The Past 3.5 Months

The past three and a half months have been an incredible roller coaster!  We made the farewell trip from California to North Carolina in the beginning of August, which is where Archer and I spent our last three months.  It was in many ways an incredibly stressful time, although there were several large benefits.  Here are some of the major happenings from this interim time.

• Archer and I went to the beach with my family.  We made the trek to Holden Beach in NC, which was a lot of fun.  We ended up leaving 2 days early because of rain, but it was still a fun trip.  Some of those sunset walks on the beach with the dog were just gorgeous!
  
• Shortly after we got back from the beach I suffered a pretty devastating anxiety attack.  I ended up needing to go to the ER to get a beta blocker so that I could calm down.  Needless to say, it was a pretty horrible experience.  Since then, I've cut caffeine completely out of my diet, have picked up journal-ing, and yoga, all in an attempt to get control of my anxiety.  Three months later, it's much, much, much better!  This anxiety has really contributed to the difficulty of the last few months.  I'm hopeful that now that my new routine is getting settled and that Jake is home, my anxiety will melt away into the abyss that it came from and I won't have to deal with it anymore!  
• In the beginning of August we were hit with another blow.  Our beautiful cat Lily passed away unexpectedly while staying with some family.  It was nothing that anyone could foresee, and the vet thought it was probably some sort of heart attack or stroke.  We miss her, and her snuggly fat kitty self.  Our other cat is still with family and will be here soon.   When she arrives I think another wave of sadness and realization will hit us.  I hope that she is resting in peace.

• As sad as we were about Lily's passing, we had to move past it and continue to enjoy life.  One thing that I enjoyed immensely while staying in NC was work with our family friend at her farm.  I love being useful and helpful, and part of feeling healthy and happy is fulfilling those needs.  One of the coolest things that I was able to do with their farm was go to an event with them at Bennett Place in Durham, NC.  We got to dress the part and be involved at a historical site, which was amazing.  The old time dances were my absolute favorite, and I wish that there was a way that we could continue to do those dances today!

• In October, we FINALLY moved into our house at our new place! We now officially live on the East Coast again, in Maryland.  Two days before Halloween, Jake joined me here and we were reunited after about a 4 month separation (long enough for me.)  We are still moving into our house and have yet to hang any pictures, as well as organize a lot of our belongings!  I know that we'll get it done soon.  It's our first time living in a townhouse, and so far, so good.  

• As of this week, I have a new job doing the morning feed at a barn for one morning a week.  I'll be able to start riding again as a payment for my work.  I'm extremely pleased about this opportunity!

Sorry about how long this post is, and about how crappy I've been with updating the blog.  Now that I'm back in my own house with my own kitchen, I'll be revamping my food blog and updating that more frequently.

Goodbye to California

Hello all!

I realize that I definitely dropped the ball when it's come to blogging...for let's say the last 3 months? My goodness, it's been a long time.  So much has changed!  For starters, Jake finished his training in CA! He is now in another state doing other training.  

After he left, the movers came and packed up all of our belongings, which are now in storage.  My sister flew out to California to help me drive back across the States.  I checked out of my house July 31st and started the long voyage to the East Coast!  It's obviously been more than a month since I've had to deal with all of my moving logistics, but I remember it well.  The stress is unbelievable!  I'd never had to handle anything like that by myself before...and while I hope that I'll never have to again, I can't count anything out!  I had a lot of emotions about leaving California.  Our first home together was there.  Our family grew by three - two kitties, and then Archer! Our first two years of marriage were spent in California.  It definitely will always hold certain sentimental value.  And, while I don't really miss CA in general, I do miss our home there.  That home will never exist again...our belongings will be shipped to a new place, where I'll make a new home for us.  But, that particular home will never be again.  The first few weeks away were the hardest, but now I'm looking forward to our new house, new home :).

We loaded up the car, hopped in and drove 3,000 miles. 

CA to NV

NV to UT

UT to CO

CO to MO

MO to TN

TN to NC

I'll have to do another post with some pictures of our travels.  Honestly, now that it's done I really would prefer to not think of it again.  Driving it with a partner made the world of a difference, but what a hellish drive, nonetheless! 

For the time being, the kitties are staying with Jake's Dad (who is a total hero for keeping them during this transition time!) and Archer and I are staying with my parents in NC.  We are (not so) patiently waiting for our number to be up the housing wait list at the next place.  We're at number 9...and counting!

