adults?

I have a confession to make—I am at work. Writing a blog post. OOOPS.

The reason I do not feel bad for this is because I think this week I had to take a lot of steps toward being more adult-like …and being productive at work 100% of the time is just pushing me over the limit.

This week…

We had Christmas (like a lot of the world)….


ALONE! It was just Ryan and me and our television. We spent a lot of time relaxing in front of the TV. We watched Christmas movies, made Christmas dinner, and checked out some lights around town.
We had to work….


So long are the days of Christmas break and switching semesters. Both of us are now out of school for a very long time and that means we have more responsibility during the time we used to have NONE! Ryan was on call the whole weekend and holiday and had to go in for some time every day. I worked at my second job Christmas Eve and had to go right back to work on the 26^th! There are 5 people in my whole office this week. It is utterly boring.
I look pregnant now.


My tummy started sticking out big time yesterday. I do not think it will go back to it’s old self any time soon! It is here to stay for at least the next…24 weeks!

Do you see how all these things could lead me to feel a little TOO grown up all at once!

On a better note, we had a GREAT holiday. We are so blessed to have family and friends who definitely did not forget us even though we are further than we ever have been away during the holidays. We even had tons of presents to open from our parents and other family. We got to Skype with my family during their holiday dinner—which made us feel much more at home.

I thought it would be a lot harder than it was to be away. We got to start a few of our own traditions around our new town and spent so much time together. Lately, we really crave time together and last weekend was just what we needed to feel a bit better about spending endless hours working and keeping up a house (ugh more adult talk!)

Thankful...

Ryan and I recently had the chance to take a quick-VERY quick- trip home for  Thanksgiving.  It was soooooo nice to see family and friends, but of course too short of a trip.  We also drove...ugh. It took us 16 hours there and 18 hours back because of weather and traffic! This meant a lot of car time and since we were both in need of sleep...the driver was usually pretty bored.  I took this time to think about all these things people are posting on Facebook that they are thankful for.  Although I do not have nearly enough time (I am at work!!!) to post 30 different things I am thankful for, I decided to post the top 10.

I am thankful I finally have a career-like job. One that I can use experiences from in the future.


I am thankful Ryan has a career that will continue to provide for our family. He is a very hardworking person and I know that there are days he does not want to go in for a 12 hours shift, but he truly enjoys what he does and it makes it much easier.


I am thankful for the opportunity to move away from family and friends and everything we have ever known. It has made us a much stronger couple and given us a lot of life-enriching experiences…but….


I am also thankful that I have family and friends in Michigan and various other places around the world who keep in contact with me. Even though I love our life, I would be nowhere without the support from those closest to me.


I am thankful for the few friends we have met in Williamsburg. The extra special ones can relate to Ryan and me so much that it makes it easy to be friends.


I am thankful for a loving husband who I thought I would be sick of seeing everyday by now, but everyday we countdown to the time we get to spend together and could not imagine spending that time with anyone else.


I am thankful for my education—even though paying those bills is going to be a chore. I know that the experiences I gained during those years are unparalleled and will pay off in the end.


I am thankful lots of little things like: books, cheesy movies, exercise, chocolate, comfort food in general, memories, holidays, warm blankets when I am freezing cold, music, alone time, traveling, learning new things and the ability to have confidence in myself (mostly)!


I am thankful for technology. I hate it just as much, but it allows me to keep in touch, do my job more efficiently, and stay educated so I have learned to like it.


I am thankful for my health and the healthy choices I make…and the opportunity to announce (except most of y’all know) that we are expecting an equally healthy baby in late Spring and we could not be happier.

Now onto DECEMBER! and the NEW YEAR?!?!?! What happened to 2012?

New job!

On November 1, I started a new job/career at Tyges International.  Tyges is a local recruiting company that I have been talking to since August. We decided to push my start date back to after our Europe trip, so it seemed like I had the job forever before I got to start.  The last week and a half have been spent learning the ropes and all the ins and outs to the recruiting business.

Tyges recruits for manufacturing companies all over the country which has led too even more learning for me. I know almost nothing about manufacturing so I am becoming more educated on all the processes that happen--there is SO much to learn! I already know some random things from some of my business classes, growing up in Michigan, and living near Michigan Tech for a bit.  I cannot wait to learn more because I know that it can only open more doors in the future.  

Here is the website if you wanna check it out...my name is even in the list of employees already!
http://tyges.com/

European travels!

AHHHH! October was a crazy month! I apologize for being off the radar for most of the month, but we were busy the whole time and I didn’t find extra time to sit in front of the computer for any great length.  Therefore, my life needs a whole lot of updating and I promise to write more often in the coming months.

ONE of the most exciting things about last month was our first family trip overseas!  Ryan and I took a 10 day vacation to England, Finland, and Estonia.  The weather was yucky for most of the trip—considering we left sunny beautiful-hasn’t-even-turned-fall-yet weather in Virginia.  We definitely did not pack enough warm clothes!  We also went at a non-peak vacation season so a lot of what we wanted to do was not even open or available.  Regardless, we had a spectacular time during the whole trip and we could not have asked for better friends to spend it with. 

We flew to England, stayed 2 days, flew to Estonia/Finland, stayed 3 days, flew back to England for a few days.

The reason we chose England was because my best friend Kellie, her husband Joe, and daughter Ava live just south of London.  She has not had many visitors in her 2.5 years of living there AND it is not often that we will have friends conveniently living in other countries (although right now we have quite a few!) so we decided to take advantage of this opportunity and visit.  Kellie showed us around London—where we saw Queen Elizabeth riding in one of her cars down the street by Big Ben—and also took us to Windsor Castle (where the Queen lives) and Hampton Court Palace (where King Henry the VIII lived).  We also got to see one of Joe’s hockey games—which I think was cool for him because no one they know from the States ever gets to see him play in person anymore.  Best of all, we got some amazing, much-needed quality time between best friends and Ryan and I got to spend lots of time with Kellie and Ava.

