answered prayers

Time to recap:

In my last blog six some odd months ago I expressed concern about two main things. One being our house and my worry that it wouldn't sell. Well, here we are six months later and it's finally under contract. It's such a relief. We close on October 31st and we'll have what became such a financial burden behind us. The second thing I mentioned was wanting to have a baby. Well, you guessed it, here we are six months later and I'm five months pregnant. Funny how that works. I do live in a society of instant gratification, so perhaps I'm just accustomed to the "I want it and I want it NOW!" philosophy.
So, alas, mine and Jameson's "journey together" continues, but we're adding one, in February. So, prepare yourself because for the next four months, this will be the pregnancy blog, and if that completely disinterests you, check back after that for the "baby blog."

I'll give you the short version. Jameson wanted to have a baby for a while and kept dropping subtle hints that became not so subtle anymore. Finally when I felt like we were at least semi-settled here in Melbourne and the thought of going to work every day in the Neonatal ICU was too much to bear because I wanted one of my own so bad, I started praying. God showed me that He was the one who placed that desire there and that He'd worked everything out for us in order to start our family. So I trusted that, and well one month later, I got a positive test. After yakking up every meal for twelve weeks, we finally found out the culprit for all this mess is a little girl. And I'm already so in love with this little girl, body snatcher or not! It makes me grin from ear to ear at each doctor's appointment when I hear the heartbeat which overshadows that big frown I bear after stepping on the scale. (I will be a size 4 again one day, right?!) She's going to be so very worth it and I can't wait to hold her in my arms for the first time. She truly is God's gift to us already. We're just going to keep trusting Him.

So now here I sit, six months after my last post, five months pregnant, so enamored with the new life within me. So blessed by each and every little kick. And so thankful of all God's many blessings, including the sale of our house in Birmingham! I promise to stay more updated. I'm going to start posting pictures of all baby's new things so you'll get excited with me. And for now, she's just "baby," her name will remain a secret until delivery in order not to ruin such a special announcement. A face with a name is always a little more exciting!

Stay tuned...



Anna (& baby)

And so began my love affair with WATER...

So it's been a crazy four weeks here. We've had company every weekend we've been here, so we've more or less "eased" into being 10 and 1/2 hours from home. I miss it quite often. I miss my friends, my home, and my job quite a bit. I hate being back into a small two bedroom apartment, although the perks include being able to call the apartment complex "hey, my dishwasher's not working, totally YOUR problem, come fix it!" and I have a lot less square feet to clean. Which, we all know I totally hate cleaning. My kitchen is teeny tiny, but that gives me a good excuse not to have to cook... "but BABE, I have NO counter space to prepare our meal!" So, the pro's/con's kind of balance each other out. I miss Lindsey and Leslie, they are completely irreplaceable, and I know that, but I do hope to meet friends that I have things in common with that share similar values, and it'd be great if they were nurses and obsessed with Tory Burch as well.

I went a little crazy when we first got here. The first week that Jameson went to work I was BORED out of my mind and didn't know what to do with myself. So, even though I do not have a creative bone in my body I decided that I wanted to make something. So after three hours in Hobby Lobby, and two backaches, here's what I came up with for my parents...

And this for mine and Jameson's front door...