I'll do another post about what we've been up to, now that we're safely across the country :)

The last 2 weeks of May and all of June

Having just had a lovely cup of coffee and a breakfast of granola, yogurt, and blueberries, I now feel ready to update you all in the blog world about my last 6 weeks!  It has been such a crazy and hectic 6 weeks that I've barely had a moment to myself to think!  

First things first, about 6 weeks ago, I had my wisdom teeth removed.  ACK!  What a horrible experience!  I had several people tell me having them done "wouldn't be that bad!"  Well, I'm here to tell you that that's a vicious lie!  Coming off of anesthesia is awful, being on the pain pills made me sick to my stomach, the pain not only in my mouth but also my jaws was not fun, and healing took FOREVER!  The holes still aren't closed all the way, and I have to be vigilant about keeping food out so I don't get infected.  I'm glad that having them removed is a once in a lifetime experience, because I would not repeat it ever again! One of the best things about having them removed when I did was that one of my best friends had hers removed the same day.  We healed together (3,000 miles apart) and kept in touch about various torturous aspects of recovery.  

A week and a half after my oral surgery I started my nanny job.  For the whole month of June (and yesterday too) I worked 10 hours a day as a nanny for two boys, ages 6 and 10.  In the mornings, I'd get up at 6:30, pack up, take Jake to work, and then head straight to their house.  From 7:30-5:30 Monday through Friday I was with kids.  What a month!  I was so tired after work that some days I couldn't even make dinner, let alone do things like laundry and cleaning.  I now have so much more respect for single moms, because I don't know how they can work full time and then still do all the housework things that need to be done!  It was a great experience, and the kids were super sweet....BUT, kids bickering all day wears me out like nothing else.  Seriously, after getting a puppy, babysitting kids is probably the best kind of birth control there is.  

Speaking of dogs...Archer has had a very expensive mystery ailment for the last 7 weeks.  His pre-puce (the front part of his penis but not his actual penis) has had ulcers popping up, as well as being inflamed and swollen.  The first vet visit, the vet pulled out what she thought looked like a small sticker.  He was put on antibiotics for 10 days.  The day after the antibiotics were finished, the ulcers came back with a vengeance.  We went in again, she checked in all of the ulcers, found nothing, flushed them out with solution, and sent us home with stronger antibiotics and a steroid.  We finished the antibiotics, but have stayed on the steroid ever since.  We've been back in, the vet has taken swabs and cultures and sent those away to be tested.  Four hundred twenty dollars later (that was just for those godforsaken cultures), we have negative results, and no more idea of what it could be.  The vet now wants to do a biopsy, which would include having to put him under, which is about the most expensive thing you can do!  It's so frustrating because we don't have any answers, and it's just a problem that's hemorrhaging money....not great right before a cross-country move.  I showed a picture of Archer's issue (when it was at it's worst) to a friend who's ex-BIL is a vet.  He showed it to said BIL, and this vet said that a tiny piece of sticker is probably still in there, and it's causing the problems.  I think that's a much more reasonable assumption than an auto-immune disorder that we may never cure...so we're switching to the new vet for this particular problem.  So...after we've weaned Archer off of his steroids, we'll go in, put Archer under, and this vet will go searching for the elusive bit of sticker that's causing the problems.  I pray that we will find a solution soon, because I really don't want to be dealing with this during the move.  

Sorry to make this such a long post!  A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. This is our last month here, and Jake is about to take his final final final test.  I'm hoping to leave August 1st, and start driving back to the East Coast!

Le Creuset Fantastic-ness

I love Le Creuset everything.  I have their dutch oven and I use it for EVERYTHING! I love how pretty they are, I love how evenly they cook everything, I just love everything they make!  Recently I managed to get to one of their outlets and I got a beautiful butter bell.  I really needed it, because I have 3 butter thieves in this house and they all have 4 legs!

Anyways, I've been wanting a grill pan for my stove top, and while I was perusing Le Creuset's website I found this:

Dreamy Grill Pan

It just shot to the top of my wish list!  If anybody has an extra hundred dollars they want to send me, I'd appreciate it! LOL!  

New Motto

I feel like my trip home was much needed.  Fourteen months is too long to go without seeing your family and friends.  I needed that re-set that comes from being separated from your normal life - enough time to get some perspective and figure out the ways that day to day life can be improved upon.