Another reason for the trip was to visit our other friends Kristi and Dave in Finland.  Dave is one of Ryan’s offensive line teammates from college and he is studying this year in Sweden/Finland.  He had the week off from school so we planned the trip around this week.  Kristi is about to have a baby (within the next 6 weeks or so) and they have been away from family, friends, and everything they know for the whole pregnancy.  It was nice to get to spend some time with friends who made us feel like we were back in the UP and nothing had changed over the last year.  Again, we were hit with some cold, overcast weather and a lot of places shut down for the winter.  We still managed to have a relaxing and adventurous time.  We spent most of the time in the Old Town part of Tallinn, Estonia.  This was a great place to just take in historic buildings and neat sights. Then, we took a ferry over to Helsinki, Finland and did a bit of sightseeing there.  We took a boat ride to the islands of Suomenlinna, which had a lot of history.  Most of the museums were closed so we made our own tour and explored the nooks and crannies of the island.

Even though it seemed like everything we wanted to do was closed, we were surrounded by friends the whole trip and that is what made it worthwhile.  We have been a little friend-sick over the last few months and this trip was just what we needed to make us feel better!

10 anniversaries!

Life has been BORING! We are getting quite used to our little life in VA and the glamour of just moving here has worn off almost completely.  We are trying to save money as my student loans are due soon.

Monday, I finished my last cake decorating class. I learned more about the basics, but I cannot wait to get some more practice and become a pro!

Yesterday was our 10 YEAR DATING ANNIVERSARY! It is soooo hard to believe that we have been together so long, but we are still so happy and could not ask for more.  After Ryan got off work, we celebrated by driving to Richmond (45 min away) and ate dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant! It was very yummy and an interesting experience.  There are no utensils involved and at times we laughed about how silly it felt and looked to be eating meat, rice, and beans with our fingers! We just love doing things we have never done before!

Speaking of things we have never done...in 2 weeks, we are going to Europe! Ryan has never been out of the country and we are both so excited for him to experience some different cultures.  He is very open to cultural differences, but since he has never left the country, he also is a little ignorant  to how different some aspects will be.  Last night at the restaurant, the bathrooms were ridiculously tiny and it reminded me to let him in on the fact that he will find a lot of places in Europe that he is too big to fit into/taller than!  I will write more about our trip soon!

career girl.

Well, it finally happened...I got a REAL job! and I am SO excited!

I got hired at a local international recruiting company as an Executive Recruiter. I was supposed to start on Oct 1, but we are going to Europe at the end of Oct so they moved my start date to Nov 1.  Until then, I am going to work as much as possible at the restaurant I have been working at.

I also started a cake decorating class today! So I can check TWO things of my "To Do Before 25" list!


I will update more later...for now, I am obsessively watching Parks & Recreation on Netflix :)

en français...

Something amazing happened....I got to speak French at work!

I have 6 years of French education...I took it for 3 years in HS and also minored in it at Ferris, but I have never gotten to use it.  I have actually been kinda depressed about this useless knowledge that I paid for, but I finally got to put it to semi-good use!

This tour group from France came to the restaurant where I work a few weeks ago and I did not even know that they were French until they were already ordered and waiting for food. Funny story there--a majority of the tourists in the group have some sort of disability so one person orders for them all.  When they visited a few weeks ago, they all ordered "Coca" so the server made 13 hot chocolates...nope, they wanted COCA COLA! Anyway...this is where my French knowledge would have came into play.

This time, I knew in advance that the group was coming.  It was pouring rain out and they were so happy to be at the restaurant they were not even trying to speak English.  A lady rushes in and says..
              "une serviette afjkhfkahgakjgha s'il vous plait".  
I was confused as to why she was asking
                             ...so I said, "pourqoi?" (why)...
and she said, "ahkjhgoiahgalkjgahg une serviette"...

So, I told the server to get her some napkins.  The customer was OVERJOYED that I "knew" what she said and the server went running to the owner to proclaim this new-found knowledge that Jaci know how to speak French!

I managed to say a few more simple saying..."Ah, oui d'accord" (Ah, yes, ok) and "Oui, je parle francais un peu"....little do they know that I really speak A LITTLE French!  Oh well, made those classes seem worth it.

Au revoir!

we are locals.

I am starting to feel more comfortable in our new settings.

• I have a job--working close to full-time right now and training for hostess and server so I can work as many hours as possible! 
• I started volunteering today at the local United Way.  I am working at their front desk on days that they need a replacement and when I have time.  I am hoping to meet new people and possibly open more doors in the future.
• I have some friends...none that I have hung out with outside of work or the gym...but people who recognize me and know me by name, which is a huge comfort.
• We have gone to all the local grocery stores and scoped out best prices! This is big for me because when we moved from the UP, I didn't know there were actually options of places to shop for groceries!
• I have successfully (to my knowledge) given directions to 3 customers at work! Wooohooo!

In addition to settling in more, we also had two guests this month already!  My sister came for a week and my friend, Joslyn, came for a few days on her way to NC.  It was exhausting because we normally sit around and do not do much or go with the flow and try not to have plans....but it was SOOOO worth it.  I already miss them so much because it was just nice to show someone around and do daily things with.  

From now until Christmas, we have something big going on/someone to see every couple of weeks--including a trip to Europe...no big deal!  So I have lots of little countdowns in my head and will not be able to get lonely with so much stuff going on!

birthday!

It has been awhile since I last wrote...mostly because I have been doing the same thing day in and day out.  It is starting to get a little old, but it is all about to change! I got a job at a locally owned restaurant on Wednesday.  I am starting out hostessing but will be cross training for waitress, so I am super excited! It is obviously not something that has to do with either of my two degrees, but for right now I need something to do and we could use a little extra money.  I start tonight!
Another plus side is that Ryan and I will have something to talk about.  We have gotten into quite a lazy routine after he gets off work..especially with the Olympics on.  I am hoping that working a few day shifts and night shifts a week will break up the monotony.