There have been several things weighing heavily on my mind lately. I guess that's another thing I do with all this spare time I've had. Three things: 1. I really want to get involved in a church here and make Christian couple friends. 2. I am so scared our house will not sell. and 3. I want to have a baby! That's a lot of information right there, so we will start with #1. There's a church here called Church at Viera and I think Jameson and I will really like it. It's similar to what we are used to but we need to get settled and make time to check it out. Both of us hate new, awkward situations where we don't know anyone and we are obviously the "new" people. So, it's going to take courage and a good night of sleep beforehand where I will not be working. As for #2, I feel like our house in Birmingham shows quite a bit, at least a couple times a week, I know we have it priced really well, but I still know that the economy is not so good for trying to sell. Everyone wants our house and we've already had two offers, but everyone wants a fabulous deal on it and we don't want to lose our entire down payment. It's frustrating and so sad to think that we could lose all the money we worked so hard to save and in turn not be able to buy a house for a few years. The offers we have had have been encouraging to a point where we know people like it and want to buy it, but discouraging in the fact that they have been as much as 20k less than our listing price without any willingness to go up in price. I guess it's just a sign of the times. We are paying to have it cleaned and repainted this week in hopes of impressing someone to offer closer to our listing price. I hate this economy! With the lack of jobs, lay off, and people without any sort of money, how on earth do they think we can offer close to $4 a gallon in gas? And pay rent? And a mortgage? And a car payment? And all of our other bills? Ridiculous! Thank goodness Jameson and I have good paying jobs with great benefits where we can afford to do all of the above, although, it still makes me feel better to whine about it a little bit. And #3, I know you've all been waiting on it, I've finally gotten to the point where I do want to have a baby. I feel finally settled, mature enough, and selfless enough to take on this task. Jameson and I have had three years of marriage under our belts and been able to travel and experience a lot of fun times together. Yet, just because I WANT one, doesn't mean I need one yet. Due to the fact that we still have our house in Birmingham and the stress of having to deal with that may delay our plans. Along with the fact that I am JUST NOW starting my new job down here. It would be really ironic for me to walk in on my first day and have to tell my manager, "oh by the way in nine months, I'll be needing three off..." Yeah, I don't THINK so. Plus, it'd be nice to know a few people down here before we started a family. AND I'm starting school full time so I can finish up in May of 2013. So, as it stands, my good sense outweighs my emotion. Dang the good sense, I want a baby! I've finally gotten the baby bug, no thanks to all my many pregnant friends and my profession where I take care of them all the time!

As I mentioned, I did start my new job last week. I had a week of orientation and was very impressed with the hospital system. They are a Christian based organization that started each morning with a devotion and time of prayer. It really took me back to roots and why I really wanted to be a nurse to begin with. I think it really helped me get into the right set of mind for when I start on the unit. I had to take two days of a computer charting class and that too, really impressed me. Everything is done on the computer and it was all so easy. I think I'll really like it once I get used to it. God has just blessed me so much with this position and I'm convinced that I made the right decision. And I've just been reassured of that time and time again. The only thing I'm worried about is working nights and my commute. I have a really hard time staying up 12 hours all night, and then after I do, I have to commute an hour home. That part is going to take some getting used to.

Anyway, a lot more has been going on that I would love to share, so instead of making ribbon wreaths, I might blog the next time I get that bored! OR I could just go to the BEACH!

AK

beware of gator.

I vowed I would plant my heels in the ground and that he'd have to drag me all 700 miles from here to Melbourne, Florida. But, I must admit, I have gotten to where I am almost excited about our move. I'm dreading the hot summers, the lack of season changes, and the Florida Gators. I've really hated that I have to give up my job, work night shift, and start from scratch somewhere else. And I hate that Lindsey will not be there. What am I going to do at work without her? Starting over just stinks no matter what. I'm also going to really miss our lovely home. I mean, we've only lived here a little over nine months. The first thing I said when I found out Jameson was offered the job in regards to our house was "buuuuut I was looking so forward to making the room upstairs a baaaaaaby room one day" and burst into tears.

Yet everything seems to be falling into place. Jameson landed a great job with great benefits where his master's will be completely paid for. He also got a pretty hefty raise. I went down this last week and found a beautiful apartment on the lake. We will be 20 minutes from the nearest beach. I also got and accepted a great job offer at Florida Hospital for Children in their NICU. The manager was so wonderful that she even hugged me when I left. (And I thought I was leaving "the south!") And come on, we are an hour from Disney World and Universal Studios. Once I get over the house-job-Lindsey thing I think I will be ok. And Lindsey has promised me several visits even though I'm trying to recruit her permanently.

It all started after our cruise this last December. It's always a great thing to come back from being out of the country to voicemails from friends that 30% of your husband's company has been laid off while you were gone. When Jameson returned to his office that next week, he found out that he fortunately still had a job but his hours had been cut for the time being. So naturally, he began applying to anything below the Mason-Dixon line specifically targeting Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. It was shortly after this that Harris Corporation flew him down to interview and the rest is history.

So as of Friday I will officially be a Floridian. It feels weird. I would have loved to have stayed in Birmingham longer. I'm going to miss Children's Hospital, my house, Lindsey, Private Gallery, the Summit, Bluff Park Diner, Homewood, the official holiday of the Iron Bowl, Momma Goldberg's, and Brook Hills. I would have loved to have raised a family here, gotten season tickets to Auburn football games, docked a future boat at Lake Martin. Life doesn't always work the way you plan it. But sometimes it is better that way. Where is the excitement in staying in one place your whole life? We are just trusting God and leaning on each other at this point that we will be able to make friends and start a home together in Florida, just like the one we shared here in Birmingham.

