Picture update of the last 3 months

I realized today that I've been shamefully bad about updating this blog so, here's a quick recap a few things I've missed: My mom came to visit at the end of September. It was awesome to have her here and we did some fun things like shopping and going to one of the local apple orchards.

 And then we made some delicious pie with the apples we got. Yum!

 Next comes Halloween & my birthday. We carved a pumpkin and then made some wonderful chicken cordon bleu for my birthday dinner. It was delicious.

Thanksgiving: We couldn't visit family this year and when I found out I was pretty disappointed. This is the first year that I haven't been able to spend it with my family. So, we decided to make our own Thanksgiving meal and set up our Christmas tree like my family does. It turned out well and we had a nice day together.

Here's Joey carving his first turkey. He did a really good job.

Here's the biggest, cheapest tree I could find. It's 6' tall and was only $20! I will admit that it looks a little sad by itself but, I really wanted a tree so, I'm happy.

Plus, it looks a lot better all decorated. We--well, mostly I--made almost all of the ornaments on the tree. I crocheted the snowflake garland as well. I think that it turned out really well.

Happy Holidays! 

Oh yeah, and I got a part-time in-the-mean-time-job at one of the other pre-school centers of the company that my husband works for. I'm a substitute. It's good enough to hold me over until something in my field opens up. Who knows, maybe the experience will help me in some unforeseen way. 

Chapter 10: The silver lining to the clouds

My blogs have had a slightly depressing or maybe even complaining tone to them lately but, as I think about it I find that there's always at least a little silver lining to the dark clouds that have come our way. We've still found time to do fun things and I've received a lot of tender mercies when I've been feeling extra down. My parents came on a surprise visit over Labor day and it was really uplifting to have family around. Then last weekend, Joey and I went on a light rail adventure to the Portland Saturday market and Farmer's market. We had a few extra dollars in food money that we hadn't spent and decided to get some things at the market. We saw an artichoke and decided to buy it even though we've never cooked one or eaten a fresh one and then we split a very tasty marionberry empanada. It was fun because I like to try new things. That evening, we made a delicious stuffed artichoke, spaghetti and peanut butter ice cream for dessert. (Good food always brightens my mood).  While we were waiting for the ice cream to harden in the freezer we watched a movie. We kept on getting distracted because it started raining very hard and then even harder until it was pouring so hard that the parking lot looked more like a bunch of rivers and streams. So, we went and played in it and got soaking wet. It was a nice day and I really needed it. This week was better too because I started a project. I'll blog about that when it's done. It really is nicer to be busy but I'm glad that good times can always be found. 

The Job Hunt Saga Continues...

After a longer than promised wait, I finally received the rejection email. It seems as though they decided to go with someone with more experience (not that they told me this but, as I know that I have all other qualifications for the job I assume that must be the cause). I was starting to thing this would happen because they took so long. Anyway, the next day I got an email to do an interview over at 24 hour fitness as a personal trainer. I went today and I think that the interview went pretty well. They guy interviewing me said that I definitely have the qualifications and that he's looking for the right personality. I have no idea if I have his brand of the "right" personality. I know that I would gain valuable experience from the job but I'm not exactly business minded so, I don't know how well I would do at recruiting and keeping clients. I suppose that I'll get the job that the Lord thinks is right for me. In the mean time I guess I'll just keep waiting and keeping an eye out for other jobs.

The Job Hunt Part 2

Two weeks ago from tomorrow, during the last week of my internship I had a surprise call from a Portland cardiac rehab center that I applied to even though I didn't fully meet the experience qualifications. They wanted to interview me! I was so excited and nervous. It's hard to say exactly how the interview went. I think I did well in some points and that I could have done better in others (but one shouldn't analyze an interview too much right? You'll always find something you think you did wrong). They told me I would find out in about two weeks and I've been in agony ever since. A full time job in my field is a dream job and to get it right after I finished my internship and graduated seems so good that sometimes I'm afraid it won't be true but, I've also been so incredibly blessed lately that it seems like it could be a possibility. I want the job so bad it hurts. Is it so hard to make a decision and pick up the phone? I just want to be put out of my misery.  If I don't get it I'd rather know so that I can move on with my life. Here's to hoping they call tomorrow.

Chapter 9: The Job Hunt

As my internship has been winding down, knowing that the hospital I've been working at is in a hiring freeze, I've finally begun the after-college job hunt. I've postponed this moment for as long as possible and I'm realizing more than ever the state that our economy and my chosen field is really in. Both aren't so good right now. Exercise Physiology* is a relatively new field and is still battling out it's place in the world. Cardiac rehab centers can certify with a national organization that recognizes EP's but there are only so many cardiac rehab centers in a certain area. Because of the economy businesses only want to hire people with experience so they don't have to spend money on training. Exercise programs also tend to be one of the first things cut as budgets get tighter. This is true for the average person as well as businesses. This puts me in a bit of a dilemma.