Anyway...
Yesterday was my birthday and it ended up being a great day.  Ryan worked 16 hours the day before and still had to go into work on my birthday so I started the day off normally.  I watched some Boy Meets World, which makes any day good (I am watching it right now too haha), and went to the gym.  Then I started to get sooooo glum! It was my first birthday ever without family or friends or in Michigan. Normally, random  people are telling me "Happy Birthday" and all that extra attention stuff...but not this year :(

I was so sad...until Ryan came home early from work with sunflowers for me! He also bought a bunch of food to make a surprise dinner! Then two packages came from my mom...she got me some of my favorite candies and  a little planter with oregano, parsley, rosemary, and sage planted! Now, I have my own little garden.  Ryan and I went to go explore a local park.  We stopped at a cupcake shop and it started to down pour! So we hid in a bar until the rain let up and decided to go back home.  He made me a delicious dinner of scallops and lobster tail (!!!!) and then we tried to go swimming at our apartment's pool.  It was closed early! So, we watched tv and hung out all night.

So many little things happened that made it a good day overall.  I am so thankful for everything I do have, but days like that make you realize how much more family and friends mean.

Now, I am 23! Only 2 more years to check some things off my to-do list...and to get cheaper insurance!

crafty!

No more boredom for me! I am cleaning, organizing, and crafting! I am so excited to decorate our apartment.  It hit me today that we are going to be in this apartment for at least a year and I might as well make it the way I want it.  I am trying to do things relatively cheaply--since I still do not have a job!--but I am hoping it all turns out cute.  I will post pictures soon!

I am also working on knocking off a few more items on my "25 things to do before 25" list.  I found out about a pretty cheap cake decorating class AND made pasta for the first time ever! I made my own pasta dough and stuffed them with sausage, cheese, and onions and made a bleu cheese sauce for on top.  It was soooo yummy!  I will have to start taking pictures of my creations...I suck at that right now!

boredom.

Yep, that's right...the boredom of being in a new place with no friends and a working husband is getting to me again! I am not sad, mad, frustrated, or any of those emotions I have felt before when I have moved to a new place.  I am content...but bored. Like, I do not know what I do on a daily basis.  There is only so much I can do alone...but I am doing quite a few things around our new apartment and trying to get it more homey.  I am also looking into things that I never have before because we will be here for a long period of time.  I have been looking up house prices, good neighborhoods, places to explore, and of course JOBS.  I still have not even gotten an interview which is becoming quite frustrating.  I just keep sending in my resume and writing semi-convincing cover letters with the hopes that it will be picked up by someone!


When we moved to Naperville, we had quite a lot of big city culture shock.  This time we have not had much shock at all or much to "get used to" because it is fairly similar to Michigan and everything we have known for our whole lives.  So, before I made a list of things that shocked us about city life...now, I have made a list of things I won't mind getting used to in our new life...

1. Michiganders...everywhere! Virginia seems to be the place for people from the Midwest to vacation and relocate.  We have met countless people from Michigan since we have moved here.  There was a couple from Kalamazoo that we talked to for over an hour and a half in a local bar/restaurant (they even bought us a drink!).  My new pharmacist at Walgreens went to Ferris and recently moved from Ludington! It is so nice to have people who know what we are talking about when we say, "U.P." and "Yoopers!"

2. "Y'all"...everyone says it...and so do we now sometimes! It makes much more sense than other things that people from the North say...so I am jumping on the southern bandwagon and saying "Y'all"!!!!

3. Southern BBQ.  We went to a little party at one of Ryan's coworker's houses for the Fourth and it was sooo YUMMMY.  All of our favorite bbq foods...but homemade?!?!? I could definitely get used to THAT!

4.  Tourists. Coming from a touristic economy, we appreciate the tourists as much as we are annoyed by them.  They definitely fill this area up more than I have ever seen before. Weekends are a disaster on the local highways.

Ok...and now for a few gripes...

1. Speaking of the local highways...there is a reason that tourists clog them up on the weekends.  They are all two lanes and never expand any bigger when they should so traffic bottlenecks a lot.  But, I just read today that it is a known problem and the government is working on it.  No one goes the speed limit so traffic gets backed up behind two cars going 5 under. UGH!

2.  Bugs everywhere.  I got used to living in a built up area and now we live in the woods again.  We have quite a few spiders, which I hate...but there is also an abundance of lightning bugs, which I LOVE!

3. The heat.  It has been overly hot since we moved here.  The hottest day was I think 107 with a heat index of 115.  No big deal?! Unless you want to get anything done!  It makes it hard to do anything or get the courage to even step outside when it is that hot.

Virginia is so great, because even though I had three things to complain about...none of those things make me dislike living here.  I think it is because Southerners live so simply and slowly and enjoy whatever they are doing at the moment.

I cannot wait for more adventures in VA!

settled, again...

Soooo, I started writing this post about 4 days ago and it got deleted (reason #75 for my hatred of technology!) and I got so frustrated that I am just now getting back to writing!

MUCH has happened since I last wrote.

1. We now live in Virginia!
We moved in last Monday and have slowly gotten settled.

2. I spent an entire day in the hospital.
I got sick during our trip here and was so weak that Ryan actually unloaded the entire Uhaul himself.  He was soooo great during the whole thing.  I do not think Ryan has ever seen me so sick and he probably will not see anything that bad until I am 9 months pregnant! I had an intestinal infection and was out of commission for most of the week, but we still got to do a few things...

3.  We swam in the Atlantic Ocean (my first time and his second time).  We took time to check out Virginia Beach--even though I was sick....a little fresh air does ya good?!