Look out, Melbourne, here we come!

lessons on style.

OK, ladies, this one is for you.

I may not be a fashionista, but I always take pride in how I look and what I wear. And I have come a long way. According to my husband "I have unfortunately acquired an expensive taste in everything." So, without further ado, I would like to express my passion for fashion and how you can still look fashionable on a normal salary. Because I totally have one of those.

First of all, for those of you who aren't blessed with perfect skin and gorgeously curly or stick straight hair, we can be friends because I'm not blessed with either of those either. For those of you who are, you are welcome to skip the next couple paragraphs.

I am blessed with the worst skin anyone could have. I have fair skin, I burn easy in the sun, and I peel once I've burned. I am incredibly oily, and I constantly have at least one noticeable blemish. For those of you good with word analogies or studying to take the MAT, please know that (sweat: glisten :: pimple: blemish). Ok, I think we're all on the same page. In order to keep my skin presentable, I always always always, I repeat, ALWAYS, wear make up even when I'm running errands (maybe not a complete face of make up though.) I pay more for my make up so that it is light weight yet still has good coverage. But I am a bargain shopper for eye makeup because they don't affect breaking out. But, the key to controlling nasty skin like mine is not skipping washing your face. As tired as I am at night, I always make myself do that before bed. I use proactive at least twice daily, and all three steps at that. It's really reduced breaking out by at least half, probably more. Also, I mentioned I have oily skin and I use bare minerals "mineral veil" over my makeup. Another secret I have is a spray that I use once I've applied all my makeup in the morning called "All-nighter" by urban decay and I love it. It really does make my makeup last all day. My skin also affects my hair because part of my hair lays across my nasty oily skin, consequently my hair starts to look nasty oily throughout the day. I use Oscar Blandi dry shampoo spray. It too is wonderful. But my two rules are: wash your face every day and keep your eyebrows groomed and arched nicely.

My hair sucks too. It's really fine and has no body and I must wash it every day for it to look like I've washed it within the past week. I really don't have much of a solution here. Except, I never use conditioner and I only straighten the ends of my hair. I am still, after 25 years in need of major hair help. And regardless of the help I may receive, chances are I will never be happy with my hair. Ever. It's my thing, that's just how it is. When it's long I want it short and when it's short I'm mad at me for cutting it. I'm sure you can empathize.

Onto dressing. I do not claim to be a professional stylist, nor am I Clinton or Stacy, but let's just say I've seen enough people out and about lately in dumpy shirts or sweatshirts with leggings under jogging shorts with Ugg boots on over them. One word for this "trend": UGG. Anyway, so I'd like to impart some of my daily do's, if that's ok of course.

When I worked at Express years ago, I learned an important thing as part of my outfitting guide (and yes, the ONLY thing I learned worthwhile while working there.) I learned to always wear three pieces, such as the shirt you plan to wear, the pants/skirt on the bottom half, and then add a fun accessory. This accessory does not include your shoes or your winter coat either. I'm talking about a long necklace, a sweater over the shirt, a scarf, or a belt, etc. I've gotten so good at this that I pretty much go for five items daily. But be careful, this can be overdone. Which in my opinion is the only thing worse than looking like you didn't try. I will post some outfits I have compiled from my wardrobe later. This way though, you'll always feel and look like you've tried, AND you'll use more items in your wardrobe and get the wear out of them.

Onto shopping. When shopping, it is guaranteed, I will ALWAYS find something that I like whether I am at a massive sale at the Gap or in Saks 5th Avenue. I have to ask myself, "is this fabulous enough for me?" If it passes that test, then I ask myself, "does this look like it was $20 or $200?" If it looks like it was worth $200, I then proceed to thinking through my wardrobe and pairing it with items I wear quite often. For example, I would be more likely to spend more money on a plain black shirt than a pretty floral. The floral will go with two different pairs of pants in my wardrobe and be very difficult to pair a third item with. These are the items I buy cheaper on sale. I'd rather spend more money on the nice black shirt that I can wear with anything on the bottom and easily pair five different necklaces or scarves with it. For example, one of my favorite designers is Michael Starrs. He makes plain shirts and dresses. They are all comfortable, yet stylish and "one size fits most." With these plain shirts, I pick out fun jewelry or wear scarves. If the shirt I pick is longer, I usually wear legging jeans and boots. But the rule of three is great. Just think: shirt, jeans, scarf. Even on a lazy day, that's SO easy.

