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."