[BTW- I have a terrible habit of ending sentences in prepositions!  I simply cannot help myself]

I don't have a terrible life in California.  I actually am a really lucky individual, living the life that I do.  However, after all but one of your friends have left, and your husband is working all the time, things can get a little...lonely.  Bad patterns can erupt.  For instance, before my trip, I really didn't do much every day.  I've watched many more hours of television than I would like to admit.  But, when you don't have any plans, and you don't much to do, it feels like the natural progression.  So, you sit on the couch all day long.  It doesn't feel good...the guilt starts to creep up!

Fast forward to my trip.  I was a busy, busy bee the whole time I was there.  Go go go go go go go.  Although I felt exhausted from doing so much, it was certainly a wonderful change of pace.  I decided that something needed to change in my real life back home.  Of course, my first week back, I was sick as a dog, so that really interfered with my new plans!  This week, I'm ready to have a change.  My house has been clean for a whole 9 days.  For anyone who knows me, they know that's pretty astounding.  I feel like that's the first part of my changing my daily life here.  It feels good.

My new motto is:  Just because you don't have anything to do, it doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything.  

So now even when I have an empty day (like today) I will still be productive, I will find things to do, and I will be happy to not be on the couch all the livelong day.

April Travels

I've been a little quiet on here for a few weeks, but April has been a little crazy.  My birthday is in the beginning of April, which was fun!  I'm one of those people who love everyone's birthdays, and my own is no exception.  Jake got me a sewing machine for my birthday, and I'm working on some curtains right now!  My best friend sent me a personalized sewing machine cover for my birthday present, which was a wonderful surprise!  Jake and I ate at a lovely local Italian restaurant that I'd been wanting to try for months, and it was yummy!

After my birthday I started gearing up for my trip back home.  I hadn't been home in 14 months, which is a REALLY long time!  My family back home just joined the modern times and got fast internet, so for all that time I didn't even get to see their faces via skype!  Theoretically, now we can skype :).  Before I actually flew back East, I spent 2 days in San Jose with a family that I lived with for a month while I was taking care of their children.  It was wonderful to get to see the family again, and to spend some time with them!

On my third day with my San Jose friends, I went to the airport and flew 3,000 miles back East.  I spent the second half of the day flying, getting in just after midnight.  The next ten days were spent visiting as many people as I possibly could!  By the end of my trip, I was feeling ill from allergies/exhaustion/running around like a madwoman!  I tried to take it easy and spend as much time as possible with my sisters and family.  I went to a wedding of friend from my middle school days, and luckily I was able to run into other middle school friends from when I was a home-schooler!  Certainly the best part of being back home was seeing SO MANY PEOPLE!  Like I said, I hadn't been home in almost a year and a half, which is just far too long!    I didn't get to see everyone, but I'll be home again in a few months and make sure to see them then.

The other special thing that happened while I was home was that my eldest cousin had her baby...the first new baby in our family!  I got to see the baby and was happy.

The day I flew back West, I woke up at 4 am with some stomach issues.  I was sick, and sick, and sick.  Flying was something I was not sure I could accomplish.  At that point I'd been up for hours, felt terrible, and the last thing I wanted was to be crammed in a plane with 150 strangers!  My solution was to cry about it (of course!) and when that didn't make me feel better, I set to make it through, even if that meant puking on a plane (the horror!!)

After about hour one (of seven) on the plane, I started to feel better.  I had taken two Dramamine and tried to sleep as much as possible.  My Mama got me some Saltines, and I drank ginger ale and prayed I would make it!

I did.  Getting home took twice as long as usual, which you can imagine was wonderful as a sickie.  Saturday  was a stomach bug day, Sunday was stomach and throat (bad enough to spend two + hours in the urgent care because I was convinced it was Strep throat), Monday was throat and cold symptoms, and since then it's been just cold symptoms.  I am hoping that I finally kick this virus by the weekend, because I am tired of being ill!

Some pics from my trip home:

Pretty Dogwood Trees

GREEN

One of our new chicks, Pecan

Morning Routine

Every morning, Jake gets up way, way before me to go to work.  As soon as Jake gets out of bed, Archer hops up to snuggle.  We sleep together for a few hours and then get up.  It's heaven!  This morning, Jake closed a door somewhere else in the house, and Archer heard it shut.  He must not have known that it was Jake in the house, because he started barking, growling, and grumbling.  It was so comical to me, but I'm glad that I know my security is # 1 to him!  I had to ask/nudge him with my foot several times before he stopped grumbling.  He's the best dog ever!