4.  We bought season passes to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. And went the water park.  They are both in Williamsburg so we can go there whenever we want now!

5. Ryan started his first day at his new plant today!

Virginia is...beautiful, inviting, bustling & relaxing at the same time, scenic, AND HOT.  I was dying from the heat for a couple days, but now it is cooling off...like, below 100 degrees.  I will need some time to get used to the heat, but everything else has made this move quite worth it.

Now, I am working on finding a job.  I have applied to over 10 jobs and have about 5 more on the list...so keep your fingers crossed!

Will send pictures of our new apartment and my projects soon!

almost time...

We are sooooo close to moving! We went to VA this past weekend (flew back yesterday) to look for a new home.  It was one of the most stressful couple of days I have had in a long time.  We were not particularly happy with any of the choices--except a house that was out of our price range.  We ended up applying for an apartment complex in Williamsburg...but it was not an easy decision at all.

It would help a lot if I had a job too.  We are not sure where we want to settle completely because we do not know where I am going to get a job!  For right now, I am applying to jobs in Richmond mostly because I feel like the bigger companies will have more room for growth and I will get my hands in on more projects.  There are a lot of jobs available, but I am not very confident in my lack of work experience and that is making it difficult.

Other than stressing out over jobs and homes, we had a very relaxing time.  We visited friends and a cousin in Maryland on Friday/Saturday and had a blast!!!! We also explored Williamsburg and Richmond a little.  We tried not to do too much because we are moving there in four days and will need to leave some exploring for boring days!

This trip was also fun for us because we ate at TWO famous restaurants from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network.  We are those kind of dorks who like that stuff and not the least bit embarrassed about it.  We ate at Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh...sandwiches that have fries and cole slaw on them! Yum.  And we ate at Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore...cap't crunch french toast anyone?!?!?


So far, we are both very excited to move to the east coast. There is a lot more stuff to do outside and that is what we truly enjoy, but I have gotten used to the city and will miss it still.

We are moving Monday...pictures will come soon so everyone can see parts of our NEW life!!!!

traveling again...

I am on the run again.  I do not have another full weekend in Illinois because I/we have plans to the next three weekends and then we move!

Last weekend, we went on our anniversary trip to Wisconsin for white water rafting.  It was really fun and so relaxing.  I bought the deal from LivingSocial for Ryan as his anniversary present, so the whole trip was taken care of.  We just drove to downtown Chicago and hopped on a bus that took us (and 90 other people on the trip) to the Smokey Falls in Wausau.  We stopped at a farm and made butter and ice cream and got lunch.  Then, we had free time, which Ryan and I used to go hiking.  Then we had some beer samples at a local pub and got dinner. The next morning, we hopped back on the bus to take us rafting.  The falls we fun, but few and far between so there was a lot of paddling and our teamwork skills we tested! We did fine and got sunburned while getting some exercise!!!!  Then, we had a cookout and got back on the bus to Chicago! We met 3 other couples from the city and had a blast with them.

This weekend, I am going back to Michigan to meet up with friends from college.  I cannnnnnot wait because I have been having a little anxiety about moving and being so much further away.  Ryan cannot come because he is in a training week that he cannot miss, but he traveled enough without me this year already!

We have been packing, hanging out, and enjoying a lot of time together.  Almost all of Ryan's friends from work have already moved to their new placements so we are in Naperville alone.  I am almost done with work and just trying to find a job in VA.  Until then, we are trying to knock off some things on our "To Do Before Leaving the City" list!

traveling...

Life is moving so fast right now! We have no full weekends left in Naperville and are going to be moving in on a few short weeks, but there is so much to do!

We went home to Michigan  this weekend for my sister's graduation and open house.  It was great to catch up with friends & family that I hardly get to see, but it was a short, fast, and busy trip!  

I am done with school and I am just waiting a few more weeks to make sure I actually passed and have a Master's degree! Until then, we are packing, job searching, and house hunting.

This weekend is our FIRST ANNIVERSARY! So we are going on a trip to Wisconsin for white water rafting.  YAY!  Will write more about that soon!

check! & check!

I DID IT! I DID IT! I finished my half marathon today. I walked more than I would have liked to (ran at least 11 miles out of the 13) but it was nearly 85 degrees when I finished so I am using heat as my excuse.  It was very fun.  I find running with 1500 other people to be so empowering...and addicting.  But for now, I am done racing like that.  I am actually going to work on getting faster and run some 5k races at a more competitive pace--and Ryan might run one or two also!

I ALSO FINISHED my thesis this weekend! I have some minor revisions to make tomorrow and send in a second draft! I am so SO so excited.  I hope to have it done for real by the end of next week.

I feel like so much has happened in the past two days! But good things--things to check off my list and move on to the next part of our lives.

Did you notice I also changed my blog name?!?! Since we are celebrating our 1st anniversary in two weeks, it is no longer "My New Life at Mrs. Glaser"...so I used a little creativity and had Just Another Crazy Idea...(JACI)!

For all my readers from home...SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!

so little time!

We have so so so much to do.

• Finish my thesis (almost done--this is my break right here)
• Pack up our apartment
• Find a job in VA
• Find a house in VA
• Experience at least 5 things that we have yet to do in Chicagoland
• Finish up some training for a half marathon THIS weekend!

We have so much to look forward to in the next month...

• Brooke and her kids are coming to visit!!!!!!
• Go home for Kate's graduation! Our last time home for awhile (probably).
• Celebrate our first anniversary with a white water rafting trip
• Travel to VA just to look for a place to live 
• I will finally have my Masters!
• Road trip to the east side with all our belongings towed behind us!

This is going to be one crazy month--but we like to be busy so I am sure we can handle it.

Ok, time to get back to finishing this thesis before...tomorrow?!?! 

planning!