Simplicity is good. My favorite purchase of late is my black Longchamp tote. It is SO simple, but the beauty in this is that it is so simple that I can never bring myself to hate it for any reason. I can not get tired of this purse, I've tried. I travel quite a bit too so I can roll it up and pack it better in my suitcase. And also, here's the kicker, I can throw it on the ground and stomp all over it because I can just wipe it off with a lysol wipe since it's nylon. AND it goes with anything black or brown because of the brown straps. I mean, for goodness sake, if you're a female, go buy yourself a Longchamp or add it to your Christmas list for next year. You won't regret it.

One really difficult thing for me is looking special. Since I always wear makeup and always try to dress nicely, it's hard on a special occasion to make myself look special. The key to this is that on a normal work day I always skip most of my eye makeup. I stick to a thin line of eyeliner and mascara. And also, I just wear chapstick with color in it. When I dress to impress I wear something that I don't wear often and then use the eye shadow and lipstick. Then I add some fancy jewelry. I used to get so frustrated with those girls in high school who would roll out of bed and come to school with nappy hair and no makeup on day after day. And they'd finally shower and have someone do their hair and makeup for prom. Then everyone would make such a fuss over them. Hello! Look at me over here, I try EVERY day!

And finally, I will finish up with a list.

Things that I have splurged on that have been worth it: my Tiffany's key necklace (it's a statement piece and goes with everything because it's silver), my Michael Kors watch (it's oversized and makes a statement as well, plus it's silver and goes with everything), my leather camel color boots (I wear them with black and brown on a daily basis), my Longchamp tote, my David Yurman and John Hardy bracelets (because they are just so classic), and my Costa del mar sunglasses (because they are polarized.)

Trends I love right now: legging jeans with boots, nude colored flats, long shirts, long necklaces, belts over clothes, the classic white shirt, tankinis.

Trends I hate: big sunglasses, Ugg boots, menswear on women, military on women.

My rules: Unless I have a gift card or they are having a huge sale, stay out of Anthropology. Never pay full price for jeans because they are just jeans. Don't ever try to match your outfit with a Vera Bradley bag. Have your eyebrows done professionally. Don't stress about your nails unless you're about to get engaged, but on the other hand, don't start wearing sandals with last year's pedicure. Bras are friends, not enemies. If I can see your thong line, then the thong is not serving it's purpose. Always go for the simple item, not the trendy one. Chacos were not made to go with skirts. One nice purse over four cheap ones any day.

There will be more to come. Stay tuned.

I'll be seeing you. -AK

geometry for dummies

I would like to think of myself as having been a bit of a "late bloomer." I'm not meaning in the physical sense of the phrase. What I mean is, I feel like I've finally reached my peak (still, not physically.) More like my peak of happiness. But yet, I feel like by saying this I'm doing my future an injustice. So, if you will, imagine one of those silly looking parabolas, like on a graphing calculator. I would like to plot "me." Naturally, at the beginning I was at the bottom (because as they say, you have to start somewhere.) Then I went through middle school (which sucked) and then high school sucked a little less, but then there was college. And those five and 1/2 years of college were quite a bit more fun. And it just keeps going up. Now, if it were a true parabola, the parabola would begin to come back down after the peak (which I would say for me is starting my career, falling in love, and getting married.) Plateau if you will, parabola, but please don't come back down. Sorry, Mrs. Oberkofler, I probably failed that Geometry test in high school.

Speaking of. This is what prompted my writing tonight. I received a facebook invitation to a 5 year reunion today for my high school class. I read comments of my friends' excitement about being able to see some of the people that they haven't seen in forever. This was not my exact initial reaction. Mine was more along the lines of "heck, no, I'm not going to be friends with you McEachern reunion." High school was definitely not my favorite years of my life. As I mentioned, it was one step above middle school, and middle school was seriously terrible, three years of daily agony I endured.

