584 days have passed... time to post!

WELL, NOW!

It's been 584 days since my last post. Yeesh! Here's a "quick" update...

Life in Oregon was a cool experience.

Mark & I at my welcome party/open house.

 Me in my office.

Northwest Archivists Conference in Salem, OR.

Maryhill Museum's Stevenson Wing dedication, Maryhill, WA.

 Walking the Drakers in Moro.

Our backyard garden!

Multnomah Falls, east of Troutdale, OR along the Historic Columbia River Highway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multnomah_Falls

We took a high-speed jet boat trip up the Deschutes River.

 

 We experienced local and not-so-local wildlife, including a Pirate Parrot Show!

 Mark got to show his car in the Sherman County Fair Car Show.

We Cruised the Gorge in The Dalles, OR. 

 We made some great friends.

We lived in constant view of Mount Hood, which was a beauty to behold at all times of day or night.

We took a one-night trip to Portland for an Oregon Historical Society talk and a mini-vacation. We got to eat and drink at the Rogue Brewery and Hair of the Dog Brewery as well as a great downtown sushi joint, and Mark got to ride an indoor bike park called The Lumberyard, which even has its own bar!

http://www.lumberyardmtb.com/

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Moved back from Oregon August 2012 after the job there (long story short) did not end up being the right fit for us. We made the 3,000 mile journey in 4 days for me to start my new job!

 Off to a great start!

Tired, but trucking right along.

And then this happened...

Almost there!!

All tuckered out at Grandpa's house.

In September 2012 started working for Torrid, a DBE of Hot Topic (whom I worked for from 11/08 to 05/11), as the part time assistant manager at the brand new (low-volume) Farmington Hills location. By January I was promoted to full time assistant manager, and in March 2013 I was sent to the Great Lakes Crossing location in Auburn Hills to be the full time assistant (high-volume store). I ran the store by myself for a month while they searched for a store manager. I left Torrid Nov. 11, 2013 to pursue other career paths, which include my Etsy store, www.etsy.com/shop/EurynomeRising! 

We were reunited with some of our oldest and closest friends...

 And found some new - and immediate - friends for life.

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I am currently working at Target and am in the running for a HUGE job opportunity with the American Cancer Society. This job would be a complete game-changer in Mark & I's life - we would be financially stable, and I would be personally and professionally fulfilled doing meaningful work and growing a real career with a stable future.

Mark started working at Knight Global in October 2012, and has since been promoted several times and is really building his skill sets for the long term of his career. He went from shop rat to cubicle dweller in only a few months - I am so proud of his accomplishments! He works about 50 hours a week to keep us going. He is such an amazing support system for our home and life.

In other news, Mark and I had been living with his parents, and in June of this year we moved into a beautiful little rental house in Pontiac, MI right on the border of Bloomfield Township. We live in a decent neighborhood, have great neighbors, and we love our 1930s bungalow. Our house has beautiful original woodwork and some great modern updates, like our all-season room that looks out on the back porch. We enjoyed grilling out and entertaining friends this summer, and our house is what all of our homes have always been - an open door for loved ones and new friends alike. (photo post to come!)

And the biggest news of all, on June 22nd, we tied the knot! In a beautiful, simple ceremony in my hometown of Holland, MI, we were married with 75 of our closest friends and family in attendance and others attending in spirit. Our families made it a truly unforgettable occasion, and we are so grateful that we barely had to lift a finger and just got to enjoy ourselves for the whole weekend. I also had 2 gorgeous bridal showers and really felt the love on both sides of the state! We haven't taken a honeymoon, but we plan on taking a small trip to Macinac Island or Frankenmuth or somewhere cool in the mitten soon. (photo post to come!)

That's basically where we are at now; I plan to compose a few blog posts about holidays, some cool things we've done since coming home, etc. with photos over the next couple weeks (between holiday and Black Friday week work!).

Thanks for reading,

Emily

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Music suggestion: Neyo's song "Can We Chill." It's a really cute song about trying to pick up a girl, as usual in a lot of pop/r&b songs, but he's being respectful about it, and I love that. It's one of my go-to songs on the mixed CDs in my car. :) Gotta love a gentleman!

Movie suggestions: If you haven't seen "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," just watch it. Come over to my house and watch it if you want... Just see it. Then go see part 2, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" in theaters Dec. 13, 2013! Watch one of the trailers here: http://movies.yahoo.com/video/hobbit-trailer-2a-150141871.html