Getting back on the horse.

Well hey there all!

It's been a minute! My last semester was CRAZY, so I didn't get a chance to post. This one will be semi-short (text-light), but a longer one (and more after that) will be coming starting next week.

Today I am finishing packing for Minnesota. I'm moving out there to live with Mark & I's dear friends Jake and Nick, two brothers who have been friends with Mark since he was a little boy. I'm going in a sort of mini caravan with Jake & Nick's parents, Ed & Lynn; they have a big truck & are hooking their enclosed trailer up to it to haul my stuff out, since they are going out to visit the boys & they have to come right through Kalamazoo anyway. It's like a free U-Haul! :) Mark has a few summer classes to finish up before he heads out there in July, but since I was only working one day a week at Hot Topic and I've applied for a few jobs out there, I felt it was time to head out & get a job, and get settled in. I can't get too settled because we're painting when Mark gets out, but I'm excited to be in a new space and to see new things. We're moving to White Bear Lake, MN, which is 17 minutes outside of Minneapolis and 25 minutes from St. Paul. It's an amazing opportunity that Jake has presented to us, and we can't pass it up!
I've said goodbye to my family and most of my friends, and strangely I didn't cry once. It's not that I won't miss everyone - I'll miss them terribly - I think I'm just really ready to do this. I think my heart and spirit have been cooped up in gross Kalamazoo far too long - in West Michigan, as much as I love it, for too long - and I'm ready for BIG changes.

So, I'm taking a break from packing & cleaning, and burning some CD's for my 10+ hour drive tomorrow while Mark is playing with his fish tank. :)

Well... A LOT has happened since my last post on September 30, 2010!

Mark & I were engaged at the time of my last post, but my engagement ring (which was apparently "too delecate" for me, as the jewelry store guy put it) broke 3 times, so I got a new one, and now I have a beautiful ring set. Here's the new one!

The new ring - I love it!

We both like it better than the other one, and it has held up beautifully to my (apparent) abuse.

What else...? Well, to be honest 2011 hasn't been great for us. There have been a lot of losses - a friend of Mark's from the car clubs, another friend's brother (crushed by a car he was working on), and the most difficult for us, Rosco, our ferret. She & Ellie are together now.



Ellie on top, Rosco on bottom.

Mark's car keeps having problems, I lost my job at the pizza place & haven't been able to get back on my feet financially, and school was a nightmare for both of us... But, I graduated!!

April 30, 2011

I had my last spring break of my undergrad & went to Frankenmuth for my 24th birthday with Mark & his parents. I also went to a Pistons game to celebrate my birthday and my cousin Liz's 23rd birthday, the day after mine, with my family. That was the first week of March.

Th weather has been CRAZY, which has caused some problems for us. Our apartment is so janky... The heat turns on but wouldn't turn off, and our AC is old & eats up SO much energy to even start cooling one room, so with the outside temp fluctuating, so we've been super hot or super cold all year. And, the winter storms and rain have ripped down trees & power lines... And our apt complex STILL hasn't cleared the down trees from February.

These are those same down trees today:

3 months later.

We've also had thunderstorms and hail storms.

That was a fun day - rain, hail & sunshine, simultaneously. Realllllly creepy.

At the end of March, I represented my chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi as our delegate to District Convention in Merrillville, IN. It was an incredible weekend, and combined with my being active again this semester & really getting back into KPsi, I was re-awakened as a brother & solidified some friendships into concrete.



Stephie & Lo - my team.

These last few months have shown me who my real friends & family are... These two are very special to me!

April was the final push toward graduation. It was a very tough month. I worked at a serving job that was awful - the worst job I've ever had - because the manager was just terrible. He was verbally abusive, and I didn't make any money because he had preference with other servers so I got screwed out of tables every shift. I quit, even though I didn't have anything else lined up, and chose to spend my time with the people I love before moving.

So, I've graduated, and I'm off to a new adventure. I'll be posting more often now, especially since this will be a great way to keep my family and friends posted on what's going on. I like this more than FB for the more personalized feel. So, keep up with me, and wish me luck! The next 2 months will be tough without Mark & the babies - Drake & Isis - but I know it's the best for us right now & it'll go by super fast.

Emily


Movie Suggestion: "Toy Story 3" (2010, voices of Tim Allen & Tom Hanks) - We finally saw this, & it's every bit as good as the first two films. It's a fresh story, very funny, and ties the story of Woody, Buzz & Andy together in a way that give closure but doesn't disappoint. We watched a documentary called "The Pixar Story" right before it, so we have an even bigger appreciation for the Disney-Pixar combo now.

Music Suggestion: A Fine Frenzy, "Bomb in a Birdcage" (2009) & "One Cell in the Sea" (2007) - She is just phenomenal. If you're looking for great tracks for summer drives, beach trips, cookouts, cleaning, painting, relaxing, or anything that your enjoy.... She's wonderful. Some pop-y upbeat tracks, but mostly just really solid & interesting lyrics over beautiful melodies.