By saying that I'm a late bloomer, I mean that I just about four years ago finally became comfortable in my own skin, being who I am. I feel like it has to do a lot with some of the great friendships I made in college, my relationship I began with Jameson, and my relationship with the Lord. But I finally now have the self confidence that I painfully needed those 7 years. (If only I knew then what I know now, right?)

So here's the truth: I spent all of high school trying to fit in. I had, amazing taste in music and was fun when you got to know me if any guy ever took the time to. I looked just as awkward as I could have. I weighed about 100 pounds at 5'7'', and no, it was not the attractive kind of skinny. I was skin and bones (Thank goodness for those extra 20 pounds I've packed on!) My self worth was according to what boys thought about me. And of course, according to how I looked and how few guys would actually go to the trouble to get past the exterior to get to know the "fun me," I spent most Friday nights dateless. And yes, Saturdays too. I thought I fell in love my junior year to one particular guy where actually, looking back, I was only the subject of his interest when there wasn't anyone more interesting around. How embarrassing to not have known that then! At several points over the past couple years, I wish I could tell him now what a jerk he was then and how ashamed he should be. But of course, we all know that doesn't really matter anymore (look at how far I've come!) I also had several falling outs with friends and for about 3 out of 4 of them, it was because I finally got fed up with feeling used and taken advantage of and opened my big mouth and told them so. Oh, and needless to say how awkward I felt at the Homecoming dance. And how out of place I felt in my cheerleading outfit. And how I'd arrive when the bell was ringing to avoid the awkwardness of finding a place to stand in senior circle. And while I never ate lunch on the toilet (Mean Girls reference!) I did eat in my mom's office some days! Some true friendships I made there in high school. My good memories of high school include and are in fact limited to: Chelsey Tuggle, some of my teachers, making good grades that got me into college, and running Track and Field and Cross Country. And that's it.

I'm not naive, I know that those years have made me stronger, and made me who I am today but I'm not going to pretend they aren't painful. And six years later, it's ok to admit it. I wouldn't be so quick to defend myself and stand up for what I believe in today if my "friend" had not taken advantage of me so long. And I probably would not have chosen such an amazing husband if I had not let the same guy hurt me time after time after time. My saving grace those days aside from Chelsey were my parents and my relationship with Jesus Christ, the latter which has grown even stronger.

So needless to say, I'm not interested in going to a high school reunion and seeing people that won't remember me. I don't want to be reminded of feeling lonely and out of place all over again. Nor do I have any interest in showing off "how far I've come" with my hot husband, my college diploma and grad school work, or my new found self confidence all in tow. I'm happy just the way I am. I've peaked. And really, I only think it's going to get better than this. Take that, graphing calculator!

I'll be seeing you,

AK

free as we'll ever be.

Hello all,

Just a fair warning that my thoughts aren't making sense tonight. I have a lot running through my head. The best way to make it through each thought is to utilize my incredible list-making ability. I will probably do this pretty often.

1. I just watched an episode of House Hunters where a couple saved their money for a long time and bought a vacation home in Roatan in the Caribbean for a whopping 800k. That would be a wonderful budget. So, naturally, this got me started thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to one day purchase a vacation home for Jameson and I to enjoy with family and be able to fly down at leisure and maybe eventually retire to.

Then I thought we might not ever have that kind of money, it's SO hard to think about buying a second piece of property when it's tough enough to make one mortgage payment each month along with all the bills required to run the place. I can't imagine ever having the money to run more than one home.

So, thinking even further I realized: if we had the kind of money to ever do that, there's no way I'd want to. Seriously.

First of all I can't imagine hopping on a plane and going to a "foreign" island without any familiarity at all and staying there for weeks. I mean, what would I eat? Probably just pudding cups all the time (SATC reference there) and bottled water. I mean, Florida is far enough anyway if I wanted a vacation home!

And secondly, in all seriousness, I cannot imagine putting out the money for it if we had it when there are so many people that are without even one place to live. And having two? That just seems ridiculous to me. I'm not knocking those who have many a vacation home-- good for you. But I'm convicted that with that kind of money I should be helping those who are far less fortunate. Imagine where that 800,000 dollars could go. Imagine how many homes that could build in Haiti! I don't even have enough sense to imagine. Probably a neighborhood much nicer than some of those people have ever seen, much less lived in. I think I would be a much happier, more fulfilled person if I could donate 25 + new homes to people without homes than to buy a second home for me. This is all hypothetical that I ever had that kind of money, which I doubt. But, just a thought.

