot and needing the bathroom around 5 a.m. every morning now for the past 2 weeks and then my body doesn't want to go back to sleep. Maybe it's my sign that I should get up.  But really, 5 a.m.?  I didn't even wake up that early for 6:00 a.m. seminary in high school.

We are also blaming our lack of sleep on our bed.  I'm very grateful to my parents for giving us a bed from the house but let's be honest.  It's old. And firm.  So we finally broke down and bought a mattress topper.  You may be wondering why we didn't just buy a new mattress.  Well, in a year's time everything we own will be packed up and stored away for a year and it just didn't seem worth it to us to store a brand new mattress.  I know none of this matters to any of you, but I warned you that I'm just blabbing!  Anyway, the mattress topper arrived today so hopefully our sleep will be improving in the next few days. Finger's crossed!

I think that's enough blabbing for now.  Happy Monday! I hope your weeks is starting better than mine!