Winter Updates

It seems like things have been super boring lately, but I guess quite a bit has happened since my last blog post.  We spent Christmas in NC with Robert's parents.  It was definitely good not to be all by ourselves, but it was strange not being in Bolivar with my parents, brother, and grandparents.  I had to work every day that week except for Christmas day, so that didn't really leave time to travel anywhere.  Also, with plane tickets being super expensive around holidays it just couldn't happen.  Robert is still on his Christmas break, so he was able to be with his parents quite a bit while they were in town.

For New Years Eve we were able to go to PA to visit my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  I got two days off for New Years, and since it coincided with the weekend I had 4 days off which allowed us to make the eight hour drive to Northeastern Pennsylvania.  It was so great!  We hadn't seen everybody since our wedding.  It was perfect - it snowed the day before we got there and the day after we got there so we got to enjoy the lovely white stuff without having to brave terrible roads.  We were able to go sledding twice with my cousin Ryan.  We also had lots of delicious food, had an early celebration for Uncle Doug's birthday, went to church with Grandma and Grandpa, had a little belated Christmas, and played tons and tons of games.  It was great!

Robert is in Jan term right now.  He's taking Greek 1.  It's 13 days from 8:30-12:00, and he is doing so well.  He has gotten A's on all of his quizzes and his one test.  I am very impressed!  He will continue by taking Greek 2 in the spring.  He was also able to clep out of Hebrew 1 and 2 last week.  He took Hebrew 3 in the fall, and since he passed we were able to pay a small fee in order to get the six credit hours for Hebrew 1 and 2.  I'm so happy that Robert was able to save us time and money by skipping Hebrew 1 and 2.

We were able to have quite a bit of friend time this weekend.  We had one of Robert's old coworkers (Christine) and her husband (Brian) over for dinner on Saturday.  I made homemade pizza and they brought salad with homemade honey goat milk dressing.  I can honestly say I had never had that before, but it was really good.  We spent the evening playing Anomia, Sequence, and working on a puzzle.  On Saturday I was able to go for a walk with Katie, and Allie, and Jolie, and last night we were able to have Allie and Jolie over for some playtime. 

My parents will be here for Martin Luther King weekend, and we are so excited!  We don't have any big plans while they're here, but I know it'll be a great time.  Robert hasn't seen my dad since August, and he hasn't seen Mom since October.  I saw both of them in Bolivar the last weekend of November, but it still feels like it's been way too long.

Robert started a new job at Wake Forest Florist and is absolutely loving it.  He works from 9:00-5:00 on Friday and Monday and 9:00-2:00 on Saturday.  It's perfect since he won't have class on Mondays or Fridays this semester.  He really likes his boss and co-workers, and he loves that he gets to just load up the car for deliveries and do his thing and be on his own for a bit.  It's definitely helping him get around town even better.  This job pays quite a bit better than his old job too - definitely not complaining about that. :) 

We had unseasonably warm weather this weekend.  We turned off the heater and pulled open the sliding glass door.  I was able to take two nice walks outside, and we both got to wear shorts, t-shirts, and sandals.  It was great!  Bolivar got some freezing rain/ice this weekend.  It might sound weird to some people, but I miss that.  Don't get me wrong, warm weather is obviously nice, but I'm just so used to it being cold in the winter.  I miss the snow, ice, cold, and wind of the winter.

Disappointment

Remember how excited I was to have a visit from Mom?  That hasn't happened yet. :(  Friday was such a long day.  I worked from 8:00-4:30 (which means I was gone from 7:00-5:30) and went immediately to the tea room to waitress for art after hours until 8:30 (which ended up being 9:30).  All in all, I was doing job stuff from 7:00-9:30 - 14.5 hours.  I was utterly exhausted, but I drove home really quick to change clothes and make the bed before driving back to Raleigh to pick up Mom from the airport.  Of course this happened to be a day where I accidentally left my phone at home - the day where I was gone for 14.5 hours.  When I got home I checked my phone and saw a text from Mom saying here flight was cancelled.  I kind of thought she was trying to be funny.  I gave her a call and she wasn't kidding.  Her flight was cancelled because of fog.  You would think that in 2012 plans and airports would be sophisticated enough to handle big time fog.  Of course I'm glad they didn't fly and take the risk of being injured, but it was still incredibly disappointing.  Needless to say, I began to cry and cry and cry.  Giant tears running down my face onto the bed.  I know it sounds dramatic, but living here has been so difficult.  Nothing has come easily.  The list of icky things just seems to multiply.  Now add "Not being able to see my Mommy" to the list.

She rescheduled her flight for this coming weekend, but she isn't able to stay quite as long.  Her flight gets in Friday night at 11:30, and she heads back home Monday morning at 8:30.  Two days just isn't enough.  All I want to do is see my mom.  Why does everything have to be so difficult?

I am so very thankful for my dear friend Katie.  And for my loving husband.  Sweet husband went and told Katie right away that Mom could come.  Robert came back with a handwritten invitation from Katie requesting my presence for a date on Saturday from 12:00-5:00 while our husbands work.  She ended it with "RSVP Immediately.  You must say Yes."  Of course this made me cry even more.  I don't deserve such a loving husband and thoughtful friends.  God met my need for compassion and friendship. 