Dentist Update

I went to the dentist this morning.  My first cleaning in 2.5 years went pretty well!  I still have beautiful teeth.  I love being told that I take good care of my teeth!  I always feel like a winner when I leave the Dentist's office!  Unfortunately, today I only felt like half of a winner.  I did not have any cavities, which is fantastic.  That victory was short lived...because not only do I now grind my teeth and need a night guard, I also have 2 lower wisdom teeth that need extracting.

MONEY MONEY MONEY!

Now, when I come home from NC, I have an appointment with an Oral Surgeon, then the next day I have an appointment to get molds of my mouth taken.  My surgery to remove the evil wisdom teeth is on May 10...super not excited!

The night guard is going to cost 236 dollars, and worst case scenario my wisdom teeth surgery could cost me up to 500 dollars after insurance.  Wow, sometimes being a grown up sucks!

Sewing Machine!

February was a pretty terrible month, all around.  However, March has been pretty good, and April is going to be awesome!  My birthday is in the beginning of April, and as my birthday present, I asked for a sewing machine.  It got here on Monday!  It's so pretty!  I researched a lot of machines, and this particular one had over 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon, which I think is pretty dern good!

A picture of my new machine:

It is sitting on my new sewing table!  It's actually a dining table that I picked up from IKEA over the weekend.  Usually, when it comes to putting anything together, I immediately give Jake that task.  BUT, my Mom is super handy around the house, and I thought that it was about time that I started to learn how to do stuff!  I built the entire table ALL BY MYSELF!  By built, I mean assembled, because it came from IKEA...they basically build it for you.  I did use a drill for the first time!  Jake did help a tiny bit, but not too much, and it was nothing I couldn't have done by myself ;).

picture of the table:

My table!  It has 6 drawers, 3 on each side.  Each wing of the table can also fold down, so it can become super tiny (in true IKEA fashion!)  I ended up moving it out of the corner, so that I can sit behind the table and face my beautiful bookshelf that's so beautifully organized! I think that's better than staring at the wall.

My new pincushion:

Some fabric I picked out:

I am going to make some valances for above the front door, and maybe some kitchen curtains or something. I just love how cheery it is!

Irene Ritter

This post is about an amazing woman named Irene.  But first, a little family history of mine:

I think that I consider family bonds a little differently than a lot of people, because my family is so...well, jumbled?  It's wonderful, and I'm so happy that I've had many people in my life who've loved me.  But, it can get a little confusing!  Just like many people, I have a Mom and a Dad.  They divorced when I was a baby, and my Mom remarried.  I have an awesome Step-dad. In fact, Jake reminds me a lot of my Step-dad!  My Mom had two more daughters, giving me two fantastic half-sisters (who are totally my whole sisters).  My Dad also remarried, giving me a Step-mom and two step-brothers.  Then, they divorced, and I lost contact with my step-mom (whose name is also Robin) up until a few years ago (thank you, Facebook!).  After that, my Dad was with a wonderful woman for about 10 years.  She also has 3 kids, who are also cool.  My Step-dad has a cool brother and Mom, giving me another Uncle and Grandma.  My Granddad was married to Irene (they married a few years before I was born) and she was totally my Grandmother, even though we weren't related by blood.  See what I mean?  It's a little hard to keep track of...Jake can't even keep up if I don't explain it sometimes!

Of all of my grandparents (1 grandfather, 3 grandmothers) I really connected with Irene the most.  She had this amazing talent where she could make anyone feel like they were the most special person in the room.  Looking back, I think part of why she had so much energy was because she was only in her fifties when my cousins (3: 1 slightly older, 2 slightly younger) and I were young.  Lots of silly songs and games, and just creativity happened around her.  It didn't matter that she wasn't biologically related to me. She was AWESOME.  My cousin gave her a nickname: Irene the Dream Hakeem Olijawan (shortened to Irene the Dream).  She liked it when I called her Granny.  I liked that too. My Grandparents lived in the coolest house, filled with artifacts from all of their travels, with a pool, and fun gardens to explore, and lots of artwork all over the place - Irene always loved art.  Then, for her birthday present, she went to what she described as "art boot-camp."  She loved it!  She started doing stone carving, and let me tell you, she made some seriously incredible stuff.

