One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I said “I Do and I will” to my best friend. What a year it has been! Most couples may experience half of what we have experienced within our first year of marriage, new job, bought a house, remodeled (slightly), went through medic school, just to name a few. It has been very hard but yet even more rewarding and I am so thankful that God has shown us so much.


I have to apologize for being M.I.A for so long. To be honest, there has been a lot going on and either I just couldn’t form the words into a post or I just plain ole didn’t want to. The lack of inspiration has been very evident in my life lately. The cards that have been given to us, well, have been a pretty crappy hand and as we are piecing together every little bit, I can’t help but think that, though, we may not be out of the woods just yet, we still have many things to be thankful for. So with that said I am sorry that I haven’t been on here at all…(I do miss it) and I will now share a list of my high’s and low’s:

1. New House: we have officially moved in, slightly more settled in than the last time I posted, however, with Nick being gone 4 days out of the week , not a whole lot has changed other than some picture frames, a bathroom painted, and fall decorations…soon though, soon (fingers crossed).

2. New Job: I LOVE my job! WOW….I have a boss who really cares about me, what I do and appreciates those who work around her. I now work 1 song away from home (those who commute would appreciate this, those who are fortunate to never have to commute, you may not). I am now the Global Marketing Programs Coordinator for a software developer company. My main responsibilities are to provide all marketing pieces to our international distributors and to maintain metrics for our team….however, I seem to have enough to keep me busy every day and I love my schedule. I go home for lunch so I can hang with our fur babies and I am able to run every morning. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

3. Hubby-Medic School: The past 6 months have been difficult; however, I have never seen someone handle a work load this tough ever in my life, like my husband does. I don’t get to spend time with him very much, especially the last two months (he’s been gone 4 days in a row), BUT, we have made it work…I am so very proud of him…he’s such a trooper and he did this by himself…nobody else has supported him the way I think he should be supported, his talent and hard work have paid off and I am very very happy to say he will be done this Friday!!!

4. Anniversary!!!!: Today, it has been one year. This time last year, I was sipping champagne with my besties and enjoying my time with them. Gosh I wish I could do it all over again…I wouldn’t change a thing, honestly, nothing would be changed…it was a perfect day and I am so happy it’s been a year! Unfortunately, we won’t be able to celebrate tonight, he’s at work…but tomorrow night we will go out to Laguna to the Beach House, which you may recall is a very special place for us. At the end of the month, once the smoke clears, Nick has had time to detox, we are going to head down to San Diego for the night.

5. Nick turns 30!: In December, Nick will be turning 30…he’s not looking forward t this, but I honestly think it’s great. (He likes the younger ladies). I am planning a Vegas weekend for us and some friends and am really looking forward to that.

6. Marathon!: Also in December, I will running my very first full marathon. EEkkk! So excited and so very nervous. My best friend and I are competing in the California International Marathon in Sacramento. It’s supposed to be one of the best races in California, but really, don’t all races say that?! I am training hard, though I still wonder if it’s enough…I have set a pretty high goal for myself, which I may kick myself in the end, but I am trying every day to get better, faster, and stronger. I ran my first 20 miler, alone, and I think I have a lot to improve on, but at least I know what needs to be improved and what doesn’t. I am really excited to run the marathon, just scared that I won’t last. LOL.

As you can see, there have been so many things going on in our life. We have had many ups and some downs…but the ups continue to get higher and the downs don’t really last as long as they used to… I love my husband with all my heart. I am very proud of him and what he has accomplished in the last 6 months. I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone, it’s hard and there are a lot of lonely nights…however, it has shown us one thing for sure…we truly are meant to be a team…and it’s very important to be the stronger link when the other half is weaker. I cannot wait until he is completely finished..he deserves to rest for a very long time.

Happy Anniversary sweets! Love you with all my heart!

10 Things Friday

I have been thinking that a lot of my posts (whether they are read by followers or not) is basically just me catching everyone up on what is going on in life.  I thought I would make this blog a little bit more fun by adding a "summer series"....think of it as me making a theme to my blog, somewhat similar to those I see on all my other fine blogs that I read.