That's right, the next month will be FILLED with my favorite activity--planning.  What are we planning for? We are planning for our move to...
VIRGINIA!

Sometime at the end of June, we will be making the trek from Illinois to Virginia to settle down a little more permanently.  We are SO excited for this move.  I am mostly excited because I am going to finally be able to look for a permanent, real-life, adult J-O-B! Ryan is excited because he likes new adventures.   We will be moving to Richmond/Williamsburg area and we are looking for a house that is not in the middle of the city.  We have had enough time surrounded by people and we are ready to kick back and relax--as opposed to being in a hurry everytime we go anywhere.

I am still trying to finish my thesis (I KNOW, it is taking forever!)  Other than that, we have a little list of things to check out before we leave Chicagoland.  We have one more trip home to Michigan planned for my sister's graduation, otherwise we will be enjoying some sights of Illinois before we leave.

On another note...my momma came to visit this weekend! It was so so so much fun.  We did not do a whole lot and I had to work some, but it was nice to have someone familiar here to see all the things I talk about.  We also had a friend from college, Megan, and her mom visit this weekend.  It was a busy weekend, but a lovely one at that!

More to come on all these changes....!

waiting...

That's right, we are still waiting to see where we are moving at the end of next month. But, this is the definite downward slope of the waiting game.  Ryan takes his last engineering exam this Friday and we know he will find out sometime around then.  Next time I write, I will KNOW where we are going! Whew.

Last time I wrote, I said I was running a 10k.  Well, I did it! I ran the whole thing.  It was an amazing event--over 1100 runners! I finished in 1hr3min which was 5 min slower than I wanted, but the trail was SO hilly I cannot be disappointed in myself. Now, I am training (sorta) for a half marathon on May 20th.  It is hard for me to run a longer path because of where we live, but I am hoping to use a day off next week to go on one long long run to prove to my body that it can happen. 

This past weekend we roadtripped to Houghton, MI for Tech graduation and one last hoorah with our friends.  Now, there are only a small handful of Ryan's friends left at school so it will be our last trip for quite awhile.  It was SO nice to see our friends and reminisce about the simple life we had when we lived there.  We do not have anything complicating our life now--but living in the city adds such an unneccesary stress.

The week, my mom is planning a visit! I am so excited (Ryan is too)! So, next week I will write more on that AND I will report on our new location! YAY!

:)

oops!

What am I doing?!?!?! I have looked at my blog a hundred times over the last two weeks and not once did I actually write something!? Sorry!

In my defense, we have been busy, but not doing too much worth writing about.  I have moved up to working almost fulltime at the chocolate shop and Ryan is traveling for work as I write.  This week he is in Virginia--which is a new experience for him for a few reasons.  First of all, they have an opening at the plant he in visiting so he is scoping out all the good areas around Richmond and Williamsburg and getting a feel for the people he would be working with if he got relocated there.  We still do not know where we are going, but if he likes this place and they find it a good fit, we could end up there.  We are not getting our hopes up too much, but I am starting to get pretty anxious to find out where we are moving!
Second, Ryan has been traveling to the South since he started this job and, while he got to see some cool things (Mardi Gras, Hot Springs) he has confirmed that this is a region we are not dying to move to anytime soon.  He has never traveled out East like my family so he is getting a lot of enjoyment out of this trip.  He flew into Baltimore early on Saturday and spent the day with friends from the football team.  Then he spent yesterday with my cousin watching some hockey.  He is getting quite the vacation out of this trip! 

I am working more hours as I mentioned and still training for the half marathon.  I am running in a 10k this weekend to prepare a little more (and to get out of the house!) The weather has been yucky for a few days so I am hoping to be able to enjoy the weekend outside.  We only have a limited amount of weekends left here so we are trying to cross things off our list of things to do before we leave!

Something I didn't get to blog about was our last visitor! Grampa Bill came for a visit and made my homesickness go away for a whole weekend! He needed to get out of the house and I needed a taste of home so it worked out very well.  We went out to a new restaurant Ryan and I had wanted to try, took Grampa to a war museum, and I made my first holiday dinner for Easter.  It was very relaxing and so nice to have our first family visitor. 

Other than ALL THAT...we have not been doing anything! We got rid of our cable and internet (I am using a neightbors wireless--thanks random neighbor) and hope to get outside more to just enjoy our time here.  I promise to write again soon to tell you all about Ryan's trip (and if we find out a new location!)

<3

change.

That's right...I have not posted in over two weeks! So sorry! But on a good note, I did get to see most of my family who reads my blog recently so I feel that most people are fairly caught up on my life.  The week after St. Paddy's weekend I got to go home for a bit and spend some much needed time with family and friends.

We had a blast downtown for St. Paddy's--millions of people everywhere and everyone dressed in GREEN! It was very warm out that day and we got to enjoy every moment of it outside in downtown Chicago.

Then, like I said, I went home to Michigan for a week  :)   and left Ryan behind to work :(  I got to see my sister on her 18th birthday and my best friend while she was home for only a short bit.  I got to catch up with a few other friends along the way and visited with some family. It was really nice because it was a change from my usual routine AND I know that we will be moving further away from our family in the very near future.

When I returned, Ryan had left for a week-long work trip to Arkansas (of which he surprisingly enjoyed the views and sightseeing).  While he was gone, I got some great remarks on my thesis from my advising professor and also spent the whole time working!  I am working a lot more now so time management is very important.  I also deactivated my facebook this past week so I can focus more on doing my thesis.  It needs to be finished this month!

Ryan got back from his trip on Saturday...he surprised me with roses and my favorite Easter candy waiting for me in the car at work AND dinner reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant we have been wanting to try.  It was a perfect way to spend time together after not having seen each other (except on Skype) for two weeks! He really does know how to make me happy :)

Now, we are back to normal life for awhile and will find out (hopefully) this month where we are moving at the end of June!  So many changes about to happen...but I think it is a good thing.