Do I stoop to personal training* or even retail--jobs that any kid out of high school can do--or do I wait it out until I can find a place where I can actually use my degree? My head says wait; my bank account disagrees. I've applied at a few jobs for EP's but I don't hear from them and when I call to follow up they've already filled the position. I suppose doing anything to pay off student loans is better than not doing anything at all. Besides, I would get bored with Joey at work all day. I guess I'd better keep looking. The Lord has provided thus far so, I'm sure that if I do my part I'll find something that's a good fit.

On the positive side. Joey's job is going well and he's such a great teacher that he's moving up to a full time position this Fall--and may even get a lead teaching position if budget allows. We're really excited about that.




*To clarify: An exercise physiologist has deep understanding of the human body and the science behind exercise. They approach exercise from a human performance standpoint and from an exercise as medicine standpoint. EP's work with a variety of populations from athletes to more clinical populations such as those with heart problems, diabetes, arthritis, cancer. They know the benefits of exercise and how to prescribe exercise for ALL populations. This is different than being a personal trainer who show generally healthy people the techniques of exercise and put together a basic exercise program based on national recommendations.

Chapter 8: A new beginning

So, it's been a while since I've blogged...things might have gotten a little busy. I'm not sure how many of the gory details to go into but, I may as well back track a little bit since I haven't written about a few very large and life changing events that have happened recently.

#1 Joey and I packed all of our worldly belongings and drove 7 hours from Duluth to Luverne to have a pre-wedding reception.

 

#2 Then we drove 2 days straight to Utah, rested for a couple of days and then we got married in the Jordan River Temple. It was a happy but tiring day :)

So, we took a mini vacation in Bodega Bay, CA. Here's our cute little one room cottage we rented.

#3 We came back from California, re-packed our cars + a rental car until they couldn't hold anymore and drove to Vancouver, WA where we've settled in a cute albeit little apartment. Here are some pictures (after we got it all unpacked).

We really like it here. Joey found a job at a pre-school in Portland where he has the teaching freedom he likes and I'm just finishing up my internship at a cardiac rehab center here in town. I really like it and hope to be able to find a job doing something similar eventually.

Chapter 7: Fresh herbs and experiments

Back in October, Joey got me a big pot with some herbs in it for my birthday because he knew that I missed my herb garden that I had to leave in Utah. (isn't he thoughtful?) However, I didn't really know how to use 2 kinds of mint, sage, or lavender. So, they kind of sat there for a while until the sage died and the lavender and mint went crazy. Earlier this week the nice spring weather prompted me to pay more attention to my poor plants. I trimmed the plant and pulled out about half of the lavender (which according to my research is the wrong kind for cooking anyway) and planted some basil instead. I'm looking forward to making pesto, yum! I finally looked up some things to do with the mint. First a honey glazed chicken from this site which looks fabulous but I have yet to try and a chocolate chip cookie with fresh mint in it. I made these last night. They were a little different than I expected but, I happened to forget the salt so, there's kind of a confounding variable--oops. (Joey and I mixed it in with the rest of the dough later although now that i think about it, we didn't account for the dough that we had already cooked so, now they might be a little too salty, oops again.) We'll see how they turn out when I make the cookie dough correctly.

Chapter 6: Stress

I've been shamefully neglectful of this blog but, I'm sure anyone who's been in my shoes would be understanding. School the past couple of weeks has been very crazy and stressful. I had several assignments due, reading, a giant paper that somehow got put off until the last minute, a test for which preparing doesn't help because taking it involves the "guess what teacher's thinking" game and the fact that I'm used to having finals about now but I've still got two weeks of class left. It was a very long week. Joey has been exceptionally patient and that's been comforting but, I've been thinking about it and I realized that I haven't actually had a break this semester. I should have felt spoiled this year because not only did I get an entire week off for spring break for the first time in 4.5 years, I also got another 3 days off for Easter break two weeks later. It was nice to take a break from school however, both breaks I was very busy with wedding stuff. I don't think I fully realized how stressful planning a wedding is.

I'm the third wedding in my family so, by this point planning one is going pretty smoothly. I got a ton of things done while I was home for spring break. I found my wedding dress, went through the temple, had a shower, wrote thank you notes, picked a cake, told the flower lady what kind of bouquet I want etc, visited my sister that just had a baby, did family names at the temple, found shoes for my dress, and priced out food for the reception. It was crazy but, I'm glad I went because I don't know how else it would have worked out.