{Enter...10 things friday}


Every Friday, I will post 10 things that make me happy..and simply just for a reminder to myself that even though life is crazy and moving fast it is ok to take a step back and recognize those things that bring me joy.

1. nick
2. my little fur babies; killian and lucy
3. my brand new shoes that i found on sale {suede coral slingbacks, closed toe from urban}
4. this is my last friday at my commuter job
5. our new home...which we move into tonight!
6. for some reason the new slipcover that we bought to put over the couch my parents gave us...yay almost new couch!
7. coffee....lots of coffee
8. bright colors! totally wearing coral and aqua marine today at work.
9. running!  Lots and lots of running
10. giraffes

Holiday Fun. 4th of July Style

4th of July is one of my all-time favorite holidays....it's a close second to Christmas (176 days away FYI).  This 4th will be a little different than the past holidays as we will be celebrating in our new city!  In the past, we have always been in Mammoth but due to circumstances (i.e. we bought a house) we had to stay away this year so we will do what we do best.....relax and have fun!  This weekend is supposed to be hot and we will be painting all weekend so we can finally move in!  So close!!!  Since we will be slaving away on the walls, we decided to grill in our backyard with Nick's parents and keep it low key.  I have put together the menu for Monday's dinner which includes:

my "world famous" guacamole as an appetizer

Watermelon Margaritas :)

Red, White, & Blue Potata Salad

BBQ Chicken of course!

And my grilled corn on the cob that I make :) I don't have a picture of it and all the sample pics online were ugly so here is the recipe, it's very simple:

• white corn husks
• Extra virgin olive oil
• green tabasco sauce
• chile powder
• seasoning salt
• regular black pepper

Take the husks off the corn, after soaking them in water.  Once they are de-husked, grab some foil and cut appropriate sizes for individual corn.  Now, I don't like using butter for my corn so I take a very small amount of extra virgin olive oil and rub it onto the corn.  Remember, a little bit goes a long way!  Then, take the last 3 ingredients and sprinkle onto the corn...you can use any amount you would like, it's totally up to you...but I like my corn to have a kick so I put a lot on :) Once that's done, throw tabasco on and wrap them up!  Place it on the grill until they are done!

After dinner, we are going to be riding our bikes on down to the University in town to watch the fireworks!  It's going to be a fun-filled weekend and hopefully we will be able to make a lot of progress on the house!

Have fun everyone and be safe!

 

new beginnings.

4 weeks and counting. that's how long it's been since we bought our home and have been slightly re-doing.  Yes, I know renivating or remodeling would sound classier, but when I say that, I feel like I am lying as we are not tearing down any walls or changing up the bathrooms.  Whatever the case though, it's been 4 weeks now and we are almost done. {enter smiley face here}

And now for the biggest of news that I have been keeping in for        m . o . n . t . h . s .

....i was offered a new job.....

:)

and get this......it's 2 miles away from our new house!  No more commute!!!  It is a marketing position, which is what I have wanted, I am finally back to doing what I went to school for. double yay!

I have been interviewing with the company for 3 months now and it's been a very long process but all worth the wait.  I am very blessed and have been overwhelmed by God's planning.  In just a quick two weeks I will be saying so long to the long commute and constant feeling that I am not good enough and back into the first day of work feeling....It's all very exciting and scary at the same time.

a little sweat equity if you will...

So this weekend was Memorial Day Weekend which meant a longer weekend for most....I say most, because Nick had to go into work Sunday morning and just got off today.  boooo.  I left off last time saying that we were almost packed up and getting out of the rental and moving in {somewhat} to our new home! 

Friday evening we officially moved all our stuff into our garage and spent our first night {on the floor} in our new home and in a much larger bedroom!  Since we only have the weekends to work on the house, we started head first and got a good handle on all the DIY projects.  I also ran a couple times in my new city and LOVED it!!  I am pooped though!!!  For a girl that is used to running 8 miles a day, I barely finished my 6 mile runs!!  But the neighborhoods are so pretty and I am excited to be able to run hills everyday.  Sounds weird that I am saying that but it will only strengthen my muscles and my lungs :)

Our List?