Then, when I was around 14 or 15, they divorced.  It was really hard on my cousins and me, because Irene was the best part of the Grandparent unit.  It was a disappointment to all of us. After their divorce, I went and stayed with Irene for a week, and it was such an amazing trip!  But as the years passed, we slowly grew out of touch.  I started calling her again about 3 years ago, but I didn't want to interrupt her life.  Looking back, I feel so silly thinking that!  But, I still called her about the important events in my life.  When I wanted to take a break from school and marry Jake, I called her for her opinion.  She told me to absolutely do it.  She said: go for it!  Being a wife and a mother is amazing!  I took comfort in having her support my decision. Then, when I drove across the country, I took a pit stop in her city.  I was able to visit her for a few wonderful hours.  It was like nothing had ever changed!  I am so happy that I chose to go a couple hours out of the way that day, because it was the last time I ever saw her.   Unfortunately, I hadn't reached out to her this past year.  I wasn't aware that she was sick with Pancreatic Cancer.  I feel guilty for not reaching out to her for such a long period of time...but we're moving back to the East Coast soon and I thought that it would be the perfect time to reconnect then!  Too little, too late.

Irene died on February 6th.  Luckily for me, my Mother made it possible for me to go to her memorial.  It was beautiful.  Her house was packed with people who loved her, we threw Daffodils in the pool with a wish, her niece sung 'Cabaret', both of her children spoke, and then we all sang 'Irene, Goodnight'.  Despite the conduct of my Grandfather during their divorce, Irene's family welcomed us with open arms.  Her daughter saw me, called my nickname (Pookie) and grabbed me into a big hug.  When one of Irene's grandsons asked his Mother who we (my 2 cousins and myself) were, she replied that we were Irene's 'first grandkids'.  I cried and cried and cried. I still cry, thinking about her.

When someone you really love dies, it's hard not to be recognized as being related to them.  In her death announcement, it mentions her 5 biological grandchildren, but there's nothing about her 4 'first grandkids'...but in the end, it's not about us at all.  It's about her.  I think it causes a little pang of hurt for us first grandkids to not necessarily be recognized as Irene Ritter's grandchildren by the rest of the world, but in the end, we're the lucky ones.  We have 20 years of memories with a fantastic woman.  Her eldest biological grandchild is 11.  It makes my heart hurt so badly to think that they won't get to know her as they continue to grow.  Seventy is such a young age to go.  The world truly lost someone unique.

This description of her fits her to a T:
Irene's death announcement

Take a look at her artwork!  Make sure you read the names...those are the best part!
Irene's Art

At the memorial, it was mentioned that Irene wanted all of her pieces to stay in the family for her Grandchildren, as she couldn't bear to think of them going anywhere else.  Each stone carving was like a little piece of her soul, and she was very attached to all of them...rightfully so!  Still, as a child I had always dreamed of having a piece of hers in my own house one day.  It was sad to think that might never happen.  So, I decided to ask.  I asked that if there was anything they could ever potentially part with, to please let me know, as it would mean the world to me.  Today, I talked to Irene's daughter, and my wish is coming true. I am going to have one of Irene's unfinished pieces (even leading up to the end of her life, Irene had creativity flowing out of her) and I am so grateful!  Irene's daughter said that it's a bird, which I think is very fitting.  She also said that Irene loved me...which I knew already, but it was still nice to hear.

Sorry that this post is a little long...but it's what's in my heart.

Sunshine

I sort of use sunshine as a motivational tactic.  Yesterday was SO GRAY! And cold, humid, warm, and rainy.  Sort of all the same time.  I just can't deal with that sort of weather.

However! Today was and continues to be beautiful.  I made the bed (again!) today, walked the dog, did more laundry, folded it, and put it away (ah, the elusive trio), unclogged our shower with Draino, cleaned our master bathroom, and did obedience with the dog.  I am really liking how productive I'm being this week!  Usually, I'm extremely lazy in the house, and I am great at putting housework off.  But, every single day this week I have actually gotten multiple things done!  CRA-ZY!

 I wish every day was sunny and warm.

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring...and it is cold and rainy.  Yay!

February was a pretty bad month for a multitude of reasons.  First, I had Mesenteric Adentitis, then I learned that my wonderful grandmother had died (I'll do a separate post on that later), then I had a Barthalan Cyst, and during February I had to get my blood drawn twice, had to get a shot in my ass, and was on Antibiotics for a week (they made me feel so sick - it was horrible).

I am SO glad that February is over!  March has been a pretty darn good month.  I finally got back into walking the dog almost every day (weather permitting), and it's nice to be active again.  Also, I started cooking dinner every night again!  There was a period after the holidays where just the thought of cooking was exhausting.  I am glad that that period is over, because I really do love to cook.  Tonight for dinner we're having a lighter Shepherd's Pie, and I'm really excited to try a new recipe.

