Life Update

So... I've fallen a bit off of the blogging habits, but I'm about to try to hop back on, and share some things about my life.

Here's what we're up to now:

Our little married apartment is starting to look and feel like a real (tiny) home. I've put up a few pictures and gotten the kitchen organized in a way that I finally like, and re-covered our big chair, and it really looks like our home now. It sort of started out looking like a boring tan unorganized mess. It's not that anymore! Home sweet home...

I've been working for the past few weeks. I'm just a temporary filing clerk, but it's something to keep me busy and bring in some money while I wait for spring to show up so I can find landscape work, or until I decide I just need to get a boring-but-stable year-round type job. When I'm working, I get more motivated to be busy, instead of being a lazy blob, and perpetuating the tan-messiness thing that was our home.

Keith is doing well at work. He's been promoted to a management position at the restaurant, which is great, because it means more set schedules and some perks, plus it should work better than serving when school starts in June. He has to dress nicely for work now, and I love sending him off looking sharp. It makes me proud to be married to that handsome man!

We're both getting started in our new church callings. I get to play the piano in the primary, which I just love so far. It's wonderful to be in a family ward again, and to see these fun kids every week.

That's pretty much the high points in life lately. Our life is good, and busy, and full of wonderful things!

Home Sweet Home

Well, the wedding is done (it was wonderful, and our photographer Leilani Mitchell did a great job!) and we're all moved in to our new little home. Our apartment here is teeny tiny, but wonderful, and we really don't need any more space.

Mostly I think my mom is the only one who reads my blog, so I'm going to post some apartment pictures for her. Love you, mommy!

Half of our living space

The other half of our living space

Teeniest kitchen, and the big counter that doubles as our table, and our little dishwasher. Not a great shot... gotta work on my photography skills.

Bedroom, there's a big closet that you can't see in this picture, though. And that's the pretty quilt on the foot of the bed that Granny Oberg made for us!

Also, we have a bathroom, and a big storage closet (it's probably bigger than our bathroom) and a balcony, where I will probably have some plants as soon as it's nice out again... in 6 months...

I love having a little home all of my own with no one else but Keith. It's the best. And it's little, which makes it a cinch to keep clean! And Keith does all the dishes so far! Which is great, cause I hate doing dishes worst of any chore, except sometimes he lets me help him dry them or unload our dishwasher.

I love being married.

89 Days

I have a lot of planning to do. A lot. And only 89 days to do it all in- yikes!

Keith proposed to me on Thursday. Since we met at work, he wanted to let everyone there be involved in that. Here's what happened: I was sent home early because of the weather (we're a nursery- weather is directly related to how much we have to do) so I'd been home for a while. Then my boss called and asked me to come back in for half an hour or so to help one of our important clients to look at some plants. So I drove back to the nursery, all annoyed about having such a ridiculous job to do, and got there just after the client was supposed to have arrived. So I went inside, and the girl at the front desk told me that they were out back by our pond.

As I buttoned on my work shirt, I rushed out the door, and just about ran into Keith. He'd set the whole thing up, and had plants arranged around the door so it looked nice, and was wearing his nice suit. I just started kissing him right away, because I was so excited! Then he told me how much he loves me, and handed me a bouquet of beautiful pink roses. He got down on his knee, and asked me to marry him, and I said Yes!

We're engaged! Hooray! I'm way excited. And a bit overwhelmed.

Which brings me back to the title of this post: 89 days. That's how long I have to plan until the big day. And I have no idea where to start. Yikes!

Anyway, if anyone has advice for smoother wedding planning or cute ideas, let me know!

We Have Furniture!

Not a lot of furniture, but some!

So, yesterday and today our friend is out of town... so he let Steph and I borrow his truck. Yes, that's right- we had a truck for 36 hours! Oh, bliss!