1. Scrape the ceilings
2. Install new toilets
3. Install the kitchen sink faucet
4. Install canned lighting
5. Put up crown molding
6. Paint!
7. Make the yards look pretty
8. Move in!

That doesn't seem too much does it?  Since Nick was at work this weekend, he was only able to help out on Saturday....he and his dad started on the ceilings while I went to the rental and did our final walkthrough and picked up last minute things....umm hello, why did I forget the crock pot?!  So saturday it was ceilings, vacuum, throw old plants away, and clean up.  Sunday and Monday, his parents and I did a lot of yard work.  Pruned the trees, took the plants out, de-weeded as much as we could, and pretty much anything else that you can think of.  As I type this, I feel like it's not a lot but while I was doing it I felt that I had been working for months on the yard.  I will be posting pics throughout this process but below are the first of many to come!

PS: I'm totally bummed out that I didn't get a picture of Nick and his dad doing the ceilings.  They were covered in popcorn ceiling/dust and looked like ghosts!!

This room became this:

Hello, bare ceilings!

Bye Bye ugly dead plants!



Holy moly!  A lot of clothes!

I had asked Nick to find a toilet where my feet won't dangle on the ground....They came home with this! Ha!!  His dad totally covered the toilet!



Who says girls can't mow the yards!  Please disregard my ugly outfit.



Yard work at it's best!



Yay! for a pretty sink faucet that doesn't leak!

PPS: I mentioned before that it would probably take some time to find my favorite coffee shop, greek food place, nail salon, etc....well I found my new coffee shop and my greek joint already!  The even greater part?  It's a mile down the road from our house.  ahhhh the little things in life that keeps me happy.

Running

**This post may be long winded so bare with me here as I jump from subject to subject....I apologize.**

{Our first family portrait in front of our new home}



As this week goes on I am beginning to feel slight anxiety about the move.  Not the house, not the city, not the fact that everything will change once we settle in....but the very fact that I will be leaving the city that I call home: Claremont. 

Friends have been asking me how I am feeling about it and up until today I have been able to be 100% excited about it.  Well I guess I should back up....It hit me Sunday morning.  Nick, Lucy, and I were just finishing up the loop and heading back to the car.  It was right then when it occured to me that, that day was the very last Sunday morning that I had to run in Claremont.  Then it hit me even more.  That Sunday was the last day that I had and I didn't take advantage of it!  Sad and somewhat amazed with myself because I always run my long runs on my Sundays...in fact, those are my favorite runs!  My favorite day to run....and I didn't run. 

Oh well....it's the way of life I thought...move on.

Then today came.  I am fighting back tears...which makes me feel dumb because in all honesty...my runs will be better in our new city because of all of the rolling hills (yay!  Claremont running is either straight uphill at first then downhill, or vice versa) but still....I have been running for over 15 years now and 13 of those have been spent in Claremont. 

I don't think I am sad because of my runs will be different so please don't think it's that...I think it's more just the fact that in life comes change...and with that change come good things...but before you can get to those good things you have to go through the rough transition, otherwise known as, change and this girl wasn't blessed with that gift to embrace change...

So today, I plan to run 7 miles.  Tomorrow and Thursday I plan to run shorter runs in the morning and come Friday morning...the last run will be spent with my best friend (who has experienced this whole change thing far more than I ever could, and also will be down for the weekend) and we will run 7 miles.  I may or may not cry afterwards, but at least I will have her shoulder to cry on.

Then it will be exploring a new city, finding new runs that I fall in love with, runs that I get bored with, and runs that make me who I am.  As I become aquainted with a new neighborhood, new favorite eateries that will hopefully include, mexican, bagels, yogurt, greek, and whatever else I am forgetting, new routes to get me to and from point A to point B, I will not forget my Claremont...my comfort and my routine :)

Now, to a better topic that is not so emotional (umm, hi watery eyes...)