So on Saturday, Katie and I had our girls' day out.  It was perfect!  The boys both had to work so it was infinitely better than being at home by myself thinking about how I wasn't hanging with my mom.  We went to Smithfield's BBQ, Good Will (Katie snagged some Christmas decor), grocery shopping (because it's so much more fun together), and a walk.  Katie is the perfect shopping partner.  She didn't complain while I took 10 minutes to pick out moisturizer.  We helped each other find stuff in the store.  We didn't feel rushed.  And even though I know having a friend to go grocery shopping with doesn't seem like a miracle, but at that moment it was such a gift from God.  We ended up the day with a 4 mile walk to say hi to the boys at work.  It was absolutely perfect.  It definitely wasn't how I had planned the day, but it was absolutely delightful.

The List Continues

1. August 22 - Drury starts, 4 days til... DONE
2. August 26 - Mom's birthday, 8 days til...DONE
3. September 3 - Bethany gets married, 2 days til...  JUST 4 MORE DAYS
4. September 5 - Dad's birthday AND Labor Day, 3 days til...
5. September 8 - My birthday, 34 days til...
6. October 12 - Organizational Communication ends, 2 days til...
7. October 14-23 - Fall break, 1 day til...
8. October 24 - Organizational Change starts, 6 days til...
9. October 30 - Saints game in St. Louis, 1 day til...
10. October 31 - Halloween, 22 days til...
11. November 22-26 - Alabama for Thanksgiving break, 18 days til...
12. December 14 - Organizational Change ends, 1 day til...
13. December 15 - Public Relations ends...18 days til
14. December 19  January 2- Winter project begins...15 days til
15. January 17 - Spring semester starts...10 days til
16. January 13 January 27- Winter project ends... 49 days til
17. Mary 16-26 - Pennsylvania for spring break...11 days til...
18. April 6 - Good Friday off...1 day til
19. April 7 - Jim's birthday...1 day til
20. April 8 - Easter...29 days til
21. May 7-12 - Finals...3 days til
22. May 10 - Graduation rehearsal...1 day til
23. May 11 - School ends...1 day til
24. May 12 - My graduation...7 days til
25. May 19 - Robert's graduation...1 day til
26. May 20 - Our wedding!

Since the last time I posted this list my birthday came and went.  Org comm is coming to an end - only 16 days to go.  It's honestly gone by rather quickly.  I know, it's crazy.  Once org comm ends I'll have fall break and start a new class: organizational change.  Should be a party. ;)

I stayed pretty busy with school, babysitting, and socializing last week.  It's been really hard to balance my social life the past four months.  I crave interaction with humans, but it's something that makes my schedule even more jam-packed.  This weekend I did A LOT of socializing.  I went to Springfield early before class on Thursday and went to the mall and Starbucks with my dear friend Kelsey.  On Friday I drove to AR to visit my friend Elise.  We got pizza, watched a movie ("Something Borrowed" - much better than I had expected), and caught up.  The next morning we ate breakfast at Rick's Bakery (I got a sausage roll, cheese danish, and fresh-squeezed orange juice) and perused the farmers' market.  Robert and I enjoyed watching two Cardinal wins on tv this weekend as well. 

Highlights for this week will be: Picking apples at Plaster's Orchard and class today - My group is leading class facilitation.  Eating dinner at Windermere with the Durbins tomorrow.  Meeting with my dear friend Carey and class on Wednesday.  Babysitting and class on Thursday.  Babysitting and my high school homecoming parade and football game Friday.  Gilmore Girls alum Melissa McCarthy hosting Saturday Night Live on Saturday.  And finally, church and a Sunday school picnic at the lake on Sunday.  Whew!  No wonder I'm tired.

Friendship

I have been blessed with some very good friends.  I really hadn't thought about it until I went to college and realized you just can't make bff's over night.  I think I always to it for granted that I grew up in one town, so I was able to make friendships that have already lasted over 15 years.  Some people moved every 5 years.  Then I went to college and thought I'd never make another friend.  I was wrong.  Although friendships at college were way different, they were still good.  I don't know if you feel the same way, but to me friendships seemed to change every semester or school year.  It really depended on who I had classes with, whose schedule lined up with mine for lunch, who my suitemates were, and so on.  It was different, but still meaningful.  I say all of this because as I start this new scary chapter in my life (grad school) I'm encouraged by the fact that I've made friends in the past, and I'll do it again.  It might not be instant, but it'll happen.  Let's look at some pictures with friends and reminisce, shall we?

Leigha and I have been friend since our stroller days.  We've always lived on the same street so play dates happened often.  Even though she lives six hours away now, our friendship is still going strong.

(Kelsey on the left) Jen is such a great listener.  She does a wonderful job and hearing me out.  She's gonna be a great nurse!

Kelsey and I have had many an adventure together: El Salvador multiple times, Girls Double Cooper (for life),  and who can forget the time we "chaperoned" a middle school trip to the corn maze?

A Mother's Day tea with my small group.  I am so very thankful for my mentors (Leslie [front row, second from left] and Casey [front row, center]).  Those girls challenged me and taught me so much.

Michael: excellent pianist, fellow Gilmore Girls enthusiast

Luke (left) and I go all the way back to the playground in elementary school.  Tyler (right) thinks I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread.  It's great.

Fond memories with Elise include space camp (God bless Hunter Moore), El Salvador, choir, church, and life since age 9.

The best friends a gal could ask for

Tarah: Not only is she tall, pale skinned, and blondish/reddish haired like me, she's also a great friend.

Grant - Prom date, choir buddy, world traveler, and my only friend with a wet suit

Windermere buddies - Rachel and Loretta.  Thanks for making last summer way fun!