The past 3 days in a row, I have made the bed.  I also cleaned all the toilets in the house, vacuumed everywhere, cleaned the bedroom, washed and folded countless loads of laundry, and I've cleaned the cats' litterbox every night.  I'm really not a good cleaner, so this is a huge improvement!  Today I'm finishing up the kitchen (but that's a different story, because the dang room gets messy every day!).  I've had Celtic music playing, and it's just so lively and lovely, and it's really inspiring to me, for some reason.  I really, really love it.  Here's hoping I can keep up this housework and continue being a productive human being!

Also, I'm looking at potential schools for Dental Hygiene for after we move.  I know I change ideas about what I want to be like I change clothes, but this one feels like a great fit, and I'm really excited about it!

Edit: Yesterday I had my blood drawn again, and I did amazingly well.  Jake said I didn't even flinch!  It feels so good to have gotten over something that previously gave me such worry and stress.

Cavity Free

I just got dental insurance again!  I haven't been to the dentist is probably 2 years...so I'm scared to hear about the situation of my Dental Health after 2 years of no cleanings!  My dental insurance starts after March 1, so I just made an appointment with a highly recommended dentist here for the end of March.  It seems like so many people hate the dentist, or are scared of the dentist...but not me!  I have had the greatest dentist in the world for my entire life! That being said, now that I have to see someone new, I have a little trepidation.

I've never had a cavity before...ever!  I did have to get the deep grooves in some of my molars filled - but I'm convinced that does not count, because it's a genetic predisposition that I had absolutely no control over.  I think that my 22 year cavity free streak may be over...sad!! Here's to hoping that I get a shining bill of dental health at my next visit! Wish me luck!

Power Hour

I have really been feeling like a shitty housewife this week, since the house was a wreck and I felt too tired to deal with anything housework related.  But, this afternoon I decided to implement a 'Power Hour'.  Basically, I set the timer for 1 hour, turned on an audiobook on my ipod, and cleaned!  It actually was quite effective!  I managed to get all sorts of trash around the house thrown away, cleaned off the floor, vacuumed, and unloaded/loaded the dishwasher!  I had 2 minutes left on the timer when I stopped it, because I had to get dinner started....but I feel like making dinner basically falls under that category anyways.  I think I may start to have a power hour daily, just to get things done around here!  

I've also got a job interview on Monday for a really cute bakery/coffee shop.  I doubt I'll get the job, as I'm leaving in 5 months and I'll be gone for the second half of April, but I figured it was worth it to go in for the interview.  

Sleep

Well, I had another birth this past Sunday early morning!  I worked from about 4:30 Sat. afternoon to about 4:30 Sunday morning...and it was exhausting.  I slept until about noon, then got up and made a delicious birthday dinner for my man!  After moving around it wasn't so bad, but waking up Monday morning...I was a dead woman.  I think the first week after working a birth is the hardest.  I have zero motivation and basically nothing gets done.  The house is a wreck, the laundry's piling up, and I've got errands to run (which I actually did today - yay me).  I know that I'll get to these things eventually, but there's nothing like some major sleep loss or a disruption in your sleep schedule to make you feel like a lousy housewife.  This situation is not helped by our old, worn out mattress.  I came to the realization that we really need a new mattress a while ago (our whole bed used to be my Grandfather's before he died 2.5 years ago, and I have no idea how long he had it before that) but I didn't realize HOW badly until I went into the Mattress Discounters today.  I laid on 3 mattresses...none of them had sinkholes in the middle.  I would actually be able to sleep without rolling into Jake!  I'm super neurotic, so I hate touching anyone when I'm trying to fall asleep and I think that if there wasn't a giant dip in the middle of the bed, I'd fall asleep a lot easier.  We also have sore backs all the time, and I think your mattress generally has something to do with that.

I really don't want to have to buy a new bed. But, it is so prevalent in my brain right now!  I can't stop thinking about it!  I want (and need) good sleep.

Is this being an adult?! Mattress shopping has never been something I've been interested in before...but heck, sleep is important!

Happy New Year!

It's a new year! 2013!  Forever in my mind as : the year I would have graduated college.  Whoopsy!

I still am not sure what it is I'm supposed to be doing.  It's all very confusing.  As of right now I'm just looking at getting a sort of Administration degree so that I can get a real job easier.

I decided not to make any resolutions this year, because let's be honest: they only last 2 weeks anyways!

On New Year's Eve we went out for Hibachi and it was delicious.  Here's some pictures of our last New Year's on the West Coast.  Huzzah!