I wanted to post some pictures from my latest race.  As I said before I finished in 1:48....2 minutes faster than my goal and because of this I am now wanting to run another one to see how I can improve even more.  I have spent my days reading Born to Run and now that I am finished with it I can't stop talking about...there is just so much information in that book that I have applied to my runs and already have seen a difference.  I encourage anyone who is somewhat skeptical about running or thinks that you are not a runner to go pick this book up (or purchase on Amazon for an amazing deal) and talk to me once you are done.

I am looking for my next half....not sure which one I will do yet but I want to sign up for one soon...and then it's the full marathon for me.  I am getting closer and closer to wanting to run one that I think my time is coming.

Ok! Picture time!!

 Had to make this one B&W...girl w/no makeup on looks better in B&W...

But Nick just finished and I am so proud of him!!

 The BF

The girls and I after the race and some good wine :)

Vacation...

What's that?

I need a vacation.  Life has been so incredibly busy with the move, medic school, and many many other things that I can't share just yet, that I look back and ask where did the months go?

Updates as of today:

1. Half Marathon went great!  My time was 1:48 minutes....2 minutes below my goal time of 1:50.  I managed to shave 4 minutes of my time from my last half...me=so happy.
2. Nick ran amazingly well!!!! I was so proud of him.  He did it in 2:14 minutes and didn't even train for the damn thing.  Wish I had his determination!
3. Nick just finished week 4 of medic school and is still doing very well.  Seriously, I don't know how he does it, but somehow he does. 
4. We close escrow May 18th!!  and get the keys on May 21st.  Wow....it's gone by so quickly.  We are both so very excited to own our own home...our first home..and most importantly to have something to call our home. 
5. We are both going at about  250 mph a second and this past week in particular has been extremely draining.  Although, I say that knowing in the back of my mind that it's all worth. every. second. 
6. Nick will be done with the class portion of medic school by the end of June, which at that point, it will be smooth sailing.

I do realize how blessed we are to be able to own a home at such a young age and I thank God daily...I honestly have been so humbled by everything that has happened in our life.  With that said, I am being completely vulnerable and honest by saying, there are days where I literally find myself pulling my hair....(it is kinda funny).  But when I have those moments I hear deep down inside of me a little quiet voice saying it's all right. 

I am looking foward to the decorating most of all....I have so many plans that I just can't wait to start on and that is really what is keeping me sane.  Since Nick is using up the majority of his time with studying, I have been doing most of the packing...so far our house still looks like we aren't going anywhere, other than the walls are bare....and this scares me a bit.  I feel like we have a lot to do still.  With that being said, this girl will be spending her Friday night alone with her fur babies packing.

I hope by the time the end of October rolls around we will be able to get away for a night for a little vacation. 

Until then....this picture will do the trick (kinda)

Wine Country + Half Marathon = A very happy girl

This weekend, the husband and I, alongside some of our closest friends will be running the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half in Solvang.  If you are anything like me, I had you at wine.  I love wine.....even more, I love to run, and even more than that, I love to run then drink wine with my friends.  I cannot wait.

Nick and I went to Solvang almost 2 years ago...we had a blast....our favorite winery was Fess Parker which is where this picture below was taken. 

Since Nick has started medic school, our originally plan to go up early and enjoy the day on Friday has gone out the window.  It now has been replaced with me still taking the day off but running around with my head cut off trying to get last minute things taken care of.  Some of the plans consist of going to Traders to buy running snacks, dropping our fur babies off to the grandparents, cleaning and painting (yes, painting) the floors, and last but not least...packing.  We hope to be on the road by 4 pm....which will put us smack dab in the middle of Friday traffic.  lovely. 

Once we are there, I think I will relax a bit.  I suffer from pre-race anxiety....you know how most people suffer from the pre-race jitters?  Not this girl.  I am a full on pre-race anxious little ball of anxiety.  I want to make sure all the plans work out, we have a race packet, I get to lay my race clothes out the night before, and then of course, sleep. 

My goal?  1:50.?? minutes.  I can complete the race in that time.  I know I can. 

