gotta love being college students

The two pictures on the right are very sad pictures. This is what your fridge would look like on a college student's salary. That is until today.
Today, we got to go grocery shopping! And our fridge looks much better than this now.
Now, I don't want anyone to think that we are going hungry, there is still a lot of food you can't see in the cupboards and freezer so believe me we are not starving! It's funny though how long you can actually go without buying groceries. I think the last time we went was a couple of weeks before spring break, which was the first week of March. Oh, don't you all wish you were college students? :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

me and my car

Now I know that I do not have a good track record with the cars that so happen into my life...but I'd like to think that as I get older, I drive more carefully, I wash her when I can, I just cleaned all of my junk out of her, I play good music when I drive, really for the most part, my car has it pretty good.

But all that is right and good in the world does not apply to me and my car. Somewhere on my short trip to or from school I mananaged to deeply lodge a broken off razor blade into the tread of my rear passenger tire. I almost drove all the way to work like that and but a nice gentleman at the convience store hollared at me that I had a flat tire and offered me his air pump. I looked at the tire and then thanked him, but an air pump wasn't going do me any good.

So I drove home (3 mins away) traded cars with Jason and made it to work on time.

We have road hazard coverage on our tires through Discount Tire. So we would maybe at the most have to pay $20.00 for a tire, the only problem is that the closest Discount Tire is in Traverse City. Ahhh!!!!!!!!! So for the time being my car and my spare tire are only going to school and back until we figure out what to do about a tire. :)

Anyway. Other than my car hating, me things are going good up here. It was really nice over the weekend but the last couple of days it has only been in the 40's. But no rain! It has been very sunny everyday and you will not hear me complaining about that!

Tonight we indulged in the simple childish pleasure of standing in the rain.

crazy husband of mine

I don't know what I did to deserve someone like Jason, but I am one lucky girl. I also don't know why it took almost two years for "us" to feel so good and so right, but now that it has come I wouldn't want to trade this for the world.

Friday night we attended the graduate writers poetry/fiction/non-fiction reading at the Landmark Inn down town. Jason and I have only attended two of these readings, but we look forward to them every month. It's a very informal yet respectful night. The poem that did me in was about a girl's 10 month old nephew she has been babysitting and taking care of as only an auntie can do. As she read I could only think of Emily and how much I miss her and how terribly sad it is to me to miss her growing up. I immediately went outside and called Amber, crossing my fingers that Emily would still be up. Amber gave her the cell phone and she said "hello" and "stacey" and "iloveyou" which was about the cutest and dearest thing I have ever heard. She gave up on talking to me and begged to take her bath, but it was good enough for me.

It's a strange feeling to me being so happy and so content with my life and where I am heading, and on the other hand to feel this deep desperation and yearning to be where my roots are. I wish I was home, if just for a day to see all who are dear to me, to soak them in, and take it all back with me.

I have been having a hard time getting time off work to come home. Let alone have a single weekend day off to be able to do nothing or everything, and going to church has been out of the question for so long now. My dilemma is what to do about it. Do I leave my fellow co-workers in the lurch? Do I search for something else that will offer me even just a wee bit of flexibility when it comes to scheduling? Do I stick it out and be thankful for what I have and just deal with it? Do I give up trips home, camping trips, lazy summer days, and everything else that gets pushed to the side when I have to work every single weekend?

I don't know. I will figure it out, I always do.

On Friday night Jason and I also had the chance to go out after the reading. We had good conversations with new friends that are becoming good friends and most of all after they had left, and it was just the two of us we talked and talked and talked.

I love my husband.
I love how just how much he loves me.
I love that he kisses me every time either one of us goes out or comes in the door.
I love his mind and how it is constantly working and processing and asking for more.
I love how much he encourages me, or just lets me be.
I love that he strives to be closer to the Lord.
I love his musical talent.
I love much much more about him than these.
I love you Jason.
I would be so bored without you in my life.

season of change

It is officially spring and that means lots of change in the world. The snow melts, trees start to bud, flowers poke their delicate heads through the muck, birds start chirping, and important decisions are made.
Today I finalized a decision that I have been mulling over for a while. I have realized these last two semesters that life is too short and my sanity is too important to pursue a career that although will bring me financial stability and job security, in the end will it really be the right thing to do. Are all the perks of nursing really worth it if it's not something I really love to do even if I would be good at it?
I have come to the conclusion that no it's not worth it.
I have been mulling this over in my heart and my head for a while now and today the weight was lifted off of my heart and my shoulders.
Today I met with the Christine Flavin, she is going to be my new advisor and a professor of photography at the art and design school at Northern Michigan.
Today was the first in many steps of changing my major to Photography and I couldn't be happier! After meeting with my new advisor and looking over the classes I need to register for I looked at them and realized that they were ALL art classes and I was happy as a clam about it. This is a HUGE step for me, but something that I know I have to do in order to stake my claim on the happiness that everyone deserves.
I know that it might not be the most stable profession, but I do know that it is a direction that my heart has been begging and begging me take and finally I had the courage to step in the right direction.
I will admit that I'm a little scared, a little apprehensive and little worried that I'm not going to be creative enough. BUT I am sure that it will be a challenge and when it comes to challenges I thrive! Most of all though, I am excited to see what my options are and what my creative juices will come up with! Ahhh the possibilities!

I am going to be taking courses in Graphic Communications which will hopefully give me a lot more options when i finish school (which by the way i have no clue how long it will take to finish, i'll have to figure that out)

In the mean time this summer I am going to take a black and white photography class which will put me a little ahead of the game.
I am so excited and couldn't be happier. It's such a good feeling knowing that I will be doing something I love to do.

Today I became an Art and Design student! Wow is that scary or what!



-I almost forgot to mention this,(sorry jason) but Jason was offered at Teaching Assistant position next fall. This means he will teach his own class...by himself, we will get a financial stipend to live off of AND the school pays for his tuition. We are both so excited for this! Both of our changes are answers to prayer and a confirmation that we are still on the right path and heading in the right direction (everyone needs that once in a while!)

what to say.....

Well, it's tuesday and I am at a loss of words of what to say on this blog of mine. I don't think the fact that it's Tuesday has anything to do with it though, I was just making a statement of truth. Maybe something will come to me as I sit and stare at my screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nope. Okay then everyone have a great wednesday!

HAPPY ST. Paddy's DAY!

-edited to add pretty in green photo