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