2. I am so extremely blessed. I thank God every day for my family. I have such a great husband who is a life partner, best friend, and my soul mate. I have the coolest puppy ever. I have a house with a ton of stuff in it. And I have a great job. I have made some pretty awesome friends in Birmingham too. Yet-- why is it never enough? It's always about what car I want next, how the end unit on the condos would be so much better to live in, how I'd be so much happier if we lived in Atlanta, what will happen when I graduate, and when we can start our family. I, just like I'm sure the grand majority of people, am never happy with "now." There's always something better just outside of my reach. I want to make this one of my goals. I want to focus on being happy with where I am in life rather than putting my focus on the things I don't have. I want to realize that my happiness is now, just like my quote "happiness is not a destination, but a way of life." I want this to really be my motto. I know I see quotes like this all the time, but this time, I really want to live by this one. I don't want to waste my life always wanting more, I want to live my life fully, being completely happy. I'm doing just fine without the backyard, 1.5 kids, and God has Jameson and me here in Birmingham for a purpose. Plus, I need to continue to find happiness in Him, not in things.

Here's a side note that does not necessarily deserve it's own number: I feel like I've come a long way in my spiritual journey. I feel like that statement above is almost slapping myself in the face, because I feel like I have overcome materialism over the probably close to a decade. Yes, I do love shopping, and yes pleazzz, I want THAT purse, but I know that whatever I buy does not define me, and they definitely do not make me happy. I remember the sadness I've felt in life when I would get my apartment finally decorated just the way I wanted to and the emptiness I would feel when that happiness faded. I'd then have to find my next project to complete so I could feel happy again. I now know that happiness is not found in things, and I know I've reached a point in my relationship with Christ where I am beyond needing things to make me happy. I can only find my happiness through Him and through what He provides to me. Side note ended.

3. My dog just chewed up my most comfortable flip flop. And I had to pick pieces up off of the floor. Dang the puppy stage. However, we have had very very few accidents. O'Reilly is just so smart. He rings the bell at the front door to let me know he needs to potty. And about 20% of the day he's very playful, but about 80% he's really laid back and chews or naps. We took him over to one of the fields outside our condo tonight and played soccer and he got a great work out... apparently not enough though. RIP yoga mat flip flop.

4. I have had a great week so far. For a recap: I spent Monday and a lot of Tuesday cleaning and doing laundry. I had a lot of catching up to do after working 7 days straight. I finally got most things put away upstairs, but still have a lot of pictures to hang and wall space to fill. We took Reilly to the park or did something active just about every day this week. And the most exciting part of the week so far is that my cousin came to town yesterday. We had a great time shopping around and just catching up. We also saw Eclipse for the second time. Go ahead say it, I'm a Twilight dork, I know. Tonight Jameson and I had dinner with Leslie and Peter which is always fun. And tomorrow we are going to Atlanta for the weekend to see a Braves game, maybe go to the aquarium, and hopefully see our new little niece. Then it's back to the grind. I will be working a few weeks from 7am-3pm Monday-Friday before I go to nights.

5. I have the greatest parents in all the world. I have been so fortunate for parents that have modeled a great marriage for me and showed me the kind of love that I will want to show my kids one day. My mom is my best friend, but tonight I was thinking about my dad. I love my dad so much, I would do anything for him, no questions asked and I know he'd do the same for me. He is a great teacher, listener, and advice giver because he's very wise. He's also so caring and always wants the best for me. My dad truly has displayed what unconditional love is. There have been times when I'm sure I've disappointed him, but the way he has treated me has never changed. There's no one in my life who has ever been more patient with me, for example: on the golf course. Yet, there's just about no one either who expects more out of me. My dad motivates me so much to be the best that I can be. I am so fortunate to have him. For those of you who know him, you can probably see these qualities from miles away, and for those of you who don't, you need to meet him. I just miss seeing him so much, and I can't tell you how badly I've craved 18 holes of golf with him lately. I'm sure he could find him a job in Birmingham, just saying.

