New Job and Other News

Well I was able to find a job and have been working there for about a week and a half now. I help students register for classes at one of the local colleges, something I have been aiming to do for awhile. I finally feel like my schooling is paying off, which is nice since recently I had to start paying the loans back. :)

In other news, the movers came and picked up our stuff in Virginia a couple weeks ago and dropped it off a few days ago. Everything made it safe and sound with the exception of one cabinet. We weren't too attached to it, I just used it to put my pictures in, so not that big of a deal. So Matt has been living in our house for alittle over a week now with no furniture and not much cookware. Surprisingly he still has been cooking rather creatively actually. He has been trying to get rid of everything in our pantry before he leaves and has been making some interesting creations. For instance, he found Beef Stroganoff and some taco shells and decided to make beef stroganoff tacos. It sounds pretty disgusting to me but he seemed to enjoy it. Other than mixing and matching food items, Matt has been busy trying to get everything in order for his move. He has had the job of cleaning the house and the yard, on top of all that he has to wrap up at work. Luckily, he finished up his class a couple weeks ago, so that has freed up some of his time.

We are nearing the end of our time apart and I'm looking forward to seeing him in less than two weeks. I will be flying out to Missouri to meet up with him and then we will drive back together. Being apart is never easy especially around the holidays. Howevery, it has been easier than last year, mainly because our communication hasn't been limited this time around.

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! I hope you all are well and are enjoying the holidays.

Our Journey from Virginia to Utah...Part 1

On Tuesday, we all plied into the car to begin our road trip. When I say all, I really mean all, Matt, me, Roxie, my plants, clothes, and boxes filled with miscellaneous items, so as you can imagine it was a full car. Since Matt had to work a half day, I drove the first leg of our journey so he could rest up. Roxie had a rough start (I think she thought we were taking her to the vet) she cried for the first ten minutes but soon relaxed. Everything was going smoothly until we hit West Virginia when we hit a blizzard. It was lightly snowing and then all of a sudden I couldn't see five feet in front of me. Now being that I have spent the last three winters in a place that rarely even sees a hint of snow, I was a bit freaked out. I have become quite the wuss when it comes to driving in the snow; I lasted about another twenty minutes and gave the wheel to Matt. Of course, as soon as Matt started driving it was blue skies and sunshine! I got off the highway and it was a blizzard, Matt gets back on the highway, not even five minutes later and the sun is out in all it's glory. Anyways, we ended up spending the night in Shelbyville, Kentucky that night.

The next morning we left bright and early headed to Matt's brother's house in Missouri. This leg of the trip went pretty well and we got to their house about 2 p.m. It was fun seeing them and being able to spend at least a night just hanging out. We always have a good time with them, here are some pictures of our night in Missouri.


The next day, we loaded back into the car, not as chiper as the days before knowing we still had a long way to go. By this point my plants were looking pretty sad and I was just hoping they can make it a couple more days. We had to take a lot of back roads in Missouri to get back on the highway so we saw a lot of countryside and small towns. AFTER, at least six hours we finally crossed into Nebraska not exactly a better view but at least it was a different state. Matt's favorite state is Nebraska, don't ask me why it is so BORING to drive through. The picture above is what we saw for the rest of that day, as you can see it even bored Roxie. :) We called it a night in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

It took a lot of motivation to get into the car that fourth day, even though we were in Wyoming we still had more than 400 miles to go. We got into the Utah about 3:30 p.m. and Matt left the next morning to fly back to Virginia. Everything but the plants made it to Utah in the same condition they left Virginia in. My poor plants are in intensive care and its not looking good, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they pull through. It's nice to be out of the car and back in Utah and luckily we get a month break before we have to do the trip again.

USS North Carolina
Before Matt and I made the journey acrossed the country, we made a day trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina to see the ship Matt's Grandpa served on in World War II, the USS North Carolina. It was a total of ten hours in the car that day but it was well worth it the trip. The ship was amazing, we were able to go to all the different levels and see how the crew lived on a daily basis out at sea. We were even allowed down in the engine room. I had to include the picture of the crew's toilets because there was no privacy at all. It was basically a trough with some seats and a couple of partions for "privacy." Unfortunately, the ship was only open until five in the evening so we had to leave without the full experience. There was so much to see that after four hours on the ship we still weren't able to see it all. Regardless, it was a lot of fun to read the crew's stories and an amazing experience to be standing on the same ship his Grandpa served on.