spring has sprung

Hello everyone! Since the sun has finally decided to make an appearance, I've begun doing some spring time things. Oh, how wonderful it is to be able to walk outside and feel warmth on your face! Everyone here keeps telling me "oh, you haven't seen anything yet", on account of this supposedly "mild" winter, but it's more of a winter than I've ever had and definitely the longest I've been without sunshine. I couldn't be more happy that we came this year, of all years! Let's see...

To soak up some of this sunshine, Michael, Gizzy, and I decided to go to Grays Lake. It's only about 2 miles away and it was absolutely wonderful; I have no idea why I haven't been before! There are miles and miles of trails, a huuge lake with a decent beach, and dogs are allowed! Michael didn't have too much time to get away from his studying, but we were able to take a nice walk. Now I'm just looking forward to when it gets a little warmer so I can take Gizmo there and he can swim around a bit in the water. Also, once work picks up a bit, we're going to get some bikes and start going riding on all of the local trails. Ah, how I've missed the outdoors!

 hahaha Michael looks crazy- it was super windy!

I've also taken back up some gardening. I don't exactly have a yard or anything, but I've really wanted to get some plants to make the apartment feel a little more lively. I've been wanting to all winter, actually, but none of the stores here sold any plants because of the cold. Then today, I went to Walmart and they had herbs, so I figured that would be perfect. I planted my green onions that I've been growing in plain water, rosemary, basil, and cilantro. I buy fresh herbs for my cooking almost every week, so I'll definitely make use out of them. I also bought some planters and seeds and am growing green and red bell peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and green beans. Now I'm just anxiously waiting for them to sprout! 

Another project I took up was homemade pretzels. I absolutely LOVE mall pretzels, but by the time you get one and a dipping sauce, you end up spending $5...pretty ridiculous. So today was all rainy so I couldn't take Gizmo for another walk and I happened to already have all of the ingredients, so I figured why not. They turned out really good! Not quite as good as mall pretzels, but really close and definitely worth making again. The recipe made 10, so I even got to freeze some raw pretzels for a snack later. After I made some honeymustard dipping sauce, it perfectly satisfied my craving. It also reminded me of the many shopping trips I've taken with my mom, when we always stop and get a pretzel. If only my mom could have been here to share them with me, they'd be even better!

Just ignore my extreme ugliness in this pic.

As for my wonderful little fluffball, he has taken up a new hobby of hanging out under the couch. He randomely just crawled under there one day and has since, spent much of his time each evening going in and out from under the couch, over and over. 

ignore the stuff on the floor. He also likes to shred things into little bitty pieces to give mom something new to clean up every night...lovely!

So that's pretty much all there is to write about. I'm of course still missing everyone back home, but skype has been keeping me alive and life in Iowa gets a little easier everyday. This week, work went even better and I learned alot more, but I still have such a long way to go. Tomorrow, my boss is taking the whole office out to lunch at Cheesecake Factory and I'm psyched! It's definitely one of my favorite restaraunts, plus I get a chance to get to know my co-workers better. I get along well with and like everyone at my office so far, so lunch should be good. Also, Michael's last test before spring break is Tuesday, so after that I will have lots and lots of time to spend with him, for the first time since our honeymoon! I'm so incredibly excited to get to come home from work to a husband who can eat dinner with me, take Gizmo on a walk with me, watch a movie with me... ahhh perfection! :)

home is where your heart is...your heart is where your husband is

So this week was my first week at the new job. So far, I love it! Or I guess, I can't say that I love the job; I like the job, but love the opportunities it opens up for Michael and I. I can't wait until I learn everything I need to in order to really get started on my own, separate from my trainer. Nothing is ever too enjoyable when you don't know what you're doing. Every morning when I get up, I think of how much sooner we'll be able to pay off Michael's school loans, build a home together, and all the places we'll be able to travel together, if I do well. It's pure motivation to put forth my best everyday. I'm just so tired of Michael and I having to constantly remind eachother that our current misery will pay off years down the road. I want so badly to be able to afford Michael some great adventure during one of his school breaks. He's honestly just so so deserving. With that, I suit up and head to work.

Though I've learned so much in my first week at my new job, the thing that sticks out most in my mind is simply how incredibly blessed I am. Everyday I meet with seniors. Some of them extremely obese and unable to even really get up off the chair, spending all day watching TV, being reminded of life with only the tiny bit of sunshine that makes it's way through the snowey weather and into the window. Others that I've seen aren't immobile, but they have no money. They're living in run down wooden-frame houses, off the tiny amount that the government gives them and can barely afford day-to-day expenses, much less anything fun. I can't really imagine being in that situation. When I think of retirement, I imagine ample time to enjoy all the things about life that we won't have time to do with jobs and kids. Life surely isn't everything I would hope it to be, while here in Iowa. It's cold and lonely, and I sometimes I feel like I'm never going to feel the sun on my skin again. Still, I have my health, my family, my husband, money in the bank, and hopefully a bright future ahead. My new job has reminded me of this everyday. My goal is to never become numb to those around me who are so much less fortunate.

Aside from work, this week hasn't been bad. Aaron, my awesome trainer, is eager to show me more of the area and has been really helpful in suggesting some cool local spots to try. Since there's honestly nothing to actually do here, he told me about two of his fav. restaraunts, Tasty Tacos and Zombie Burger. Tasty Tacos mainly only has puffy tacos and isn't really anything extraordinary, compared to the food they have in TX (though it is good), but it's really unique for the area, so it's become kind of a local legend. Now Zombie Burger, on the other hand, is awesome! It has Zombies set up inside, creepy candles on all the tables, and the menu is on the back of an old-fashioned newspaper article of a zombie envasion...very unique. The food is even better! My burger had fried macaroni patties instead of the actual bun, with macaroni oozing out of the middle, grilled onions, ranch, and several other yummies. I figured Michael would get his typical burger, plain and dry, but this time he actually stepped out of his box. I was so proud haha! His had fried pickles, chicken-fried bacon, "cheese curds" (aka: fried balls of motzerella), and normal burger toppings. They both probably had more calories than I would have normally consumed in a 3-day period, but it was worth it! We'll definitely be going back!

Other than that, things have been pretty much the same as always. Michael has gotten into poker, since playing on his phone, so he ordered himself a nice poker set and an electronic card-shuffler with his Christmas money. It came in yesterday and he was so psyched. He has so little excitement from day to day, the look on his face made me feel like it was Christmas. He's just so sweet :) Can't wait till he can take a break from studying and we can play together!

I got really homesick on Texas Independence Day, after seeing everyone's Texas pride displayed all over facebook, and wished I could be back to the great state. I continue to miss all of our amazing family and friends, but I try to remind myself to just focus on being thankful to even have such wonderful people in the my life to miss. During times like this, there's only one way to take life- day to day.