Then it's wine time!!!  Nick and I will be reunited with Fess Parker, and the others will be able to soke up the Solvang sun and drink some yummy-in-my-tummy wine. :)

Until then my friends, have a lovely day!

PS: moving day is now 2 weeks away.  That will be saved for a later post :)

YAY :)

I can officially post this now....

we bought a house.

YAY!!

That's right folks, the Gray's are officially home owners....Escrow closes next month and then it's a marathon decorating extravaganza!!!



W. A . I . T . I . N . G.

"In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by praaer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Jesus Christ." {Philippians 4:6-7}

What a great reminder this verse is.  A friend of mine posted in on her FB yesterday and I have just been sitting on those words, thinking, and praying....just what I needed to hear yesterday.

This past week has been such an amazing, life changing, quickly moving week....{understatement!}  It is amazing how quickly God will move through your life if you let Him.  What started to be a slow, boring, slightly upsetting week became one of my favorite weeks ever!  And I have a feeling it's about to get even better.

Happy Friday All :)

To be continued...

Born. to. Run.

Some of you may have this book, some of you may have heard of this book, and some of you may not know what it is or care.  If the latter describes you, maybe this post will make you want to go buy this awesome book. 

I have heard many great things about this book such as, it got a non runner off the couch and out on the streets in no time, it changed the way runners think while running, or it actually made running fun.  I just got the paperback version in the mail yesterday (pre-ordered on Amazon for $8 bucks and it arrived the very next day it was coming out!)...actually Nick and I were sitting on our porch when it got delivered...I was so excited that I opened it up right then and there!  So I will start my new book today and I hope it changes the way I think and feel while running....to be honest, I think I am almost more excited about this book than I have ever been about anything!  Happy Wednesday!

*I will post my thoughts a/o favorite parts of the book in later posts :) 

my heart is heavy...

for many reasons....Japan, for one...my cousin and cousin-in-law (this is her husband, that I refuse to say he is just that...he is my cousin :) ) lived in Iwaki, Japan for 3 years and just recently within this year moved to Germany....what if they were still there?  God is good.
I read my friends amazing blog, where she has this charity on her page, and I have been wanting to help out since I have heard about the quake so today, I did.  I want to pass this on to whoever reads my blog:

if your heart is heavy and you want to help out, please do :) any bit helps.

My heart is heavy because of things going on personally....I continue to see God, and I continue to make Him my focus everyday....Nick and I both have made more of an effort to incorporate Him and to walk more by faith.  I can tell you that I have seen God move ever so slightly, but just because I don't see a lot of movement doesn't mean He isn't shaping our lives to be even better.  God is good.  With every tear I shed or every doubt that I have, I know that He is with me, He is with us...

This Saturday we took our dogs to the beach.  It was Lucy's first time... I think she was scared of the water...Yes, she is a Golden Retriever.  No, she doesn't care for the water.  Nick threw her in, she learned to swim, we will see how she takes it next time :)  Not the best pic of me, but she's cute :)

Aren't they cute?

Sparkling Thursday

Well, it's not so sparkly, but I feel like if I say that enough I will like this Thursday a little bit more.  Plus I love all things sparkly so I felt it just fit the title.  I also feel like Thursdays get the shaft when it comes to the days of the week and which days you like and which days you hate.  To me, Thursday is 1 day closer to Friday which for me, is Heaven because, ummm hello, that means the weekend is here!  But for others, also known as the more pessimistic kind, it means, we still have to go through the day just to get to Friday.  When I was in college, Thursday was my Friday.  I was done with classes then usually went out with friends that night, went to work the next morning, usually not feeling so "awake".  Not the case anymore....this girl has turned in her party hat for her running shoes and a bedtime nicely set at 9 pm every night.  Even on the weekends. 

Now that I am done with that rant, I realize I have been MIA lately.  My apologies.  I do want to try to get better at my blogging skills.  Wanted to keep you all up to date, remember this post?  I have already done some of my goals!! 