I found this quote by Mark Twain earlier today and I had to share because I love it!
"20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

goals.

St. Paddy's Day!!! YAY! A day to wear GREEN the one and only best color in the world! We are heading downtown Chicago tomorrow to watch the river being dyed green, watch the parade, and attend a party...I am obviously excited!

On another note...I got my final grade yesterday for my last Masters class--and I passed! WOOHOO! So, I only have my thesis left to finish and I will be all done!  I hope to finish my thesis by the end of April, but it is work-at-your-own-pace style so we will see how diligently I work.

I also made a list this week of 25 Things I Want To Do Before 25!  I am going to share the list with you for a few reasons...1. so I do not lose the paper it is written on :) 2. so anyone can feel free to think of me when they hear some of these things being offered and LET me KNOW!  and 3. you give you all a little inspiration to set some goals yourself.  I think that making a list of things you want to do motivates you to do more than you would without a list and I am hoping this will be the case for these things...

1. Run a half marathon (currently training for one in May) (May 20, 2012)
2. Travel outside the country with Ryan  (October 2012-England, Finland, Estonia)
3. Finish Masters (May 2012!!!!)
4. Get a "career" (Starting at Tyges International as an Exec Recruiter November 2012!)
5. Go to 3 more "famous" restaurants (Ryan and I love eating at places we have seen on TV) (Glenn's Diner, Primanti Bros, and Blue Moon Cafe)
6. Learn to make fancy cakes (Cake decorating class Sept 2012)
7. Go on a random road trip
8. Attend a music festival
9. Learn to make my own pasta I made sausage and cheese ravioli (with my own pasta dough)!
10.  Plant a small garden (harvested 2 squash, 5 peppers, and an eggplant)
11.  Go to VEGAS!
12. Learn more Spanish
13. Hot air balloon ride October 1, 2013
14.  Own stock in 2 companies  Yelp and Insmed (which we already sold, haha)
15.  Test drive a fancy car
16.  Get a puppy
17. Read 5 Classic books (Deenie, Forever, Of Mice and Men)
18. Take an art class
19. Attend a few more professional sports events (Cubs vs Tigers) (Tigers  vs Orioles)
20.  Kiss under a waterfall (Ryan, obviously)
21.  Spend an entire week without any media
22.  Volunteer regularly again (Volunteer at UW in Williamsburg!)
23.  Do another triathlon
24. Pay off student loans (or at least most of them)
25.  Have a baby! (Makena June--6/15/13)

Thanks for reading!

busy. busy.

Wow, sorry for the delay in posts! Man, I did not realize how busy we have been--until I could not fall asleep last night because I had a million things running through my head.  It is weird how fast it all catches up to you.

Last weekend (March 2-4) I went to Dallas for the husband's birthday.  We went to a Mav's game, tried some yummy bbq, visited the JFK assassination memorial, and hung out with some amazing people from his company. It was a lot of fun and a much needed break from our sometimes monotonous life.

Then, this past week I had more visitors! Two friends from college came to visit while on Spring Break.  I had to work everyday they were here and that really sucked, but we had a lot of fun when I actually got to hang out with them.  It is so refreshing to have familiar faces around--especially when it feels like we never left college and pick right back up where we left off.

This weekend, we are going to the St. Patrick's celebration downtown Chicago.  I have a 5k race in our town Saturday morning (my first race since the fall!) and then we are going downtown.  I will write more--and possibly post some pics of that?!?!--next week.

blogging world.

As you may notice, if you regularly check in, I have changed the layout and color scheme or my page.  Do not know if I like it yet, but I am becoming much better at working this website.  It is incredibly easy! Also, I have been inspired by about a billion more blogs I have been reading.  I find myself getting lost in them all over the internet.  I usually like to look at craft, fitness, and food blogs, so you might find more of that on here now too.  I also would like to post more pictures, but we never take pictures of anything anymore.  That is on the top of my list for things to start doing better!

Other than that, the husband is home on a little vacation from traveling and has his FIRST engineering exam today for work.  This is a big deal--because if he fails, he gets fired. I mean, I guess that might not be a big deal to some people, but we find it to be quite an issue!  Tomorrow (Wednesday) he leaves for Dallas, but I am not sad because I will join him on Friday for his birthday and a weekend vacation  to Texas!

Hopefully, I will fix my photo taking problems by this weekend!

lonely. sorta.

So, here I am...alone in Naperville for the longest time yet!  Ryan is in Louisiana all week for work and will be in Dallas all next week too! I thought I was going to freak out and be super upset, but I am not.  I wish he were here because we are so out of practice keeping each other updated via telephone, but other than that, I have kept pretty busy.  I am working about 25 hours a week and getting a lot of compliments at work so it makes it a little easier to have my own life in conjunction with his.

In case you are interested, you can check out my job at this website--http://lechocolatdubouchard.com/--OR you could come visit me! I like being a server again and it is already evident that certain skills never go away!

Other than working, I am just TRYING to get a grip on my thesis--if you have advice for motivation/anti-procrastination, PLEASE let me know!

love.

Hope everyone had a HAPPPPPPPY Valentine's Day! I know some people do not "celebrate" this day, but I think that it is worth celebrating love any day and one day set aside to do cutesy things to show someone you love them is not terrible!  My mom has always gotten us cute gifts for Valentine's Day, so I have never viewed it as just a day for Ryan and me (this year she sent me a new door mat that has our names written in sand on it...SO adorable!)

Yesterday, we both had to work opposit shifts so we celebrated our love early. On Sunday, we went to downtown Chicago (took us only a half hour to drive into the city!) and attended the Chicago Auto Show--the biggest in North America.  It was fun to see brand new models of cars that we can dream about owning someday...haha.  Then, we went a few blocks down to Chinatown.  We ate some yummy food and explored the unsanitary conditions of the food markets there.  Then we went to The Bean sculpture for a light show! It was a great time and so nice to spend quality time with each other.