And did we get good usage out of this truck? Oh, yeah... we bought a great big chair! He's a chair and a half size thing, and so comfy, and was only $30 on Craig's List, and almost brand new. I slept in him last night... mmm, so much better than the floor!

Also, we got a microwave, and a tall floor lamp, and some wall clocks, and a small bookshelf, and Steph bought herself an air mattress, because that's better than the floor, too.

So, I spent last night cleaning and organizing things. All of my stuff is put away, and our house is starting to look like a home! Hooray!

Graduation

So, I'm not feeling very inspired to write about graduation, but I feel like I should commemorate being done and moving on from this chapter of my life at some point. Anyway, I'm graduating today. It's been 17 years since I started going to school, plus two years of joy school before kindergarten. So it's still not quite sinking in that I'm done. But I am... and tomorrow I'll have a diploma cover to prove it!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Like Jewel, you know.

Anyway, early tomorrow morning I'm headed to Atlanta for a week of fun networking and competition. It'll be so good. I'm excited.

And then I'll come back for finals and graduation, and to pack up my life from the last 4 years.

And about 3 weeks from then, I'll be going on another jet plane, this time to Anchorage, where I will start grown-up life.

Too bad I hate Airports.

DC Adventure

Well, we're back from adventuring.

We had a super fun vacation! Mostly we spent time with my family. Also, we took Friday afternoon and went downtown to sightsee a little.

We had a pretty awesome weekend. Thursday we worked in the yard with my family. Also, for lunch we had the most delicious BBQ ever. We cleaned out our flowerbeds, went to a nursery and then spread mulch. After that, there was dinner and family games- we played Killer Bunnies, which made Nathan quite excited.

Friday Keith and I went downtown. We rode the Metro into town and went to the Smithsonian. We visited the American History museum, where Keith got really excited about the guns and weapons that were in a history of war exhibit. Next we went to the Natural History museum, and saw dinosaurs, the Hope diamond, and some insects. Ick. Next we went to find some lunch. We walked far, far away from where we thought we were going for lunch, but stumbled upon Potbelly's Sandwich Works, which was absolutely delicious. Then we went to the Air&Space museum, and saw planes and rockets. Do you know the difference between planes and jet planes? I didn't before, but now I do. Kinda. Anyway, after that, we walked up the mall to the Washington, WWII, and Lincoln memorials. Then, we found the nearest Metro station (which wasn't really all that close by) and rode home.

Saturday morning the family was sleeping in, so I drove Keith around to see a few places where I grew up, and we ran some errands for my mother. We also went out for birthday lunch to a new Mexican restaurant, which was delicious. It was so yum. I mean it. Seriously good. After that, I went furniture shopping with my mom and Em, and Keith helped my Dad hide some speaker wires in the walls. Then my mom and Em and I went and got the best cupcakes I'd ever eaten at Wegman's. Then my sisters and parents all dispersed for different events, and Keith and I got wrangled into a game of Monopoly with my brother Nathan.

Sunday we had church and family stuff. It wasn't a super eventful day, but it was good. Just family dinner and games and dessert. It was a good day.

We left to fly home early early Monday morning. It was early. But it was a good trip.

Spring Break-ing

Today is pretty much like this:Bright blue sky, not many clouds, and also balloons. Actually, there weren't that many balloons in my life today, but it was my birthday, so I am pretending that there were.

So today has been a good one.

But tomorrow will be even better. I hope. Tomorrow I am going on one of these:

It's a Boeing 737-800, operated by Delta. Mine will be going from SLC to IAD. That's code for it's taking me from school to home.

And it's taking Keith with me.

We are nervous. And excited.

Anxious, if you will.

But mostly I am excited. I am ready to go, and to not be in Provo, and to spend some time with Keith and with my family and with no school. And I am ready for them to actually know Keith a little bit. I hope it all goes well, because I am just in love with Keith, and also I love my family, so I'm hoping that they will be able to get along and appreciate each other.