6. Last, I promise. One other thought for tonight. I need to get into shape soooo badly. I really miss running. But, I miss the easy kind of running where I can breathe without a problem, where I'm not miserably hot, when I can go for miles, and when I don't feel like yakking when I'm done. So, if I start back running, I'm no fool, I know the first few days are going to be miserable, especially with the heat the way it is. But I am so tired of feeling lazy and inactive that I have got to do something. And I am in fact completely adverse to treadmills. Hate them, can't run on them, and no one could pay me to get on one. Much less would I pay to join a gym to use one! So, alas, will I get up early (#1 thing I hate), get out in this heat (#2 thing I hate), and get my butt back into shape (which will probably involve yakking... which who likes that anyways?)? God only knows what 8am brings when my alarm goes off.

That's what has been on my mind. Sometimes deep, sometimes dumb. Hey, take what you can get, Leslie!

I'll be seeing you.

AK

Sweet home Alabama.

This is Anna writing our first post. It's hard to believe that Jameson and I started our life together as a married couple two years ago this August. So very much has happened to us in this short amount of time.

For starters, I finally graduated from nursing school and passed my RN boards! It sure did take me long enough. Jameson graduated with a degree in GIS which is how we ended up in Birmingham, Alabama. Fortunately I too landed a great job at Children's Hospital here in Birmingham where I signed onto a six-month internship program where I spent 8 weeks in three different units in order to find the one I liked the best. I am proud to now call my permanent work-home the NICU!

We've also purchased a new home! I love our new home, it's perfect for us. It is a townhome, so we can carry on with our busy lives and not worry about keeping up a yard. We also have a pool that we can use. I love the little neighborhood, I feel safe at night with the sidewalks and street lights. After we settled into our new home, we decided to continue chasing the American dream, if you will, and we adopted a puppy. His name is O'Reilly and he is a goldendoodle. He is a feisty one, but he is also very smart and a great addition to our family. So, all we are missing is the two and 1/2 kids. Time for a subject change.

I've also started graduate school to be a pediatric nurse practitioner. I'm taking online classes at UAB in hopes to graduate December of 2012. It's going to be another long haul. And then I'm hoping to go for the doctorate. I'm on the 8 year plan. Again.

Jameson and I both really like Birmingham, but despite my great job and the new friends I've made, I'm still lonely sometimes. Jameson is Jameson, and for those of you who know him, you know how quickly he makes friends, finds something to do, and plays for every league team he can sign up for at work including but not limited to softball, soccer, basketball, disc golf, and bowling. I'm serious. And for those of you who know me, you'd think the same thing, that I've probably already made a ton of friends and settled into my new life over here. That's not necessarily true. And I really do not know what has gotten into me. In my defense, my schedule has been difficult. I've been working 7 days in a row Monday-Sunday and then having the following 7 off. So naturally, my work weeks are nonstop and exhausting, but my off weeks are really boring and can be pretty lonely. I don't get to see Jameson at all the weeks I work because we work opposite shifts, but I'm hoping that my new schedule will be different.

Honestly though, I do miss my family very much. I miss playing golf with my dad on pretty afternoons and being able to meet my mom for lunch at leisure. Now I'm too far to be able to do that. I have to settle on seeing them once a month or so. I miss all my friends too. Making new friends is really hard these days, it's difficult to find couples that Jameson and I both have things in common with and actually be able to coordinate our schedules to have dinner.

I also really miss my church family. We have not yet been able to get involved like I want to in a church home. I blame this on my crazy work schedule-- I've been having to work every other Sunday, and the Sunday's I've been off have been spent recuperating. However, I really have enjoyed the few times we have been able to visit the Church of Brook Hills. David Platt is such an incredible man of God and I feel his church is the kind I want to be involved in. They seem very mission-minded and I feel that is important in my line of work. I would love to eventually go on several medical mission trips and Brook Hills is a great place to be involved and have those kinds of opportunities.

So, here we are in a new town, exploring. Exploring Birmingham, the things to do here, our calling in life, our relationship with one another, and where we will go (or stay) from here. Birmingham is a great place and we are happy, but is this our next twenty years? Only time will tell.

In the mean time, I'm hoping to get on a normal schedule at work, get involved in church, and maybe make some more couple friends for Jameson and I. Another goal of mine is to get back into shape. I'm happiest running about three miles a day and about ten pounds lighter. I've let myself get pretty lazy. A combination of these things will make Birmingham a happier place. It might even make it "sweet home." :)

I'll be seeing you. -AK