Two weeks later, Joey and I drove down to Luverne-a tiny town in the southwest corner of MN where Joey's family lives. His family on both sides have lived there for quite some time. His ancestors may have even helped settle the area. Needless to say, I had a lot of family to meet. His mom threw me a shower, which was really sweet but I felt kind of awkward because I'd only met a handful of the people that came.

On top of all of this, I've been trying to make sure that things are in order to move to Washington. Joey has of course been helping but, let's be honest. I'm better at thinking farther ahead. So, I think about it and figure out what needs to be done and he helps do it. The arrangement seems to be working out so far. We've finally found an apartment in our price range and got approved to move in and everything so, things seem to be falling together even though I know that it's going to be pretty crazy at the end of may.

Here's the plan. Joey's last day of work is May 28. We will have packed by then and will be ready to go Saturday morning. That evening we will have an open house in Luverne, we'll open gifts and stuff Sunday and we'll leave for Utah Monday. It's a 17 hour drive so, it'll probably take 2-3 days to get to Utah depending on how we split it up. I have to drive the WHOLE way and I'm not excited. Once in Utah, we have to get our wedding license and do any other last minute things before we get married that Friday (June 4). Then Joey and I fly out to Bodega bay, CA for our honeymoon. We come back the middle of next week, pack up our cars and my sisters car and head out to Vancouver. (they're helping us bring our stuff to Washington because we looked into getting a rental vehicle and the cheapest we could find was like $900! Even with us paying for my sister and my brother in law's gas and food, it'll be WAY cheaper for them to come with us-not to mention the extra help moving in that we would otherwise have to do on our own.) We'll move in that Saturday and I start my internship the following Wednesday.

Basically the next month or so of my life is going to be insane. I guess that's what I get for planning a wedding in 3.5 months and going to grad school and planning a move all at the same time. I just have to keep thinking how relaxing and maybe even boring it'll be once we get settled. That'll be nice. Until then, I think I'm just going to have to live with being in survival mode all of the time.

Chapter 5: A New Step

As of February 14, 2010 I have taken a step that will change my life forever. I said, "yes" when he said, "will you please." I feel good about this decision. The transition has come about in a way that I knew undeniably, from deep down inside that I wanted to marry him. As I thought and prayed about it while we were apart over Christmas break, I was reminded of all the little instances and circumstances that have made our relationship what it is. When I returned to Duluth after almost 3 weeks, my resolve was solidified by several things. 1st--chronologically, he attempted to surprise me by canceling my shuttle trip home, taking the day off work, driving the 2.5 hours to the airport, and picking me up with some beautiful flowers. (The shuttle company blew his cover by sending a confirmation email of the cancellation and me freaking out and calling them about it. He still gets lots of point for it though.) 2nd, as we spent the rest of the day together I realized how much I had actually missed him. I felt a refreshment that I wasn't aware I had needed. It just felt good. We decided that night that we wanted to get married.

The official proposal took a while longer however. In the mean time, we decided where we want to live so that I could find an internship out there, the idea being that it's a good idea to intern at a place you might actually like to stay. So, since we both had no long term plans of staying in Minnesota and we've both always been attracted to the west coast, I found an internship in Vancouver, WA. I called up the cardiac rehab center of one of the hospitals out there and talked to them about the possibility of doing an internship there this summer. Within a week they said they'd take me. I'm starting June 17. Joey is in early childhood education so, he can pretty much find a teaching job anywhere. Finally we decided to get married June 4 so that we could move to Vancouver together. We called the temple and set the date. However, he still hadn't proposed...

I knew that he would probably try to surprise me and that it would probably be on a weekend and that he had been looking at rings for a while and most likely had one. So after a couple of weekends passed and nothing happened, I thought he might do it on Valentines day. It started out like any other low-key, Sunday Valentines. We made breakfast in the morning and exchanged gifts. He got me this really cool halite lamp and a giftcard to a department store. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. We went to church, came home, made dinner and watched some Olympics. Later that evening as they announced more figure skating he said that he didn't want to watch it and suggested we watch some video he took of the preschoolers from his work on their favorite parts of the school musical they had just done. I said, "OK" knowing it would probably be just long enough to get past the figure skating to some other event that we both like. As we watched, I noticed that sometimes there wasn't a question asked at the beginning and I assumed that it was probably the same one as the previous child, however the answer didn't make sense. I disregarded this thinking that they're preschoolers and often give strange answers. Finally, at the end I heard the question. "Why should my girlfriend, Melissa marry me?" and the little girl answered, "because she likes people!" Before I had completely processed what was going on, Joey had slid off the couch and on to his knee holding out the ring. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes. He then he brought up some sparkling cider and chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas to top it all off. I thought it was a nice touch and on the whole really thoughtful and sweet. I feel lucky to have found someone willing to to go so much effort for me :) Here are some of our engagement pictures and of course--per request--a picture of the ring. Enjoy!