Looking forward to....

....the weather warming up, ....having no plans tonight, ....riding our bikes tomorrow, starting our garden, spending some QT with the hubby. I'm feeling good entering the weekend with no residual work-related stress. While the first week of work is always awkward as you revert back to knowing virtually nothing, having daily breaks and leaving at a reasonable hour really helps me to go home feeling more refreshed and less stressed than I have for a loooong time! Fantastic! This blog started with a list of goals and a rigid plan that aimed to allow me to accomplish those goals. Looking forward, the next year will be an interesting one for us, as the state budget cuts have truly limited Matt's school schedule flexibility, and we will thus be facing a time in which we will have to spend wisely and cautiously, and save as much as possible. While I've realized I can't manage to stick to such a rigid plan, I'm going to have to think again about how to manage my time and money best in order to continue to meet our goals. Sigh. The challenges never seem to stay away for too long. In such times, it helps me to remember: 'God said, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart".' -Jeremiah 29:13

Just dance.

I often have dance parties in my living room. Sometimes, you just gotta get your groove on! And yes, maybe at first my husband may look at me like I'm crazy (adoringly of course) but within moments we both end up dancing around our house, laughing hysterically. I highly recommend this to everyone. It's guaranteed to boost your spirits on any day!

C'est la vie...

The last few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster, on a further from home basis if that makes sense. Leaving a job that I’ve been at for four years, and really the only “real” job I’ve ever had has proven to be more of a challenging experience than I expected. I am so happy to have this new opportunity, and I am embracing it with open arms and excitement! But at the time of departure, I’ve really spent some time reflecting on what my almost former position has taught me and the experiences I’ve had. It’s posed so many questions that I thought I had all the answers to but then you revisit them again at the last minute, partly in a state of panic and partly in a state of relief, excitement, curiosity and some anxiety! As much as I am not one who wants my career to define my life, at this point, it is something that takes up majority of my time, and I’m still in a place where I have the freedom and flexibility to take some risks…..hmmmm. Here's to change! On a different note, it’s been a time of challenge with friends, some good and some bad. I love when you experience such fulfilling conversations and moments with friends who you really love and you walk away feeling better, closer, and comforted. I cherish these times, and growing closer to the people who I know I will care for forever, with endless memories ahead of us. Thanks, ladies! On the other hand, we’ve reached an age where I cannot have superficial relationships in the way I used to when I was younger and had less of an idea about who I am. While I’m still 20 something and striving….I know so much more about the kind of life that I want to live, how I want to carry myself, and I believe that your friends should compliment those aspirations and enrich your life. It’s an interesting realization when it causes a relationship to split off into different directions.

I know this picture is fuzzy and super random, but I just found it and I love that is has my 3 besties in it!

Yet in spite of all these roller coasters, my life at home with my hubby has been so fantastic, and I am just so much more in love every day- seriously!! I think we’ve reached a point where we can look back on 9 months of marriage and say we’ve overcome the adjustment phase and entered into a blissful place of comfort, stability, satisfaction, and a deep new level of love.

Oh, hello!

It's been a long time since I've posted but oh so much has been going on. We bought a car, sold a car, I've been sick, family gatherings, moving help, and oh...I GOT A NEW JOB! I think back to so many posts about struggling in my current positon and the limitations on my time that it creates. Starting April 11, I will have a new job, with normal hours. I can hardly believe it.

I'm already daydreaming about the possibilities a normal schedule will allow for: violin lessons (I sent an inquiry yesterday!), a class as I continue to explore long-term possibilities, yoga.....ahhhhh.

I feel like I've waited and waited and waited.....I guess that's what happens when you pray for patience!

I feel like sprinting and doing cartwheels along this gorgeous beach in Monterey that Matt and I went to last year (eeeeek!):