On Monday, I woke up feeling bad for not getting anything for Ryan for Vday, so I rushed around all morning before work to get together a delicious meal for him.  I made pulled pork sandwiches and key lime pie for the first time because they are two of his fave meals.  He was so appreciative and excited that it made my hectic day worth it.  He bought me some new knives as I have almost cut my fingers off on multiple occasions with the ones I was using.  Both things we did for eachother were thoughtful and really showed our appreciation for everything we do for one another.

This was our 10th Vday together and I think my husband is getting more and more romantic every year because he listens to what I need/want from him and makes it happen to the best of his ability.

So, although I never think a holiday is an excuse to be extra nice and I think that we need to show our love and appreciation everyday, we sometimes get caught up in our crazy lives and need February 14th to roll around.  I am thankful for the time that we spent together--regardless of the date--because over the next three weeks, I am only going to see Ryan on the weekends!  This holiday could not have came at a better time this year!

random.

This post is RANDOM for a few reasons...everything I post in it is going to be a hodge podge of things I have not gotten to blog about that happened in the last week AND my life is getting pretty random.

I started work last week and tonight will be my third night working.  I am working at a little chocolate shop called Le Chocolat.  We serve gourmet hot chocolates, yummy desserts, and little candies to go.  It seems like it will be a good distraction from my thesis writing/homework time and waiting for Ryan  to come home...which is basically all I do all day.  I am kinda in a dazed stupor on a regular basis--I do random things like just get in my truck to go get gas. It seems so pathetic now that I am writing it and everyone can read that I really have no real life here, but the truth is--the only other thing I could really be doing is spending a ton of money on stuff we don't need.  When Ryan is off work and we have nothing to do, we usually go "shopping" which means we actually walk around one of the hundreds of shopping centers in the area and look at all the crap we do not need whatsoever.  If I were doing that all day by myself too, I would go insane.  So, I sit at home a lot, work some on homework, clean, and have just started training to run a half marathon this Spring.

My life never seems too pathetic--until Ryan leaves...he has his second business trip overnight tomorrow (just three hours south of us) and I do not have to work or have anything else to do.  That is where it starts to get a little too real that I need a hobby or local friends.

And, even though it seems like I am complaining, I am actually quite content with a pathetic life.  I try to do one meaningful thing a day and that usually gets me by.  At the very least, it gives me something to tell Ryan I did all day! Even though I do not do much during the day, I have never looked forward to seeing my husband on a daily basis this much.  We both get so excited to come home to each other and FOR THAT I am extremely fortunate.

Lastly, I thought I would advertise on here as well that we are taking reservations for visitors! Ryan will be gone for an entire week starting Feb 20 :( I am going to go insane! Come see me!

Vacation time!

As some of you may already know, I got to go to Denver this past weekend for my bestest cousin, Brooke's birthday.  She had no idea that her husband and I have planned this since November which made it the best surprise I could have asked for.  We got to relax, hang out together, eat some great food, and enjoy each other's company for the WHOLE weekend! It was nice to see her, but I realized how great of a relationship we have because we had nothing to talk about and it felt like I was just over while Ryan was at work! We talk on the phone/text almost everyday and she knows everything that goes on, so there was no need to catch up. This made the trip even more enjoyable.  The biggest shockers were that her 4 kids are growing up so quickly.  Even though it has only been 7 months since we last saw them, they seem like totally different kids.  I am proud of each of them for all their accomplishments and intrigued by the fact that they each still have the same little quirks they always have.

While I was in Denver, I told Brooke that I was not really missing Ryan.  Seems like a terrible thing to say, but its the truth.  We spent so much time with each other over the last two months that I have been going crazy.  By Sunday, I was eating my words.  I had started to miss him and actually could not wait to come back to our home.  Times like these make me realize that as long as we are together, we will always have "home".  It also didn't hurt that he had flowers and tickets for a movie I really want to see waiting for me when I returned! He's great :)

Now, we are planning our next vacation! Ryan's next work trip is in Dallas, TX the week of his bday (March 2) and we bought an extra ticket for me to go spend the weekend with him too!  It is a little pricey, but we will need a vacation by then anyway!  More details on that to come....

City Livin'

SO, I had this huge post all typed up about our weekend and every little detail--then I pressed some stupid button and it deleted!!!! I took it as a sign that none of you wanted to read that crap anyway, so here is a better, more thoughtful post!

I had an interview today for a job and went to an insurance company to find us some new car insurance (expensive by the way!??!) and as I was driving, I was thinking about how much I loved our new big city life.  When I tell people where we are from and that neither of us has ever lived in a city with a population over 20,000, I get some very surprised looks.  Naperville is one of the biggest cities in Illinois (number 3 I think) and the valley area we live in has over half a million residents!!!!

When I travel, I like to keep a journal of everything I did on a daily basis, funny things that happened, and MOST importantly cultural things that "shocked" me.  I decided today that I already have a list of shocking things I did not expect to become so mainstream in our new lives.  Here is what I have compiled so far...

1. We have to leave earlier than ever to get places.  And do not even think about timing "about" how long it takes to get somewhere.  Luckily, there is a lot of stuff near our house so we do not have to venture too far, but when we do go somewhere, we have to leave SO much earlier than we ever would have before--just in case its busy!

2.  Stores are everywhere--and in multiple locations! Like I said, we never have to venture too far because there is a lot around our neighborhood.  So, if we are heading in a different direction than, say, Meijer, we just turn the other corner--AND BAM! There is another Meijer!  Or Super Target, or Whole Foods, or Shopping Mall! It is amazing and so convenient.  The store that is easiest to avoid because it is not close?! WALMART! We do not mind one bit because we have had our share of that store!