Anyway, we'll see how it all goes. Nathan's excited to have someone to play Killer Bunnies with.

Scary, huh?

Planning

In 62 days, I will be graduating from college. Exciting!!!

So, now I have to make a plan. It's called "What to do when you get out into the real world".

There are many options. I could go be a starving bum on the streets of London (because I think that at the end of the year, I'll only have enough money to get there, and then I'll be 100% broke). Or I could get a job somewhere. This is the more likely alternative.

But there are lots of jobs, and lots of somewheres.

My family would love it if I came home, and worked there this summer. Or didn't work, as my mom pointed out to me today. But I need to have a job, or I will go crazy. And stay broke, also.

Keith and Emily and Cecilia and maybe Steph would love it if I went to Anchorage for work this summer. Actually, they probably wouldn't mind too much if I weren't working, either, because then I'd have more time to split between them all, but really I need to have a job. Or I will go crazy.

There are a few companies who I am in touch with who might want me to go where ever they're located this summer, and then after that, also. Think Atlanta, or California. They, however, would want me working, because if I'm not working I'm useless to them.

So there are options, and pressures pulling from different directions and sources. And I'm pretty sure that I know what I want, but what if I don't, really? What if what I think that I want is not, in fact, what I actually want. Oh, I'm confused.

Mostly I just don't want to disappoint anyone with my decision to go one place or another. But you can't please everyone always, I guess.

I hate that about growing up. I used to only have my parents' opinions to think about, and my own, but my opinion was usually pretty in line with theirs on my bigger decisions. Now there are opposing opinions, pulling me quite literally to opposite corners of the country. I'm very neatly tucked smack-dab in the center here at school, 3000 miles from Anchorage, and 2100 from Chantilly.

Google Maps is a lovely tool for illustrating this point. But see, Anchorage is 4315 miles from Chantilly. Which is far. And so we get conflicting opinions.

I need to figure out how to make this decision without hurting anyone. Tricky.

In the end, I need to decide what will be the best decision for me, and not worry about everyone else. Also, I need to remember that moving is not, in fact, final. Just because I end up somewhere in May does not mean that I'll be there forever. It just means I'll be there for now.

Maybe I should go to London.

CLP

This morning I took the second half of a series of 7 exams required in order to become a CLP.

Caresse Johnson, CLP is going to look so cool on business cards and resumes and the like.

And what, you may ask, does this designation actually mean? CLP stands for Certified Landscape Professional. It is regulated by PLANET, the Professional Landcare Network, which is basically the recognized professional organization for green industry individuals and companies. It mostly focuses on business skills, and not so much on knowledge about plants and the care of them.

Anyway, it's a kind of big deal, and I'm very much hoping that within the month I will be a CLP.

Vacationing

Steph and I just got back from New York last night. What a fun vacation! I have a bazillion things to do to get caught back up to speed with school and things here, but I'm still so glad we went.

Also, so glad to be home.

I just feel so useful here. People in my classes and club at school respect my opinions and ask me for help and clarifications. Professors call on me in class when they need good answers. My job is just mine, the work isn't split with anyone else, so my boss is glad to have me back, and scheduled a meeting with me as soon as he could today so we could get back to work, and I think Keith would much rather have me in Provo than across the country. Sure we still don't see each other, but at least I'm close by enough that we could get to each other if we needed to.

Anyway, more to come about New York, but I've got to get back to being needed in life now.

Happily Ever After

Tomorrow my best friend gets married. Weird. We've been talking about this day for years. And more specifically, since she got engaged a few months ago. And I am so excited for her! And so weirded out by it, too.

Growing up is a funny thing. I can't believe that we're this old. Being old enough to fall in love is crazy; looking back on all of the boys we have thought we loved is mildly ridiculous. Luckily, she's finally fallen in love with one who's worth her time. Jeff really is a good man, and he loves her.

As for me, I am still happy to be working toward my own happily-ever-after.