1. Legally change my name to Gray- Check!  Phewww...that was a toughy....after talking to the lady at the Social Security office about Hawaii and how she hated it, almost being late coming back to work (went on my lunch break), getting the stink eye because I made an appointment at the DMV instead of standing in that wretched line, and taking the new picture I am done....and I wonder if my picture turned out good.
2. Joint Checking-Almost check!  All we need is a copy of my new license and then we are set....C'mon California State Department, get on that license so I can do joint checking please!
3. Save money.  Wellll.......define save money.  I will say we are doing better with our budget and are not as tight as we were...however, I highly doubt we will be getting on  plane to go to Maui anytime soon.  In good time we will :)
4. I am going to go ahead and skip over #4 as I am still learning how to "go with the flow".
5. I am getting faster!!! and my legs are hurting because of it :)
6. The house is slowly coming together!  Nick bought me a rolling cart for the kitchen as my Valentines gift....Perfect present :)  We also got this bad boy for the wall.  Love it! 
7. Ahhhh probably the most important yet....my business.  I am happy to say that it is slowly (key word there) coming together.  I am not ready to unveil the website yet and most likely won't be for a while, but I am happy to report that I am in talks with some lovely people and it will come together.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday and I hope it's sparkly for you all :) 

Transition from Hobby to Professional...

...is exciting and daunting at the same time, let me tell you.

Wanted to share my latelies as of this week with some of you.  My side business is becoming more and more real as I type this.  But as of today I now have my very own domaine name for my invitation suite business!!  My plan is to really work on it tomorrow, creating my logo and then putting it up on my professional blog :)  So I guess I have unofficially, officially started my business!  It will be a few weeks until I am able to share it with you all, I want to make sure I beautify it and get it exactly how I want it until I send it out to the real world.  :)

a prayer blog...

Today's post may be a little bit more personal than my normal post, and I will be honest, I think I am being far more honest and vulnerable on here than I have to anyone in a long time.  Some things have been on my mind lately and I feel that I keep seeing signs that lead me to writing this very post. 

I don't want to bother other people with my prayer requests. 
There I said it.

I often wonder if other people feel the same as I do sometimes.  Growing up I was taught to be prayerful, faithful, and true to God and all will be well.  I constantly surrounded myself with others that have the same morals and values and I have always had that one person that was my prayer buddy.  And when I had prayer requests or praises, I always shared them with others.  But as life has gotten busier and the hours in the day just seem to not be enough,  I have found myself not being diligent in confiding in my accountability partner. And not because I don't trust her or feel that I can go to her, but more because life has gotten me so bogged down sometimes almost all the time.  That at the end of the day I just don't want to bother other people with things sometimes.  And just as of yesterday, I realized that that's not being fair.  It's not fair to me, to my prayer buddy, to God, and to those around me. 

So I sat there for a while last night...in the stillness of the night (that's a song right?) and thought this isn't right.  I realized that I need that person in my life every day.  No questions asked.  And that instant, I made the decision to be honest, and to make it a point to let you all know that I have been doing this.

I also want this be an open invitation for those who may feel the same way I do, to let me know how I can be praying for them.  I encourage my friends in the blog world to email me (lindseycleveland@gmail.com) with a  prayer request.  This is my promise to you that I will pray for you. 

I hope this post finds you well....and I promise to have a not-so-serious post next time.  Enjoy your Friday, the weekend is almost here :)

just a little invitation fun

I spent the last few weeks working on an invitation for a friend.  She is celebrating her daughter's 1st birthday and wanted the invitation to be girly but still keeping it chic.  I had a lot of fun making this invitation and I hope little Emmy has a wonderful 1st birthday!  (I removed some of the personal info)

2011 Resolutions?

"Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle." - Eric Zorn

And because this statement is indeed very true in most people's cases....I just don't make them. However, I do make goals. This year Nick and I made a (verbal) list of goals in which we wanted to accomplish:

1. Legally change my name over to Gray. This involes 3 steps. Step 1: Obtain a certified copy of the marriage license. Check! Step 2: Go to the Social Security Office to obtain your new card. Almost Check! Step 3: Sit and wait and wait and wait at the DMV to change your driver's license....and take a new picture. Check after the beginning of Feb! Made my appointment so we could try to avoid the long wait line to do this.
2. Sign up for joint checking at the bank. Because Nick belongs to a Credit Union, this process may be longer than most. We have to go out to Pasadena and because of my work schedule this may be easier said than done. But alas, it will get done.
3. Save money to go back to Hawaii. and buy a new car....and buy a house. I believe these items on this list will be one of those "New Years Goals" for 2012 and maybe even 2013 but hopefully we can check one of those items off the list right?

A couple of my goals that I have made for myself are:

1. Make more time to relax and just go with the flow...Due to my Type A, OCD personality that I have, I find myself over-stressing about just about everything. This year is the year that I will just learn to go. with. the. flow.
2. Continue to work my miles up and train to run a little faster.
3. Do more D.I.Y projects around the house (post will be coming soon of the recent updates around the house)
4. and four....probably the biggest goal on my list...build my side business and create more brand awareness. I already have told some lovely ladies that are engaged or will soon be getting engaged to come to me with any invitation ideas/designs that I could possibly help them out with.

Over the past weekend I found myself having more conversations like #4 on my list than ever. I spoke with 2 friends of mine about their upcoming wedding and the planning process. I got so excited about helping them or as some may call it, giving them un-solicited advice that I was beaming with excitement. It was hard to translate their confused look on their face but I am almost pretty sure that they were just overwhelmed with the daunting tasks of a D.I.Y wedding. I can totally relate to this by the way, because it is just that, daunting. But overall, it is fun and I tell anyone and everyone...if I was ok with giving my weekends up I would trade my sales job in for a wedding planner position. But I am just not ok with doing that. So instead I help my friends out when they need me. And not to mention, I help design their invitations. :)

Last but not least, I do need to say this, I got my first job (assignment) since I decided to make this a public announcement and currently I am designing a friends, daughters first birthday invitation. Can you say, hot pink fun girly chic inspirations? I am having a blast doing it and can't wait to post it when it's completed.

2011

Well, it is here. 2011. Where did 2010 go? I bet everyone is thinking the same thing right about now. We decided to keep it low key this year and to hang with a few friends. Our only plan was to walk down to dinner and have Sangria and then see where the night took us! It was fun!!

It is now January, my last post was sometime before Christmas.....sorry. Nick had reminded me that I hadn't posted anything for a few weeks and I promised him, I would write after the new year. So here I am, posting. My first post for 2011.

To be honest, I haven't really felt the posting bug lately...and I don't want to just post anything just for the sake of filling the page up. So on my way into work this morning I was thinking of all the goals that I set for last year.....some of those that I accomplished...which can be found here and here. Some of the goals that I set for 2011 can be found here. And most importantly, I became an auntie, a wife :), and a Godmother. 2010 was a big year to put it buntly.....but I believe 2011 will be even bigger.

I am making it a point to focus on starting my invitation suite business. I do think that starting do work on the side will be beneficial for Nick and I as we start to think about making our family a little bigger (this won't be for a few years by the way, 2 dogs is already enough for our small house). But, the idea of me working from home within the next few years is very appealing to the two of us.

Another big event for 2011 is that Nick will be going to Paramedic School in April. He will be taking on a 6 month program and will become a Paramedic Fire Fighter once it's all done in November! Most programs last a full year, which some of you may already know, that it demands pretty much ALL of your time to study, go to class, do the clinicals....It can take a lot of out of you to say the least.....we both feel that this 6 month program will be best for us and we are both very excited for this!! Though, it will be a trying 6 months, I have no doubt that it will only strengthen our marriage and God has exciting plans for us! I am very proud of Nick, during the years that I have known him, he has always been proactive to take more classes to strengthen his knowledge and career. I admire him so much, especially that he is one of the few people that I know that does something that he really is down right passionate about.

With all that said, I have no doubt that 2011 will bring us many opportunities and I am excited to see what God has planned for us!!