3.  Rush hour and quiet cars.  Twice this weekend, I went into Chicago by train.  Twice this weekend, I returned at rush hour! I might be crazy!  Actually, the fastest train back to Naperville is only at rush hour (a half hour trip compared to hour and ten minutes) so it the most convenient.  There is also this crazy rule on that train about being quiet in certain train cars! And both times, I found the quiet cars--on accident.  I now know to check for QUIET DURING RUSH HOUR signs!

4. Things are more expensive, and they like taxes!  Tax rates are higher here--quite a bit higher. But, do not ask me how much because we still have not figured it out. I think they have different tax rates depending on the item, and Chicago has its own rate altogether.  Also, we have noticed simple things in grocery stores and at chain restaurants are more expensive by $1-2.  Good thing Ryan has a big boy job!

5. People lock up everything!  We took a little time getting used to locking our doors because we never have really had to before and my truck as manual locks.  Now, we have our bikes, house, vehicles, mailbox--you name it, it's locked!

One thing has not changed--people here are SO incredibly nice.  They all want to know why we are here and all about my Master's program and our future plans.  It has made us feel so welcome, even though we are not used to this living at all--and for that, I am very thankful.

Hope this post was a bit more intriguing than hearing all about our weekend! :) <3

I could get used to this...

So, I have complained enough about being bored. Everyday that goes by leads me to find something else to fill my day, and we are both getting quite comfortable here.  Lots of things have happened since I last wrote...

**We joined Lifetime Fitness--the Taj Mahal of gyms.  There are two pools, two waterslides, two hot tubs, over 100 bikes, treadmills, and ellipticals.  Plus, all the fitness classes are included. I already did a cardio kickboxing and a pilates class.  I am going to Zumba tonight.  There is also a SPA in our gym where I got my hair trimmed today! I also had a fitness consultation this morning where I learned what my strengths and weaknesses are fitness-wise.  I am going to talk to a nutritionist tonight for more free advice.  It is really a great place.  Ryan and I are both hoping to slim down a bit--we think this place will help!

**Ryan bought a new car on Saturday. He bought a 2008 Nissan Maxima.  It has everything--heated seats and steering wheel, crazy lock and key system, and a whole bunch of amenities that we are not used to.  He gets most of it paid for through work, so we had to pick our car based on their standards.  Because it is a 2008, we will have to pick out a new one in a couple years (it will be too old for company standards), but then we will probably just hand it down to me!

**Joleen (one of my bestest friends from college) came to visit this weekend.  OUR FIRST VISITOR! We loved having her and showing her around our new home.  We laid low and relaxed since it was her first week of school and Ryan's first week of work and neither of them really wanted to do a bunch of stuff. We found some great outlet stores near our house and had some amazing Chicago style pizza! It was so fun and we were thankful to finally get to show SOMEONE our new life.

I think....that is all! I am working on my thesis right now (after a much needed skype distraction with Kellie Bright) and I am going to apply to some jobs!

Thanks for reading--we are taking reservations for the upcoming weekends, so let us know if you want to take a vacation! :)

PICTURES!

 This one is the front of our apartment.  We live in the bottom part (with the bikes).  We thought first floor would be easiest to move into--especially in the winter. As you can see, this area has not seen snow in awhile!

 This one is from inside thee door you see above off the patio.  Our living room/dining room.  When we moved here, the only furniture we had was a bed! I think it came together nicely!

 This is the kitchen. If you know Ryan and me AT ALL, you know that this kitchen would NOT work as a lifetime deal. We barely fit in it together and love to cook together! Doesn't work out too well. There is also not a ton of storage :(

 Our bedroom!!! It is pretty good size and the closet you can see right here
<----------------- is perfect for all of our clothes and makes up for the lack of storage in the rest of the apartment!

This is the view of our room from the closet side.  We have a big window that overlooks a little yard and more apartments! Woohoo city life! It isn't ideal to put our computer in our room, but it will work for now!









SO, now you have a sneak peek of the new place! If you want to see more--COME VISIT!  Here is a picture from downtown Naperville...I didn't take it, but I think you get the idea...

 I also am looking avidly now for a job, as this stay at home crap is wayyyyyy overrated! I got a callback from a chocolate cafe place that sounds amazing! I will keep you posted!

It's a START...

So, here I am...in a coffee shop in Naperville, IL (our new HOME!)  We do not have internet in our apartment yet and I am trying to work on my thesis so I kinda need some internet source! As you can see, I am not getting any homework done,but when there is no internet available for a couple weeks, I find it easy to get distracted once I actually have access!

We love our new little life together in Naperville.  It is THE perfect city to live in after only knowing small towns our whole life. Our apartment (pics to come soon) is in a neighborhood of other complexes and pretty nice houses.  There is a school and two churches very nearby so we feel pretty safe.  Our complex has a pool, hot tub, little workout room, and internet cafe.  It is pretty nice.  Our apartment is super cute! It is perfect for our first place.  There is a fireplace, huge closet, and new appliances.  We have already noticed things we will look for in future houses though--like more storage, more bathroom space, and better lighting!  Overall, we love it. 

Naperville is this busy, corporate world happening around an adorable little historical town.  It has everything that we could ever ask for.  Ever store and restaurant we have ever heard about Chicago having, is here too! And, if we don't have it, we can find it within a 20 min drive.  (Chicago is about an hour away by train.)  Everyone has been so nice and welcoming. 

I am going to use this blog to show off some pics (hopefully entice you all to visit!) and keep everyone updated on our new life.  I am hoping it will help me stay in contact better and keep me from getting too homesick.  So far, this stay-at-home-while-the-hubby-goes-to-work deal is BORING! I have had a super productive day, but I am worried there will be nothing to do tomorrow! I DID get a library card today, so I will have to explore!

Thanks for reading! I will post pictures SOON!